[Luciano C]

It would also be interesting to know which cheese you would consider in a carnivore diet and which you would definitely avoid. Happy to discuss it with you alll.

[Alberto]

I drink only espresso. I mix organic coconut oil & mct oil about 60/40 and put 1-2 tablespoons in a cup. My first cup is a lungo. I have both nespresso & lavazza and use the former 90%. I use costco shredded jack cheese in scrambled eggs. I will also use swiss when having a ham & cheese omelette. Pepper jack on burgers. I also buy 40%-50% fat ground beef by asking the butcher to make it. I brown that with taco seasoning and have it with many breakfasts. The dumb reply format of this site doesn’t let me see your original post, so I won’t if I’ve skipped answering anything till I post this.

Oh I should also add that although I try to be strictly carnivore, I fail and eat certain carbs once or twice a week. Ex: flour tortillas for breakfast burritos. Bagels once a month. Buns with burgers, etc.

• This reply was modified 1 year, 7 months ago by  Alberto.

[Luciano C]

Hey Alberto,
Thanks for your response! I was beginning to think that no one hangs around in these forums 😉

I fully understand the difficulty of adhering strictly to a carnivore diet. For instance, I really enjoy eating pure chocolate and I believe it has its benefits. I also like to drink green tea and coca. I’ve recently started incorporating broths and find them to be great as a drink in between meals – will try to make a chicken broth next time.

My main foods are also various cheeses, beef and eggs. Butter too, and occasionally yoghurt, which is my Kryptonite xD I rarely eat fish, how about you? I would also be interested in how fish compares to beef and even pork…

Mostly, the carnivore diet revolves around beef.

I assume you’re doing well with the occasional ‘snacking’ on carbs?

[Alberto]

One thing I’ve noticed is that eating/cheating with carbs makes me feel worse than when I’m doing pure carnivore. So, I can have 1/2-1 teaspoon of sugar in my espresso, and it I do my hour long walk/hike after, it causes no noticeable change. Other than triggering the desire fore more sugar/sweets/carbs. However the other night, we found a local source for raw milk, and cheated by eating snickerdoodle cookies and large glass of the raw milk. It was delicious, but I can now feel I’m no longer in keto, and just feel sort of crappy.

Also, alcohol has a much more negative effect when I’m on the carnivore diet. It wrecks my sleep, gives me a bad headache, and I feel like crap for an entire day afterwards. I’d describe myself as mostly a social drinker. I love a 1-2 hr “Happy Hour” to socialize before dinner. I’m going on a houseboat cruise with 20 people tomorrow for a week. That’ll involve drinking, eating carbs, etc. I’ll get back on carnivore after that.

[Luciano C]

Hey Alberto,
Thank you for sharing your opinion and experiences.
For me, it’s similar. With the ketogenic diet, I feel optimal, leaning towards carnivore. Occasionally, I indulge in pure chocolate or green tea, and sometimes nuts. When I visit family, I allow myself a bit more flexibility. However, I completely avoid refined sugar as it tends to cause the most side effects for me.

It’s a shame that no one else is expressing their opinion here. I think most people are active on Telegram xD.

[ferenc]

yeah, sugar and alcohol… i used to consume a lot. and on occassion still do, but yeah, there is always a helluva price to pay. alcohol can only be cider, wine, or a clear liquor like vodka. the heuristic i try to stick to is i have to brew/distill it myself, or at least know the person who does. i mean, who in their right mind would buy bud light? i wouldn’t even waste fiat on that swill.

[Alberto]

Update to this reply. I’m going 3 months with no coffee/caffeine. I have to say, I’m 3 1/2 weeks into this and I still crave coffee like crazy.

[ferenc]

coffee:

i source green beans from copan trade in texas. i roast it myself, half pound at a time in a popcorn maker – generally light/medium roast- never dark unless i make a mistake. dark roast is like well done steak. rare is best (medium rare on occassion). everyday i have at least two cups with grassfed ghee, mct oil, cacao, shijalit. there are variations generally throughout the year. sometimes i’ll have three. rarely do i drink the coffee ‘naked’, but i will on occassion to truly enjoy the essence of this miracle food/bevearage.

milk:

grassfed ghee daily (sourced from pure indian foods in new jersey if i don’t make it myself). i am fortunate to have good milk here in ohio. hartzler farms and snowille creamery are exceptional. i drink half and half, or whipping cream from snowville. rarely if ever whole milk. 2% and skim? come on, i am not a mental retard. yoghurt from snowville (whole milk plain and yes i treat myself to their vanilla – talk about a sugar rush). kefir – as often as i can whenever i can. if i purchase from store, always whole milk kind. yoghurt and kefir, i generally try to make myself if i can… i get my kefir grains from the goat lady (just google her – check that, don’t use google – use duck duck go or something else…)

cacao:

one of the few plant foods i consume, and perhaps even worship. when i am in central/south america i always make a point to get it directly… whole beans, cacao ceremonies, etc. here in the states, i make do as best as i can, and generally settle for inferior powders, but still feel as if though i receive benefits.

green/black tea:

when i owned my coffeeshop i imbibed a bit more, would have regular tea ceremonies. a wonderful and mystical beverage enjoyed in solitude or with one or two other high vibration human(s). samovar tea lounge in san francisco was my main source (importer).

[Luciano C]

Hey Ferenc,
Thank you for sharing! It seems like you’ve been doing this for a while. The food examples you mentioned sound like they’re of high quality.

As I think about it, cocoa is actually the plant-based food that I consume the most as well. Pure chocolate is truly special, and it also depends on the region it comes from. I’ve heard that some people in the carnivore circles view it as suboptimal fat – well, to each their own 🙂

[ferenc]

how about your experiences?

[Luciano C]

Well, I think I consume a lot of chocolate compared to others xD. Always pure and not defatted, if possible. Unfortunately, many chocolatiers process cocoa in a way that it loses so many good fats and nutrients, but oh well.

It’s very interesting that even in South American countries like Ecuador or Colombia, which are exporters of coffee and cocoa, it’s difficult to find pure cocoa in the cities. For example, right now I’m in Quito, and believe me, it wasn’t easy to find unprocessed pure chocolate. But for those who seek, they shall find.

[Luciano C]

Do you eat any Nuts or Seeds or really just cacao as a plant?

[ferenc]

on occassion, yes. but, more for enjoyment than nutrition. i enjoy sunflower seeds, salted and roasted. or cinnamon toasted almonds – omg! so good. so stupidly tasty. as you can likely deduce, i have this love/hate thing with sugar – as do most humans i presume. how about you?

[Luciano C]

I completely understand! Roasted nuts are so delicious!

[Luciano C]

Good yogurt and KEFIR are amazing, but here in South America, they don’t make it that often and they’re often not of good quality.

[ferenc]

why is the quality no good? the milk is inferior? where in south america are you?

[Luciano C]

Currently, I’m in Quito, and maybe I’ve found a lady who sells good yogurt – we’ll see. In my experience, there are few good dairy products in South America compared to Central Europe. For example, a good cheese from the Alpine region is just something different altogether but its all about diversity and different approaches and to adapt 🙂

[Luciano C]

To answer your question, my experience has been a positive one. My main food sources are meat and eggs, followed by dairy products like cheese, butter, or yogurt. Right after that, cocoa, coffee, and tea come into play.

I was a vegan and vegetarian for a long time, and based on my experience, I can say that I feel my best now.

I try to find a balance here and occasionally incorporate plant-based foods such as nuts or vegetables. Sometimes I even have fruit, especially when I’m visiting and need to be a bit more flexible and adapt.

I believe that it’s all about moderation, and consuming small amounts of “poison” occasionally actually strengthens the body and the immune system.

Sugar is the only thing I don’t eat because it tends to have the quickest and strongest side effects.

[ferenc]

i agree, plants as a hormetic technique generally. Medicine is technically poison because too much can possibly kill, definitely make one fall ill.

But sugar man, sugar just seems to have no benefit whatsoever and to me that’s why it is mind boggling from an evolutionary point of view, or maybe, i’m missing the evolutionary point which always seems to be completely logical in the long view big picture.

i would love to visit ecuador sometime soon… thinking of a central american trip this september perhaps… will keep in touch if the plans do solidify. i plan on belize, costa rica, and nicaragua. would like to visit el salvador of course! i have this crazy notion of perhaps creating a coffeehouse there… coffee proper, extraordinary tea…

[Luciano C]

Hey Ferenc,
I understand your point – I think it’s just necessary in evolution to have destructive, inexplicable developments and decisions that are needed to, as they say, “separate the wheat from the chaff” – or something like that…

After all, we live in a world full of polarities, so it seems necessary to have both and for individuals to make a choice – good or bad – and to be role models for future generations.

The more I think about it, the more I realize that finding the middle ground is the way to go. And people who can navigate the middle ground – like occasionally consuming sugar in our example – are admirable because they seem to be in strong harmony with themselves. They can experience and probably even enjoy addictive and unhealthy things without harming themselves or, more importantly, falling into their negative effects.

If you ever come to South America, feel free to reach out to me. I’m in a different country every three months, so maybe we can coordinate that.

[ferenc]

will do my friend!

[Fernando]

Hey Luciano,

I try to go carnivore (mainly beef, bacon, eggs and occasional liver) + fermented foods. The fermentation process helps reduce/eliminate sugar and neutralize plant toxins (e.g sauerkraut, kimchi), plus you get some nice vitamin K2. My choice of fermented products are kefir and kombucha. If you want to learn more about this style of eating, I recommend you look up Dr. Sean O Mara’s YouTube videos.