Carnivore diet: can it help you gain muscle and lose weight?

Although the number of vegetarians is growing in developed economies around the world, the complete opposite, a diet based more or less only on meat, is coming back into fashion, thanks to the promotion of many celebrities. And although this diet is sometimes presented as the key to losing weight or gaining muscle, the reality is that the issue is much more complex. Does carnivore also have a use for regular athletes? And what are the risks? Find out in this article.

Article content:

• What do the proponents of this diet eat?
• What is the logic behind it?
• Why does the carnivore diet have its flaws?
• What to take away from today's article

What do the proponents of this diet eat?

Since carnivore in English refers to carnivores, the name carnivore diet is kind of catch-all. The main ingredients of this diet are only animal products, namely all types of meat including fish and seafood, eggs, animal fats (especially butter or lard) and offal. Dairy products are also available in limited quantities. In extreme situations, you can also enrich your diet with bone marrow, bone broths or raw meat and organs, such as Liver King, which we regularly report on in our articles. And in case you are not discouraged by the list of foods so far, you should know that you should not drink anything other than water or the aforementioned broths when following a carnivore diet. Coffee, tea or other fruit infusions are in fact plants and the aim of any carnivore diet is to limit everything except animal products.

The carnivore diet consists of eating purely animal products.

What is the logic behind this?

So you may be wondering, what is the logic behind such a diet? And why would anyone voluntarily give up not only fruits and vegetables, but also carbohydrate side dishes, coffee, milk, or even baked goods? According to the promoters, maybe because it will help you achieve your dream figure and also help with some autoimmune problems or chronic diseases.

The first of these may have partial logic - after all, protein is extremely important not only for maintaining muscle mass during weight loss, but it can also fill you up well and has a high thermic effect. Still, as with any other diet, weight loss will be determined by calorie deficit, which is relatively easy to exceed with the consumption of fatty meats, eggs or organs. We've written more about calorie adjustments and the whole diet set-up in our multi-part series.

The second statement may be true in some cases - and one example is the popular (not only) youtuber Petr Mara, who has a whole separate video about this issue on his channel. Paradoxically, however, there are also studies that suggest that higher meat consumption may promote certain types of autoimmune diseases. So it's a highly individual matter, and it may be best to consult with a doctor knowledgeable in this area.

Why does the carnivore diet have its shortcomings?

You don't exactly have to be a nutritionist to figure out at least some of the reasons why the carnivore diet may not exactly be the best option. But let's take an objective look at a few things that make long-term adherence to the carnivore diet slightly complicated.

It does not contain fibre

Probably the most significant complication of the carnivore diet is the complete absence of fiber, which you'll find mainly in foods like vegetables, fruits, grains or even some legumes. But what all sources have in common is that they are plant-based and this is exactly the ingredient that is missing from the carnivore diet. Yet, according to studies, fiber is important for the health of our intestines and also proves its importance in weight maintenance.

The absence of fiber is one of the many problems that the carnivore diet has.

Deficiency of certain nutrients

It's probably not entirely surprising to find that it's not the best idea to cover all the nutrients we need from meat alone. Surprisingly, however, it seems that animal diets, given enough dietary variety, can cover a significant portion of the nutrients essential to humans, though not all, as shown by similarly set diets in the studies conducted. However, this can be problematic for example with vitamin C or other antioxidants, which are often lacking in strictly animal diets.

The amount of fat needs to be watched

While you may be deficient in some nutrients, there is a risk of significant excess in others. For example, you need to watch the amount of salt you use, as sodium can contribute to high blood pressure and kidney problems. In addition, you should also bear in mind that meat contains large amounts of potentially problematic saturated fatty acids as well as cholesterol.

It can be stereotypical

Eating meat itself offers quite a few different options that you can reach for. But the problem comes when you have a taste preference and, for example, don't eat tripe or certain meats. In this case, you may find that your meat-only diet becomes quite stereotypical, and this is neither sustainable in the long term nor very palatable.

If you don't eat offal, for example, a carnivore diet can be quite stereotypical.

It can get pretty expensive

And the last problem is not so much a question of nutrition as it is of finances. If you want your diet to consist primarily of quality meat from a reliable source, such a diet can get quite expensive. And it is questionable whether you want 100% of your diet to be made up of meat from supermarkets, which can be of questionable quality - for example, last year the LIDL chain had to recall minced meat that exceeded the limits for antibiotic content by up to 60 times.

What to take away from today's article?

The carnivore diet is a big trend at the moment, but it is definitely not a diet that is justified for the majority of people. It's largely restrictive and even as an intrepid carnivore, you can get pretty tired of a 100% animal diet after a while. And if you don't enjoy your food, it most likely won't be sustainable for you in the long run. Not to mention that carnivore, objectively speaking, has perhaps not a single advantage over a healthy and sustainable diet. However, if you have a specific disease or chronic complication, you can discuss the possibility of a carnivore diet with your doctor or other expert in the field.