In this post I will be discussing my latest dietary experiment. I am calling it “Diabetic Carnivore 2.0”.
It’s 2.0 because I went ‘full-carnivore’ for a full year in 2017. I continued on for about three years, eating the occasional vegetable before tapering off earlier in 2020.
I’ll answer these questions in this post:
1) What is a “full carnivore” diet?
2) Why am I going ‘full-carnivore’ again?
What is a Carnivore?
For my purposes, it’s someone who only ‘eats’ animal based foods. If it comes from an animal … it’s fair game to eat. I did this for a full year in 2017, and my version I’ve called ‘full-carnivore’.
Q: Why should anyone go full-carnivore?
A: Plants have evolved toxins as defense mechanisms. Depending on the dose of those toxins and a person’s sensitivity to them, these toxins can cause health issues ranging from minor to extreme.
B: If you are eating a very low carb diet and still have health issues, I suggest going ‘full carnivore’… to see if you can finally resolve those health issues.
Give ‘full carnivore’ a trial run for a month … and see how you feel.
Foods I will “eat”
Literally any animal-based foods —- beef, poultry, pork, fish, eggs, dairy and whey protein powder. I suggest focusing on beef, it has the best nutrition profile including healthy fats.
Sausages and other processed meats may also be eaten occasionally, but as always they should be sugar and grain free.
Drinks
I placed “eat” in the quote above because I do drink plant-based drinks. Drinks such as coffee and tea are consumed daily while drinking alcoholic beverages occasionally, about once a week.
Spices and Supplements
Sea Salt will be consumed at most meals and I occasionally use Potassium Chloride (NuSalt) in addition to Sea Salt.
Plant-based spices will be occasionally consumed, primarily dashes of black and red pepper.
My supplements won’t change, Magnesium, Vitamin D3, and Potassium. I will take D3 daily depending on the season, location and amount of direct sun exposure. Magnesium and Potassium I just take when I feel like it. I don’t have a schedule.
Diabetic Carnivore 1.0
My first ‘run’ of full-carnivore …. was awesome! I thoroughly enjoyed the year+ of full-carnivore and suffered no ill effects. In fact, I didn’t just survive… I thrived!
The main benefit I discovered wasn’t a health or fitness benefit… it was freedom!! Being ‘free’ of eating vegetables, really was ‘freeing’!
Full-carnivore is so simple and saves so much time when grocery shopping… only swinging by the meat section. I once timed myself, I was in and out in under 9 minutes.
Cooking … let me tell you, cooking while full-carnivore is so damn simple and FAST! This is especially true for me, because I don’t overcook my meats.
You can read more about my Diabetic Carnivore 1.0 experiment in these two posts (intro) “Diabetic Carnivore” and (summary) “Diabetic Carnivore Summary“, and the 3rd phase “High Protein Diet Experiment (Intro) and Summary (2)“.
Full-Carnivore Benefits
I started my one-year carnivore experiment back in 2017, and loved it. I had no known health issues at the time including ‘truly normal blood sugars’, and health issues weren’t the reason for the experiment.
Therefore it was no surprise that I didn’t notice any health benefits of going full-carnivore, as I stated at the time…
“Going full-carnivore isn’t a giant leap for me as it is for many people. Most of my meals are meat-only now, and if I do eat plants it’s as an edible garnish.”
My main reason for going full-carnivore in 2017 was to see if I could do it … to accept the challenge. Secondarily, was to see if there were any changes… good or bad. For one entire year, I ate nothing but animal-based foods.
At the end of the one year experiment, I continued on for another two years, though I did eat the occasional plant… such as foraged berries in season, or pickles from a veggie tray, etc.
So if I thrived on a full-carnivore diet, and I loved the freedom and time savings … why did I stop?
COVID19 and Meat Prices
I’ve been living in British Columbia, Canada, meat is more expensive here than in the US and that’s before COVID-19 lock-downs gripped the world.
After the Canadian lock-downs, the price of meats skyrocketed and in many instances… doubled. Not only was cost a factor but actual availability was reduced as well. We never ran out of meat, but with the uncertainty of how severe the shortage might become… we were concerned we might.
Add to the situation, the home I’m living in has a large garden space. It was a no-brainer … to grow a garden. While I was eating full-carnivore I never ‘missed’ eating vegetables … but once our garden began producing, I thoroughly enjoyed fresh collards, chard, chives, zucchini, tomatoes, turnips and carrots in limited amounts.
If I thoroughly enjoyed eating fresh vegetables … why go back to full-carnivore? Why Diabetic Carnivore 2.0???
Why Diabetic Carnivore 2.0?
- I want to lean out. A ‘full carnivore’ diet is THE best, simplest, and quickest way for me to lose body fat… especially a lower fat version.
I typically add a few pounds in the winter around the holidays and this year was no exception, so I want to lean out as spring and summer approaches. - We typically eat very little plants in the winter, and this winter we’ve eaten even less than normal… so going ‘full carnivore’ will be easy.
We usually grow a garden… and if we do this year, I’ll probably discontinue the full carnivore experiment when the ‘crops’ come in. :) This will give me about two months to lean out… plenty of time to lose the five plus pounds.
My Health Goals
I am ALL about optimizing my health and fitness. As a diabetic, my number one priority is blood sugar levels. No one, diagnosed diabetic or not, can optimize health and fitness if they have chronically elevated ‘above normal’ blood sugars.
“I want to add years to my life, but more importantly I want to add LIFE to my years.”
I have no ‘nutritional biases’. This may surprise some because since 2009 I have followed a very low carb meal plan and thrived. I have however experimented with many different ‘diets’ through the years, high carb, low carb, low fat, high fat, etc.
I stick with ‘very low carb‘ eating style, for a reason.
The reason is…this ‘diet’ allows me to maintain truly normal blood sugars! This way of eating also provides me with all the energy and nutrients I need … to THRIVE!
Tweaking Full Carnivore 2.0
Because of the COVID-19 lock-downs meat prices remain high and while availability has improved it’s not like it was before the world went crazy over COVID-19.
To help extend the meat budget I will consume more eggs than usual and I plan on adding a little more fat. For me a little more cheese added to the meals and cream added to my coffee to increase satiety.
Note: For many dairy is problematic and can stall weight loss… so “your mileage may vary”.
Lessons Learned
A Very Low Carb has proven to be the best for me.
If you have elevated fasting blood sugars above 100 mg/dl or consistent and persistent blood sugars over 120 mg/dl after meals, you need to experiment and ‘change things up’.
If you are not currently ‘very low carb’, give the meal plan I’ve been following for over 15 years a try. It’s a meal plan you can ‘live’ with. :)
If you are ‘very low carb’ and still have elevated blood sugars or other health issues … I urge you to give ‘full carnivore’ a try. I did. :)
Fatty meats being the cornerstone! — I love the way I eat, play … and LIVE!
Thanks to Kelly Tee Chief Editor
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