I’m inspired beyond words. I recently did an interview with Hadi Doumit, aka The Carnivore Chef, about how he lost over 200 pounds, his animal-based diet, and how weightlifting has changed his life.
Keep reading to learn more about his incredible transformation and maybe you will end up feeling inspired yourself.
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You’ve lost over 200 lbs… How? Why Did You Choose to Go with a Mostly Red Meat Diet?
My journey began 4 May 2015.
At the time, I was feeling ill, had no energy, felt thirsty all the time and had to use the restroom frequently — 4 to 5 times each hour of the day and night. I was struggling to get out of bed each morning as my feet and ankles would swell up and go numb. It would take me about 30 minutes to get my feet moving so I can just stand up and start my day. I finally had a doctor’s appointment scheduled to check my health.
That Monday, on 4 May 2015, was the beginning of me gaining my life back. While sitting in the chair waiting to hear my results for my blood test, a doctor’s assistant came in to check my blood sugar level and it was 530. I have never been diabetic and the numbers did not register to me as I was new to this and did not know how serious at the time my health was failing.
The doctor explained that someone in the 500 range would be in a diabetic coma. This did not stop there, now he was explaining to me that the results for my blood test and my check up showed inflamed liver, high blood pressure, high cholesterol… the list just kept going.
At that moment, I felt lost. Left the doctors office with a handful of prescriptions that this doctor prescribed to me and basically stated that I needed to begin taking them if I wanted to stay alive.
At the time, my daughter was in kindergarten, as the doctor was telling me how my body was failing me. All I thought was that I would not be able to see my daughter go into the first grade.
I drove to a supplement shop that was nearby. I walked in and there was a bodybuilder that worked the counter. I said: “I know there’s no magic pill, I’m not looking for supplements. I can’t eat salads for the rest of my life, I just want to know what you eat so I can get healthier.”
Basically, I was put on the bodybuilding diet and weighed all my meals out. This was all new to me. I had reached my all-time heaviest weight of 405, and now I have to weigh all my food and take all these medications to just be healthy?
I was sitting on my couch, lost, overthinking everything, and I came across a documentary called Bigger Stronger Faster that was on Netflix. That’s when I first learned about Chris and Mark Bell. After watching the documentary, I looked Chris and Mark Bell up on YouTube and Instagram and I noticed these guys mostly ate red meat and threw away the bread.
They were doing a campaign called “War on Carbs” that caught my attention. At the time, I’d tried anything, so I switched all my meals to red meat, eggs and water. In the beginning, everyone thought I was crazy that I was switching to just eating red meat.
We all grew up learning that eating too much red meat isn’t healthy for us. But in my case, I needed to try anything to see if I could get my health back on track. In the beginning, I didn’t know if I needed to eat a certain amount per portion or how to plan out my day of eating. So, I started kind of just listening to my body.
I would only eat if I was hungry. That was about two pretty good-sized meals a day. My meals would consist of putting a chuck roast in the crockpot with some bone broth and let it cook overnight. I would put some in a Tupperware and scramble up a couple of eggs and take that for my work lunch. And for dinner, I would have the same thing or just add more meat if I was out of eggs.
I started to feel more energy, I did not have the sluggish feeling as I used to. I didn’t have to use the restroom every hour, my legs weren’t swelling up and I was able to get out of bed with no problems.
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I started to notice the difference within the second week that a lot of the issues that I was having were slowly going away with just changing my diet. In one year, I lost 191 pounds. Overall, 235 pounds altogether. That whole year, I did not go to the gym once — all I did was focus on my nutrition. I returned to the same doctor a year later for a yearly check-up. In between the year timeframe, this doctor would just prescribe me medication monthly, but I did not fill one prescription.
I wanted to see if I could get my health back in control without being dependent on any medication. The doctor did not recognize me, and was blown away by my test results that everything was normal. The doctor asked me to retake my blood test to make sure the results were accurate.
I returned two weeks after and again, he was blown away that I went from possibly losing my life to being healthier than I have ever been. I handed him back all the prescriptions he prescribed that whole time, and stated to the doctor: “I did not need all these prescriptions you prescribed me and did not take not one the whole time.” I worked on my nutrition and understanding what works well for my body.
This journey of finding the correct lifestyle in dieting has saved my life and now I have two kids. My son would not have been around if I did not take control of my health.
What Advice Would You Give to Someone Who Wants to Try Eating Only Red Meat or Mostly Red Meat to Lose Weight/Fat?
Listen to your body. Only “you” will be able to determine if this is the lifestyle for you.
What Does Your Diet Look Like Currently?
Currently, I’m prepping for my fourth powerlifting competition. I have slowly begun to incorporate carbs to see if this will help me on a performance level.
How Has Eating an Animal-Based Diet Affected Your Overall Health and Life?
In one year, I lost 191 pounds. This has helped me tremendously with getting my health back on track with no prescription medication.
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How Has an Animal-Based Diet Affected Your Training/Lifting?
It has helped me add in extra protein and stay energized before training.
What Do You Love About Lifting?
Overcoming mentally heavy lifts.
How Has Lifting Weights Changed Your Life?
Powerlifting has changed my life for the better. It has shown me I can overcome any heavy lift or obstacle in life.
Seeing As You’re Called, The Carnivore Chef, what Cooking Tips Would You Give Someone New to Cooking Meat?
Look up a few YouTube clips and go from there. It will come with time to learn how to prepare a steak the way you like it.
What are Some of Your Favourite Meals to Make?
My meals mostly contain red meat. I love making steak on my cast iron.
What Are Your Biggest Goals Right Now?
Stay healthy and get stronger for my upcoming competition.
*Thank you so much Hadi for agreeing to do this interview with me. You have truly inspired me and I know that this interview will inspire other people reading this as well.
I’m excited to see what Hadi will achieve in the years to come. If you want to check out his Instagram page for even more inspiration, you can search for @the_carnivore_chef.
