This May Be Why You Are Not Hungry on a Carnivore Diet
As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases made on our website. If you make a purchase through links from this website, we may get a small share of the sale from Amazon and other similar affiliate programs. You can read our complete legal information for more details. By using this site, you agree the information contained here is for informational purposes only. For specific medical questions, consult your doctor. NO information on this site should be used to diagnose, treat, prevent or cure any disease or condition.
Are you concerned you’re not eating enough on the now popular all meat diet? Wondering why you seem to be eating less food than when you were on a high carb diet filled with sugars and processed foods?
In this article, we drop serious knowledge on satiety, low palatable food, protein, and how the most ultra bioavailable food known as meat may play a roll on why you may not be as hungry when compared to the donut eating, fried chicken munching, and ice cream devouring days!
Diet Struggles Are Real
Are you sick of constantly yo-yo dieting? Being so happy when you lose a chunk of weight, then soooo disappointed with yourself when you put it all back on…. with a little extra to boot no doubt.
You are not alone; millions of people are in the exact same boat.
And you know what? It’s not your fault. For decades we have been led a merry (actually miserable) dance down the High Carb Low Fat yellow brick road.
This leads to huge profits for the processed food, and pharmaceutical industries but very little proven benefit for us mere humans eating that crap.
If high carb low fat is wrong, what is right?
So if you believe like me, that we have nutritional guidelines completely wrong. What is the alternative?
Well basically, the opposite seems the way to go. Low Carb High Fat! If you haven’t tried it, maybe give it a go. (Obviously, talk with your doctor before you try any diet.)
So what’s this Carnivore Diet all about then?
The Carnivore Diet is one of the diets classed as Low Carb High Fat or LCHF for short.
The Carnivore Diet is very simple. You eat animal products, and you eat them when you are hungry, then you stop when you are full, then you do not eat again until you are hungry. Simple right?
Mainly eat the meat and fish you like, and eat the cuts you can afford. There are no hard and fast rules, but the general consensus is that the best meats are ruminant meats like Beef and Lamb.
If you are totally new to the carnivore diet and like reading books then I highly recommend this book by Dr. Shawn Baker called, “The Carnivore Diet.”
Ketosis
The Carnivore Diet is a carb restriction diet. When you do this your body will switch over from burning sugar for energy, to burning fat for energy. It will do this from the fat you consume, and then it makes your body fat available to use for energy.
The body does this by turning fatty acids into Ketones. These ketones are the actual energy source your body uses. It is a really efficient form of clean-burning energy. (1)
Think of fat as clean-burning like solar power, and sugar burning as dirty burning diesel power.
We dive even deeper on ketones and protein in this article (come back and read it):
Don’t you need carbs?
There are three Macronutrients. Which your average know-it-all consider essential.
Most people will say something like –
- Carbs – you have to have carbs for energy, your brain needs them, you need them for exercise.
- Protein – you need it to build muscle.
- Fat – oh that’s bad for you
More accurately Carbs and Fat are actually sources of energy, to fuel movement. The funny thing is Carbs provide nothing else, as your body just breaks them down into sugar as a pure energy source.
However, your body can also use fat as fuel. The added bonus with fat energy is that your body also has essential fats it needs, and a lot of vitamins and minerals are fat-soluble. So fat is more than just a fuel source.
Protein Leverage Theory
We have just shown that Carbs are a choice, whereas animal fat is essential but what about Protein?
The Protein Leverage Theory suggests the human body has a base level of protein it demands. It will demand more and more food until it hits the threshold it demands. If you believe in this then you can start to see how you can manipulate this for your needs. (2)
As once you hit your protein needs, then it is just a matter of making sure you have enough energy to meet your daily needs. The Carnivore Diet fits perfectly into the theory because it seems to be the most efficient way to hit all the amino acids needs you need, then all you need to do is adjust how lean the meat is you eat.
Most carnivore diet advocates say, “to lose more body fat eat leaner, if you need a bit more energy, then eat fattier cuts of meat.”
Side note: weight is such a major issue with people that we had to write this article to help with the misconceptions and challenges:
So you must eat essential amino acids (protein), you must eat essential fats, and there are no essential carbohydrates.
The great thing about meat and fish is that they contain the right essential amino acids in the right ratios. Plus, they naturally come with animal fat which is packed full of essential fats, vitamins, and minerals.
The carnivore diet advocates even say you can happily eat just beef and never suffer any deficiencies…. EVER.
Crazy I know.
Bioavailability
So we now know protein is effectively a hunger trigger. So this shows that any diet that fails to give you the required protein you need, then it will fail you at some point.
So could you hit your protein leverage on a plant-based diet?
In theory, yes.
In practice, not really.
Why? Bioavailability.
A cut of beef has 98% digestible bioavailability. Meaning what you think you are getting, you are pretty much getting. There is very little waste. (3)
People say the bioavailable plant-based foods are the Kidney and Soya bean at around 67%. So straight away, in theory, you will have to eat a third more of them to what you originally thought you would need.
Then you have to factor in that we only need 9 essential amino acids, and we need them in the right ratios/quantities.
There are 22 amino acids found in plants, meaning the majority are not needed by humans.
So you need to find plant food with the complete 9 amino acids, there are some foods like Chia seeds that are classed as complete. But guess what they are in the completely wrong ratios, which is important.
So it is simply not efficient to get your protein from plant-based food, and even if was you would have to be a math genius to work it out correctly.
Plus, plant foods have major toxicity issues and may not be what they are cracked up to be. Here’s why, according to Dr. Shawn Baker.
Isn’t it much better to just eat a steak? Yes, it is.
How does this help you?
At the beginning of the article, I asked you if you were sick of yo-yo dieting. If you have read this far, then I am guessing the answer was yes. Most standard diets are all about the calories-in and calories-out BS.
These all presume your body is a simple machine and pays no attention to hormones and the requirements of the body.
When you boil these diets down, they are all just restricting calories by either controlling the food you eat or the amount you eat. Pretty simple, but it is a billion-dollar industry.
As I have previously stated, you DO NOT COUNT CALORIES OR PORTION SIZE on the Carnivore Diet.
Why?
Well, a Carnivore Diet provides you with all the essential amino acids, fats, vitamins, and minerals you need. It also doesn’t pollute your body with excess sugar; antioxidants and quite frankly processed rubbish.
So why would it punish you for trying to eat too much of a good thing and not giving your body anything bad? It won’t. It will simply tell you it has had enough food, and you don’t need to eat anything else for a while.
By naturally controlling your hunger, you have a much better chance of success.
Is this why I’m not as hungry?
Bingo, this is usually what happens. You’ve become adapted to the carnivore diet and your body is running on all cylinders.
Efficiency has turned into a reality, and your body is most likely telling you the truth about how much to eat, and the ultra-palatable, overly processed, and super-toxic foods are not tricking your brain into thinking you need to consume more BS.
While I’m mentioning toxicity, you may want to update your cooking arsenal with less toxic pans and skillets. Here are my top 4 suggestions.
How often do you eat on a carnivore diet?
As often as you want!
That’s a bit flippant, but it is true. However, if you eat a truly carnivorous diet, you can finally trust your hunger signals.
I bet you have done this; I bet we all have: you have just had your evening meal, and you are stuffed, but there is room for a bit of ice cream, isn’t there?
Then it’s Netflix time. Might as well have some Pringles, just a few; oh no, I’ve popped, and I didn’t stop; the whole tube is now gone. What’s that? There is a bar of chocolate in the fridge?
Damn it, I’ll start my diet again next Monday.
How much to eat, weight-wise?
While reading Dr. Shawn Baker’s book, “The Carnivore Diet,” he gives a very basic approximation of what to shoot for. He mentions this isn’t exact, but men should try to hit 2 pounds of meat per day and women 1.5 pounds of meat per day. He mentions this is a very loose estimate, and it all depends on body size.
So take it with a grain of salt. And speaking of salt, it plays a major role in health, and this article should get you up to speed:
And then we need to discuss electrolytes which goes really deep in this one:
NOW TRY THIS
Eat a big damn ribeye steak; eat that slab of meat fried in some Kerry Gold salted butter for some further indulgence.
Now try frying up some bacon or pork belly after. Then have some chicken wings, and pork scratching’s for Netflix time. Don’t worry. You won’t get that far.
Why?
Because your body and mind will cut you off, it will say… I am done, I am full, and I don’t want more food.
So you can finally trust your hunger signals, which might actually be the first time in your life.
What to do when you are not home or near a restaurant? Try keeping meaty snacks nearby. We have a list of 16 carnivore style snacks that have come in handy.
When Should You Eat on a Carnivore Diet?
Whenever you want!
A bit flippant again, but true. Once you are off the carb rollercoaster, you can now trust your hunger signals.
So when you are actually hungry, you should eat, in my opinion, as your body is giving you a true hunger signal, rather than your brain saying it fancies a donut.
So eat.
What you will likely find is you will naturally eat less often than before, and you will be able to go much longer without food. This is very liberating because you can start controlling your day rather than constantly thinking about what you are going to eat next.
You will naturally fall into eating once or twice a day generally. People call this intermittent fasting, but really it is just natural eating.
Probably the two most common forms of intermittent fasting are:
- OMAD – One Meal A Day. Exactly what it says on the tin. You eat one large meal every day or 24 hours. You can do this anytime you want really, but most people choose it as their evening meal. Going so long without food may seem crazy but that’s how humans evolved. We have a great capacity to go long periods without food, and then consume large quantities of food when it is plentiful. It really is a safe and effective way to blast through body fat.
- 16/8 – This is where you confine all your eating to an 8-hour block. So you could start eating at 12 pm and stop at 8 pm. You can eat as often as you want, but most people will eat twice in this period.
The Carb Roller-coaster
Most people are on this ride and don’t even know it.
- Carb-heavy foods are great for short bursts of energy, but with every high. There will be a low. So your body will demand more sugar.
- This is the roller-coaster. The rollercoaster is powered by coal, you get a lot of energy, but you have to keep adding fuel.
- This sugar is a dirty fuel, meaning it will eventually burn too bright and break down. In the human body, this means metabolic disease.
- The fat cruise ride at the same theme park, looks pretty boring. The track seemingly goes on forever and it’s straight and flat.
- However it is a very consistent ride that travels at the same speed, and doesn’t break down.
- Therefore you will be far less likely to suffer from metabolic diseases such as obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, cancer and heart disease.
Conclusion
Get yourself off the carb-roller-coaster, and get yourself on the fat cruise haha.
The crazy thing is that you will be more successful if you have a diet coach, which brings me to the MeatRX diet coaching platform. Go check out their coaches and see if you can find a fit or check me out as I am a coach for them as well. You can book me here. (It’s super affordable too!!)
More motivation and carnivorous entertainment on our YouTube Channel!! Check out the Wild Lumens channel!
I have seen sooooooo many success stories on this diet…don’t believe me, then check out the testimonials at MeatRX.
I want to see one more … YOU.
References
1. Perfect Keto: What are Ketones?
2. Protein Leverage: Theoretical Foundations and Ten Points of Clarification
3. Protein Bioavailability and Digestibility: What You Should Know