The Carnivore Diet

Five years into carnivore, and loving it. But I still enjoyed this book, since the author is one of the reasons I decided to try it, for autoimmune. His blunt and simple approach is organized into chapters from different angles. I appreciate this "reference ready" format, and his choice of topics. Makes it a fine introduction to the concept, and a place to look if we become puzzled. It is simple, on the one hand. Eat all, or almost all, animal foods. Low carb had helped for years, but carnivore was a whole new level. Stopped a flare in its tracks, lost 40 pounds without hunger, my joint issues went into remission, burnout still getting better. Brain loves ketones. For the past three years my doctor has been tracking my nutrition with six month blood draws, and sees no problems. Steady improvement of inflammation markers. Great BP. Scan says no visceral fat. A Carnivore meal lasts for hours. I eat as much as I want. People with food noise says it goes away. This book is great at explaining it all. And it's all true.

It is expected that people are skeptical a as bout a all meat diet, it’s not how we grew up. The book is well written, it has a good story line. But there are pros and cons. Pro: anecdotal stories and circumstantial evidence is strong and compelling Con: while refuting established norms are refuting scientific research can be fine, no opposing research has as of yet been conducted to proof the concept. Reality: coming from the Atkins diet, I’m used to low carb diets. But as with essentially any diet, it’s based on food restriction to get weight loss results. The Carnivore diet is different. It encourages eating until satisfied. I started this diet on Dec. 26 2020, today is Jan 10 2021, so I’m 16 days in. The first observation I made is that, yes, only having meat on the plate is enough. You do get full and get satisfied. As a result, I no longer experience that tired sensation after eating. I also don’t feel hungry a few hours later. Snacking in between meals has completely disappeared. I can finally resist, because I don’t feel a need for snacks. The next thing I observed is that 12 hours between meals is not a problem. I eat around 2pm and again around 4am (I have a non traditional schedule). I even started to skip either meal because I simply am not hungry. At over 350 pounds, there are few scales that work for me, so I have no accurate starting weight. However, my ankles are no longer swollen like they used to. I feel itching of the skin, which is a result of weight loss. My mood has improved. My mental health has improved. Walking is easier. Food no longer drives me. All reasons to keep going on this diet. I feel no restriction, yet I am eating less as I keep going. Not perfect: while I am technically 100% carnivore now, I haven’t found a convenient source of lard or tallow, so I’m using up my EVOO. Butter is not an alternative because I’m lactose intolerant. Also I still consume 2-3 20oz bottles of Diet Coke per day. Otherwise it’s just water. A couple times a week I’m also using fresh garlic or garlic powder. So I guess I’m cheating a little bit. I have calves liver in the freezer and that goes perfectly with sautéed onions...we will see what I do about that. Biggest negative aspect is there is diarrhea involved in the transition. It usually happens 30 minutes to 2 hours after eating. But only once, not like as if you had bad food and get all cramped up. However, this has mostly cleared up by now as well. Cost: is it more expensive? That depends on your previous food budget and eating habits. My actual budget so far is $70-80 per week. I don’t buy expensive rib eye steaks though. Lots of ground beef, a roast, some cheap steaks, hot Italian sausage and eggs. A fried egg on top a steak is perfect. My second week I ate 14 out of the 16 pounds of meat I had bought and about 18 eggs. At $80 a week that’s $11.50 a day or $5.75 a meal. Totally doable. Social Life : going out is different now. Not only is there little on most menus to order (unless you get a steak or burger) but you may find that you are not hungry and interested in eating if you had breakfast/lunch already. Spending the evening drinking may also be a thing of the past since it interferes with the purpose of the diet. It almost throws the entire culinary arts into question. One exception would be southern bbq. Traditional holiday fare? Maybe you treat yourself to sone but chances are you will skip the side dishes and just eat your meat. Hanging out with vegan friends is easier now - after all you can order one meal and share, you get the meat and your vegan friend can eat the side dishes. Verdict: Approved and recommend. If for no other reason then the ability to resist snacking, the carnivore diet is worth a try. I would certainly say give it a 30-day trial and be honest with yourself.

I love the tone of this book. No harping at us for eating "xxxxxx" or "yyyyy", just helpful ideas. Help in seeing the possible flaws of certain groups who would lock you up in prison, if they could, so you would be forced to see things their way! Yikes! I've tried several ways of eating throughout my life and seen some success in certain ways. I am lucky and enjoy great health but at 66, I feel that maybe every ache and pain isn't just aging so against all the voices I've heard to the contrary, I will try carnivore to see how I respond. That should be my right and I'm glad to be able to exercise that right. Thanks to Dr. Shawn Baker (irony? I do love my homemade sourdough bread 😊) for making the idea clear and his help in checking the "science" behind it.

I use this as my bible for doing Carnivore. Not full of philosophy.... down to earth presentation from a doctor. BTW, I've been doing Carnivore for three months now and experience many benefits....alleviation of arthritis symptoms...mood stabilization, and generally feeling great. I am 84 years old. and in great shape.

Great book with a lot of useful information that goes against the garbage w have been being told for years. The proof is in the pudding, just try the diet and see how you feel. I cycle on and off the diet and it definitely works. I loose weight and feel a lot better over all. The biggest trouble is trying to get my Dr’s to understand why I do it and that it’s not killing me just because my cholesterol goes up a bit.

loved this book was following Baker on Twitter and decided to do carnivore January. And am still going as we are now in March. I have little desire to go back and am happy with the results. Lost 2 inches on waist, a few pounds and strength and fitness are significantly better. Reading this book was inspiration. What I liked was that he isn’t preachy or dogmatic. His mindset is this really works for most people, the evidence is overwhelming that it isn’t harmful and so many people get great results in overall health as well as treating many health conditions. Some may say all of his stories are anecdotal. While he cites plenty of clinical research, the most compelling are the individual stories. What I have learned over the years is another word for a collection of anecdotes, is data. I also liked hearing his personal story and journey. His attitude is - try this. It may really work for you too.

reading now

Das von Shawn Baker vorgelegte Plädoyer für eine karnivore Ernährung ist sicherlich für viele eine Provokation. Nichtsdestotrotz habe ich dieses Buch mit viel Gewinn gelesen, um mir selber eine Meinung im Wirrwarr der mit fast religiösem Eifer vorgetragenen Debatten und Empfehlungen hinsichtlich der allein selig- bzw. gesundmachenden oder gesunderhaltenden Ernährung zu bilden. Die dafür nötigen Informationen liefert der Autor reichlich, und auch die biografischen Anteile dieses Buches sind sehr aufschlussreich und spannend. Und immer dann, wenn es um Ernährung geht, sollten wir nicht vergessen, dass unsere persönliche Entscheidung letztlich auch eine politische ist. Wie Baker an einigen Stellen betont und sehr deutlich vor Augen führt, ist aktuell ein Kampf entbrannt, der mit allen möglichen, vor allem auch durch Politik, Großkonzerne und Lobbyisten gesteuerte Maßnahmen versucht, unsere ganz individuellen und persönlichen Entscheidungen in Bezug auf eine reflektierte und selbstverantwortliche Ernährung zu beeinflussen. Dem sollten wir - ganz gleich welchen Ernährungsstil wir persönlich favorisieren - nicht tatenlos zuschauen, sondern auch in diesem Kontext uns positionieren und Stellung beziehen. So gesehen, leistet das Buch auch in einem weiteren Rahmen einen wertvollen Diskussionsbeitrag. Sehr empfehlenswert!

Dr. Baker's book is incredible because it actually asks questions: Is a plant-based diet/lifestyle the real solution to the increasing number of autoimmune diseases, obesity, cardiovascular disease, and so on, as well as environmental issues(climate change), to better our health and our environment? Aren't any other solutions and approaches? I think that Dr. Baker nails this questions providing his story and many other stories supported by science and results, that a carnivorous diet can be an optimal solution improving many markers of our health as well as environmental ones! Fantastic honest read worth ech single page!

If you are thinking about trying carnivore then this is a valuable resource. Shawn Baker knows his stuff. Transitioning to the way of eating over a few weeks is key also. Do try carnivore. Its so good and your food preferences and tastes will change for the better. Imagine never craving junk food again. Eat it if you want to but you won't crave it once you are full carnivore.

Nice book with an easy reading and full of the information needed for someone who wants to switch to the Carnivore diet.