How to do the Carnivore Diet 2025

How to do the Carnivore Diet 2025

As someone who has been on Carnivore for going on 4 years, I constantly see people stating online that they are starting Carnivore, only to see them lapse within the first few weeks and bail.  Some say it is because Carnivore isn't for everyone, but in reality it is.  It is our species specific diet, but more on that later.  In the meantime, I would suggest people adopt an elimination mindset and start by removing various food groups from their menu gradually.  It took you how long to get to this point?  How many other "diets" have you tried and failed on?  How many fads?  This may be one of them, though it would be the longest existing one, dating back hundreds of thousands of years.

 
 Start with drinks; quit drinking sugar. Soda, high sugar drinks including fruit juice, lattes, Starbucks coffees, and energy drinks, and Prime (Not mine :) ) then introduce more nutrient dense food.  Alternatives can include sparkling water, anything low in sugar content (lemon water was an option at one point), bone broth, and my current go to, electrolytes. For the coffee enthusiasts, bulletproof coffee is an option, where people use heavy cream and butter added to their morning coffee, or whenever they want a fat boost.  At the beginning of Carnivore, unless you suffer from an autoimmune disorder, I suggest wading into it and not jumping into the deep end, as many set themselves up for failure this way.  This applies to everyone who is overcoming an addiction or dependence on a substance; gradual elimination is better than cold turkey and easier to adapt to. Your body will also thank you, as each stage of elimination comes with side effects; some tend to tie you to a lavatory for prolonged durations, so ensure your phone is always charged...


Next, start cutting out the sweet stuff; this will include fruit eventually.  It is quite frightening when you look at the caloric density of certain items and then compare them to the nutritional density.  Take cookies!  High in calories, tasty as hell, and with little to no nutritional value, in fact, they can cause negatives when combined with other foods, or just by themselves; they pack on the pounds.  I have eaten my fair share of bags, boxes, and sleeves; I loved them all so much; I became a pastry chef because of them.  Fat and sugar are a dangerous combination, but don't discount savory because items like chips and crackers can be just as bad.  I'm a fan of both, and there are alternatives but not as frequently sought after; I guess it depends on the person.  Jerky, pickled eggs and sausage, and meat crisps are all viable options.


As you eliminate items from your menu, your goal is to next reduce your carbohydrate intake; this is to enable your body to acclimate to utilizing ketones (fat) for fuel over glycogen (carbs), and you should be focusing on starches, legumes, and grains as the next candidates for extermination.  You can save the leafy variety for later, and don't even bother thinking that squashes will be visited again!  The target is about 50 grams a day, then 20, and then none. That is when you are a full carnivore and can survive on ketones and eventually incorporate fasting and eating windows.  This is a gradual process, not something that can be attained within a couple of days, but a couple of months.  It takes your body anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks to acclimate, and if you don't, your energy levels will fluctuate. And again, make sure your phone is charged.

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