Half the Man, Twice the Health: Shawn’s 175lb Carnivore Transformation

Shawn S. from San Diego, a 51-year-old IT professional, found his life irrevocably changed following a routine checkup in March 2024. Weighing 350 pounds and facing his wife’s alarming A1C level of 14, the “diabetes diagnosis really uh scared me,” Shawn admits. This fear, however, became the catalyst for a profound health journey for his entire household, leading Shawn to lose half his body weight and resolve debilitating chronic conditions through a transition to a keto and then an essentially carnivore diet.

The Wake-Up Call: A Doctor’s Visit and a Stark Reality

Neither Shawn nor his wife had had a physical checkup in “quite a while” before their March 2024 visit. While his wife was more concerned about his health at 350 pounds, it was her A1C of 14 that delivered the shock. “We realized that we needed to make some changes and um that was really what sparked everything for us,” Shawn explains. The doctor’s immediate advice was stark: “you guys need to cut out the carbs and eat less than 1500 calories a day”.

Determined to support his wife, Shawn committed to overhauling their lifestyle. “I kind of decided that in order for me to help her with the diabetes I was going to do whatever it took… I was going to do the same I was going to eat the same food,” he recalls. The first step was decisive: “I took a bag around the house and threw out all of the junk food”. Though initially an unpopular decision, it marked the beginning of their transformation.

From Calorie Counting to Carnivore: A Family’s Dietary Evolution

For about a month, Shawn and his wife adhered to the 1500-calorie, low-carb advice. Soon, their research led them to keto. “We started really going down the keto road heavily with uh low carb everything no carb as much as possible,” Shawn says. A key realization was that “you could always eat as much meat or at least uh you could eat meat and not consume any carbs”. This led them to heavily incorporate meat, eggs, and real grass-fed butter while diligently removing seed oils and processed foods, eventually arriving at a diet that is “essentially carnivore with a little keto mixed in once in a while”.

Their commitment had a ripple effect. Shawn’s wife’s adult son, who also lived with them and was trying to lose weight with cardio and protein shakes, observed their success and “also adopted the keto part of it and uh still still eats that way as well”. Now, all three members of the household follow the same dietary principles and have experienced success.

A Household Transformed: Dramatic Health Reversals

The results have been nothing short of astounding. In approximately a year, Shawn went from 350 pounds to 175 pounds, literally halving his body weight. His wife’s A1C plummeted from a critical 14 to a healthy 5.2 by January (about 10 months into the diet), and she also lost around 80 pounds.

For Shawn, the benefits extended far beyond weight loss. Severe arthritis in his knees, which once caused such pain he sought urgent care and was facing a referral to an orthopedic surgeon, “is pretty much all but going away”. He attributes this to both the weight loss and the diet itself, noting that knee pain can return if he eats something he shouldn’t. His lifelong battle with psoriasis, for which he had been on various biologic medications like Skyrizi and Bimzelix without complete success, has also seen a dramatic turnaround. “It was only until the diet kicked in that you saw complete [relief],” he confirms. “I feel like I am pretty much going to be able to get myself off of everything from psoriasis I don’t have any where it’s really um noticeable anymore”.

A New Lease on Life: Energy, Clarity, and Well-Being

“From a standpoint of just overall healthiness I never felt better,” Shawn declares. The constant tiredness he used to experience is gone. He also realized he had “brain fog” only after it disappeared with the dietary changes. His newfound energy has even changed his perspective on exercise. “I actually don’t mind exercising anymore it used to feel like I had to really force myself to do that and I just don’t anymore I just I just want to,” he says, enjoying walks and using an elliptical. He also incorporates fasting, including occasional 72-hour fasts, which he feels “kind of resets your body”. Remarkably, despite the massive weight loss, he reports surprisingly little loose skin.

Their family physician has noted the positive changes during regular checkups, with no concerns raised about cholesterol or other markers; in fact, Shawn’s initially high triglycerides improved.

Embracing a Simpler Way of Eating

Shawn typically eats lunch and dinner, skipping breakfast, a habit influenced by his exploration of intermittent fasting. Meals often consist of eggs, cheese, and meat like chicken or beef, sometimes meal-prepped carne asada, or burger patties. He’s even been learning to cook steaks in new ways, including using a high-temperature broiler. He finds that meat provides true satiation, eliminating the constant cravings he experienced with carb-heavy diets. Contrary to what some might expect, their grocery expenses haven’t increased, as they now focus on buying meat and eggs in bulk and are no longer purchasing processed foods and other items.

Looking Forward: A Life Reclaimed

The dramatic transformation, sparked by his wife’s diagnosis, “scared me enough to click something in my brain that really made me want to change,” Shawn reflects. Now, at his ideal weight and feeling better than ever, he has no desire to return to his old ways. The journey has been so visually striking that his extended family comments he now looks just like his naturally slender father. Shawn S.’s story is a powerful example of how a commitment to dietary change, undertaken with family support, can lead to a complete reclamation of health and vitality.