Introduction

(What follows is the first 5 pages from the new book I’m writing about my experiences and life changes living a carnivore lifestyle.) My name is Mitch and I’m a carnivore. I’m 76 years old and ironically in the best shape of my entire life even though I have reached the average life expectancy for a man in the US. I’m 5’10” tall, weigh 144 pounds, have no medical conditions anymore, stopped all medications (other than electrolytes), work out heavy every other day, yet my doctor is convinced that my lifestyle choices (diet) will kill me!

To accomplish this transformation, I’ve had to accept as fact that government, big food, big pharma, and the health care industry really don’t prioritize my well-being in any way. They tell me to eat primarily healthy whole grains like cereals, pasta, and bread, healthy fruits and vegetables, and don’t eat red meat or saturated fat. This diet simply made me fat and sick. Evidently, they want me fat, diabetic, atherosclerotic, severely food addicted, constantly hungry and wasting my retirement time and money on doctor’s appointments, prescription drugs, and lab tests. Their arrogance and ignorance anger me. I have discovered that the more pissed off I get, the easier it is to avoid the pitfalls of their bad advice. I now basically do exactly the opposite of everything they recommend and eat only an ancestrally, evolutionarily, species appropriate diet.

I’m by no means unique. There is a large community of medical professionals and individuals like me that have been willing to do their own research, study the science, evolutionary biology, paleoanthropology, and genetics. We use ourselves as lab rats ultimately drawing logical conclusions that everything the establishment tells us is, well, complete bullshit. The criminal part is that they know it’s bullshit yet won’t change their recommendations. Too much profit at stake, not to mention egos, reputations, agendas, greed, laziness, and corruption.

It has taken me over 50 years of study, trial and error, and success and failure from the early days of Atkins through paleo, Mediterranean, low carb, keto and finally carnivore to at last find sustainability. All these lifestyles (diets) have one thing in common in that they go against the establishment dietary guidelines. Over the years, diet after diet, I have lived with the constant criticism; “that diet is going to kill you” yet here I am. Unfortunately, all my vegan friends have passed away. My biggest epiphany was recognizing that the magnitude of food addiction’s role in the low sustainability rate of virtually all efforts to lose weight and regain health overshadow everything else.

I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on TV. Everything I write is not to be construed as medical advice, rather the story of what I’ve learned, where and how I learned it, how I validated what I had learned and how I optimized my lifestyle for the best results at my age. I feel like a pioneer however, and most think that what I do is dangerous and reckless. Most will fail on this journey because it takes an absolute understanding of all factors involved to stand firm in your ability to counter the propaganda you will hear from well-meaning friends and family like “Everyone knows that red meat causes colon cancer?”. Afterall lies told long enough become dogma. Once you hear the words “everyone knows”, question how exactly did everyone get that idea?

Fortunately, we are not alone. Tens of thousands of others have told their success stories on social media. Many great doctors, scientists, academics, and journalists have huge social media followings with millions of subscribers and thousands of videos. I have learned a great deal from these influencers and will reference them fully throughout this book. Unfortunately, these influencers are outnumbered by the con artists selling supplements, the plant-based cultists, the trolls, and the downright evil. It has taken me quite a while to sort through it all. Basically, I’ve watched thousands and thousands of videos so you don’t have to. You’re welcome.

Ask your doctor if type 2 diabetes can be reversed. why he or she worries so much about cholesterol, preaches calories in calories out (eat less, move more), tells you diet has very little to do with your health, thinks a prescription is the answer to all human health issues, and tells you to eat more plant based food including soy based slop that is shaped like a burger patty while avoiding saturated fats and red meat. If this sounds like your doctor, run like hell!

How should you start? Be honest and realistic with yourself. You are most likely metabolically ill, one of the 88% of Americans that have a condition called insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome. You are most likely suffering from carbohydrate addiction and are helpless to fight off the cravings and constant hunger. Overeating processed junk food is probably the main way you relieve stress. Perhaps you already suffer from one of the chronic conditions like type 2 diabetes, heart disease, NAFLD (Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease), obesity, and hypertension. You have probably tried and failed many diets and are convinced that it is impossible to lose weight and reverse disease for the long haul. This may sound conspiratorial, but you are right where they want you with your daily pill sorter and frequent doctor visits. I know, I’ve been there.

If you are already disillusioned with the current state of affairs in health care and want to cut to the chase, I’ll start with the simple basic guidelines I follow that have worked for me and you can stop reading then. The rest of this book will be, as promised, a deep dive into why I am totally convinced I’m on the right track. If, on the other hand, you already have your mind made up, think I have no business writing on this subject because I don’t have a bunch of letters after my name, don’t have a degree in medicine or nutrition, consider this; maybe I am the perfect non-indoctrinated outsider with absolutely no personal agenda, no skin in the game, and no reputation or income to protect.

I’m the guy who dares shout, “the king has no clothes!”

Quick start guide

What is a carnivore diet?

A diet consisting only of animal-based foods is called carnivore. No sugars, grains, fruits, vegetables, or greens. No fiber and no carbohydrate. No processed foods or industrial vegetable seed oils (canola, corn, soybean, sunflower, grapeseed, etc.). You can eat any part of an animal (preferably ruminant), fowl, fish and shellfish, eggs, and some high fat dairy (if tolerated). It can be as limited as only beef, salt, and water and still provide every single nutrient necessary for optimal health in human beings. 70%-80% of your daily calories should come from animal fats (fatty meats, butter, ghee, tallow, lard, suet) and protein makes up the balance of 20-30% of calories. It is the principal diet of our ancestors dating back to the first hominid of genus homo roughly 3 million years ago. One can hardly call this a “fad” diet.

Carnivore is the ultimate ketogenic diet, eliminating those last few grams of carbs allowed in keto. It is the ultimate elimination diet as most health problems come from those foods that are eliminated, allowing you to discover what foods cause problems by adding them back one at a time. Many people start with this as their goal but end up staying carnivore long term because of the health benefits and easily sustainable weight loss.

Carnivore basics

1. Eat only foods from animal sources, especially the fat.
2. If your goal is primarily to lose weight, combine time-restricted eating (intermittent fasting) with carnivore, eating in a 4,6, or 8 hour window or even OMAD (one meal a day). I personally eat 2 meals a day over a 4-to-5-hour feasting window. I like the word “feast”.
3. Thou shalt not snack. Eating after the last meal is digested will start a whole cascade of events in the body. As far as the body is concerned, one bite of a snack signals the beginning of the next meal and the whole digestive process begins again.
4. Only eat when you are hungry. Learn to recognize real hunger from addiction driven comfort eating.
5. Eat until you really don’t want more food. If you want more food, eat more. It is important to eat until you really don’t want anymore. You will find it difficult to overeat as natural satiety signals from appropriate foods will leave no doubt when you have had enough.
6. Make sure you are eating enough fat! Add animal fats to lean protein.
7. Do not portion control or count calories. Calories are meaningless if you eat the right foods.
8. Drink when you are thirsty only. There is no arbitrary correct amount of water to drink in a day.
9. Supplement with electrolytes, especially in the beginning. Make sure that the supplement you choose has no form of sugar or carbs in it.
10. Remove all triggers if possible. Clean out your house, car, workplace or anywhere else you may have junk that you no longer want to eat. Avoid situations where you find yourself around people stuffing their faces with the very addictive junk you are trying to stop eating. It isn’t easy because that junk is everywhere and if it isn’t the junk itself, it’s an advertisement for the junk or a billboard showing the junk. Of all the challenges of losing weight and regaining health, fighting the addiction is where most fail.

Since you have been a sugar burner all of your life, buckle up for the ride for a week or two as your body wonders what the hell you are doing to it. The bathroom will be your friend and you may feel like you have the flu. Push through it by staying hydrated and getting those electrolytes. You are altering the default fuel source of your basic cellular respiration and it takes a little time to adapt from sugar to fat. Fat burning is really the default evolutionarily proper state of cellular metabolism.Some people have good results transitioning gradually lowering the carbs and plants over a month or 2. Others have better luck going cold Turkey.

That’s it in the simplest form. We’ll dive much deeper into all of this later in this book. I have found carnivore to be the least complicated, most satisfying way of eating of my life. I spend little time shopping and preparing meals. Cravings have all but disappeared and my relationship with food has changed so dramatically that I rarely think about eating. I don’t get hungry nearly as often.

It’s not your fault

As I look around from my fat adapted perspective, I now see the enormity of the human race’s compulsive relationship with addictive carbohydrates. When did eating and drinking become mandatory if any fun is to be had in life? When is the last time you have been to any party, evening out, or social event that didn’t in some form or other revolve around eating junk? When did food become your best and perhaps only friend?

Has big food and big sugar really turned us all into zombie-like addicts. Take note that 90% of the “food” in grocery stores is highly processed junk food engineered by top scientists to be as addictive as possible. Why is every drug store, big box store, supermarket, convenience store, Sam’s and Costco dominated by isles of colorfully packaged candy, chips, pastries, donuts, and soft drinks? Somebody is buying all this stuff or there wouldn’t be so much valuable retail space devoted to it. Your cravings are constantly being triggered and a strategy to deal with this is necessary for success. Out of sight, out of mind is easier said than done.

Your doctor tells you that it’s your fault, that you are lazy and gluttonous, you need to have more will power and you need to eat less and move more. Meanwhile, food companies formulate these products to be highly addictive and cause cravings. They are engineered to achieve what is called the bliss point, the perfect ratio of refined grains, seed oils and sugars. They are in-your-face everywhere you go. Then you’re told it’s your fault for buying and binging on them.

They tell you to eat in moderation yet brag “I bet you can’t eat just one”. Basically, we’re screwed. You’re only human and don’t stand any more of a chance than an alcoholic spending all his spare time hanging around bars watching people drink.

We all have to deal with resisting this temptation in our own way but deal with it we must. Carnivore has been the best method I have found to avoid hunger and cravings, and I’ve found that the longer I stay 100% true to the principals, the easier it gets. As with the treatment of any addiction, the word “moderation” does not exist. There cannot be “cheat days” or small indulgences. Period. As you get adapted to using fat as fuel you will be surprised how much your body and mind like it, gaining a sense of freedom from cravings and binging. To tell you the truth, I would never have thought it possible. It will be tough in the beginning, but it gets much easier very soon after.

You will probably fall off the wagon a few times. Let that teach you about the true power of addiction and remind you that your subconscious is really calling the shots. Don’t worry, after your subconscious is satisfied, the dopamine has flowed and the fix has been had, control of your frontal lobe will be handed back to you just in time for you to feel guilty and regret what you have just done. Afterword, at least try to identify and avoid the trigger, or better yet learn addiction management techniques that we will discuss later in this book.

That’s basically all there is to it. It isn’t complicated. What comes next is convincing yourself you are doing the most beneficial thing possible for your health in the face of pushback from virtually everyone from your doctor to friends and family. That’s where the rest of this book comes in. I hope that by following the same path of discovery as I have, you’ll gain knowledge and confidence and know beyond any doubt that you are on the right track. Hang on for the most astonishing changes you never thought possible.