THE CARNIVORE DIET BENEFITS
Whether you’re bodybuilding just as a fun way to bolster your confidence or you’re trying to make a name for yourself in the sport, you’re probably well aware that diet plays perhaps a bigger role than the training itself.
You put your body through the wringer every time you set foot in the gym, and it’s the nutrition side of things that influences your recovery rate - in other words, your results.
With so many different dietary regimens at your disposal, it can be tricky to figure out which is best. So, is carnivore diet good for bodybuilding? As a matter of fact, we consider it to be among the best diets for athletes of all types!
There are so many carnivore diet benefits you stand to gain as a bodybuilder, from protein intake to the potential to increase testosterone, decrease inflammation, and shed weight all along the way.
We’ll cover the bodybuilding carnivore diet pros and cons in greater detail below along with tips on bodybuilding on carnivore diet. Learn how to start the carnivore diet today and take the next step in your transformation!
Overview of Carnivore Diet and Bodybuilding
First things first, let’s offer some context on the carnivore diet and bodybuilding. This dietary regimen is dramatically different from the other options out there, so what is the carnivore diet all about?
What is the Carnivore Diet?
So, what can you eat on the carnivore diet? You can probably infer from the name alone that it involves eating exclusively animal-based products. That means no fruits, vegetables, or grains - just meat, fish, eggs, and in some cases, dairy products.
That being said, why is the carnivore diet good for you? The philosophy behind the diet suggests that animals provide all the essential nutrients your body needs for optimal health and performance.
Meanwhile, you’re avoiding inflammatory and carbohydrate-heavy foods that cause more harm than good. For example, gluten can wreak havoc on your body’s inflammatory response, while sugar can lead to blood sugar spikes and excess weight gain.
This leads to an array of benefits, from weight loss, better energy, mental clarity, and reduced inflammation. Most people who transition to the diet find that they simply feel better without any processed foods, grains, or sugars.
Just be aware that there are carnivore diet side effects - most notably, moving away from carbs as your primary energy source over to fats can be jarring.
You’ll also find that the carnivore diet rules can be quite restrictive, but this can be a good thing in some cases. It makes meal planning a whole lot simpler!
We’ll look at both the good and bad of carnivore diet for bodybuilding in a moment to help you figure out whether or not this approach is right for you. Let’s offer some background on bodybuilding as well first.
The Basics of Bodybuilding
To truly appreciate the link between carnivore diet and bodybuilding it’s important to understand the principles and goals behind this training style.
Bodybuilders seek to bring out as much muscle growth as possible while reducing fat. Whether you compete on stage or not, your regimen involves a delicate dance between nutrition, training, recovery, and discipline.
Bodybuilders typically eat a lot of protein for muscle repair and growth, moderate levels of fat for hormonal support, and plenty of carbs for energy - especially around their workouts.
The principles of progressive overload are applied to continue pushing towards goals. This can involve marginal increases to weight, reps, sets, frequency, or even a decrease in rest time. The overarching goal is to put your body up against incrementally more stimulus every time you train.
But as you probably know, the training is just one half of the battle when it comes to fueling muscle growth. In fact, it’s actually less important than the nutritional side of things.
Your training can be suboptimal and you’ll still see some level of progress if your diet is optimized. In contrast, you’ll fail to see any results if you don’t eat right no matter how intense your training is. So, is carnivore diet good for bodybuilding?
Is Carnivore Diet Good for Bodybuilding?
As we said from the start we believe bodybuilding on carnivore diet is one of the best ways to see impressive results fast. It makes sense when you think about it - bodybuilders need tons of protein, and carnivore certainly provides that.
There are more reasons we recommend carnivore diet bodybuilding, though. Here’s why carnivore diet and bodybuilding go hand-in-hand…
High Protein Intake for Muscle Building
It’s no secret that protein intake is the cornerstone of muscle recovery and growth. Any carnivore meal plan revolves around animal-based foods that are inherently packed in protein. Not just any protein, either - high-quality, complete proteins.
While plant-based sources of protein may lack certain amino acids and require more careful balancing, animal proteins give your muscles everything they need in the most bioavailable form possible.
This makes it easier to hit your protein targets day after day for consistent forward progress. Not sure how much protein should an athlete eat? Read our blog for more insights, but the general rule of thumb for bodybuilders specifically is at least 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight.
Hormonal Benefits of the Carnivore Diet for Muscle Growth
One of the more overlooked benefits of carnivore diet for bodybuilding is the way in which it supports the production of important hormones, most notably, testosterone.
Wait, does carnivore diet increase testosterone? It certainly has the potential to. A more relevant question is, can you build muscle on carnivore diet?
Beef, lamb, and other fatty cuts of meat are loaded with healthy fats that go beyond serving as your primary energy source. They play a key role in testosterone production, the hormone responsible for muscle growth, strength, and overall performance.
That’s not all, though. Bodybuilding on the carnivore diet also means you’re avoiding processed foods and sugar, which would otherwise create imbalances in insulin levels while increasing estrogen production.
In this sense, the carnivore diet for bodybuilding creates the optimal environment for muscle growth. We know what you’re thinking, though…how will I have any energy to train without carbs?
Adapting to Fat for Fuel Rather Than Carbs
A common question we see asked is, how many carbs can you have on carnivore diet? Technically this nutritional regimen isn’t defined by macronutrient breakdown.
However, the carnivore diet food list inherently eliminates carbs - so you won’t be consuming many. You may get some here and there if you eat certain types of cheese on carnivore diet or follow a more modified carnivore diet.
For the most part, though, your energy is going to come from fat. This can be jarring at first since you’re likely used to fueling your workouts with a heaping serving of carbs.
Fat adaptation will take some time, and it’s true that you may feel a bit low energy along the way. But within a few weeks, your body will become far more efficient at using fat for fuel. This will be a good thing in the long run.
The truth is, carbs can cause blood sugar spikes and crashes. In contrast, fat is a more stable energy source so you’ll feel more smooth, sustainable energy throughout the day.
This also means your body can draw on its fat stores for steady energy during lower-intensity training, which can improve endurance and recovery times.
You’ll just have to be patient during the transition phase, which is often referred to as the “keto flu.” We’ll share tips for bodybuilders on carnivore diet in just a moment.
Recovery and Inflammation on Carnivore Diet
The link between the carnivore diet and inflammation is well known. You’re saying goodbye to inflammatory foods such as grains, legumes, and processed sugars.
Many athletes report that this shift reduces joint pain and muscle soreness, so you can then push your body further. This also might lead to faster recovery times so you can get back in the gym sooner and work towards your goals faster.
Staying healthy is one of the biggest challenges bodybuilders face, and you’re probably willing to do whatever it takes to avoid being sidelined with injury. Supporting your body’s inflammatory response through a dietary overhaul is an easy step in the right direction.
Weight Loss and Fat Reduction
Maybe you’re interested in gaining weight on carnivore so you can bulk up. But, the carnivore diet also helps make your cuts easier and more manageable, too!
Think about it - without any carbs, your body is in a constant state of ketosis where it must burn fat for energy rather than relying on glucose. This results in consistent fat loss, especially during a caloric deficit. The diet also keeps insulin levels stable.
Meanwhile, the high protein intake helps protect lean muscle mass so you don’t have to stress about losing size or strength while trimming excess fat.
Potential Downsides to Consider
The potential benefits of bodybuilding on carnivore diet are clear. However, there are a few potential downsides you should be aware of as well.
We’ve already touched on the tough transition period you’re in for, so we won’t elaborate too much on this. Just know that the first few weeks can be a rude awakening, but it’s all worth it once you’re on the other side of it.
During that period though, you can expect to find high-intensity, anaerobic exercises more difficult. Your body doesn’t have access to the quick energy it’s used to from glycogen stores.
But perhaps the biggest challenge is dealing with monotony. You’ll find yourself eating many of the same foods over and over again, and this can cause dietary fatigue where you get bored and find cravings creeping in.
This is why you need to prioritize variety in your meal planning. Doing so will also address the issue of potential nutritional deficiencies associated with the carnivore diet for bodybuilding. We’ll share tips on this in just a moment.
Another obstacle is staying hydrated. You’re consuming a lot more protein with almost zero carbs. This can cause electrolyte imbalances, so you’ll need to drink more water and potentially even incorporate electrolyte supplements to avoid cramps and fatigue.
All things considered, though, we still think the carnivore diet bodybuilding benefits outweigh the possible drawbacks. Plus, most of the complaints people lobby about the diet can be mitigated - we’ll show you how below.
Tips for Bodybuilding on Carnivore Diet
We have a more detailed list of carnivore diet tips if you’re serious about embarking on this dietary revolution. In the meantime, though, here is some quick advice for bodybuilding on carnivore diet.
Meal Planning on the Carnivore Diet
You probably already do meal planning to some extent as a bodybuilder, and the good news is it gets even easier when you switch over to carnivore. We have a simple 30-day carnivore diet meal plan you can follow to hit the ground running.
In general, though, you should make sure you’re primarily consuming nutrient-dense cuts of meat like ribeye steaks, ground beef, and organ meats for a balance of protein and fats.
Don’t forget the rest of the animal kingdom, though. While the best steak for carnivore diet is a nice treat every once in a while, incorporating eggs, fish, chicken, and pork is essential to avoid nutritional deficiencies and dietary fatigue. These provide vitamins A, D, and zinc.
Preparing meals in advance makes it easier to stick to the diet and saves a lot of time. Browse our carnivore diet meal ideas, including carnivore diet lunch ideas, carnivore breakfast, carnivore diet side dishes, carnivore diet desserts, carnivore diet chicken recipes, pork on carnivore diet, and even carnivore diet snacks.
Dealing With the Transition Phase
There’s really no getting around the transition phase of carnivore diet for bodybuilding - but you can make it a bit smoother through a more gradual approach.
Rather than flipping the switch overnight, slowly cut out plant-based foods over a few week span while upping your protein intake.
You can also make the process a bit more comfortable by getting plenty of healthy fats from sources like the best butter for carnivore diet, fatty cuts of meat, and eggs.
Managing Energy Levels for Workouts
You’ll find your energy levels stabilizing within a few weeks - but in the meantime, you need to take steps to fuel your workouts. You might already have a pre-workout supplement you love, but if not, do some research into solutions that align with the carnivore diet for bodybuilding.
We’ve seen many bodybuilders on carnivore diet report success adding MCT oil to their pre-workout meals, or eating extra fatty cuts of meat. Of course, getting good enough sleep and managing stress will go a long way as well.
Adjusting Macros for Bulking or Cutting
You can play around with your carnivore diet macros to optimize for muscle growth phases (bulking) and fat reduction phases (cutting). You’ll typically still eat the same foods, but in varying quantities.
For example, you might eat more red meat during bulking phases before transitioning to leaner cuts like fish or chicken to shed any excess fat that accumulated along the way.
Of course, your calorie intake plays a role here as well. Get in a surplus to gain muscle (eat more calories than you burn) and a deficit to lose fat (eat fewer calories than you burn).
Hydration and Electrolytes
We already touched on the increased need for hydration on this diet. Since you’re already losing a lot of moisture to sweat in the gym, make sure you’re getting at least a gallon of water daily.
Better yet, boost your water by infusing it with electrolytes - which are what you’re really concerned about when it comes to hydration anyway. This can be as simple as adding a pinch of salt to your water or investing in a more sophisticated electrolyte supplement. Speaking of which…
Supplements to Consider
The vast majority of supplements overpromise and underdeliver. But that’s not always the case. Creatine, for example, is proven to aid in muscle strength and performance. You should also add an electrolyte supplement containing magnesium, potassium, and sodium.
Alongside these carnivore diet supplements don’t forget to stock up on our meat chips here at Carnivore Snax. They’re the best low carb snacks you have access to that fit the diet’s strict guidelines since they only contain two ingredients: meat and salt.
They’re packed with protein and healthy fats and sourced from the most elite, ethical regenerative farms in the country. This means you can spoil yourself with tasty carnivore diet treats without compromising on your morals.
Most importantly, though, they’re a delicious indulgence that will have you coming back for more. They start off light, airy, and crispy before melting in your mouth like a meaty pastry. There are plenty of varieties to choose from to keep things fresh and fun, too:
Learn more about our carnivore chips today and see for yourself what the hype is all about as we wrap up our carnivore diet bodybuilding guide below.
Bringing Our Carnivore Diet Bodybuilding Guide to a Close
So, is carnivore diet good for bodybuilding? It’s clear that bodybuilding on carnivore diet is one of the best approaches you have at your disposal. Not only are you getting tons of protein but you’re reducing inflammation while enhancing testosterone production.
We hope this overview of the carnivore diet and bodybuilding has left you with a clear understanding of not only the benefits of carnivore diet for bodybuilding but also how to get started.
Our blog has more resources on carnivore diet vs keto, carnivore diet fast food, carnivore diet for women, paleo vs carnivore, carnivore diet for kids, carnivore and fasting, and more. At this point though, it’s time to take the next step in your carnivore diet before and after journey.
Set yourself up for success by stocking up on our delicious, nutritious meat chips and satisfy cravings anytime they strike. Fuel your gains with the highest quality animal-based snacks today!
