I’m 3 weeks into a strict Carnivore Diet and it’s been pretty great. The headaches I used to get have almost completely gone away and my energy level is significantly up. I’m able to stay productive far longer throughout the day than I was before. The amount of sleep I’m getting is about the same but the quality of sleep seems to have improved. On the days where I get less sleep than I’d like I’m still able to function pretty well. That was not the case in my pre-carnivore days.
Overall, I’m pretty happy with my results. However, there has been a negative side effect. My cardio sucks!
I regularly run 5Ks. On average, I do one every week and track my times every run. So when I decided to run a 5K on day 6 of the Carnivore Diet it was very noticeable the difference. Halfway through the run I was huffing and puffing way more than usual and my pace was well behind what I normally shoot for. I pushed through using all the will power I had and finished the 5K. My time was not good. That was pretty disappointing considering the effort I had put into that run. Usually when I push myself that hard I have a great time to show for it but instead it was the worst time I’ve had in years.
This effect has also been noticeable when I play soccer. I’m on a rec team that plays every Sunday. There are no numbers to track but I find myself wanting to sub out much sooner because I’m just straight up winded.
I just completed my second 5K today (day 21) and although my time wasn’t great it was better than the run I did on day 6. I have a hypothesis why this might be. Many of the Keto and Carnivore Diet people I listen to talk about being ‘fat adapted’. Here’s the idea. Our diets are very carbohydrate heavy and our bodies have adapted to use those carbohydrates as a fuel source. This included myself, I used to down a stupid amount of fruit. When switching to a Keto or Carnivore diet you cut off almost all of the carbohydrates and now your body needs to switch to fat as a fuel source. I feel like I’m pretty well ‘fat adapted’ when it comes to everyday regular functions. But when it comes to more intense workouts I’m not there yet. I had good carb-fueled cardio but I’m starting from scratch because I need to build up my fat-fueled cardio.
I can’t deny the poor short-term effects of this diet on my cardio. I’m hopeful this will improve as I get more ‘fat adapted’. I’ll continue to track my times and whether it’s good or bad I’ll report them in a later Medium post.