I lost 80lbs with the carnivore diet and it transformed my health (2024)

I lost 65 pounds in the first four months alone. I've lost a total of 80 pounds in a little over a year, all without counting calories and by eating as much as I wanted.

How did I do it? I followed the meat-based carnivore diet.

Everything changed for me in the spring of 2022 when I sat on the couch, tired and depressed, and feeling joint and back pain throughout my body. It was so bad that I would get flare-ups in my knees or ankles that would last one to two weeks. The pain was so intense that I couldn't walk.

I also had a condition called atrial fibrillation (A-Fib) which affects your heart's normal sinus rhythm. I knew I needed to lose weight and get healthy—and I had to do it soon. I wanted to make sure I could watch my three children grow up to have kids of their own. I wanted to be able to provide for my family.

But with the path I was going down, I wasn't sure that would happen. And this became my Why.

I had heard from some friends who were doing the keto diet and losing weight, so I decided to give that a try. With the keto diet you limit your carb intake to about 20 grams per day and increase your fat intake.

Over the next couple of months, I continued to research low-carb diets and watch YouTube videos from doctors and those sharing their experiences.

I had not lost much weight at all and did not feel a whole lot differently, but I kept finding more and more information about the ultimate elimination diet where you completely cut carbs from your eating plan. This was the carnivore diet, and in July of 2022 I went full in.

I do not eat vegetables or fruits, or any other carbs. I predominantly eat beef, with some eggs and bacon. Occasionally I will eat chicken wings or chicken thighs, as well as pork. I do not use any type of seed oils and cook my food with either bacon fat or butter.

A typical day of eating for me consists of a steak around Noon and then a couple of beef burger patties—no bun—and either eggs or bacon. I usually eat approximately two pounds of meat per day.

By early November, I had lost 65 pounds, had more energy to do things, and noticed that my arthritis and joint pain was gone. I also noticed that I hadn't experienced a single A-Fib episode in a few months. Before starting the carnivore diet, I was having a couple of episodes per week.

Over the next several months my weight loss slowed down as I got to a healthier weight. But the health benefits continued.

I've been on blood pressure medication for over 20 years. Whilst I still take medication, the dosage has decreased to the lowest prescription strength and my blood pressure is under control. I also have not had an A-Fib episode in over 14 months and was just recently taken off the medication for it.

My doctor is happy with my progress too. Before going on the carnivore diet my triglycerides—a type of fat in your blood—were 273 milligrams per deciliter, which is very high. Now, they are 107, in the healthy range. My HDL cholesterol has also improved. My liver and kidney function are excellent with the best levels I've seen in my blood work.

Some of the keys to my success were having short-term goals and having an accountability partner. The short-term goals that I set were somewhat challenging, but measurable and attainable. This allowed me to feel a sense of accomplishment along the way.

For an accountability partner, I had a friend on Facebook who was also trying to lose weight. We kept each other accountable by posting a daily log of our food intake, water intake, etc. We also checked in with each other often. I feel this was huge for keeping me motivated and helping me get past struggles.

Altogether I feel like the carnivore diet has saved my life. No more back pain. No more arthritis or joint pain. No more A-Fib episodes. Lower blood pressure. More energy and a happier mood. The list goes on and on.

I have not experienced any negatives from eating this way. If there is a special occasion and I want to eat a small piece of cake or something I normally would not eat, I go ahead and treat myself. But I make sure that it does not snowball, and I move forward and back to my normal eating plan.

Eating this way has truly been life-changing for me and I have no plans to stop the carnivore diet lifestyle. I see myself eating this way for the rest of my life. Exactly what I eat may adjust as I go, but the main principles of a meat-based diet with little to no carbs will not change for me.

With this life-changing health transformation, I decided that I wanted to share my experiences and help others, so I created a YouTube channel.

On my channel, Wick Goes Carnivore, I share the good and bad experiences. What I've done right and mistakes I've made. I share the successes between losing weight and all the health benefits I have experienced.

Brian Nowicki is a content creator and proponent of the Carnivore Diet lifestyle. You can follow him on YouTube.

All views expressed are the author's own.

Do you have a unique experience or personal story to share? Email the My Turn team at myturn@newsweek.com.