As January heralds World Carnivore Month, a global health initiative, there’s a growing buzz around the all-meat carnivore diet meal plan. This month marks an exciting time for those embarking on a journey towards a more focused and primal approach to eating. The all-meat carnivore diet, rooted in simplicity and purity, is gaining momentum among health enthusiasts seeking to reboot their systems after the indulgences of the holiday season. Our comprehensive guide is tailored to both newcomers and veterans of the carnivore lifestyle, offering in-depth insights, practical meal planning tips, and expert advice to ensure your transition to this meat-centric diet is seamless, satisfying, and nutritionally balanced.
We’ll delve into the core principles of the carnivore diet, highlighting its potential health benefits, including improved digestion, increased energy levels, and possible weight loss. Moreover, we’ll provide you with a meticulously crafted meal plan that not only satisfies your nutritional needs but also caters to your taste buds. From selecting the right cuts of meat to incorporating variety and balance, our guide will cover every aspect of the all-meat diet, ensuring you have a fulfilling and enjoyable dietary experience.
What Is the Carnivore Diet?
The carnivore diet is a unique dietary approach that primarily focuses on consuming animal-based foods. It’s a regimen that emphasizes the consumption of meat, fish, and other animal products while excluding plant-based foods. This diet has gained popularity for its potential health benefits, including weight loss, improved energy levels, and better digestion. There are several variations of the carnivore diet, each tailored to specific health goals and preferences:
- Beef-Only Carnivore Diet:This diet variation focuses solely on consuming beef. Selected for its straightforwardness and as a method for elimination diets, it is typically not advised for extended periods due to the risk of nutritional imbalances. Ideally, it serves as a short-term strategy for addressing specific health concerns, aiding in gut repair, and functioning as a comprehensive elimination diet.
- Lion Diet: This less restrictive diet limits consumption to ruminant meats (including varieties like lamb, goat, bison, and elk), alongside salt and water. It targets individuals grappling with intense autoimmune conditions, food sensitivities, and complex health issues.
- Nose-to-Tail Carnivore Diet: This method encompasses consuming every part of the animal, from muscle to organs, to fully utilize the animal. It underscores the nutritional importance of organ meats. However, it’s crucial to consult with a knowledgeable carnivore diet specialist to ensure the safe inclusion of organ meats in your diet.
- All-Meat Carnivore Diet:With the expansion to all muscle meats found within the animal kingdom, the all-meat carnivore diet excludes organ meats, dairy products, and eggs. This option offers better variety and is ideal for those who don’t tolerate eggs and dairy but don’t need to support deeper health issues such as autoimmunity.
- Zero-Carb Carnivore Diet: This version incorporates muscle and organ meats from various animals, along with dairy products and eggs. Despite dairy and eggs containing minimal carbs, this diet is essentially zero-carb. It is an excellent option for those who are able to digest dairy and eggs well.
- Carnivore Keto Diet: Merging the ketogenic diet’s principles with the carnivore diet, this variation focuses on high-fat, moderate-protein animal foods while keeping carbs to a minimum. It introduces low-toxicity plant foods like avocados and pickles, making it suitable for those who have achieved metabolic flexibility and are past the healing phase.
- Carnivore-ish Keto Diet: Offering a less stringent option, this diet includes select plant foods, resembling a ketogenic diet that heavily favors animal products. It integrates more ketogenic staples and is ideal for metabolically healthy individuals without food addiction issues.
- Animal-Based Diet: This diet variant incorporates raw dairy, eggs, honey, and some fruits. While we don’t widely endorse this diet, it appears to be generally tolerated by highly active, metabolically robust individuals who do not struggle with sugar addiction.
Each variation of the carnivore diet serves different health objectives and caters to various dietary needs and preferences. It’s important to choose a version that aligns with your health goals and is sustainable for your lifestyle.
What Are the Benefits of the Carnivore Diet?
The carnivore diet, often hailed as a powerful elimination diet, has garnered attention for its multitude of benefits. This diet, focusing exclusively on animal-based foods, stands out for its ability to potentially alleviate various health issues. Some key benefits include:
- Mental Health Improvement: Individuals have reported significant improvements in mental health conditions, such as depression, after adopting the carnivore diet. This diet may offer a new avenue for those seeking alternatives to traditional treatments.
- Metabolic Disease Management: For people struggling with metabolic diseases, the carnivore diet can be a game-changer. By eliminating most carbohydrate sources, it helps in regulating blood sugar levels and improving overall metabolic function.
- Autoimmune and Hormonal Balance: The diet has shown promise in helping individuals with autoimmune disorders and hormonal imbalances. The elimination of potential dietary triggers found in plant foods can lead to a reduction in inflammation and symptomatic relief.
- Simplified Nutrition: As an elimination diet, it simplifies food choices, making it easier for individuals to manage their nutrition without the complexity of multiple food groups.
- Potential Weight Loss: Many people find that the high protein and fat content of the diet can lead to natural appetite suppression and, consequently, weight loss.
- Digestive Health: By removing common irritants found in plant-based foods, the carnivore diet can lead to improved digestive health and offer support for various gastrointestinal (GI) conditions.
It’s important to note that while the Carnivore Diet may offer these benefits, it’s crucial to approach it with caution and ideally under the guidance of a healthcare professional, especially for those with pre-existing health conditions.
How Much Should I Eat On the Carnivore Diet?
In this video, we delve into the nuances of the carnivore diet, offering practical advice and deep insights into its benefits and implementation. We emphasize the importance of understanding food as nutrients, which becomes pivotal in the context of an all-meat diet. We highlight the crucial role of balancing macronutrients – fats, proteins, and, in its absence, carbohydrates – and the impact this balance has on overall health and wellness. For a more in-depth read on carnivore diet macros, learn more here.
We discuss the significance of proper caloric intake, debunking the one-size-fits-all approach. We also stress that individual needs vary, and so should the diet, especially in terms of protein and fat ratios. This personalization is key in ensuring the diet meets the body’s requirements for energy, hormone health, and overall functioning. Our approach is rooted in the principle that food is more than just sustenance; it’s a source of essential nutrients that fuel and nourish the body. We argue for a diet that’s rich in nutrient-dense foods, such as meats and eggs, over processed and nutrient-poor options such as cereals and Pop-Tarts.
One of the highlights of our discussion is the critical role of fats in the diet, especially for those on a low-carb, meat-based plan. We explain that while the body needs essential fatty acids and proteins, it doesn’t require carbohydrates to thrive. This insight forms the basis of the carnivore diet’s philosophy. We also touch on the importance of hormone balance, supported by adequate nutrition, and how this balance is affected by stress and diet.
Our comprehensive guide that underscores the importance of understanding the body’s nutritional needs, the significance of a balanced diet rich in proteins and fats, and the need for a personalized approach to the carnivore diet. Our emphasis on nutrient density and hormonal balance provides a solid foundation for anyone considering this dietary approach.
Starting With the All-Meat Carnivore Diet
For individuals who know they tolerate all muscle meat from both ruminant and non-ruminant animals, the all-meat carnivore diet is a great place to start. If you have autoimmune issues, gut healing needs, or deeper health issues that require support, we usually recommend starting with a beef-only carnivore diet or lion diet. As you heal, you can start to reintroduce other foods.
For those who don’t need this deeper support and aren’t utilizing the diet to identify food sensitivities from other animal muscle meats, then the all-meat carnivore diet should be sufficient for targeting most other goals. For those starting with an all-meat carnivore diet, it’s best to omit processed meats for now and try to stick ideally with all muscle meats, high-quality salt, and water if you can. We recommend Redmond’s Real Salt as a high-quality salt source (use code NWJ for 15% off).
All-Meat Carnivore Diet Meal Plan Week 1
Embarking on an all-meat carnivore diet journey can be transformative for your health and wellness. This sample week meal plan, crafted for a balanced fat-to-protein ratio of approximately 70:30, will provide you with nutrient-rich, satisfying meals. Each day includes two meal recommendations, focusing exclusively on animal meats while excluding dairy, eggs, and organ meats. Individual portions will need to be adjusted based on your specific intake requirements.
Day 1
Meal 1: Ribeye steak cooked in beef tallow.
Meal 2: Slow-cooked pork shoulder with a side of homemade bone broth.
Day 2
Meal 1: Ground beef patties (30% lean, 70% fat)
Meal 2: Lamb chops with a side of beef marrow.
Day 3
Meal 1: Chuck roast cooked in beef tallow.
Meal 2: Grilled salmon fillet with a side of pork belly slices.
Day 4
Meal 1: Ground bison (30% lean, 70% fat) cooked with tallow.
Meal 2: Duck breast with a side of beef suet.
Day 5
Meal 1: T-bone steak cooked in beef tallow.
Meal 2: Braised beef short ribs.
Day 6
Meal 1: Ground lamb (30% lean, 70% fat) cooked in lamb fat.
Meal 2: Pan-seared trout with a side of fresh, crispy pork rinds.
Day 7
Meal 1: New York strip steak cooked in beef tallow.
Meal 2: Roasted chicken thighs (skin-on) with a side of beef tallow fried pork belly.
This meal plan ensures a robust intake of animal-based proteins and fats, aligning with the 70:30 fat-to-protein ratio. It’s designed to be filling, nutritious, and aligned with the principles of the carnivore diet, offering a variety of meats to maintain interest and enjoyment throughout the week.
All-Meat Carnivore Diet Meal Plan Week 2
Here’s another sample week to showcase some of the different varieties you can include on an all-meat carnivore diet. With a 70:30 fat-to-protein ratio, make sure you’re adjusting portion amounts and macros based on your individual needs.
Day 1
Meal 1: Grilled ribeye steak cooked in duck fat for added flavor and fat content.
Meal 2: Slow-cooked beef brisket with a side of pork cracklings for crunch.
Day 2
Meal 1: Bison burgers (30% lean, 70% fat) – 10 oz, grilled to perfection.
Meal 2: Roasted leg of lamb with a side of bone marrow.
Day 3
Meal 1: Beef sirloin cooked in beef tallow, seasoned with salt.
Meal 2: Sashimi plate featuring fatty fish varieties and salmon roe.
Day 4
Meal 1: Ground venison (30% lean, 70% fat) cooked with pork belly and lard.
Meal 2: Roast duck with a drizzle of rendered duck fat.
Day 5
Meal 1: Porterhouse steak seared in beef tallow.
Meal 2: Braised pork belly slow-cooked to perfection.
Day 6
Meal 1: Air-fried chicken wings in beef tallow.
Meal 2: Grilled goat chops with bone marrow.
Day 7
Meal 1: New York strip steak cooked in beef tallow.
Meal 2: Roasted goose with a side of goose fat drippings.
This meal plan emphasizes the importance of variety in the carnivore diet, providing a range of different meats each day. The focus on the 70:30 fat-to-protein ratio ensures that your dietary needs are met, keeping you satiated and energized throughout the week.
What to Avoid On the All-Meat Carnivore Diet
On an all-meat carnivore diet, the primary focus is on consuming exclusively animal-based foods, specifically meats. This means that several common food groups and items must be avoided to adhere strictly to the diet’s guidelines.
Firstly, all plant-based foods are excluded. This encompasses vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds, grains, legumes, and any products derived from these sources. Additionally, the diet typically omits dairy products, including milk, cheese, yogurt, and butter, due to their lactose content and potential allergenic properties. Eggs and organ meats, though animal-based, are also avoided in some stricter versions of the diet.
Processed foods, sugars, and artificial sweeteners are a no-go as they are not in line with the diet’s emphasis on natural, unprocessed animal foods. This also extends to condiments and sauces that contain sugars, artificial flavors, or plant-based ingredients.
While some people on the carnivore diet may choose to include certain beverages such as coffee, tea, or diet sodas, we recommend starting with a more restrictive approach. This means consuming only salt (for electrolyte balance) and filtered water. The rationale behind this is to eliminate all potential dietary irritants and allergens at the beginning, allowing the body to adjust and potentially rectify any underlying issues related to food sensitivities or gut health. After a period of adaptation, individuals may reintroduce other beverages cautiously to observe how their body responds.
An all-meat carnivore diet focuses on animal meats while avoiding plant-based foods, dairy, processed items, and artificial additives. Beginning with a strict protocol of only meat, salt, and water can help identify sensitivities and optimize the diet’s benefits.
Closing Thoughts On All-Meat Carnivore Diet Meal Plans
Our exploration of the all-meat carnivore diet has covered various facets, from detailed meal plans to dietary guidelines. The diet strictly emphasizes animal-based foods, primarily meats, while excluding plant-based items, dairy, processed foods, and artificial additives. We’ve created sample week-long meal plans, each offering two daily meals with a balanced 70:30 fat-to-protein ratio. These plans included a variety of meats such as beef, lamb, pork, bison, poultry, and fish, cooked in animal fats such as beef tallow and duck fat for added flavor and nutritional value.
An important aspect of successfully adhering to the all-meat carnivore diet is planning. Having a well-thought-out meal plan and corresponding grocery list is crucial. This preparation ensures you have the necessary ingredients for each meal, reducing the likelihood of straying from the diet due to the unavailability of appropriate foods. Planning also helps in maintaining the correct macronutrient balance, which is essential for the diet’s effectiveness.
By organizing meals in advance, you can avoid the common pitfalls of impulsive eating or resorting to non-compliant foods. Additionally, it aids in managing portions and ensuring a diverse intake of different meats, preventing monotony and nutritional deficiencies. Overall, thoughtful planning is key to staying on track with the all-meat carnivore diet, ensuring consistency and success in your dietary journey.
Work With Our Trusted Carnivore Diet Functional Nutritional Therapy Practitioners
The Nutrition with Judy practice is honored to be a trusted carnivore diet practitioner support serving clients from around the globe. We’re passionate about helping our clients achieve root-cause healing in order to lead the best quality of life possible that’s nearly symptom-free. Our team is dedicated to educating our community about the incredible benefits of the carnivore diet. We welcome you to explore our free resources and are always available to support you through personalized protocols. Our Symptom Burden Assessment (SBA) is the perfect starting point for discovering your root cause and is required to work with our team— you can learn more in-depth about this powerful tool here.
