Carnivore is Minimalism
I’m 45 days into the carnivore diet. While the physical health benefits have been great, that has not been the most profound effect. What has changed is something that was not anticipated. Looking back in hindsight it makes sense that these two ideas are linked. Eating a carnivore diet has me embracing minimalism.

It only makes sense. What is more minimalist than eating only meat? I’ve done paleo, keto, lowered my carb intake, and just the standard American diet. There were all these rules and disagreements between experts, what was or was not “Whole 30 friendly”, was my fat to protein ratio correct, what’s the glycemic index of this or that fruit. It takes quite a bit of time and research to make sure you are doing these diets correctly. The standard American diet was the easiest from a rule perspective because I just ate what I was hungry for.
Carnivore is so easy because there isn’t any gray area where I can sneak in some cheats. Is there anything other than meat in this dish? If yes, don’t eat it. There is no debate or going back and forth in my mind trying to remember if something like cashews are ok or not. It’s a steak, I eat it. It’s a plant, I don’t eat it. There’s no further thought process. That’s alot of mental energy freed up. I also eat when I’m hungry and don’t eat if I’m not. There is no calorie counting or balancing ratios. I don’t limit my eating window to fast a certain amount of time. However, I do end up doing much intermittent fasting without even trying.
This simplicity has bled into other areas of my life. Those boxes full of stuff in my garage is either completely organized or has been donated to goodwill. My living room is spotless. I threw out about a third of the clothes in my closet. I’ve developed a consistent routine that has allowed me to accomplish more each day. I have simplified my workout that instead of pushing myself to the limit I workout to the point that I leave the gym energized. I want to so bad but haven’t thrown out half the kitchen cookware I don’t use anymore. What good is a toaster on the Carnivore diet?
Carnivore causes minimalism. This may just be a correlation but follow along with me on this hypothesis. First off, the energy deciding what’s for dinner, checking if it fits my diet, getting the ingredients, and cooking is all freed up. Granted, I still have to cook but prep is pretty easy and my time at the grocery store is practically nothing. It’s only lengthened because the meat section is in the back of the grocery store. That energy can be used to complete maybe 1 more task each day. It’s not much but 1 task a day will add up. The second reason is that my energy levels on this diet are much more stable. Before I would get random bursts and then pits of fatigue. It’s hard to schedule tasks if I can’t predict how I’m going to feel throughout the day. If I know I have a large block of time with sustainable energy I can plan it out. That plan allows me to cut wasted time. Also, I can put on my task list things like- organize all the towels in my closet. Lastly, I’m addicted to simplicity. I like not having to think too much about dinner. That turns into- I don’t want to think too much about what shirt to wear. I don’t like looking at all this junk in my living room. I want to wake up at the same time everyday. I don’t want to go shopping for that trinket I don’t really need.
Carnivore is minimalism.