Leaning More Carnivore Out of Practicality

(J) #1

This may be a bit of a ramble, and I’m sorry in advance.

I have been at a minor stall, bewteen 204-210 (I’m 5’7"), having lost between 55 &61 lbs since late February, eating Keto (fewer than 20g carbs a day). I really don’t count macros, just make sure the carbs are almost non existent, and try to be semi-conscious about eating fat. That said:

  1. I don’t care to count macros
  2. I don’t care to try and get veggies in, especially trying to figure out how long of a shelf-life, etc (I live out of town, and don’t want to drive 20 minutes every day to pick up this fresh veggie or that)
  3. I am leaning toward carnivore merely because of the practical benefits of diet maintenance, but am also wondering if it’s “the next logical step” toward reducing the visceral fat from my abdomen.

The fat has melted off in most places. What remains is visceral belly fat, a wee bit of love handles, and maybe some turkey neck. I am otherwise lean in ways I never thought possible, and am very thankful for the progress. While carnivore is very appealing re: practicality, I still will want to have chiles on occasion, use varied spices, etc and wonder if that’s counterproductive. Also, I would like more and more get away from supplements (I currently take a few fish oils, a CoQ10, and some magnesium). Can a Carnivore accomplish these things with diet alone, or are supplements always going to be a daily part of my life? If there was a single pill or two that I knew would cover Magnesium, Potassium, B Vits, Omega 3s, and all the other things I need, I’d prolly happily subscribe, but I don’t want to take a host of things, and I especially don’t want to have to fix electrolyte powder drinks.

Again, I apologize for the rambling. Any direction would be appreciated.

(You've tried everything else; why not try bacon?) #2

Visceral fat is the hard fat in our internal organs or the ectopic fat in between. It is actually the first to be freed up and metabolised on a ketogenic diet. (One small experiment on about a dozen obese children eliminated their liver fat and regularised their liver enzymes in about ten days, as I recall.) The subcutaneous fat is usually much harder to persuade to go away.

Dr. Stephen Phinney, the respected researcher into the ketogenic diet, says that in his clinical experience, people on a ketogenic diet usually lose an amount of fat equivalent to around 20% of their starting weight, so it is possible that your plateau may last a while. But Dr. Phinney has recently said that he is now seeing people’s fat loss start up again after a few years; he speculates that the body may need a rest period to consolidate its progress before moving on again.

My experience is that my fat appears to be departing in reverse order of its appearance, so I am expecting my belly fat to take its time going away. But at least what I’ve got is the jiggly subcutaneous fat; the hard visceral fat has gone away.

#3

Even replying to something you wrote, it’s kinda off topic, sorry, I couldn’t resist.

Vegs usually have a pretty long shelf life (a few weeks is normal*. and many can be freezed or bought in cans). We go to shopping once a month, okay, that’s not enough so we go to the greengrocery, once a week or less now that I don’t need vegs and don’t cook them either.

*They lose some nutrients for sure but we never cared, honestly. Convenience was more important and we eat vegs for joy. I have my carni stuff for nutrients but had no problem with the same attitude on vegetarian keto…

And now to the main thing. Yep, try carnivore out, it may be one of your best decision! I am a fangirl (despite going off all the time) as it only brought benefits in my case. It turned out my body needs very low-carb and vegs are way too carby, can’t satiate me and it’s so much work to cook them (even if not, too much for a little joy before I go and cook some food that actually gives me my nutrients and satiation). I still have a little vegs here and there, some items compliment meat or even eggs beautifully, I don’t need that variety anymore but I cook for a high-carber and it’s sometimes nice if we both can eat the same dish.

Supplements wise, carnivore is better for me. I dislike low-carb plant magnesium sources so I needed some tiny extra Mg on vegetarian keto and I hate taking anything. The problem disappears if I eat enough meat and almost no plants :slight_smile:

But I never ever took supplements regularly and was okay so we may be very different regarding supplements. I know carnivores who can’t just eat and that’s it, some even need to supplement a lot of sodium. I never had to. Of course it matters what and how much you eat. I tend to eat much and like variety so my diet always was very nutritious. I don’t really eat fish though (I eat some but it’s negligible. it doesn’t happen every month and the amount is small). I didn’t get sick this far so I won’t force it.
But I never get checked, I just feel healthy and anyway, it’s N=1. And I never did carnivore longer term either. Still, my magnesium problems very noticeably got solved, cramps came right away when I entered ketosis without meat… And little meat isn’t enough either (but most people don’t try to do very low-meat carni. I had to but I got used to meat now and no cramps).

(Robin) #4

You’re speaking my language. You lost a good chuck of weight in just 3 months. Now it’s all stopped. IF you are going by the scale. Or even the fit of your clothes. Sometimes, our body chooses to take a break and just Be for a while. In another month or 2, it will likely start losing again… at a slower pace.

I believe I trained my body to not trust me, over a lifetime of yo-yo dieting, feast or famine. The best gift I can give it now is stability.

I also try to remember how subjective a number on the scale is. On your journey of gaining all that weight, your current weight was viewed in horror. Now, on the way down, your current weight is a victory to be celebrated.

So, speaking from my personal experience alone… you’re okay. Enjoy where you are.

(Marianne) #5

Good for you! You’ve made great progress since February - obviously you are doing this right, and it sounds like you enjoy this way of eating.

I switched to carnivore about 18 months ago simply because it just seemed easier. Like you, I didn’t want to think about shopping for vegetables, preparing them, using them before they went bad, etc., so I just stopped. Even pre-keto, vegetables were never my thing, so it wasn’t hard to eliminate them. I was just eating them because I thought they were a necessary addition to any way of eating. When I learned about carnivore and that it provided everything we need, that was the confirmation I needed to just eat meat and zero carb. I love it.

Don’t sweat the spices; I think using them is inconsequential probably for the amount you are consuming. The only thing I make that really has them is a “soup” that I throw together with beef or chicken broth. I put a bullion cube in that, garlic powder, onion powder and chili powder in it, and it doesn’t concern me in the slightest. Sometimes I find that will actually give me a slight upset stomach because I am not used to it.

I wouldn’t worry about this, either. You are doing great. Just keep doing what you have been doing and your weight loss will start again.

I’ve lost 70 lbs. and am 15 lbs. from where I’d like to be. I look good, my clothes fit, however, most of that weight is in my belly. I don’t know why as I have always been clean keto/carnivore for 3.5 years. My belly isn’t huge or really noticeable in clothes, but again, that is where any excess fat seems to be concentrated. Bummer, but I’m not going to sweat it. I figure in time, hopefully it will minimize. I am a keto/carnivore lifer, so I trust my body to do what it needs.

Best to you!!!