Why carnivore may not be working for you! We assess both the higher fat approach & the higher protein approach.
Highly asked question the past few weeks & it is #worldcarnivoremonth 🙌 These are based upon my personal & client experiences.
**DISCLAIMER: I want you to find an approach & WOE (way of eating) that makes YOU feel AMAZING no matter what it is. This is simply for education & sharing my experience why certain approaches may not be working for you.
Summary of my experience in a shot glass:
– I personally do better on a higher, optimal protein approach. I’m an avid exerciser, crossfit athlete, lift weights, & live an active lifestyle. I want to build & maintain as much muscle as possible.
– I have Crohn’s disease & don’t have a gallbladder, my fat threshold is lower (means I can’t eat as much fat) than someone with a gallbladder who digests & absorbs fat well. Thru personal experience tracking food & experimenting for DECADES I discovered when I ate higher fat over 150g/d, my digestion was terrible, I had slow motility, constipation, inflammation, & gained weight.
– I am lactose intolerant. Dairy causes gut upset. I can’t add large amounts of butter & cheese to increase fat without gut upset & inflammatory. I also don’t digest pork & bacon fat well in larger quantities without digestion & histamine issues.
– I lived decades with disordered eating. I had shades of bulimia & anorexia. I’m a volume eater, which means I feel more satiated & “safe” on higher volume foods like meat vs low volume food like fats & oils. It is difficult for me to feel when I’m full on high fat, which leads to overeating, emotional stress & thus, weight gain. Self awareness is everything!
Thank you for allowing me to express my experiences & hope they help you!
If you need additional help, I would be happy to listen & assist.
👉Coaching FAQ’s in link in IG bio🤗
Why you may be feeling bad on carnivore
I’ve found throughout my 3+ years on carnivore that most people feeling crummy typically have a few things in common: electrolytes may be off, you’re not enough food, increased glucose & insulin numbers, & low ketones.
You can check these with a simple glucometer from your local drug store, amazon, a continuous glucose monitor (CGM like Nutrisense, link in my IG bio, discount code: lilbitoffitCGM10), or a Keto mojo which checks both glucose & ketones.
If you’re eating too much protein, the excess can signal the liver to use protein as a fuel via gluconeogenesis instead of fat. This can cause your glucose numbers to rise & ketones to drop. If you are metabolically healthy & more active, you can still thrive, feel good, & lose body fat on large amounts of protein — I am one of those types of individuals, but not everyone fits that profile or protocol.
Tips, signs, & things to think about
Meal Timing & Food Quantity Matter
Calories & quantity still matter no matter what diet. So this is why saying, “Eat all the meat you want!” isn’t the best approach or message. The type of food you eat matters in terms of digestion. Ex: processed meat vs whole food or you may have allergies/histamine responses to certain meats & dairy. Macro ratios matter like high fat/mod protein vs higher protein/mod fat. Try spreading meals & protein quantities out equally through the day. Experiment!
Satiety Cues
If you’ve struggled with disordered eating/chronic dieting & can’t “feel” true hunger/satiety cues, slow down when you eat. We should be able to distinguish between true physical hunger & emotional hunger & habits. Meals should be large enough to keep you full for 4+ hrs. High fat carnivore can pose a challenge to volume eaters & lead to overeating. Make sure to get quality sleep always!
Blood Glucose & Ketones will Vary Person to Person
Lifestyle, health status, & activity level matter when it comes to both set of numbers. People who are highly active, avid exercisers, athletes, & fully fat adapted may not have high ketone numbers because their bodies are efficient at utilizing fat & ketones as fuel & there may not be as much concentrated in the blood. I am one of those people. I lift, CrossFit, & get 15k steps/d & still lost 20lbs with ketones averaging around .6. My glucose also tends to run around 85-90 fasting.
On the other hand, if you are more sedentary & getting higher blood glucose numbers & low ketones, this could be an indicator you’re consuming too much protein & not enough fat, maybe your meals are too large at a sitting, maybe you can try different fasting windows to get these to optimize. I find our largest meal should be post workout for most for optimal recovery & digestion. I’ve seen the best fat loss results tapering meal sizes later in the day, fasting 12-16 hrs overnight.
Fasting
Once fat adapted, it is natural to lean more towards longer fasting periods. I can easily fast 20 hrs. If you fast & feel great & your numbers improve, fasting may be beneficial & more aligned to you & your lifestyle. I find more sedentary people do better with fasting & longer periods of fasting.
In contrast, if you are highly active, an avid exerciser, athlete, lifting weights, getting 10+k steps/d, & live a higher stress lifestyle, overly fasting can do the opposite & put more stress on your body causing glucose numbers to rise & fat gain in many cases. Hormones matter, be good to them & work with your body.
Fasting too long, over caffeinating, & over exercising while eating too little can also cause higher glucose numbers due to excess stress & a rise in cortisol. You may need smaller more frequent meals & shorter fasting windows to balance blood glucose & hormone levels.
80/20 or higher fat carnivore
May NOT work great for you if:
- You have trouble digesting high fats. For ex: I don’t have a gallbladder & cannot optimally tolerate digesting large quantities of fat without digestive issues like reflux, slow digestion, constipation/diarrhea, & nausea.
- You are lactose(dairy)&/or egg intolerant. Often times egg yolks, butter & dairy like cheese are added to meals to increase fat, If you cannot digest these well, they will cause challenges & inflammation.
- You are active, an avid exerciser, or athlete lifting weights & focusing on muscle building. We typically have protein higher requirements to build & maintain this tissue.
- You are a volume eater & cannot feel full or satisfied on a higher fat approach which makes it hard to sustain, adhere to, & leads to overeating.
- You feel sluggish, digestion is off, & start putting on excess body fat with higher quantities of fat.
Experimentation & data tracking is the only way to know!
Higher protein/mod fat carnivore
May NOT work great for you if:
- You are more sedentary. Your protein & calorie needs are likely lower than a more active person.
- You are encountering higher fasting glucose numbers & lower ketone numbers consistently.
- You don’t feel well eating higher protein quantities. For ex: low energy, constipation, high fasting glucose numbers, low ketones, peeing more frequently, lethargic, slow motility digestion(feeling like your food is just sitting there & vice versa for high fat too), ravenous hunger, never feeling full & satisfied, excess thirst.
- You’ve tried higher protein & aren’t seeing any fat loss results. It may be time to switch it up & try a higher fat approach. You may need a diet break or try fat cycling higher fat days in with lower fat days.
- You simply may need to eat more & reverse diet if you’ve been chronically under eating. To increase calories on a carnivore approach, you have to increase your fat. Don’t fear the fat! Experiment!
You can read more about how I healed my gut, disordered eating, & fat loss story here. This will answer the majority of your questions as well as provide products & supplements to help!
Happy carnivoreing!
oxox Coach K