THE CARNIVORE DIET BENEFITS
The carnivore diet rules couldn’t be more straightforward.
- Eat animal-based foods.
- Don’t eat any plant-based foods or anything overly processed.
Other than that, there are no crazy carnivore diet restrictions. You can eat as much as you want. Eat at any time of day. Just follow those core principles, and you’re well on your way to a tremendous carnivore diet transformation!
We’ll share more tips on the carnivore diet dos and don’ts below to help you better grasp what you’re in for along this journey. Set yourself up for success with the best carnivore diet snacks at Carnivore Snax and hit the ground running!
The Three Main Carnivore Diet Rules
The beauty of the carnivore diet is simplicity. There are only three rules you MUST abide by. The rest of the regimen is up to you to mold however you see fit. As long as you do these three things, you’re living the carnivore lifestyle - and you should reap the benefits that come with it!
Rule #1: NO Plant-Based Foods
This is the carnivore diet in a nutshell, and it’s what separates the strict nutritional protocol from everything else out there. You CANNOT eat any plant-based foods. That means no vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, seeds, or legumes. Nothing that grew in soil, a vine, a bush, or a tree.
Put in more specific terms, you’ll no longer eat the stuff you were always told was healthy. Or, in some cases, essential. No salads, avocados, sweet potatoes, oatmeal, rice. Even the stuff you wouldn’t think twice about, like seed oils such as canola, soybean, and sunflower.
The whole premise behind going carnivore is to eliminate some of the most notorious sources of inflammation in the modern American diet. These plant-based foods contain antinutrients that your digestive system was never meant to break down, and they can cause more harm than good. Despite what we’ve been told over the decades.
Now, there is a more flexible variation of the carnivore diet - one that a lot of people prefer to start with since it’s less radical and exclusionary. The modified carnivore diet allows for some plant-based foods in the meal plan. Perhaps a squeeze of lemon on your fish, or even the carnivore diet with fruit.
Our advice? Try a 30-day carnivore diet the way the strict carnivore diet rules are laid out. This will give you a fresh baseline to work from. THEN, you can reintroduce the unprocessed foods that you feel may be missing from your diet - one at a time. If you don’t notice adverse effects from doing so, great! That food may not have been an issue in the first place.
Rule #2: Avoid Processed Foods
You know you’re allowed to eat anything that comes from an animal. But there is one key caveat - it must be unprocessed. Hot dogs are loaded with nasty filler ingredients, while deli meat is packed with nitrates and sugar. Protein shakes are another contentious topic because, although they are animal-derived, even pure beef isolate has been heavily processed from its pure form.
These processed foods are convenient. We can concede that. But although they have their place, they should not be a staple in your diet. This just means scanning labels with a bit more care. Look for words you don’t recognize or can’t pronounce. Those are rarely “carnivore-friendly.”
You can enjoy peace of mind simply by sticking to whole pieces of meat, eggs, and real animal fats as the foundation of your carnivore diet meal plan. Trust us, you have more options to choose from than you may realize!
Rule #3: Fat is Your Friend
We see so many people assume more protein = better. After all, pretty much every animal-based food is loaded with protein. But there’s actually a fine line between eating plenty of protein and overdoing it.
The way carnivore works is changing your body’s primary fuel source from glucose (carbs) to fat. This is why so many people notice smoother energy without the dips and crashes they used to deal with.
However, you need the optimal carnivore diet fat-to-protein ratio for that to occur. That’s to say your calories should come equally from fat and protein. So although filets are nice and lean, ribeyes tend to be a better fit for this diet. So are chicken thighs and wings over breasts. 70/30 ground beef over 90/10. Whole milk (if you include dairy). The full egg - not just the whites. You get the point.
Additional Carnivore Diet Guidelines
Those are the main carnivore diet rules. But there are a few extra guidelines we want to share to help you hit the ground running with this radical shift from the standard American diet.
Eat as Much as You Want Until You Feel Full
This is another reason carnivore is becoming more popular. You aren’t forced to count calories and starve yourself to lose a couple pounds. The weight comes off naturally because you’re eating better foods and supporting your digestive system in running how it was supposed to.
That means you can eat to your heart’s content. Stop once you feel full. Are you hungry again 2 hours later? Enjoy some meat chips to hold you over until your next meal.
You’ll find that you get in a good rhythm of eating around the same times each day. Protein and fat keep you full for longer, so you naturally feel the need to eat less. But it doesn’t feel like “dieting.” At least, not once you get past the first week or two where cravings for carbs are the strongest.
Incorporate Plenty of Variety (For Fun and Nutrition)
Eating steak and eggs every single day will keep you alive. But you’ll quickly lose your sanity eating the exact same foods day in, day out. You’ll also start to develop nutritional deficiencies.
This is one of the most important carnivore diet guidelines - rotate your proteins! Beef, pork, lamb, chicken, fish, bison, duck. All of these have their own unique nutritional properties to help fill in the gaps you’d otherwise have if you only ate red meat.
It’s not one of the hard and fast carnivore diet rules, but we highly encourage you to work organ meats into your diet at least 1-2 times a week, too. These have nutrients you won’t get anywhere else, and can prevent you from needing supplements on the carnivore diet. You can mix them in with whole meats to mask the flavor, and you won’t even know they’re there.
Beyond meat, there are other things from the carnivore diet food list - eggs and dairy are the main two. Try removing dairy at first to get a new baseline, then reintroduce it. You may find that lactose isn’t a good option for you. Or, you might discover that cheese and cream give you a world of possibilities in how you prepare your meals.
Electrolytes and Hydration Can’t Be Overlooked
Your body sheds a lot more water without carbs in the picture. That’s because glycogen (stored carbohydrates) holds around 3 grams of water per gram. All the water goes with it when those stores deplete. That sucks out sodium, potassium, and magnesium as well.
This is part of what causes the carnivore flu during that first week on the diet . Fatigue, cramps, headaches, and dizziness. These symptoms mean you need more electrolytes in your diet. Consider adding mineral-rich salt to your water. Or, incorporate our meat chips here at Carnivore Snax - they’re one of the best salty snacks to buy online!
Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can drink dehydration away. Plain water only does so much, and eventually, it can make the problem worse by diluting the electrolytes you do have.
Track Your Progress and Fine-Tune Your Regimen
You could make the case this is actually one of the non-negotiable carnivore diet rules. How do you know you’re on the right track if you don’t have baseline measurements and data to refer back to after the first month, or six months in?
Your body gives you constant feedback. Pay attention to it. Track how you feel after different meals. Notice which meats digest easily and which give you trouble. Monitor your energy throughout the day. Don’t look at the scale or progress pictures as the end-all, be-all. Keep a journal with ratings on a scale of 1-10 for things like energy, sleep, irritability, focus, etc.
Make Sure You Have the Right Snacks on Hand
One of the best carnivore diet guidelines we have to offer - you need extra snacks on hand for when cravings strike. But with so few options at your fingertips given the carnivore diet restrictions, beef jerky and boiled eggs get really boring, really fast.
That’s what makes our carnivore chips a must-have. They’re made from just two ingredients:
- Meat sourced from the most elite, ethical regenerative farms in the USA
- Redmond’s Real Salt
They're called a meat pastry because they start out light and airy but then quickly begin melting in the mouth, giving way to tantalizing flavors that will leave you craving more. Indulge to your heart’s content knowing they fit the carnivore diet rules!
There are so many varieties to choose from, too, so you never get bored. Chicken chips, ribeye sliders, brisket chips, wagyu sliders, the list goes on and on. Order them all and find your new favorite guilt-free snacks for the carnivore diet!
Frequently Asked Questions About the Carnivore Diet Restrictions
Is coffee allowed on the carnivore diet?
Technically no. It’s plant-derived, since coffee grows on trees. Most carnivores choose to drink it anyway, though, because it has enough health and productivity benefits to venture just outside the lines of the carnivore diet restrictions. Just make sure you drink it black or only use milk as your source of cream. No sugar.
Can I still drink alcohol while on carnivore?
It’s derived from plants and has zero health benefits - only harm. So this is one we don’t think you should budge on. Will a drink at a social gathering kill you? No, but it will set you back. You’ll regret it. Alcohol kills your sleep, recovery, and ketone production. Steer clear if you can.
What spices and seasonings are allowed for carnivores?
Salt is pretty much the only universally accepted option per the carnivore diet rules. Some people still push the boundaries a bit with pepper, garlic powder, paprika, and dried herbs. But just know these are plant-derived, so you’re not staying within the carnivore diet guidelines.
Is milk allowed on the carnivore diet?
This is a tricky one. Milk comes from animals, so technically it fits the carnivore diet restrictions in its pure form. Most of what you buy at the grocery store, though, is not carnivore-friendly as it has been heavily processed. Plus, the vast majority of people are better off without lactose. This one is up to you to experiment with.
Can I use honey in my carnivore meal plan?
Another one of the most hotly debated carnivore diet restrictions. It’s animal-produced (bees make it) but mostly sugar. The “animal-based” crowd says it’s fair game; purists say absolutely not.
Is processed meat technically fair game?
We try to avoid it and encourage you to do the same, even if you aren’t following strict carnivore diet rules. Processed deli meat has all sorts of nasty stuff in it.
How soon will I start to notice the changes from carnivore?
Usually within 2-3 weeks. The first week will be the hardest, where you encounter what is commonly referred to as the carnivore flu. Your body is adapting to a fairly radical change, so push through - you’ll be glad you did.
How many calories do I need to consume per day?
Mostly depends on your body weight and activity level. But honestly, you don’t have to stress about counting them. Eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full. This diet self-regulates.
Final Words on the Carnivore Diet Dos and Don’ts
There you have it, all the carnivore diet rules you need to know to get started. Eat animals. Skip plants. Keep fat high. Everything else is personal preference and fine-tuning based on how your body responds. Best of luck!
Related Resources
Can you have cheese on the carnivore diet? | Can you have milk on carnivore diet?
References
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- Kreitzman SN, Coxon AY, Szaz KF. "Glycogen storage: illusions of easy weight loss, excessive weight regain, and distortions in estimates of body composition." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1992;56(1 Suppl):292S-293S. PubMed
- Phinney SD. "Ketogenic diets and physical performance." Nutrition & Metabolism, 2004;1:2. PMC
- Moon J, Koh G. "Clinical Evidence and Mechanisms of High-Protein Diet-Induced Weight Loss." Journal of Obesity & Metabolic Syndrome, 2020;29(3):166-173. PMC
- "Lactose Intolerance." StatPearls, National Library of Medicine. NCBI Bookshelf
