A carnivore diet is about high protein in three meals a day and avoiding veggies, fruits, and carbohydrates completely. This diet plan also includes food items derived from animals. So, you can have cheese, eggs, and butter.
Many people are switching to this diet to lose weight and control their blood sugar levels. Do you want to know more about this high-protein diet?
Here’s a guide discussing its benefits, food lists, and some recipe ideas.
What Are The Carnivore Diet Benefits?
There are two major health benefits of following a carnivore diet. It can be beneficial for you to lose weight. It’s also beneficial to keep the blood sugar level in control. So, it’s a good choice for diabetes management.
However, if you want to keep your blood sugar level in check, you will have limited choices in protein and dairy items. For example, if your blood sugar level is high, you will not be able to have red meat. Your entire meal plan will then be focused on fish, lean meat, and eggs.
Nevertheless, let’s have a look at how this high-protein diet plan can promote diabetes management and weight loss.
Carnivore Diet Promotes Weight Loss
The carnivore diet is beneficial for weight loss as the intake of high protein will boost your satiety level, and you will not feel like eating frequently. Also, by not having snacks frequently, you can have better control over your calorie intake. In addition, this diet stops carb intake, increasing the chances of a faster weight loss.
Here, you need to make note of another thing. When you are on a high-protein diet, your body will reach the state of ketosis. So, now, your body will burn the fat as fuel or energy instead of carbohydrates.
Carnivore Diet Helping Diabetes Management
This high-protein diet is beneficial to keep your blood sugar level in check because it does not include intake of sugar, even in the form of fruits and veggies. Also, as you feel fuller for a longer period of time, you will not need to eat cookies, candies, or other snacks with refined sugar.
However, having an excessive amount of protein can spike the insulin and blood sugar levels in your body. The same can also pull your body out of the ketosis stage.
So, when on a carnivore diet, you must incorporate some fat like eggs, butter, or cheese into your diet. This will help you to remain in the ketosis stage to lose weight and regulate your blood sugar level.
What Is The Carnivore Diet Food List?
As the name of the diet suggests, your food list will have all types of meat and animal products. You have a lot of options to make meal plans in this diet plan. Also, having an idea about the items that can appear on your food list will allow you to experiment with your meals and recipes.
Here’s a list for you.
- Poultry
- Fish
- Organ meats
- Eggs
- Bone broth
- Butter
- Salt and pepper
- Bone marrow
- Lard
- Water
You can have all the items in sauces or gravies. However, make sure that you are making the gravies only using meat drippings and butter. There should not be any use of flour or other types of binders.
Along with these food items, you can also include cheese, yogurt, and milk in your carnivore diet, as these things are animal products.
Food Items To Avoid In Carnivore Diet
Like every diet plan, the carnivore diet also restricts the intake of certain food items. Things you cannot eat when on a carnivore diet are:
- Pasta
- Bread
- Grains
- Legumes
- Nuts
- Seeds
- Vegetables
- Fruits
You must also stay away from alcohol when you are following this high-protein diet. If you want to have beverages, you can go for tea and coffee. Though these are plant-derived, you can have them when you are on a carnivore diet.
Sample Carnivore Diet Meal Plan
Now that you know about the food items allowed in the carnivore meal plan, here is a sample meal plan for you. You need to notice that there are only three meal plans in this type of diet. So, you will have food only during your breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
Also, the carnivore diet asks you to eat food with high protein content. So, you will feel fuller for long hours, and you will not feel like having snacks in between your meals. Still, if you feel like having some snacks, you can have parmesan or cheddar cheese slices.
Some people even skip breakfast when on this high-protein diet. However, to optimize the benefits of this diet, you must not miss your breakfast.
Nevertheless, here is a sample meal plan for the day.
| Type Of Meal | Food You Can Have |
|---|---|
| Breakfast | Three eggs (preferably cooked in butter), ham and cheese |
| Lunch | Rib eye steak |
| Dinner | Bacon and hamburger patties |
Some Carnivore Diet Recipes For You To Try
You don’t need to compromise on taste if you are on a carnivore diet and trying to lose weight. Here are some recipe ideas to provide you with variations in your breakfast, dinner, and lunch.
Cheeseburger Pie
Cheeseburger pie is a delicious meal to have at dinner. You can make it without ground beef and cheddar cheese.
Tartare
It’s best if you make tartare with beef. However, if you don’t want to have beef, you can try the same recipe with bison or lamb.
Beef Heart Meatballs
Along with being a rich source of protein, beef hearts also have amino acids, vitamins B and zinc. You can add beef hearts with ground beef to make the most delicious meatballs.
Further, if you have ground beef, you can use it in many different ways. You can use it to make ground beef stroganoff and meat pie.
Do You Want To Try More Recipes?
Along with the recipes I have shared here, you can also try making items like
- Cheesy chicken muffins
- Lamb ribs
- Chicken wings
- Italian Meatballs
Final Words: Is The Carnivore Diet Safe?
More research needs to be done on the carnivore diet to assess and establish its efficacy in weight loss. Further, since you only have meat and a small amount of dairy products in your diet, it may not be good for your gut health. In addition, it’s difficult for you to set the meal plans right when you have to exclude veggies, carbs, and fruits.
Moreover, cutting the high-fiber and plant-based food items from the meal plans can cause vitamin and micronutrient deficiencies. So, if you are picking this diet plan, make sure to seek advice from a professional nutritionist or dietician.
