Joan was born to run! In her early fifties, Joan was the picture of health. At 5’4”, she weighed 122 pounds and maintained an active lifestyle. In August of 2017, Joan had ‘“no outward health problems,” but inside her body was a whole different story. At age 54, she began to experience digestive issues that grew increasingly worse.
“Over the years, I became increasingly intolerant to certain foods.” Joan first noticed a sensitivity to common dairy products such as cream, milk, and cheese, which she had previously enjoyed with no issues.
Next up was fructose, the natural sugar found in fruits and some vegetables. Also found in processed foods, avoiding fructose meant Joan could no longer enjoy pre-run fuelings like bananas, apples, and yogurt smoothies.
“Eventually, it seemed like everything I ate caused me stomach distress,” Joan recalls. She suffered from the typical culprits of poor digestion, such as constipation and gut inflammation.
Joan also had outward signs: “My eyes were always puffy and would ache after consuming too much wheat.” As a result, she had to eliminate bread, crackers, and pasta from her already shrinking diet. As an athlete accustomed to loading up on carbohydrates before a run, this posed a unique challenge. Realizing that “achy joints” would make running and recovery more difficult, Joan searched for a solution that would allow her to continue her favorite activity.
One day, Joan recalls “accidentally” eating nothing but meat. By the end of the day, she was “stunned at how great” her stomach felt. She had no abdominal pain, no post-meal energy dips, and her joints had no signs of aches or pains.
Impressed by how good her body felt, Joan “ went with it for a few days” to enjoy some relief. She dove into all the available resources she could find. “I stumbled across Dr. Shawn Baker’s content on the carnivore diet, and the rest is history!”
Coming from a carbohydrate-heavy diet commonly adopted by the running community, Joan was skeptical about switching to a zero-carb diet fueled only by fat and protein. As expected, she powered through a transition period. She notes it “was total hell at first!” but just five weeks in, “the adaptation took place,” and her running experience was “better than ever.”
Endurance training activities, such as long-distance running, are a great companion for a carnivore diet. Since the activity requires the least amount of short bursts of energy, distance runners can dependably rely on fat as their primary fuel source. Additionally, a carnivore diet is believed to boost omega-3 fatty acids, protein, ketones, vitamin B, and carnitine, which function efficiently as fuel for your brain and energy levels.
Joan supports her active lifestyle the carnivore way, describing her daily food intake as “70 percent steak, and 30 percent ground beef, eggs, shrimp, and pork.”
For five months, Joan has enjoyed excellent results on her carnivore journey. She’s now a lean 116 pounds and reports that her “constipation is completely cured.” She shows no signs of inflammation and is proudly “running like a boss!”
