Been doing (mostly) carnivore for the last 3 days

[ironfist]

For various reasons (vaccine injury, pots) I have been doing carnivore mostly for the last 3 days.

What is giving me these huge amounts of energy?

Pots seems better.

Not gonna lie, it's mostly bacon, and I feel so wonderful after eating it. It's like caffeine almost.

 

[area51puy]

Adrenaline and cortisol

 

[SamYo123]

Do some edurance then see how you feel lol

 

[Vileplume]

I felt good for about a month on carnivore, then just got more and more rekt until the hole was so deep I couldn’t see out of it.

I think low fiber and plant toxins is why people feel good on it at first. It’s anti-inflammatory until the lack of dietary glucose/calcium and high phosphate really compounds.

 

[tankasnowgod]

For various reasons (vaccine injury, pots) I have been doing carnivore mostly for the last 3 days.

What is giving me these huge amounts of energy?

Pots seems better.

Not gonna lie, it's mostly bacon, and I feel so wonderful after eating it. It's like caffeine almost.

Could be lowered serotonin and cortisol. If you want to do a "Peaty" experiment, try adding orange juice, or even real sugar soda, to the same carnivore diet, and see what happens.

 

[animalcule]

Depending on your previous diet, it could also just be a lot more b12 than you usually take in? Plus, if you've had digestion issues before, the lack of fiber/starch might be making things run more smoothly, less energy being put towards that, making you feel lighter, etc. Not sure. I did carnivore for a while until, like @Vileplume, it destroyed me and left me wishing I'd never played with my diet to begin with. This is very common among carnivore dieters, despite what you may hear on carnivore forums. Be careful!

 

[ironfist]

I felt good for about a month on carnivore, then just got more and more rekt until the hole was so deep I couldn’t see out of it.

I think low fiber and plant toxins is why people feel good on it at first. It’s anti-inflammatory until the lack of dietary glucose/calcium and high phosphate really compounds.

Will you explain more about how badly you felt, how you resolved it, and why?

 

[ironfist]

Depending on your previous diet, it could also just be a lot more b12 than you usually take in? Plus, if you've had digestion issues before, the lack of fiber/starch might be making things run more smoothly, less energy being put towards that, making you feel lighter, etc. Not sure. I did carnivore for a while until, like @Vileplume, it destroyed me and left me wishing I'd never played with my diet to begin with. This is very common among carnivore dieters, despite what you may hear on carnivore forums. Be careful!

I have taken B12 and it doesn't do anything. In fact, methyl B12 makes me feel horrible, and common B12 makes me feel ok, and then after a couple days worse.

Wouldn't fiber make waste easier?

Can you tell more about the way it made you feel bad? What is the reason no one mentions these on forums?

 

[ironfist]

Could be lowered serotonin and cortisol. If you want to do a "Peaty" experiment, try adding orange juice, or even real sugar soda, to the same carnivore diet, and see what happens.

Honey?

 

[Omen]

I'm in a similar situation, coincidentally on day 3 as well (since starting it again). Recently I cut out the one black coffee I was consuming with breakfast and my stomach/digestion seems a lot better so hoping that was what was holding my healing back as all of my reintroduction attempts continued to fail.

I have POTS as well and I was forced to do this diet because it was the only thing that stopped me from declining. Literally went a month without going to the bathroom. I would only go this route if I was forced to (which I was) and once the gut/intestines are healed I would try reintroducing other foods.

If you are a guy and in good enough condition to do some weight training or body weight exercises you could always try carb back-loading - this has worked for me in the past but it might not be for everyone.

 

[Blossom]

I did it for many months and honestly don’t regret it. For me it was neither a panacea (yet helpful) nor a disaster. I did use mainly honey for carbs when I felt I needed them. I learned a lot from the experience and my system got a much needed rest. It was never something I wanted to do for the rest of my life but it was an excellent way for me to quickly feel better. Some people do seem to thrive on more meat than we’ve been led to believe is healthy and I personally tolerate it better than any other food. Just stay mindful of how you honestly feel and listen to your body signals.
The transition back to a mixed diet can be quite challenging though.

 

[Waynish]

Ya cycle your diet intuitively and stop being neurotically analytical unlike every other animal.

 

[animalcule]

I have taken B12 and it doesn't do anything. In fact, methyl B12 makes me feel horrible, and common B12 makes me feel ok, and then after a couple days worse.

Wouldn't fiber make waste easier?

Can you tell more about the way it made you feel bad? What is the reason no one mentions these on forums?

Interesting. B12 in whole foods vs synthentic B12 might make a difference, but who knows.

I have found that insoluble fibrous foods seem to cause constipation and bloating rather than... ease of transit. But my digestion is also not very strong at this point, and was way worse when I was on carnivore.

The biggest issue carnivore caused was intense, unrelenting nausea. I also started getting little bruises on my arms and legs, out of nowhere. I was constantly irritated, very high strung, moody, and had just insane PMS (probably could be considered PMDD). The more fat I ate, the more nauseous I became, so I started eating less fat, and then less food altogether because I was so nauseated by the sight/smell of meat. By the end, meat just seemed to sit in my stomach. My breath became fruity smelling (possibly in keto acidosis), and I felt like acid was running up the back of my throat whenever I bent over even slightly. I had problems controlling my blood pressure, and felt dizzy and faint when I stood up too quickly. Nausea was constant. Fatigue and irritability became constant. I had lost weight, skinnier than I'd been in high school, and yet my stomach seemed puffed out and almost distended by the end of the day, despite eating very little and only eating meat. Whenever I went off of carnivore, I had massive reactions to non-meat foods (intense feelings of depression and doom, sleep paralysis, more intense bloating and joint inflammation, etc), but at a certain point, I realized that staying on carnivore put me in just as bad a state as going off of it. At least when I ate non-carnivore, I wasn't plagued by the nausea. So... I quit the diet.

Everyone will have a different tolerance for this type of diet. My memory of the carnivore community is that the more problems a person was having on the diet, the more strictly they were encouraged to adhere to the diet. Any sort of cravings were just 'addictions' to sugar/carb, and you were supposed to ignore them. Eat more fat. Eat more meat. Maybe add electrolytes. But keep removing more and more foods until you were at the beef/salt/water ideal, the diet that supposedly no one could do poorly on. This is trash advice, and can be incredibly damaging depending on the state you were in when you started the diet, and how long you persist in following it despite negative side effects. Funny how following the 'evolutionarily ideal' diet means rejecting any and all food cravings that don't align with what you "should" eat, and ignoring all bodily cues except those that you are told are correct.
Best case scenario is probably as @Blossom said, listening to your body signals and taking in carbs as needed -- if you decide to continue the carnivore route. The problem that most people have though, especially people who are obese or ill, is that they cannot tease apart which body signals should be listened to, and which ones are coming from a place of habit and can be safely ignored. It's a very tough place to be in and it adds to the danger of following someone else's prescription of a 'healthy diet.' If you follow the space long enough, you'll also notice that the advice of the 'experts' changes -- Saladino once preached that meat/organs only was all one needed to be healthy. It was only when he started experiencing negative side effects himself that he changed course and now advocates for eating fruit and honey. Funny, that. Saladino 1.0 would have told me that I must not be doing the diet right if I was feeling so ill on it, because meat/organs is the only evolutionarily appropriate diet. But, if I'd done the diet a couple years later, Saladino 2.0 would probably have said "Well of course you must add in some fruit and honey! Long term ketosis is dangerous, don't you know??" So ... yea. The carni diet 'authorities' are often wrong and change only when they themselves notice issues, and if you follow them while ignoring your body's signals, you do so at your own risk.

As for why the negatives of the carnivore diet are ignored in carnivore forums? Looking at it from the outside, it seems like a cult. Lots of zealous true believers who cannot tolerate anything that contradicts their claims to it being a healing or optimal diet. Seriously -- some of the people who are the loudest in those spaces, including moderators are ... so consumed by the narrative of the diet (it can heal almost anything, it's the optimal, evolutionary diet for humans, etc.) that they are, frankly, nuts. One of the even told me he was on a mission to save the world with his diet, and he wouldn't be stopped by some liar like me (ie someone whose experience on the diet was very, very negative and will now readily caution anyone who does the diet about its dangers). If you follow the diet strictly, and you have a negative experience with it, you are basically considered a heretic. You are evidence of the diet's imperfection, and therefore you must be expelled so that the narrative can remain intact.

 

[Nicole Carter]

I think you are correct here. I was strict carnivore for over 2 years, but started having anxiety and insomnia. Added fruit and it went away (but came back again later eating peaty plus gained 10lbs). I felt great on carnivore for the most part, but had low energy when I wanted to do something that needed a lot of energy like surfing of climbing stairs for a workout. Eating pro-metabolic didn’t improve my thyroid after 2 years, so now I’m mostly meat and occasional fruits. I seem the best right here. I left the community though, for all the reasons you stated above. People follow the “rules” and entirely ignore their body/symptoms even when struggling. It simply doesn’t work for everyone, but the hardcore carnivore people just won’t accept that.

 

[Jennifer]

I've gone extended periods following a carnivore diet (dairy, eggs and honey, and all milk) and like Blossom, I don't regret it. I experienced improvements each time I followed it. My mum also did well on a more carnivorous diet that included meat.

 

[milkboi]

Same pretty much atm, fasting in the morning with Bulletproof coffee (butter, MCT oil) then break fast with just one big meal (gouda cheese, eggs, walnuts, chicken thighs). I am losing weight at a very good rate and not suffering at all, which wouldn't be the case if I was eating carbs.

 

[Nomane Euger]

Same pretty much atm, fasting in the morning with Bulletproof coffee (butter, MCT oil) then break fast with just one big meal (gouda cheese, eggs, walnuts, chicken thighs). I am losing weight at a very good rate and not suffering at all, which wouldn't be the case if I was eating carbs.

hi,why would it not be the case if you were eating carbs?

 

[Nomane Euger]

I've gone extended periods following a carnivore diet (dairy, eggs and honey, and all milk) and like Blossom, I don't regret it. I experienced improvements each time I followed it. My mum also did well on a more carnivorous diet that included meat.

hi, with milk it can be drastically different if the person find a milk that she digest well and get energy from it,meat,eggs and honey only for extended period of time seems way less sustainable for most peoples.did your mom include dairy?

 

[Nomane Euger]

For various reasons (vaccine injury, pots) I have been doing carnivore mostly for the last 3 days.

What is giving me these huge amounts of energy?

Pots seems better.

Not gonna lie, it's mostly bacon, and I feel so wonderful after eating it. It's like caffeine almost.

hi,do you include dairy,or only meat,eggs and honey?

 

[milkboi]

hi,why would it not be the case if you were eating carbs?

I feel like lot of it has to do with stabilized blood sugar and also your bodies preferred fuel source. When you primarily burning carbs, whenever your blood sogar levels go down, there's a noticeable stress reaction because you have less of primary fuel to burn. Whereas when doing low carb you force your body to run on FAO and so low blood sugar levels aren't as stressful (up to a certain threshold) because there's plenty of primary energy substrate (fatty acids, ketones) swimming around in your blood stream. That's at least my theory for why it works better for me. Not peaty at all, I know.