Kicking off a carnivore diet experiment. Back in 30 days…
Meat, eggs and water for a month. By choice. Really.
How did we get here?
Over a year ago I made the decision to go keto. I shared every moment on my Instagram. This week I’ve committed to at least 30 days of the carnivore diet. I’m due to write up my ‘conclusions’ on the keto diet — but why am I moving on to carnivore?
In brief, Keto did me a world of good, but it alone — (at least my individual implementation of it of course, I was not consistent for the whole year) — never quite got me hitting the mental and physical highs I was aiming for.
According to my perceived energy readings, and my efforts at bulking — I found that ketosis alone, and the significant reduction of carbs, gave me neither the consistent cognitive sharpness and energy I was after, nor the physical gains I was working hard towards.
This is in no way a criticism of the ketogenic diet, but more a reflection of the fact that my issues with energy no doubt has other factors beyond sugar regulation and my body’s fuel source. I would still more than recommend the ketogenic diet over any other, and believe it to be particularly powerful for applications such as weight-loss and treating insulin resistance for example.
The goal
Put simply: I want to be the best I can be, physically and mentally. To have as many days as possible where I’m energised, in high spirits, charged and ready to take on the world.
I know all too well how it feels to have my energy and mood sapped to a debilitating degree. I also know how it is to feel near invincible and effortlessly power through a day, with killer output at work and social events that result in life-long memories.
The strides I’ve made in recent years has shown to me what progress is possible, and I’m eager to see how far I can take this. Then, through my own learning and experience, I hope to continue to do my best to inspire, educate and support others on their own journey.
Why the carnivore diet?
(if this is the first you’ve heard of the carnivore diet, see this article from PerfectKeto for a good summary)
The key appeal of the carnivore diet for me, is less about the consumption of meat, but more the complete elimination of literally everything else from my diet. Though to be clear, I like meat. I like it a lot.
From the lectins in tomatoes, histamines and oxalates in spinach, lactose in cheese, tannins in dark chocolate, gluten in wheat, isoflavaones in soya — there’s a huge array of weird and wonderful ways in which foods, even those we’ve long considered healthy, can cause inflammation, trigger allergies, inhibit absorption of nutrients, and otherwise perniciously ebb away at your health and energy.
The idea that vegetables could be unnecessary or even harmful is difficult to swallow, with the general consensus among modern diets being in agreement that they are essential. But it does seem, that with the consumption of meat, eggs, and in particular the inclusion of offal such as calf liver — that there’ll be no deficiency of highly bio-available nutrients.
The plan
- At least 30 days of strict carnivore diet:
meat (predominantly beef), eggs, salt and water. - That means no dairy, caffeine, sugars, artificial sweeteners, carbs, condiments, alcohol, cheat meals or even moments
- No supplements at all aside from occasional electrolytes
- Approximately 2,200 calories daily
(although not a target, will eat till satisfied) - 3 workouts a week
alternating between weight-lifting and HIIT (high-intensity training) - Intermittent fasting 16:8 every day of the week
(eating window ~1pm to ~9pm) every day
The tracking
- Instagram — daily updates on all aspects of the journey
- Twitter — daily thoughts and learnings on the journey
- MyFitnessPal — tracking everything I eat and drink
- Google Sheets — to track blood levels, blood pressure, every workout, perceived energy, body tape measurements and more
- Fitbit — tracking sleep, resting heart rate and daily steps
- Blood tests — a snapshot of many relevant bio-markers come end of experiment
Starting data
Keeping the starting data simple, I’ll be focussing on three main groups of metrics: my daily perceived energy levels, boditrax physical stats, and progress photos. Of the remaining data I’ll be tracking (such as blood pressure and ketone readings), I’ll be sure to report back on interesting findings.
Daily perceived energy levels
The best I can do to quantify my daily energy level is to record a perceived energy/mood value on a scale of 1–10, where the upper extreme would be a ‘perfect’ day of super high energy/productivity/mood from start to end.
Important to these readings are that it’s a combination of energy with actual results – reflecting that energy ultimately is a means to an end.
Above are my recorded daily values for 2018 so far, up to the beginning of this experiment. The dip in April is following a visit to New York, which, as per other holidays I’ve had over the past 12 months, were moments where I intentionally took a break from my low-carb ways… putting it gently.
Boditrax Body Scans — 19th July 2018 — Day Zero
Every two weeks I’ll be getting Boditrax scans at my local gym, bio-impedance based scales which return a bunch of interesting physical stats. The body fat calculations are only accurate to a point, but will serve as a helpful relative measurement.
Starting photos taken 19th July 2018 — Day Three
These shots were a last minute decision after quickly realising that the physical transformation is likely to be pretty darn interesting, for better or worse. Taken after a short, lunchtime workout.
Are the tan-lines embarrasing? A little.
Do they make me feel like Jax from Mortal Kombat? Totally.
What next?
Having passed 30 days of this experiment, I’ll return bearing tales of my experience thus far. Assuming carnivore delivers, and has me soaring – I’ll then cautiously restore cheese into the mix. And by cautiously, I of course mean that I’ll dive into a pool of gouda and eat my way out.
As dramatic as keto appeared when starting out, in practice it turned out to be more of an iteration on the low-carb way of eating I had been following for many years. Going carnivore is a drastic departure, and if we subscribe to the idea that doing what you’ve always done, will give you what you’ve always got, then I will no doubt get something different here.
I believe in the holistic approach to health and feel like I have many corners already covered, including sleep, mediation, fasting, exercise, purpose, community and relationships etc. Given this, it’s not so much that I see the carnivore diet as the silver bullet, but it may well prove to be the straw that breaks the camels back…
Will carnivore be the answer? Can we really do without vegetables? Could there be an underlying health issue that diet alone won’t fully resolve? Are my expectations even realistic?
If you’re on a similar journey, hit me up on Twitter or catch me on Instagram and let me know how you’re getting on.
It would be awesome to meat.
Nothing?! Right, I’ll sear myself out.
