I have been reading about it quite a lot, but there are so many different sources talking about the benefits and drawbacks. There’s just too much contradiction when it comes to nutrition, and there are also some great success stories from them. I have no idea which to believe, that would actuallty be beneficial for my body. Is there a way to figure this out easily.
No one diet is great or not: it’s a matter of context and goals.
The carnivore diet is nutritional intervention and an elimination diet. I found it incredibly helpful in overcoming a lifetime of digestion issues and getting back in touch with natural hunger and satiety signals, after being a lifetime binge eater. It’s also been great from a nutritional simplicity perspective.
If one’s goal was to become as large as physically possible, the carnivore diet would make pursuit of that goal incredibly difficult.
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Love this. I was at dinner last night with a gentleman who revealed his “champagne and filet” diet. He was looking at a menu and wanted steak and a cocktail. He saw the caloric difference between wines and sugary drinks and then between different cuts of steak. He had the epiphany “I like ribeye, but I’m just as happy with filet, and I save 600 calories.” His non-sacrifice diet was born, and he lost (and maintained) over 20 lbs without feeling restricted.
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without feeling restricted.
I really feel like this is the key for long term compliance, which, as Stan Efferding put “Compliance is the science”. If you have to white knuckle a diet, it’s never going to last, and the end result is going to be a binge to counter balance all that restriction. We see this on the micro level with trainees that eat like birds all day and then eat a gallon of ice cream before bed in a fugue-like binge state, just to repeat the whole process again the next day.
Carnivore really fits me, because I don’t like plants nearly as much as I like meat and eggs. I never feel restricted when I sit down and look at a plate of beef ribs and sunny side up eggs. I think to myself “Holy cow, I GET to eat like this?!” Other people would look at such a plate and be aghast at the lack of mashed potatoes, corn, dinner rolls and sweet dessert.
I like the analogy of a dog with kibble. You can have a dog for 15 years, feed it kibble for every meal, and every SINGLE meal that dog will be excited. It will drool, wag it’s tail, and prance for that meal. We should be like dogs. If we AREN’T that way with our food, we should figure out why.
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What exactly are you trying to do?
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It will “work” for its stated goals but leaves a lot of nutrition on the table over other diets that will help you accomplish the same goals.
There are literal libraries of studies to reference for this.
Fad isn’t efficacy.
Keep in mind the carnivore diet creator doesn’t even follow his own original diet anymore, due to deficiencies.
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Keep in mind the carnivore diet creator doesn’t even follow his own original diet anymore, due to deficiencies.
Who would you say is the creator of the diet?
An existential question.
For the context here it’s not hard to trace the marketed diet, and the recommendation reversals.
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I guess my question more directly is, who specifically were you referring to in that instance?
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I would love to see Quad Queen’s comment on this discussion.
You can tag her @QuadQueen if you’re so inclined. She’s spoken about it before, and offers an informed, balanced and rational perspective without having to resort to making up stories. As far as I’m aware, she even assisted @TrainForPain in navigating a carnivore experiment.
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‘Tis true and agreed all-around
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And here it is…
While I’m definitely not an advocate for the Carnivore Diet in most cases, for some people and for a limited period of time, it can be a tool - this is true with all elimination diets. My preference is always going to lean to a more sustainable, diet for life approach that is going to look more Paleo-ish making the concession that all foods fit, but all foods don’t fit all the time. That being said, I have used short term elimination diets, keto, AIP, FODMAP, etc. with many of my clients based on their needs, goals, health and mindsets.
The best diet for one is not the best diet for all. You have to find the diet you can stick to, leaves you looking, feeling and performing your best, and that optimizes physical, mental and emotional health.
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Thank you.
Experimenting and documenting
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Very consistently controlled variables plus consistent application over time… 4 to 6 months should suffice.
Document all outcomes, etc… then add 1 variable and repeat
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6 months!
Disagree… people lack discipline and the fortitude to use the right tool, i.e. eating pattern, for their desired outcomes.
Carnivore seems to evoke knee jerk reactions from some when in reality it is the evolutionary, biologically, physiologically proper human eating pattern
Sticking to “what works” for you is removing agency and willpower on their part
That said… leveraging certain nutrients or macros, carbs, can possibly be beneficial under some circumstances
Obviously the question isn’t directed at me the foremost promoters seem to be Dr. Paul Saladino, Dr. Shawn Baker, and Dr. Anthony Chafee.
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