Super human in 30 days – The Zero-Carb Aka Carnivore Diet

It all started when listening to JRE # 1050 with Dr. Shawn Baker. It was a very interesting podcast providing insights on a groundbreaking way of dieting that the mainstream wasn’t aware of. In his 50s, Baker is a physical specimen, holding several world records in his sport while being a carnivore for around 2 years. The fact he is a trained physician and athlete really sparked my curiosity for the subject.

What really brought it home to me was listening to Dr. Jordan Peterson at JRE #1139. There he explained how autoimmune conditions and other afflictions that his daughter and himself endured were dramatically alleviated and cured after adopting a carnivore protocol.

The first thought that pops to one’s head after thinking of only eating meat is ‘’I might die of cancer or a heart attack!’’. This is the assumption ‘’conventional wisdom’’ has accounted for in nutrition and health care in the recent past. I have found that ‘’conventional wisdom’’ is often grounded in erroneous conclusions and overall misinformation.
Therefore, it is reasonable to have fears and concerns regarding such a diet taking into consideration how most disease and inflammatory responses are attributed to the consumption of meat.

Another key point to consider was the effect on athletic performance after adopting a carnivore diet, especially in combat sports, precisely in Brazilian Jiujitsu. As far as I knew, sugar is a key performance enhancer in endurance sports, so I was reluctant to the idea of training without consuming carbs. From past experiences of training fasted and during keto-adaptation, the prospect of training while running on protein and fats was not encouraging.

On the plus side, I was looking forward to not worrying about cooking nor shopping, seeing that the approach of eating utilized in a carnivore protocol is simple to follow. Eat until satiated. No calorie nor macro counting, which tones down stress. Everything suggested that a 30-day challenge is sustainable and in perfect timing with an elbow injury that would allow me to focus and try the diet without worrying about performance during the dreaded adaptation period.
I followed Level 1 protocol of ’The Ultimate 30-Day Guide to Going Full Carnivore’’ by Dr. Kevin Stock, which consists in consuming meat, animal products (low carb), coffee, and some supplementation. My source of energy consisted of burger patties, beef steaks, eggs, and some dairy products (butter, hard cheese, and heavy cream). I was eating only when hungry and until completely satiated. Supplementation consisted of taking magnesium pills and heavy utilization of Pink Himalayan Salt.

After a couple of days of being a carnivore, my energy levels were as low as it gets thus athletic performance was the worst in a while. A general feeling of weakness and dizziness was present. Stool samples weren’t pretty. The adaptation period ‘’symptoms’’ progressively started to get better until I went back to baseline after 3 weeks. At the same time, I was waking up early in the morning with the good breath, and clear lungs and sinuses. Also, my skin was looking better than ever, and elbow and joint pain were subsiding. In the last week, my energy skyrocketed to levels never experienced that coffee was no longer needed. I was feeling like a Superhuman.

I’ve been back to a regular low carb diet for two weeks now and my sensitivity for foods has increased. In the morning, I can’t wake up and my sinuses are clogged. Coffee is much needed to keep up with the day.

Certainly, this whole concept of radically eliminating foods in your diet is a useful tool to examine and assess how your body works. The body is smart, and I believe it wants the best fuel. Without a doubt, I will resume my carnivore ways to learn more about how to break through my physical and mental plateaus.