
I Ate Nothing but Meat for 2 Weeks - exolymph
https://www.inc.com/sonya-mann/carnivory-zero-carb-experiment.html
======
carlosthedwarf
> The zero-carb community believes that we evolved to mainly eat meat, and
> that ancient humans turned to plants only in times of near-starvation.

Correct me if I'm wrong but haven't most scientific studies of our
evolutionary process revealed the opposite of this? For example, actual
carnivores that have evolved over time don't require dietary supplements of
vitamin c. Or if you look at the structure and prominence of our teeth they
are clearly not designed to be solely for eating meat...

~~~
blacksmith_tb
Chimps and Bonobos are our nearest relatives, so presumably we might look at
their diets for pointers[1] - 50% figs, 3% meat, the remainder from other
plants. I do like figs, but I don't think I can quite manage that... still,
it's more sensible than eating nothing but meat (which is as you say nutrient
deficient, has long-term risks for cancer, and clearly is not a viable option
for a global population of 7.6B)

1: [https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/how-to-
eat-l...](https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/guest-blog/how-to-eat-like-a-
chimpanzee/)

~~~
AstralStorm
Apes are closer. Plus humans are different enough from any still existing apes
that the dietary comparison is quite worthless.

It is as if you were comparing tigers with house cats on diet based on hunting
behaviour.

~~~
blacksmith_tb
We're all apes[1]. And chimps are indeed our closest relations[2]. The tiger
and my housecat are both obligate carnivores, so that comparison seems
accurate to me (though I don't want him bringing down deer, there's a problem
of scale).

1:[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominidae](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hominidae)

2: [https://www.livescience.com/7929-human-evolution-closest-
liv...](https://www.livescience.com/7929-human-evolution-closest-living-
relatives-chimps.html)

------
Djvacto
I'm honestly not quite sure how to interpret this.

To me the idea seems bonkers. Even if I didn't try to eat more plant than
animal, it would seem bonkers.

From what I've read, eating more meat is likely to increase the risk of bowel
cancer [1]([https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/21639/cancer-
information/ca...](https://www.cancercouncil.com.au/21639/cancer-
information/cancer-risk-and-prevention/healthy-weight-diet-and-exercise/meat-
and-cancer/))

Additionally, it's way, way harder to get all your vitamins and nutrients with
only meats, especially while maintaining a variety of macronutrient options,
but I don't really have a source for that, just mental math and experience.

~~~
ha8o8le
Going to the extreme and eating only meat is a bit bonkers.

The main problem with our diet and what causes the most disease and death are
carbs and sugar.

Take a look at this regarding nutrients and plants
[http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2014/04/the-perfect-five-a-
day/](http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2014/04/the-perfect-five-a-day/)

I have been researching all sides of this for 6 months now for a doc
[http://foodlies.org](http://foodlies.org) so I'm very familiar with a ll the
arguments and studies on both sides.

------
shalmanese
For those interested in long term viability, the Anderson family has been
living on an all-beef diet for 17+ years now, including two children who have
been raised entirely on beef.

[http://thenortheasttoday.com/anderson-family-on-meat-diet-
fo...](http://thenortheasttoday.com/anderson-family-on-meat-diet-
for-17-years/)

~~~
lostmsu
Come back when they are past 80

~~~
fny
It might happen with n of 1 family...

------
programmarchy
The diet she's describing is more commonly known as the ketogenic (keto) diet,
rather than the "Bitcoin carnivore" diet.

~~~
tmearnest
Not really. The keto diet includes plants. Just not starchy or sweet ones,
e.g. cauliflower, lettuce, broccoli, etc.

~~~
riku_iki
> Just not starchy or sweet ones, e.g. cauliflower, lettuce, broccoli, etc.

I dropped broccoli because of high carbs..

~~~
rbinv
Broccoli is not really high in (net) carbs.

~~~
riku_iki
Around 5 carbs per cup, which can push from 20 carbs / day cap for keto diet.

------
rumblestrut
Two weeks? I’ve been carnivore since Jan. 1. Feeling great.

------
znpy
I usually read most of the article, until I get the main point and some
details, but this time i went through the whole thing because right now I am
in the middle of a diy diet myself (nothing fancy, just cutting on carbs,
paying a bit more attention to what I eat and cooking at home instead of
eating outside).

First thing first, eating only meat is not as bonkers as it might seem. In
fact, it's a huge an distinctive part of the Dukan diet, which starts by
imposing a protein-only diet(§) for, guess what, ten days to two weeks. This
is to get the same effect that Sonya Mann (the author of the article)
experienced and thus to give a confidence boost to the dieter as immediate
result help the dieter to go through the diet (keeping dieting is the hardest
part of a diet as anyone that has dieted at least once can tell you).

After that you integrate vegetables (in this phase you're still losing weight)
and go on like this with meat + vegetables for ideally one week for each
kilogram you want to lose.

After that, you can basically start eating regularly(§§) for the rest of your
life BUT you must always observe the meat/protein only Thursday (§§§), this
also for the rest of your life.

I have followed the Dukan diet and it affected me positively and I have lost a
significant amount of weight (but keep in mind, I was/am mildly overweight --
that is, i have belly fat).

The book that Dr. Dukan wrote about its diet is very cool because it explains
in simple but proper terms how the diet works and _why_ it works. It also
explains what to expect and when to expect sub-optimal results (for example,
women should expect a wider variance in results because of hormonal ups and
down -- mostly due to menstrual cycle).

So...

Going back to the story, eating meat only can be sustainable. Not sure how
long, though.

Surely, I don't think it's such a great living. What bothers me the most,
actually, is that the meat you buy nowadays at grocery store is filled with
hormones and antibiotics (used to get animals to grow very much and very
fast). One could argue, the humankind has evolved to eat meat, but also to go
hunt for meat and eat it "fresh" (as in non-conserved, with no preservatives,
no hormones and no antibiotics) but that's unfeasible nowadays.

Notes:

\-----

(§) calories only, plus yoghurt and integral oats to help with digestion.

(§§) regularly as in european-regular

(§§§) Thursday has been chosen randomly, for no particular reason, it's just a
convention.

Edit: formatting.

~~~
ha8o8le
There's no reason to ever go back to eating carbs, all they do is damage.

There actually isn't a ton of hormones and antibiotics in grocery store meat,
it's mostly vegan propaganda I believed in until last week when I actually
researched it. Soy products have 1000 times the hormones than any piece of
meat.

~~~
enkiv2
Phytohormones don't bind to human receptors.

------
teilo
So, what do mean-only eaters do about constipation? Because I've gone meat/fat
only for periods of time, and if I didn't simultaneously supplement with fiber
(usually hemp and chia), the results were not pretty.

~~~
rumblestrut
Eat more fat.

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imartin2k
Very nice one @ exolymph.

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mesozoic
This is the stupidest and most poorly researched article I may have ever seen.

They can't even get the name of the diet or the origins right.

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rkh2018
There are many researchers that come to the complete opposite conclusion. Most
of the Animal products we can buy today are produced too cheaply and thus not
very healthy to eat in large quantities.

Just watch „What the Health“[1] or „Cowspiracy“[2] and tell ne what you think
about it?

[1] [http://www.whatthehealthfilm.com/](http://www.whatthehealthfilm.com/)

[2] [http://www.cowspiracy.com/](http://www.cowspiracy.com/)

~~~
ha8o8le
I 100% agree we need to change our factory farming practices...

However, What the Health was riddled with lies, bad science, and
misinformation.

[https://www.dietdoctor.com/health-review-health-claims-
backe...](https://www.dietdoctor.com/health-review-health-claims-backed-no-
solid-evidence)

[https://www.vox.com/science-and-
health/2017/7/25/16018658/wh...](https://www.vox.com/science-and-
health/2017/7/25/16018658/what-the-health-documentary-review-vegan-diet)

Even a vegan dietitian admits it is full of misinformation and bad science and
calls for an end to this practice [https://www.vegan.com/posts/vegan-
dietitian-review-what-the-...](https://www.vegan.com/posts/vegan-dietitian-
review-what-the-health/)

