lifestyle

21 Day Carnivore Diet Experiment Results

March 16, 2020 by Thyme and JOY Leave a Comment

This is my personal experience with in following a Carnivore Diet for 21 days in order to heal my body postpartum and beyond.

Before and After Pictures

In a nutshell, the Carnivore diet is a way of eating in which you only consume foods from the animal kingdom including meat, dairy and eggs. This is the ultimate elimination diet that has been shown to heal others with autoimmune disease and serious health conditions with the healing power of meat.

Meat is one of the most nutrient dense foods on the planet and one of the most easiest things for the human body to digest.

As of a couple weeks ago, I have officially finished my 21 day Carnivore Diet Experiment. If you’re wondering why I did this, check out this post on my why’s that have not a whole lot to do with weight loss!

PLEASE NOTE: I am in no way, shape or form a medical doctor or health professional. Please do your research and talk with your personal healthcare provider about starting a Carnivore diet or any other diet.

Carnivore Diet Food Exceptions:

There are many levels of the carnivore diet. Some people choose just to eat beef, water and salt (The Lion Diet) and some choose to add in a few exceptions to make this transition a bit easier. I am one of those people. The following is a list of foods I have decided to add into this experiment. Not everyone could or should do this, but I am choosing to.

Coffee – I blend mine up with butter, heavy whipping cream and a scoop of collagen
Lemons & Limes – I use them to flavor my water in order to encourage me to drink more
Spices and Seasonings – There’s NO way I was going to do this without some flavor
Sparkling Water – I drink flavored sparkling water which I know can spike insulin, but this is a choice I made
Some Sauces – Buffalo sauce, steak sauce and mayo among other low carb sauces are used in moderation

Carnivore Diet Meal Ideas:

Early on, I came up with a list of foods and meals that I would enjoy eating. I made and ate most of these meals.

Breakfast Frittata
Goat Cheese Omelet
Carnivore Fried Chicken – “breaded” in pork panko and Parmesan cheese
Parmesan Wings
Shredded Chicken or Shredded Beef Soup
Smoked Salmon & Cream Cheese Wraps
Bacon Deviled Eggs
Chaffle Burger
Scotch Eggs
Hot Dogs Wrapped in Baked Cheese Shell
Taco Bowls – ground beef, topped with Mexican cheese and sour cream
Burgers Topped with Pimento Cheese
Fatty Coffee – coffee blended with butter, heavy whipping cream and collagen powder

Carnivore Diet Supplements:

While there are some that say you don’t need to take anything while following this way of eating, I chose to budget in some supplements that I found extremely helpful in the process.

Ancestral Health Grass Fed Desiccated Organ Pills
Redmond’s Real Salt
No Salt
Electrolyte Pills With Trace Minerals
Digestive Enzymes
HCL and Pepsin

Products That Make A Carnivore Diet Easier:

These things made my life easier when following this way of eating.

Cast Iron Skillet
Fry Wall
Anova Culinary Sous Vide
Vacuum Sealer

What Were Your Macros?

Since the point of a carnivore diet is to trust your body and eat until you are satiated, it is recommended that you don’t count calories. I chose to count calories and macros just to gather data on this experiment. On average I was eating anywhere from 1800-2500 calories per day with 75% coming from fat, 20% from protein and 5% from carbohydrates. This wasn’t a perfect ratio every single day, but it averaged out that way in the end.

Can You Eat Vegetables On A Carnivore Diet?

Nope! Plant matter is not something that is allowed on a true carnivore diet. There is extensive research out there about how plants contain anti-nutrients (as they are trying to survive too) and oxalates which can be harmful to the bodies of SOME people. It’s not my job to convince you of this. In fact, I’m not sure if I believe this either! The only way I can have thoughts or opinions about this is if I come from a place of experience so here I am!

I honestly did miss the TASTE of vegetables which is why I don’t think that a 100% carnivore diet can be sustained by me but that’s ok!

How Long Does It Take To Adapt?

After doing this for 21 days, I can honestly say that a full transition would probably need at least 4-6 weeks. In the beginning, your body is working on getting fat adapted and the brain is being rewired to not crave carbs, and that could take quite a bit of time for some. I chose to do 21 days because we had upcoming travel plans, but anyone starting should do at least 30 days to get fat adapted and to make sure sugar/carb cravings are a bit more at bay.

How Much Meat Should You Eat on the Carnivore Diet?

This depends highly on the person. I’ve seen most women average about 1-2 pounds per day. I can’t say that I came close to that all the time as I chose to eat dairy and eggs along with everything.

Is Bacon, Sausage or processed meat OK on the Carnivore Diet?

Most will tell you no because it will stall ketosis, healing and possibly weight loss due to the fact that most processed meats have chemicals and or preservatives in them. I definitely took part in eating processed meats and sausages and the days I didn’t I noticed that I felt a lot less bloated.

Is The Carnivore Diet Keto?

By default, yes. When you’re only eating meat it is likely that you will be in ketosis because of the extremely low carbohydrate count in meats if any.

How Was Your Digestion and Bowel Movements?

Contrary to popular belief, my actual digestion was amazing! The entire time I had zero bloat or digestive issues after eating. I will say that in the beginning, I did have some loose stools (from adaptation – this happens to 50% of people that follow this diet) and did not have a bowel movement every day but that is completely normal! Meat is HIGHLY digestible and the nutrients in it are more bio available than most vitamins or supplements you could take which means most of it is used by the body with little waste. Vegetable fiber is technically waste that our body doesn’t use. Our stomachs evolved to digest meat and not digest plants which I find fascinating!

Were There Sugar Cravings?

YES! One of the reasons I realized that keto didn’t work for me a while back was because I was being an asshole. There is an influx of foods and products that make the keto diet incredibly easy to just replace the standard american diet with it’s keto-fied equivalent. So basically, I was just eating mostly keto sweets and wondering why I wasn’t getting any physical or mental benefits.

For this experiment, I chose not to eat ANYTHING sweet. Because of this, I was able to satisfy my hunger quite easily, but my brain was hungry. For a while it kept coming up with excuses to have some chocolate or bread or some sweetened electrolytes. It was clear to me that it was old habits and addiction because there were times I was stuffed but still had a little room for sweets.

Days 8-12 were really hard. I powered through and learned a lot more about carbs and sugar addiction especially in the Food Junkies book I’ve been reading. It was important for me to learn about this process because although I don’t plan to be a person that gives up sweets or keto treats entirely, I want to learn how to be in control.

After a while, the cravings for anything of that nature did subside, but once I had my first taste of something sweet, it came right back! It’s a work in progress to really lean in to find out if your body or brain really needs something.

Did Your Blood Pressure Change?

Nope! It stayed in a healthy range the entire time.

Benefits & Results:

This is the list of things I experienced on my 21 day Carnivore Diet Experiment. Each persons mileage varies!

Boundless Energy and Increased Mood – I’ve heard of zero carb zen before, it’s the carnivore equivalent to Whole30’s tiger blood. I felt it IMMENSELY the first 5-6 days, then took a dip when my body finally switched over then it came back again. Its a feeling like no other. Your brain is just ON POINT and you are just at peace with your life and more. I credit this to giving my brain enough fat as well as blood sugar stability and eating enough minerals and nutrients.
Lighter Period – I was expecting a monster of a menstrual cycle in a bad way since I’ve heard so much about excess estrogen releasing. Well, since I was pretty much low carb before the experiment I had a reduction in pain AND length of cycle. This is BIG for me. Please note that I have never ever in my life taken birth control, so I am very in tune with my cycle.
Better Sleep – While there were a few nights I felt awake more than usual, I slept REALLY well. If you didn’t know, postpartum I was given drugs for insomnia and anxiety and none of them worked for me. Whenever my blood sugar is balanced and I have a steady source of magnesium, I sleep MUCH better which made for better days when I woke up.
My Hair Is Growing Back – I did suffer a lot of postpartum hair loss, but it is growing back with a vengance along with my nails! Honestly, it feels like my roots are growing back thicker than they were previously which I saw is common on this way of eating.
My Dental Health Improved – this was one I wasn’t expecting! My gums started to recede when I was pregnant which is common. After I had James my teeth just didn’t feel strong. I know that sounds weird but it’s true! After a few weeks of eating this way, my gums are beginning to regenerate and my teeth feel a lot stronger!
I reduced Inflammation, Lost Weight and Inches – There was a lot of inflammation hanging around from the past 6 months and I can proudly say that this experiment brought all of that down pretty drastically. I cant say it’s all fat loss but I can say that 21 days is only a starting point for a journey like this. The actual numbers including weight and inches I will include in an email newsletter so as not to trigger others. Make sure you’re signed up!

How Are You Eating Now?

This diet is usually followed by those that have serious health conditions and healing to take place. I am VERY lucky to say that I am not one of those people. I did this experiment to heal my body postpartum and to clean the slate so to speak. I believe that I’ve done a lot to move forward on those goals but this is a JOURNEY. There are years of deficiency and fat that has accumulated (my legs don’t get the memo for a while) and it’s going to take more than 21 days to balance out and I must work on finding a way where it is sustainable for me.

With that said, I did see incredible benefits to adopting a meat based diet and that is what I will continue with. My happy medium currently is eating 70-80% animal based and 20-30% low carb with the occasional carbohydrate increase around my cycle or for a special occasion.

Also remember that diet was just PART of the equation. I also had a lot of other modalities I was doing to help balance my hormones that you can check out in my Hormone Balance Helpers post.

As of right now, I am continuing to lose weight, although a bit more slowly and also continuing to see increases in my hormone health, mood and general well being while I experiment with what foods work at what consistencies.

Should I Try This?

If you’re thinking of jumping in with something like this, I must remind you that this is a very extreme way of eating. This is NOT easy especially if you suffer with diet mentality and restriction issues. If you decide to start something like this, I highly recommend that you hire a coach.

Another great place to get started is to read The Carnivore Cookbook by Maria and Craig Emmerich. They break down the science of this way of eating in detail that is digestible along with levels of the carnivore diet and recipes.

ONE FINAL REMINDER: I am not here to dispute the cases against a Carnivore Diet. I am open to those who have questions that are curious and open minded, but not those who are shut in and can’t see out of their own line of thinking. If you would have told me 2 years ago when I heard about this that I would have done it, I would have thought you were talking about the wrong person.

Instead, I kept an open mind, did my research and decided to safely give it a go. I think that everyone has things that work best for them no matter how different they are.

With all that said, feel free to leave me a question in the comments or find me on Instagram and shoot me a DM if you’d like to chat about anything further!

Hormone Balance Helpers

March 5, 2020 by Thyme and JOY Leave a Comment

This post contains all the hormone balance helpers you could use to heal your body after pregnancy or during menstruation. This is a list of my natural supplements, food, that can benefit the delicate cycle of the female body and restore hormone health.

While I was pregnant with my son, I learned that the female body gives 40% of more of it’s nutrients and minerals to the baby. After birth a large percentage of women do not replenish them properly or at all.

The effects of vitamin and mineral deficiencies don’t always rear their head right away. Over time, deficiencies can lead to serious health problems. I remember making a promise to myself that I would replenish as much as I could to avoid this.

Postpartum is a seriously hard time for the female body. Not only did you give away your nutrients, but your hormones are in a chronic unbalanced state.

And, if you’re like me and had a 36 hour labor turned c-section, you were probably pumped full of drugs during and after not to mention a shot at pharmaceuticals for postpartum depression, anxiety and insomnia. Basically, your liver may be having trouble doing it’s job and may become sluggish.

When I was finally in a place where I could take a breath and start focusing on ME, I began to research the best way to balance hormones, reduce inflammation, re-mineralize my body and help my liver get back to a better functioning state.

In an extreme measure, I decided to try out the Carnivore Diet for 21 days. The elimination of all other foods except those coming from the animal kingdom is a highly nutrient dense way of eating. Vitamins and minerals are incredibly bio available in meat making it more healthy for you than vegetables in a lot of cases.

I know, it took me a while to believe this too, but I’m not here to convince you of that.

In fact, I believe everyone needs to do what’s best for THEM and that can vary greatly.

Below is a list of supplements and products that are helping me reach my postpartum goals.

Hormone Balance Helpers

DISCLAIMER: I am NOT a medical professional. Please talk to your health care professional about your own personal needs and goals. This post also contains affiliate links from Amazon in which I will earn a small commission if you purchase using my link.

Hormone Balancing Supplements

Magnesium Glycinate – There are many forms of magnesium out there with varying degrees of absorption. I like taking it in glycinate form because it’s the best to take for mood and sleep. You can check out this post from Coconuts and Kettlebells for more detailed information about the different forms of magnesium.
Electrolyte Stamina – this product by Trace Minerals is my favorite electrolyte supplement because it contains no sweetner (it’s in pill form) and it also contains a blend of ionic trace minerals from concentrated seawater.
Ancestral Health Desiccated Organs – Eating nose to tail is one of the best ways to get most nutrients. However, you’ll never see me eating brains or spleens in order to do that. I take a desiccated grass fed organ supplement which does the trick.
Seeking Health Methylated Multivitamin – Although I am getting a wide spectrum of nutrients from animal protein, I do take a methylated vitamin to make sure I am covering all bases. I do have the MTHFR mutation (double homozygous) so it’s important that I take vitamins that are already methylated. I take one 3x a week and not every day.
Bupleurum Liver Cleanse – I’m a fan of chinese herbs and this liver support has been my favorite as it has a large blend of herbs that gently helps along the process.
Digestive Enzymes – Because I am changing what I eat and becoming fat adapted, I have not created the proper balance of enzymes to digest only meat. These digestive enzymes help with the transition.
HCL & Pepsin – This is also to help digest food on a high protein diet by adding the support of hydrochloric acid (stomach acid)

Hormone Balancing Modalities

Dry Brush – Dry brushing is one of the most inexpensive ways you can increase your health. Using a natural bristle brush to brush your skin towards the heart (before a shower) will help the lymphatic system move circulating hormones. Additionally, it helps exfoliate the skin which is a major detox organ. Opening up your pores will help sweat and excess toxins release from the body more effectively.
Tongue Scraper – Every day your tongue accumulates dead cells, toxins and bacteria that you carry around in your mouth if you don’t get rid of it. Tongue scraping is one of the easiest things you can do for your health. Further information in this post.
Infrared Sauna – different from your gym sauna, infrared ones will penetrate deep into your joints and organs that heat up your body before they heat the air. I purchased a portable one thinking that it wouldn’t do much but I use it at least 3 times per week. I sweat in it more than I have ever sweat in ANYTHING and feel like a new person every time I step out of it. It also helps with:
- better sleep
- relaxation
- Detoxification
- Increased blood flow to muscles and organs
- relief from sore muscles
- relief from joint pain such as arthritis
- clear and tighter skin
- improved circulation
- chronic fatigue
Hot and Cold Showers – much like dry brushing, standing in a hot shower than turning it to as cold as it can go will help circulate the lymph system and hormones by opening up your blood vessels (with hot) and constricting them (with cold). This also helps move blood around your body that may have been pooling to re-oxygenate. This is a tough one to get used to but it feels amazing once you do it. I take a very simple approach and do this after a sauna. Hot water for 2 minutes cold water for 15 seconds and repeat 2-3 times. Your body will work to bring itself back to a normal temperature further giving your immune, lymph system and metabolism a boost!

ADD THIS POST TO YOUR PINTEREST BOARDS

Adding these modalities and supplements into my routine has really helped me heal my body and mind postpartum. I hope that by continuing most of these, I will be able to stay balanced and avoid health problems in the future.

My Keto Carnivore Experiment

February 17, 2020 by Thyme and JOY Leave a Comment

Before you read further, I think it’s important to know that I am unwilling to accept advice from anyone that believes I shouldn’t be doing a keto carnivore experiment. I have thought and researched a LOT about this and have a team of professionals I am consulting with to help me make sure I am making progress in the right way. I will only listen to myself and those who know me best, period.

Image Courtesy of Chef Steps

Note: this post isn’t about the details of this way of eating and what I’m eating, it’s more about WHY I am doing it. There is plenty of information out there, and I will hopefully provide some in the future! My Instagram will be the best way to see how I am putting it into practice. I call this an experiment because it allows me to make mistakes and pivot as needed.

I’ve had a hard time coming out of the closet about this. For so long, I have been seen as an influencer in movements like the Whole30 and intuitive eating and even anti-diet culture. In fact, my ups and downs sprung the idea behind the Food Conversations Podcast where Ali and I openly talk about and interview others about their food, diets, anti-diet culture and everything in between.

I guess you could say that right now I feel like a hypocrite.

How can I preach something and then completely take it back? Well, because I’ve changed . . . EVERYTHING has changed since then. I have swung on the pendulum to each side of diet culture back and forth enough to believe that BOTH sides of the coin could be equally as damaging. The right way to eat is defined by what works for YOUR body in the season you’re in. And seasons change.

If you’ve been following me for a long time, you may have watched me crumble and fall after a failed attempt at a strict keto diet one summer. I became so obsessed with results that I didn’t give things enough time to work and so I kept changing things I shouldn’t have to the point where my hair started to fall out and my cycle got a little weird for the first time in my life.

Even though I learned a lot, it scared me so I went back to eating intuitively. Well, that didn’t work for me either for many reasons. Dare I say I felt worse?

Eventually I reached a place where I was happy eating low carb-ish, tracking macros occasionally and half worrying about the quality of my food.

Then, I got pregnant and a whole slew of changes happened with first trimester nausea, weight gain, heartburn, and body image issues etc. Oddly enough, I was able to give myself grace during this period full well knowing I’d have plenty of time to get back to myself.

I don’t really share much about this, but I went through a VERY rough postpartum period after having a c-section and weaning from breastfeeding after 3 painful and hellish weeks. My body wasn’t right and my brain wasn’t either. For the first time in my life I tried pharmaceutical help which ended up not working for me even though I am glad and proud I tried.

I began researching hormone balance after pregnancy and birth and just soaked up everything I could.I started to tinker with a keto carnivore way of eating. Even though I didn’t go whole hog (no pun intended), I felt SO much better. My brain became clear and I wanted to start moving and exercising. My cycle started to regulate and I finally felt pieces of myself returning.

That brings me to now, 5 months postpartum. I still don’t feel quite like myself but I know what to do to try and get there, and part of that is admitting that I am going to continue on this way of eating and start sharing about it more for myself and in case it may help someone.

Keto Carnivore Experiment – My Why’s

Simplicity – as much as I love to cook, my time is incredibly limited even being a mostly work from home mom. I can’t always make elaborate dishes or even dishes with more than 1-2 components most days. I need to keep things simple, nutrient dense and efficient and eating mostly meat and vegetables does that for me.
Hormone Balance – the more I research hormones, the more I realize how truly important it is to get them in check in order to live your most healthy vibrant life. SO many things can’t happen correctly in the body if your body is off kilter. Even though diet will play the biggest part in balancing this out, I have other things I am doing to help this along including dry brushing, tongue scraping, Chinese herbs, infrared sauna, Acupuncture and more.
Productivity – I want it all! I want to be an excellent mom, wife, friend and business woman. I’m fully aware that things will not be perfect but when I feel better in my brain and body, I tend to DO MORE and be so much more positive and open. The energy increase I get from eating this way has saved me from being completely torn down by sleep deprivation. Also, my son is in the 100th percentile for height and weight and is constantly on the move, I want to keep up with him!
Sugar and Fake Sugar Addiction – One of the reasons keto didn’t work for me last time I tried was because my diet was heavy in keto treats and sweetener that didn’t claim to spike insulin but actually did. Because of this, I ate less and less real food which in turn made me feel like I was on a standard American diet. I’m not saying I won’t foods with sweetener or even sugar sometimes during this process, but I now am aware of the strong negative impact they have on my health.
Keep PPD and PPA at Bay – If you didn’t catch on from what I wrote above, I suffered from postpartum depression and anxiety early on. Tackling those issues in this way has been more helpful than any other method I’ve tried.
Vitamin and Mineral Deficiency – When you grow a human, you essentially give them a VERY large portion of your vitamins and minerals to grow. Most women don’t replenish them and see the effects years later. Eating this way will allow me to replenish things I’ve lost from pregnancy.
Aesthetic – ok, yes I want to lose the baby weight too. My honest opinion on postpartum weight loss is that I can’t STAND when women are shamed into thinking it’s not ok to want to lose weight after having a baby. Just as fat shaming is real, so is fit shaming! You can be proud of your body for what it did and still want to change. You don’t get a badge of honor for sitting there with a body you’re unhappy with. A good portion of the weight we gain is maternal fat that’s used for breast feeding. If you weren’t able to use it for that like me, then it just sits there. Getting your “body back” is not always just about the weight. It’s a state of mind and it’s taking back yourself after giving it to a little human for so long. Of course extreme grace is needed in this process because it takes TIME and energy, two things new moms don’t really have. To me, this is not a weight=worthiness issue. It’s a you feeling better across the board situation.
Sluggish Liver – I had a sluggish liver BEFORE I got pregnant. During my c-section I was pumped full of a LOT of drugs and also had quite a bit for the few months after. This along with my MTHFR mutation doesn’t make for a happy liver!
Discipline and Restriction – I am a type A, Enneagram type 8, Capricorn and abstainer. For so long I have felt like I’ve been going against my DNA to be a moderator. It doesn’t work in SO many areas of my life, so why did I try to force it with the way I eat? The truth is, a little bit of discipline and restriction actually helps me thrive better than letting me have too many options. I understand this could get out of control, and I understand this won’t always be the case, but MOST OF THE TIME I feel better having structure and that’s ok.
Sense Of Accomplishment – any mom knows that when you have a small child, you don’t feel like you get ANYTHING done in the course of a day. There’s always something to wash, feed, clean, buy and take care of. This feeling day after day could make you feel like you’re constantly drowning and never getting anywhere. Taking care of myself in this way gives me the sense of accomplishment that I crave so desperately that makes me happy.
Sparking Creativity – as a chef and recipe developer, I just LOVE a challenge. Making new recipes that are in line with my current way of eating is exciting to me and is also something I need back in my life!

Questions You May Have:

Am I Tracking Macros? – Maybe? I have a love hate relationship with tracking macros but the love part of it really helps me. I go through periods of tracking every once in a while so that I can collect data on what’s happening in my body. However, I’ve learned that if I need more food, I’ll eat more food and just be ok with it rather than spiraling out of control by trying to hit certain numbers.
What Are Your Macros? This is ever changing but I will say that I seem to do better with a slightly higher than moderate protein approach. I really don’t know what my macros are or will end up being.
What Will You Be Eating? Mostly meat, vegetables and dairy with the occasional “dirty keto” treat and some carbs if necessary. I tend to want/need carbs during certain phases of my cycle and it’s totally fine.
Will you never eat sugar or carbs again? – Of course not! I don’t believe in a life where I wouldn’t be able to indulge in foods that are soul feeding and taste delicious regardless how they make me feel. I plan to be conscious about when it’s truly worth it especially since I don’t want to restrict what my son gets to experience as he grows up.
What About Your Recipes? – My recipes haven’t changed that much and they probably won’t! I focus on mostly real food, gluten free flavorful meals and meal components with different cooking variations. Sure, there will probably be more keto and low carb recipes on the blog than usual, but I plan to make recipes to share that are not within those guidelines for my husband and for the sake of creativity and enjoyment. My blog has always kind of been a reflection of where I am at in life in my health journey, but it’s also a business and a source of inspiration to others.
What If This Doesn’t Work? I’m aware that there is always a change that things won’t work out or that I will stop eating this way where the reason is because it has a negative impact or because I just don’t want to anymore, or choose to transition into something else. Either way, we are allowed to change our minds as often as we feel necessary. I’m not afraid to be wrong!
How Long Do You Plan To Do This? As long as it feels good to me.

It feels so good to get this out in the open! Honestly, I’m still figuring all of this out and I know I’ll make mistakes but my goal is to FEEL GOOD and I’ll do whatever it takes to get there.

Have any questions about anything I wrote? Leave a comment or DM me on Instagram, I’d love to hear your thoughts!