First, disclaimers:
There are 50 shades of a meat based diet. Some people include small amounts of carbs, some do fat or carb re-feeds, some do not. Don’t be that Ahole that shames other people for including other things & different approaches into their diets because you don’t. We all have different needs/preferences. I see it too much. No need for dogma of any kind, we are here to learn & support one another. Choose what work best for you.
Seems most “higher” protein carnivores are around 40P/60F, 50P/50F, 60P/40F as far a protein/fat macro ratios. Always go your own way, again, we’re all different!
I’m showing you what I’d do for myself as far as macros, not saying you have to follow these, but a visual & calculation breakdown were requested. If you need coaching, fill out an inquiry here & I’ll send details via email.
Your 1st steps in choosing any kind of diet need to be:
1. KNOW YOUR WHY & BE SELF AWARE
2. UNDERSTAND YOUR STORY & FOUNDATIONAL STARTING POINT
3. DEFINE YOUR REALISTIC GOAL
4. SET A PLAN & ORGANIZE YOUR SUCCESS ROUTINE
As far as Carnivore, get adapted & heal FIRST. I wrote a blog from an interview on my experiences the 1st year of my carnivore journey. Please read that interview here (link also in IG bio to blog post) — it will answer the majority of your questions as far as my story, living with Crohn’s as an athlete, adapting, transitions I went through, & my special digestive needs & trigger foods.
I don’t recommend any kind of manipulations with the carnivore diet for fat loss until you are adapted, eating at maintenance, & thriving confidently with this lifestyle.
Fat Loss Tips:
- Create a calorie deficit from pulling from your fat macros. Protein should stay consistent (around 1g/lb of body weight or goal weight for most) Tracking will help. It creates awareness & more educated decision making when making adjustments. Protein for most/meal should be around 30g minimum, most do fine around 40-60g/meal if you’re eating 2-3 meals/d.
- Choose meats that are easier to track & control like ground meats & eggs. Leaner meat will naturally be lower in calories.
- When in a calorie deficit, & this will depend on your degree of calorie deficit, it can be helpful to increase your protein macros to maintain as much lean muscle mass as possible especially if you’re strength training. (YOU SHOULD BE)
- If you’re fat cycling for fat loss, try 4-5 lean days/wk, 2-3 higher fat days/wk. Its helpful to have higher calorie (high fat days) on days of higher activity or harder workouts. You can also reserve these for days of social events for easier adherence.
- Diet breaks & structured refeeds can be wonderful tools to create adherence, consistency, & decreased hormonal & metabolic stress. I included a graphic on different kinds of periodization.
- Intermittent fasting can also be a wonderful tool to allow larger meals for satiety while staying within your allotted calories. Choose eating windows that work for you & your schedule. Do not abuse fasting. Extended fasting is not necessary, most do fine fasting 14-16 hrs overnight. It will bite you in the a$$ by increasing stress on the body if you abuse them. Same for overdoing protein sparing modified fasting (PSMF). PSMF are more applicable to people with significant weight to lose, of higher body fat, & kept only 2-3 days/week. If you cannot control yourself with portions after fasting because you’re SO ravenous, decreases your fasting windows.
- If in doubt, WALK. Simply increasing steps & choosing lower intensity activities will be easier on your body yet still help create a calorie deficit by increased activity.
- If you’re including carbs in your training & fat loss diet, keep them around workouts. Your largest meal I prefer post workout for recovery & optimization & earlier in the day. Taper meal sizes as the day goes on.
- If you’re waking up starving, having sh*tty sleep, peeing all the time, low energy – these are signs you may need higher fat, higher calories, &/or a period of a diet break or refeed. YES, hunger will be part of a fat loss diet, but you also want to optimize hormone & metabolic efficiency as much as you can. That’s what diet breaks & refeeds are for. If you’re body & mind are stressed to the titties as I say, it will not drop body fat easily or optimally.
- Sleep is a nonnegotiable, 7-8 hrs/night. If you eat carbs, a little before bed can help decrease your cortisol level. Do not eat late, heavy meals. You won’t sleep well & your digestion will be a dumpster fire. If having loose stool after meals &/or wonky digestion, include some digestive enzymes before or mid meal to help, decrease meal sizes & decrease fat. You will adjust. I use Nuethix Formulations Utilyze, Discount Code: lilbitoffit
Full Post on IG with Cheat Sheets Here
oxox Coach K
