Any women out there who are currently, or have tried in the past, the carnivore diet?
I’m curious as to how it may effect me as a woman as well as a high performing athlete?
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Hi Rwaz - Yes, I’ve done the carnivore diet in the past (last May most recently, had amazing results doing PKD) and have decided to try ease back into it this week. My blood sugars are darn near perfect when I do it - I cycle and run easily, nice and level. I tend to stop doing it when 1) I get bored flavor wise and 2) some work trip where it’s impossible to get fed (there’s only so many cans of tuna I can fit in my luggage) : ) but have found overall my sugars are great and I feel much calmer.
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That’s good to hear! If you don’t mind, what do you eat while doing it? I’m currently just doing one meal a day of eggs, cheese, and beef patties to avoid having to take insulin.
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Hi Rwaz - I usually eat eggs, beef patties, steak, cold cuts (no nitrate turkey) tons of salmon, tuna fish in oil, chicken, pork chops - those are my favorites. I have 3 meals a day (2 eggs for breakfast usually + lunch +but the biggest meal is dinner). Most carnivores I know do one meal a day around 2pm - or they have two meals max.
I’m surprised at how overall I find that I’m not hungry when I do carnivore. But I’ve got to have protein with fat or eat enough volume or I do end up getting hungry. I’ve gone back on forth on how I feel about cheese and cottage cheese and plain yogurt…but I’ve found parmesan to be helpful
For me, I don’t try to avoid taking insulin per se. For me, the diet works best (mentally and physically) if I know I’m covered by a basal insulin (Tresiba). I keep a very close watch on my ketones (I use Precision Xtra ketone meter) because I definitely don’t want to get into DKA from not taking enough insulin overall. If I’m not exercising after I eat, then I do find I need to give myself microboluses to cover the slow blood sugar rise from the protein (or just turn up the basal for a bit if I’m using my pump) especially if there is some fat in the meal - otherwise my BG gets too high 2 hours later).
I should mention that my doctor recommended to NOT do carnivore - he said to have at least have 10gs of carbs with each meal, to avoid have too little insulin in my system. I go back and forth on that. But I do monitor my ketones closely to be safe. That’s just me though : )
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Thanks for the information! I’ve found the same thing — I’m definitely not as hungry when doing carnivore because carbs just increase cravings for more carbs.
My doctor says carnivore is okay (though not recommended) for the first few years of diagnosis, but eventually the need for insulin will increase no matter what. So, unfortunately I don’t see this being long term but it’s definitely been worth it to gain more control of BG.
@Jolene7 & @Rwaz - While I’m not female, I do follow a carnivore diet. I try to maintain strictly meat (red meat) and as Jolene suggested, eat only once a day around 2pm. Once or twice a week I might eat a couple of eggs if exercising a couple of hours.
I’ve been T1 for 55 years, on a pump + CGM and use only FiASP (short acting). I bolus for dawn phenomenon (blood sugar rise at dawn) and pump site failures, as well as an hour after I eat protein (with appropriate fats to keep me nicely in ketosis).
My BG levels and A1C’s are in non-diabetic range and I no longer fret about roller-coaster glucose levels from taking too little or too much insulin. Energy levels are great.
Changing my diet has meant the 4 blood pressure meds I’ve been taking for 26 years are no longer needed, and severe edema has completely vanished.
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@Jimi63 Wow, that’s awesome! Very inspiring : ) I’m glad I decided to start again this week, especially after reading your response!
@Rwaz Best of luck to you!
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Glad to hear another success story! Thank you for sharing. Knowing it has worked for others certainly will help stick to the routine when it gets tough. 
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Don’t y’all get constipated without fiber in your diet? I eat mostly fish, some chicken and pork. very little beef. I also eat a ton of fresh and cooked veggies, also occasional fruit in season. I need to, to feel well and keep from being constipated.
Eating only eggs and beef actually worked to improve my bowel movements. When I was eating carbohydrates, I was having terrible diarrhea multiple times a day. Now my bowel movements are at the color and consistency they should be. Everyone is different though, maybe take fiber supplements — my brother used to do that until it regulated on its own!
Sorry if that’s TMI btw! Just want to be honest!
Adding Chia seeds, chopped walnuts or almonds to dishes are my go to keep the internal plumbing working well.
@Willow4 Quite the opposite in fact. Here’s what really happens when you eliminate all fibre from your diet:
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But that is not the purely carnivore diet they describe.
You are right, but many people migrate from a Keto or “dirty keto” diet into a carnivore diet or meander between between the 2 which is where I am with primary interest of keeping meal carbs as close to null as possible but still allow for some variety in foods. So some days, I am purely carnivore, while others I am not.
Although there are individuals on a purely carnivore diet, I don’t think there are many people in North America that have and will stick exclusively with that strict diet long term. I would love to see a poll, even of individuals on this forum that have been on a purely carnivore diet for more than 1 year.
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When it means taking little to no insulin for as long as possible, it makes having the will power to stick to eggs and beef a lot easier when you think of the alternative.
I’d much rather stay off insulin as long as possible to avoid the dangers of hypos due to my extremely active lifestyle and the fluctuations that come along with it.
Do you flavor your food with any condiments? ie ketchup, salsa, mayo, mustard…