Author Topic: Carnivore diet burnout  (Read 4815 times)

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Offline Mr_Sirloin

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Carnivore diet burnout
« on: September 30, 2018, 02:52:23 pm »
I've been on this diet for around four months and its easy to see why so many thrive on the diet. Raw meat digests perfectly every time, cooked not so much.
Now this might annoy many of you but I've honestly been finding this diet incredibly boring. Its not the diet per se, but the availability. I have no access to raw dairy, supermarket aged cheese seems to be a no-no, as is anything pork, chicken and fish. These things are former living garbage cans and buying wild caught fish or pastured pork or chicken comes at a huge cost.

I've been limited to pasteurised dairy, beef,lamb and eggs. As you can imagine, having these as your only option is really boring and far from optimal.  Organs are something I have no desire for anymore, either. I'm just sick of everything and would rather not eat at all.

Though I do appreciate the lack of dietary dogma on these forums, it does seem like a dogmatic lifestyle overall. Nobody has yet clarified what a carnivore diet is for, or whether its temporary. Seems like most are set to adopt this lifestyle for life, and I appreciate that if you have access to good sources of a wide range of food. I just wanted to share my honest take on this and as much as I've grown scared of plant based food, it seems like ill have to incorporate some back. Anybody else feel the same?

Offline Iguana

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Re: Carnivore diet burnout
« Reply #1 on: September 30, 2018, 06:18:59 pm »
Humans and other primates are omnivores rather than carnivores. Except in very rare exceptional cases, no wild animal drink milk of other animal species, and no adult wild animal drink milk anyway. Paleo diets exclude dairy.
Cause and effect are distant in time and space in complex systems, while at the same time there’s a tendency to look for causes near the events sought to be explained. Time delays in feedback in systems result in the condition where the long-run response of a system to an action is often different from its short-run response. — Ronald J. Ziegler

Offline Projectile Vomit

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Re: Carnivore diet burnout
« Reply #2 on: September 30, 2018, 08:58:25 pm »
I am not full-time carnivore; I cycle through various eating regimens and happen to be in carnivore now. For me, carnivore is only grass-fed meat and wild-caught fish, mostly salmon. No dairy, and fruit and veg are eaten only as condiments with meat.

I do not see it as boring. I get fulfillment from other areas of life, and do not need an endorphin boost from eating food. If you want the food to taste better, try adding a little horseradish or mustard or pickled ginger as a condiment. If your boredom leads to loss of appetite, that might mean it is time to fast for a while, until your appetite comes back naturally. And if none of that works for you, it might mean it is time to stop being carnivore for a while. I do not hold a carnivore diet as a moral or ideological ideal. It is a tool. There are times when it works, and when it should be used, and there are times when other eating patterns would work better to achieve various goals, at which points it should be abandoned in favor of superior alternatives.

I see a raw carnivore diet as a time of intense healing. The diet contains no fiber, which means it is very easy on the small intestine, which can be damaged by fiber for those who suffer from leaky gut syndrome. One of the big reasons I cycle through carnivore is to give my intestines a rest, and allow them to heal in the event that leaky gut symptoms are brewing. I also find it much easier to gain weight on raw carnivore than on more diverse diets, so use it as a period to bulk up. I box, lift weights, and circuit train, and will spend periods where I do not eat carnivore to get stronger and leaner, then use carnivore periods to put on muscle mass, then go through periods where I might fast for awhile (drink only water) to enjoy some of the benefits of autophagy.

This is a cycle that works well for me. Obviously, it might not work well for others, so do not just mimic it. I always treat eating patterns as an ongoing experiment with an 'N' of 1. 

Offline surfsteve

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Re: Carnivore diet burnout
« Reply #3 on: September 30, 2018, 09:09:12 pm »
If you're bored with your diet maybe your body is trying to tell you something. Maybe you need a change or some variety in your diet. Maybe even some herbs and veggies. It may not be your diet at all. Maybe there is some other area in your life that needs attention to prevent you from thinking about food all the time. I don't sit down and say a prayer before every meal but I do sometimes thank the animals and even the plants for the nourishment they provide and the sacrifice they went through to enable me to live. Maybe taking some time out to appreciate the things you already have might be just what you need.

Offline van

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Re: Carnivore diet burnout
« Reply #4 on: October 01, 2018, 12:05:19 am »
can't imagine being fulfilled by eating grocery store food.   Can't you seek out farmers/ranchers in your area?    Fresh dark raw beef liver is anything but boring. Soft raw creamy yellow/orange bone marrow would compare to Any fat. Deep dark grass fed sirloin or rib eye accompanied by buttery yellow thinly sliced back fat is one of the most delectable flavors, would appease anyone blindfolded at any cocktail party...  Obviously, I'm suggesting you're not eating the best tasting animal foods...

Offline surfsteve

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Re: Carnivore diet burnout
« Reply #5 on: October 01, 2018, 12:52:14 am »
You guys who live near farmers markets are very lucky. I've searched far and wide for the nearest farmers market and have only been able to find grass fed liver at over 100 miles away and back ordered over a month.  Luckily the local supermarket chains sell grass fed beef and I bought some on sale a few weeks ago and stocked up my freezer with it. I've also found grass fed ground beef fairly reasonable in family packs at one store. I begged and pleaded with the local markets to find some grass fed organ meats. Even the one 100 miles away only carries liver and as I said even that was severely back ordered.

I went a few weeks eating only grass fed. I felt good at first but decided that it was better to eat conventional organ meats than only grass fed meat and no organ meat at all. I feel much better since resuming that practice. Like I was really missing something. For now I'm only buying grass fed muscle meats and am willing to pay more than twice as much for lesser cuts of flesh meats. I'm going back to eating 50% organ meat even though grass fed is unavailable and plan to continue till I find a good source that is grass fed, and antibiotic and hormone free.

I have to confess. I believe I felt much better eating grass fed muscle meats than conventional feed lot beef. I can only imagine how good it must be to get grass fed organ meats as well. I'm still very lucky that wild caught frozen shrimp and salmon are available. Between that and grass fed beef I am able to eat a good portion of grass fed or wild caught meat. So I guess I am pretty lucky after all. Add to this my substituting sprouts grown in fulvic acid for a good portion of my supermarket bought vegetables and cutting way down on fruit since the summer is over and I been feeling pretty great these days!

Offline Mr_Sirloin

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Re: Carnivore diet burnout
« Reply #6 on: October 01, 2018, 01:56:51 am »
 I just wanted to clarify that food was never a pervasive pleasure. I eat when I feel "run down", hence carnivore is generally an extremely satisfying lifestyle down to a visceral level. As of now, something is just rejecting it outright. Anything meat and fat just feels too much even if I eat once a day. I've been caught up in the dietary dogma to the point where once again, have probably fell out of tune with my body. This happened with veganism too, so it is in no way an attack on anybody who thrives on it.

I am often envious of many of you who have no problem sourcing raw dairy (though not Paleo but whatever) and pastured products at a sustainable price. The UK is so heavily centralised that the supermarket is often our only source of food. There is literally no sense of communal living anymore. Heck, the butcher openly admits that their suppliers for chicken and pork are just the standard factory farmed produce. There's no such thing as your friendly local bee keeper or dairy farmer. Comi g to think of it, that is very worrying.

Offline van

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Re: Carnivore diet burnout
« Reply #7 on: October 01, 2018, 03:20:09 am »
not saying it's for everyone, and, there are many ways to not get optimal outcomes.   First is eating too much, especially protein.  Second is not eating enough fat,, let alone eating grain finished fat.  Never tried once per day, could work, but I would think there again is the tendency to eat too much at one meal knowing you won't eat again for a day.  The body can only use so much protein for maintenance and repair, the rest being converted to a sugar type.
     In the U.K. you have an abundance of grass fed lamb and sheep.  I would focus there if cow is hard to find.  I recently started eating lamb, and found out I love it.  Especially the fat being so easy to digest and calming, let alone tasty.  To scrape the fat off the 'skin' holding the fat that lies just above the ribs, and have it turn into 'cream' on your knife edge, some of the best..
  Let chickens and pork be. Not healthy, as grains always make up the vast majority of their diet from day one. 
    And again, you don't Have to be a carnivore.   I just hate to see others get misdirected when giving it a go.
    And as to whether or not there have been societies who have lived a carnivore woe,,  For many thousands of years there were Large game animals abound.  Lots of meat, lots of fat, not many 'tasty' veggies and fruit only in season.  But then there are those who keep focusing on places like africa and Thailand etc. where fruits do abound.   So, take your pick.

Offline PaganGoy

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Re: Carnivore diet burnout
« Reply #8 on: October 01, 2018, 03:38:36 am »
Ajanous often substituted raw dairy for mature coconut cream and avocado when he didn't have access to it.  Both work well for some fat.

Offline van

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Re: Carnivore diet burnout
« Reply #9 on: October 01, 2018, 07:59:49 am »
he wrote he doesn't have access to raw dairy

Offline norawnofun

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Re: Carnivore diet burnout
« Reply #10 on: October 01, 2018, 07:19:05 pm »
Some time ago I wanted to get raw dairy in the UK. And I found quite some places, even for things such as bone marrow. Some ship Nationwide as far as I can remember, some not. List is below

https://www.gazegillorganics.co.uk
https://www.facebook.com/OldHallFm/
http://www.hurdlebrook.co.uk/
https://www.facebook.com/thehappycowfarm/
https://www.facebook.com/RedlaysFarmDairy/
https://www.facebook.com/The-Teddington-Cheese-292243080858437/
https://www.facebook.com/smilingtreefarm/
https://www.coombefarmorganic.co.uk sells all kinds of organic meats, organ meats, bones and other things.

Then there is http://www.boroughmarket.org.uk/ which has a list of all sellers. Some have raw dairy too.
« Last Edit: October 01, 2018, 07:26:23 pm by norawnofun »

Offline PaganGoy

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Re: Carnivore diet burnout
« Reply #11 on: October 03, 2018, 08:12:35 am »
Ajanous often substituted mature coconut cream and avocado instead of dairy when he didn't have access to it.  Both work well for some fat.

Offline thehadezb

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Re: Carnivore diet burnout
« Reply #12 on: October 17, 2018, 10:47:38 pm »
can't imagine being fulfilled by eating grocery store food.   Can't you seek out farmers/ranchers in your area?    Fresh dark raw beef liver is anything but boring. Soft raw creamy yellow/orange bone marrow would compare to Any fat. Deep dark grass fed sirloin or rib eye accompanied by buttery yellow thinly sliced back fat is one of the most delectable flavors, would appease anyone blindfolded at any cocktail party...  Obviously, I'm suggesting you're not eating the best tasting animal foods...

@Mr_Sirloin I completely agree with this comment. It's impossible to get boring of eating meat if you are doing it right. I had a dry-aged purple piece of grass-fed and fatty beef picanha today, I enjoyed every single bite. You don't event want to swallow it, just keep it in your mouth because of that undescribable flavor.
Tender and lean cuts of meat are boring, for me they are baby food. I think raw paleo babies should have started eating meat from this cuts. Avoid all that boring stuff, grab a piece of brisket, chuck, butt or plate and you'll see how your meals are going to be fun very single day.

 

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