Maykell has been following a carnivore diet for two years. In addition to improving his overall body composition, Maykell enjoys better digestion, steady energy, and freedom from anxiety and panic attacks.
The Struggle to Gain Muscle
Maykell was in generally good health when starting his carnivore journey and was mainly looking for the best way to gain muscle and improve his physique.
For years, he would eat upwards of 6,000 calories in an effort to gain weight but never could get there on a carb-heavy diet. “I was skinny-fat,” he tells us. “All of my life, I’ve been trying to gain size or muscle mass. I ate thousands of calories of every carb imaginable. I never really gained size and couldn’t get a muscular body composition.
The X3 Bar Workout System
“I had always been a good powerlifter,” Maykell notes. “I was only 150 pounds, but I could deadlift 505 pounds.” However, he says his strength never translated to him gaining a more muscular appearance. “I was able to lift, but I wasn’t able to gain size even though I was eating huge amounts of food.”
A workout injury caused Maykell to take a month off from weight training. While he was recovering at home, he saw an advertisement for the X3 bar workout system.
Invented by Dr. John Jaquish, the X3 training system consists of variable resistance training, utilizing powerful resistance bands along with weighted bars for better resistance. “I saw that Dr. Jaquish ate only steaks, so I figured I would give it a try.”
Transition to a Carnivore Diet
Maykell started with a ketogenic diet and eventually switched to a meat-based diet of mostly steak and eggs. “On keto, even when I limited myself to just 20 carbs per day, I always experienced gas and bloating. I found that when I ate only steak and eggs, I had none of those issues.” He has slowly transitioned to eating up to 7 pounds of meat per day, depending on the level of training he is doing.
Benefits of a Carnivore Diet
The combination of a carnivore diet and X3 training has finally given Maykell the physique he was aiming for, including a six-pack!
Over the last two years, Maykell has successfully incorporated fasting (up to 48 hours at a time), and he recently shifted to eating primarily raw meat. This approach made it easy for Maykell to tour with his band, and he recalls having the easiest time on the road while his bandmates struggled to digest fast food meals.
“I would just grab frozen steaks from my cooler and throw them on the dashboard to thaw,” he explains with a smile. “All the guys would have stomach pain, but the guy eating raw steaks was perfectly fine!” To save money, he stocks up on sale-priced t-bone, rib eye, and London broil.
“I love the simplicity,” Maykell says. “I haven’t gotten sick at all, I sleep better, and I have steady energy all day.” He finds avoiding carbs keeps his anxiety and panic attacks away. “It’s just wonderful! It’s completely different than how I felt before.”
