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Carnivore Diet Plan

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What Is the Carnivore Diet?

The carnivore diet plan is simple you only eat animal foods and products. Everything else is restricted. That means no fruits, no vegetables, no bread or grains, and limiting your dairy intake to low-lactose foods. It’s almost the complete opposite of a vegan diet.

While this may seem crazy at first, some people theorize that plant foods are not required to live. In fact, carbohydrates — which are abundant in plants — are the only non-essential macronutrient. This means fats and proteins are required for our bodies to survive, but we don’t need carbohydrates in the same way.

The carnivore diet plan is sort of an evolution of paleo and keto. It stems from the contested belief that our ancestors ate mostly meat and fish, and high-carb diets are why Americans and other western societies are experiencing such high rates of chronic inflammation, disease, and gut issues.

Bottom line: The Carnivore Diet is a controversial evolution of the keto and paleo diet that aims to eliminate carbs entirely from your diet by eating exclusively animal-based foods.

Foods You Can Eat on the Carnivore Diet

Eating only animal products makes your weekly grocery haul extremely easy. One of the major selling points of the carnivore diet is how easy it is to follow.

Carnivore Diet

Meat

Your main calorie source should come from fatty cuts of grass-fed meat like NY strip steak, porterhouse, ribeye, 80/20 ground beef, t-bone, bacon, pork chops, and flank steak. Since you’re restricting carbohydrates, meats with more fat content are preferred so your body can use those fats as a source of energy.

Fish

Just like meat, aim for the fattiest fish you can purchase. Salmon, sardines, trout, mackerel, and catfish are allowed.

Eggs

Also known as nature’s multivitamin, eggs are the perfect ratio of protein, fats, and essential nutrients to keep your body performing at its best on the carnivore diet.

Bone marrow

Bone broth is carnivore-approved and is a great protein source that helps with gut, skin, and joint health.

Low-lactose dairy

Milk, grass-fed butter, and aged cheese are technically allowed since they come from an animal, but many carnivore dieters try to keep dairy intake at a minimum since a large percentage of the population eventually develops an intolerance.

Lard, grease, and other animal-based fats

Use lard, tallow, and other animal-based fats to cook your food instead of vegetable oil.

Simple spices, seasonings, and condiments

Salt, pepper, herbs, and spices are allowed on the carnivore diet plan. Stick to simple ingredients that don’t contain any sugar or carbohydrates. If you want some flavor with your meat, consider adding some zero-calorie hot sauce like Frank’s Red Hot.

Foods to Avoid on the Carnivore Diet

Now for the hard part. Eating carnivore is extremely restrictive, so that means most of your usual snacks and meals may be off the table.

Here’s what you can’t have on carnivore:

All fruits

Apples, bananas, berries, tomatoes — you name it.

All vegetables

That includes vegetable broths and any condiments made from vegetables.

Most dairy products

How much dairy you eat is up to debate in the carnivore community, although people tend to opt for low-lactose dairy products such as aged cheeses and kefir as opposed to creamy cheeses and yogurt.

All sugars

Added sugars across the board are out! That goes for natural sugars as well.

All additives

Processed foods that include nitrates, nitrites, MSG, and any other additives typically found in frozen and canned food.

Low-grade meat

Even though the carnivore diet meal plan is meat-based, that doesn’t mean any meat is on the table. In order to avoid the inflammation caused by grain, you need to eat grass-fed and pasture-raised meats.

All grains, bread, pastries, etc

No bread or grains across the board! This means no rice, no pasta, etc.

All nuts, seeds, and legumes

Nuts, seeds, and legumes aren’t allowed either. This includes almonds, peanuts, peas, flax seed, chia seeds, etc.

Anything else that isn’t meat! That includes candy like taffy, lab-grown meats, and meat alternatives like Beyond burgers.

Carnivore Diet Benefits

While the credibility of the carnivore diet meal plan is very much in question, there is no doubt that people credit it for substantial transformations. Common anecdotal stories include results of:

1. Weight Loss

2. Decreased Inflammation

3. Increased Testosterone

4. Mental Clarity

Carnivore Diet 7-Day Meal Plan

Getting started with the carnivore diet plan is extremely simple. Here’s an example of what a full week carnivore diet menu:

Day 1

Day 2

Day 3

Day 4

Day 5

Day 6

Day 7

It doesn’t get more straightforward, and there’s no need to over-complicate it. In fact, if you love steak you can eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!

Getting Through the First Month of an All-Meat Diet

Before you dive right into the carnivore diet plan, it’s important to know that the first month (especially the first week) will be the hardest.

Here are a few things you should understand to make the transition easier:

Get your blood tested.

Get your blood work done before you start a carnivore diet meal plan and again after approximately 2 months in. Everyone has different metabolic needs, so it’s important to know if the diet is working well with your body. Better yet, work with a physician!

Don’t quit when you don’t feel good.

You’ll likely experience fatigue, headaches, and other flu-like symptoms during the first week of the diet. This is a normal part of the process as your body is getting used to using fats for energy rather than carbs.

Expect your appetite to fluctuate.

You’ll have some days where you want to eat non-stop and other days where you won’t even think about food. Your appetite will adjust once your body gets used to the diet.

Risks of the Carnivore Diet

1.     Low Vitamin C

2.     Lack of Fibe

3.     Loss of Good Bacteria

4.     Excessive Sodium and Saturated Fats

Frequently Asked Questions About the Carnivore Diet

Here’s a list of the most common questions people have about the all-meat diet.

Q: Will it work for athletes?

Yes. Many fitness enthusiasts assume that glucose from carbs is the best source for quick and immediate energy to fuel workouts and competition. On a carnivore diet meal plan, your body will go through a process called gluconeogenesis where some protein is converted into just enough glucose for certain body functions.

Q: Can I eat processed meats?

No. Grass-fed animal products should be the only food source you consume. Processed meats like pepperoni and other lunch meats typically contain harmful ingredients like artificial nitrates to preserve its shelf life which can negatively impact your health.

Q: How long is the adaptation period?

Around 1 month. If you’re like most people, you’ve been eating carbohydrates your whole life, so your body will take some time to adjust.

Q: How much meat should I eat per day on a carnivore diet?

The Carnivore diet is not a calorie-counting diet. It is an elimination diet designed to remove inflammatory foods and other ingredients that modern nutrition has introduced. You should eat until you’re full or until your calorie goal (if you have one) is reached. It’s ultimately up to you.

Q: Does the carnivore diet put you in ketosis?

While ketosis isn’t the direct goal, it often occurs while following the carnivore diet plan. This is because the diet aims for zero-carbs, so by design your body will begin to prioritize burning fat over carbs and sugars.

Q: Can you build muscle on the Carnivore Diet?

While it has to be supplemented with working out, of course! Many stories from MeatRx quote muscle growth as a result of eating carnivore. This is due to an increase in average protein intake.

The Bottom Line on the Carnivore Diet

The fact is, while there may be unique health benefits of following the carnivore diet plan and the downsides may be overblown — we simply don’t know. What we do know is that the carnivore diet directly advises people to not eat food we know scientifically is good for you. Studies show the benefits of eating a balanced, natural, and organic diet.

If you’re looking to improve your health, we recommend implementing trusted advice before attempting something as drastic as the carnivore diet. For example, if you think inflammation may be an issue, run a more traditional elimination diet that still has room for most conventional foods instead of cutting everything out.

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