Carnivore Diet – My Take: A Meat-Based Experiment in Healing

Quick Answer:
For me, a “carnivore diet” simply means that most of my nutrition comes from animal foods… primarily grass-fed and grass-finished meat, animal fats, bone broth, and some seafood. Over time, eating this way calmed my joint pain, improved patterns of insulin resistance, and dramatically softened my endometriosis symptoms. It has not been a magic cure or a universal prescription; it’s one tool my inner healer has used to lower inflammation and simplify inputs. I don’t tolerate everything that’s technically “carnivore” (for example, onions and yogurt clearly don’t agree with my body), so I still have to listen carefully to my own signals. This is my personal experience, not medical advice.

Close-up of a medium-cooked piece of steak on a fork with a softly blurred background. — A simple bite of steak… how carnivore often looks in real life: calm, uncomplicated, and satisfying. Photo by Doğu Tuncer on Unsplash

A gentle disclaimer before we begin

I’m writing this as both:

a holistic clinical psychologist and integrative medicine practitioner, and
a human being who has experimented extensively with her own body.

This is not a protocol, a prescription, or a guarantee of what will happen in your life. It’s a look inside my own journey with a meat-based way of eating… what shifted, what didn’t, and how I now collaborate with my body’s signals and my inner wisdom.

Please always:

honour your own medical history,
work with trusted health professionals when needed, and
treat any major dietary change as something to enter mindfully, not impulsively.

What is the carnivore diet?

Very simply, when I say carnivore diet in this article, I’m referring to a way of eating that is centered around animal foods and usually excludes most or all plants.

Common staples include:

Ruminant meats (beef, lamb, goat)
Other meats (poultry, pork, game), as tolerated
Seafood and shellfish
Eggs (for those who tolerate them)
Animal fats (tallow, suet, butter, ghee, marrow)
Bone broth and organ meats

Most versions of carnivore exclude:

Grains and cereals
Legumes
Nuts and seeds
Fruits and vegetables
Sugars and sweeteners
Industrial seed and vegetable oils

Liquids are usually:

Water,
Mineral water, and
Often bone broth; some people keep coffee or tea, others remove them.

Within this framework, there are many sub-variants (strict ruminant-only, carnivore-ish with occasional plants, versions that include or exclude dairy, etc.). I’m not here to police definitions… only to share how it has looked in my life and body.

Why some people are drawn to carnivore

From an ancestral and physiological perspective, many people are starting to question:

the constant availability of high-sugar, high-starch foods,
the dominance of ultra-processed products, and
the mismatch between modern lifestyles and the way our bodies evolved to live and eat.

A meat-based diet is appealing to some because it:

removes a large number of common trigger foods in one sweep,
simplifies choices (animal foods + water), and
can make it easier to see which inputs are provoking inflammation, pain, cravings, or gut symptoms.

Some people report experiencing:

Less joint pain and body-wide inflammation
More stable energy and fewer crashes
Improved digestion and reduced bloating
Easier weight regulation
Changes in autoimmune symptoms
Better mental clarity and mood stability

None of these are guaranteed. These are patterns people report, and they are part of what led me to experiment with this way of eating when gentler approaches did not fully resolve my symptoms.

My journey: from vegan to keto to carnivore

Before I ever considered carnivore, I did what many health-conscious people do: I started with what I believed was the “cleanest” approach.

I spent about 3.5 years eating a vegan diet.
Then moved into more than 2 years of ketogenic eating (higher fat, lower carbohydrate, mixed plants and animal foods).

Despite these efforts, and despite being very disciplined… I was still dealing with:

Persistent joint pain
Clear patterns of insulin resistance
Significant symptoms related to endometriosis, including pelvic pain and heavy bleeding

I was “doing everything right” by many conventional standards. Yet my body kept speaking: something is still inflaming me.

Eventually, I became curious about whether plants themselves… even the “healthy” ones were contributing more to my symptoms than I wanted to admit. It felt countercultural and confronting to question that, especially as someone trained in conventional models of aspects of nutritional psychology, and clinical psychology.

But my body was louder than the textbooks.

That’s how I arrived at carnivore: not as a fad, not as a religion, but as an experiment. I wanted to see what would happen if I removed almost all plant inputs and gave my system primarily meat, fat, broth, and water.

What changed for me on a carnivore diet

Over time, several things began to shift in my body. Again, this is my story, not a promise.

Joint pain and inflammation

The most obvious change was in my joint pain. The persistent achiness and stiffness that had become a background hum in my life began to quiet down. I moved more easily. My body felt less “angry” in the mornings and after long days.

Insulin resistance patterns

Second, the markers and patterns of insulin resistance that had been present started to improve. My energy felt:

more stable,
less dependent on frequent snacking or carbs, and
less prone to sharp peaks and crashes.

My body responded very well to relying on fat and protein as primary fuel, at least in this phase of my journey.

Endometriosis symptoms

Endometriosis is complex, and I will never claim that food alone “cures” it. But in my personal experience:

Pelvic pain reduced dramatically.
The area that used to feel extremely tender to touch became only mildly uncomfortable.
The everyday sense of being inflamed and on edge decreased.

I still have episodes of heavier bleeding at times, but the overall trajectory of symptoms has changed. For me, this feels like my body moving from constant crisis into a more regulated, responsive state.

Again: if someone is experiencing very heavy bleeding, severe pain, dizziness, or other alarming symptoms, I would always recommend they seek direct medical evaluation. My choices with my body are not a blanket template for anyone else.

It’s not magic, and it’s not for everyone

Carnivore is sometimes presented online as a magic fix. I do not see it that way.

In my life, it has been:

A tool my inner healer used to reduce inflammatory load.
A structured way to temporarily simplify inputs so I could better read my body.
A season of giving my system fewer variables to fight with.

That doesn’t mean:

Everyone should be carnivore forever.
Plants are “bad” for all humans.
Traditional diets that include grains, fruits, and vegetables are wrong.

It means my specific body, history, environment, and nervous system responded very positively to a season of eating in this more focused way.

How I practice carnivore now (and what I don’t tolerate)

Over time, I’ve learned that “carnivore” is not a free pass to eat every animal-based food without listening. My body still has clear boundaries.

What my plate usually looks like

On most days, my meals center around:

Grass-fed, grass-finished beef (different cuts, including cheeks, steak, ground beef)
Lamb and occasionally other meats
Bone marrow, tallow, and other animal fats
Bone broth for minerals and collagen
Occasionally seafood or other animal proteins as I feel led

I keep my meals simple and repetitive, not because variety is bad, but because simplicity makes my body easier to read.

Foods I don’t tolerate well (even if they’re “allowed”)

Two big discoveries in my own journey:

Onions (and possibly garlic)
- My body reacts very clearly to onions.
- I’ve experienced itching, full-body sensations, and swelling in my “signal pots” (legs, ankles, toes) when onion is on board.
- Even long-cooked onion, in small amounts, has given me enough feedback that I now largely avoid it.
- Garlic may also be an issue for me, so I’m cautious and pay attention to my body’s response.
Yogurt, cheese and most dairy, even grass-fed and grass-finished
- Many carnivore approaches include dairy (yogurt, cheese, cream) as part of the toolkit.
- My body has repeatedly shown me that yogurt, cheese and dairy do not support me, even when they come from high-quality, grass-fed sources.
- I’m more likely to experience symptoms and feel “off” when dairy is part of my routine.

So while someone reading this might thrive on meat plus yogurt and some alliums, my body has made it clear that those are not my allies right now.

This is one of the most important lessons I’ve learned:

Even inside a very defined way of eating like carnivore,
you still need to practice bio-individual listening.
Your body’s “no” matters more than any dietary label.

If you feel drawn to try something like this

This is not an invitation for anyone to suddenly throw out all their food and eat only steak. But if you feel genuinely called to explore a meat-based experiment, here are a few principles I hold:

Start by subtracting, not by obsessing
- Remove ultra-processed foods, refined sugars, and industrial seed oils first.
- See how far that alone moves the needle for your energy, mood, and pain.
If you move toward carnivore, keep it simple
- Begin with a few basic, well-tolerated animal foods (for many people, that’s ruminant meat like beef or lamb, plus fat and salt if tolerated).
- Eat until comfortably full; let your body guide frequency.
Track signals, not just macros
Pay attention to:
- Sleep quality
- Mood and anxiety levels
- Pain and stiffness
- Gut symptoms (bloating, bowel movements, cramping)
- Bleeding patterns, if relevant
- Swelling, itching, or other “signal pots”
Have medical support if your situation is complex
- If you have serious conditions, take medications, are pregnant, or have a history of disordered eating, please do not attempt a dramatic dietary shift alone.
- Bring your questions and intentions to a trusted clinician who can help monitor lab values, symptoms, and safety.

You deserve support, not isolation, as you explore.

Cautions and red flags to honour

While my story with carnivore has been largely positive, I remain very clear about red flags that should not be ignored by anyone on any diet:

Very heavy bleeding, large clots, or feeling lightheaded and weak
Severe chest pain, shortness of breath, or palpitations that feel concerning
Severe abdominal pain, vomiting, or sudden worsening of gut symptoms
Dramatic shifts in mood (e.g., severe depression, suicidality)

If these show up, that’s not a “push through” moment; that’s a get help now moment.
Your life and long-term health are far more important than staying loyal to any protocol.

Closing: the role of the inner healer

For me, the carnivore diet has been one chapter in a larger story:

a story about trusting my inner healer,
questioning what I’ve been told is “healthy,” and
being willing to let my body… not social trends, have the final say.

Your path may look very different. You might thrive on a Mediterranean-style pattern, a well-composed omnivorous diet, or something plant-heavy and carefully tuned. You might try carnivore briefly and find it’s not for you at all.

The deeper invitation is not:

“Eat what I eat.”

The deeper invitation is:

“Listen to your body with honesty.
Notice what calms it.
Notice what inflames it.
And let your choices be guided by that inner wisdom, not fear and not trends.

A gentle reminder:
The reflections shared here are personal and educational. They are not meant to diagnose, treat, or replace professional medical or psychological care. Please use them as information and inspiration, and always honor your own body, context, and inner knowing.