Shelly is a “41 year old mother of 6 and grandma of 1!” She works with food also, but finds that it conflicts with her current beliefs about nutrition: “I’m a part time cafe cook (which is actually very frustrating for me because it’s hard serving crap food).” She is also a “trucker/ farm wife.”
Physically Active Lifestyle
Shelly wasn’t the kind of person to just sit around, and had developed an exercise program: “I’ve always been very active working out almost every day with cardio, weights, HIIT, yoga, etc.”
Following Typical (Bad) Food Advice
She was trying to be healthy and worked to follow the most commonly held diet beliefs. She says “When it came to food, I never gave meat up completely, but for years I was following the advice to eat more veggies, eat lean meat and avoid red meat. So, that’s what I did.”
The Ketogenic Sister
Shelly’s sister decided that she wanted to try a different diet: “About 3 years ago, my sister heard of keto and tried it. I thought she was crazy and my opinion was that it sounded ridiculous and extreme.”
Still Gaining Weight: Time to Change!
Over time, Shelly reconsidered the diet that her sister was on because she was still gaining weight. “A year later, my weight kept gradually increasing, so I tried it. At first it was really hard being around sweets. And I forced myself too quickly into fasting and had a rough time with hypoglycemia and brain fog during transition (which also makes me strongly wonder if I was insulin resistant … probably?!).”
Mild Results, Still Problems
Shelly found that “Keto worked for a while but I still followed the “more veggies” advice and continued overeating. I started to get eczema on my hands and struggled with low energy. I know that I must have been sensitive to the anti-nutrients in plants.”
Carnivore Pinterest
She began encountering the carnivore community on Pinterest and became curious about the lifestyle. “I started seeing things about carnivore (on Pinterest of all places lol!). I was seriously thinking of starting January 1st this year, but chickened out.”
Motivated by Problems
Shelly’s problems didn’t let up: “I continued to have eczema and struggled to “go through the motions” to keep up with my family.”
Committing to Carnivore
“May 22… my mind was ready. I said I’d try for 30 days, but within 3 days…I was already convinced! I felt invincible! My energy was endless!!
6 months in and intermittent fasting is easy, no longer get low blood sugar, no more brain fog, and no eczema. But my energy is what keeps me going and my thinking is crystal clear!”
No Going Back
“I have no desire to go back to old ways of eating. Thanks to Dr. Baker and all the others putting out great information about the health benefits of meat and how we’ve been misguided about a lot of nutrition data and advice. -Shelly”