I Went From Vegan To Carnivore To Keto, Then I Upped The Carbs: Why I’m Going Back To Keto

Know thyself, heal thyself

My keto journey is an unusual one.

In 2011 I started a zero-carb diet cold turkey. Within a week, I went from eating a whole foods vegan diet to eating nothing but meat.

Yes, I was that desperate.

At that time, I had eaten a vegan diet for 4 years. Whole foods. No cheating. And no vegan junk (which wasn’t as widely available back then as it is now).

I went vegan “for the environment.” I ignored many signs my body gave me that it didn’t like what I was doing:

1. Joint pain
2. Tiredness
3. Irritable Bowel Syndrome.

It’s been too long to know whether I had digestive issues before adopting a plant-only diet. Still, the longer I stayed on it, the worse my symptoms became.

I started experimenting with raw vegan diets to improve my gut health, but it only worsened.

Eating according to popular vegan guidelines didn’t help either. McDougall’s starch solution didn’t help. Eating according to the book “Becoming Vegan” didn’t help. Low-carb, high-fat vegan eating didn’t help.

Craving fish

One gray winter Friday in London, I was on my way shopping for groceries. And I thought to myself how tired I was of being always hungry and constantly having this pot-belly that made me look 4 months pregnant.

I am not exaggerating. People who didn’t know me actually thought I was pregnant. This led me to develop the habit of sucking in my belly and breathing very shallowly.

When I was in the store, I stopped at the fish display. I had been thinking about getting some fish for about a week already.

I had been homesick. Coming from a tiny town in Germany to the big city of London was quite a shock to my system.

The smell of smoked mackerel reminded me of cozy winter evenings at my grandma’s house in her tiny village where everything was peaceful and quiet.

I gave in and bought two packs of smoked mackerel fillets. I ate them right there.

In the busy streets of London.

The first thought that crossed my mind was, “Now I am full!” The second was, “Wow! I don’t feel guilty!”

I expected to feel shame and guilt for “abandoning my ideals” and being “responsible for overfishing” or “increased greenhouse gas emissions.”

However, all I felt was peace and an inner knowing that I had done the right thing.

Finding the carnivore diet and jumping right in

Back in my guest family’s home, I spent the remainder of the weekend using my favorite search engine to research vegan diet failures and alternatives. I stumbled upon the Blog Mark’s Daily Apple.

In the comments under one of his blog posts, someone mentioned a forum where people would eat nothing but meat — I was intrigued…

I spent the following week eating more meat and trying out cheese. I also couldn’t shake the thought of trying low-carb.

I thought it might help with my blood sugar issues and, most importantly, help me get rid of my digestive issues.

I decided to start at the weekend. And, being the all-or-nothing type that I am, I jumped right in at the deep end.

I cut out all plant foods and joined the now-defunct carnivore diet forum “Zeroing In On Health.”

The adaptation was rough. For the first week, I was almost constantly sleeping. I had to call in sick several times at work. I put on weight. I felt weak and had monster headaches.

However, I pushed through it, and my health improved massively.

Even though my rapid fat gain made me want to quit, my body gave me clear signals that I should continue:

1. Within 2 weeks, my tummy bloating was gone.
2. Once the extreme tiredness was overcome, I experienced a sharp rise in mental clarity and focus.
3. My joint pain vanished. I used to have lots of swelling and pain in my knees from running. One doctor diagnosed this as osteoarthritis and said, “some people are not built for running.” He should see me now 😂. All my knee pain and swelling went away on an all-meat diet.

I have experienced more benefits the longer I stay on it, like clearer skin, stronger nails, and of course, the ability to run long distances without bonking.

Reintroducing plant foods

In 2015 I reintroduced plant foods, mainly due to social reasons and because I had become somewhat bored with the food I was eating.

I still ate a meat-only diet for month-long stretches but had the occasional higher carb meal — mostly in social situations or when traveling for work.

In 2020 and 2021, I experimented with various high-carb foods, such as rice, potatoes, and oats.

However, as my tummy rebelled, I always resorted to lower-carb eating.

Until it got better.

Then I decided to try again.

After a lengthy break, I was just coming back to running and was convinced that I needed carbs to run well. After all, all the science points to it. And even the so-called “low-carb” athletes utilize carbohydrates during races.

It took me a while to admit that a higher-carb approach doesn’t work at all for me.

IBS came back with a vengeance, leading to missed and interrupted training sessions. And I was so scared of having “an accident” during my races that I ate very little the day before and ran both ultramarathons severely under-fueled.

Getting back on keto

By the end of 2021, I decided that I had had enough and went back to eating low-carb. I am now back to eating keto — animal foods mostly.

My main reasons:

Irritable bowel syndrome

Keto with minimal to no plant foods is the only diet I have tried so far that keeps my gut happy.

Mental health

I am a very anxious person and grew up with severe social anxiety. When eating low carb high fat, my mood is more stable, and I feel mentally stronger. I can keep calm under pressure, and my outlook on life is generally more optimistic.

Running

This sounds counterintuitive since a ketogenic diet seems a terrible choice for an endurance runner.

However, I am experiencing significantly less joint pain and inflammation on keto. Plus, I can run without needing the bathroom every 20 minutes.

I decided to eat keto instead of low-carb to reap the benefits of running in a ketogenic state fueled by ketones. I want to avoid the low-carb-limbo where I eat an amount of carbs that prevents my body from entering ketosis, yet don’t eat enough carbs to fuel exercise.

Will this negatively impact my running performance? Honestly, I don’t know yet.

I will have yet to race this year, and my first challenge will be the 24h German Championships in May.

Training has been going well so far.

But remember that my body has been keto-adapted for many years before I tried my high-carb experiment last year.

I tried to use a gel the other week during a 40km long run. However, it didn’t do anything. I find that coconut butter gives me a better energy kick nowadays. Hence, I will be fueling my races on keto foods and not “drip in” carbs, like many other “low-carb” ultrarunners do.

Closing thoughts

I have been eating minimal plant foods for the past 3 months. If it weren’t for social reasons, I might just return to eating a meat-only diet.

However, I think including some plant foods doesn’t hurt, and being more flexible with my diet contributes to my peace of mind. It makes eating out and cooking together with friends and family easier.

Plus, I get to enjoy some keto treats every now and then 😋.

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