The carnivore diet has helped Touko control his weight and health. Touko was diagnosed with celiac disease when he was six years old, so he has been eliminating gluten from his diet for most of his life. However, besides avoiding gluten, Touko says before he found the carnivore diet, he “ate everything I could get my hands on.”
Fortunately, besides his weight, Touko didn’t suffer from ailments usually associated with a high-carbohydrate diet. Still, Touko says he isn’t a very tall person, and the excess weight was holding him back. He knew he wanted to get his weight under control. One day he stumbled across an advocate of the carnivore diet. He heard the speaker talk about only eating steaks, and Touko thought the concept of the carnivore diet sounded crazy. He couldn’t wrap his mind around eating only one type of food yet still getting all the nutrients his body needed.
Over the course of six months, Touko researched the carnivore diet and learned that getting all the nutrients he needed from meat was possible. He decided to try the diet to see if it could help him lose weight. Touko says in the beginning, he did have some transitional issues, mainly mild cramping when he played sports, which eventually went away. He also says in the beginning, he ate a variety of meat, including beef, pork, fish, and chicken, as his body adjusted to his new way of eating.
Touko lost all his excess weight, just over 15 kilograms, following the carnivore diet. Three years later, he still follows a meat-based lifestyle. Today Touko focuses on eating two meals a day, usually a steak for lunch and an omelet with cheese or yogurt for dinner. Touko says one of his favorite things about the carnivore diet is he doesn’t have to think about what he’s eating. The carnivore diet takes the guesswork out of meal planning because he eats the same delicious foods daily. He says, “I enjoy eating the food I eat, and there is no need to count macros.”
The carnivore diet has also helped Touko have more energy and better results at the gym. Touko started going to the gym to work out around the time he started following the carnivore way of eating. He feels his diet and going to the gym to work to strength train go hand-in-hand to benefit his health.
Touko says his advice to anyone looking to begin the carnivore diet is to “make sure you enjoy what your eating.” Touko says it doesn’t matter if you eat beef, chicken, or pork– you must enjoy your meals. Touko says, for him, the key to success has been looking forward to steak and eggs every day. He also says if you struggle with cravings for something sweet, ensure you are eating enough. “A full stomach helps with cravings.”
Touko loves his life as a carnivore diet follower. Eating a meat-based diet simplifies his life and helps him control his weight. Touko says he is planning to be a lifelong carnivore diet follower. He says, “I’m not going back.”
