Valuable Tips for People on Carnivore Diet

In complete contrast to veganism, the carnivore diet is an exclusive meat diet. Though it goes against the standard fact that vegetarian food is most healthy, many have experienced excellent results with the carnivore diet. How it works and some tips for the carnivore diet can help you understand this diet well.

The low-carb diet is not a new concept. Various diet plans like Atkins, paleo, and keto diets advise limiting carbohydrates and consuming more protein and fats. A low-carb diet is slowly getting scientific support as it removes sugar-heavy food from your diet and helps to restore health. The carnivore diet is high in animal protein and fat that helps you lose weight, improves blood sugar, and enhances your metabolic health. It removes processed food and sugar from your diet, thus contributes to overall health. 

There is little science-backed information available regarding the benefits and risks of eliminating carbs and plants from your diet. This article helps you to uncover the truth behind the carnivore diet and helps you with the most useful carnivore diet tips. Follow these tips to get the maximum benefit from this diet. 

What is a Carnivore Diet? 

The carnivore diet eliminates all the plant food from your diet. It means eating only meat, water, and salt. In a carnivore diet, your dairy intake is limited; only foods with low lactose content like butter and cheese can be consumed. 

Our history indicates that meat was consumed by our ancestors. And anthropologists consider it as one of the reasons for the evolution of large brains of humans. 

It is a highly restrictive eating pattern claimed to help in fat loss, lower inflammation, heal autoimmune conditions, enhance sex drive, build muscles, and reduce digestive problems. 

What is the Hypothesis Behind Carnivore Diet?

Carnivore claims the fact that plants are not ideal for our health as they produce antinutrients. These antinutrients are designed to harm animals, and they interfere with the absorption of various nutrients in our digestive system. 

Generally, nuts and seeds are heavily loaded with antinutrients, which result in nutrient deficiencies and immune reactions. Meat doesn’t contain any such toxic ingredients. In fact, meat food provides micronutrients, proteins, and healthy fats that can be easily absorbed and are highly bioavailable.

People who are suffering from autoimmune conditions or who are facing digestive problems due to plant food are adapting to the carnivore diet. Though many people are benefiting from this diet approach, we can not conclude it as an ideal approach for everyone. You may have to consider various facts, benefits, and risks while following the carnivore diet. 

What can you eat on the Carnivore Diet?

Eating only animal products makes this diet simple and straightforward. The carnivore diet is an easy-to-follow diet. And your carnivore diet meal plan can include the following foods;

• Meat food – As you are restricting your carbohydrate intake, meat with fatty cuts is your main source of energy. Include grass-fed meat, beef, ribeye, bacon, and steak in your meal plan.
• Eggs – As a rich source of proteins, fats, and other nutrients, eggs provide all the needed energy during a carnivore diet. They can be a perfect breakfast choice to start your day with the carnivore diet. 
• Fish – A variety of seafood, including fishes, offer various nutrients when added to your carnivore diet. Fish contains vitamin D, K, and A and can be easily digested. Squid, salmon, lobster, sardines, tuna, crabs, and catfish can be added to your lunch or dinner plans.
• Bone marrow – With high protein content, bone marrow carries various health benefits like decreased inflammation, better skin, and joint health. 
• Dairy products – Though cheese and milk products are allowed in a carnivore diet, it is recommended to limit their consumption. 
• Spices and condiments – Pepper, salt, herbs, and spices can be added to your carnivore meals to add different flavors. Sauce with zero calories can be used sometimes to bring a unique taste to your food. 

Avoid consuming processed meat, fruits, grains, nuts, alcohol, and other calorie-containing beverages. 

How Much to eat on a Carnivore Diet

An interesting fact about the carnivore diet is we don’t have to count calories. In this eating pattern, a common rule is to eat until you are full. The carnivore diet consists of healthy and natural food, which makes it most satiating. 

Most people find eating two meals a day or even one meal a day works for them. The carnivore diet encourages you to follow intermittent fasting, thus synchronizing your mealtime and making healthy food choices for each meal. 

Generally, you can consume 2 to 4 lbs of meat per day, but it depends on each individual’s needs. Listen to your body requirements and balance your meals accordingly. Give enough time to your body to adjust and gradually plan how much you need to eat to stay active throughout the day. 

Top 8 Tips for People on a Carnivore Diet

There is a lot of information available online on the carnivore diet. If you are planning to try the carnivore diet, you need to understand a few facts. Here are some carnivore diet tips which are backed by science to make this diet work for you. 

1. How Much Protein one Should Consume in a Day? 

According to the recommended dietary allowance (RDA), you can consume 0.8grams of protein per kg body weight. This is the minimum amount required to meet your basic nutritional requirements. It means you can have more protein but not less. 

Proteins are required for the healthy growth of bones, blood, antibodies, connective tissues, enzymes, and more. If you are an athlete or a bodybuilder, you might require more protein. 

The carnivore diet is a protein-rich diet; you will be getting enough and more healthy protein to meet your nutritional requirements. Fish, chicken, and meat contain more protein when compared to plant foods.

2. Possible and Best Ways to Eat Meat

The carnivore diet includes beef, chicken, pork, lamb, turkey, organ meats, salmon, sardines, and whitefish. You can add small amounts of cream and hard cheese with little salt and pepper for seasoning. Butter, lard, and bone marrow can also be added to your diet.

Organ meat is highly recommended because it is very nutritious and delicious too. It plays a vital role in providing all the essential nutrients to your body. If you are a beginner and find it hard to eat organ meat, add it to your hamburgers or meatloaf. Check out if you can get meat from organic livestock farming; organic meat has more nutritional value when compared with conventional livestock. 

Say NO to processed meat as it contains more chemicals, which is not good for your health. Carnivore diet recommends simple cooking methods to stay healthy. Meat should be cooked completely for maximum benefits; raw eating is not advisable in the carnivore diet. 

The carnivore diet does not emphasize calorie intakes, serving sizes, number of meals, or snacks per day. It suggests keeping yourself hydrated with more water or bone broth; and advice on avoiding tea or coffee. 

3. Who Should Avoid Eating Meat?

Although the carnivore diet has all the essential nutrients, it may be problematic for certain groups of populations. It is not recommended for people who are suffering from chronic kidney diseases because they have to limit their protein intake. 

If you are sensitive to cholesterol foods or if you are a cholesterol hyper responder then you should be cautious about consuming high cholesterol foods. So it’s better to avoid a carnivore diet because you will be consuming more fat. 

It is not recommended for children, pregnant or lactating women because they need more and a wide variety of nutrients. Yet we see many testimonials where pregnant and lactating women find the carnivore diet the best one. 

If you are suffering from health problems such as diabetes, blood pressure, and obesity, you might have to consult your health professional before making drastic changes in your diet. However, fish meat is rich in magnesium and omega 3 fatty acids which help in lowering blood pressure.

Do not try the carnivore diet if you are anxious about foods or if you struggle with restrictive eating. Also, if you have any health concerns, discussing with your healthcare provider before starting this diet is essential. Your doctor may advise some tests to keep track of your nutritional status. 

4. How can one Include Veggies in a Carnivore Diet?

A strict carnivore diet does not recommend the use of any veggies in your diet. A modified carnivore diet approach will allow you to use minimal amounts of certain veggies such as avocado, lettuce, mushroom, and cucumber.

Nutritionists and experts suggest that it is always good and healthy to add some fiber-rich veggies to your diet because it helps to reduce the acidic effects of meat on blood. These veggies can help in the better digestion of animal-based food. You can have them as salads or make curries of meat with veggies. 

5. What to do to get the Fiber and Nutrients?

The carnivore diet is a pack of all the essential nutrients required for us to stay healthy. When you start a carnivore diet, you might feel constipated. This is because your body needs time to get adjusted for the new diet style. 

In fact, the carnivore diet has a more active form of nutrients with high bioavailability and absorption than plant food. Also, meat food has the least inflammation when compared to plant food. 

Many theories suggest that fiber is a must for better digestion and removal of waste. But there are also reports that reducing the intake of fiber has reduced the symptoms of bloating and gas. According to a study, dietary fiber is associated with increased abdominal discomfort and bloatedness. Insoluble fiber can worsen abdominal pain and constipation. The study suggested that lowering the intake of fiber can effectively reduce the symptoms associated with constipation. 

6. What to do to get the Vitamin C in Your Carnivore Diet 

Vitamin C is an essential vitamin for your health; its antioxidant activity is vital to avoid various health problems. Meat, fish, poultry, eggs, and dairy products contain an adequate amount of vitamin C necessary for your body. 

Meat foods do contain vitamin C; however, care should be taken while cooking. Extensive cooking with large amounts of water or exposure to air leads to the disappearance of vitamin C. In a carnivore diet, hydroxyproline and hydroxylysine are used to form collagen, which makes them less dependent on vitamin C. 

If you still feel you need more vitamin C, you can add lemon juice to chicken and fish. You can also opt to take vitamin C supplements. 

7. Alcohol During the Carnivore Diet 

A strict carnivore diet does not allow adding any carbohydrates to the diet. Through a glass of pure forms of alcohol with minimum carbs can be taken occasionally, such as whiskey, gin, rum, wine, vodka, and tequila. These can be taken straight or combined with water or with low-carb drinks such as mint water and lemon water for flavor. 

Consumption of alcohol reduces the process of ketosis and affects the results of your carnivore diet. Occasionally you can have one serving of alcohol. 

8. Physical Activities During the Carnivore Diet 

Doing exercise, yoga, meditation, and cardio workout is absolutely a healthy lifestyle. During the adaptation phase, you might feel tired due to keto flu or a shift in the diet pattern. Once you get adjusted, a carnivore diet helps to build muscle and abs.

It might take around 30 days to adapt to the carnivore lifestyle. Once you feel your body is adjusted, you can start your workout routine. Exercise can be extremely useful in the carnivore diet as it increases your insulin sensitivity. If weight loss is your goal, combining the carnivore diet with exercise can help you get faster results. 

Do’s and Don’ts of a Carnivore Diet

Do’s in Carnivore Diet

• Keep yourself hydrated: Drink more water, bone broth, meat soup, and refreshers to be hydrated. During a diet, it’s important to have more electrolytes. 
• Exercise and physical activities help you to get better results and keep you healthy. 
• It’s essential to practice eating head-to-tail meat, do not skip organ meat; they are healthy and nutritious too. 
• Eat 1-3 meals a day, cook the meat properly and avoid processed meat.
• If you get organic meat, it would be more preferred because organic livestock is healthy than conventional livestock. 
• Take a thirty-day challenge: If you are planning to start a carnivore diet, you must take up a 30-day challenge. Your body needs time to adapt to a zero-carb diet and to see the results such as weight loss and overall fitness. 
• If you have a sedentary life, restrict your egg intake or eat only egg whites. 

Don’ts of a Carnivore Diet

• Don’t drink carbonated drinks when you are on a carnivore diet because it has carbohydrates; you might not get the results you want. 
• Avoid drinking alcohol. But, occasionally, you may consider drinking hard liquor with water.
• If you are a pregnant woman, lactating, diabetic patient, cardiac patient, and having kidney problems, then do not push yourself too much for the diet. Consult your doctor and check if your health conditions permit you to follow the carnivore diet. 
• Eat until you are full; do not count on calories; fat is the source of energy in the carnivore diet. 
• Avoid consuming any fruit with meat, as it is believed to cause bloating. 

How to Start a Carnivore Diet?

To begin your journey with the carnivore diet, stock up on high-fat meat and remove plant foods from your diet. It is a journey where you learn to adapt through the process. Taking the first step and staying committed makes a difference.

Plan your meals in advance, keep a journal to track your intake of food. Continue with the diet at least for 30 days before re-evaluating your progress. It is believed that it takes 21 days to stick to any new habit; hence give your body enough time to adapt. Your digestion and metabolism will get adjusted gradually, and it may take some time to show any results. 

In the beginning, eat freely till you feel full. Meat food is nourishing, and it keeps you satiated. Once your body gets adjusted, your meal frequency will reduce. Drink a lot of water to stay hydrated. The carnivore diet is an easy-to-follow diet with less complicated food preparation. Once you are adjusted to it, you start enjoying the carnivore lifestyle. 

Wrapping Up

A carnivore diet is an extreme form of diet that needs a fierce following. It may not be the right approach for everyone. However, it’s ok to experiment with your diet to heal from any health issues you might be facing. 

Whether your goal is weight loss, building muscles, or better health, a carnivore diet can bring excellent results. The carnivore lifestyle boosts your energy and maximizes your workout. The restrictive nature of this diet poses a lot of challenges. However, with proper planning and consistent effort, you can adapt to the carnivore lifestyle. 

Understanding your health needs and following the above-mentioned carnivore diet tips can help you approach this diet in a better way.