It is too easy for me to eat too much protein because I have a big appetite and love to eat a lot. What are some tips to avoid eating too much protein? I always put a lot of butter on my food but the meat tastes so good. I’m use to eating huge meals because I was vegan in the past.
How to avoid too much protein on carnivore?
Don_Q
(Windmill Tilter)
#2
Too much protein for what?
Pick fatty cuts of meat and enjoy to your hearts content. You’ll be hardpressed to find many “I’ve been eating carnivore for weeks but I keep gaining weight…” threads here. Hundreds of them about dairy, and exercise, and articial sweeteners, but not carnivore in my experience.
I’m not carnivore btw, (except when I’m fasting 
) . That’s just been my experience over the last year.
ajbennett
(Jack Bennett)
#3
Protein tends to be self-limiting. I personally find it hard to go over 150-200g daily - I end up feeling really full and completely uninterested in eating for the rest of the day. It would not surprise me if others have a similar threshold.
(EDIT: by “similar”, I mean that it would not surprise me if others ALSO have a threshold, not that it should be the same as mine. “Too much” for me works out to about >1g / lb total body weight.)
(That said, I’ve heard that when people shift to full carnivore, appetite tends to increase in the early stages, but eventually levels off.)
Shinita
#5
Fattier meat?
But if you just eat way over your need because “it’s tasty” or “I am used to big volume”, that’s not quite right. But if you just recently started, don’t worry about such things, at least I wouldn’t, your appetite probably will change later. Protein is satiating, most people automatically don’t eat a ton of it especially if lots of fat is present (but there are talented ones).
How much is too much protein for you? Adequate protein is really unrealistic for some people but it’s fine to go a bit higher or sometimes much higher. Unless you have some sensitivity and more than adequate protein hurts you or your protein intake is really insanely high, you probably don’t need to worry about it.
konachan982
(Konata)
#6
I try to get no more than 1g/lean body mass which would be about 70g for me.(I’m 90 lbs). I’m a little under 5 feet. I usually eat 80-100g of protein. I was just worried about it because I read Ron Rosedale’s blog and he writes about how too much protein is dangerous and recommends no more than 1g/ lean body mass. Also my BUN was high on my blood test when I would eat 80-100g of protein every day.
Fangs
#7
It is a toughie in that if you are new to carnivore you should never limit your protein…or I should just say never limit your eating in any way. You can choose a bit less actual meat and add in some butters, sauces like homemade alfredo to increase fat content but it is truly one of those should I do anything other than just eat as my body wants?
We all come in with old information and old baggage and mostly carnivore has a few rules for beginners…don’t limit yourself. Feed your body exactly what it asks. Eat til happy and full and smiling cause your body wants it. When full, just stop.
Do this for a while and longer on plan you will just naturally change your appetite and a lot depends on how much healing your body needs before it decides your appetite will diminish.
And any true medical situations you might be dealing with could change up the basic information on how to start carnivore, but again, it is eat til full. As your body wants.
Your shorter, a little under 5 ft but even with that, some smaller people eat a lot more than one would ever think and are thriving, so…
Elizedge
(Elizabeth )
#9
One long-term carnivore veteran of 5 years is about 5 ft tall 100 lb. and she eats 3 to 5 lb of meat a day. Never less than 3. If you’re new to this way of eating veterans say wait at least 6 months of strict carnivore before getting any blood work done. Your body is going through some massive metabolic changes and your numbers could be all over the place until then.
ReneeRC
#11
Some folks find that upping their fat to protein ratio helps too. Fat is very satiating and it’s hard to eat a lot of it. Butter is a good choice and the animal fats like tallow, lard and bacon grease.
konachan982
(Konata)
#12
Thanks for your reply! I’ll make sure to add different varieties of fats instead of just butter or cheese. I’m going to buy tallow, ghee, and cream.
FrankoBear
#13
It is normal to have an elevated blood urea nitrogen (BUN) on a higher protein diet. The protein is the source of the increased nitrogen secretion.
Doctors get nervous about elevated BUN as it is a marker of kidney disease for animals (including humans) that are on a standard diet. In that scenario it is excessive nitrogen loss in the absence of increased nitrogen inputs.
If someone has elevated BUN that is persistent and they feel nauseous, then it requires further investigation with a doctor to check kidney function.
BUN will vary rapidly and can be a different result on different days. Usually it is a biomarker that is checked against other markers such as CREA (serum creatinine), eGFR (glomerular filtration rate - how well the microfilters are working inside the kidneys), and USG (urine specific gravity - how concentrated or dilute urine is). That whole group of tests are important to consider together, in addition to any clinical symptoms, rather than just one marker.
Elevated BUN alone on a carnivore way of eating is not abnormal.
konachan982
(Konata)
#14
So High BUN is normal? Okay. Also if I am just starting out this diet(1 week in) and I’m eating high protein will it keep me from getting fat/keto adapted? Will I still be in ketosis?
Fangs
#15
Yes you will be in ketosis. Your protein intake will never take you out of ketosis. You will be a ketone burning body. Without carbs your body has no choice to be that. Nothing will change that ever unless you up your intake of carbs.
Any glucose made from your protein and fat will not in any way effect any part of your ketosis if that is what you are thinking.
Glucose is demand driven. In that the protein and fat will convert a little into glucose the body needs to function. But it is not some rampant out of control process that will flood your body with sugar in any way at all. You can’t physically create enough glucose from protein and fat to take you out of ketosis. It isn’t possible.
The more you limit your protein the worse you are…that is why carnivores never limit protein. If anything, you should limit extra fat intake as in not going rampant on ‘fats’ and focus on the good fatty meats that have it all in them as you eat them without added extra fat. If your meat is not a very lean cut, then the good fattier meats you eat are truly enough for you without adding in a 1/2 a stick of butter and licking up the plate.
Protein is the key here. You truly can’t eat too much of it to ever ‘hurt you’. Your body will tell you truly when you have eaten enough meat…it shuts down your appetite for that meal when you had enough. The ‘I can’t eat another bite’ thing 
We also have to remember some will gain some weight on carnivore because their bodies require it to heal. Healing is tough cause we never ‘see’ the damage inside our bodies. Our bodies are calling out for meat and fat and ditch the other junk stuff and when it gets just that…it starts to heal all the systems inside you that are off balance like hormone production, etc. but heck you never know it usually or truly see what is out of whack inside us. So we wonder why is my body not dropping some lbs here and it is because your body is focused on internal healing processes…when losing weight is on the list of things to tackle, your body will then tackle it in order as it requires to heal up the systems…….I know that sounds a bit confusing LOL
So in the carnivore community most know that this is a long term healing process. It isn’t an instant weight loss mode ‘diet’ at all.
Thing is it is a time commitment. Even 30 days on this eating usually doesn’t give people all they need to see and feel with the changes that are happening to them. So it is more wonderful to go longer and longer on this plan to get the most out of your initial try on carnivore.
It is hard to fathom one might have to gain weight to lose weight later LOL but this can be a process for many on carnivore.
Here is a small video to help understand why eating adequate protein is super important and never to limit yourself…….NOW this is a Keto video. They do ‘the macros’ and chat about how much protein to body mass etc. I just don’t go by that at all…thing is for carnivores we don’t care about numbers. We just know we best never limit good fatty protein but have to kinda watch too much added fats maybe.
What I like about this video is it is very direct saying if you under eat protein you got troubles…and eating ‘extra’ fat is not always that good for us, that the fatty meats are a complete package to eat and not rely too heavy on fat extras in meals. What I don’t go by is any numbers put on us in the form of macros and such but many do very well in Keto with macros and more…but a carnivore will not follow this type of tracking. A carnivore just grabs the meat and eats til full and goes on their merry way
Glucogensis, can you eat too much protein?
Fangs
#17
OMG that is just too funny!
So the takeaway is eat your protein LOL never be scared of it.
Us carnivores eat the meats HAHA
One reason you’ll see carnivores saying chicken is just not a satisfying to their body as a ribeye is…beef is marbled with fat throughout it, any fowl/poultry is not that way so when eating chicken people eat the skin or throw fat like butter to over it to get their needs handled.
So carnivore when starting is eat beef and drink water. It gives you the basics of what to do to give your body what it needs in a balance that is best. But a lot of people starting out just eat meats they like and will include chicken etc and then throw fat on it, or eat less protein than needed, or eat very lean cuts of meat thinking they are doing themselves a service when they really are not.
I love chatting out the whys behind how carnivores approach eating meat and fat…it is great to chat it out to understand the whole cycle of it all.
Eat beef, drink water…HOO RA! lol
Elizedge
(Elizabeth )
#20
Indeed. That whole site is a compilation of over 12 years of carnivore experience, including the experiences of thousands of people from the two oldest carnivore Facebook groups