I love this diet. I am never going back.
Updates:
Baby: I’ve caved and gotten a nanny, and she’s starting in 2 weeks. I wanted to do the stay at home mom thing (which is what I’ve been doing for the last 10.5 months) but I can’t do it. There are too many things that I want to be able to do that I can’t do with a baby. Serious kudos to people (like my own mom) who could do it. Taking care of a baby is a full-time job. And it’s incredibly rewarding but it’s hard when there are other things you’re missing out on. For me, that’s work, that’s the blog and writing. So a nanny it is, even though it makes me incredibly nervous. I realize how lucky I am to even have that option. We met someone who seems really bright and really kind and I think Scarlett will love her. She also speaks Russian so Scarlett can learn her dad’s language. We’ve only introduced meat and she’s still nursing a lot. I haven’t figured out what I want to do, but I’m thinking I may consider some vegetables and just see what she’s interested in. I haven’t decided yet.
Ankle: I need surgery. I don’t need to get it re-replaced (THANK GOD), but I do need surgery. After my ankle replacement my fibula was subluxed (slightly dislocated) and so I couldn’t bend my ankle well. Scar tissue grew in really quickly, and bone, and now there’s so much scar tissue that even though my wonderful physio fixed the dislocation, I can’t move my foot. The muscle on one side of my body is wasting away which is horrifying so I need to deal with this ASAP. That’ll be much easier with a nanny as well. Flying out to see a surgeon at the beginning of July, hopefully can do the surgery ASAP after that.
Jordan Peterson: Dad is thriving on the diet. He’s cut out salmon and is mostly eating beef but also some chicken. He told me salmon gives him back pain and makes his voice a bit shaky. Even after all the food weirdness, I’ve been through I had a hard time believing him. But I don’t eat it, and chicken makes me dizzy, so who the hell am I to judge? He has no depression, no anxiety, and no doom in the mornings. If you follow him on Twitter you might notice he’s not as volatile. Last week my mom texted me and said “Jordan woke up with James Brown’s “I Feel Good” in his head. If that isn’t a fantastic sign I don’t know what is. I’m going to get him to drop the chicken and I think his mood will improve even more. This all-meat diet is the bomb.
Mikhaila Peterson: I’ve been doing it for six months now and I swear it just gets better. I have no cravings for other foods, my brain is the fastest it’s ever been, I don’t even mind the sleep deprivation that comes with a baby (she wakes up at night still), I’m energized, happy in the morning, happy all day, and raring to go. The only thing stopping me is my ankle and that should get fixed hopefully soon. I’m getting my micronutrients tested and cholesterol this month. Comment below if you’re interested in certain markers and I’ll add them to the list. This is purely for people’s curiosity, I’m not concerned in the least, I feel great. I’m going to start doing consults (so keep an eye on the blog). Switch it to a pay per consult instead of Patreon. People who have been speaking with me feel better fast enough that we don’t have to keep talking which is amazing. My face is also thinner on this diet (even just eliminating salad). I don’t have as much puffiness in my cheeks. It’s lovely. I look so much more attractive. I was looking through pictures of myself in Montreal in 2012 and I look like a different human.
Hangovers: Hey! Good news, I don’t react negatively to alcohol (only bourbon and vodka – nothing else). It turns out that the minor reactions I was getting were to those hangover pills!!! Which work really well but were giving me symptoms. But my response to alcohol has changed. It used to fill me with energy and now it just kind of makes me slower. So that’s a downer but maybe I’m so fast normally that it’s starting to work like it should, it is a depressant after all. WARNING: This diet is NOT good for hangovers. My tolerance is down, not just because of breastfeeding, and the hangovers are killllllerrrr. Be careful. Go slowly with alcohol. Stick to bourbon and vodka (they have nothing else added – the colour from bourbon is from the cask).
I’ll be updating the blog much more frequently when the nanny starts, and I may even start a YouTube channel! I’m also writing a book (18 000 words in so far!) Exciting times. Doing great. Thanks for the support.
UPDATE: 2023 – Regarding hangovers I eventually made my own supplement I don’t react to that works reaalllyy well if you want to give it a shot. fullerhealth.com (more pure supplements will be launched soon that don’t have fillers, and are third party tested for mold, etc.)
Hi Mikhaila
I was wondering if the meat diet has any to do with the blood type diets. The blood type diets suggest that the different blood types developed according to the areas people lived based on what food they had available. My Type A blood diet suggests that I should be eating mostly meat.
Is the meat you eat organic? I assume meat that isn’t contains all sort of unnatural things that might cause issues otherwise.
Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Lawrence.
I had the same question about blood type and if you know yours. It seems like you would be an O. I’m an A as well but A’s are supposed to be mostly vegetarian as we dont have lack the enzymes that O’s have. O’s are supposed to eat mostly meat.
Blood type diets sound good, but the proponents have been unable to explain how it would work, and there’s really no science or data even (eg. population studies) to back it up.
I’ve lost over 80lbs on keto since October 2017 but am interested in trying this carnivore diet for myself and wife as I need to lose more and she has anxiety/depression/ and fibromyalgia. But I think the most important question is, is it normal for your mom to use your dads first name when texting you about him? 😛
Hello Mikhaila,
I just wanted to say I am a huge supporter of both you and your father! Thanks to your advocacy of a meat-only diet, I decided to give “carnivory” a try. I have been doing it for less than two weeks, but the positive changes to my mental state have been extraordinary. I have had multiple problems for the majority of my life …these include severe social anxiety, depression, agoraphobia, and bipolar 2. And since having my first child in September, my symptoms have only increased. I feared I was on the brink of a psychotic break.
However, since starting my carnivorous journey, I have experienced a reduction in symptoms that are nothing short of miraculous. A trip to the grocery store is a typically anxiety inducing, terrifying undertaking. A place where I could feel burning stares from everyone around me, a place where I knew everyone was scrutinizing my every gesture and I had nowhere to hide. It was debilitating and getting more severe each day.
But today, I went to the store and felt nothing. I walked into the warehouse of goods and potential terrors, and for probably the first time in my life, my mind was quite. It was just my son and me in a store shopping for groceries. No burning stares. No judgement from silent critics. It was liberating.
I hope anyone reading this who can relate will give the diet a try. I was skeptical since my whole life I had been told to eat my vegetables! Plus, I actually quite enjoy veggies :). But, I will go the rest of my life without them if it means I always get to feel this amazing.
Thank you, Mikhaila, for giving me the courage to go against conventional wisdom and take the road less traveled to a better me! Keep up the good work!
Shannon,
That is absolutely incredible to hear. I’m very happy for you! I suffer from some of those conditions and am now willing to try a carnivorous diet.
On the off chance, do you happen to blog about your experience on the diet? I am immensely interested in following the progress of people who try this out, especially in relation to mental health.
Thanks,
Owen
“…do you happen to blog about your experience…” Are you serious?
Oh sorry. I see you were writing to Shannon.
Hello Owen,
Thank you! It has been a life-changing few weeks, that is for sure. I do not have a blog… although I do love writing. I hadn’t, until recently, found the motivation. I used to be an avid reader/writer, but life became too overwhelming to handle more than basic responsibilities.
But now, I feel like I am seeing the world in a new light! I just might start a blog. Like I mentioned in my comment, the changes have been quite miraculous! Don’t get me wrong, I still have days where I am stressed. This is diet isn’t a “happy pill”. However, the stress doesn’t cripple me like it once did, nor does it turn into impending doom and severe anxiety.
I hope you and others will give it a try! Like Mikhaila says, give it a month. A month can’t hurt..but might help! It certainly did for me.
Have you had any reactions to black coffee?
Mikhaila,
Aside from hearing about he ankle issue, I am happy to hear that this experiment has been such a success. I have been eating relatively low carb for years as I have never tolerated carbs well at all. After reading your updates I am planning to finally give the Carnivore Diet a “try”. I actually recently bought tickets to your father’s show in September, and his appearance on JRE yesterday (discussing the diet) was kind of the tipping point with regards to giving the CD a go. His show in Jacksonville is 75 days from now so I am curious to see what results I can get in that time.
I have my own autoimmune issues, and anxiety/depression issues…so listening to your story has been really helpful. I also know from personal experience that if given any kind of choice when it comes to food I usually screw it up, so the restrictiveness of the CD for me anyway almost makes compliance easier. I honestly think the “only water” part will be much harder than only meat, but we shall see.
The purpose of this comment is simply to commend you for the work you are doing, to congratulate you on putting in the effort to figure it out, and to encourage you to keep doing it. I am also going to use this comment as a marker to remind myself of what I was thinking when I decided to start this.
Thanks for sharing your story (and doing the research).
Hi Mikhaila,
I just recently heard about your diet and the fantastic results. I’ve been watching your father for about a year now and I just watched his most recent visit with Joe Rogan where they talked about diet. He looks absolutely fantastic and the way he talks about how he feels is so amazing. My family struggles with many different autoimmune diseases and so naturally this is all very intriguing.
I wanted to know if you have considered Oral Allergy Syndrome as a possible factor? During their discussion on the podcast Dr. Peterson mentioned how he was eating both cucumbers and lettuce before switching to all meat, those veggies in particular are usually consumed raw and that’s what peaked my interest. I ask because I’m able to eat many fruits and vegetables cooked that I can’t eat raw and I believe it’s due to OAS. The same is true of fresh, unpasteurized juice in many cases. I also have an acupuncturist friend who mentioned to me that they have success helping patients with gut issues by having them throughly cook all vegetation when putting them on a strict meat and vegetable diet.
I’m not very disciplined with my diet, but I have found success in at least not feeling totally horrible by eliminating certain foods. I have terrible anxiety and some depression also and I’m very interested in possibly trying something more dramatic to try and help. I don’t like the idea of taking medication so if there is a way to change my lifestyle to improve, I’m willing and excited to try.
Thank you for sharing your journey, it’s quite fascinating and I wish you much success.
Thank you,
Ashley
Leave a comment