I WASN’T ALWAYS FAT
In fact, I was a skinny active kid in my early years. Yet, I was about to embark on a journey of failure to lose the inevitable pounds. For picture reference, I was born in April of 1988. Here’s my story:
I know most of you reading this probably already know what the issue was. However, I’m sure most people would think, “what happened? Did he stop being active? He wasn’t eating enough vegetables, right?” Wrong. This was baffling and frustrating to me as a child. I was just as active as my friends. I played sports year-round. I played outdoors after school with my friends. Mom made homecooked “healthy” meals low in animal fats (save for some dairy). I was encouraged to, and did, eat my vegetables despite my constant dry heaving. I refused to eat any fatty meat and would always opt for chicken or turkey in favor of beef. Despite this, I continued to gain weight.
Around the age of 8 it was very apparent to me that I was noticeably heavier than the other kids. Boy, did they let me know it. By the age of 10 I was so self-conscious and willing to do anything to be thin. At the advice of several adults, I began to run and eat less dietary fat. I opted for skim milk for my hearty whole grain cereal, and even begged my parents for the low fat SnackWell’s cookies.
Wouldn’t you know, I kept getting fatter. As I moved into my teens, I took up new activities like Taekwondo, Boxing, and regularly going to a Gold’s Gym multiple times a week. A lot of the advice I was being given was to eat more lean protein, eat less fat, and to get in those good “complex carbohydrates”. Despite this advice, I peaked at 225lb by the age of 14.
THOSE TEENAGE HORMONES
This is where things change. In the summer of 2003, the weight disappeared for the first time in my life. I dropped to 185lb. Combined with a growth spurt, I felt “normal” looking for the first time in my youth.
However, I’d spend the next 4 years bouncing between 185lb and 215lb. My body was desperately trying to gain the weight. My young, insecure self was doing everything to fight this. I’d go run a couple miles, jump rope, skip lunch, or eat lots of salad.
I started to develop an eating disorder. I struggled with bouts of anorexia, binge eating, and constant crash dieting; This would persist until much later in life. My high school graduation picture is probably one of the last pictures taken of me before crossing 200lb for the last time (for a long time).
CRITICAL MASS
I stuck to my guns. Clearly, I wasn’t trying hard enough. I needed to cut more calories. I needed to eat less meat. I needed to exercise harder; and so, I did! I could spend a while writing on this, but the redundancy of what happens would bore you. What’s the saying? “the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result.” I would spend 2007 to 2012 cutting calories, especially the unhealthy animal fats. I would run 30 miles a week, do cyclic calisthenics, and lots of different plyometrics programs (*cough* insanity *cough*) .
I spent a portion of this time following a vegetarian diet at the insistence of my then-chiropractor. When that failed me, I had to cut all animal products and follow, what vegans now call, a whole food plant-based diet (WFPB) – they didn’t use this term in ’07. Despite following nutritional guidelines, my doctors, and eating less and moving more, I just kept getting fatter.
I was so discouraged by this that I started to run 5k’s with friends who were skinny and fit. They even convinced me to run a half marathon (left) despite me still being obese. I did manage to lose about 30lb doing this after 4.5 months of running, but I was constantly getting injured due to my weight. It’s also not the weight you want to lose (lean mass).
SPINNING MY WHEELS
(157 Day Time-Lapse)
The thing about willpower is, it’s only as good as it lasts. By August 2011 I had regained all the weight (back to 255lb) and I was looking to shed the pounds again. I was so determined that “THIS would be it, the final push” that for 157 days I spent every day taking a photo. That’s right, 157 days of indeterminable, determined, weight loss. Despite losing a temporary 20lb, it’s hardly a noticeable difference.
But like all the times that came before it, the weight loss was short-lived. By spring 2012, I had finally peaked at 270lb. I hated seeing myself in photos. I refused to be in them as often as possible. For the rest of 2012, and most of 2013, I would apathetically bounce between 270lb and 220lb – persisting and failing.
My health began to suffer for it. I was losing hair. My skin was worsening. Gastrointestinal issues became worrisome. My depression was becoming unmanageable. After repeated burning out, failure of willpower, and following every bit of advice from people that I considered authorities on the subject, I gave up. I was discouraged. I felt I had tried everything; What was there left to do that I hadn’t done?
Have you tried Paleo?
some random coworker
(pre-Paleo)
Come 2013, I had since moved out of the cold northeast and to sunny northern Florida. At the time, I had shed some pounds because I was broke and looking for work. I was surviving off eggs and popcorn. As soon as I began to make some money and buy food (junk food mostly), back came the pounds. I was getting overwhelmed with the yo-yoing of my weight. I mentioned how terrible this was to a coworker. I didn’t even have the time to exercise or run to shed these pounds! I would never have guessed that such an indifferent remark would have such a positive impact on my life. He simply shrugged and said, “Have you tried Paleo?” I had never heard of this. Funny, he didn’t know much about it either. He just didn’t want to hear me complain. He said, “oh yeah, I just know people lose weight doing that.”
As soon as I got home, off to google I went. After reading several blogs and popular websites of well-known Paleo advocates, I was convinced that this was something I could do. I believe it was a whole-30 post that suggested I start by cutting sugary fruit, other carbohydrate heavy foods, and processed garbage out of my diet. I decided to follow this advice.
(Paleo)
Finally, my first elimination diet. What would have guessed? Even without the time to exercise, the pounds just started melting away. I didn’t have to count calories; I just ate when I was hungry. This mainly included: eggs slathered in coconut oil, some meat, lots of raw and cooked greens, and plenty of avocados. I’d make some small allowances for dark chocolate or different foods that were considered paleo like spaghetti squash.
Unlike past attempts of dietary and lifestyle intervention, I solely focused on diet but without restricting my caloric intake. Most of the time my carbohydrate intake was very low, assuredly ketogenic. This would be a big clue for me when I’d start regaining the weight… yes, it happened again. The small, insidious amount of carb-creep on Paleo led to carb cravings. These cravings led to binges. This inevitably led to crash dieting again (mainly extended fasting). Not Even 1 year later, I was back to old habits of trying to control calories and exercise my ass off (literally) while utilizing Paleo.
PROTEIN IS A GOAL – is it though?
I found an evidenced-based ketogenic Reddit/Facebook group in early 2015. This (again) changed my perception of diet. Calories were a heavy emphasis there and I was assured that “keto is not magic” – Protein was king. This is where I began to delve into reading lots of scientific studies on health and nutrition. Nutritional science can get confusing quickly; I’m not the brightest bulb in the box and I certainly don’t have a background in research. There are citations for and against everything, everywhere; Eat more of this, or less of that. This group seemed to get good results. I was sold. Rather than listen to what my body was telling me, I dove in headfirst. I was insensibly determined to subject myself to protein’s tyrannical rule. Once again, I was back to old habits of CICO (calories in calories out). Granted, I didn’t go back to doing tons of cardio. I started to resistance train. This was a big step towards my physique and health goals.
(Keto)
However, with respect to body fat I kept spinning my wheels through calorie restriction. I couldn’t figure out what I was doing wrong. CICO is true, right? I had cut the calories – this came from fat since that was the leverage. I was limiting my net carbs. I was meeting my protein goals. What gives? After about a year of getting frustrated, a suggestion started to circulate their forums repeatedly, “Try PSMF.” PSMF, a protein sparing modified fast was one of the worst and best diet decisions I’ve made in my life. If you’re unfamiliar what it entails, it is both low carb and low fat. The idea behind this is that if you eat mostly protein you will then get the rest of your energy from body fat.
(PSMF)
I spent 7 months cycling off and on PSMF and following the recommended maintenance breaks to try and lose body fat. What was apparent to those around me, but not me, was how emaciated I was becoming. I had become so body dysmorphic that I was convinced that I still had body fat to lose. I didn’t look how I wanted to look. I was resorting to massive use of caffeine and ephedra just to suppress appetite and sustain energy. During this time, I was extremely active. Yet, my weight loss was at a crawl. PSMF was messing with hormonal cues. Reliance on stimulants is no way to live your life. My body had no sense of satiety. I became ravenous.
As a result, my gut had completely deteriorated and landed me in the hospital (future post). Like I said earlier, willpower is only as good as it lasts. Like all the times before, I crashed and burned. Except, this would be a revelation I wasn’t prepared for; The 30lb loss from PSMF would result in a 60lb regain in under 2 months. Bedridden, sick, asthmatic, depressed, tired, cold (average core temp of 96º), I was ready to resign myself to a life of weight loss failure. This was the breaking point. It’s what I needed because I was finally ready to turn to the only route that made sense anymore. I was going to focus on health gain and not weight loss.
HEALTH GAIN, NOT WEIGHT LOSS
(pre-Carnivore)
Back to 230lb and struggling to breathe, eating food was a daily spin at the wheel of misfortune. What symptom would I get today? I was desperate, desperate enough to believe that plants weren’t necessary for optimal health. I didn’t go in believing it to be true, but I needed it to be true! Lucky me. I had immediate remission from most issues (there were future setbacks). I could breathe again, I had energy, and my mood was improving. What I found as I started to eat more red meat and animal fat (more than I had ever eaten in my life) was that my health started to rapidly improve. So here we are, full circle. I spent 29 years eschewing animal fats for one reason or another; They were “unhealthy”, or going to “kill me”, or they had too many “calories” and so I’d opt for the lean, high protein chicken breast. The oft-demonized red meat was giving me a life finally worth living.
(6 months)
However certain ideas had not been killed… yet. I still wanted to lose weight. I had gotten a taste of low body fat percentage vanity. I still thought protein was king. The healthier I felt, the more these ideas burrowed into my brain. Health just wasn’t enough. Foolish, foolish me. The one smart thing I had done was, I resolved that when I started carnivore, I would not, ever, cut calories again. I was going to eat my heart out. So, what was next? Protein is king, right? So, I decided to follow that advice. I began to opt for leaner, higher P:E (protein to energy ratio) foods like bottom round and top round and the occasional chuck (it’s not as fatty as you guys think) or whatever I brought home from butchering.
(11 months)
What I miss-attributed to a need for “healing” led me to start consuming upwards of 38lb (>17kg) of beef a week for 8 weeks. Despite this, I wasn’t gaining much body fat. I was active and busy, and this seemed to help mitigate some of the fat gain. I was, however, growing more and more insatiable, depressed, and worn-out with each passing meal. I even consumed over 7lb in a single sitting and almost 8lb of beef another day. The lesson had yet to be learned and so inevitably my body crashed, my mood plummeted, my health worsened, and I felt awful.
During this time my appetite decreased. Even while eating less than 2lb of beef a day, my body fat piled on. This was worrying. I was willing to try everything: I reached out to experts on twitter, I tried exercising more (d’oh), I tried troubleshooting everything I thought could be the issue (or so I thought). I was approaching the heaviest I had been since before carnivore. I had gained about 4″ to my waist and over 20lb. I was dumbstruck. How is this happening again?
THE BODY KNOWS MORE THAN YOU GIVE IT CREDIT FOR
Two key moments happen in spring 2018:
- I decided to start listening to my body. Every workout had become a tedious chore that left me feeling trashed. Intuitively, this resulted in me cutting out exercise for a year.
- I accidentally stumbled upon Mike Davis‘ channel, now named CarnOMAD – Mike would soon start a challenge called #WOBO (week of burgers only).
Mike had just read Blake Donaldson’s strong medicine and thought it was interesting. It was something he wanted to try and decided to challenge his audience to try it with him. I was game! I started buying boxes of 78/22 ground beef burgers to participate. What I didn’t realize at the time was how much I’d be upping my fat and lowering my protein. Almost instantly, my satiety, mood, and energy improved. The pounds were melting off. WOBO worked so well I stuck with just burgers from the beginning of June ’18 to the end of September ’18 which is when I moved out to California.
(18 months)
As I’ve stated elsewhere, my girlfriend wanted more variety than just burgers – we eat most of our meals together. Determined not to give up on fatty burgers I kept them as a staple, and they continued to constitute 50% of my food intake. By chance, we started buying some of the fattiest cuts of meat like untrimmed brisket and untrimmed ribeye and I ate them to my heart’s desire. Once again, the pounds fell off taking me to a new carnivore low (right). Oblivious me did not attribute this to upping my fat.
Sometimes ideas sound good and sometimes they are ideas worth experimenting with. Other times, they are not. However, I decided to see if I could tolerate dairy again. Being in California the allure of raw dairy was potent. I had heard from various sources that raw dairy might address my lingering gut issues.
This was as good as any excuse for me to start a much-too-long dairy trial. I began to slowly regain weight. However, I was very confident in my new WOBO baseline that I persisted with the dairy inclusion. Spurts of WOBO during the dairy trial helped mitigate what could’ve been significant fat gain. The biggest issue that became apparent during this trial was the huge disturbance in satiety. What started off as 1/2L of kefir quickly mutated into 2L daily. The more Kefir I drank the more I wanted it and carbier animal foods like liver. This was eaten on top of my regular beef consumption.
Photo Taken with Doug Wright (my carnivore brother)
After a couple months of dairy, I decided that it was hurting more than it was helping. I had to cut it out (for now). After one long stint of #WOBOMAD (yes, WOBO + One Meal A Day), I decided it was time to give a higher protein, lower fat, P:E approach one last shot to see if things had changed.
REGICIDE – PROTEIN IS NOT KING. LONG LIVE ANIMAL FAT!
As you’ve probably already guessed by the name of this website or from my story, I think protein is a bit over-rated. I consider this to be truer for those of us already eating a meat-based diet. If you’re not eating animals as your main food source, you’re at a huge disadvantage. The bioavailability of animal protein exceeds that of plants when consumed by humans. The fewer plants you eat the less you impair protein absorption. These effects compound. Yet, we base our protein needs on studies observed on a SAD population (Standard American Diet). I think most of us agree, replacing processed junk with real food is the goal. Protein is necessary and useful, yes, but making lean(er) meat the cornerstone of your diet isn’t ideal.
(cooked on click)
What needs to end is the demonizing of animal fats. I often see animal fats conflated with processed fats – even from respected members of the low-carb community. These processed fats are not remotely the same (yes, even dairy – don’t kill me) ; Not for satiety, and certainly not for health (dairy might be the exception here). Biologically, humans are fat seekers. We shouldn’t be avoiding the thing that made us what we are. We should be looking for the optimal way to regulate our appetite. Individually there might be some variance. Some people report they do better at a higher protein (upwards of 40% of calories). But, if you’re struggling to sate your hunger with higher protein, DON’T FEAR THE ANIMAL FAT! You don’t need to trim your porterhouse steak. The supermarket has already done that for you (sadly). Don’t succumb to the calorie restriction hacks. Filling up on fiber or water isn’t going to do anything for your health or energy needs. I digress, animal fat is more than just energy; It is nutrition. It is important for hormonal health and regulation. However, you still need energy. What better than the thing you can easily store and readily use? I hope my story is an indication of why fat may be important. But just in case it isn’t, let’s get to where I am now.
(23 months)
After my last failed attempt with P:E, the rapid weight gain (despite fewer calories) and acute changes in negative health issues (mood, skin, gut) prompted me to action; For the first time since embarking on this nutritional journey, I dramatically reduced my protein intake (<90g/d) and ate the most animal fat I’d ever eaten (>180g/d). In all honesty, I was hoping to resolve my gut issues by decreasing food volume. It is significantly helping, but it is going to be a long road to full recovery. However, several unexpected things did happen! My mood went from good and stable to a calm bliss. This is an emotion that’s been lost on me. Words cannot describe what this means or how this feels, but I did talk about it in my interview with Tristan @ PrimalEdgeHealth here.
Okay, okay… I know what gets the attention and why you probably came here. Yes! I lost a crap-ton of weight. I’ve never experienced such dramatic and quick body recomposition. I lost over 17lb and 3″ to my waist in 40 days (right) – while eating to satiety (~2.1k cal/day). This ended up being more calories (20-100% more) than any of my past starvation, slightly masochistic diets which also required vigorous or tedious exercise and yet, the results were even better! I am finally happy and healthy looking. Eating has become as simple as listening to my body. Gee, who could’ve thought that humans could get by doing something as simple as that? Check out my interview with Mike Davis @ CarnOMAD for more info
Hunger is not a virtue, it’s a signal that your body isn’t successfully using the resources you want it to use
Amber O’Hearn
The important thing to note is that I wasn’t hungry. It wasn’t hard. I didn’t need some online calculator or weight loss program. I just gave my body what it needed. I didn’t have to do any crazy exercise routines or running.
For the first time in a year, I finally had the energy and desire to exercise again! I’ve done 15 light, calisthenic workouts since March 12th. Surprisingly, my body continues to gain muscle despite my protein reduction.
This isn’t to say that people need to fear protein, and you should rush off to dump a stick of butter into your coffee. This is to encourage you to not be afraid of animal fats, and to realize that it doesn’t have to be hard. Listen to your body. You want sustainable health gain, not temporary weight loss. Weight normalization is a byproduct of health. So, find what works best for you, even if that means failing for a little (or long) while; The pursuit of health is rewarding.
IT’S ABOUT THE JOURNEY NOT THE DESTINATION
May 12, 2019 (yesterday if you’re reading this live) was my 2 year “carniversary” – It has been a lifelong battle to figure out my health and weight. Every dietary change has had some learning experience. Despite my repeated failure, I’ve finally found success. I would not trade my path for an easier one. There was invaluable insight that I gained through this repeated failure. Learning to listen to my body has allowed me to conquer and overcome this challenge.
The journey isn’t over yet; Really, it’s just beginning. Things may change in the future – life is funny and cruel like that. As mentioned, I’m still troubleshooting life and have issues yet to mend; I keep exercise to a minimum as a result. In the spirit of full transparency and to celebrate my life’s journey, here’s where I am today and here’s to more good things ahead – thank you for reading:
Now: 182lb and 31″ waist
Keto Animal Foods 
Awesome story. Thanks for sharing. I went on Carnivore strict for two months then went off for a few days and that turned into a month. Initially it was for a vacation then I got addicted to sugar and carbs and beer again. So today I thought I’d do Naiman’s take of a high P:E approach but saw your article this morning. Maybe going back to mainly eating burgers is better? May I ask what you eat? I can’t afford ribeye. Is ground beef from Costco ok? It’s 88/12 but my family likes the taste better than the 80/20. Anyhow do you eat eggs, bacon or cheese on your burgers? Iam going to go back to doing 18/6 IF and mainly eating eggs and burgers and an occasional steak when I can afford it.
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Hey Michial,
When I was buying the fatty 78/22 burgers, I was buying them from costco (pre-formed and frozen). There’s nothing wrong with their 88/12 (fresh), but it might be a bit lean. I’d say get both and find what works for you. I don’t eat eggs, although I do miss them. They were one of the first things I needed to eliminate on ZC. I don’t eat bacon much at all, I haven’t found a cured pork belly that hasn’t given me issue but I seem to be doing much better with pork belly (costco also sells this) and pork rinds. I don’t do any dairy right now as noted in the post 😛
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Thanks for the reply. Congratulations by the way. Before doing this I lost 150lbs five years ago just removing refined carbs and sugars and not drinking alcohol. I also did walking and some light exercise. Then I regained about 30 of it. That’s when I did Carnivore for two months and lost about 20 of that. So I guess the 88/12 worked. I don’t have any food allergies. I just by nature have a slow metabolism and get fat easily. I want the Carnivore Diet to feel and look good.
May I ask why you don’t eat eggs? What about cheese? I found when I was eating a lot of cheese and bacon on my burgers I would break out. I think due to a lot of grease. I know one cheese slice has a carb
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Firstly, congratulations on the massive weight loss! That’s a huge achievement in itself. I suspect and would suggest to you that if you were struggling on carnivore and having food cravings then perhaps your fat intake was too low. 88/12 is pretty lean. Try the 78/22 burgers and let me know how that goes.
I don’t eat eggs anymore because they were giving me acute asthma. Now, they just depress my mood. I may try yolks without the whites in the future to see if it’s still an issue.
I don’t eat eat dairy right now. But, I loveeee dairy. If I do reintroduce it in the future I will be trying some raw first-milking colostrum beforehand. Dairy can certainly be responsible for the breakouts, especially if it had additives in it (they often use dyes and preservatives)
With respect to my meals, 95% of the time I’m eating 1 meal a day just because I’m so satiated I don’t have to spend much time thinking about food. It’s totally not intentional and will always eat more if I feel like I have a need. Right now I tend to eat mostly untrimmed brisket from costco – it’s very fatty (think porkbelly levels of fat). I usually trim off about 150g of pure fat and eat that raw and sear up about 400g of meat. I add in some chuck roast if I start to run low on brisket lean. I haven’t eaten burgers much in the past month but I always keep 10lbs or so around in case of emergencies (I didn’t defrost steak).
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Oops. Overlooked the dairy comment. Sorry. I don’t want to monopolize your comment thread I just have a few questions. What are your meals like? Do you still mainly eat hamburgers? Thanks again!
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How do you cook your brisket?
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I eat most of the fat raw. The rest I actually grill at about 5-700° briefly because I’m pretty impatient with food. Sometimes I may pan fry it, rarely (although it’s much tastier) do I slow cook it
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The 78/22 burgers are okay then I guess (no additives or such to be concerned with)? I have been really disappointed with myself as of late as I reintroduced dairy and it’s definitely something I need to cut out and keep out of my eating plan. Thanks for your story, it is encouraging and hopefully will give me the motivation I need to get back on track and continue my own journey.
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Yes, their 78/22 and 85/15 burgers are just beef (no salt/seasoning). I think it’s okay to be disappointed sometimes. It’s a good step towards troubleshooting what went wrong. It sounds like you’ve recognized dairy might be an issue for you and have an actionable plan to get back on track. I wish you success on your journey.
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Wow. congratulations! you kept on looking for the solution for yourself…Part of your story feels like mine. Lucky for you, you are younger and a male… Sorry I think you guys have it easier than we do, even with all your struggles. Those bloody hormones are just so hard to figure out. I am myself looking for appetite and satiety….I am watching what is happening with Amber and waiting to see if she is going to resolve her problem. Have you ever paid attention to the Leptin Rx by Jack Kruse? I am thinking about doing that… just front loading my protein/fat in am. I was looking into PSMF… maybe not. I feel great after I do a carb refeed so no wonder I am stillllllllllll confused about this whole thing.I really hope you figure out what will feel good to your gut. I wish you the very best. Guylaine
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Amber is brilliant and if anyone is capable of figuring something out, it’s her. I’m confident of that.
I don’t really put a ton of stock in Jack Kruse, but to be fair I don’t read much of his stuff either. I know in some of my reading (part of what led me to higher fat) I’d seen mention of leptin injections/therapy. I know that seemed, or so she claimed, to help itsthewooo. Thanks so much for reading and commenting!
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In our grandparents day it was the fat kid that was out of place. Now it’s the other way around. I firmly believe that it will be those outliers, those canaries that lead the way into greater understanding. Not the pack. Cutting carbs can work for the pack. But the sick need to really understand what’s going on so that they can be well. The human body is just so much more complicated than anyone wants to admit. Thank you for sharing your journey.
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Thanks for reading and all your love and support Phil! I definitely wouldn’t have been as inclined to share all this without it.
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Awesome read, much anticipated too! Quite a long trail of trial here. Hope you get to conclude the story soon with the closest to perfect health you can achieve.
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Thanks so much for reading, Chris. I don’t think the story is ever over. I’m sure there’s always going to be that something, but I know my health is getting there. I’m on the right path now.
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As your mom I can attest to the agony of watching someone you love suffer and the guilt that comes from trying my best to help and not being able to change the painful situation you were enduring. I tried all the Mom things that I knew how to do: taking you to doctors/specialists, purchasing devices like the “sun” lamp to boost your mood, taking you to all your sports activities to keep you healthy, making home cooked meals and on and on. Reading your blog made me weep for you, for all the years of pain.
Yes I saw the struggle but was helpless to change your situation. All this to say, is that no one can change someone else. We ultimately must search out our own answers and change ourselves so we can experience a vibrant life. Our loved ones should be there for the journey (regardless of how long it takes), sometimes as silent companions for the ride and other times as a voice of support or reason…never condemning or criticizing.
I am so proud of you, of your journey, of your persistence, diligence, intelligence and strength. We all spend so much of life toiling to try to become what we think we should be and very little time being who we are. Your blog is a bravely transparent window into a long journey. I know that I probably have a bit of a biased perspective because I am your mom but I am deeply grateful to call you my son.
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Aw mom ❤ It was a long journey indeed and I know it was very hard on you. Thank you for being patient with me.
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Great story and success. I have been on a similarly lengthened rollercoaster however with fewer ailments. I was young and active as a kid. I played soccer and baseball every year and occasionally basketball. I still blew up. My wife and I did keto a little over a year ago with great success (50+ lbs lost total in 6 weeks) but did not stick to it. I love carbs… But I have more motivation this time. I am on high blood pressure meds now and lifelong asthma is much worse. We started back on keto and I am working towards full carnivore currently. It is almost too easy. Crazy easy. I think that’s why so many people think it wither wont work or is bad for you. I just dont understand why it took me so long to put together the connection between the industrial revolution and refined foods taking off with the decline of the countrys health. I have long believed that the big corps supporting the SAD had bot care for the health of the country but am just now doing something about it. I am 6′ 4″ and just recently peaked at 352 pounds. I am down 12 pounds in the first 10 days. I am down to mostly meat, cheese and eggs which I am sure I can live on. Thanks for the motivation and being another source for info and “completed research”. 😁 Keep it up.
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Thanks for reading Tom. I’m glad to hear you’re back to finding your way! I wish you all the success.
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Awesome life story. Now you can have a much better second part of your life. I assume it will be a much greater happier one. As you were I was always on heavy side and being an Asian we always ate lots of rice and carbs. Living in America it was all about eating refined carbs and believing and living the SAD life style I was never where I wanted to be. After discovering Keto first and now leaning strongly towards carnivore I feel much better. I was stuck for a while but from your story i have learned I need to uptake my fat consumption. Thanks for your story and have a greater second half of your life
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Wonderful blog post, and thank you so much. I’ve been trying to figure out this fat vs protein thing for about 2 yrs now after initially losing 50lbs on ordinary keto a few years ago. It’s very confusing with the opposing views out there in lchf- land. I keep tweaking things trying to figure out how to get a handle on satiety and lose this last 20lbs… this post and reading your story has given me hope that I might just get to the bottom of it and finally get some further success! Will let you know ☺️
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Btw, I’m in the U.K., my 100% beef burgers say 21g fat and 26g protein (per 100g). How does that compare to your Costco burger ratios? I totally can’t figure it out 🤪
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Are they precooked or is that the cooked measurement? That actually seems surprisingly high on protein per 100g. 78/22 would be 22g fat per 100g and 78g lean, of which only 20-22% is protein, the rest being mostly water. So, about 16g protein.
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It’s the ‘Grilled’ per 100g, cheeky buggers. They 100% beef, so how can I work it out? Agh, so complicated!
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Do you know what the serving size is or what the raw patty weighs? I think it might be a pain, but definitely solvable. Either way, it’s not a huge deal. The goal would be to eat to satiety; they might be too lean just looking at the breakdown. But, if it’s working for you, keep at it!
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They’re quarter pounders, raw and frozen, they’re 115g each. I’m only starting the higher fat approach as of today so too early to say. I was thinking of adding a big nob of butter to each patty.
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If I had to guess I’d say they’re around 85/15 burger patties. Assuming a 25% loss in weight from raw to cooked this will get you around 20g fat 25g protein per 100g cooked. Let me know how the higher fat (particularly butter/dairy) works for you! I know for me dairy is a weight staller / satiety-hijacker.
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Will do. Fingers crossed I’m ok with dairy. When I initially went keto a few years back I lost 50lbs eating tons of cheese, but I think I stalled out around the time all the talk of higher protein came up. If the cheese I eat is fairly evenly matched by weight per 100g does it fit the 2:1 fat-to protein ratio for ketoaf ok? Or am I off here?
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I think that would depend on the cheese – some cheeses are leaner than fattier and vice versa. If you’re looking to shoot for 2:1 specifically you want 2g of fat per 1g of protein by weight not calories; This is roughly 82% fat and 18% protein. Visually you’re looking to add 1/3 pure fat to your lean; So, 25% pure fat, 75% lean (which has some fat) when looking at the food as a whole. I’d encourage you to try 2:1 on as few variables as possible (mainly beef if you can) see how you feel and adjust from there. I do think most are going to thrive around 4:3 -> 75% fat 25% protein (+-5%) Hope that helps!
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That does, thanks. I’m currently reading through the katoaf reddit group to keep learning. Now I know I have to look for double the fat to protein ratio *by weight* then I should know when I have to add fat. I might visit the local butcher and find out if they can keep trimmings for me…
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Thanks for reading, Katy! Best wishes in figuring it all out. It’s tedious at times, but so worth it. Definitely let me know what you discover.
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Will do. It IS tedious at times. Cripes. I seem to be ok with plants; no tummy troubles or auto-immune issues. I really like eating burgers with some pickled cornichons (very low carb); hopefully this doesn’t throw things out. Trial and bloody error, I suppose…
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Great article Man!
Some questions..
-Do you weight food?
-How you understand if you have eaten enough (of fats and proteins)?
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Hey, thanks for reading, John!
Yes, I weigh my food. I’ve religiously, and consistently tracked measurements, including food, for five years. But I’ve stopped as of Monday.
There’s different hunger signals for energy and nutrients. Fat helps meet the energy craving whereas protein helps me meet the other. If I start with the fat first I get a feeling of “no more.” So, I’ll start eating my lean. Lean fills me up and gives me a physical signal that I’ve eaten enough.
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This was a great read & is very similar to my story as well. Paleo 4 years – lost a ton effortlessly but carb cravings led to more & more tangents & crept back to my heaviest weight. Back to strict Paleo & sloooowly lost again but way harder. Then dropped carbs further to Keto level for 2 months before I came across the Zero Carb reddit. Initial weight loss there and numerous non-scale improvements in mood, energy & skin. But i started gaining.
Last September I ignored the no fasting rule in the groups I read and dropped 30 lbs in 2 months. I’m now down another 10 doing OMAD, mainly chuck eye steaks & brie cheese.
Would like to lose 20-30 more. I read too many “protein is king” like remarks in the groups & on Twitter, but every time I try eating leaner meat I get ravenous.
Your article helped solidify what my body was telling me. I need more fat for satiety. I’ll break out the 75/25 burgers I have in the freezer & I plan to ask my grocery store for fat trimmings. Working on dropping the brie… not ready yet. Thanks for sharing your story! & Loved your mom’s sweet comment.
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Thanks so much for reading Carrie. I can totally see how we relate! I’m glad to hear you’re willing to keep searching for your optimum through N=1! Let me know how the 75/25 works for you. I did some 75/25 Walmart burgers for a while when I moved out to Cali 😋
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Hey Carrie,
Sounds like you’ve done ok with dairy so far? Do you think it’s making weight loss slower? I’m hoping to get back on track again with this higher fat approach but finding it hard to figure out how to add fat without dairy (butter, double cream etc). Hopefully will have a sense of it in the next week or so 🤞🏼
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Hard to say since I haven’t taken it out yet. 🙂 But I have lost 40lbs since Sep all while eating cheese. Now that I have 20-30 left to go I imagine cheese may be a hindrance. I find it hard to up the fat without cheese & sour cream too. My digestion doesn’t do well with tallow. I’m going to see if I can get untrimmed steaks and/or fat trimmings & see how that goes.
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I’m going to try your solution to losing some weight. I’ve been stalled, and had been cutting back on fats from my keto-carnivore diet. I would like to lose about 30#, and it’s been hard going the last couple years.
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Hey, I’m so glad to hear it! Let me know how your N=1 goes. Thanks for reading.
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Great and helpful article. I’ve added animal fats from FatWorks (tallow, lard, duck fat etc) to up my fat content. (i.e. A big tblsp to bone broth etc). Do you ever add fats that way?
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The only time I’d use rendered fats is if I made ground beef and chilled it, mixed 6-7g of tallow per scrambled egg (unfortunately eggs are still off the menu) or pemmican. The carnivore bar (like pemmican) https://thecarnivorebar.backerkit.com/hosted_preorders is my favorite way to take in rendered fat. It has a real meaty “peanut butter” flavor and mouth-feel.
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Thanks, I actually make my own buffalo pemmican. I dehydrate the buffalo at low temp and mix with tallow. Initially did this out of curiosity after reading the history of pemmican and its use as a sole survival food and actually liked it.
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Great read- really admire your tenacity. Thanks Josh.
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Amazing story ! We have many similarities in our journey.
My question is about protein. Im doing light weight training and cardio everyday.
Not looking to gain fat or weight now, just really take care of my gut as its going through too much with stress of life mostly, lack of sleep.
The amt.of cals I eat now is way more and its a lil alarming.
Im putting on some unwanted weight (rather, feels unatural how quickly). I typically do gobs of fat though and lower protein.
I also plowed down more protein in grams than weight / 1 g per lb last night via burger and felt good. (I weight 92 lbs but no gain desired as GUT need heal first…)
I have been in deep ketosis consistenly, everyday doing OMAD. Glucose doesnt rise above 80 ever, ketones dont fall below 3.0.
How much protein/cals would you recommend for me now?
Before, most suggested not going below 60 to maintain muscle and weight. I am between 70- 100g protein now with per day. It just doesnt seem.. right when I add it up. Ypure doing lower protein than that and not losing muscle mass.
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>How much protein/cals would you recommend for me now?
I would recommend you eat to satiety – experiment with different ratios of food for at least a week, and try your best to consume the fattiest bits first. See where you feel best and adjust for a longer run with it. Pivot when it stops working.
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Hi I heard you on Carnivorecast and I have been doing carnivore since Feb 2019. I was wondering how do you add fat to your diet?
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I eat beef fat from really fatty cuts like untrimmed brisket or ribeye. There’s so much extra fat on the brisket that I trim off what I don’t need that day for leaner cuts like chuck.
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How do you eat the fat? Do you salt it or flavor it in any way. You say you eat it raw. Would it be just the same to eat it cooked?
I have recently given up all dairy for my fat and am just eating burgers. I felt great for a few days now I feel like I need more fat. I added butter and didn’t feel as well. So now I have been cooking the burgers and chilling them with all the fat poured over them and when they are cool I eat them with the hardened fat attached. It seems to work but kind of a pain. Just trying to get enough fat in with Relying dairy.
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