Rachel began the carnivore diet in March 2022. She is 30 years old and has a daughter who was diagnosed with autism when she was three.
Rachel had a stressful marriage that led to depression. Eating made her happy—at least at first—but afterward, she would feel awful. She ate lots of carbs; pasta, bread, Oreos, and sweets were the primary drivers of her weight gain. Her knees and hips were often sore because of her weight. At 5’ 9”, she weighed 236 pounds.
Rachel was medicated for years for her depression and suffered from frequent panic attacks. She had severe heartburn; even a sip of water would set it off. She experienced bloating and bowel problems.
Rachel’s parents lovingly confronted her about taking better care of herself. She knew they were right—she had to be healthy for her daughter. Rachel was inspired by the success of her dad’s carnivore diet.
Rachel’s daughter, now 7, has difficulty expressing herself—she understands the meaning of what is said but can’t always articulate her feelings. She has echolalia and often repeats phrases over and over. Also, her daughter had delayed potty training, mostly from her inability to tell her mom she had to “go.”
Rachel noticed improvements six months after putting her daughter on a “ketovore” diet. Her daughter’s episodes of echolalia have improved; they happen less frequently, and she can “snap out of them” easily.
Also, her daughter took a huge leap in expressing herself. One night, while getting ready for bed, her daughter announced, “No more pull-ups. Only panties now.”
Her daughter continues to follow a “ketovore” diet, and Rachel notices that if she strays from it with sugar or carbs, her mood is less stable and she gets irritable.
During Rachel’s first month on the diet, she had diarrhea and constipation, but after that, her digestion improved. And in just six months, Rachel lost 80 pounds.
Besides her tremendous weight loss, Rachel experienced other health victories. She can lift weights, has more energy, sleeps better, and wakes up feeling refreshed. Her hair is growing thicker, and her knees and hips are no longer painful. Her cycle-related cystic acne has vanished. She is free from heartburn.
Rachel is especially pleased that she doesn’t need the medication she was on for years. She no longer experiences panic attacks, and she now feels mentally better than she did while taking it.
Rachel likes coffee, eggs, sausage, and bacon for breakfast. She’ll have a ribeye or New York strip steak, some shrimp, and bacon for dinner. Rachel enjoys fatty meats and uses butter or tallow when cooking. She prefers conventionally raised beef over grass-fed beef and finds she feels the same eating either. She also eats cheese and adds electrolytes to her water.
“I listen to my body.” Rachel eats when she’s hungry and stops when she’s full. Meat keeps her feeling full, and she no longer snacks or thinks about food all day long.
When she began the carnivore diet, Rachel was on food stamps and broke. She made it work by shopping for meat sales, finding a butcher who accepted food stamps, and getting to the store early to buy any discounted meat. She freezes meat that is on sale or discounted.
Rachel loves her diet and thinks that living a carnivore lifestyle is sustainable.
