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j"19HxigV4QyBv3tHpQVcUEQyq1pzZVdoAutMH=# Mark's Carnivore Experiment ## Three Month Summary * 20th November - 31st December, 2019 As mentioned in my last [blogchain entry](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/a2954a2b440183c7197528e18c3b4c5735e7cb0e2f7b8c929ea702a2f627af), I am enjoying the diet so much and it's delivered results so quickly, and I feel so good, that I've decided to continue without setting an end date. My current thinking is **I don't want to come off the diet**. I love it. Since starting the diet on 19th September 2019, it has become my lifestyle and is no longer a "diet" to get into shape. This is the way I am now, how I eat. As a recap, I want to reflect on why I started the diet. ## Thanks I have to thank the following two people that kicked off my interest in this diet. * Ryan X Charles of MoneyButton.com * Dale Dickens, Bitcoin SV Ambassador Extraordinaire. I had been thinking how I was going to get healthy for a few months, but you guys piqued my interest in this way of eating and I am very grateful that you shared your experience online. It may have taken much longer to find otherwise! ## Results In three months I have: * Reduced my waist from 38.5 inches to 32 inches. I bought some 32 inch trousers last week! :) * Reduced body fat from 23% to under 15% now * Weight has dropped from 86.3 kg to 77.8kg * Increased muscle mass and strength in the gym by 30% already * Reduced sleep requirements from 7 hours to 6. I wake up early full of it. :D * An even bigger zest and zing for life ;-) Here are the metrics.    ## Reasons for changing to Carnivore * I knew that I was slowly gaining weight each year. It was almost imperceptible until the moments when my trousers were getting too tight, when I needed to go to the next buckle hole on my belt. When I had to buy 38 inch trousers instead of 36. * Energy levels started to decline. For example, manual work in the garden was a real effort and seemed to be getting harder each year. The seeming impossibility to do anything strenuous without making a noise. :) * There was a nagging feeling in the back of my mind, that I was becoming unhealthy. That my organs were slowly being encased in visceral fat, that maybe my arteries were starting to harden. I developed a persistent asthmatic cough. * I knew that if I continued my lifestyle, then I would eventually be sick. That day may come in 5, 10 or 20 years, but it was coming if I didn't change. * Carnivore is the ultimate elimination diet to bring the body back to ultimate health ## Reasons for starting exercise I knew that in order to accelerate results, I should probably exercise as well. I think that diet has a much bigger effect than exercise on body composition, however exercise is definitely required. Use it or lose it! This is very clearly illustrated by astronauts. Their bodies very quickly start to atrophy when muscles are no longer used. Elderly people are in the same position. A lifetime of not using your muscles results in frailty in old age. I don't want that. I looked deeply into the best way to exercise. I spent a good couple of months studying it while starting to use kettlebells. I quickly realized kettlebells were not for me after I discovered Dr. Doug McGuff. My current exercise program is to lift weights to failure for fifteen minutes, once a week. This is the "Big Five" program as described in the excellent book *[Body By Science](https://sym.re/PkzEAL5)* by Dr McGuff:  This book is a **MUST READ** for men **AND** women, if you are interested in getting into shape for many reasons. Don't worry women, you will not bulk up (it's all about the hormones). ## 💡 Major Discovery: It's all about hormones! This blew my mind and makes total sense. The body is governed, or run by, hormones. Here's just a few that have massive effects: * **Testosterone**: muscle and bone density growth, sex maturation in males. * **Oestrogen**: (estrogen in U.S.) sex maturation in females. Blood vessel maintenance, coagulation. Fluid balance. Gastrointestinal functions. * **Progesterone**: support pregnancy. Anti-inflammatory. Assist thyroid. Regulates collagen. Regulates nerve system. * **Human Growth Hormone (GH)**: Stimulates growth and cell reproduction. * **Insulin**: reduce blood sugar by storing glucose in cells. Synthesis of body fat. Prolonged, elevated levels cause obesity. * **Glucagon**: increase blood sugar level if too low. Key in production of glucose in liver (gluconeogenesis). Break down body fat. * **Myokines**: More research needed in this area. Synthesized and released by myocytes during muscular contractions. Implicated in autocrine regulation of metabolism in the muscle as well as in the paracrine/endocrine regulation of other tissues and organs including adipose tissue, the liver, and the brain through their receptors. * **Epinephrine**: blood pressure, glycogenolysis (breakdown of stored body glucose), lipolysis (body fat breakdown). * **Thyroxine**: increase metabolism. * **Ghrelin**: stimulates appetite. * **Leptin**: decrease appetite and increase metabolism. Produced in fat cells. * **Cortisol**: inhibit glucose uptake in muscle. Mobilize amino acids, stimulate fat breakdown, stimulate gluconeogenesis. * **Melatonin**: circadian rhythm, sleep. * **Dopamine**: a neurotransmitter * **Oxytocin**: Release breast milk, contraction of cervix, involved in orgasm, circadian homeostasis. * **Prolactin**: feeling of sexual gratification, milk production. This is just a small sample from a huge list. As we can see, most body functions are regulated by hormones. Some hormones target all cells, and some hormones target specific cells. In order to really understand health, nutrition and fitness, one needs to have a decent understanding of the functions of hormones, and the biochemistry of metabolism. Once understood, steps can be taken to "hack" your hormones to produce the result you want. One doesn't need to be a medical doctor to get the basic knowledge required to make informed decisions about diet and exercise with the desired outcome of tip-top health. However some reading and research is required because most of what we've been told about health and fitness is wrong. Books are listed below. > "The decision to eat or not, is principally hormonal." — Dr Jason Fung ## Hormone hacking We should be aiming to: * Reduce insulin, especially fasting insulin levels. Insulin is anabolic in that it reduces blood sugar levels by storing glucose in our cells and liver, but when they become full, synthesises body fat. OBESITY. The body cannot store more than a day or so of glucose in the form of glycogen. Insulin is a glucagon inhibitor. * Increase glucagon. Glucagon is catabolic because it breaks down body fat into fatty acids which can be converted into ketones by the liver in a process called ketogenesis. Insulin inhibits glucagon. * Regulate all other hormones, especially melatonin, cortisol, epinephrine, GH, ghrelin, leptin and myokines. * Reduce inflammation of the cells in our body, especially arterial walls and in organs. How to do this is discussed below. ## The caloric deficit myth A lot of people are fixated on reducing calories. Calorie restriction diets have been proven not to work. Whole industries have been built on the fact that they don't work. Look at Weight Watchers. They do not tackle the cause of excess body fat because they do not target hormones. *It's all about the hormones, remember!* Some studies have been done and have clearly shown that if you reduce calories in, the body compensates and reduces calories out. If the body increases calories in, the body will increase calories out up to a limit, provided they are not carbohydrates. Caloric restriction diets are a miserable experience. We feel hungry, cold, tired and depressed. These are real measurable effects of caloric restriction. Decreased caloric intake can decrease basal metabolic rate by up to 40 percent. Conversely, basal metabolic rate can be increased by up to 50 percent with proper caloric increase. ## Fasting One powerful tool to hack our hormones is to intermittently fast. There are numerous other benefits to fasting especially in older people. After around twelve hours since the last meal, insulin levels in the body return to a low level, and glucagon levels start to increase. This initiates lipolysis (the breakdown of fatty acids) to be converted to ketones for fuel in the liver. Longer fasting periods yield greater benefits, but anything over seven days should be done under the supervision of a medical doctor. Benefits * Accelerated fat loss when combined with a low/zero carb diet. * Increased energy levels through ketogenesis * The body will begin a process called autophagy which breaks down old, inefficient or ineffective mitochondria and cells. It is recycling and cleaning of the body's cells which have anti-aging properties. It is thought to have a role in reducing cancer risk, although scientific evidence to back this up is lacking at the moment. * Protection against and possible reversal of type 2 diabetes because of lowered insulin * Protection against other diseases like heart conditions and neurodegenerative diseases * Reduction in blood pressure in obese adults * Reduction in cell inflammation * Increased mental clarity # Summary and my Lifestyle now * 15 minute High Intensity Resistance Training workout once a week. * Intermittent fasting every day. Eating window is 13:00 - 18:00. I don't eat outside these times, usually. * Once a month: two or three day fast. This was a lot easier to do than I thought. * At least a one hour walk every day. * Some kind of regular sport or active hobby. e.g. skiing, paramotoring, gardening, walking. **Diet** I experimented with 1:1 fat:protein ratio (in grams), 2:1 ratio and 1:2 ratio. While I still have fat to lose I am going for the 1:2 ratio. It feels right to me. I have heard that I will have a larger appetite for fattier meats later when I have reached my target body composition. We'll see. * 90% carnivore. * Grass-fed beef steaks: British Sirloin, Ribeye, British Rump mostly with the occasional fillet tail and chateaubriand. * Beef mince (ground beef), roasted joints, beef shin, brisket. * 2-3 times a week I eat oily fish such as salmon, mackerel or sardines. Sometimes have king prawns. * 4 eggs most days * Occasional chicken wings or thighs * Occasional lamb * 3-4 times a week I will eat bacon * I love cheese and eat it 3-4 times a week mostly English, French and Italian. I like extra mature English cheddar, gruyere, cambozola, emmental, Roquefort, St. Agur, camembert, brie, Philadelphia cream cheese, parmigiano reggiano, halloumi, feta, mozzarella, smoked bavarian, Comté, raclette, stilton, taleggio! * Pâté: coarse Ardennes, Brussels two or three times a month * Greek yoghurt. Shock, horror I sometimes have berries and a teaspoon of honey as a treat. ## Typical meals * A beef steak with an oily fish. Grilled on the barbecue or pan fried in the cast iron pan. * Bacon, eggs and English pork sausages * Slow cooked beef brisket with bone broth and red wine and herbs * Home-made beef smash burgers with bacon and cheese * Barbecue grilled prawn kebabs with grilled ribeye steak * Slow cooked Hungarian beef ghoulash * Selection of cold meats like salami, gammon, chorizo with various cheeses and pâté * Duck breast with special Asian sauce with spring onions * Tandoori mixed grilled meats: lamb, chicken * Salmon fillets with King Prawns ## Dietry supplements I'm not a big fan of supplements, I think they are mostly a scam. Nevertheless, I do take some but I'm thinking of stopping. * In the first weeks of the diet I took electrolytes to remedy the change over symptoms from carb-adapted body to fat-adapted. No longer take these. * During the dark UK Winter months I am taking Vitamin D3 with K2. I will stop this between April and October. * Desiccated grass-fed beef liver capsules. I'm going to try and eat more liver naturally. This is like a multivitamin. * Creatine monohydrate for increased performance in the gym. Considering giving this up as well. ## Book recommendations and references In order of importance * **Body by Science** by Dr Doug McGuff * **The Obesity Code** by Dr Jason Fung * **The PE Diet** by Dr Ted Naimann - PDF download from http://www.thepediet.com/ * **The Carnivore Diet** by Dr Shawn Baker. ## Final words for this month I am not recommending that you do this diet, it's not for everyone. I will say though that it is working very well for me, and I feel 20 years younger. If you have any auto-immune issues such as asthma, eczema, hashimoto's, thyroid, arthritis, etc, then trying a restrictive carnivore diet without dairy for 30 days will surprise you with the results. Why not try it? If you are a vegan, you will experience **severe** health issues at some point, it could be months or years, but it will happen. Plants have natural pesticides in them that cause inflammation in the body. Removal of plant-based food has solved my minor asthma issue. A persistent two-year cough has vanished. --- ## Next Update: 31st January 2020 Contact me on [Baemail](https://baemail.me) [email protected] # Previous Latest links will be here if you want to keep track: [markcarni.life/blogchain/](http://markcarni.life/blogchain/) * [2 month summary - 19/Nov/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/a2954a2b440183c7197528e18c3b4c5735e7cb0e2f7b8c929ea702a2f627af) * [Week 8 review - 13/Nov/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/8cb3a40bbec37cef70ba075b9ac9143111ffa7a5dfa265dd281d7b8a0b9bd75e) * [Week 7 review - 06/Nov/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/ae0acad3e06d20f4ba3718fab22193fbcbf35e733706001cc5abd345bc374839) * [Week 6 review - 30/Oct/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/0fcc98e9790557250a4454b8d288d4fa6ef26c2af3f24060647517c280bd07) * [Week 5 review - 23/Oct/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/e4d5206cb98f868a1ee8b7e47a834dd3899ec54cb0525c2a15f7def99df6d0e4) * [Week 4 Review - 16/Oct/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/1587b41d1c8e2e10eec09cb17745c8d1cd9fd20844548bb175726f070d18eaad) * [Week 3 Review - 09/Oct/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/3a7891e5f8506e1dc7a580c757eaba86737ed5fb773807f28dc54ca0e8278011) * [Week 2 Review - 02/Oct/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/6d84572b1d8b1cdda1bd0b4289ec67f0af7df6f6e777fd99d08c2c26bdc5311f) * [Day 7 Week 1 Review - 25/Sep/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/9cdca42a417f14002a9a2ef4123d6b59b8370de84b5b69d10f2ed95553c0e5b6) * [Day 6 - 24/Sep/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/4034156327d6f20ac06ae3d4c0b3a3df5230917bda4bf8eb0e0a75922a4e1acf) * [Day 5 - 23/Sep/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/1205b9b5093ca916ee35f0dd0f09e56d07a9f320e0613f8d7a66a151f9013d99) * [Day 4 - 22/Sep/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/e1af1be79ffbc7051f84823e737e98a52fb73fe1e4ee4e05966bfdd13c3800c6) * [Day 3 - 21/Sep/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/b2a274dd00157cb2df61ccc606a06a09529fed08a25fd847c027283a788d32d7) * [Day 2 - 20/Sep/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/108fac44a02155981842e01e15dbda47c25c044f88aba44797491e5cb7b09ab4) * [Day 1 - 19/Sep/2019](https://www.bitpaste.app/tx/a1c77a4c5669713160c5aa1448851182902753981a3671fdd75c843b44b32ea9) and explanation of why text/markdownUTF-8
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