Weight Gain on carnivore


(Linda ) #1

Ok I’ve basically been lurking around carnivore thread for months now I’ve been closer to ketovore 95 percent carnivore with a mushrooms / green onion cooked in bacon and cream served on top… or just straight beef steaks or pork crackling or beef roast with no issues.
I’ve been keto/carnivore for approximately 10 months…
I’ve lost 82 lbs which is great but my cholesterol not so much it went through the roof including my triglycerides my Dr had a complete fit in december when I went to my yearly physical so much so that my weight was more of a last min oh by the way its great you lost some weight. He said he has never seen numbers so high
So since I live in florida and had bariatric surgery in 2009 I demanded a referral to DR Cywes since he is not only a bariatric surgeon but is ketogenic supportive reluctantly my dr agreed after first offering me to go to a nutritionist to which I said no I’m not giving up keto …My first appoint with Dr Cywes I went to early feb and am still waiting results of his blood tests he ordered…
I’m not sure how many of you know but his eating plan starts keto but pushes into carnivore after la few weeks since I was almost there anyway I thought take the leap…but a few days later while getting his labs filled one of the tests had me drinking some concoction to test for H-plyori in the stomach well what ever was in it set me off ravishing hunger and although I stuck to clean carnivore trying just to eat fat like pork rinds, steak and some sour cream til bed time it continued for the next few days… I started gaining weight and my steaks were not filling me up any more.

So after panicking when the scale started jumping up every day 3 days in a row and hunger not controlled at all 7 days later I decided in a panic mushrooms could go back…resulting in 2lb weight loss in the last two days. And no longer being hungry all the time

I’m tempted just to keep eating this way since it seems to work for me I love my steak and the mushrooms don’t seem to affect me. And I’ll slowly add in pure meat meals again…
I’ve eaten alot of just steak or beef roast meals in the last 10 months never have they had that affect before where I was hunting the cupboards for something to eat…

So my question is if I go back to complete carnivore should I expect to gain weight? and if so how much before you start panicking


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #2

The first thing I would do is talk to Dr. Cywes’s office. If the liquid he gave you made you ravenous like that, it is something he should know about. Or there could be something else going on.

Most people on a carnivore diet actually lose a bit more fat, even if they were already eating keto for quite some time before switching. Another complicating factor is that it is possible to gain muscle and make your bones stronger, even while losing fat. The scale is not good at detecting this, so we always have to remind people to look at their body size as an additional indicator of progress. If your clothes still fit the way they have been, there’s no need to worry about the scale. Besides, we are always putting on and losing water weight, so a fluctuation here and there is perfectly normal.

That said, it is entirely possible that a carnivore diet is not for you, and I would encourage you to speak with Dr. Cywes about the matter and see what he suggests.


(Laurie) #3

I read up on this test. There might have been sugar or aspartame in the liquid. Sugar can make you hungry for sure; maybe aspartame can too.


(Bob M) #4

Do you drink coffee? If so, how much? Some people have issues with coffee spiking trigs.

But this could also be a short-term effect of powering your body by fat. The trigs should go down over time.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #5

I should have remembered to mention that. We generally tell people not to worry about lipid numbers until they’ve been eating a ketogenic diet for at least six months. Use these numbers as your baseline.


(Bob M) #6

You could also make the same statement for LDL (unless you’re a lean mass hyper-responder), as LDL goes up for energy transport.

By “unless you’re a lean mass hyper-responder”, I mean LDL might go high and stay there, because you’re using LDL to power your lean body and exercise. Or at least that’s the theory.


#7

basics of carnivore is beef and water only.

so if you ‘want carnivore’ you do carnivore and don’t hope for carnivore results doing ‘‘too’’ relaxed carnivore or ketovore thinking it is carnivore’ LOL

just basics truly. drop the mushrooms, drop the sour cream, drop all dairy and DO A REAL AND TRUE walk into zero carb eating.

Do a month of beef and water and see how you do…90 day trial is best but if you can commit at least a month it will show you alot.

Chol. takes time to change…many can take years if needed as their bodies heal so don’t worry on those numbers or panic yet on that at all.

Your to eat all you need, as much as it takes for total satisfaction and fullness and hunger is at bay…you do this…you change!! It takes time but ya will :slight_smile: only thing is you have to go ‘all in’ and DO carnivore real trial as it should be.

resources—Dr Ken Berry, Charles Washington with ZIOH, Zero Carb Health, Kelly Hogan and her work, Eat Meat, Drink Water site, Justmeat.com and so many more. We got a nice ‘real carnivore’ thread rolling here with some of us being all in carnivores :slight_smile:

You got Dr C behind ya…omg use that resource :slight_smile:
best of luck


#8

Most problems like this are simply what you’re eating specifically and not a side effect of the WOE itself. Are you tracking what you eat?


(Bob M) #9

No chicken, pork, brains, liver, fish, lamb, ox, duck, turkey, goose, cheese, milk, …?

If one really eats nothing but beef and water, then the benefits of carnivore could be as much from the lack of PUFAs as anything else.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #10

Beef and water is the ultimate elimination diet. I wouldn’t go so far as @Fangs and say it’s the only real carnivore, but it might be the case that the OP would benefit from beef and water only for at least thirty days. Then she could add back the other meats one by one, and even dairy if she wants to, to see which foods, if any, cause her trouble.

The essential of the diet is not so much zero carbohydrate as it is to eat plant-free. (With the possible exception of coffee or tea.) Carnivores often don’t eat dairy, not so much to avoid the carbohydrate it contains, but either because of lactose-tolerance issues, or because of problems with milk proteins such as casein. But avoiding plants is even more important, because they contain phytochemicals that often cause real problems for certain people. A lot of people can tolerate them, but there are people who just can’t.


(KCKO, KCFO) #11

You are working with one of the best drs. out there. Discuss your issues with him.

You might get a swing upwards and when you do full on carnivore, settle back down. Scales are not dependable, are your clothes tighter?

Please stay calm, stress is the worst thing for losing weight.

Let us know how you go. All the best with it.


#12

I didn’t mean it like that BUT IT IS the real way to ‘start the carnivore journey’ for most. The best way for elimination to start on this plan.
Many come in eating all kinds of meats and seafood and include dairy and they fail or get very confused on ‘what might’ not be working well for them…so the ‘real start to carnivore’ by far the best is a 90 day beef and water only…but lucky if most can handle 30 days :slight_smile:

Carnivore starts with the ultimate elimination procedure.
Just like Atkins starts with XYZ and other plans have their best route to start.

So yea, I meant it like that :sunny:

@ctviggen, this explains what I was meaning on my post. My answer to Paul explains your question mostly too


#13

here is a little info showing why beef is key for the ‘beginner starting carnivore’ and it usually is the one meat that darn near all zc people hit on and hold most :slight_smile:

https://youtu.be/i095Xn45p0U


(Linda ) #14

No I haven’t had coffee in months now its something I seem to pick up for awhile then dont bother with for months and even when I’m drinking it we talking one coffee a day


(Linda ) #15

Yep everything


#16

I’d check your trends then and re-assess whether your macros are correct for your metabolism, if you’re gaining they clearly aren’t. Do you have limits set? Are you doing the super duper cover everything in fat version of keto? Having all your macros going back for a time should let you watch the weight gain and compare it to what you’re eating. If you’re using cronometer you can graph your weight based on anything in your diary and find the correlations.

Take measurements and try this macro calc, it’s got a track record for being more correct than many others, mainly because it’s using the katch mcardle method and not mifflin st jeor. See what it comes up with and how lines up with what you’re doing.


(Bacon is a many-splendoured thing) #17

I had heard six months before giving up on carnivore, but I didn’t want to get into that . . . :grin:


#18

oh yes that is to obtain some better results. 90 days is the recommended all in trial period cause even tho many people do get results even after a few weeks, they still have to worry about adaption time, and that can vary so much per individual…so even that 30 days for some shows ‘carnivore is no good’ cause they are experiencing adaption and can’t handle it long enough to get thru and see some better results…but yea, 6 mos at least is a time line that can show some real benefits and results.

it truly is not a guck fix fast plan to ‘get to the other side’ for many people, but heck some start and within a few weeks are raving about it while others are in adaption hell so?

kinda like Keto for many I would think


(Linda ) #19

Thanks


(Linda ) #20

I def intend to I go back to him early march