The Carnivore Diet. It definitely has a primitive ring to it, doesn’t it? That’s exactly what I thought when I first came across it. For some inexplicable reason, just hearing the name sparked an instinctual resistance in me. It's strange because I genuinely enjoy eating meat without any sense of guilt. In fact, I personally hunt, fish, and butcher every animal I harvest. Despite all of this, the idea of exclusively eating meat for a prolonged period still gave me an odd feeling.

That’s precisely why I felt compelled to give it a shot.

My adventure with The Carnivore Diet started, as many things do nowadays, with a Google search. I wasn't after anything specific; I just did a basic search and came across all sorts of mixed reviews and information. One article said one thing, and another article said something else. After about 30 minutes, I understood that I wouldn't gain any meaningful insight into what the diet could do for me unless I actually gave it a try.

I opted for the least strict version of the diet. This variation permitted the inclusion of eggs, butter, and hard cheeses. It also allowed the use of pink Himalayan salt for seasoning. Nonetheless, being a Louisiana native, I disregarded this guideline and continued using my usual array of seasonings.

Now that I've chosen my path, it was moment to find out if the diet would live up to its claims.

The three that captured my interest the most were:

• Certainly! Here’s your text rewritten in a natural and SEO-friendly manner: --- Weight Loss
• Certainly! Here is the rewritten text: Evoke a stronger sense of concentration.
• Minimized Symptoms of Autoimmune Diseases

Weight Loss

The Carnivore Diet's biggest promise is weight loss. It achieves this by completely cutting out carbs from your meals. By doing so, your body shifts into a state called ketosis. In ketosis, your body burns fat for energy instead of relying on glucose. As a result, the extra fat you eat with your meat and the fat stored in your body are both used up for fuel.

Understanding that fat packs more calories per gram had me concerned about over-consuming and undermining my diet efforts. But, to my surprise, this wasn't an issue for me. I found myself eating just slightly more meat than prior to starting the diet, mainly during lunch. The key reason was that moderately larger portions of meat filled me up quickly and kept me feeling full for extended periods.

Within the initial two weeks, I shed 10 pounds effortlessly. I suspect that some of it was water weight, but it motivated me to stick with it. After another couple of weeks, I dropped an extra 5 pounds. Though these figures might not seem drastic, as an already active 176-pound guy grappling to trim the final few inches off my waistline, I was thoroughly impressed.

During the next six weeks, I didn't notice a significant drop in my weight—only a few pounds at most. However, I did manage to build a bit of muscle. I don’t think I reached a plateau, though. It seems that the amount of fat in my diet maintained my lowest weight. If I aimed to shed more pounds, I would likely need to cut back on my fat consumption.

More Focus

This aspect of the diet was likely one of my favorites. As a person who constantly has a variety of thoughts running through their mind, staying focused is not my strong suit. That is, unless it's something that genuinely captivates me.

Around the two-week point, I began to observe a shift in my mental functioning. Although I wouldn't claim it improved completely, experiencing about a 40% enhancement seems accurate. I noticed that I could dedicate more mental effort and focus to any task or idea before transitioning to a different one.

I noticed that my mental clarity improved significantly, almost eliminating brain fog. Many days, it was completely gone. This turned out to be an incredible asset for boosting creativity and cognitive function!

Reduced Autoimmune Disease Symptoms

As someone living with Ulcerative Colitis, I am constantly searching for methods to alleviate or eliminate my symptoms. When I started the diet, I had been battling this condition for nearly seven years. Throughout this time, I have faced significant challenges that have cost me a lot. Most treatments I tried either failed or only provided minimal relief, allowing me to lead a somewhat ordinary life. Despite my doubts, I remained cautiously optimistic about the diet's potential for improvement.

I am pleased to report that I noticed some progress! Given that my condition is quite severe, the improvement was modest. Nevertheless, I'm confident that if my situation were more stable, this improvement would have had a more significant effect on my symptoms.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I found the Carnivore Diet to be a positive experience and I'm quite likely to give it another shot in the future. However, it’s important to note that each person is unique, and this diet may not be suitable for everyone. While I didn’t personally do this, I would advise having lab tests conducted before beginning the diet and talking with your doctor about any potential risks specific to your health.

For instance, my wife joined me on the diet for convenience, but by the end of the month, her health had seriously deteriorated because her body operates differently from mine. I also want to highlight that I took a quality multivitamin to make sure I received essential micronutrients that aren’t available from animal products alone.

Given all that, if you're healthy, curious, and a meat lover, I highly recommend you give the diet a shot! You'll discover a lot about yourself and reevaluate your usual cravings.

P.S. There's nothing quite as enjoyable as searing a ribeye in a cast iron skillet for lunch!