Bernie, I agree and what you said has been very well documented, but most of the scientists that have done those studies missed one important element. That element is fat. A good example is Loren Cordains book. Its one of the most successful diet books ever written and Cordain did studies for decades. Its a good book filled with a lot of good information but he missed fat. He missed it because most wild game meat is lean. We all know that, but anyone who has done any amount of hunting knows there is a lot of fat on most wild game species if you know where to look. Ive gotten more tha 60 pounds of belly fat off one moose. The bones are full of fat as well. The people who lived off the land knew this and they went to great lengths to get fat. They had to have it. You wil starve to death on lean protein. Northern interior populations got a lot of fat from beaver. Coastal populations got their fat from water critters like seals whales ect. I still remember when I was a kid the Indians i grew up with would dip their dry meat into a pail of lard just like most people eat potato chips and dip. This book is one of the best IMO. https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15706526-the-fat-of-the-land

Yukon254 I agree 100% that is why the low-carb/high protein diets are so successful if people can stick to them, because it is fat that satisfies your body and takes away the hunger. You can lose lots of weight by eating nothing but fat and not feel as hungry as you do with "balanced" diets.

My oldest son went on a 100% fat diet for several months, then zero carbs for nearly a year and lost 100 pounds, his cholesterol is better, he is no longer borderline diabetic, and he feels better. Most people would be much better off if they added more fat to their diets and it would help reduce cravings for carbs and sugars.

Great info, i appreciate it.

I lasted for four days. And my mind started getting weird and I started feeling real weird. So I bailed out completely. But I’m doing a lot of running during this time. So it was kind of a double edge sword.. I’m not afraid to try it again and will at some point, but I’m going to maybe ease into it a little bit more next time. And probably improvise a little bit by adding fruit into my diet and probably keeping it in there.

The first two weeks were rough for me. I felt like I was being poisoned. It takes that long for you body to adjust. After that, I have never felt better.
I do allow myself one "cheat" meal a week. I will admit that "cheat" meal is glorious. I consider it my reward for taking better care of myself.
"Fat, drunk, and stupid is no way to live your life son."

it is probably worth looking at what the average world class athlete is eating year round.

guy tells me he has been eating xyz diet for a few weeks and never felt better so I should do xyz diet. I asked him what was he eating before the xyz diet? He told me what he was eating before and changing to anything somewhat healthy would have made him feel better...

a balance of macros and eating different color foods will make anyone feel good. if you have lower body fat% and good lean muscle mass/strength your doing good and any one of a variety of nutrition plans can get you there.

I plan on eating chicken/broccoli/rice for 75% of my food intake for a few months, been on it for 3-4 weeks now and visibly dropped body fat while not dropping weight...my strength is up also.

the best plan for someone who needs to drop fat is to gradually switch to an all natural food diet...that way there is the most chance the switch will be sustainable.

fascinating topic...

All things in moderation and balanced diet. What I believe. No supplements needed. No snake oils.

Been on carnivore for two years now. Love it. Won’t ever go back to anything else.

I live in a remote village I can pretty much look back in time and see what foods were available in this area for the people before any outside supplies showed up.

They ate meat, (mostly raw) waterfowl, eggs, salmon and freshwater fish berries and some greens in the spring when other foods were unavailable. Thats it. No grains, no fruit, no sugar and pretty much no vegies. They drank, water and Labrador tea.

Some worry eating a carnivore diet you will have deficiencies and that's simply not true. Meat does have small amounts of vitamin C and all liver and organ meat is full of it.

We were led to believe we would get scurvy if we dont eat fruit and that's total nonsense we don't need fruit at all. The people that used to get scurvy are the minors and sailors that tried to subsist off carbs (rice and beans)

This is America. Moderation is not even in the dictionary anymore.
Willpower is foreign to most Americans.
I want to be able to eat until I am stuffed, and lose body fat at the same time. This is why I choose to eat meat, fat, and vegetables which contain no carbohydrates.
If it kills me, it will be much easier on my weak-backed overweight pallbearers.

A balance of macro/micro nutrients is important.

So I’m about two weeks or so into this lifestyle change, what have I notice? All cravings for carbs left around the 4th day in, my appetite has dropped dramatically, I need to buy a new belt (I’m out of holes), my BP has dropped to the point I stopped taking my meds… I’m amazed really.

Oh, and now I can’t get enough of cold chicken livers.

Man, I was all in until that last line!!!

Too funny..

So you know I was a fan of chicken livers before I started the carnivore diet..lol

You realize the average life expectancy back then was mid 40s, right?

Eating a carnivore style diet, consisting of primarily meats and fats, put me in the hospital after 2.5 months. It was directly from lack of fiber. Yukon254 says don't worry about fiber, but if you're eating a carnivore diet you absolutely do need to worry about fiber, and take a daily fiber supplement if you're not eating leafy green veggies.

If someone wants to eliminate carbs and eat mostly meats and fats, go for it, but make sure you're getting fiber in some manner.

So you were on a strictly meat diet? And what about the lack of fiber put you in a hospital for 2.5 months?

I ate strictly meat and dairy products such as butter and cheese. I would sometimes eat a few berries. I kept my net carbs under 20 a day.

I felt GREAT for about a month after the first few weeks were over. Then I started having sharp stomach pains. Not often, but once or twice a day. After a week or so of that, I was at work one day, and the pains became pretty much constant. Felt like gas pains or constipation. But I didn't think I was constipated because I was still having daily bowel movements. I took some laxatives but they didn't do anything. I kept feeling like I had to go to the bathroom even though I already had. Then one day, after trying to use the bathroom, I had a pain in my stomach like I've never had before. I fell to the ground and couldn't stand back up. I crawled down the hallway, crying. Went to the hospital and they said there was a tear in my large intestine that was caused by a lack of fiber. They fixed it and had to put a tube in my stomach which I had for over a month.

Since then I've learned that I can eat whatever I want, as long as I don't eat more calories than I burn. Eating a burger on a bun, or having a side of potatoes or rice keeps me healthy and happy. I can even eat ice cream, or a candy bar, as long as I budget for it. I realize some people need to eat low carb due to diabetes, but if you're not one of them I'd highly recommend a diet that keeps you in a calorie deficit instead. And if you have to eat low carb... make sure you're getting sufficient fiber!!!!

Edit: I just re-read your post. I wasn't the hospital for 2.5 months... I was in the hospital for a week. I went into the hospital with the ruptured intestine 2.5 months after starting the strict keto/carnivore style diet.

I appreciate you sharing. Without knowing you personally and not knowing your medical history I will say it is stressed that if you’re on a strict meat diet you must consume animal fat. Without that fat you can become constipated badly.