Rhonda had worked at losing weight for a long time without success. Before carnivore, Rhonda was “keto for nine months, without very much to show for it. I did not realize I was insulin resistant then, and even going down to 10 grams nothing happened. I lost a few inches but then another Instagram follower suggested I try carnivore for a week, and I said ‘Okay, well I can do anything for a week. It’ll be two years in March and I never went back because when I got rid of the plants everything started changing for me.”
She learned that plant toxins, specifically lectins and oxalates, had been a problem all along. “I realized I had lectin and oxalate issues, and I used to be a vegan! And I used to be so big as a vegan; I had a 44” waist.”
Rhonda suffered from a variety of issues: “I had skin issues, eczema, leaky gut, autoimmune issues, a lot of things. It was all leaning to my gut. I also had constipation and bleeding hemorrhoids on keto.”
She had blood sugar problems, saying, “Way back when I was young, like 20, they diagnosed me with low blood sugar, and I was on a low-carb diet, but I had no education. I wasn’t told to stay on this the rest of my life. I stayed on it 7 or 8 years, and then, you know, you get married, have kids, and eat whatever. But I found out that low blood sugar is the precursor to insulin resistance, and insulin resistance is a precursor to diabetes.”
Rhonda looked for information and found Dr. Baker. “Shawn Baker was the first carnivore I started following. And he said ‘eat till you’re not hungry.’ I followed that for a year and half, and I did well. But then at Thanksgiving, I ‘splurged’ and ate 8 grams of carbs. Two bites of my Mom’s stuffing and two bites of sweet potato—that was it. The rest was zero-carb. Three hours later my blood sugar was 171, and I came to the rude awakening that I needed to add some fat and drop my protein a little bit.”
Her blood sugar is much more stable: “Ever since I’ve done that, my blood sugar’s been perfect. I don’t think it’s ever been higher than 109 since I’ve done that.”
Rhonda’s pain is also gone: “Since raising my fat, I realize that I’m not in pain anymore. I would have to go to the chiropractor every week, and get a massage every month, because of my job, you know, you’re always hurting. I do hair. Since I’ve added the fat, I have no pain at all, anywhere!”
Rhonda loves the visible change: “Inflammation’s gone. When I look at a ‘before’ picture you can see all the inflammation, you’re all bloated, your eyes are sunken back, and all of that is gone. My skin is clear. I feel like, I don’t know, like anti-aging…it’s so healing! Give it time.”
