At first glance you'd think the carnivore diet is way too weird but a lot of solid people are committed to it it seems. Seems like the ultimate in keto eating. I have to admit its tempting because I like beef a lot and they do suggest a lot of ground beef and ribeyes etc. Also bacon and eggs and cheese. It seems so simple. But the down side to me is that it would be kind of hard to prepare. Wouldn't it be hard to cook steaks all the time? It seems to me that preparation would be a pain. Anybody tried this even temporarily and found it difficult or not in regards to preparation?

The only thing about the carnivore diet is the heavy load on the kidneys. Young people may get away with it, but not so sure about over 50 people and seniors on it?

I tried it this past month, also no alcohol. Will continue to Feb 16th when I go completely off the rails for vacation. I think the prep is the easy part. It is watching my DH have a nice salad and glass of red with his steak that gave me a twinge of regret, but really cravings are almost non-existent. I quickly fell into a pattern of OMAD at 12-2 pm. Usually ground beef, which I sear in a hot pan only with salt on the pan surface. Sometimes topped with an egg with runny yolk, and sometimes cheese. Ate until I was quite full, then not hungry for at least 24 hours. Luckily DH did not mind my experiment, and if he wanted to grill a steak, then we did that later, but still earlyish in the day. Highly recommend Maria Emmerich's new book, The Carnivore Cookbook for more prep ideas. It was nice to read from our library, but used only a few of the options there. So carnivore is great for controlling any cravings for most anything. I feel great, joint pain better, workouts fine. My biggest diappointment is that I still have weird sleep patterns..going to sleep very early, waking at 2 am. No wine and eating earlier in day did Nothing. at. all. Edit: I will be 69 and my kidneys are fine...but having my annual super-dooper blood work panel on Feb 13th while still carnivore, so we'll see. As others have said, if you do well eating plants, then there is no reason to eliminate them, so I will return to being an omnivore, knowing carnivore is also perfectly OK for me.

Good summary thread: https://forum.lowcarber.org/showthread.php?t=483414


Kidney Health and LC diets: https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb...-health#protein

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/carnivore

I am not carnivore. I am currently taking Marty Kendal's Nutritional Optimizer Masterclass. The most important things that I have learned from that class so far is that protein is the most satiating food. Following the advice given in the class I upped my protein intake from between 25%-30% to 40% of my diet. At the same time I lowered my fat intake from about 65% of my diet to around 55%. This has resulted in my actually feeling full while eating fewer calories with no cravings. Carnivore would have that advantage, being satiating while eliminating cravings. Of course I have been enjoying that advantage while also enjoying my salads. Best of both world's perhaps.

I don't eat strictly carnivore either, but to me it's much faster, simpler, and easier to prepare the foods you mentioned than to cook meat, and then add in an assortment of veggies, or prepare the meat as part of a recipe.

If it was just for me, and I didn't need to cook any extras for anyone else (or provide a variety of flavors to satisfy anyone else's preference for variety), I wouldn't even need to cook meats every day. When I'm cooking stuff that I'm the only one who will eat it, I'll buy a big family pack of chicken thighs, bake it all at once, eat from it for days. Cook a bunch of burgers, eat from those for days. Cook a roast, eat from that for days. You can bake an entire package of bacon in the oven at once too. Even with steak, I'd cook as many as I could fit in the pan at one time (or if you're lucky enough to have a grill, as many as you can fit on the grill at one time), and the most I'd need to do with the leftovers is to slice them and reheat some way before eating. Eggs are about the only thing I'll prepare for individual meals, but it doesn't take any longer to cook eggs than it takes to reheat some meat.

Thanks for the links Janet and everyone for the insights. What I might do is go on it as a temporary measure then go back after a couple of weeks. I do only cook for myself as my wife and son are on the high carb high surgar thing.

Thanks for posting your experience. I would like to try it for a month also.

Reading the dietdoctor article and it's interesting to see Dr. Rhonda Patrick, Dr. Georgia Ede, Dr. Ted Naiman, and Dr. Steve Phinney's take on it.

Dr. Naiman's concern was low folate - wouldn't liver counteract that? I try to eat liver every week.


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Yes, liver is one of the best sources of folate. Maria Emmerich did suggest having some organ meats. Other carnivore folks say even organ meats are not necessary, muscle meat is nutritious enough. I have not done that yet, her suggestion is to grind some into a ground beef mix for say meatloaf.

Last summer I was liberally eating from my garden, no sprays except Bt for the cabbages. Well, as I always take a peek at the color of urine just as I toggle the flush handle..... seeing foaming bubbles alarmed me. Realizing it was protein spilling over, a quick google search pointed the finger at the sorrel. Oxalic acid. More than my kidneys could handle. Other foods also have various levels of oxalic acid, so for those concerned, help the kidneys stay in peak performance by looking at other foods not just meats/proteins.

I quit eating the sorrel ( ) and over a couple months, the bubbles disappeared, and went back to a normal amount, a few bubbles that break and disappear within moments. But it did take MONTHS.

I wasn't aware that this could be due to oxalic acid. Last I'd read was that it was mostly due to high carbs, with the resulting damage from high insulin.

However, my understanding is that once there is permanent damage done to the kidneys (by whatever caused it), then the kidneys can't handle proteins as well - someone who has permanent kidney damage will be severely limited in how much protein they can eat.

There's also the decreased absorption of protein in the elderly - even without any kidney damage there will be "wasted" protein. My understanding is that the answer is not that you should eat eat less protein as you age, that the best thing is more protein, so that you can absorb enough to prevent muscle loss.

So you folks who cooked a lot of steak (I've never have cooked a steak) would suggest (with a rib-eye done well done) that I bake it first then pan fry in butter or sear it on high heat then bake it?

shoes might be more tender....

get yourself an iron skillet and get it piping hot... piping hot and then throw your steak on it...
add your butter when you pull it off the fire and onto the plate to rest for 5-10 minutes..

i'm not good with minutes but as a carnivore for over 45 years...
if you touch your forehead with your finger, that would feel like well done.
touch the tip of your nose and that will feel like MR
and touch your chin and that would feel like rare.... this is how i check my meat and I like it MR...

Y0u is a chef.. and a Carnivore... she can give you minutes.
but ideally, you want to eat until satisfied and don't eat if you're not hungry.
simple as that....

there are a few of us on the forum that have been eating meat for decades...

Thanks -- I'm becoming more intrigued with this carnivore thing. I was always told that on low carb protein should be very low (10%) and that you HAD to have a lot of vegatables or you'd risk severe health issues. I might try it for a week and see if I can do it. I suppose the cooking will take some practice. But yikes I bought a small ribeye today and it was $10.

One reason I eat a lot of ground beef. I also think it makes me fuller, or can stay full longer...likely it has more fat than a similar steak? So hard to tell with ground beef what the fat % really is. Maria Emmerich's book has a very detailed chart of various cuts of meat and may give you more ideas of what you can eat.

Right now I'm doing a lot of ground beef or ground pork. Smash it on the griddle to about an inch or less thick, let it brown, flip, let it brown. Doesn't need extra fat.

With pork I like Old Bay Seasoning. I jazz it up with Primal Kitchen BBQ and some coleslaw, like a 1/4 cup. Lasts me for 8 hours.

I've been doing like 90% carnivore for a year now. FAN-freakin'-tastic results. Lost 40 pounds, autoimmune in remission, easy cook and clean-up.

About that $10 ribeye: yes. OR you can have 2 frozen dinners for that price.

Which is going to fill you up and give you more nutrition?