Successful Vegans and Carnivores, What is Their Secret?
The observations of a layman with friends on both sides of the diet brawl.
The observations of a layman with friends on both sides of the diet brawl.
I have a theory about what makes or breaks success / failure with Vegan or Carnivore diet.
I am NOT an expert, nor do I claim that my thoughts are truth. I am not trying to spread misinformation.
However, as someone who last lost weight and become healthier and then ballooned back up, and went back down again, I want to share my observations of both my own experience, and what I see around me.
As someone who struggles with weight, it is the most frustrating thing in the world to have two DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSED idea camps promoting totally different versions of a healthy diet. Adding to that frustration — I see examples on BOTH sides that seem to be working incredibly well, while there are also many failing.
Why is this happening?
How can both sides be apparently right, and wrong, at the same time?
Bear with me here while I attempt to explain what I see….
The Food Pyramid is Dead
Hopefully by now, a majority on both sides of the diet dichotomy have established that the Food Pyramid was a government/industry thing that was well-intentioned, but is now completely outdated and totally upside down.
We simply had access to industrial quantities of grains, less aggregate health data, and so manufacturing foods from those grains became the biggest commercial agricultural focus, and it seemed like the best thing in the world.
The best thing since…. sliced bread you might say.
Cheap easy food, and access to so much of it we became….. the fattest people on the planet!
We know that the ratio of carbs to proteins and fats were basically backwards.
But what does that mean?
Well, for some people it means that MEAT is more important than plants.
I disagree.
Veggies definitely have their place in a properly balanced diet.
So do herbs and mushrooms that have measurable effect on illness, cellular metabolism, and inflammation.
We also know that not all fat is healthy fat.
For optimum health, it’s looking like we need more (good) fats and proteins than carbs, and grains should be what is eaten in moderation.
And that doesn’t even begin to address the way we add cane sugar and corn syrup to basically everything, and before 60 years ago, we simply weren’t eating a diet that was anything remotely like that.
A Tale of Mortal Enemies
Well, not really. These people don’t even know each other. But their personal truths….. if those truths ever showed up in a bar together, they would be fist fighting in minutes. Police would be called.
And no, I am not talking about a Vegan compared to a Carnivore…. yet.
I am talking about two different vegans!
These are my layman observations of two friends of mine on total opposite sides of the spectrum. One who is THRIVING, and the other who is…. still fat, mostly unhealthy, and still has developing heart disease.
Reggie
One friend, let’s call him Reggie, which rhymes with Veggie. Reggie is a die hard vegan who often calls Carnivores “silly clowns”. He is the ultimate Vegan troll online.
He’s super healthy, has the numbers from his doctor to back it up, and he is serious when it comes to his world view.
Why wouldn’t he be? He can back it up.
So let’s examine his lifestyle and choices, shall we?
He is very active, runs and bikes, plays basketball frequently.
Even though he laothes the idea of eating animals, he is also very HEALTH conscious.
He won’t eat anything prepackaged or overly processed.
He doesn’t eat fried foods, at all. Anything with cooking oils.
He only enjoys pressed greenish olive oil with things like Caprese. In other words, unheated, raw. (important when considering your SOURCES of fats)
Peta
Then I have another vegan friend. Let’s call her Peta, because she eats ANYTHING as long as it doesn’t come from an animal.
She is also kind of a vegan troll online, but it’s harder for her. No one takes her seriously.
She is obviously not very healthy, has skin issues, autoimmune issues, and her reasons for being a vegan seem to be more ideologically driven than being about her own health.
Let’s examine her life, shall we?
She is not very active, watches TV a lot, can always quote the latest shows, but not particularly an avid outdoor person.
She will eat prepackaged anything, as long as it doesn’t include animal products. She sometimes selects the “vegan” labeled foods, but she also eats potato chips, crackers, lots of bread, corn, and sugary drinks. All of these, technically animal-free.
She loves fried foods, zucchini, okra, pickles, fries. All plant based, so it’s all good! Right?
From where I sit, it’s not hard to tell where things are going wrong for her.
I’ve been there.
When I eat all that prepackaged and processed stuff, I balloon up too.
Hell, I can just cut sugary drinks and drop 20 pounds without much exercise.
In my own experience, all of these things are still contributing to my un-healthy states, even if they are not animal based.
A Tale of Two Carnivores
Well……one strict carnivore, and one Keto dieter. (Me)
Sorry for the variable, “it’s all I got” for now!
Again, one is successful — meaning very healthy, and the other was struggling (me)….
Arby
The strict carnivore, let’s call him Arby, because he’s definitely got the meats.
Arby is healthy and has many of the lifestyle traits of the accomplished vegan, Reggie. They share quite a bit in common, the exception being…. meat.
He is very active, and stays active, lifts weights, jogs, etc.
He is mindful of the sources of his meat. He avoids Walmart, tries to stick to local, and never buys cheap butter, etc.
He avoids anything fried, doesn’t eat breaded meats.
He is a model of health. And his doctor agrees. Reluctantly.
His doctor commented to him “you are defying the prevailing wisdom, know you?”.
Why could that be?
When I think about it, the one variable that might be huge — and keep in mind this is my own speculation …..
He is VERY active.
Why might that matter? (other than the obvious reason that being active is almost always healthier)
Carnivores in history never had it so good.
Historically — carnivores had to CHASE their food up until the age of agriculture.
Most of their life was spent following, keeping up with, and then chasing and killing their food.
They basically never stopped working out.
I have a theory, but keep that in mind, this only a THEORY.
My Keto Adventure
I decided to go Keto in 2020, and I lost over 40 pounds.
From 230 down to 190.
I was avoiding processed foods (I thought), I ate mostly local meat, no pre-packaged anything, avoided fried foods, and I rarely eat much butter or eggs, but don’t avoid them.
However, my numbers were not so good, and I wasn’t feeling the best.
My cholesterol was worse than it had ever been.
I had a noticeable lack of energy, which wasn’t supposed to happen according to my carnivore friends.
My doctors weren’t surprised.
I had tingling in my fingers sometimes at night, which is a first sign of poor circulation beginning.
What the hell?
I just lost a bunch of weight, and things seem to be going badly…. what am I doing wrong????
Well, I was pretty sedentary. There is that.
My exercise consisted of walking at work from office to office, the occasional hike when on vacation, but I didn’t have enough time to really hike the way I wanted. And I am not a big fan of gyms.
I also wasn’t avoiding overly processed meats, and eating lots of jerky as snacks (which can be high in both sugar, and sodium).
In hindsight, those were errors, but….. I wasn’t yet fully aware or paying attention.
Then I set a lifestyle goal for myself : to automate my income so I could hike and explore more.
Once I accomplished that to the degree where I could spend more time hiking and camping, I did.
Serious time hiking too.
I would hike for weeks at a time, preferring extended long hikes.
My numbers changed within a few months.
I was now much healthier, feeling great, had an abundance of energy, but I didn’t change a thing about my Keto diet.
So what happened?
The carnivores I know who are successful, are very active.
The carnivores (or Keto heads) who are not, are usually pretty sedentary.
I think about this simple observation a lot.
The people I see failing, are like I was….. inactive.
And… eating probably more than we should.
I finally got around to measuring my resting metabolism — and was shocked.
To loose weight while also being sedentary would mean I would have to eat less than 1000 calories per day.
I had to be active if I wanted to be thin, or I would have to eat MUCH less than I was accustomed to.
As oversimplified as this may sound, I think that saturated fats can pile up faster if we are sedentary.
Simple as that.
Saturated fats (the bad kind) exist in ground beef, red meats, etc — too.
However, I suspect that MOVEMENT and fast blood flow do a lot to prevent the build up that occurs when you sit around and do not exert yourself much.
Especially if we also expose ourselves to things that contribute to inflammation.
So even while I was technically eating mostly meat, I truly think that the primary thing that made all the difference was my activity.
No More Keto, and I’m Still Doing Great!
I have since stopped the restrictive dieting, and have resumed a totally different diet. So far it’s working pretty well.
My weight fluctuates, but not NEARLY as much as it used to.
And I feel good, and the doc says all looks good.
My diet is basically meat, steamed veggies, occasional rice, occasional pasta, fruits, herbs, and a handful of favorite sauces that are not packed with sugar.
I DO NOT avoid carbs (intentionally, anyway)
I DO eat breads…. but in MODERATION. I keep bread consumption to only a couple meals per week, IF that.
I DO avoid processed foods, and no longer eat junk food.
I DO avoid fried foods
I DO eat meat. Local preferred, and never fried.
Ok, Ok…. I eat fried chicken SOMETIMES.
I’M ONLY HUMAN DAMMIT
Thank you for reading!
Until next time….
Onward and Upward Everybody!
-Chris
Automated Income Lifesyle w/ Chris Morton YouTube
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