It’s going extremely well.
No cravings, arthritis has almost disappeared, mood seems to have improved (it’s been hard to tell with the milk reaction). I will update again in 2 weeks and I’ll know more.
About a week after I started the zero carb diet (all meat), I decided it was stupid and had a salad. I woke up the next day with an arthritic flare, mood dip, and skin itching. Obviously cried a bit that day with the loss of my beloved olives. Now that I’ve been doing it for a while I really don’t care.
What’s happened as a result?
I’ve gone down 3 belt size loops. No joke. I am losing weight from the pregnancy but I had a hard time at the beginning (it was in one of my posts). I went from 136 to 127 in the last 3 weeks, and 3 belt loop sizes. In the first week, I lost 5 pounds and went down 2 belt loops. Seriously.
I seem to get a mood boost after I eat beef. Not chicken, not fish, just beef. Again, I’m serious.
Chicken/turkey seems to make me dizzy… I’ll update in a couple of weeks to see if that continues.
Pepper now gives me a stomach ache. I’m only eating meat and salt.
I’ve gone down to two meals a day, naturally. My appetite has dropped. I eat around noon and around 6-7pm. Then I’m completely satisfied until noon the next day, it’s extremely convenient.
Thoughts
So far I’m happy. My arthritis seems to be going away completely (finally), but again, I’ll update in two weeks to see what happens then. I’ve started working out again (I’ve had the energy), and my mood has improved. I don’t regret changing my diet at all.
My body is finally returning to normal. I’m pretty thrilled with it.
All this being said, Dad is doing extremely well on his diet (limited but still eats a lot more vegetables than none), so I think maybe cutting down to meat is only necessary if you’re pretty ill. But so far so good!
I’m starting a testimonial page as well, I’m getting quite a few really encouraging emails (especially about cutting out dairy and gluten). If you have something you’d like to share, please email it to me and let me put it up! It always makes my day.
Mikhaila,
I am so happy to hear carnivory is going so well for you. I’ve seen the old TV interview with your father about diet and depression, and I’ve read more details about your various illnesses in his book. I had wondered if carnivory would help people in your situation, so I was pleased to hear the memes had reached you.
For your readers that are interested, I have compiled many carnivore resources here: http://justmeat.co
In particular, I recommend people take a look at Amber O’Hearn’s websites, http://www.ketotic.org/ and http://www.empiri.ca/.
I wish you the best, and I look forward to seeing what else you observe in your experimentations.
Cheers,
Michael
Inspirational. I’ve been doing paleo (with minimal fruits and nuts, incidentally like you, more greens and meat) for 7 months now. It has helped my psoriasis and lethargy.
I get angry at the “food pyramid”, that I followed for years (decades), eating “healthy” and getting physically bad. I used to be REALLY addicted to soda. Now I’ll occasionally drink sparkling mineral water with lime or mint.
Cheers to continued health!
t.48y.o. grandpa of 3 in Kentucky
Good afternoon, Mikhaila
I wanted to take a moment and express congratulations to you for your courage and successes during your journey. I’ve arrived at your site after listening to your father talking about your experiences (along with his) and the subsequent successes that have come. It’s very exciting to hear about someone coming through to the other side of somewhere terrible.
Personally I’ve transitioned my diet from one heavy in refined carbs to a Ketogenic. Being a type I diabetic, the benefits have been outstanding. Dropping my A1C from about 10 to 7 (such a huge win). Combining the fact that I also have Celiac disease, it’s almost like this diet is how we’re supposed to eat, because I feel a hell of a lot better.
With that, I have had some challenges. I wanted to ask if you had experienced them and how you overcame them (if you have). Since transitioning to a Ketogenic diet, I have been experiencing heart palpitations. I’ve been doing the diet (with varying degree of strictness) for many months and the palpitations persist. I’m working with physicians as well to determine the cause, but as you’re likely familiar with, they’re not to hip to the who Ketogenic diet, so their experience is limited.
Again, congratulations and thank you for sharing your experiences.
Best of luck to you and your family.
Be well
–adam
My guess, there’s something you’re eating still that your body doesn’t like. The symptoms that increased with the diet (when I’m eating something I don’t get along with) are light headedness and low blood pressure, heat palpitations, just to name a couple. The ketogenic diet is a great diet but doesn’t necessarily remove foods your body might be reacting to. I’d do an IgG food sensitivity test if I were you. Nuts are generally allowed on a ketogenic diet (and some dairy), and both give me symptoms.
I have the heart palpitations when entering ketosis. Google “keto flu”.
What seems to help for me is either bone broth or sprinkle a bit of salt in water and drink it.
I get pretty thirsty as well. Ironically salt water seems to help best in that case.
What cuts of beef do you prefer?
Ribeye!
I remember seeing you and your father together in an interview about depression from years ago. More recently you both reappeared on that show and you both seemed to have made huge progress. Your dad looks and sounds completely different now then in his old interviews and you seem to have gotten in great shape, not to mention being able to throw away all the meds! What has your experience been with eggs? Any negative response?
I can’t do eggs. Neither can dad. Some people can though – and it looks like the yolks are easier to handle than the whites for whatever reason. The easiest way to figure this out would be to do a food sensitivity (IgG) test. Or you can cut them out and reintroduce them. I can kind of handle yolks but I just avoid them because of my reaction to the whites. Thanks for the kind words. It’s been a crazy experience.
1. What’s your daily meat meal like — is it a steak a day and nothing else? If so, how many ounces (grams if you like), and just salt with it?
2. Have you had your blood work done since you went carnivore?
I’ve just had a microbiome test done. I’m open to blood tests – I haven’t done any yet. My usual day is 2-3 ribeye steaks if I’m lucky. One around 11 and one around 7. Sometimes I’ll add in a third if I feel like it. Otherwise I’ll add in roasts and ground beef. I find I can comfortably eat about 2.5 pounds of meat a day, and if I’m hungrier I can eat up to 3.5. That’s pushing it though and I’ll generally eat less the next day if I eat more one day. I’m also breastfeeding so I’m assuming I’ll be less hungry when I stop breastfeeding. I’ll also fry up the steak fat that I don’t eat and make it crunchy and eat that.
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