What I Eat on the Carnivore Diet

Where I get Vitamins A, C, D and the rest

I went carnivore 10 weeks ago. I’m surprised at how easy it is, but this is coming from someone in the throes of relief.

Relief from high blood sugar. Relief from hunger. Relief from eating 3, 4, or 5 meals a day.

I no longer have food cravings, which once haunted me like Caspar the unfriendly ghost.

I get hungry, or I don’t. I never feel the urge to eat for fun, entertainment, or out of boredom.

All the other benefits aside — from weight loss to excellent labs to the simplicity of meal prep — being liberated from food cravings is why I stick with it.

But what do I eat?

I do not use a cookbook. I wing it (get it, that’s meat-based humor!)

Meal #1

I eat my first meal between 10 and 11, usually after a visit to the gym. Since I don’t feel hungry in the morning, I have no desire to eat. It’s hard to believe I can sincerely write that. In the past, I was nearly always hungry — but especially when I woke up.

I’ve read it’s a good idea to work out fasting, too.

Most of the time I’ll eat leftovers from the night before, such as half a ribeye or leftover slow roasted chuck or shoulder — about 4-5 ounces.

If the meat isn’t fatty (like shoulder roast or lean ground buffalo) I add an ounce (about 30 grams) of bone marrow. Roasting bone marrow is a simple process using long beef bones: 15 minutes at 400 degrees.

On Monday thru Friday, I add 2–3 ounces of beef liver, with the aim of 14 ounces (400 grams) per week.

So, a typical first meal is: 3–4 ounces of beef and slightly less beef liver, plus bone marrow.

On weekends, I up the amount of muscle meat and skip the liver.

Now and then I treat myself to a lamb chop, ox tail stew, or osso bucco.

Rare Snacks

I’m not eating eggs or dairy right now, and I avoid all spices except salt. That makes snacking sort of pointless, plus I’m not hungry.

If I have a yen for more food, I’ll cook beef bacon, which when crisp and salted makes a good popcorn substitute.

If I’m cold or feeling the need for diversion, I’ll have a cup of bone broth.

Meal #2

It sounds boring but I usually eat something very similar to Meal 1, without the liver.

It’s never dull, as I always enjoy my meals. I eat Meal 2 between 5 and 6 pm.

I learned this diet from an experienced group called Paleomedicina, who use a Paleo Ketogenic Diet (PKD) to treat conditions from epilepsy to Crohn’s disease to Hashimoto’s (my condition).

The idea behind PKD is it heals intestinal permeability.

Meal 2 is often a freshly cooked steak, or sometimes ground buffalo in meatballs, slow-cooked chuck or shoulder roast, or the occasional pork chop. I’d eat more pork but finding pasture-raised pigs who haven’t been fed corn, soy, or vaccines isn’t easy.

I’ll usually add some marrow to this meal, unless the cut of steak is very fatty.

Going Out

Hard no. I approached the BBQ place nearby and asked if they had just plain ribs. They did! Except — they put pepper on them! Disappointing, but maybe someday I’ll find a place where I can order out.

I’m visiting Arizona in February, where there is a much wider selection of restaurants.

But honestly, I don’t miss eating out during a pandemic.

What About Fiber?

There is much still unknown about the human gut microbiome. One thing is certain, however: fiber does not unequivocally protect against colon cancer, and definitely doesn’t prevent diverticulosis.

Fiber does lead to lots of bathroom time.

Humans have eating virtually fiber-free diets throughout human history. The Inuit, Greenlanders, and everyone who lived through the Ice Age rarely had plant matter in their diets.

Fiber is overhyped.

As someone who spent most of my life constipated, I can attest that eating more fiber in the form of bran, psyllium, vegetables, and fruits didn’t help and usually made the problem worse.

Final Meaty Thoughts

I’ve spent over 50 years eating involuntarily. By that I mean, I ate because of low blood sugar, boredom, or out of a sense of social obligation. I constantly worried about my weight and couldn’t shed pounds.

I often overate and regretted it. I felt like I had little control, despite frequent efforts to cut down on meal size and frequency.

This WOE (Way Of Eating) is a huge relief. My weight has dropped from 130 to 108. My labs finally show normal Vitamin D. My triglycerides are low (91) and my HDL is high (93).

But where do I get vitamins? Marrow and beef liver providevitamin C, and when you avoid vegetables you need less vitamin C. Beef liver is packed with nutrients, the OG superfood.

This WOE isn’t for everyone, but if you want freedom from sugar cravings and reversal of metabolic and/or autoimmune disease, I cannot recommend eating like a caveperson highly enough.

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