Started carnivore in September for research purposes. Feel free to ask me questions about my experience.
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Started carnivore in September for research purposes. Feel free to ask me questions about my experience.
You might as well give a general overview of perceived pros and cons as well as cost.
What metrics did you track?
i did it for 4 months, and im doing it again now for 4 months. imo its legit, energy levels are steady through the day, skin cleared up, zero health issues (no cold, no sores), hair feels and looks better. It's not sustainable over longer period i think, but to break it and be on it for month or two is good imo.
Before and after bloodwork, otherwise i'm not really interested... I just don't think the 'i feel better' argument should matter to most people given the strong impact of placebo in these cases.
If you did it for research purposes then I suppose you have hard data to share. So please share the metrics with us.
Do you know you aren’t a cat?
[QUOTE=AdamWW;1575420561]Before and after bloodwork, otherwise i'm not really interested... I just don't think the 'i feel better' argument should matter to most people given the strong impact of placebo in these cases.[/QUOTE]
Seconded. The subjective, n=1 "studies" backed by no empirical evidence are worth as much as a supplement ad IMHO.
[QUOTE=sarethums;1575403681]Started carnivore in September for research purposes. Feel free to ask me questions about my experience.[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=desslok;1575458261]Do you know you aren’t a cat?[/QUOTE]
X2
[img]https://media1.tenor.com/images/e2bd704e467d7581f29f402f395328b3/tenor.gif?itemid=7382727[/img]
Do you do this when your belly is scratched?
How much of your folate, vitamin E, vitamin K1 (not K2), calcium, magnesium, manganese, and potassium target do you reach daily?
You can't earn Karma here ho
[QUOTE=Heisman2;1575406661]You might as well give a general overview of perceived pros and cons as well as cost.[/QUOTE]
Pros:
-Poops are clean every time, im wiping purely to check each time
-I only need to poop 1-2x per day
-My waist is always small, due to the density of the food im never bloated
-Ive have almost zero flatulence from either end, i probably fart about once per week
-My testosterone has gone from 13 mmol/l to 26mmol/l
-Generally more energy
-I used to get really bad hypoglycemia and now its almost impossible to get no matter how hard i push myself, i can even train on an empty stomach and then not even feel hungry 5 minutes in
-Recovery from workouts has gone from 5 days to about 1.5 days
-My bodyfat aggressively dropped from 19% to 15% and gained over 1kg of muscle in my first 3 months
-Meal prep is super easy now
-I can very naturally go hours without food, easily 3,4,5+ and 10 at a push whereas i used to eat a meal every 2 hours and struggle to go beyond that
-Ive struggled with hunger all my life and cravings with sugar and after the transition period i dont crave anything, hunger is a different sensation now
- I have better circulation in my hands and feet, i cycle and no longer need overshoes and mittens, this is not conclusive as there could be other factors.
Cons:
i have not really got so many cons, when i want to eat something else i just do, i was 100% strict for the first few months and then eased off so now if i go to a restaurant ill just have whatever and its fine.
I had read that people were getting skin benefits etc, i have a really weird scalp problem where when i let my hair grow in it gets itchy and bleeds, carnivore did nothing to fix this, i was hoping it would. Others have reported eyesight improvement, i have not had this among other claims i have not witnessed myself :( much more jacked though.
[QUOTE=muruku;1575408711]What metrics did you track?[/QUOTE]
Squat, bench, deadlift, bodyweight, bodyfat, testosterone, cholesterol, general blood values.
Lifts went up but i have been lifting for 15 years, first 3 strength then volume only and then strength again 7 months prior to this experiment so its not really fair to compare. I do however have all my data and you can actually see where my diet changed due to the spike in strength. I have this in the form of a google sheet if you are interested. I have that backed up by videos posted on instagram too.
Bodyfat dropped significantly, muscle went up, i tracked these by using a boditrax scanner.
Testosterone doubled from 13 mmol/l to 26 mmol/l, its to be noted that i was eating very little to no meat before this and my test was very low for over a year with no known cause.
Cholesterol has gone up but triglycerides have come down, ratios are perfect, high cholesterol is expected on zero carb.
All blood values for vitamins and other markers remained the same. I had 2 tests prior in the year to starting it and 2 while in at 3 and 6 months in.
[QUOTE=Budjola;1575412451]i did it for 4 months, and im doing it again now for 4 months. imo its legit, energy levels are steady through the day, skin cleared up, zero health issues (no cold, no sores), hair feels and looks better. It's not sustainable over longer period i think, but to break it and be on it for month or two is good imo.[/QUOTE]
I only planned to do this for 30 days then 90, then until christmas and now im on it indefinitely but i plan to have a carb blowout once per month also every so often like every 2 weeks or so my training and life gets on top of me and so i give my body a help by having some carbs.
[QUOTE=AdamWW;1575420561]Before and after bloodwork, otherwise i'm not really interested... I just don't think the 'i feel better' argument should matter to most people given the strong impact of placebo in these cases.[/QUOTE]
Everything was pretty much the same and well within range, had 2 tests a few months prior, 1 at 3 months in and 1 at 6 months in. Testosterone and cholesterol are the only ones that changed.
Testosterone had doubled from 13 mmol/l to 26 mmol/l and cholesterol went up to 10.9, triglycerides to 0.6, hdl 2.6, chol/hdl ratio 4.2. I dont have the exact values before this as they just came up as “in range” and so were lower than these. This is to be expected on zero carb.
[QUOTE=xsquid99;1575439821]If you did it for research purposes then I suppose you have hard data to share. So please share the metrics with us.[/QUOTE]
See above
[QUOTE=desslok;1575458261]Do you know you aren’t a cat?[/QUOTE]
Yes
[QUOTE=Mrpb;1575478981]How much of your folate, vitamin E, vitamin K1 (not K2), calcium, magnesium, manganese, and potassium target do you reach daily?[/QUOTE]
These are all in check according to my bloods. I take magnesium and potassium in the form of a salt, I eat liver at least once per week and even though its not necessary as requirements are low on zero carb and im on 2kg of meat per day so its definitely met, i do take a 250mg vitamin c every day. Everything else from meat and eggs.
[QUOTE=Ukiyo3k;1575484051]You can't earn Karma here ho[/QUOTE]
Im not familiar with what that is. Something to do with this forum like the rep power?
[QUOTE=sarethums;1576765021]
These are all in check according to my bloods. [/QUOTE]
Can you upload a screenshot or picture of the result of your blood test? Specifically K1, folate, vitamin E would be interesting.
[QUOTE=sarethums;1576765021]
Everything was pretty much the same and well within range, had 2 tests a few months prior, 1 at 3 months in and 1 at 6 months in. Testosterone and cholesterol are the only ones that changed.
Testosterone had doubled from 13 mmol/l to 26 mmol/l and cholesterol went up to 10.9, triglycerides to 0.6, hdl 2.6, chol/hdl ratio 4.2. I dont have the exact values before this as they just came up as “in range” and [B]so were lower than these.[/B] This is to be expected on zero carb.
[/QUOTE]
So... lipids got worse then.
Also, how do you know you 'gained 1kg of muscle in 3mo' while losing weight? Where is the proof of this?
Lipids did not get worse as on a zero carb diet they need to be higher due to energy sources.
Here is the data from boditrax screenshots. You need to correlate the fat % with hydration levels and skinfold calliper tests. Net result is fat loss. This is most likely due to an increase in testosterone back to normal levels as they were low rather than any kind of magical reasons.
[QUOTE=sarethums;1576775131]Lipids did not get worse as on a zero carb diet they need to be higher due to energy sources.
Here is the data from boditrax screenshots. You need to correlate the fat % with hydration levels and skinfold calliper tests. Net result is fat loss. This is most likely due to an increase in testosterone back to normal levels as they were low rather than any kind of magical reasons.[/QUOTE]
what do you mean 'need to be higher'... you're not burning cholesterol for fuel....
[QUOTE=Mrpb;1576767651]Can you upload a screenshot or picture of the result of your blood test? Specifically K1, folate, vitamin E would be interesting.[/QUOTE]
I have only folate here but if k1 and E were low then there would be other markers. There is no way for E to be low, if anything it would be on the higher side due to high levels found in meat.
[QUOTE=AdamWW;1576775401]what do you mean 'need to be higher'... you're not burning cholesterol for fuel....[/QUOTE]
Using fat as an energy source, glycogenesis etc. The problem is not having high cholesterol but rather damaged cholesterol which there is a very low chance with zero sugar etc. As long as the total cholesterol and tryglicerides ratio is good.
[QUOTE=sarethums;1576775781]Using fat as an energy source, glycogenesis etc. The problem is not having high cholesterol but rather damaged cholesterol which there is a very low chance with zero sugar etc. As long as the total cholesterol and tryglicerides ratio is good.[/QUOTE]
What does that have to do with serum circulating LDL tho? The higher your LDL, the higher your risk of a heart attack.... it's bad no matter how you spin it... if your arterial walls incur some kind of issue, you cannot possibly predict, more LDL = more clotting/plague.
[QUOTE=AdamWW;1576776431]What does that have to do with serum circulating LDL tho? The higher your LDL, the higher your risk of a heart attack.... it's bad no matter how you spin it... if your arterial walls incur some kind of issue, you cannot possibly predict, more LDL = more clotting/plague.[/QUOTE]
its not as simple as that.
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ880c_x1yI[/url]
[QUOTE=sarethums;1576776591]its not as simple as that.
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nZ880c_x1yI[/url][/QUOTE]
Why did you link me a 40+ min YouTube video featuring someone with a BA in Chemical Engineering talking about a 'hypothesis' on LDL when we have countless studies showing far more evidence to the contrary?
[QUOTE=AdamWW;1576777101]Why did you link me a 40+ min YouTube video featuring someone with a BA in Chemical Engineering talking about a 'hypothesis' on LDL when we have countless studies showing far more evidence to the contrary?[/QUOTE]
Because it explains well what we see in studies between heart disease victims low and high cholesterol and low and high cholesterol to triglyceride ratios. When looking at studies comparing those with heart disease and without, ratio between cholesterol and triglyceride is the factor.
[QUOTE=sarethums;1576780561]Because it explains well what we see in studies between heart disease victims low and high cholesterol and low and high cholesterol to triglyceride ratios. When looking at studies comparing those with heart disease and without, ratio between cholesterol and triglyceride is the factor.[/QUOTE]
It's "a" factor, not THE factor...
Having BOTH low is best...
Having one low is better than having both high...
Having both high is worse...
It is still better to have both low.
[QUOTE=sarethums;1576775131]
Here is the data from boditrax screenshots. [/QUOTE]
BIA technology is far too inaccurate to measure muscle mass or even fat mass for individuals. Ignore it. [url]https://weightology.net/the-pitfalls-of-bodyfat-measurement-part-4-bioelectrical-impedance-bia/[/url]
So these pictures, how much time is there between them?
[url]https://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=9081391&d=1553719384[/url]
[QUOTE=Mrpb;1576809001]BIA technology is far too inaccurate to measure muscle mass or even fat mass for individuals. Ignore it. [url]https://weightology.net/the-pitfalls-of-bodyfat-measurement-part-4-bioelectrical-impedance-bia/[/url]
So these pictures, how much time is there between them?
[url]https://forum.bodybuilding.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=9081391&d=1553719384[/url][/QUOTE]
True, thats why i went with calipers and what the mirror was saying. Check the photo comparison.
[QUOTE=sarethums;1576810021]True, thats why i went with calipers and what the mirror was saying. Check the photo comparison.[/QUOTE]
I did check the photo and I just asked you a question about it: how much time was there between the photos?
[QUOTE=Mrpb;1576810241]I did check the photo and I just asked you a question about it: how much time was there between the photos?[/QUOTE]
Oh sorry i didnt see that. Mid August vs mid November. 2 things though, I used to look like the after pic. Im convinced the double in testosterone has fixed this. I had low test for over a year. Blood results. Although there is 3 months between photos id say most of the progress was in the first 6 weeks.