My medical history consisted of very few issues. I had always been about 20 pounds overweight and I have always struggled with undiagnosed OCD that was annoying but never bad enough that I talked to any professional about it. Around age 7, I had developed allergies to just about every pollen but that was easily managed with over the counter allergy medications.
By age 18, I had a reoccurring MRSA infection problem (managed with over the counter antibiotic ointment), some adult acne, and I would constantly have a flu or cold. I figured that’s just the way things were and would continue to be. That was the normal I knew, I hadn’t really experienced much better.
As a child, we were quite poor. My mother knew how to cook and would cook delicious meals using butter, whole milk, and beef but she insisted on vegetable consumption constantly and Cheerios for breakfast. Additionally, we utilized food boxes and government programs that often included large amounts of grains and sugary items. Macaroni and cheese, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and hot cereals were a staple in our home.
Education in nutrition was extremely lacking, I received a quick discussion of the food pyramid around age twelve and nothing since. When I began college, I chose to rebel against my mother’s nutritional teachings and began what I referred to as a ‘bachelor diet’ – beer, candy, and pizza rolls. Unsurprisingly, I gained the Freshman Fifty that stuck with me long after I graduated in 2016.
After college, I wasn’t much better. I worked a job with extreme flexibility in schedule that also had me responding to emergencies at any time. I developed a diet of sugar and caffeine in place of meals as a way just to get by. I rarely ate a meal, opting for whatever sugary snack (Rice Krispie Treats, Fruit Gushers, cheese snack crackers, Oreos, Kit-Kats) was in my desk drawer and a Monster energy drink or Coke Zero every couple of hours.
from diabetes scare to future dietitian
In April of 2019, I went to the doctor for a persistent ingrown toenail. At that time, the doctor also informed me that I had high blood pressure and was pre-diabetic. This was terrifying as my entire family has had high blood pressure and diabetes, suffering horribly from both their entire lives. Additionally, I was only 25 years old. The problem was, I had no idea what to do about it. The doctor’s only suggestions were exercise, a better diet, and medications. Not wanting to start on such hard core medications at such an early age, I opted to increase exercise, eat Cheerios for breakfast, and start taking Garlic and COQ10 supplements that were said to lower blood pressure.
About one month later, I met someone who would change my life. We had both gotten stuck in an eight hour training course for work. The topic of diet had come up (I assume because he had noticed I was on my third Coke Zero and granola bar meal of the day and it was only noon). He had mentioned something about how I needed to eat healthier. I remarked that I’d love to but I hate just eating lettuce all day, “if I could eat steak and butter and be healthy, I’d do it but that’s not how it works”. Oh, how little I knew. I should have known by his smirk at that response that he had trapped me. After a day of question after question and a logical answer from him for every single one, I threw out all my supplements, did a 30 hour fast, and started a fully Carnivore Diet.
I saw results very quickly and have been seeing results like crazy since. I have been losing weight (about 30 pounds right now). My OCD and related anxiety are much more manageable now, I would say it is 85% gone. I have no allergies and have stopped taking allergy medication entirely. I have not had a MRSA infection since starting the diet, my acne is disappearing, and I haven’t been sick with a cold or flu in quite a long time. My blood pressure it amazing and I am no longer pre-diabetic. Somehow, I have more energy while only eating once or twice a day. I sleep better and my mood is better and the joint pain I always attributed to years of ballet has mostly gone. Everything that I had learned to live with because I figured that was just how it was has disappeared and that is truly amazing.
This diet has done one other thing that has truly change my life. I have spent most of my life not only uneducated but also uninterested in my body and nutrition. Yes, I was never taught a lot about nutrition but I also never tried to reach out and learn more about it. The minute I heard about this diet, I suddenly cared. I developed this thirst for information about how my body worked, how the diet worked and why it worked. I drove my friend crazy with questions, I watched (and still do) an insane amount of YouTube videos on all sorts of topics related to the diet, I read stories of people who had done the diet, and I talked with friends about it. I’ve actually been compiling all of my information in to a document so, when people ask about a resource or for information, I can direct them right to it. I’m even looking into becoming a Dietitian. Because of the Carnivore Diet, I care about making sure my body is functioning to its best and making sure the rest of humanity gets on board. I want to ensure that this diet touches not only my life but my significant other’s, our kids’, and anyone I meet with an open mind.
Kay’s first carnivore diet update
I started off in life with very little understanding of nutrition in general. I was taught the old school food pyramid when I was very young and not much beyond that. I didn’t even know sugar is a carbohydrate!
So it wasn’t too much of a surprise when I went into college weighing 130 pounds and came out weighing 180 pounds on a 5’3″ frame. Almost three years after graduation from college in May 2019, I still had only made it down to 170 pounds and I had just been told by a doctor that (at 25 years old) I was pre-diabetic and had high blood pressure. I had no idea what to do and it shocked me. These were diseases I remembered my grandparents dealing with and I was starting to deal with them before I had even reached 30! With a distrust of the healthcare system’s medications and a quick google search as my guide, I slapped a garlic and CoQ10 supplement band-aid on the problem and continued my old habits.
I thank God everyday I met ‘J’ a month later. J had been on the carnivore diet long enough to know how to get started and teach me the basics. The results were astounding.
I’m down to 150 pounds and still counting. I’m no longer pre-diabetic and my blood pressure is amazing (and I don’t take garlic or CoQ10 – I quit those when I started the diet)! But it’s the surprising little things that I didn’t expect that have really changed my life.
The seasonal allergies I’ve gotten every spring/summer since I was 10 are gone. The lactose intolerance I thought I had must have been something else in my diet as I consume milk products just fine now. I sleep better, I am more energetic, I am happier, and I just feel BETTER. I have never felt this good. But there is an even more amazing trade off.
I never cared about nutrition or diet or going to the gym every day before this diet. I had no idea how my body worked. In fact, a year ago, my daily diet consisted of Monster, Coke, Americanos, Rice Krispie Treats, Fruit Gushers, sugar cookies, candy, and granola bars. If there was sugar or caffeine, it was consumed daily – even more so if you could get both into one product! I felt terrible constantly but didn’t connect that to my diet. I just figured my diet was what was pushing me through whatever was making me feel crappy. It was energy and got me through the day until I could go home and not sleep despite feeling like death. I never cared to know what was going into my body or how my body even worked. I lived by a “don’t read the ingredients” mantra. It tasted sweet and made me feel energetic for 10 minutes and that was enough for me. But this diet changed all that.
The old food pyramid was so ingrained in my brain that the effects I began to see the carnivore diet having on my body boggled me. How can no vegetables and animal fat be good? I had to know why and how it worked. I watched video after video and article after article. I learned about how I get the nutrients on this diet, what they do, how carbohydrates act as fuel vs. how fat acts as fuel, differences between animal fat and vegetable oils, about plant toxicity, oxalates – I learned from every resource I could get my hands on and I am still learning every day.
I have no doubt that the carnivore diet saved my life because it is the first thing that has ever made me take the time to understand how my body works and care about treating it right. And that is a gift that has changed my life forever.
Kay’s second update almost 1.5 years into the Carnivore Diet
1.5 years in and Carnivore is still keeping me in peak condition! Getting excited to see what happens years and years down the line!
Thank you,
Kay
1 thought on “The carnivore diet helped Kay improve blood pressure and OCD”
Wow! Fabulous!!!