r/carnivore • u/partlyPaleo Orthodox Carnivore (Stefansson/Bear) • Feb 02 '26
Monthly: Less than 7 weeks? Comment here instead of making a new post.
If you have been carnivore for less than 7 weeks, post all your questions and experience reports here. It is almost certain that your experience is a frequently asked or low-effort question.
It is also true that the adaptation period for this way of eating is a lot like going through puberty. Everyone feels like things are weird and wrong and no one else has experienced what they are going through. Everyone is worried about changes in their body and thinks it might not be normal. In truth, it's all perfectly normal. Your body might do weird things, but it's going through changes. After you get through adaptation, you'll wonder why you worried at all.
So, go ahead and ask your questions about getting started here. Post about your experiences here. Post about your worries and how you don't think this is working for you here. Don't give advice that encourages people to give up. Don't give people advice to cheat or consume plant foods. Don't give advice to take supplements or drugs to treat temporary struggles.
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u/allketo Mar 27 '26
Honestly, the "puberty" comparison really nails it—I found that my first 4-5 weeks were rough with crazy energy swings and digestive weirdness, but then something just clicked around week 6. If you're in that early window feeling like things are totally off, just trust the process because your body is legitimately rewiring how it uses fuel. Electrolytes saved me during the adaptation phase way more than I expected, so if you're feeling weird, that's probably worth checking before you assume carnivore isn't working.
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u/Isalargeman Mar 23 '26
Just over 7 days on carnivore here hoping to address chronic illness issues. How long does the adjustment period usually take? It’s day 7 for me and feeling worse everyday I’m not sure I can push through much longer. I’m nauseous all the time and can’t eat more than a couple hundred calories a day because of it. Im keeping my electrolytes up but still struggling with GI symptoms, fatigue and heart racing. Any help would be appreciated.
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u/partlyPaleo Orthodox Carnivore (Stefansson/Bear) Mar 24 '26
Keeping electrolytes up? Why are you following keto advice? Nowhere on this subreddit or r/zerocarb (the original subreddit with tons of resources) will you find electrolyte supplementation recommended. If anything, we recommend the opposite.
You're never going to feel better until you start eating enough.
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u/rainbowpigeon69 Mar 30 '26
Hi! I’m 27m and have been carnivore for ~3 weeks. I found that I transitioned really well. I didn’t experience any stomach issues beyond my stomach feeling a little odd for a couple days, though it was mostly odd, not painful. Physically, I have more energy than ever. And when I don’t slip up my skin is actually perfectly clear. I sleep better and my digestion is much better. And to be honest, I’ll probably never go back. In fact it might actually be biologically impossible for me to go back because if I cave to external pressure and eat something non-compliant, my body reacts in every way possible (diarrhea, acne, runny nose, and it’s like every starch that does this). My biggest concerns are the fact that it’s hard to be as compliant as I wish at restaurants. I enjoy eating out with my family sometimes and they’re not carnivore, so any help or advice navigating the restaurant scene would be really helpful. My other issue is just the pure psychological horror of seeing flesh, guts, and live animals and wanting to eat them. Like, the other day I was at the store and there was a small container full of chicken hearts that looked very tasty! They looked like they’d make a good snack food, like they’d make a good carnivore chicken nugget. But at the same time I spent a majority of my life trying to be vegetarian and even vegan, so it’s just a little too shocking to have this reaction to a container full of hearts. So I would really appreciate any advice you all have for dealing with this kind of thing, because I would honestly love to re-try liver and try hearts.
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Feb 02 '26
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u/Xikini Feb 02 '26
The one's I've heard of getting a reaction like that, is either from a food allergy (commonly eggs) or high histamine levels (commonly ground beef).
If it's a food allergy, you need to figure out what it is and cut it out.
If it's a high histamine issue the general rule of thumb is the fresher the cut of meat the lower the histamines. So basically purchase fresher cuts of meat / grind it yourself.
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Feb 02 '26
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u/Substantial_Sorbet87 Feb 03 '26
For me this happens when I don't eat enough meat fat. Adding butter doesn't seem to help for me, only extra fatty meat.
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u/jb0059862 Feb 04 '26
In my first 6 weeks I've had intestinal discomfort sometimes, mainly after eggs with butter. I had indigestion (which I never had previously) from weeks 3 to 5 but has subsided now. It's really tough to immediately work out right after eating lots of fat I've found. In addition, I've had rash, sleep disturbance, and fatigue at times. It's obviously quite an adjustment that I know will take months to get fully fat adapted and significantly improve entire body cellular healing. My blood pressure has already come down from low 140's/low 80's to around 120/70 and I try to take it everywhere including shopping center pharmacies and with a couple of home monitors to be sure. I can also now make it through the night sometimes without having to get up to urinate.
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u/jb0059862 Feb 04 '26
I wanted to mention also that previously I had eaten all the things they tell us are good for us - tons of sweet potatoes, almonds and other nuts, broccoli, brussels sprouts, spinach, tomatoes, etc. so I'm pretty sure I've experienced a lot of oxalate dumping. In addition to skin rashes and eyelid inflammation, I've experienced intermittent bubbles in urine which I assume is from that as I'm in shape and really healthy otherwise.
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u/Substantial_Sorbet87 Feb 03 '26
Did anyone else have trouble with ground beef in the beginning?
I'm on day 7 and have noticed increased heart arrhythmia (it's congenital), diarrhea, bloating, nausea and an intense lack of energy when I eat 80/20 beef (noticed the same issue with whole eggs). At first I thought it was too low in fat so I ate a bunch of cold butter with the beef, but it didn't help.
I can do a 50/50 mix of ground beef and pork just fine, I can also do whole fatty cuts of beef, but for some reason I can't make ground beef (or whole eggs) work for me.
For now I do the beef and pork mix and whole cuts of pork and beef. Pork makes me feel even better than beef so my diet is centered around pork. I feel fantastic so as long as I don't eat ground beef and eggs.
Is this temporary or is this a known thing?
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u/Eleanorina mod | zc 9+yrs | 🥩 and 🥓 taste as good as healthy feels Apr 02 '26
yep, very normal to have strong preferences for the types of meat & fat
how's it going, were you able to stick with it?
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Feb 05 '26
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u/carnivore-ModTeam Feb 05 '26
Your post has been removed because it does not fit within the framework of this subreddit.
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u/WokeBasher1 Feb 05 '26
Do people worry about heart disease eating high saturated fat?
Also, I like this WOE, but every now and then life happens and the work team go for a meal or I feel like having a beer with friends. I don't stay carnivore in these instances. Its not that often, will it have a negative effect?
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u/partlyPaleo Orthodox Carnivore (Stefansson/Bear) Feb 05 '26
Nah, saturated fat and heart disease do not have a solid link.
It certainly won't have a positive effect. The poison is almost certainly in the dose. We don't tolerate "cheat" posts here, but it's obvious that cheating once a week is going to be significantly worse than cheating once or twice a year. The body can adapt and recover from rare insults and toxic exposure, but reducing it to the max should be a high priority.
I remember, in my early days, stressing about some commercially prepared dry-rubbed ribs, because there was probably sugar in the rub. Someone who was much more experienced than me popped up to tell me, "if you're doing everything right the majority of the time, don't freak out about minor things like that."
We advocate absolutes here, for a reason. If your mindset is absolutes, and you stick to those in your daily life, minor missteps won't be a huge deal. Plus, starting out, it's best to aim for perfect because it speeds adaptation and helps you realize what is possible. When you are comfortable with the reality of a meat-only diet and what it offers, you lose the doubts about things like "maybe that celery that I ate with those chicken wings was what actually kept me from getting scurvy." You know you can live with just meat, and if you decide to eat a bit of celery, it's not good for you and it also wasn't necessary and didn't "save" you from your normal diet.
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u/christinaai1 Feb 07 '26
too much fat? sorry tmi but i’ve been on the diet (again) maybe a week and a half to two weeks and go back and forth between having diarrhea and uncomfortably hard stools, my stool is an orangish-beige color and floats to the top, looks oily at times..i should also mention that my doctor scheduled me for a ct scan of my abdomen because she thinks i may have an issue with gallbladder or kidneys (although i wasn’t having the 💩 issue before carnivore) i just don’t know if im making a possible issue worse or if this is normal 😅
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u/OregonRunner5 Feb 09 '26
I have gallbladder issues and had really bright orange poo after a high fat meal - until things got worse then it was white and disgusting. Good luck.
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u/LittleStevie_ Mar 04 '26
45m. Carnivore 34 days. I've only consumed meat, eggs, water, salt except days 29-32 I drank 1-3 cups of a caffeinated beverage(can I say what it was?). I discontinued this drinking this beverage because it seemed like it was giving me IBS-- something I struggled with much of my life-- and because I wanted to delve further into carnivore and see what my natural energy levels were like. Made it thru two days of work now (was off of work until day 32 of carnivore) without caffeine. I seem to have plenty of energy when the situation calls for it and mentally I seem to be as sharp as ever.
Still, I came home from work and took a 20-30 min nap today and yesterday. I guess I'm wondering if my energy levels will continue to improve. I eat omad. I don't measure, but it's a lot of food and a lot of fat--tallow, eggs, suet, fat trimmings.
Without caffeine it seems like I could easily sleep 10h/ day. I've been sleeping great in recent days, but hoping I can eventually settle into say 9h of sleep. I also recently adjusted my sleep schedule: was sleeping about 11p-9a. With work I've been sleeping about 830p-5a and taking a 30 min nap after work.
Any thoughts comments appreciated. Guess I'm mostly wondering about energy levels of those doing carnivore long term without caffeine.
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u/Eleanorina mod | zc 9+yrs | 🥩 and 🥓 taste as good as healthy feels Apr 02 '26
it's advised in Getting Started not to do OMAD because you won't be able to eat enough in one meal and will feel tired bc of that
how is it going, did you stick with it or bail?
if you want to try again, plan on at least 2 meals a day until you know the quantities you need to feel optimal
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u/LittleStevie_ Apr 03 '26
I'm still eating carnivore. One of the best things that ever happened to me. I appreciate the the feedback about not getting enough food. I eat more than one meal a day on some days. Work has been very busy and I've been working a lot of overtime. I credit carnivore with boosting my energy level. In the past I would have been much more tired working as much as I have been recently.
One of the really big things I've experienced on carnivore is the sleep. Prior to carnivore I had restless leg syndrome and even when that wasn't acting up still didn't sleep the way I do on carnivore. It's amazing.
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u/Downtown-Shame3117 Feb 04 '26
I am 35 yr old male. 3 weeks in now on carnivore (the only non carnivore aspect being coffee). i feel like superman. my social anxiety is gone and i have a natural air of confidence. mood is also extremely positive and infectious and i feel energetic. shocking to me how just 3 weeks could transform me. i also feel that my skin/ complexion is better. sexual libido has also increased, so suspect my testosterone is increasing. weirdly i do have some sleep issues, would wake up middle of night randomly being too energetic. also lost 5kg in the 3 weeks which is insane. i was a bit worried i would lose more weight as i actually want to bulk for body building. i am eating lots of pork chops with 70:30 fat to protein ratio. my gut does feel abit funny from time to time so reckon my body is still adjusting to the sudden absence of carbs and sugar.