My Way of Eating I started the carnivore way of eating mid-December 2023 at age 68. While scanning various YouTube videos, one I wasn't looking for came onto me feed: "Are our doctors lying to us?" This was with Dr. Ken Berry, MD on a Diet Doctor Podcast, from October 2019. Intrigued, I watched a few other related videos that night and the next day. So then I took one month to transition (to basically clean out the cupboard and start increasing meat). Currently I am 98%+ carnivore, with about 75% of my diet being mostly 80/20 medium-rare-cooked ground beef, including 3 to 4 burgers most days for lunch at work (lightly cooked the night before). I've found the 73/27 mix is sometimes too greasy and 90/10 is definitely always too dry for me. I do a mix of several different brands of fresh or frozen pre-formed burgers. Infrequently I might have included one slice of cheese (muenster or gouda) with them, but most recently I found that eating any amount of cow or even sheep cheese results in me gaining a little weight. I look for beef as the only ingredient -- some might have added some spice when they are processed. I've never had any digestive problems, my go-to "first alert." I usually fry the burgers up in tallow I collect from my dinner ground beef, refrigerate unfiltered, and reuse for a bit, supplementing with purchased in-glass tallow. I do two meals a day (2MAD), ground beef for dinner might sometimes include a few hard-boiled or over-easy eggs added or have some ground pork rinds sprinkled on the final plate. Otherwise the meat is, again, lightly cooked and then I might add a little Grey Poupon mustard. I prefer the favor to plain or spicy brown mustard (which I absolutely used to love.) I used to add a little bit of pure sour cream (Daisy brand) or some plain grated parmesan/romano (4C Foods brand), but the sour cream does not sit well anymore. Another 23% or so of my diet is very lightly cooked shaved steak in tallow or butter, lamb shoulders in butter, lightly cooked oven-broiled ribeye steak or a slow-cooked picanha steak or beef roast or brisket, wild-caught sockeye salmon fillets in butter, overeasy or hard-boiled eggs by themselves, pork rinds (chicharrones), a couple 8 oz cans of canned oysters -- sometimes with one sheet of nori seaweed for lunch every Saturday, fairly clean bacon, sardines in water, shrimp, plus small amounts infrequently of hot dogs, kielbasa, SPAM, corned beef hash, etc. (The 2% non-carnivore -- a "strategic inclusion/buffer" -- is an occasional avocado (but not guacamole which I can't do); clean sauerkraut (with maybe 3 forkfuls at most, but 18-24 hours later I get a few quiet rolling fart puffs and I fart a little more until it it gets passed out), but I can do sauerkraut juice or even pickle juice for the wonderful salty flavor without any problem later; a few macadamia nuts, some mushrooms, and nori seaweed; perhaps 12 frozen small wild blueberries for breakfast locally-sourced and eaten in-season for a few weeks in summer. I do go a few months sometimes without having added any of that 2%. After several months I discovered I could no longer do soft cheeses or plain yogurt -- even if cooked as chaffle or not -- without getting GI problems. :( However, I have discovered egglife brand egg white wraps which have the consistency of a small soft flour torilla and can be used similarly for eating amounts of ground beef or shaved steak -- Yum! The 2% does NOT include any bread[ing], pasta, flour, grains, rice, yeast, cereals, crackers, chips, candies, corn or popcorn, HFCS, added natural or synthetic/artificial sweeteners, honey, snack bars, protein powders, liquid or frozen dairy, nut butters or milks, legumes, pulses or beans, tomatoes or peppers, soups, coffee or teas, ketchup or mayonnaise, salad dressings, sauces, fruit juices or jellies, gummies of any type, citrus or tropical or tree fruits, margarine or seed oils (whose residues -- including excessive amounts of Omega-6 and linoleic fatty acid -- from a previous SAD (Standard American or Australian or Western Diet) can take at least 4-7 years to get out of your system), sea foods packed in oil, multi-vitamin supplements, fortified/enriched or otherwise processed packaged foods. None of that stuff anymore. Personally, I do not drink coffee (a tea made from raw or roasted tree beans), something many other carnivores do without otherwise stressing. Didn't smoke or drink much alcohol before, hardly any sodas (since pre-two liter days: mostly only about a can of root beer or Sprite once or twice per year) or no coffee or energy drinks, very few fried foods, and fairly clean not so SAD w/very little morning eye gunk/crust. Father was a grocer and mother a registered nurse, Polish and Hungarian heritages respectively. Started a several year subscription to Prevention magazine back in college, took various supplements and vitamins most years since then. RESULTS: Didn't have many overt health issues just metabolic ones, but I finally got rid of 15 lbs of stubborn Dad belly (which I had for 30 years) by age 69. This included loosing enough girth off my left ring finger for me to need to get a wedding ring adjuster insert to prevent the band from flying off again. I am off of 2 of my 3 BP meds (started these in 1999 with 1 Rx, eventually became 2 and then 3, switching the type of pill with every move/doctor change). That last prescription of Amlodipine was dropped in the first half of September 2026 from 10 mg down to 5 mg(equivalent in size to a single grain of Basmati rice), and within 2 weeks I could tell the small amount of edema in my feet was gone. Lots of minor pluses from this (much less flatulence and bloating; usually smaller scat bowel movements or a single large easy one once or twice a week w/virtually no brown on the wiping toilet paper and no more explosive or wet farts resonating in or spotting on the porcelain, virtually no smell or "skid marks" on my underpants; stopped major snoring; much more resistant to sunburns (so I am increasing my sun exposure even without a hat, and it has been years since I used sunscreen or sunglasses); I can feel cold but it noticeably takes longer to get chills or goosebumps, especially waiting in the fall and winter for any of the three buses I take to get to and from work. My nose still runs a little in the cold, but I think that's just a normal response not related to diet. The one time in the past couple of years that I had an infrequent fever with chills the feeling was not as intense as it used to be -- a pleasant surprise. No blood sugar drops before meals or if a meal is delayed ("hangriness"); no post-lunch sleepiness. Very little armpit smell even after several days w/o deodorant, no soap or shampoo only a little sensitive-skin body wash on hair, pits and groin during once-a-week cold water showers (maybe twice or thrice-a-week in the summer, especially if I've been doing a lot of yard work) though I do my face and armpits with sensitive-skin baby wipes practically every night before bed and change my underwear and socks daily; decreased foot odor and sweating; virtually no summer crotch heat rashes; decreased size armpit (axil) skin tags. Slight sebum buildup in the pores on and around my nose is no longer; much less earwax (during my last checkup the doctor even remarked about how clean my ears were -- I guess when compared to other people my age. I didn't have any previous history of buildup.) More endurance so I can occasionally run/jog the last block to the bus stop without getting even a little winded. No bad breath even without toothpaste, and my gums don't bleed any when I do brush them. Very few floaters in my eyes; can't remember the last time I had twitches around my eyes; hardly any hiccups anymore, nor any more infrequent canker sores or biting of inner cheek while eating or tongue fissures/cracks. Especially for the first two years, I discovered a build-up of light tannish-colored dental calculus, mostly on the back side of my lower teeth. What I found out is that this apparently was one of the ways my body was revealing stored oxalate dumping. An at-home metal hook dental pick readily removes it in small pieces. Some possibles: teeth slightly whiter; chronic scaling of left great toe nail seems lessened; a little lightening of liver spots on the back of my hands. No change yet in the color of my light brown and gray hair. Old scars still visible; no speed-up of contemporary healing of cuts or bruises; no decreases in tinnitus; eyesight still less than optimal; still need that small amount of blood pressure medicine. Had previously been on a mostly once-a-week shower schedule for two years w/soap and every other time w/shampoo. Tongue scraped many mornings for some forty-five years. Had walked about 1 mile each way morning and afternoon to bus Monday through Friday and occasionally at least once on a weekend for almost 8 years. No joint aches/pains for over a dozen years (it's because I like my job, according to one source), and stretching most mornings with at least 10 minutes of little yoga, tai chi and kung fu for almost forty years. In the past two years I've also added a set of 30 push-ups, which I bumped up to 40 in late September 2026. Always had good sense of balance; never had GERD/heartburn, diabetes, cancer, or autoimmune diseases. Always been an early riser. No real long-term sense of having brain fog previously. No cravings or hunger pangs between meals or need for snacking or desserts. No allium breath (onions or garlic), no need to cleanse my mouth after a meal to get rid of a taste. Virtually no use of analgesics for over nine years, except for a 325 mg aspirin each day from the middle of January to the end of February 2026 to prevent deep vein thrombosis following my plate and screws surgery for a fractured ankle gotten slipping on a patch of black ice. The heavy-duty pain pills given to me post-surgery were only used for 5 days, with those last two days being only a single pill before bed "just in case." The fracture is about 95% nicely healed, thanks to my diet and 6-days a week self-promoted therapy of some 2 or 2-1/2 miles a day up to the bus stop and back or elsewhere in the neighborhood to add some variety, with my emotional-support cane along for inclines. I still bring my cane with me, especially on the morning incline, just in case, but it is in the corner by my desk at work while I am gallavanting around the 3 floors of our offices. I will definitely be bringing it with me when it is slushy and icy outside again. Still taking zinc [Nature's Way Zinc Chelate 30 mg, zinc bisglycinate. I take three capsules a week.]; magnesium [Upnourish Magnesium Glycinate 500 mg, with 70 mg Mg per capsule. I take four at night.]; and K2+D3 supplements [Bronson Vitamin K2+D3, 90 mcg Vitamin K2 (as MK 7 Menaquinone) and 125 mcg (5,000 I.U.) Vitamin D3 (as Cholecalciferol). I take two in the evening after dinner]. When I don't get so much salt I have a brief shin splint, or in my toes. This is the biggest challenge I've had with carnivore: making these pains consistently and persistently go away. Currently using Redmond's Real Salt. From April 2024 until December 2025, I added 4-5 drops of Lugol's 2% at a time in water. Beginning in mid-March 2026, I am now doing 3 drops a day. In about 8 oz hot water (don't like cold) first thing in the morning wirth some salt. I had been doing a second dose of iodine at night right after work about an hour before dinner, but no longer. As a video pointed out, carnivores need less iodine because we are not eating any of the plant foods with goitrogens ([non-fermented] cruciferous vegetables, almonds, any form of soy, millet, peanuts, sweet potatoes, bamboo shoots, strawberries, peaches, and pears, among others). I've never been a coffee drinker -- and I do hot water throughout the day also -- so I've gotten use to the "-ine" aftertaste (reminiscent of iodine's cousin, chlorine) when I add iodine just in the morning. No previous autoimmune or thyroid issues. Can't really tell about increased energy from that like some have noticed. (In 2008 I supposedly had an allergic reaction -- very low blood pressure -- to the iodine contrast medium for a CAT scan for kidney stones. Much later I found out my strong negative reaction was common to the gadolinium-based contrast agents (GBCAs), NOT to the iodine.) My wife has increased her meat intake, but many issues from a much rougher childhood and into adulthood, and she'll admit she's addicted to sugar/carbs for comfort. Plus she cannot always keep meat down, even simple plain cooked. She is also sensitive to added salt, unlike me. Why not cheat? I'm 71, in good health, carnivore for over two-and-a-half years. I can fondly look back on the wide variety of foods I've eaten throughout the years and holiday seasons. I still enjoy the smells and can appreciate the products with my decent-sized gastronomic volcabulary/memories, but there is no way I want to get bloating back with extra time on the toilet. My very few and small veerings off course these past two-and-a-half years with chemical factory type ingredients has got me convinced. I haven't had much of a sweet tooth for a long time. To each his/her own, I am comfortable, and wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and Holiday Season. Meat on. I am rather enjoying the predictability, affordability, simplicity of preparation and clean-up, and mouth freshness afterwards of this way of eating. As some influencers have noted, "The food noise is gone." Please know that nobody has ever died because of a lack of carbohydrates for their sweet tooth. Lower your carb intake every day. My family still eats a standard western diet and there are a number of sweets on the counter and pantry at all times, but that doesn't appeal to me anymore. Eating Out, this is an ongoing project. Commercial meals I now handle include : Arby's: 2 roast beef sandwiches and 1 brisket, no buns, no sauces or condiments ; Bird Dog BBQ: 1/2 lb brisket, 1/4 lb pulled pork, a couple of ribs, no sauces, sides or buns ; Chick-Fil-A: Sausage, egg & cheese biscuit, with the biscuit removed; recommended but not tried: 12 grilled nuggets ; Denny's: steak and eggs, side of bacon instead of pancakes ; Dickey's BBQ: brisket and pulled pork. Ask for additional fat on the side, which most customers don't want and which usually just gets thrown away a few times during the day ; Fazoli's: 2 Club Subs, no mayo, remove the bun, lettuce & tomatoes, eat just the ham, turkey, bacon, and cheese ; Five Guys Burgers: burger patties, no bun, no lettuce, no tomato, no sauce/mayo ; International House of Pancakes (IHOP): steak and eggs, side of bacon instead of pancakes ; Jimmy John's: #2 Big John roast beef Unwich (but don't eat all the lettuce), no tomatoes or condiments ; McDonald's: Bacon, egg and cheese biscuit with the biscuit removed; recommended but not tried: Quarter Pounder patties, not the regular burger patties ; Outback Steakhouse: Delmonico or ribeye steak (sometimes a little too salty/peppery), no sides (unless you want to bring them home for other family members) ; Shirley's Café (Baltimore, MD airport): Three-egg omelet w/white cheese and chunk crab meat ; Smash Burger: Double Bacon Stack Smash, without bun, lettuce, tomato or mayo ; Texas Roadhouse: Ft. Worth or bone-in ribeye or porterhouse or Dallas fillet best, NY strip state a little chewy; cooked on the grill only with no seasoning, light salt and NO flat top and soybean oil, no sides (unless you want to bring them home for other family members), or two salads with no lettuce (bacon and hard-boiled egg only). Bring your own real butter ; Tucanos Brazilian Grill: most of the meats (beef, pork, and chicken) ad lib, one or two pieces of sushi (w/rice and nori), and a little cheese . Recommended as clean for à la carte, but not tried yet : Buc-ees fatty brisket, Buffalo Wild Wings (20 plain chicken wings, not cooked in seed oils, only beef fat), Flying Dutchman, Golden Corral, Hardee's, In-N-Out Burger; Red Lobster, Red Robin, Shake Shack, Skirted Heifer, Sonic (some items), Sonny's BBQ 3-meat plate with double baby backs and fatty brisket without BBQ sauce, Steak N' Shake (tallow only used), Wendy's 1/4 pound (big) patties without the cheese or Double Baconator no bun. Also, Argentinian steakhouse, China hot pots, Greek kebabs, Korean BBQs, Mongolian Grills. À la carte grilled steak, shrimp, chicken, or salmon without seasonings with butter on the side at Culver's and Olive Garden, or Olive Garden Alfredo on chicken or salmon. Foods that did not pass : X (cooking) Burger King: burger patties, no bun, no lettuce, no tomato, no sauce/mayo ; X (GI upset) Carl's Jr: burger patties, no bun, no lettuce, no tomato, no sauce/mayo ; X (GI upset) Chipotle: bowl of steak (probably cooked in seed oils) and a bowl of avocado (that part is O.K.). In the spirit of full-disclosure, I will also confess that I did a 75% fruitarian diet about 45 years ago. After 18 months I had to leave it because every day at the warehouse office where I worked I literally had to will myself to cross the warehouse because I was so weak and I lost a bit of weight. I never was particularly heavy. I didn't have health insurance so I never had labs done. This was in Phoenix, AZ where I had a lot of access through grocery stores and the local co-op to citrus and tropical fruits (including papayas, mangoes, pineapples, cherimoyas, carambolas, and guavas), grapes, raisins, tamarinds, dates, fresh and dried figs, fresh or dried coconuts, some apples and tomatoes and avocados, etc. The other 25% of my diet at that time was mostly alfalfa sprouts, some seaweeds (dulse and kelp), some nuts, and an occasional Taco Bell order of refried beans with cheese. I kept notes for all this -- with early feeble pre-Internet biochemical and dietary research -- as The Ideal and the Real Fruitarian, which remains incompleted and unpublished. Information primarily from Arnold Ehret (Mucusless Diet Healing System), Morris Krok (from South Africa), and Dr. Johnny Lovewisdom (South America). Some dental enamel marring remained afterwards. It would take a couple of years to be able to be to freely eat steak again. This also is part of my older dietary volcabulary which I don't have to add to. |