A brief introduction to the how and why of experimenting with a carnivorous diet
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I am writing a book on carnivory that expands on these ideas and more.
Contents
Preamble
In 2013, in response to repeated requests,
Zooko and I collaborated on a brief guide to getting started on a ketogenic diet.
As the primary author and research lead on the
Ketogenic Diet for Health website,
I had shied away from giving dietary advice,
preferring to share only my interpretations of the scientific literature.
In fact, I was so averse to the idea of telling people what to eat,
that Zooko penned it essentially single-handedly,
while I provided only a few edits, and the title, which I have kept here.
I further insisted it not be hosted on that site,
which I felt ought to contain only discussion of scientific literature.
I am grateful for his willingness to write that piece,
because I know his work has helped many people.
I had already been eating a carnivorous diet for four years at that point,
and knew that a carnivorous diet appears to work for many people for whom a regular,
garden variety, keto diet isn’t enough.
In my experience, it is easier to start with a more restricted diet,
and if that is successful, to carefully expand the repertoire as tolerated and desired.
That way, if problems occur, you always have the option to go back to what worked,
while figuring out what to do next.
And so, in the tradition of many great low carb authors,
(as discussed in this follow-up)
our recommendation was not to begin with
the kind of low carb diet that many long term keto dieters eventually settle into eating.
What we said was:
“Our recommendation is simple: eat nothing but meat for 30 days.”
(Note that by meat, we mean animal sourced foods, not necessarily only steak, though that is an option.)
Indeed, the rest of the article is mostly just affirmation that you read that correctly,
a few clarifications, and some pitfalls to avoid.
It also contained some general advice pertaining to ketogenic diets.
Because this keto starting guide recommended a completely carnivorous diet,
and was one of the first sites that did so,
it has become a reference for people beginning a so-called “zero-carb/ZC” diet.
As such, it deserved an update more specifically for that.
If you are looking for our previous version,
which is geared toward using a carnivorous diet to kickstart a ketogenic diet
for those new to ketogenic diets,
it can now be found here.
If you are already familiar with or following a ketogenic diet,
and are looking to transition to a carnivorous diet, continue on this page.
Important note: If you are on a prescription drug
A ketogenic diet has a powerful effect on the body and starting one could very rapidly change the effective doses of certain medications.
For example, drugs that affect blood pressure or blood sugar could suddenly be in dangerous excess.
If you are on a potent drug, it is advisable to get help monitoring your situation while transitioning to a ketogenic diet.
Why would I do this?
We have little to no clinical evidence of benefit from plant free diets [1],
and plenty of evidence of benefit from ketogenic diets,
so why would anyone already on a ketogenic diet willingly restrict further an already restricted diet?
The answer is that the number and types of anecdotes of clear and significant benefit is too large to ignore.
Not only are many people finding impressive positive benefits from a shift to a plant-free diet,
but many are experiencing remission of diseases considered progressive and uncurable.
Moreover, a carnivorous diet is safe to try. This makes the risk to reward ratio extremely favourable.
You might want to try a carnivorous diet if:
- Your weight loss on a ketogenic diet has stalled above your ideal weight.
- You have a digestive problem, such as Crohn’s or colitis.
- You have an autoimmune disorder, such as arthritis, asthma, or connective tissue disease,
or a disease suspected to have an autoimmune connection, like MS, migraines, or Lyme disease. - You have a skin problem such as eczema, psoriasis, or rosacea.
- You have a mood disorder, such as depression, schizophrenia, or bipolar disorder.
- You are just curious and like self-experimentation.
For an interesting collection of anecdotes, including my own, and that of the photographer, Rose Nunez Smith,
see Zero Carb Zen.
I’m not claiming that carnivory will cure these diseases,
just that many people have had significant remission with it,
some even complete remission.
| [1] | The only clinic I know of that uses and advocates a meat only diet, is Paleomedicina in Hungary, under the direction of neurobiologist Zsófia Clemens. |
How do I start?
I recommend you dive straight in to carnivory cold turkey (or hot beef).
If you are going to get benefits, you might as well find out right away.
Ultimately, it will save time and agony, and give you more information.
Get as many confounds out of the way as you can.
The faster you can determine if carnivory is right for you,
the faster you can get the benefits and get on with the rest of your life.
There are far more interesting things to focus on than what you are having for dinner.
One of the great beauties of carnivory is that the process of eating becomes so simple,
it opens up time to think about other things.
Carnivory is not typically difficult.
What difficulties there are are primarily psychological and social.
So you need to commit and prepare.
Commit by knowing why you want to try it.
That’s what will get you through.
Don’t do it if you’re not really sure,
because breaking your word to yourself is damaging to self-esteem.
For this reason, it helps to make it a short-term commitment;
if you end up feeling doubtful you know you can stick to it, because it will be over soon.
Prepare by ridding your environment of foods you know are tempting.
Have some meals planned and shop ahead.
Know what social situations will be scheduled and have a plan for how to respond to tricky ones.
More on that below.
Some people like to have a partner in on their plans,
for accountability purposes.
If you have someone you trust deeply, and that appeals to you, go for it.
I am usually in the school of keeping goals private,
especially if what you are doing is in any way controversial.
First of all, you don’t want to have to deal with other people’s “concern.”
Tell people you want to try jumping from an airplane and they’ll nod approvingly.
Tell them you want to avoid eating plants for a month,
and they’re likely to flip out and try to talk you out of it, or at least demand you defend your choices.
When I stopped eating plants, the last thing I wanted to do was tell my friends about it.
It’s just not the way I roll.
I’d rather pull it out of my pocket after I’ve been doing it awhile—
“Oh, by the way…”
(I admit that may be a personality quirk.
There’s a lot people don’t know about me right off the bat, and that’s how I like it.)
Second, I am very uncomfortable when other people ask me how something is going during difficult moments.
If I’m struggling with a commitment, it only feels worse to think someone else is invested in it, too.
Worse, they might try to solve my problem for me.
I like to solve things on my own.
Nonetheless, I recognise that many people do better with social support.
Internet forums can be very helpful.
Even this introvert used them extensively in the beginning.
If you already know what style of experimenter you are, stick with that.
How long do I have to do this to know if it’s of benefit?
As before, I recommend a 30-day trial.
In truth, there are some people who don’t start to see the benefits until more time has passed.
Other carnivory experts recommend a much longer experiment,
and have noted that many do not fully adapt to the diet until about 6 months.
I do not at all dispute this observation.
I simply think that a 6 month commitment is too much to ask of most people.
If you are very sick and at your wits end for a solution,
you may be willing to give it 6 months,
but if you are just curious,
just slightly dissatisfied with the status quo,
6 months may seem too intimidating, too big a sacrifice.
Many people experience clear benefits essentially immediately,
within a couple of days or a week.
After 30 days, many will already have experienced
a consistent health improvement from a plant free diet,
and they will have gotten through the psychological adjustments necessary to
make it practical and sustainable, should they wish to continue.
After 30 days, most people are in a good position to know
what it takes to implement it, and whether it is worth it.
The idea of eating only meat can be extremely intimidating.
After 30 days, it is evident how surprisingly easy it is.
What should I actually eat?
Invariably people want to know what to eat,
and often ask for recipes.
I usually deflect this latter question.
The thing is, recipes, in the traditional sense
are almost the antithesis of carnivorous eating.
Keto needs recipes, because people are trying to make food seem like what it was before keto.
They mock up things like pancakes, cookies, pasta, rice.
Don’t get me wrong.
I spent over a decade on a low carb diet before I started eating this way
and I’ve made all manner of low carb desserts and comfort foods.
It’s fun. Some of the recipes out there are ingenious, and delicious.
No one on a ketogenic diet need ever miss the way they used to eat.
This kind of intervention can get you through when you’re feeling deprived,
and can make the difference between success and failure.
For this experiment, though, you’re going to take a different approach.
To habituate yourself to a carnivorous diet
it’s best to forget about trying to imitate other kinds of food.
Meat doesn’t need to mask itself to taste fantastic anyway.
It’s not as though we’re dealing with tofu.
What carnivorous eating asks for is not recipes, but kitchen skills.
In my book I will provide as many tips as I can gather for bringing out the best in meat.
Here, I’m only going to to tell you what to eat, not how to cook it.
In my experience, people have the best response when they:
- Focus on “whole” cuts of fresh meat, preferably cooked at home.
- Stick primarily to fatty cuts. My list below includes some lean choices. If you use them a lot, you may want to supplement butter, tallow, lard, or fish oil. For this trial, do not use vegetable oils, not even coconut oil. Many people are intolerant of it.
- Avoid seasoning or sauces of any kind, with the possible exception of salt (see the FAQ below).
- Minimise “processed” meats.
- Do not let themselves get hungry. Eat as often as you like until you are full. Err on the side of full. You aren’t trying to fool your body, you are trying to feed it.
Staples include the following examples.
These reflect my cultural biases living in the U.S.A.
Other countries cut differently and have different preferences.
Beef
- Steaks such as ribeye, sirloin, strip, and chuck eye
- Short ribs
- Roasts such as prime rib, chuck, brisket
- Ground beef or strips of beef for stir-fries
- Organs such as liver, heart, and sweetbreads
- Marrow bones
Lamb
- Ribs
- Chops
- Shank
Pork
- Shoulder or butt roasts
- Baby back ribs, spare ribs
- Shoulder chops
- Pork belly
Poultry
- Wings
- Thighs and drumsticks
Breast is typically too lean, except for goose and duck.
Fish and shellfish
- Salmon
- Trout
- Mackerel
- Sardines
- Oysters
- Mussels
- Crab
- Lobster
- Shrimp
- Scallops
Eggs
- Chicken
- Duck
- Roe
Heavy cream
Some people are sensitive to dairy, so this is a maybe.
More below.
Stocks and broth from bones and scraps make excellent hot drinks.
Frequently asked questions
…
Should I measure ketosis?
No. You will probably be in ketosis, but probably only mildly to moderately so. It doesn’t seem to matter much in most of those who derive benefit, and it tends to drive obsessive behaviour that prevents eating to satiety.
Unless you have some overriding need to manage your ketosis levels directly,
I would defer that until and unless you need to troubleshoot, or just want to experiment further later.
Can I drink coffee?
This is a tough call. Coffee is a plant extract, but it’s also a drug.
If you are a habitual coffee drinker, adding quitting coffee to the experiment will make it difficult.
It’s not an ideal time.
Because I’ve personally not experienced additional benefit to quitting coffee,
in any short term experiment,
I’m biased toward leaving it in if that’s your preference.
However, I do think it is worth a trial without either now or later.
For some people it could make all the difference.
Can I drink alcohol?
I would advise skipping alcohol entirely for the duration of the experiment.
If that’s a difficulty for you, you might want to reflect on that.
What should I drink, then?
Water, with or without carbonation or minerals, to thirst.
Broth makes a nice warm drink on a cold day.
Can I eat dairy?
Many people are sensitive to dairy. It makes sense to leave off dairy at least for the first couple of weeks,
especially cheese and yogurt, which are notorious for causing weight gain at innocent calorie levels, and addictive behaviour.
What’s the deal with processed meat and can I eat bacon?
I recommend against eating processed meats, for the following reasons.
Many processed meats contain additives that cause reactions in sensitive people.
Moreover, aged meats are high in histamines, which many people are sensitive to.
Please see Dr. Georgia Ede’s website for more information on histamine sensitivity, and a wealth of other information on plants, meat, and nutrition.
These are confounds we don’t want to deal with right now.
I hesitate to suggest avoiding bacon.
Many people do fine with it, and it’s a perennial favourite.
Because you may have sensitivities to additives or to histamines (or for that matter, pork),
I would suggest going a week or two without it, if your results haven’t been what you hoped.
You could also try fresh pork side. My grocer sells it frozen.
It is the same cut and form factor as bacon, without the curing.
You can salt it as desired and you may find it hits the spot.
I actually prefer it.
Do I need to avoid salt?
There is no good reason I know of to avoid salt.
It does not materially affect blood pressure, and there is no evidence it is unhealthy in amounts to taste.
Do I need to add salt?
You may have heard recommendations to actually increase salt during a ketogenic diet.
This is likely to be helpful during keto-adaptation, and periods of intense exercise.
Some people seem to benefit from it beyond that, others do not.
I would try it if you have any symptoms of electrolyte imbalance,
such as muscle cramps, headaches, or fatigue.
Do I need vitamin or mineral supplements?
Unlikely. All necessary nutrients are available in animal sourced food.
Even vitamin C, contrary to common belief, is available in good old muscle meat,
so long as it’s not cooked to death.
Some people seem to benefit from supplementation with potassium, magnesium, or salt.
Do I have to eat organ meats?
There is unresolved contention in the community about whether organ meats are necessary for complete nutrition on a long term (i.e. months to years) carnivorous diet.
Most other carnivory experts insist it is not necessary, and I suspect they are correct [2].
If you’re losing sleep over it, a serving of liver or fish oil every now and then should cover your bases.
For the purposes of a 30 day trial, even that shouldn’t be necessary.
It’s simply not long enough for a deficiency to develop.
| [2] | 2017-12-28: I have to update this, because it’s been niggling at me. When I said I suspect they are correct, here’s what I had in mind: First, there are several compelling anecdotes of long-term carnivores who appear to be in perfect health, and who do not eat any organs. I have to concede that this seems stable and safe for them. On the other hand, everything I’ve learned about human evolution and human brains suggests that certain animal sourced nutrients were critical for the development of the brain on both ontogenetic and phylogentic scales. For example, DHA is necessary in high amounts for brain functioning. In the past, we probably got plenty of that from eating marrow and brains, or alternatively, cold water fish. I think a healthy diet would include these. My point still stands, though, that this is a concern only if you continue with the diet long term, and your needs may depend on your starting conditions. The fact is that most low carb dieters are not eating organ meats either; not carefully ensuring that they get plenty of DHA, for example. If you find fault with a carnivorous diet on this basis, and don’t equally criticise a low carb diet, that’s selective enforcement of your principles. The goal of this experiment is to remove plant foods, to see if it improves your health, beyond the results of a ketogenic diet. If it does improve your health, then sustainability becomes the nascent goal. Gary Taubes devoted an entire recent article to defending low carb diets in the face of the fact that we can’t know the long term consequences, and that’s for a diet that has substantial science behind the acute short term benefits! If you find, as I did, that a carnivorous diet is too beneficial to give up, then you can argue about the potential long-term detriments and how to avoid them if you choose to continue. |
Won’t this be expensive?
Meat is more expensive than grains or legumes, but it is not more expensive than fruits and vegetables when you look at the per calorie cost.
If you get off of a prescription, or need fewer doctor visits, it’s more clearly a win.
If you want to economise, choose less popular cuts, eat more pork, chicken, and ground beef.
Look for sales.
Choose fattier cuts: fat weighs less and has more energy.
Won’t this be dreadfully boring?
I was worried about that, but it’s turned out not to be a problem for me.
It doesn’t take long for your palate to adjust to less stimulation from spices and sweeteners.
The flavour of meat starts to come out when it isn’t thus drowned.
It really is delicious.
Shouldn’t I be limiting protein?
Most people don’t need to limit protein, because it is essentially self-limiting.
As long as you are not averse to eating fat, you are very unlikely to overeat protein in an attempt to get enough calories.
If you’re worried about the depth of ketosis, see the first question.
Moreover, it turns out that most people can eat more protein than they think, and still be in ketosis.
Some can eat more than twice the minimum before ketogenesis falls below the therapeutic range.
When you eliminate all carbohydrate, your protein allowance increases.
For every gram of carbohydrate you ate on a keto diet,
you can eat two more grams of protein than you were eating before to get at most the same available glucose.
An exception worth mentioning is that people with hyperinsulinemia, typically recovering type 2 diabetics,
tend to have a higher blood sugar response and quicker reversal of ketosis in response to protein.
If this is you, or you just have a more acute response for some other reason, you may decide to moderate protein intake.
Nonetheless, it bears repeating that the benefits of a carnivorous diet do not appear to be directly dependent on ketone levels,
but on eliminating plants.
Where can I learn more?
Here are just a few of my favourite carnivore resources.
Contributions
Thank you to Zooko, Eric Rodgers, Kris Nuttycombe, Nick Mailer for some fine editing and suggested additions to this document.
Nice write up!
I've been meaning to try this. Been HFLC for 3 years, but never tried meat/fat only. I think I'll give this a go. LC has improved my health considerably, but I never feel 100% – something is still missing.
I'm a little surprised to see you say that organ meat isn't necessary. Organ meat and bone broth seem to be almost universally recommended on ketogenic diets for minerals and B vits. Do you see this differently?
Michael
Thank you, Michael.
I think organs and bone broth are very healthy, and I eat them. Whether they are necessary long term is debatable, but I certainly don't think they are necessary within 30 days. Since some people would be deterred from trying it if they thought they had to eat organs, I think it is important to note that it isn't an issue at this point.
Best of luck experimenting!
What a great, easy-to-follow introduction. The 30-day trial is exactly how I began my zero-carb journey, after years of diets that failed in one way or another (even very low carb, which helped me lose about half the body fat I needed to lose, but which left me still fighting cravings and falling off the wagon periodically). After expecting yet another failure, I was very surprised to see and feel positive health improvements within days. It's been over four years, as you know, and I've never looked back.
Thanks for this post, and for your great blog.
It really does eliminate a lot of possible points of failure, doesn't it? Thank you for sharing your success!
I don't particularly care for meat, but I want to try this. Is fish acceptable?
Fish is good, but it is probably too low in fat all by itself. You could add bacon drippings. For that matter, what about fish and bacon? You could also trying adding butter or cococut oil, or supplement with fish oil.
Do you like shellfish? They are very nutrient dense. Some people are intolerant or allergic, though.
I'd be interested to see how it goes!
I love sardines/kippers. The brand I usually eat have 8g of fat and 11g of protein per serving. I'll eat bacon every morning with eggs. I like salmon cooked in coconut oil. I can tolerate steak. I like chicken and even liver cooked in bacon. Stew beef has always been a favorite…I'll let you know…this page has been very helpful…thanks!
Fish is variable in fat content – mackerel has about 60% of its calories from fat, wild salmon 40%, herring 52% etc etc. So picking the right fish species can give you as good a fat/protein balance as the right cut of meat.
Great guide!
I've done a bunch of carb limitation, and this should help me try the next step. But as I wind up, a number of questions come to mind…
Are eggs optional because they can delay keto-adaptation, or just that they muddy the 'just meats' story?
Is canned fish in oil or water (eg sardines) a good meat to have in the mix?
When a traditional meat preparation makes use of cooking oil, what's recommended? (Or should an alternate prep method be chosen instead?)
You suggest a crock pot… but I've always thought of that as designed for mixed dishes, almost the opposite of 'nothing but meat'. Any pointers to using a crock pot for a 'nothing but meat' meal?
When eating this way (and especially when starting), are most of your meals a single meat type, and three traditionally-scheduled meals per day? Or more on an as-hungry basis?
Though the basics are simple, an example list of typical meals – down to specific cuts and preparation methods – could help fill in the implied details, for people who've never prepared so many just-meat dishes before…
Thanks!
The crock pot is wonderful for cheaper cuts of meat. They tend to have tough bits on them and of course, slow cooking all day long eliminates that problem. The cooking method itself is also healthier than just grilling everything–you don't wind up with all those charred by-products at every single meal.
If you eat canned fish, read the ingredients. A lot of these canners use soybean oil or other soy ingredients, and if you're sensitive to soy you will wind up with not all your symptoms going away and thinking the diet's failing you as a result. I've seen tuna canned in olive oil or just packed in salt. It'll cost more but it's not prohibitive.
It's a good idea to stick with about three meals a day to give your body time to recover from processing the food. If you eat a large enough meal every time, you shouldn't feel snacky in between.
Thank you, Gordon.
That we called eggs optional rather than central, is more a matter of anecdote. Several have said they feel better without, though others do fine. Others have said eggs are good, but they don't feel really satiated without also eating meat. YMMV.
Egg yolks are high in nutrients, including choline. You can get a lot of nutrients from eggs you would otherwise have to eat organs to get. Also they are very inexpensive.
I use lard or bacon drippings for cooking. You could also use butter, ghee, or coconut oil. I like to fry, because you don't lose the drippings, which is a drawback to grilling (but grilling is just so delicious!). The crockpot is great for bone broths or porkchops or roasts, for example. You can leave something cooking safely all day when you are out. You might want to crisp up chops or a roast under the broiler after, though.
I think eating when hungry is best, but we do tend to eat on schedule for various reasons, and I think that's okay, too. Once keto-adapted, many people say they prefer to eat fewer meals.
I hope some people will chime in with their favourite cooking methods.
is one way of cooking eggs best than others?
is one way of cooking eggs worse than others?
I like the convenience of boiling 18 eggs at a time and saving them in the fridge for when it is egg-time, but I'll switch to cooking them in bacon grease if the latter is a better option.
It's all good.
what about eating mostly (only?) eggs for a while if the person tolerates eggs with no problems?
Any experience or opinion about it, regarding hunger, nutrients, bowel movements?
I'm curious about this as well^
~Barb
I recently learned that if you pop a roast into a crockpot *and don't add water* that it will crisp up after enough hours. It came out perfectly. I think it was a beef roast or a pork roast.
Well done!
Love this idea and am definitely starting 2014 this way. Just shared on FB and unfortunately the thumbnail that came with it is the ketostix one and not the delicious steak one. Is this fixable?
Hi, Alan. Thanks for sharing it! I don't know if you can change your FB link once it's posted, but if you re-post, there should be a button that says "thumbnails" and it will give you the steak as an option.
greetings..I have been following the New Atkins for you induction and have lost 30 pounds and feel great.I have adapt my cleaner foods to theirs i.e.; organic and grassed products(readily available here in the PNW).I am embarking on an 8 week Keto Adaptation class thru my Naturepath and their process is a bit different.They have us using Keto blood readings. I have thought that I have been in Keto but my readings are low, so I guess I am still burning glucose for fuel. My main complaint has been a bit of constipation,so suing psyllium every morning. I drink tons of water,make my own bone broth etc.I have been at this since sept.1 2013 with the goal to lose 40 pounds, eliminate inflammation in my knees and avoid partial knee replacement. I have lost 30 pounds, the inflammation has lessened and my pain is minimal.I have tons of energy and I am sleeping well.Anyway, I am intrigued by this 30 day ) carb challenge (meat only).Thanks for the blog..will check it out..no real questions..just,if I am getting great results simply staying at 25 grams of Carbs(veggies),should I still experiment? I am not eating sugar of any kind,starchy vegetables,or grains in any form.Seeing lots of results.This diet feels sustainable.
Hi Canyon, congratulations on your success so far.
If what you are doing is working for you, I see no reason to change it, unless you are curious to see what would happen, or if progress stalls short of what you are aiming for. For example, if your weight goal is reached, but you still have a small amount of pain, trying meat only for a month may improve it further. It might not, of course, but if it did then you would be able to make trade-offs with more information.
Regarding the ketosis measurements, blood strips are more accurate and more relevant. They are also more expensive, but if you need to fine-tune, they are worth it, in my opinion. It's not uncommon for urine readings to correspond poorly to blood levels, because of hydration, and because of the changes that happen in adaptation.
Many people can benefit from lowering carbs even without being in ketosis, so again, if your results are progressing, you may not want to bother, unless you want to know if your experience would be even better in deeper ketosis.
Best of luck!
Amber, are you concerned with iron overload? Do you donate blood regularly or check your ferritin levels?
Thanks.
I've heard that can be an issue post-menopause, but I'm not there yet. My ferritin was normal last time I checked a couple of years ago.
I love the simplicity of this concept but I recently read that your body will convert excess protein into carbs. Does eating protein high in fat stop this from happening? Also, is it necessary to take supplements/vitamins during this diet? If so, what is recommended?
Live on!
Mike
Hi, Mike 42.
Please see this post about protein for links to more than you ever wanted to know about what happens to excess: How much protein is enough?.
In my experience, most people don't have to consciously cut back on protein to get in ketosis, but it can be an issue for some.
As to supplements during the 30 day trial, please see Keto-adaptation.
Thanks, and happy experimenting!
About the salt vs. blood pressure thing: it's an illusion. A person who has hyperinsulinism has chronically elevated insulin levels, and insulin triggers the kidneys to retain sodium. Naturally, eating more sodium while in a state of elevated insulin will make it look like the salt's raising your blood pressure. It's not really. The insulin is; it's not supposed to be constantly elevated in the first place.
This holds true as well for African-Americans. I was reading a while back about how they are more likely to be hyperinsulinemic than white people are. That explains their greater rate of hypertension. Their cure is the same as that for white people with metabolic syndrome: dump the carbs. Presto. Normal blood pressure.
There may be the rare exception to that rule but if I were a doctor, knowing what I do now–and I'm not–I would tell any patient to go low-carb FIRST, and if that doesn't work very quickly to normalize BP, first let's make sure they're doing the diet right, and then we'll look at other things.
It's a heck of a lot cheaper, and a heck of a lot easier on the body, to address BP that way.
Yes. Reducing salt intake can "significantly" reduce blood pressure, where "significantly" is a scientific term meaning the effect is almost certainly not a coincidence. That effect is not "significant" however, for someone with a blood pressure problem. It's just a couple of points, if I recall correctly.
Have you heard of Jack Kruse? He's a neurosurgeon who blogs about this kind of diet. I asked him about the difference between all meat/ fish diets and regular keto diets he said the all meat is designed to kill cravings and regular keto is for curing disease. I'm glad I know the distinction now and I'm ready to start. I have a freezer full of meat and fish and lots of coconut oil, butter, and bacon grease. By the way, it was my own doc that told me to go on this diet to cure my heart disease. I have had 7 stents put in within the last year, 6 of them in one artery. Weight loss is one goal. Surviving is primary!
I agree that all-meat will help kill cravings faster than a keto diet that includes small amounts of sweet things. There is no reason I know of to believe that all-meat is less therapeutic than including plants, though. If anything, I would suspect the opposite.
That's fantastic that your doctor is so knowledgeable!
Best,
Amber
Good work guys.
I want to start the ketogenic diet very soon. I've done low carb in the past but have recently gone through some life changes that have thrown me off completely. I welcome the idea of higher fat. I've done some reading and have a question. If I only eat meat for 30 days, how do I get the fat percentages high enough? It seems like protein percentages would be high but not necessarily fat percentages? Thank you for all the excellent information you provide.
How high fat do you want? I think 70-75% is fairly easy with just meat. Make sure you reserve the fat when cooking. Carnivorous ways to add fat include eating those drippings (I still can't keep up with our bacon yield), and making broths from fatty soup bones. Then there is butter. Coconut oil is plant derived, but probably not bad for you. You could try other plant oils, too.
Thanks! I didn't know if broths and coconut oil would be "allowed" in the all meat 30 day period.
Well, coconut oil is not strictly carnivorous, but since it is itself ketogenic and has favourable fats in it, it is one of the less likely plant products to derail you. Note that some people do have sensitivity to it, though.
Broth is meat!
So your saying eat until full? Cus I've been on Keto for 2 weeks now but I see to always be hungry. And can consume probably 4000 to 5000 calories per day. I however work out 5 days a week and do one hour of low intensity cardio those 5 days and lift heavy for 2.5 hrs per day for 5 days.
Also can you gain weight on Keto?
sol lee, I apologise for the delay in answering. I wasn't sure how to answer.
I have the strong intuition that being more than mildly hungry more than occasionally is unhealthy. So I would encourage you to listen to your hunger and eat when you need to. Calorie requirements differ immensely among people, I've found, and while 4-5000 is more than I've heard previously, it's not out of all possibility, especially if you are very active. I think it would be a good idea to measure your blood ketones and see where you are with that.
I don't know to what extent people can gain fat while measureably ketogenic. Many anecdotes suggest that it is hard to do, especially if you are avoiding common problem foods like dairy and nuts. There have been times I have failed to lose weight for long periods, but I've never actually gained while eating this way.
My husband has trouble eating enough to keep his weight while being in ketosis. While in deep ketosis, his hunger is so much suppressed, but when he eats some carbs on the side (and I don't mean the bad processed ones, just some greens or cheese or nuts) he has more appetite for the meat and fat that fuels us! Doing this 30 days experiment he really has to be thoughtful to eat enough and do his work-outs to not loose (too much) weight! Gaining fat is impossible for him on LowCarb or in Ketosis, so if he gains it must be muscle, so he must actively work on that. Gaining weight is often even harder than losing it!
Love your site, good information, correct and concise. But having a typo right up front [in the disclaimer] might put some people off, or possibly tarnish your web cred:
"You are the only person responsible for any effects on your health that might results from taking actions like those described here."
Wow. Thanks! It can be hard to see such things after the nth reading.
We are sold! My wife and I want to give it a try, but are vary curious about what one might actually eat might look like over a typical couple of days. Could you do a post that outlines what you actually eat over a couple of days? I know it might seem very mundane to some but would be very instructive to us.
Thanks so much for your blog!
Ok. I will put something together. Thank you for the encouragement!
Good news!
I just re-read my post and I make it sound like English is a second language for me! Yikes!
Even if all you did was take a picture of whatever you ate would be helpful. I understand the amount would be very individual but what was eaten would be very interesting. Do it for a couple of days so we get a "flavor" of what it looks like.
Not at all! In case I don't get to for a few days, I have briefly answered a similar question here
I agree with this, it would be really helpful with a list of what you eat!
A few questions. Is this safe while pregnant or nursing? I have been doing low carb for about two years and am currently 6 months pregnant. I am having a hard time with cravings for junk food and it's driving me crazy. Would love to get it back under control. Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean it's a license to go nuts with food. I know people say check with your doctor, but in my experience most don't know very much about nutrition.
Many people have successfully stayed in ketosis during pregnancy. It's not unsafe. I have an old forum post about it, from before I started blogging. It's a bit out of date, in that back then, people didn't really talk about it, but now many people do, so there is a lot more information to be found. I think there is even a FaceBook group for low carb pregnancy. It's on my list to update that post and port it to ketotic.org
Personally, I was not low carb for the whole time during my last pregnancy mainly due to overwhelming cravings and battling inherited severe nausea. (I hadn't done the research to know it was safe for the previous two, so I didn't try.) I was mostly low carb while nursing all three, and I ate carnivorously as described above for the whole nursing period of my last child, which was a year and a half, and it was fine. Better than fine.
Pregnancy is a hormonal roller coaster. Eat as well as you can, and forgive yourself if you give in to the cravings sometimes. I wish you an easy time with it!
wellnesswish, I'm sorry you removed your comment. I did see it, and I thank you. It meant a lot to me.
Ross, I'll put together a menu soon.
My main goal is to lose weight. This will help me, right? Im 5'10" and 230. My husband and I began a high fat no carb diet and he lost 15 pounds in less than three weeks. I gained 4. I have been trying different things and nothing seems to get the weight off. I have been going to crossfit 5 days a week since august and im still the same weight. Havent lost many inches as im still in the same clothing and the fit. I am hoping through eating strictly mean I can see some results? I try so very hard. Have you every heard of anyone with similar struggles?
Hi, Caitlin. That sounds very frustrating! It's hard to troubleshoot without more details. here are the questions that occur to me off the top of my head:
When you say you did a high fat no carb diet, can you be more specific? What was a typical day's food? Are you eating enough?
Crossfit is very intense! It sounds like you could be overtraining.
I think trying an all meat diet is worth a shot. I know many (myself included) who were stalled while eating a strict low carb diet, but who lost quickly on all meat.
Im writing from my phone and it is difficult to text. Please excuse the errors!
No problem
Hi, great blog! I'm doing keto for almost 3 months now my blood ketones stay pretty low and so does my energy level. I think about trying the thirty days meat thing. The problem is I am constantly hungry, so I would have to eat a lot of meat. Wouldn't all this protein throw me out of ketosis again as soon as I am in? Most people on this diet keep protein extremely low.
Thank you for the encouragement, 1981Mogli.
I take a hard line on hunger. I think it is almost always a signal that you are not getting enough nutrition. An energy level problem would be consistent with this. On the other hand, certain foods seem to increase hunger regardless of other input. In any case, I suspect that staying hungry chronically will lead to loss of lean mass, and other Bad Things, like reduced production of good hormones.
It sounds like you may not be keto-adapting. If you are not keto-adapting, you will not get enough energy. You need to be producing enough ketones to meet your energy needs. If you are keto-adapted, then you shouldn't be feeling hungry or lethargic.
So, I think your two best options are:
1. Try to figure out why you aren't getting into deep ketosis and fix that. For example, do you eat nuts or dairy? Are you overlooking a source of carbs? If you don't already, try logging your food for a few days or a week and see if you can learn something.
2. Do an experiment eating all meat whether it puts you out of ketosis or not. Some people seem to get benefit from this independently of ketosis. Regardless of the results, you can go back to trying deep ketosis armed with what you learn.
Let me know what you do and what you discover!
Thanks for the reply! Your´re right, I eat nuts and cheese. Sounds like eating nothing but meat could be a real help here. I´ll go for it. Thanks a bunch
I’m reading your website with great gusto.
I’ve had overwhelming chronic exhaustion these last 12 years plus a host of other issues. Before this began at age 42 I was running ultra marathons and working 80 hr weeks. And I was a high carb junkie just like all the running books instructed. I’ve been completely sidelined, can’t recover from exercise, uncomfortable and exhausted all the time, life draining exhaustion.
I’m new to the low carb eating strategy, been in ketosis 4 weeks now, feeling the odd glimpse of a change and lost 10 lbs. I’m keen to understand if all this time, I was in fact in a state of metabolic syndrome, pre diabetes, insulin resistance, etc. Or even just borderline given my own personal unique physiology.
A review of lab results these last 10 years; (I annoy my Drs by requesting copies of my results, and self experiment, a lot)
These are not chronological.
Triglycerides; 1.8, 1.6, 1.1 but also several in the .6-1.0 mmol/L range
HDL; 1.1, 1.2, 1.3, also several in the 1.4-1.6 range
Fasting Glucose; 6.6, 6, 5, 5.5, 5.3, 5.1, 4.9, 4.5, 4.2
A1C; 5.7, 5.7 in last 2 years, 10 years ago one test 5.5
BP; consistently 150-160/100-110, I was 140/90 my whole adult life including ultra running days, but also high carb.
Weight; shot up 50 lbs when this all began 12 yrs ago, waist went from 34 to 42, I’m 6 ft tall.
I seem to be over, under, boarderline but don’t know what that really means. I intend keeping on the low carb keto plan, early results FEEL good. But I’m afraid to go back to the same Drs who allowed this situation to continue as they all point back to the SAD strategy, what’s the point. None of 25 Drs ever suggested anything to do with diabetes or insulin intolerance, etc, although they obviously tested. So it would be nice to confirm with some degree accuracy, if I have in fact finally nailed down the root cause. Of course considering nothing is precisely 100%.
Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.
Greg
Hi, Greg.
The weight / waist gain, and high blood pressure does sound like metabolic syndrome developing. It looks like you are well on your way to improvement, though. I don't think that you can really get a retrospective diagnosis of met s., but if all of those things improve, and you feel better, then I guess you don't need a doctor's opinion. It would be interesting to get new bloodwork after a few more weeks and compare. Compare trigs/HDL, which is particularly indicative of insulin resistance.
Hi Amber,
Can any distilled spirits (e.g., vodka) be drunk during the 30 days, or would that wreck everything.
Thanks very much for that write up and for everything here and on your other site. It's very interesting and exciting.
-D
Sorry, meant to end the first sentence with a question mark. Didn't mean to sound non-human!
Hi, Dave. I'd skip the alcohol, just to be sure. Nothing non-human about typos.
Hi Amber, many thanks for making this content public, keep up the good work. I'm a Pro mountain biker and I'm looking to the ketogenic diet for athletic performance. I've been working on improving my ability to use fat as fuel for over a year and seven weeks ago I finally cut the carb back loading and went full keto. My performance on the bike is good, and I'm enjoying all of the benefits you describe here but my blood ketones remain stubbornly below the 1mmol/L mark. A typical day for me is 80% fat, 15% protein (around 100g) and 5% carbs. I already know that if I eat more protein than this I see a delayed elevation in my blood glucose from the mid-eighties to around one hundred. Could too much protein be holding me back? Any advice?
I should add that I weigh 62kg and am 175cm tall. I've lost 4kg in two months since going keto.
Hi, Christopher.
I am sorry to be so late responding.
That really does not seem to be too much protein, so I'm surprised at your results. Are you still doing this? Did the ketones ever get higher?
Hi Amber. Thank you for this great resource you have made available for us! I have a couple questions for you – 1. What do you think about taking powdered whey protein as part of the 30 day Keto challenge? 2. What do you think about taking supplements like a multivitamin, calcium pyruvate, fiber and potassium on the 30 day Keto challenge?
Hello, 5oriole5,
You can certainly do a ketogenic diet with whey, and those supplements shouldn't be a problem. It wouldn't be the same as *this* experiment, but that's ok. Did you try it?
Hi Amber and everyone, I'm so thankful for this 30 Day All Meat challenge you propose here! I'm struggling with weight gain on a (V)LCHF diet for so long now! I've even tried Nutritional Ketosis like Phinney and Volek, and of course Jimmy Moore, are advertising, but even that didn't work out. Last january I read Dr. Eades his post 'Tips and trics on (re)starting a Low Carb diet', followed all the links, read through most of the comments and then I stumbled upon this blog and ketotic.org! And when I read it I realised that Dr. Eades casually mentioned your approach now and then in the comments too! That's not just coincidence, that's worth a serious try! So now I thought I'd thank you for advising this so explicitly, or else it wouldn't stick with me long enough to give it a try! And I'd want to give an update on how this is working out for me so far.
So, taking into mind what you said about occasions always popping up, I just waited for my own birthday to be over and started the next day. I'm now 18 days into my first 30 days of the Meat Only challenge! And it has been great! It has worked the wonders that Low Carb did for me in the very beginning, but that Nutritional Ketosis like Jimmy does didn't! I have this breath ketone meter (http://www.ketonix.com), which is a one-time expense and therefor a lot cheaper than the blood ketone testing strips I used before, but way more accurate than the urine strips. So, I know it took me 5 to 6 days to achieve deep ketosis. Meanwhile my ever rising fasting blood glucose values were getting lower and lower! And the best news: I have so far lost 3.5 kg (7.7 lbs)! And I expect to be losing more, because my appetite is getting less. I'm eating so little food now, compared to before I started, I just don't feel like it. It's for the first time since a long time, I guess since the beginning when I started LowCarb 4 years ago, that I feel my appetite is correctly regulated! Also, I feel great again! Energized, clarity of thought, sleeping like a baby, efficient and fit. I feel like moving around a lot. And I feel happy.
(part 1 of 2)
So, what do I eat on this diet? First I have to tell you, I'm only 5.4 ft tall (164 cm) and as of now I weigh 159 lbs (72.3 kg) so I really don't need that much food, small person here
Out of curiosity I entered my food in Cron-o-Meter for a few days, turns out I get like 1700 – 1800 kcal which is 75-80% fat and the rest protein, maybe 2-3 grams hidden carbs somewhere. Cron-o-Meter tells me I get like 75-90 grams of protein per day and most of my nutriënts also. It's not hard to get all your nutriënts when you eat high-quality meat! It also helps that I love liver and make my own bone broth.
I eat a breakfast of 2 eggs and 3 big slices of bacon, and a cup of coffee with butter and coconut oil (resp 25 gr and 7 gr). Then I planned to eat fish or sliced meat for lunch every day, but it turns out that I'm not hungry until dinnertime. But if I am I take a few slices of salami, bacon, salmon, a bit of mackerel and every other day I drink a cup of homemade bone broth, usually with half an egg whisked in it. I drink another coffee with butter and coconut oil in the afternoon. At dinner I just eat some meat with drippings. First I ate like 200 gram and greens and added butter, now I feel usually stuffed before I even ate 150 grams! After diner it's just one last coffee with butter and coconut oil and that's all. I'm not keeping my intake down on purpose, really, I strongly believe that one should eat when hungry and not when not hungry. It's just really that I don't feel hungry anymore, and it's great!
I just wanted to share how well this is working for me and wonder about other succes stories, but also unsuccessful ones! I don't see this diet as a new way of life for me though, but as a really powerful tool to keep my weight and health in check! I miss certain things, especially certain dishes we used to make, mostly with cheese, cream and yogurt in it. I don't miss the veggies at all! But I really enjoyed that one piece of very dark chocolate I ate every day, and a glass of whisky in the weekends. Also some seasonal fruits (freshly picked from the garden) are most certainly going to make a comeback in my diet. But now I know how they can make me stall and now I know how to get onto track again, so now I'll be more careful to take all those foods in moderation, maybe meat-only on weekdays and special dishes in the weekends? However, thank you again for so plainly advising to go meat-only! It's the best thing I've done since going LowCarb!
(part 2 of 2)
Thank you so much for sharing those details!
i have horrible acid reflux and depression, could this thirty day exp really work for me?
It certainly could. Those symptoms have commonly been eliminated in others. No guarantees, of course.
I'm working on getting ready to start this for 30 days. Just one question: is the zero carbs a true zero carbs or a net zero carbs? For instance, I have a vitamin that is 5 carbs but has 5 fiber for a net carb of zero. Is that alright or is this a full elimination of carbs of any kind of 30 days? Thanks in advance for the answer.
Hi, Bishop,
If the vitamin is something you know is important for you, then I would keep it in. If it is just something you were doing because it sounded like a good idea, you might as well try without for the 30 days. Your call.
Update: please see this note about urine keto sticks on our science blog: http://www.ketotic.org/2014/04/keto-adapted-but-no-ketones.html
What is your view if vitamin supplements? I take a multi, D, C, mag, calc, potassium and have for years based in various recommendations, but wondering if I need to eating mostly meat.
Just saw the referral to Keto-Adaptation, so no extra vitamins needed. Glad to stop the extras.
You have probably seen this, but if not, more on the study about protein viz longevity: http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-13101/are-high-protein-diets-harmful.html
Love this blog, great job!
i will try this challenge for sure) already bought some ribeye steak nom nom)
Hello,
Great information. I have tried a low carb diet and entered ketosis very quickly. My breath and the body odour was awful. I presume there is no avoiding this? I had to stop because the smell was so bad. Does the smell go away?
u should drink much more water and smell will go away.
I have been reading through your blogs, and I find them interesting. I am considering doing the 30 day challenge. Then I found this webpage:
http://www.poliquingroup.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/1143/Eight_Common_but_Dangerous_Mistakes_of_A_High-Fat_.aspx
A lot of this information seems to contradict your research. Have you seen this before? What are your thoughts on some of this?
Hi, Matthew. Thanks for the question. I've written a post to answer.
Dangerous Mistakes of Reading the Internet.
Amber-thanks!!!! You are amazing!
Just found your blog via Dr. Ede's Diagnosis Dier (esp the post on vegetables). I suspect I'm very sensitive to certain food groups that may trigger certain issues. I'll be going all meat (avoiding fruit/veg) for awhile and see what happens.
Sometime ago I avoided most known problem foods, i.e. wheat/gluten/dairy/sugar/processed foods, etc, and I felt stable and, well, myself again!
Will be following your latest exploits!
Tony.
Good luck!
Excellent blog , can you give us a day in the life of what you eat with pictures . Would help to give people like myself some context on protien to fat ratio.
Hi, Pratt. I keep saying I'm going to do this, but I find it challenging. Maybe I can outsource it to some carnivorous friends…
When I have measured, it usually comes out to about 30%–70% protein–fat for me.
Also can a all meat diet cause hypothyroidism ?
I highly doubt it. Lowering carbs (or calories) reduces T3, but in a benign way. I've written a post about that, but it needs editing, because it's a bit too dense. The post is here. I have posed the question, and then answered in detail below the question.
Anecdotally, I had (barely) low thyroid before I started eating this way, and now it is normal.
After these comments, back in May and June of 2014, Amber (with a little help from me) wrote this great science article explaining that an all-meat diet probably *helps* with thyroid regulation in most people: http://www.ketotic.org/2014/12/the-effect-of-ketogenic-diets-on.html
Great blog
It says in the comment section that we can make broth to up the fat intake. Please tell me how to make broth.
Thanks Kate
Hi, Kate. I throw bones in a crockpot, fill it with water, and simmer it for a day or two.
Hi Amber, thank you for this information. I'm want to trytrythec30 days challenge as motivated to try anything diet that might help increase my chances of having a baby. Do I need to use organic meats?
Hello. If you are having infertility as a result of PCOS, this could be of help. The meat does not have to be organic. Good luck to you!
Great post! I can't help but agree with you on anything you wrote. However, I've been surprised by this statement: « The only exercise regimens we know of which may not be sustainable on a ketogenic diet are those that involve high intensity interval training on a daily basis. » Could you please give some reference or examples for this? Thanks!
Hi, Michella. We're talking about a situation in which you severely deplete glycogen without much time for recovery, such as is seen in some crossfit groups. We're not saying it definitely isn't sustainable, just that the jury isn't out yet, and there is controversy about it.
Hi Amber! Thanks a lot for your reply.
I'm also eager to know your opinion about the question Chistopher Haslam posted on August 2nd, since I experienced similar effects: I felt I really needed adding salt while adapting, however I stopped it afterwards since I observed it made me retain lots of water in my body (pretty quickly and clearly: not painful at all, but I had my ankles and feet swelling so that they looked like an elephant's!). So, I entirely stopped salt consumption and felt great again. For the taste, if the meat is of good quality, I don't feel like I need some extra salty taste.
Yes, I would only add it if you desired it or felt like you needed it.
Hi. A quick question. Do you still add a lot of salt to your diet after doing this for so long. I felt I needed it while adaptation but it just comes out my skin now. I'm very active and when I sweat it is so full of salt it stings my eye's. After adaptation does your body hold onto sodium. I started this way of eating to cure small intestinal bacterial overgrowth and am remaining to eat like this because of the numerous other benefits I have found also. Thanks for the blog.
Hi, Christopher. I mostly follow salt to taste. I don't think there's any reason to add it unless you are feeling like you want it, or if you were having symptoms of low sodium, like cramps, fatigue, or muscle weakness.
I'm so glad you are getting benefits. I'd love to hear more about them, if you want to give any details.
Cheers,
Amber
Hi Amber. Great blog here. I am wondering what your thoughts are on 'clarified butter' that is only pure butterfat with all the non-fat portions removed?
Also, I am planning to start a meat only diet soon and am having trouble with seasoning ideas besides using fat and a little salt. What other seasonings are "okay" besides these? Pepper, small amounts of tamarind sauce? Thanks!
Amber, since starting a ketogenic diet yesterday, I forgot how much flavor fat has. I don't believe I'll need much seasoning besides salt but wondering if you ever "experiment" with any herbs, spices, or other condiments? I also noticed you mentioning TKD in some of your posts. I am using a whole banana as my source of carbs before workouts, do you suggest another fiber-less source such as maple syrup, etc? I have tried CKD many years ago due to Lyle McDonald's Ketogenic Diet but never have I tried a SKD or TKD. If my ailments don't resolve on TKD, I will move further into SKD land.
I've also taken a look at the ketotic.org site and am thoroughly impressed. I wonder if you and Zooko have already heard the claims that "95% of serotonin is produced in the gut" and if you have checked out the research on this? I did a search of 'serotonin' on your sites and did not find any reference to it. If true, it could have profound inferences for the ketogenic diet as well.
Hi, Roy.
I eat butter, even the non-clarified kind. I have been deliberately eating more meat fat — bacon drippings, lard, tallow, duck fat — I think it is often wasted, and it is very healthy and (duck fat excluded) inexpensive compared to butter. Still, I think butter is a delightful food.
I'm glad you are enjoying the fat! I do eat some spices now and then. The longer I have been eating primarily without them, though, the more I can notice when they don't agree with me. A little salt and pepper tastes downright regal after habituating to none, and doesn't give me any problems.
When I did TKD, I actually just bought dextrose candies. It's easy to measure how much you are getting, and it isn't impeded by digestion much at all.
Re: serotonin, I don't know a lot about the gut production work, but generally, I don't believe in the serotonin hypothesis of depression, either. That's not to say that I think serotonin isn't involved in mood regulation — of course it is. I just think that serotonin is only one small piece of it.
Hello, Robot! I hope you return and repost!
If people still need convincing, give them this link:
http://inhumanexperiment.blogspot.com/2009/09/two-brave-men-who-ate-nothing-but-meat.html
It is really an eye-opener, especially if the links in the body of the article are followed.
Been on the diet for 5 days. Should I be concerned about a lack of bowels. I drink plenty of water. I don't feel bloated or bound up. Also, the ketone sticks are reading negative. Perhaps my supplements are interfering. I take Maca root, a calcium magnesium combo, brown seaweed, coQ 10 and a probiotic. Any thoughts?
Don't confuse not needing to go with constipation. In constipation, you feel like you need to but you can't; it's stuck. The volume of fecal matter is much more with carbs and fiber, because there is so much waste. If I understand correctly, a lot of bacterial turnover is produced, too, as you feed the population. With meat, much less is wasted, and the bacteria don't get so much either.
Are your sticks turning purple yet?
Thanks for the reassurance. I am feeling great. Sticks are at moderate, getting darker. I decided that even the fatty cuts in the market weren't fatty enough. So, I made some baconaise, yum. I figured the tiny bit of mustard and egg yolk would be okay, no carbs all fat. I think the extra bacon fat is helping me get the color I am getting on the sticks. Eating three meals a day, I feel satisfied eating that, rarely hungry actually, just the feeling that's it's time to refuel. 9 days and counting. Doing this with my husband, we have dabbled in low carb with okay results. I discovered ketogenic dieting and found your site, totally new level of nutrition. I have hyperprolactinemia and hope that this will help. Thanks for the great site.
Excellent. It helps to have your spouse on board.
I hope it helps with the hyperprolactinemia , too. I'd be very interested to hear if you notice any effects on that in the next couple of weeks.
Best,
Amber
Hi, I posed a comment yesterday and I don't see it. Does it need to be approved?
I'm going to try again. I guess I didn't hit publish. I have been doing a high fat, very low carb ketogenic diet since the end of March. I have about 8 lbs to lose to get to my goal. I lost 1 lb initially. I have lost about 1/2 inch on my waist. And that is it since end of March. I did have some days where I may have been slightly higher on the carbs when I was on a few road trip vacations with my family. But we are talking a few fried calamari's (and I mean like maybe 4 of them). I typically stay around 15g of net carbs and sometimes less. Anyway, I have had no results. Any ideas why? I do have to have heavy cream in my coffee, can't drink it black. I will have half and half if nothing else is available. I also like coconut oil treats with raw cacao and 1 drop of stevia that I freeze into a chocolate. I started out using these to increase my fat for the day. I was trying for 80% fat for the day. Now I really love the treat. Can I still have coconut oil with the all meat diet? For cooking only perhaps, no treats? I really want to get this weight off but it won't budge. Maybe all meat will work for me. Thanks!
Hmmm, no response? I think these posts are going through. I can see them on the site now
Sorry, Chloe. I did see your comments, but haven't had time to reply. I just got back home after 3 months away from my family, and am behind in everything! Even so, if you look back at the comments history, you may notice that I sometimes am unable to respond for much longer. I have a very full life.
I should probably consider setting up a forum so that people can help each other more.
Anyway, as to your questions:
If you avoid sweet things during the 30 days, then your cravings will probably subside more quickly. Cravings for sweet things can dysregulate your appetite and cause you to feel hungry when you aren't.
It's really important to eat to hunger, otherwise you will be undernourished and may feel tired and unwell. So if the signal you are getting about hunger is disrupted by sweetness cravings, then you would be in the same situation low-calorie dieters are in: you would have to ignore your own body's signals to proceed, and doing so may not even work, since those signals tend to reflect the underlying fuel use. That is, in the case of a high carb, low calorie diet, people typically have to fight hunger. This reflects the fact that lean mass is being lost. The body doesn't want to lose lean mass, so it fights. It asks for food. If you respect the call for it, your diet fails. If you ignore it, you lose lean mass and feel shitty.
Some people don't have this problem when eating sweet tasting things in the context of a low carb diet, but others do. So if you continue to eat that treat and you don't get positive results, you won't know if that was holding you back.
On the theme of eating to hunger, I don't think it is necessary or even desirable to worry about getting to 80% fat. I think most people who are long term keto-carnivores tend to fall at about 65-75% naturally.
Finally, if you are within 8 pounds of your goal, understand that this fat may be not considered undesirable by your body. If you are trying to get to the level of body fat that women on fashion magazines sport, that might not be particularly realistic. Even they don't look like that all of the time, and they work hard to do so, and probably do undernourish themselves in the weeks before photo shoots. If you have already lost a lot of weight, it may take years of continuing to eat healthily for composition to shift. I am still about 5 pounds over my goal weight after nearly five years eating this way, but have been more or less stable at what is truly a very healthy weight without any need to restrict the quantity of food I eat. Even so, I have been through multiple periods of long-term stability followed by further improvement. It really is a matter of patience and trust in your body to heal itself.
Best of luck,
Amber
A forum would be terrific. I'm doing a 10 day protein-fat start up. Just getting over a nadty upper respiratory bug I am going to squash with mighy meat!
Nan
Make that "a nasty" bug–i always need an edit, sorry.
Hello. I was wondering what you thought of fiber supplements like psyllium husk. Thank you.
That's a loaded question! In my opinion, part of the benefit of not eating plants comes exactly from avoiding fiber. There may be some therapeutic reasons to take fiber, but most of the ones that are commonly talked about are unfounded, and may even make the problem worse! So it really depends on your purpose and situation. I would advise against them in almost all cases.
Ok, thanks! There are some recipes online that use psyllium husk that interested me. Maybe I'll try only if really desperate for something different (but eating different things is my slippery slope! Ha).
Hi so i started eating about 95% meat (fatty beef, salmon, butter, crab, pork) with about maybe even less of 5% carbs i.e. lettuce, lemon water, eggs, and now im thinking i should avoid carbs completely as they may slow down the body's path to ketosis. but i still havent felt this euphoria or relief of gerd. its interesting you say it takes 30 days or longer to get full effects of keto where most other sources conclude it only takes days to a week. i have auto immune issues like allergies, asthma, inflammation, gerd and adhd although the latter may not be completely autoimmune. im wondering if it really takes 30 days to feel the effects. thank you
Hi, phil,
For many people we've talked to, there is a *profound* difference between eating only meat, and eating 95% meat. Until you try ALL meat, I would reserve judgement. That includes eliminating spices and condiments. I think this is especially the case with the kinds of issues you mention. What exactly do you eat that's not meat? Why not try eliminating them?
We didn't say it takes 30 days to keto-adapt, we said 30 days to keto-adapt *and then* start experiencing the benefits! No point stopping right after you adapt…
L Amber, why should spices be avoided? Were you referring here to the 30-day only-meat challenge? Or to even after day 30th if one were to remain an all-meater?
Thank you!
Basically two reasons. One is that it can interfere with satiety, and the other is that some people have sensitivities. Spices are generally concentrated, so can have a much larger effect than one might expect. Once you've done the 30 days, it will be a lot easier to tell if these problems apply to you. I never thought I had sensitivities, until I eliminated spices, and then witnessed their effects after going without.
ok awesome! im already feeling a reduction in inflammation from heartburn but i think youre spot on about the all meat thing and i think a lot of this is a patience thing to because western medicine is all about a quick fix, but this may take time. i really think i may have found a solution to all my auto immune issues and even if it doesnt take care of everything there still so many benefits. so now i think my diet will pretty much be alaska salmon, grass fed organic beef and maybe some crab occasionally. how does that sound? and how do you feel exercise plays into this equation? like cardio and building muscle? i think it should all be fine although it seems like the real health booster is the no carbs and high fat, not the exercise. thank you so much
That sounds too lean. Are you concerned about eating conventionally farmed animals, or is it an ethical issue?
Exercise is good for you, but it's not very relevant to this experiment, and it's secondary to diet by a long measure.
also how long did it take you to fully fully adapt to the point where you felt you couldn't adapt anymore
I still feel like my health is improving, but as to *adaptation*, I don't think I noticed effects beyond a week. On the other hand, some of my very athletic friends say their full *performance* didn't return for a few weeks.
sorry just one more question. so i hear its best to use all animal products so is butter better to cook with than olive oil? also should i be drinking the leftover bacon grease/meat grease and lard from cooking or is eating just the meat good enough because im getting the feeling that fat is more important than protein but on a lot of these meats especially with a ribeye, theres already so much fat. so hopeful that you can answer my questions because i dont really know who else to talk to about this awesome new way of life.
No need to apologise. Yes. This experiment is animal only! At least for the duration of it, I would not use olive oil or even coconut oil. This could be key from an allergies/asthma/inflammation/gerd/adhd standpoint.
Eat all of the fat from your meat. Butter is fine, but I think lard / bacon grease is even better, especially for cooking, as it doesn't burn. Expect, if you measure, to find you are getting at least 65% calories from fat.
Ok so im assuming maybe the reason its not working so well is because of the veggie oils and not enough fat. So if i made bacon and theres like half and an inch left in the pan should i be drinking that in small amounts all day with my meats and is grass fed, organic an issue and what about exercise like is it good and i still havent felt a huge change but im going to wait a month thanks
Well, it's hard to troubleshoot online. Why don't you join our discussion forum? http://ketotic.discoursehosting.net Describe there what you mean by "not working", and what effects you have seen if any.
I had tried all-meat diet, and the result was fantastic. However, it stops working, and I suppose the reason is i have been on all-meat diet for long enough to make my body get used to it. Therefore, i have tried all-egg diet, and i start losing fat. I eat about 15 eggs every day although I do doubt if it will not affect my health. But i'm still afraid that after I have been on the diet for 1 month for instance, it will stop working just like all-meat diet. So, if that really is going to happen, do you think i still can give all-meat diet another try?
When I was on all-meat diet, and of course the diet was still working, I ate 1.5kg meat per day: 2 boiled chicken thighs for breakfast (06.45 AM), 2 for lunch (11.30 AM) and 3 for dinner (4 PM). Yes, I stopped eating before it's six o'clock and was not really hungry. And I also do the same when I'm on an all-egg diet.
Hi, MinhChâu Phạm.
I have some questions:
1. Why 1.5kg? If that is really what you were hungry for, that's fine, but for the non-metric people, that's 3.3 lbs! I find it hard to eat more than 2lbs of meat a day, and I eat more than most people I know.
2. But maybe the math is wrong. I estimate 7 chicken thighs to be about 1 pound total. Maybe you meant 1.5 lbs? That would be more plausible.
3. Why do you boil them? It's really important to be getting enough fat! Not only that, but if you are aware of Phinney's paper, Ketogenic diets and physical performance, it specifically warns against muscle loss caused by boiling poultry and not drinking the broth, because you need the potassium. So perhaps that was the problem.
4. How do you know it stopped working? Did you plateau? How long did you wait?
The idea that your body "gets used to" a diet and it stops working is suspect to me. We're not trying to "trick" the metabolism. We're trying to work with it. So we shouldn't expect a counterbalancing adaptation of the metabolism.
I usually buy frozen chicken thigh bag, each bag has 10 chicken thighs and all of them weigh 2.2 kg, so it means that 7 chicken thighs weigh about 1.5 kg, isn't it?
I boil them because it doesn't take as much time as frying them. And I think the skin already contains fat?
I measure my stomach and waist every morning before I eat anything just to see the result. If the diet works, I will lose 1 cm of belly fat. The first ten days I was on a low-carb diet, I lost 7 cm of belly fat. Thus, I know whenever a diet is still working or it has stopped.
Ok, so the math is right, then presumably.
It's interesting to me that when you eat chicken thighs like this, you eat so much more than when you eat eggs, and I wonder if it comes back to the fat. Yes there is some attached the skin, but the skin itself is mostly protein. Maybe you could try drinking the broth?
Regarding the measurement: First, you are very likely to lose a lot of water weight and bloat when you first start a low carb diet, so you can't really compare the first ten days of a low carb diet to the ongoing weight loss after you keto-adapt. Second, weight loss is typically faster when you have more weight to lose, so without knowing if you are talking about a goal loss of 10 lbs or 100, it's hard to know what to expect. Thirdly, changes in waist measurements are small, and in a week, I wouldn't necessarily be confident in the difference to be greater than the variance due to error. Even though scales don't take into account body composition, for a weekly measurement, they are probably more accurate. Fourth, for women, weight loss can vary over the course of a menstrual cycle. When I was losing, I often actually gained during certain phases, even though the whole month gave a loss.
When you stay you know it has stopped, are you talking about no change in a week, or no change in a month?
All that said, there is no harm in just eating the eggs for now if that's working and satisfies you. If that gets boring, maybe try substituting some of the eggs for one thigh for a awhile and see what happens.
I don't think what I have lost is simply just water. I have been on low-carb diet for almost a half year, and my waist did not get smaller only the first 10 days but also days after. And I was talking about there was no change in a week.
hi Ambre,
1. I wonder how you get vitamin c (assuming you don't eat beaf brain regularly)
2. How do you get enough calcium (considering ZERO dairy). The RDA recommend 1000mg a DAY! As far as I know, the lack of calcium is only feelable after many years. Don't you afraid you may face such problem in the far future?
Thanks a lot for any comment.
And also..
3. What about potasium? The RDA is 4700mg. I don't think you can get this amount from the broth (right?). From my experience with 95% meat, I berely get half of it.
Thanks again.
Hi.
The answer to this would be a post or two in itself.
RDAs have a few problems, such as often not being based on real evidence, and even when they are, such as based on an amount to prevent an identified deficiency (such as with scurvy), they are tested in carbohydrate eaters. It turns out metabolism changes a lot on a low carb diet, in ways that effect your nutrient and mineral usage and excretion.
A good summary for why vitamin C is not an issue can be found on Ellen Davis's site (obviously only the second and third of the three points apply to all-meat diets.
Potassium will be adequate as long as you don't boiled the meat and then throw the water away.
The RDA seems to be based on epidemiological correlations to things like blood pressure.
"On the basis of available data, an Adequate Intake (AI) for potassium is set at 4.7 g (120 mmol)/day for all adults. This level of dietary intake (i.e., from foods) should maintain lower blood pressure levels, reduce the adverse effects of sodium chloride intake on blood pressure, reduce the risk of recurrent kidney stones, and possibly decrease bone loss. Because of insufficient data from dose-response trials demonstrating these effects, an Estimated Average Requirement (EAR) could not be established, and thus a Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) could not be derived."
Dietary Reference Intakes for Water, Potassium, Sodium, Chloride, and Sulfate ( 2005 )
But if you were really concerned about that, you could eat fish Foods highest in Potassium and Magnesium, and lowest in Total Carbohydrate (thank you, Rose!)
Meat has calcium, especially if you make stock from the bones, as I do. Again, though, I think the RDAs are just off.
Amber…
Thanks for contributing to the keto world. I peruse you site thoroughly!
I am 68, insulin resistant, and have been doing keto for over a year. If I restrict my calories, and exercise, I do "okay." Otherwise, I actually GAIN weight. I do eat cheese and I have a lot of coffee in the morning (4 cups) with 1 tablespoon heavy cream in each cup. i realize your stance about dairy, and maybe that is my problem.
I seldom eat to satiety… it just "seems" like too much… so I am ALWAYS ready for the next meal. In other words, I don't get the benefit from the natural fast of being able to skipa meal because I am sated.
I weight 245 lbs, and I am 5'11. Yesterday I did my run/walk 5k in 52 minutes. I would be willing to try anything you recommend and report back to you. Thank you so much!
Well, I'm not sure what else to say other than try the above suggestions, including putting aside the dairy, and eating to satiety,and see what happens.
Anecdotally, it is not uncommon for people who have a history of calorie restriction or over-exercise to see initial gains. From what I have seen, they subside once your body has nourished itself. However, I don't know how much risk you can tolerate, and there are no guarantees.
Maybe try it for a shorter period, like 2 weeks,and then reassess.
Best of luck!
I love your posts + I too am now in midst of Feinman's book. He's great!
Wondering what your suggestions might be for myself:
I have been VLC (~50 carb or less/day) + ~70 grams protein/day with balance in fats — for 2.5 years.
AM blood ketones measure at least 1.3 + sometimes, 3.5.
Height is 5'11' + weight is 156lbs.
But fasting glucose is typically 105-120 + A1C is 5.6.
Could my age (70 yrs) be the reason?
Would greatly appreciate your thoughts.
thanks
Hi, thank you.
Fasting BG of 120 would make me a bit uncomfortable. But it depends on context. Is it a dawn phenomenon (i.e. higher in the morning than the evening)? Were you diabetic before starting VLC? Is this an improvement from then, or is it higher than before?
Stability is also important. What does it get up to after you eat?
My fasting BG is usually more like 85, though I haven't measured recently, but I know that some people have fasting BG around 100 on keto, and it might be explained by physiological insulin resistance (which isn't harmful in this context). Other than that, I don't know why that would be.
Also, in my opinion, your protein intake looks inadequate. Take a look at my recommendations for minimum protein. Maybe you should try increasing your protein to 85g, and see what happens.
Sorry, that should be 85 if you are female, 99, if you are male. —Am
hi Amber.
Thank you very much for your answer.
A long time I was wondering about the vitamin C intake. you finally found a good explanation for me. Thanks!
as I mentioned, I'm now 95% meat only. I have just got blood tests. I know that in your blog, I should not expect too much "excitement" because of high levels of cholesterol, but please(!) look at these numbers:
From left to right: before paleo (HC), after 5 months paleo(LC), after 2 months ketogenic (VLC)
TC: 145 261 332(!)
LDL: 105 189 250(!)
HDL: 32 62 65
TG: 40 48 86(!)
Glucose: 86 97 110(!)
TC/HDL : 4.53 4.21 5.11(!)
LDL/HDL: 3.29 3.05 3.85
TG/HDL: 1.25 0.77 1.32
my VLC results disappointed me. I read a lot of scientific info that claimed that after a while, LC and VLC cholesterol-profile should look more like my LC results than my VLC results (and I am highly suspect the VLC was NOT actually a big difference, but just prolonged a few more months).
I guesshope I now justified my right to have cholesterol-profile-blood-test (in order to really count my LDL, oxLDL and sdLDL). I'll go to my physician, and see…
My feeling now is that I'm pushing too much my self- experiment, based on un-founded-enough evidences.
Why I am doing this? Well… I'm trying to treat my ADHD… when I started paleo-diet I stopped consuming ritalin (after 11 years…). I can not say that the ADHD disappeared, but I am feeling relief of SOME of the symptoms. My mood is generaly good and stable, my body condition (as I measure my exercises), my hunger, are significantly better.
Well, I'm just an anecdote. Not really going to change any opinion of anybody. I wonder what are your thoughts…
What do you eat on your VLC diet?
this is a good representation of my daily diet:
300 grams of faty-beaf,
2-4 eggs,
about 100grams of butter,
100 grams of caned-sardins in olive-oil, drained.
30 grams of coconut-oil.
100 grams of yellow-hard-cheese 28% fat,
100 grams of mascarpone-cheese 40% fat.
1 bell-pepper,
1 tomato,
1 lemon,
about 10 grams of olive-oil
My weight is 64 kg. Height is 178 centimeters
this is a good representation of my daily diet:
300 grams of faty-beaf,
2-4 eggs,
about 100grams of butter,
100 grams of caned-sardins in olive-oil, drained.
30 grams of coconut-oil.
100 grams of yellow-hard-cheese 28% fat,
100 grams of mascarpone-cheese 40% fat.
1 bell-pepper,
1 tomato,
1 lemon,
about 10 grams of olive-oil
My weight is 64 kg. Height is 178 centimeters
Hello,
I just have this one question: Aren't salt supposed to make you bloat?
I had that problem when I ate a mixed carb diet. I had to limit salt because I would get bloat and extremity swelling. Without the carbs – no swelling, no bloat and lots of other health improvements!
Aren't the nutrients in vegetables important for your health?
Hi, Zachary,
It turns out they aren't. Most of the articles on this site are about that. You can get everything you need from meat.
Hi my name is peter, I am 5ft 5inch tall 271lbs need to lose 81lb ,started 30 day eat meat only, 1/1/2016 this is day 3 just added up calories and it's over 3000 for one day is this wrong, ate until full what am asking is will my appetite decrease as I stick to this diet it just feels wrong to eat that many calories…thank you
Hi, Peter. It's probably fine. It's really important to just eat to your appetite. The first few days, it's especially important not to restrict food quantity—you are adapting fuel sources, and you need energy.
If you have been calorie restricting for a long time, you might gain weight initially, but it will be healthy weight.
For comparison, I am 5'6, and when I was losing weight (I lost 60 pounds), I measured for awhile at one point, and I was eating 2500-3000 calories a day.
Thanks for answering, that superb I will carry on, it just I looked at what I was eating and thought this can't be right, but as I said thanks feel more relaxed knowing it okay , will wait until day 30 to see changes again thanks…
You're welcome. Let us know how it goes.
Hi, I'm on day 14 w very high fat, mod. protein and very low carb (only green and non-starchy vegs) The problem I'm experiencing is, I am very fatigued. So tired the last several days I can hardly function. Is this normal? Will this change if I hang in there and become fully kept-adapted? Thx.
Very normal and will definitely change when you adapt!
dang that spell corrector… I really said: Will this change if I hang in there and become fully KETO-adapted? I did not mean KEPT-adapted. lol
Initially I thought that might be true, (or maybe I was hoping it was) but now I'm not so sure that what I'm experiencing is normal Marisa… I just got several test results back and it seems these tests reflect several serious issues going on w me that would cause extreme fatigue . Apparently I have gut as well as adrenal/cortisol issues. My doctor, who's also a functional medicine practitioner, said that given these results, no matter what I ate (or didn't eat) I would not be able to lose weight or feel better until these problem areas were addressed and healed. Fact is, I wasn't just a little tired I was so exhausted and fatigued I couldn't function, reason or think straight. By week 3 I called in sick for work. I don't think that's normal.
Do you know what the tests and results were? While I'm highly skeptical of such claims, rather than get into why, I'll just say that the bottom line is that eating only meat often addresses the symptoms that some people attribute to "adrenal fatigue" and/or "gut issues".
My questions to you about fatigue are, first, are you eating enough, and second, are you eating enough salt? Did you try taking electrolytes?
I have an article about keto-adaptation here: http://www.ketotic.org/2012/05/keto-adaptation-what-it-is-and-how-to.html that you might find helpful.
I am intrigued by your post I will start the 30 day trial on Monday but I love my coffee with milk or fresh cream or cremora can I continue with my coffee and cream while on this 30 day trial. I am a woman aged 43 weighing 108 kgs and 165 cm tall please advise on the way forward
Keep the coffee, but use only heavy cream.
I also want to know if I can incorporate full cream milk in this 30 day trial.
No. It's too much sugar.
Thanks for your response and sorry to bother you again want to understand more again on the heavy cream if I can't get the heavy cream can I use fresh cream, double cream or whipping cream and is there a limit as to how much cream to use and on the meat can i fry boil roast or bake and can I use ghee or coconut oil for cooking the meat and the eggs. Is there an average weight loss expected on this program. I need to lose weight it has caused some vericose veins am actually obese. Please assist.
My recommendation would be to use only small amounts of cream, just in case you are sensitive to it. Whipping cream is the one. You want the highest fat content.
I would avoid coconut oil until you have tried going without it. It's a plant, and although the fatty acid profile is very good, it has salicylates in it, which affect some people.
The amount of weight lost depends on so many factors, I couldn't give you an estimate.
Just been to the shops no heavy cream only double cream and fresh cream and whipping cream which one is best option since I can get heavy cream. Counting down to start my trial tomorrow 16 February 2016 am very optimistic it is going to improve my general well being.
I love my coffee and dont like it black have been using Cremora creamer and full cream fresh milk, ready for a new start
I'm excited for you!
Amber
You didn't respond to my question can I use double cream for my coffee and ghee for frying my meat.
Yes to both.
Good morning Amber thanks for your response, all set now to begin my journey eat meat not little mostly fat I have begun today 15 February 2016 I am optimistic can I have your email if it is okay with you, fellow followers of this blog I have started wish me well
Morning all is well after starting my 30 day trial on Monday weighed my self today have lost 2.6kgs
10 days in my 30 day trial journey
How is it going now?
Oke great but first another question to add in the FAQ list
Q: How many times a day is the eating of meat optimal?
Q: How much (kilo)grams of meat per kg bodymass (also fine if it's in pounds)?
Q: How does this translate into keto-adapted fasting (or intermittend fasting)?
Thanks in advance!
Hi. I would consider these experiments best saved until after the initial one. I think they are fun and interesting, but I don't think they are necessary for fantastic health.
My serious answer is eat when you are hungry until you feel like stopping.
Heey. Thanks! will definitely try that.
Is it alright to have other sea foods other than fish? Such as crab, lobster, shrimp, calimari?
Yes, absolutely. As with all seafood, because it is so lean, make sure you are getting a good source of fat.
If heavy cream works, what about creme fraiche?
Does smoking meat count as spicing it?
The line is getting fuzzy. Many can tolerate cream in coffee, but will not get good results when they start eating sour cream / creme fraiche.
I would eat smoked meat sparingly for this experiment and stick to fresh. For one thing, it can be high in histamines, which many don't tolerate well. For another, it is usually highly salty, which can disrupt appetite signalling.
Thank you for your answers.
You write that you can eat all the bacon you want during this trial, but bacon is smoked and salty. Would you recommend some limit on them after all? For example I only eat ~150g for breakfast. Is bacon also high on histamines?
Hi, is protein drink for gym allowed during keto program? I am taking it twice a day (before and after gym). 3 days workout a week.
I would definitely keep your total protein intake below 1 pound per kg bodyweight.
If you take in too much protein your body will turn the protein into glucose with a process called gluconeogenesis so probably keep your protein low but once you are in nutritional ketosis I'd test what is optimal for you.
I'm taking in max. 100 pounds of protein on a day where I do heavy lifting and I'm not going out of ketosis, maybe because I'm taking in fat 4 : 1 Protein and glucose combined on such days
Hi Dennis,
Thanks for the advice. I was told that adding butter to coffee is another way to increase fat intake. What sort of butter is advisable? I have seen butter with salted and unsalted flavor, not sure which to choose.
Hi,
I'm using MCT oil in my coffee because other sources have a lot of Longer chain triglycerides.
I was told the mct's are better than lct's which makes sense i guess.
I'm currently using these: https://www.onnit.com/onnit-mct-oil/
You folks can do this if you want, but if you do, you are following a mainstream keto diet, not the diet I advocate. I do not advocate pushing macros in this way.
Coconut oil is a plant, and it's one that many are sensitive to. It's definitely not advised on this plan.
1 gram per kg of weight surely?
Hi Dennis,
Unfortunately onnit is not available in my country (Malaysia). But I managed to find something similar (Radiant Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil), I hope this is good.
As Miss O'Hearn said it's not part of this diet but if you'd like to increase your fat intake you could put fat/oil/butter in, on and next to everything. Only thing I'd advise is you make sure the fatty acids are as short of a chain as possible, at least not LCT's but mostly MCT's and SCT's
Hi! Would you recommend this 30 day "challenge" to somebody with high uric acid?
Maybe. It depends on context. If the person is not already ketogenic, Volek and Phinney report a transient rise in uric acid initially, so I would recommend anyone with prior uric acid trouble to take plenty of water and potassium citrate during keto-adaptation. In fact, this wouldn't hurt in transitioning from low carb to all meat either.
Maybe. It depends on context. If the person is not already ketogenic, Volek and Phinney report a transient rise in uric acid initially, so I would recommend anyone with prior uric acid trouble to take plenty of water and potassium citrate during keto-adaptation. In fact, this wouldn't hurt in transitioning from low carb to all meat either.
There is usually a transient (few week) rise in uric acid when keto-adapting. You'd need to be careful to drink a lot and use potassium citrate. It will probably lower the uric acid in the end, though, if it's currently high.
I don't know if you have arthritis (High levels of uric acid are associated with a condition called gout, gout being a form of arthritis.)
I heard about someone that no longer had arthritis after starting a ketogenic diet.
You could always try it and see if it works, if not it might give you certain other beneficial things.
The hardest thing I have had to do physically in my whole life is to abstain from sweets. I rock at not eating sugar but I drink splenda in plain tap water all day long.. Why oh why are you advocating absolutely nothing sweet? No diet soda? And why is cheese that is zero carb (sharp cheddar) verboten? It isn't sweet, is zero carb, and is high in fat.. Did I read you right that I should only drink if I am thirsty? I drink all day long in order to not eat and to feel full because I crave CARBS. My nirvana is eating bread and pastries all the day long
Hi Amber; first, thank you for sharing your great experience; I have to ask you some questions. Sorry in advance for my writing mistakes.
(1) About meal time: should I eat whenever I really feel hungry, according to my inner rhythm, or it's better to have two-three meals at established times to have a better distribution of calories during the day?
I see that hunger, and so fullness, changes a lot while switching metabolism from carb-based diet to no-carb diet. I don't really know if it is better to keep a meal timetable or to simply hear what the body needs.
Before starting a no-carb diet, I tried for few days a low-carb diet (only vegetables and meat allowed) in which I ate only at evening, till fullness, after having a modest workout during the day. I felt a great energy during all day without really feel the hunger. When I tried to eat at lunch, with a modest level of hunger, the energy flow of the previous days collapsed: I don't know if it is just a matter of own body adjustement, or if it is better to respect the inner cycles of our organs (I remember that digestive system works at its most from lat evening to early morning). According to my little and lacking experience, should a "only meat at evening" diet performs better in reaching ketosis?
(2) It is really counter-productive to mix different kind of meats during the meal? For example, pork with beef, chicken with beef, or pork fat with other ground meat, or offal with meat? It is important for the body to recognize the taste of the meal, but a "real carnivorous" should be careful in eating just a type of meat at meal time?
(3) About fat intake: it is better to gradually increase daily fat amount, according to own's hunger and progression in ketosis? I see that too much fat in the initial days of the diet may slow down the ketogenic switching.
(4) About fiber: I daily assume water kefir (no carb, no calories, just water and kefir) and a broad spectrum probiotic which includes inuline and FOS. Should I renounce to the benefits of probiotics to completely avoid fiber? Should I take them after the achievement of stable ketosis? It is better to have a very low intake of fiber (less than 2 gr each day) which increase the profileration of good microbioma and the removal of bad bugs, or a completely no carb-no fiber diet?
I don't mind about quantities and calories: I'm 23 years old, my figure is very lean except for abdominal and thigh fat, suffering of chronic fatigue, maybe insulin resistant (whenever I eat carbs I really feel tired, confused and even sad) and other few aches, I'm at day 6 of only meat diet (just pure olive and coconut oil, pork fat, meat and fish), I have lost 2 kg (from 65 kg to 63 kg, 1,79 cm tall) and I eat large amounts of meat (till 700 gr at each meal).
Thank you really much.
Greetings, Luca
Hi Amber; first, thank you for sharing your great experience; I have to ask you some questions. Sorry in advance for my writing mistakes.
(1) About meal time: should I eat whenever I really feel hungry, according to my inner rhythm, or it's better to have two-three meals at established times to have a better distribution of calories during the day?
I see that hunger, and so fullness, changes a lot while switching metabolism from carb-based diet to no-carb diet. I don't really know if it is better to keep a meal timetable or to simply hear what the body needs.
Before starting a no-carb diet, I tried for few days a low-carb diet (only vegetables and meat allowed) in which I ate only at evening, till fullness, after having a modest workout during the day. I felt a great energy during all day without really feel the hunger. When I tried to eat at lunch, with a modest level of hunger, the energy flow of the previous days collapsed: I don't know if it is just a matter of own body adjustement, or if it is better to respect the inner cycles of our organs (I remember that digestive system works at its most from lat evening to early morning). According to my little and lacking experience, should a "only meat at evening" diet performs better in reaching ketosis?
(2) It is really counter-productive to mix different kind of meats during the meal? For example, pork with beef, chicken with beef, or pork fat with other ground meat, or offal with meat? It is important for the body to recognize the taste of the meal, but a "real carnivorous" should be careful in eating just a type of meat at meal time?
(3) About fat intake: it is better to gradually increase daily fat amount, according to own's hunger and progression in ketosis? I see that too much fat in the initial days of the diet may slow down the ketogenic switching.
(4) About fiber: I daily assume water kefir (no carb, no calories, just water and kefir) and a broad spectrum probiotic which includes inuline and FOS. Should I renounce to the benefits of probiotics to completely avoid fiber? Should I take them after the achievement of stable ketosis? It is better to have a very low intake of fiber (less than 2 gr each day) which increase the profileration of good microbioma and the removal of bad bugs, or a completely no carb-no fiber diet?
I don't mind about quantities and calories: I'm 23 years old, my figure is very lean except for abdominal and thigh fat, suffering of chronic fatigue, maybe insulin resistant (whenever I eat carbs I really feel tired, confused and even sad) and other few aches, I'm at day 6 of only meat diet (just pure olive and coconut oil, pork fat, meat and fish), I have lost 2 kg (from 65 kg to 63 kg, 1,79 cm tall) and I eat large amounts of meat (till 700 gr at each meal).
Thank you really much.
Greetings, Luca
Hi Amber; first, thank you for sharing your great experience; I have to ask you some questions. Sorry in advance for my writing mistakes.
(1) About meal time: should I eat whenever I really feel hungry, according to my inner rhythm, or it's better to have two-three meals at established times to have a better distribution of calories during the day?
I see that hunger, and so fullness, changes a lot while switching metabolism from carb-based diet to no-carb diet. I don't really know if it is better to keep a meal timetable or to simply hear what the body needs.
Before starting a no-carb diet, I tried for few days a low-carb diet (only vegetables and meat allowed) in which I ate only at evening, till fullness, after having a modest workout during the day. I felt a great energy during all day without really feel the hunger. When I tried to eat at lunch, with a modest level of hunger, the energy flow of the previous days collapsed: I don't know if it is just a matter of own body adjustement, or if it is better to respect the inner cycles of our organs (I remember that digestive system works at its most from lat evening to early morning). According to my little and lacking experience, should a "only meat at evening" diet performs better in reaching ketosis?
(2) It is really counter-productive to mix different kind of meats during the meal? For example, pork with beef, chicken with beef, or pork fat with other ground meat, or offal with meat? It is important for the body to recognize the taste of the meal, but a "real carnivorous" should be careful in eating just a type of meat at meal time?
(3) About fat intake: it is better to gradually increase daily fat amount, according to own's hunger and progression in ketosis? I see that too much fat in the initial days of the diet may slow down the ketogenic switching.
(4) About fiber: I daily assume water kefir (no carb, no calories, just water and kefir) and a broad spectrum probiotic which includes inuline and FOS. Should I renounce to the benefits of probiotics to completely avoid fiber? Should I take them after the achievement of stable ketosis? It is better to have a very low intake of fiber (less than 2 gr each day) which increase the profileration of good microbioma and the removal of bad bugs, or a completely no carb-no fiber diet?
I don't mind about quantities and calories: I'm 23 years old, my figure is very lean except for abdominal and thigh fat, suffering of chronic fatigue, maybe insulin resistant (whenever I eat carbs I really feel tired, confused and even sad) and other few aches, I'm at day 6 of only meat diet (just pure olive and coconut oil, pork fat, meat and fish), I have lost 2 kg (from 65 kg to 63 kg, 1,79 cm tall) and I eat large amounts of meat (till 700 gr at each meal).
Thank you really much.
Greetings, Luca
Hi Amber,
Thank you for this interesting blog!
I have a question, that is: what is your opinion about this dieet and the amount of Advanced Glucose Endproducts, also known as AGE's one would eat. Helen vlassara is a professor who wrote a lot about this subject. As meats are full of AGE's i think with this dieet it's easy to eat more AGE's then our body can breakdown, which (according to Vlassara) would be 'bad' for your health.
With kind regards,
Jacco.
Hi Amber; first, thank you for sharing your great experience; I have to ask you some questions. Sorry in advance for my writing mistakes.
(1) About meal time: should I eat whenever I really feel hungry, according to my inner rhythm, or it's better to have two-three meals at established times to have a better distribution of calories during the day?
I see that hunger, and so fullness, changes a lot while switching metabolism from carb-based diet to no-carb diet. I don't really know if it is better to keep a meal timetable or to simply hear what the body needs.
Before starting a no-carb diet, I tried for few days a low-carb diet (only vegetables and meat allowed) in which I ate only at evening, till fullness, after having a modest workout during the day. I felt a great energy during all day without really feel the hunger. When I tried to eat at lunch, with a modest level of hunger, the energy flow of the previous days collapsed: I don't know if it is just a matter of own body adjustement, or if it is better to respect the inner cycles of our organs (I remember that digestive system works at its most from lat evening to early morning). According to my little and lacking experience, should a "only meat at evening" diet performs better in reaching ketosis?
(2) It is really counter-productive to mix different kind of meats during the meal? For example, pork with beef, chicken with beef, or pork fat with other ground meat, or offal with meat? It is important for the body to recognize the taste of the meal, but a "real carnivorous" should be careful in eating just a type of meat at meal time?
(3) About fat intake: it is better to gradually increase daily fat amount, according to own's hunger and progression in ketosis? I see that too much fat in the initial days of the diet may slow down the ketogenic switching.
(4) About fiber: I daily assume water kefir (no carb, no calories, just water and kefir) and a broad spectrum probiotic which includes inuline and FOS. Should I renounce to the benefits of probiotics to completely avoid fiber? Should I take them after the achievement of stable ketosis? It is better to have a very low intake of fiber (less than 2 gr each day) which increase the profileration of good microbioma and the removal of bad bugs, or a completely no carb-no fiber diet?
I don't mind about quantities and calories: I'm 23 years old, my figure is very lean except for abdominal and thigh fat, suffering of chronic fatigue, maybe insulin resistant (whenever I eat carbs I really feel tired, confused and even sad) and other few aches, I'm at day 6 of only meat diet (just pure olive and coconut oil, pork fat, meat and fish), I have lost 2 kg (from 65 kg to 63 kg, 1,79 cm tall) and I eat large amounts of meat (till 700 gr at each meal).
Thank you really much.
Greetings, Luca
Hi Amber; first, thank you for sharing your great experience; I have to ask you some questions. Sorry in advance for my writing mistakes.
(1) About meal time: should I eat whenever I really feel hungry, according to my inner rhythm, or it's better to have two-three meals at established times to have a better distribution of calories during the day?
I see that hunger, and so fullness, changes a lot while switching metabolism from carb-based diet to no-carb diet. I don't really know if it is better to keep a meal timetable or to simply hear what the body needs.
Before starting a no-carb diet, I tried for few days a low-carb diet (only vegetables and meat allowed) in which I ate only at evening, till fullness, after having a modest workout during the day. I felt a great energy during all day without really feel the hunger. When I tried to eat at lunch, with a modest level of hunger, the energy flow of the previous days collapsed: I don't know if it is just a matter of own body adjustement, or if it is better to respect the inner cycles of our organs (I remember that digestive system works at its most from lat evening to early morning). According to my little and lacking experience, should a "only meat at evening" diet performs better in reaching ketosis?
(2) It is really counter-productive to mix different kind of meats during the meal? For example, pork with beef, chicken with beef, or pork fat with other ground meat, or offal with meat? It is important for the body to recognize the taste of the meal, but a "real carnivorous" should be careful in eating just a type of meat at meal time?
(3) About fat intake: it is better to gradually increase daily fat amount, according to own's hunger and progression in ketosis? I see that too much fat in the initial days of the diet may slow down the ketogenic switching.
(4) About fiber: I daily assume water kefir (no carb, no calories, just water and kefir) and a broad spectrum probiotic which includes inuline and FOS. Should I renounce to the benefits of probiotics to completely avoid fiber? Should I take them after the achievement of stable ketosis? It is better to have a very low intake of fiber (less than 2 gr each day) which increase the profileration of good microbioma and the removal of bad bugs, or a completely no carb-no fiber diet?
I don't mind about quantities and calories: I'm 23 years old, my figure is very lean except for abdominal and thigh fat, suffering of chronic fatigue, maybe insulin resistant (whenever I eat carbs I really feel tired, confused and even sad) and other few aches, I'm at day 6 of only meat diet (just pure olive and coconut oil, pork fat, meat and fish), I have lost 2 kg (from 65 kg to 63 kg, 1,79 cm tall) and I eat large amounts of meat (till 700 gr at each meal).
Thank you really much.
Greetings, Luca
Hi Amber; first, thank you for sharing your great experience; I have to ask you some questions. Sorry in advance for my writing mistakes.
(1) About meal time: should I eat whenever I really feel hungry, according to my inner rhythm, or it's better to have two-three meals at established times to have a better distribution of calories during the day?
I see that hunger, and so fullness, changes a lot while switching metabolism from carb-based diet to no-carb diet. I don't really know if it is better to keep a meal timetable or to simply hear what the body needs.
Before starting a no-carb diet, I tried for few days a low-carb diet (only vegetables and meat allowed) in which I ate only at evening, till fullness, after having a modest workout during the day. I felt a great energy during all day without really feel the hunger. When I tried to eat at lunch, with a modest level of hunger, the energy flow of the previous days collapsed: I don't know if it is just a matter of own body adjustement, or if it is better to respect the inner cycles of our organs (I remember that digestive system works at its most from lat evening to early morning). According to my little and lacking experience, should a "only meat at evening" diet performs better in reaching ketosis?
(2) It is really counter-productive to mix different kind of meats during the meal? For example, pork with beef, chicken with beef, or pork fat with other ground meat, or offal with meat? It is important for the body to recognize the taste of the meal, but a "real carnivorous" should be careful in eating just a type of meat at meal time?
(3) About fat intake: it is better to gradually increase daily fat amount, according to own's hunger and progression in ketosis? I see that too much fat in the initial days of the diet may slow down the ketogenic switching.
(4) About fiber: I daily assume water kefir (no carb, no calories, just water and kefir) and a broad spectrum probiotic which includes inuline and FOS. Should I renounce to the benefits of probiotics to completely avoid fiber? Should I take them after the achievement of stable ketosis? It is better to have a very low intake of fiber (less than 2 gr each day) which increase the profileration of good microbioma and the removal of bad bugs, or a completely no carb-no fiber diet?
I don't mind about quantities and calories: I'm 23 years old, my figure is very lean except for abdominal and thigh fat, suffering of chronic fatigue, maybe insulin resistant (whenever I eat carbs I really feel tired, confused and even sad) and other few aches, I'm at day 6 of only meat diet (just pure olive and coconut oil, pork fat, meat and fish), I have lost 2 kg (from 65 kg to 63 kg, 1,79 cm tall) and I eat large amounts of meat (till 700 gr at each meal).
Thank you really much.
Greetings, Luca
I've been strictly following this plan for two weeks as of today. When should I start to expect the ketones in my urine to increase? I've tested a couple times a week and they haven't budged! I have seen other benefits so far Naturally reduced appetite, no cravings and I'm much more in tune with my bodies hunger signals. I'm wondering if it's normal to go this lomg without seeing your ketone levels change?
Hello, I've been strictly following this diet for just over two weeks. My question is, when should I expect to start seeing changes in my ketone levels? I've been using the urine test strips and my levels are not rising. I am seeing some benefits, like reduced appetite, increased satiety and I'm more intune with my hunger signals. Have I not been following the diet long enough? Seems like since the experiment is halfway over I would have seen those ketone levels change by now, right?
Thanks for the article, great results! Visit this http://ketodietbeforeafter.com/
Really excited to try this, specifically to help my asthma, which has been getting worse. Thank you for this information! I feel silly asking this, as the instructions clearly say 'just meat and water', but would organic peppermint tea ( only ingredient is peppermint) be ok?
Thanks very much for this information, really excited to try it out. Just on my first day. It is probably silly to ask this question, since the information clearly says "just meat and water", but would organic peppermint tea (only ingredient is peppermint) be OK?
I'm glad I found this. I've been LCHF for about 3 weeks – 25 grams of carbs a day or less – with dairy and some veggies. I'm looking forward to trying this 30-day meat experiment. One question. I have been taking MCT oil (the Bulletproof Brain Octane – which is exclusively C-8). I usually have a Tablespoon a day with my coffee in the morning. Should I skip this for the 30 days? Thanks much.
Very confusing this diet… According to Dr. Ron Rosedale, too much protein raises IGF. By inhibiting IGF you can boost lifespan and reduce your risk of cancer. I'd like to hear your take on this and any studies that refute this.
Here's an interview w Drs. Rosedale and Marcela. –> http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/05/07/too-much-protein-triggers-aging-cancer.aspx?ShowAllComments=True&FocusOn=776355
That was a typo. I meant Dr. Mercola in that last sentence.
dear amber what a lovely piece of information.I totally agree that modern day high processed carb diet is killing our health.i am MD student & by reading your blog I am convinced to follow your 30 day only meat eating plan.I want to ask can I add one teaspoon raw organic honey to the meat dressing daily?(cant live without a little sweet taste)and lemonorange juice? just having 1tsp honey wontstop your body from keto-adaptation, right?? plz answer my questions so that I can begin my 30 day only meat journey as soon as possible….thankyou for sharing the great knowledge you have…
dear amber what a lovely piece of information.I totally agree that modern day high processed carb diet is killing our health.i am MD student & by reading your blog I am convinced to follow your 30 day only meat eating plan.I want to ask can I add one teaspoon raw organic honey to the meat dressing daily?(cant live without a little sweet taste)and lemonorange juice? just having 1tsp honey wontstop your body from keto-adaptation, right?? plz answer my questions so that I can begin my 30 day only meat journey as soon as possible….thankyou for sharing the great knowledge you have…
dear amber what a lovely piece of information.I totally agree that modern day high processed carb diet is killing our health.i am MD student & by reading your blog I am convinced to follow your 30 day only meat eating plan.I want to ask can I add one teaspoon raw organic honey to the meat dressing daily?(cant live without a little sweet taste)and lemonorange juice? just having 1tsp honey wontstop your body from keto-adaptation, right?? plz answer my questions so that I can begin my 30 day only meat journey as soon as possible….thankyou for sharing the great knowledge you have…
dear amber what a lovely piece of information.I totally agree that modern day high processed carb diet is killing our health.i am MD student & by reading your blog I am convinced to follow your 30 day only meat eating plan.I want to ask can I add one teaspoon raw organic honey to the meat dressing daily?(cant live without a little sweet taste)and lemonorange juice? just having 1tsp honey wontstop your body from keto-adaptation, right?? plz answer my questions so that I can begin my 30 day only meat journey as soon as possible….thankyou for sharing the great knowledge you have…
Thank you for all this wonderful information and advice. Sometimes reading comments can short-cut a lot of self experimentation. I start today on the 30-day meat 'diet.' I have been doing Keto for quite a while but not strictly – I run back to salads and baked potatoes at times because I fear leaving them out – even though I've read lots and lots that they are not necessary.
So going to use this site for the next month and just do it. I appreciate the discussion about coconut oil and coconut milk. Both seem to upset my system but I've been adding them because I'm worried about upping my fat intake. Now I know I can put fat into my food by using meat fat, bacon fat etc. (aka drippings) and butter instead.
So thanks!!!!!
Oh no! My comment seems to be missing.
Well anyway, Amber, your page is by far the most informative and the most helpful one I could find. I'm planning to go ahead with it in a week's time and I'm really hoping that it would be THE answer to my diet woes.
You once mentioned that your protein-fat ratio is 30%-70%. How do you actually measure this? Does it mean that your meat cuts literally consist of 70% fat?
Oh no! My comment seems to be missing.
Well anyway, Amber, your page is by far the most informative and the most helpful one I could find. I'm planning to go ahead with it in a week's time and I'm really hoping that it would be THE answer to my diet woes.
You once mentioned that your protein-fat ratio is 30%-70%. How do you actually measure this? Does it mean that your meat cuts literally consist of 70% fat?
Oh no! My comment seems to be missing.
Well anyway, Amber, your page is by far the most informative and the most helpful one I could find. I'm planning to go ahead with it in a week's time and I'm really hoping that it would be THE answer to my diet woes.
You once mentioned that your protein-fat ratio is 30%-70%. How do you actually measure this? Does it mean that your meat cuts literally consist of 70% fat?
So this blog has been running for close on two years. Surely there must be 100's of experimenters that can give us feedback on the relative success of this diet. Am I missing it?
on day 35 thus far and had some days with incredible, long lasting energy and no cravings for garbage food…I have truly tried everything in the entire world to reduce craving and lose weight and NOTHING has worked except for Ketogenic eating. It's amazing..it's like some chemical or hormone has been turned off; i can even walk into a pizzeria (my fav food, formerly I should add), and stare at a slice and instead of thinking so hard about it I would examine it as if it were an object or something..weird. But beautiful. Why, because if I wasn't in nutritional ketosis, and I was hungry, then I would've made 5-6 slices, or Sicilians disappear only to feel such guilt later on. Scale hasn't moved too much though; in fact I gained about 3-4 lbs. BUT i'm blaming this on the vegetables, nuts, and Maca powder (which all have carbs and can sabotage this entire Keto adaptation phase)..so now that I've avoided those foods, things are changing- for the better that is. One other important note, you encourage eating meat ONLY, but I would discourage this suggestion as eating to much meat can easily kick you out of Ketosis via gluconeogenesis…what's more is that the protein will make you crave more food. I work out a lot, and thus ingested, on many occasions lots of proteins and did not feel right. Energy levels down, hunger is back..etc. IMO 30 days should ONLY consist of say 85-90% FAT (Avocado, Coconut Oil, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and the remainder protein). The protein from eggs and/ or salmon and chicken would be BEST! This suggestion guarantees results! Good Luck and enjoy the process folks!
During the 30 days could you use boyan cubes to make broth? On cold days I really like warm broth. Or should I wait until after the 30 days.
Could I use boyne cubes to make broth?
I posted this question on the Principia Carnivora fb page. I thought I would ask it again here, the source of my question. Thanks
I need some help. My husband and I have been doing "low Carb". We are not real good at it. We don't follow maros, not even sure how to do that.
My husband has been fighting cancer and diabetes for over 10 years. The diabetes problem was caused by the thyroid cancer. His diagnosis has been moved from diabetic to "pre diabetic". I know it's because of eating low carb.
Here is my problem. I saw a 30 day meat only challenge that says it would be perfect for someone diagnosed with cancer. But, the dr. just told my husband that he is to lose NO MORE WEIGHT! He has lost 20 lbs in the last 3 months.
If we do the challenge to get rid of the cancer, how does he keep from losing more weight?? How can I help him GAIN weight. By the way, he is 85 so "pumping up" with lots of exercise or weight lifting is out.
I really appreciate any input. Thanks
hELLO mY COMMENT IS MORE OF A QUESTION. iVE READ ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF APPLE CIDER VINEGAR AND GARCINIA CAMBOGIA. WILL THESE AFFECT THE KETOSIS IVE ACHEIVED ?
I have had some fertility issues but currently still trying for a second child. I want to try this 30 day trial, but I would like to add in 2 eggs a day and half a cup of spinach. I know it's a changed version, but it makes me feel more comfortable since I'll be foregoing prenatals. Will adding spinach have a negative effect(thinking of adding it daily to bone broth)? Also it says you can eat bacon, but I think often times they add things into bacon? Is there a way that the bacon will be labeled to ensure that it doesn't have bad things added in? And also is it ok if it's not organic meat? It's just a bit out of my price range. Are certain bones better for broth or have higher nutrients than others?
I've been doing ketogenic diet for 4 weeks now Seems like my kidneys are sore at night whenever I have a dessert of heavy whipped cream with stevia after dinner. I have tea with heavy cream. And stevia during the day… but at night when I whip it up into a dessert it really upsets my stomach and what seems to be mt middle of my back especailky the right side.. which I think is my kidneys area? Ever heard of anyone else having this? Any ideas ?? Also I drink lots of water but am still not able to go to the bathroom that much… maybe since I've been eating lots more dairy then before, cheese and cream? Thanks for any help.
I have been eating meat and drinking water (and unsweetened iced coffee) for three weeks. First week I lost 10lbs, but I have stalled since (almost 2 weeks now without a pound lost). I have 70lbs to lose in total, so I'm unsure why it's not coming off eating the way I am. Its very, very discouraging but I'm trying to hold firm (for now). If this goes on for another week – I might abort this eating style. If anyone knows what could be happening – I would very much appreciate the information. Thanks
I have been eating meat and drinking water (and unsweetened iced coffee) for three weeks. First week I lost 10lbs, but I have stalled since (almost 2 weeks now without a pound lost). I have 70lbs to lose in total, so I'm unsure why it's not coming off eating the way I am. Its very, very discouraging but I'm trying to hold firm (for now). If this goes on for another week – I might abort this eating style. If anyone knows what could be happening – I would very much appreciate the information. Thanks