You can learn a lot just by changing your diet. I’ve officially been on the carnivore diet for 500 days and have learned quite a few things about myself and about nutrition during my time eating only animal foods. In this article, I’m sharing everything I’ve learned along the way.
9 Things I Have Learned on the Carnivore Diet
Here are 9 things I’ve learned from doing the carnivore diet for 500 days:
1. You Don’t Need to Consume Plant Foods and Get the Nutrients You Need
I always thought you had to eat a lot of fruits and vegetables to be healthy and get all the nutrients you need but now I know that’s not true. You can be healthy and get all the nutrients you need when you eat only animal foods like meat, organ meats, eggs, and dairy.
2. You Don’t Need Fibre for Proper Digestion
I used to eat a lot of fibre while trying to improve my digestion and gut health but it only made things worse. I had IBS and kept trying to increase my fibre intake but all that did was leave me with even more bloating, constipation, and stomach pain.
When I switched to a zero-fibre carnivore diet, my IBS symptoms went away completely. No more bloating, no more stomach pain, and no more trouble in the bathroom. My digestion is better than it’s ever been and it’s all thanks to the carnivore diet.
3. I’m Happy to Eat the Same Foods Over and Over Again
I used to think variety was the spice of life and that I needed a lot of variety in my diet to be happy, but now I know that I’m happy to eat the same foods over and over again as long as I enjoy them. Every time I get to eat steak or chicken thighs, I’m excited! In fact, every time I sit down to eat, I’m excited about my meal, even if I had the exact same thing earlier that day or the day before.
I was listening to a podcast with Dr Anthony Chaffee recently in which he spoke about the idea of eating the same things over and over again and he said something very true: “A cow doesn’t get tired of eating grass; A dolphin doesn’t get tired of eating tuna.” If you’re on a species-appropriate diet, your food should be delicious to you every time you eat and you should be happy eating the same foods over and over again.
4. You Don’t Need to Spend Hours in the Kitchen or at the Supermarket
Before the carnivore diet, I would spend hours of my life chopping vegetables and making side dishes to accompany the meat on my plate. I no longer have to spend so much time preparing food. I no longer have to cook meat, prep and cook starches, or prep and cook three different vegetables to eat as a side. I just cook the meat. Do you have any idea how much time this saves?
Do you have any idea how much time I save now doing the dishes?
I don’t have to clean a lot of pots and utensils I used to prepare side dishes. I just cook my meat in the frying pan or air fryer, put it on a plate, and that’s all I have to worry about cleaning.
I also save a lot of time when shopping for food. I don’t have to browse all the isles looking for various items to add to my shopping cart.
I just go straight to the meat section, pick up my eggs, get some dairy products if I want, and then head to the checkout point. No need to go to the fruits and vegetables section or go past the grains and other products. Shopping is a lot faster than it used to be.
5. I Can Stop Binge Eating on the Right Diet
I used to binge eat regularly and blamed it all on emotional issues and a lack of self-control. But then I started the carnivore diet and my urge to binge went away completely within the first week. As it turns out, all I had to do to stop binge eating was cut out all sweet foods, including fruits and sweeteners in zero-sugar foods. When I went carnivore, I cut out all trigger foods from my diet and my binge eating is a thing of the past. Of course, I am under no impression that I’m fully cured and know that if I reintroduced sweet foods in my diet, my urge to binge would come back.
I thought I would struggle with binge eating for the rest of my life until I went on the carnivore diet.
6. I Can Live Without Blood Sugar Fluctuations
I used to get blood sugar fluctuations frequently and thought I would have to deal with them for the rest of my life. But since going on the carnivore diet, I haven’t struggled with blood sugar fluctuations at all. It’s so amazing to have sustained energy levels throughout the entire day.
7. We Have A Species-Appropriate Diet
Throughout my life, I’ve heard that each person has their own ideal diet. Some people apparently do better eating meat while others do better on a vegan diet. This I’ve learned is completely false. Different lions don’t follow different diets. All lions have the same ideal diet. One bear doesn’t do better eating meat while another does better eating plants. They follow a diet that’s ideal for their species, and so should humans.
There aren’t different diets that are ideal for different individuals in the human species. We are one species with one species-appropriate diet. Does it have to be a strict carnivore diet? No. Throughout our history, humans have been eating some plants like fruits as they were in season and were easily available, but we as a species have been meat-based throughout our entire history.
8. The Carnivore Diet Makes Intuitive Eating Easier
I used to think that following an intuitive diet was risky for me since I have a history of binge eating. Many supporters of intuitive eating will tell you to listen to your body and what it’s telling you it needs when it comes to food. They’ll say things like: “If you’re craving a piece of cake, listen to your body and eat the slice of cake”.
I don’t think that your body will ever need processed foods like cake and that your body would much rather have real foods that provide it with good nutrients, not processed garbage foods that only provide empty calories with no nutritional benefits. These foods trick you into wanting to eat more of them. They’re designed to be addictive. I don’t think you should listen to your body when you start to crave processed foods. Your body is under the influence of these addictive foods.
But, on the carnivore diet, you’re not eating any of these addictive foods. You are only providing your body with healthy, nutrient-dense foods. After a while, you become free of food addictions and you’ll stop craving addictive processed foods. After following the carnivore diet for a while, I finally became a fan of intuitive eating, as long as you’re not eating any foods that are designed to make you just want to eat more and more. When you eat only animal foods and get hungry and start craving meat, it’s actually because your body wants meat and wants those nutrients. The carnivore diet makes listening to what your body truly needs easier.
9. A Restrictive Diet Can Be Sustainable
If anyone says that a carnivore diet is too restrictive and cannot be sustained long-term, I would have to strongly disagree. I have struggled to stick to diets in the past, but not the carnivore diet. This has been the easiest diet to stick to. In fact, within a month, it became effortless. I don’t even see plant foods as options. The carnivore diet can be very sustainable. Some people have been doing it for decades. That should be enough proof of how sustainable it can be.
These are just a few valuable lessons I have learned on the carnivore diet and I’m sure I will still learn more as I continue with this way of eating.