If you’re new to the carnivore diet, you may be wondering what it’s all about and how you can get started with it. This guide will help familiarize you with this increasingly popular way of eating, which aims to maximize your health by helping you lose weight, beat diabetes and heart disease, and reduce inflammation. But first, here’s what you need to know about the carnivore diet.

The Carnivore Diet

Many people have turned to the Carnivore Diet as a way to lose weight, feel healthier, and improve their skin. The diet is also extremely popular with CrossFitters because it’s high in protein and low in carbs, meaning that it can help you maintain muscle mass during workouts. The food options are endless on this diet, but most meat eaters tend to stick with beef, bison, venison, lamb or wild boar. You’ll also want to make sure you’re getting plenty of eggs from free-range chickens.

What Are the Benefits?

People who eat a carnivore diet get their protein from animal sources such as chicken, beef, lamb, pork, or fish. They avoid all plant-based sources of protein such as beans, lentils, nuts, tofu, tempeh, quinoa and more. The benefits of a carnivore diet are that it promotes weight loss by curbing appetite so people can be satisfied with less food. It also reduces inflammation by lowering the amount of carbs in your diet.

How Does It Work?

For those interested in going meat-only, the Carnivore Diet is made up of only animal products. There are no vegetables, fruits, or grains involved. This diet is very controversial because it does not provide any fiber or carbs that are necessary for a healthy body. The Carnivore Diet is also not sustainable long term and can lead to nutrient deficiencies if done incorrectly.

Foods to Eat

Don’t want to be a vegetarian? You don’t have to be! It’s possible to eat meat as a whole food diet. Some people call it the Carnivore diet, others call it eating Paleo. There are different variations of the Carnivore diet, but they all have one thing in common: no plant foods at all. That means no grains, legumes, fruits or vegetables.

Foods to Avoid

Carnivores avoid food containing carbohydrates, sugars, or lactose. Anything that contains a sugar molecule is strictly off limits to the keto dieter. This includes anything sweetened with sugar, honey, agave, or any other type of sugar substitute. The same goes for milk products like cream or yogurt.
Insulin spikes are also avoided by ketogenic dieters in order to maintain ketosis levels. Carbohydrates are the main source of insulin release so they should be avoided as much as possible. This includes any processed foods that might have added sugar in them too like crackers and cereal bars.

Sample Daily Menu

Eating a carnivore diet means that you’re essentially eating nothing but animal products. The goal of the diet is to eliminate all plant-based foods, including vegetables, grains, legumes, fruits and dairy. There are different ways to execute this type of diet, but many people will start with an elimination period where they’ll remove all animal products from their diets for around a month before starting the carnivore diet. This eliminates any potential allergic reactions or sensitivities that could be causing issues in your body. After this elimination period is over, it’s time to dive into the meat! On a typical day on a carnivore diet you might have bacon for breakfast, eggs with some sausage for lunch and steak as your dinner entrée.