My 30 Day Carnivore Experiment

Carnivore?! No plants at all? Crazy, right? I began as a skeptic with seriously low expectations. Want to see for yourself? Here is a sketch of my 30 day carnivore experiment. You can see what I ate, how I felt, even some of my mishaps. Watch me navigate laziness, vacation, and an apparent dairy addiction. Find tips to help your own carnivore journey and reasons why you may or may not want to in the first place.

Watch the video below to see me check in periodically while on this 30-day journey of discovery.
Skim my 30-day food journal to see what the day-to-day of carnivore looks like.
Check out the photo gallery at the end displaying many of the meals I ate during the month.
Download my starter guide and read the rest of the blog posts in this 5-part carnivore series! (Did you catch The Carnivore Conversation? Follow up with The Temporary Carnivore, The Lifestyle Carnivore, and The Ethical Carnivore to dive a little deeper.)
This is entry #2 in my Carnivore Series. Check out a Carnivore Conversation, The Temporary Carnivore, The Lifestyle Carnivore, and the Ethical Carnivore for more!

Summary:

By far, most days recorded incredible energy and positivity. Overwhelmingly, my appetite (famous for its size and persistence) disappeared and I was amazed to not be a slave to the munchies. I was also surprised to find I stayed in ketosis the entire time. I thought high levels of protein would surely kick me out. This could certainly account for the satiation and sustained energy. I also enjoyed amazing sleep quality.

Days 11-14 showcase my vacation experience, proving Carnivore can be done on the road and eating out!

The few bad symptoms I experienced were recorded on days 4, 23 and 25. They were isolated events and surprisingly not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.

Foods consumed daily but not always recorded: Sole water (Himalayan salt in water first thing in the morning.) 1 heaping spoonful of liver pate. 1 nuun electrolyte tablet.

Food and Symptom Tracker

Day 1

Lunch: Flank steak with herbed butter. Couldn’t finish it, I was so full!

Dinner: “Carnivore meatloaf” (Ground pork & beef, crushed pork rinds instead of breadcrumbs, eggs and herbs) Mint tea. Liver Pate.

Notes: 1471 Calories Ketones .2 (not in ketosis)

Bad: a touch of acid reflux, not normal for me. Adding digestive enzymes to my protocol.
Good: Not hungry. Got in all my steps and some squats. Slept like a rock, dreamed of portobello pizza and watermelon.

Day 2

Breakfast: Bone Broth, Liver Pate

Brunch: Greenless Smoothie (Raw kefir, butter, egg yolks, collagen powder and vanilla lakanto drops)

Dinner: Pork chops, mint tea

Notes: 1607 Calories Ketones 1.0

I am ornery today! I wants something sweet and crunchy.

Day 3

Dinner: Not hungry all day so didn’t eat till 7:30! Salmon with cream cheese. Sardines. Liver pate

Notes: 605 Calories Ketones 1.3

Huge burst of energy! Doubled my workout (even fasted!) and did an extra 3,000 steps!

Day 4

Lunch: Greenless Smoothie

Dinner: Sirloin steak with eggs and butter. Liver pate. Bone Broth

Notes: 1244 Calories Ketones 2.6

Bad: I experienced what can only be called “Ambush Diarrhea.” One tragic second out of nowhere and that was it. Glad I was home. Let’s hope lightning won’t strike twice!
Good: Still really good energy!

Day 5

Snacks: 3 babybel cheese rounds, Pork Rinds with sour cream, Chomps jalapeno beef stick

Dinner: Sirloin Steak cooked in butter with an egg. Liver pate.

Notes: 1566 Calories Ketones 1.1

I got less sleep than usual but was wide awake when my alarm went off. This is unreal!

Day 6

Supplements: Liver pate, Cod liver oil, Kraut juice shot, nuun electrolyte tablet

Dinner: Burrata, 2 Hamburger patties, raw egg yolk on top

Notes: 1398 Calories no ketone measurement

Day 7

Dinner: Ground beef and Parmesan cheese. Liver pate

Notes: 967 Calories

My appetite is gone even though my energy and activity levels are up. I only managed one meal today.

Day 8

Lunch: 2 babybel cheese rounds, liver pate, ground beef and cottage cheese

Dinner: Hardboiled egg, hamburger mixed with cream cheese

Treat: Pork Rinds with whole raw milk, cinnamon and vanilla Lakanto (sounds crazy I know!)

Notes: 1748 Calories Ketones 2.6

Bad: I was a little munchy today. So I splurged on some “carnivore cinnamon toast crunch.” So delish!
Good: Sleeping so well, better than I have in years.

Day 9

Lunch: Greenless Smoothie, liver pate, lemon water

Dinner: Ground Beef with shredded Parmesan

Notes: 1245 Calories

Hard workout today and felt great!

Day 10

Breakfast: hamburger, hard boiled egg, liver pate

Lunch: chicken (chick fil A 6 piece nugget)

Dinner: chicken drumsticks with skin on. Full fat cottage cheese

Notes: 938 Calories Ketones 1.9

Did a double workout today. Ate breakfast because I was hungry when I woke up. Ate out with Dad but wasn’t tempted to cheat at all.

Day 11

Food: Cafe Rio Side of Steak and Side of Roast Beef. Cheese Curds. Didn’t eat until almost 9 pm but wasn’t hungry or shaky at all.

Notes: 751 Calories Ketones 2.2

ROAD TRIPPING! Can I do this? I was hesitant to order just meat at Cafe Rio but it was easy and I wasn’t tempted at all by the big beautiful salads my friends ate. Crazy. When we stopped to tank up, everyone loaded on treats but I was just excited to get my “famous cheese curds” at a gas station in Beaver, UT. Mmmmm

Day 12

Brunch: scrambled eggs and sausage

Dinner: Chicken Satay (didn’t eat the bed of veggies it came on)

Snacks: beef jerky, pork rinds and first cheat: 4 frozen chocolate dipped cherries

Notes: 448 Calories Ketones 2.3 (morning)

Bad: Everyone is junking out and snacking. I am not hungry, but it is hard to watch! There is a social aspect I am missing out on. I caved and had 4 frozen tart cherries dipped in chocolate. I absolutely had to try them!
Good: Great energy! Had so much fun on the hike today, could’ve done double! Ordering food at an Indian Restaurant was easier than I expected. I enjoyed the smells of everyone else’s dishes, but was totally satisfied with my plain chicken skewers.

Day 13

Brunch: 1 egg, Cottage bacon. 6 oz yogurt

Dinner: Shredded beef with cheese, bratwurst

Snacks: 1 whole pint of Rebel ice cream (keto yes, carnivore? hmmmm….and who eats a whole one?!)

Notes: 1338 calories Ketones 1.4

Bad: All the traps are psychological. Everyone is pounding the treats and there was a pint of Rebel ice cream in the freezer offered to me. It was so nice to eat it while watching a movie! Did I need it? No. But it was good. That will probably set me back.
Good: I am cooking meals for people and I am not even tempted to eat them. Everyone is relaxing, sleeping in and taking it easy and I have so much energy I am up early working on homework and pacing around. This diet is making it hard to just relax. I’d much rather be out adventuring.

Day 14

Lunch: 2 beef patties with cheese and sour cream. 2 oz yogurt.

Dinner: some bone broth

Notes: 905 calories Ketones 1.2

Road tripping home: didn’t feel snacky at all so didn’t eat dinner. Stayed in ketosis even with the pint of ice cream. Ketosis is not my aim, but it is interesting for me to see how solid I stay in the fat-burning state.

Day 15

Food: 1 burrata, 2 chicken meat sticks, 2 ounces of shredded beef cheek. 1 babybel cheese round. Bone broth.

Notes: 773 Calories Ketones 1.2

Bad: I am too lazy (or more disinterested?) today to cook so you can see, I am just grabbing snacks. My weight went up 2.5 pounds a bit from vacation splurging, but still maintaining ketosis.
Good: Busy catching up from being out of town, but I have lots of energy to do it with.

Day 16

Dinner: Salmon with keto honey mustard. 2 chomps sticks. chicken liver pate. Bone Broth.

Notes: 770 Calories Ketones 1.2

Bad: Still no appetite at all. Not sure this is bad? When I catch up to where I was before vacation, I will worry more about eating more.
Good: Weight going back down.

Day 17

Food: Eating out! Dickies smoked sausage. Later, cottage cheese for a snack. Liver Pate.

Notes: 1658 Calories Ketones 1.5

Eating out is getting easier, if I can get over feeling awkward just ordering meat.

Day 18

Lunch: Beef tartare! Feeling fancy! Topped with pastured egg yolk

Dinner: short ribs. Liver pate. Bone broth. Cheese

Notes: 1271 Calories Ketones 1.2

Losing weight again even though my calories are up. Still feeling good. And Beef Tartare is my new favorite thing!

Day 19

Lunch: Bone Broth, Bison burger with butter

Dinner: Pork chops. liver pate

Notes: 1286 Calories Ketones 1.4

I did another double workout. I feel so good and have so much energy!

Day 20

Lunch: Crio bru with cream and butter. I figure if all the carnies I follow drink coffee, I can have the occasional brewed cocoa! It’s more cream and butter than anything anyway. Mmmm.

Dinner: Beef jerky, cheese, liver pate

Notes: 1109 Calories Ketones 2.0

Bad: Didn’t feel like cooking today.
Good: 7 hours of solid sleep last night. I love my sleep quality!

Day 21

Food: Carnivore meatloaf with cheese on top, glass of whole, raw milk.

Notes: 1240 Calories Ketones 1.8

Day 22

Food: Greenless Smoothie, liver pate, bone broth, meat stick

Dinner: Roast beef, cottage cheese

Notes: 1224 Calories 2.1 Ketones

I may be relying on dairy too much as it is in almost every meal. But I am starting to get tired of the flavor profile and dairy definitely helps that.

Day 23

Lunch: Sardines with lemon

Dinner: shrimp with alfredo sauce

Notes: 1728 Calories Ketones 1.6

Woke up in the middle of the night with acid-choking heartburn. Probably because I ate a high amount of fat at one time (the beautiful alfredo!!) So I will take enzymes with especially high levels of fat in the future.

Day 24

Lunch: Lamb chops with butter, bone broth

Dinner: triple heart combo—chicken, beef and pork heart.

Notes: 971 Calories Ketones 1.8

Double workout again. So much energy. Glad heartburn was an isolated event!

Day 25

Lunch: Greenless Smoothie and liver pate

Dinner: yogurt, Grass fed meat sticks

Notes: 1024 Calories Ketones 3.4

Feeling a little tired today, even with almost 8 hours of sleep. I should probably eat more, but I just don’t want to. No appetite…perhaps to a fault? Guess I had to run out of steam sometime!

Day 26

Lunch: Eat out with Dad! Kalua Pork. Liver pate, bone broth

Dinner: Chicken Breast, cheese

Notes: 819 calories, 2.8 ketones

Got a solid 8 hours of sleep and energy levels are better today.

Day 27

Food: Did a liquid day today. Bored of the food. So I sipped a Crio bru with butter and cream and 1 whole jar of bone broth.

Notes: 1029 Calories 2.5 ketones

Bad: zero appetite.

Day 28

Food: broth and liver pate. Bratwurst and cheese

Notes: 963 Calories Ketones 1.8

Energy is up again.

Day 29

Lunch: Chicken Drumsticks, cottage cheese. Liver pate

Dinner: bratwurst and cheese; broth

Notes: 1290 Calories Ketones 1.9

Day 30

Food: bone broth, liver pate

Dinner: Lobster tail with butter, tuna poke

Notes: Calories 641 Ketones 2.0

I made it to 30 days! And I’m not counting down the days till “freedom” like I thought I would be. In fact, I am contemplating staying on longer and slowly transitioning back to paleo. I just love the sustained energy and sleep quality! And I feel slim and strong. I am surprised by this whole experience!

A Picture’s Worth 1,000 Calories

Beef Tartare

my new favorite dish!

Shrimp alredo

Who need noodles? Cream, butter and Parmesan drenched shrimp.

Buttered Steak

Sink your teeth into a good book and a great steak.

Carnivore Elixir

Bone broth…this thick jiggly goodness is super fuel for anyone but especially good for gut support during this journey.

Victory Dinner

Lobster tail with raw butter and tuna poke on the side.

Scotch Eggs

Mix of ground pork and beef rolled around a hard boiled pastured egg. Drizzled with a kefir-mustard dressing for a little zing.

Bone Broth starts with good bones

Grass fed beef bones and pastured chicken feet combine to make a rich broth. I made a lot this month and tried to drink some daily.

Chicken Legs

Baked with pork cracklins

Greenless smoothie

Kefir, butter, egg yolks, a dash of vanilla monkfruit. A probiotic boost and a quick meal.

Carnivore Antipasto

Sliced up tartuffo sausage and cheese. I picked this up while on vacation for a portable meal. The high end sausage made me feel luxurious while everyone else ate their treats.

Whole Sardines

I did it! I got past the mental block. They aren’t bad with a squeeze of lemon!

Lamb chops

Delicate little chops with big flavor.

Heart attack

Not much to look at but full of heart….pork heart, beef heart, and chicken heart cooked up together.

Pork Chop

Pastured Pork Chops have so much flavor, they don’t need anything else!

Cafe Rio Carnivore

First time eating out and ordering only meat. Went suprisingly well! I spent less than anyone else with my side of steak and side of shredded beef and was totally satisfied!

I heart Meatloaf

A meal the whole family enjoyed, I just didn’t eat the mashed potatoes on the side. I used pork rinds instead of bread crumbs and even the company we had over was none the wiser. Makes great leftovers served cold!

Chick-Fil-A

Not so great. Their grilled chicken leaves a lot to be desired (flavor, texture, presentation) even with the strip of bacon my dad donated from his sandwich. Sometimes it is hard to eat out.

Salmon and pate

This is a healthy fat banquet! Salmon with kefir dressing and a side of liver pate. You could probably live on this stuff!

Cinnamon Toast Crunch

Don’t laugh until you try it! I mixed a couple drops vanilla monkfruit drops (Lakanto) and some cinnamon in my raw whole milk (poured unshaken from the top so it’s heavy on the cream) and the poured that over a bowl of pork rinds. They crackle, they pop, they scratch that itch for something different. Made a good occasional treat!

Carnivore Cocoa

Another occasional treat: Crio Bru (cocoa beans brewed like coffee) with a generous mix of raw cream and homemade butter. Blend in an egg yolk for decadent, frothy goodness.

Dickies does carnivore right

It couldn’t be easier to stick the the plan at Dickies. I got the jalapeno cheddar bratwurst and shredded beef. I also sampled some of my mom’s sides. They get extra points for the sheer variety to choose from!

Fish are Friends

Salmon (I ate at least once a week) with a side of sardines.

Ground beef with a yolk

Ground beef was a staple. Stirring in a raw egg yolk (pastured only!) made it moist and tasty.

Buttered flank steak

I tried most every cut of steak in the store and you really can’t go wrong with grass fed beef (unless you over cook it!)

Taco Time

Ground beef mixed with a little full fat cottage cheese and served on a little cheese shell. (Just crisp up some cheese on the hot pan after removing your meat.)

Ground Beef Parm

Tossing ground beef with Parmesan is a flavorful way to shake things up.

Breakfast anytime

I often whipped up breakfast for lunch, or dinner, or anytime but actual breakfast. Classic sausage and eggs. A little sour cream on the side for dipping (I was missing my maple syrup!)

Steak and eggs

Can’t beat a buttered steak with a fried egg on top. The yolk runs down into the meat cooked rare and makes for a tender, tasty meal.