Laney lost weight, improved anemia and fatigue on a carnivore diet

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It’s New Year’s Eve 2018, and this time last year I was making lists and action plans for how I might once-and-for-all get to the bottom of my digestion problems. “This will be the year,” I would think as I would set out at the top of that willpower mountain only to make a steady trail downwards and backwards. I would tell myself, I will drink more water than ever, I’ll eat kale, collards, and spinach, I’ll cut down on meat to once a week max… I’ll have my plate be mostly vegetables.

I tried soaking my grains, slow cooking my food, juice fasts, bone broth fasts, water fasts, I tried yoga postures for digestion, a regular evening walk, going vegan, vegetarian, pescatarian, gluten free, grain free, paleo… I did the Whole Life Challenge three times, the Whole30 several times a year, I tried staying on the Whole30 for 100 days…

I did the GAPs diet, I tried eating only once a day; eating 3 times a day; grazing all day; not eating after 4pm, I tried the Low Fodmap diet, the SCD, I saw doctors and specialists, I had abdominal x-rays, ultrasounds, a colonoscopy… I worked with a nutritionist (for a year!), received regular acupuncture, took Chinese herbs, went to naturopaths, did colon cleanses, saw Mayan Abdominal massage therapists…

At one point I tested positive for SIBO and stuffed myself with supplements like goldenseal, oil of oregano, bitters and all manner of digestive enzymes, Berbercap, 5htp, ABD5, Interphase, Floradix. I did two rounds of Rifaximin and Neomycin but the SIBO kept coming back.

I was “being so good”, doing everything I was supposed to be doing! I’d see slight improvements but eventually all of my symptoms would return. Nothing was actually healing me. And not only was I chronically constipated, I had all kinds of mysterious health issues about which doctors would always shrug and say, “Let’s just watch it and see”. I was always getting “benign tumors” including a lump under my arm, a lipoma on my shoulder blade, an enchondroma in my finger that caused the bone to fracture, a uterine fibroid, fibrocystic breast tissue…

I had mysterious skin rashes, rosacea, vision problems, and constant whooshing (tinnitus) in my left ear. I had problems falling and staying asleep, I had bizarre inflammation flare-ups in my joints including one in my knee that was so debilitating that I could not walk without a cane for several months. I had interstitial cystitis, irregular cycles, headaches (including ocular migraines), and I was also depressed, anxiety-ridden and anemic. There were days when I could manage to go to a barre class only come home and sit parked in the driveway for half an hour or more trying to muster the energy to walk to my front door.

I was miserable. I was red-faced and so bloated that I looked 5 months pregnant. I would wake up with a day planned and by 10 in the morning I would have to start cancelling things because I was so inflamed/in pain/bloated/exhausted and emotionally drained. I was missing out on time with my kids, with my husband, my friends, my life.

I felt I had tried everything and I was miserable. And then I tried going keto. I started seeing a slight shift in regularity, I started having more energy and better moods, I was sleeping better… I started learning everything I could about ketosis and macros! I was tracking and peeing on sticks and trying amazing keto recipes like graham crackers with cream cheese frosting!!

Then I heard about micronutrients and slammed on the breaks. The fear set in and I was worried that I might not be getting what I needed if I wasn’t eating my greens and other “superfoods” so I added collards back in and immediately the tinnitus came back. I added in berries and avocado and I became constipated again, my energy dropped, the moodswings returned.

Then one night I was listening to Anthony Gustin’s podcast and heard Dr. Shawn Baker talking about carnivory. I thought, you know what? I have tried EVERYthing else… What have I got to lose by trying one more thing? So, I threw my hands up and went carnivore.

That was September and now, 4 months later, every single one of those symptoms I mentioned above have disappeared. In six weeks went from 156lbs to 127lbs (and have now stopped weighing myself because I couldn’t care less about the scale). I went from CIC (chronic idiopathic constipation) to having several -at least two- bowel movements every day. I can make plans with confidence because I am no longer a slave to mysterious physical and mental health issues.

Today my diet is simple. There is no guesswork, recipe scouring or fretting over whether this dish is “legal”. I eat mainly beef, pork, elk, and fish. I can have small amounts of cheese but I don’t do well on eggs or yogurt. I do not miss anything that I used to eat. I do not feel left out when others partake in things I cannot eat because I have my health back and that is way more delicious than anything else imaginable! 

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4 thoughts on “Laney lost weight, improved anemia and fatigue on a carnivore diet”

    1. Omg! You seriously said my story. I’m only a few months carnivore and just joined this group because I know the benefits will reap! Thanks very much for your story

    2. I too know the pain, frustration and financial loss of trying everything and doing every protocol meticulously right. So glad it all stops here with carnivore. You look amazing! Thank you for sharing your story with us.

    3. This is me too, almost exactly! I will be starting carnivore tomorrow morning. I have felt hopeless for the last year. Have you had results since you posted?

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