Shawn had built his career around saving the lives of strangers in crisis, but as he approached his early thirties, this busy paramedic realized he needed to come to his own rescue. Weighing in at 335 pounds, Shawn had a growing list of health concerns, including high hypertension, elevated blood sugar, and GERD, a digestive disease in which stomach acid or bile irritates the lining of the esophagus. “Once I noticed my blood pressure had reached in the 150s over 90s while I was standing still not doing anything, I decided it was time to do something. I figured I was too young to start taking medications.”
No stranger to dieting, Shawn had always struggled with his weight. He first decided to try a whole food vegan approach to eating, and had some initial success for a month or two. “I saw significant weight loss at first, and probably lost about 30 to 40 pounds. But I felt like crap,” he says. “I got tired of the food very quickly, and so I started researching other options, and added meat back into my diet. I needed it!”
The next phase of his health journey led Shawn to follow a meat-heavy ketogenic diet, which did include some vegetables. “Over the next year, I lost all the way down to 200 pounds,” he recalls, “and all of my medication issues pretty much went away, except for the depression and some lingering joint pain.” Part of his job includes heavy lifting at odd angles, so he continued to have discomfort in his shoulders and knees. The ketogenic diet did help with this pain as well as his issues with GERD, but he felt something was still missing.
Inspired by the success stories of Dr. Shawn Baker and others in the carnivore community, Shawn decided to give it a try for himself. “Within a month of switching to carnivore, my chronically inflamed left shoulder was completely healed, after I had suffered for 6 months of pain every day. It didn’t bother me at all.” In addition, Shawn’s heartburn/GERD and depression completely disappeared. The ketogenic diet, with an emphasis on meat, had already helped to resolve his hypertension and high blood sugar, and those continued to remain stable while following the carnivore lifestyle.
“My weight stagnated around 200 pounds for about eight months while on the keto diet,” Shawn shares. “Since I’ve switched to carnivore, my last weight was 174 pounds, and I can tell I definitely have put on a lot more muscle, even though I don’t work out heavily and do mainly bodyweight exercises.” He’s also seen great improvement in his strength, and reports now being able to do an impressive ten bodyweight pull-ups.
“Pretty much the only time I have flare-ups with joint pain or digestive issues is when I eat something I shouldn’t have. Other than that, I have no issues with GERD, digestion, or constipation.” Shawn is still working on improving his sleep health, which can be a challenge as he often works 24 hours shifts. He’s found that one meal a day of meat, cheese, eggs and bacon meets his needs. “I’ve seen such drastic improvements,” he says. “I love it, and I don’t see any reason to go back from carnivore.”
