THE CARNIVORE DIET BENEFITS
Wondering how long to stay on carnivore diet? You’ve come to the right place.
Maybe you’ve heard about the benefits of carnivore diet through firsthand accounts or online testimonies. Either way, you’re intrigued - and rightfully so. This dietary revolution has the potential to transform your physical and mental wellbeing for the better.
Whether you’re drawn to its weight loss potential or its ability to create a healthier gut microbiome, enhance mental clarity, simplify meal planning, or anything in between, Carnivore Snax is your trusted resource on starting the carnivore diet for beginners.
We have a wealth of carnivore diet tips and the best low carb snacks to support you along this journey, our carnivore chips. Today, we’ll address one of the most common questions we get asked: how long should you do carnivore diet?
Contrary to what you may have assumed, you technically don’t need to stop doing carnivore diet if it’s working for you. You know what they say: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it! We’ll share more context on how long to do carnivore diet below.
How Going Carnivore Could Change Your Life
If you’re new to carnivore you probably have questions. What is the carnivore diet, and how does the carnivore diet work? Is the carnivore diet good for you, or is it overhyped? Let’s provide a bit of background before getting into to how long to stay on carnivore diet.
How it Works
As the name suggests, you can say goodbye to all your plant-based favorites when switching to carnivore diet. While it may be tough to part ways, trust us - it’s for the best. No more vegetables, fruits, nuts, legumes, grains, or other processed junk.
So what is allowed on the carnivore diet then? Anything that comes from the animal kingdom is fair game. That includes carnivore diet meat of course, such as pork on carnivore diet, carnivore diet chicken recipes, and steak.
But it also includes eggs and dairy products like cheese on carnivore diet, carnivore diet milk, and butter on carnivore diet. It sounds exclusionary, but there are so many unique recipes you can come up with using these staples.
Check out our free carnivore diet meal plan, which includes carnivore breakfast ideas, carnivore lunch ideas, carnivore dinner ideas, carnivore sides, carnivore diet snack ideas, and even carnivore diet desserts!
Following a high fat carnivore diet sounds crazy, because you end up eating virtually zero carbs and fiber. As a result, your body turns to using fat and protein for energy. This is largely where the benefits come from…
Potential Benefits
There are two reasons you see such dramatic carnivore diet before and after transformations.
First and foremost, you’re avoiding so many problematic plant-based foods which are notorious for causing digestive problems. But, you’re also reaping all the benefits of animal-based nutrition. This leads to effects such as:
- Improved Digestion: Cutting out plant fibers and irritants can alleviate bloating, gas, and other digestive discomforts.
- Reduced Inflammation: Many report relief from chronic pain and autoimmune symptoms due to the elimination of common inflammatory foods.
- Weight Loss and Muscle Preservation: The high protein content promotes fat loss while maintaining lean muscle.
- Steady Energy and Focus: Without carb crashes, energy levels remain stable, improving productivity and mental clarity.
- Simplified Eating: With fewer food choices, meal prep becomes easier and less overwhelming.
If you’ve started the diet and aren’t experiencing these yet, don’t quit before understanding how long to do carnivore diet - you might not have been on the diet long enough yet!
Is There Any Downside?
Sounds great - what’s the catch? There are some side effects of carnivore diet that you should be aware of. Most of these are associated with the early transition period, like carnivore diet constipation, fatigue, and irritability.
This is known as the “carnivore flu” and is just the result of your body adjusting to burning fat for energy rather than carbs like it’s used to. You can mitigate this effect to a certain extent as well - we’ll show you how later on.
There’s also the risk of nutritional deficiencies like magnesium, potassium, or certain vitamins. Again, though, this can be offset through proper meal planning - like including carnivore diet organ meats in your recipes - and relying on supplements for carnivore diet.
You might encounter social challenges as well, like dining out or attending gatherings and not seeing anything that aligns with the rules of carnivore diet. Just remember your why for starting the diet, and these challenges start to vanish.
We believe that in comparing both the pros and cons of carnivore diet, the upside outweighs the downside. But, how long should you do carnivore diet?
How Long Should You Do Carnivore Diet, Though?
Let’s make one thing clear. You shouldn’t expect to see or feel jawdropping carnivore diet results 30 days in. Truthfully, it’ll take at least 7-10 days just to adapt to this new nutritional approach.
While some adherents do feel the difference after the first month, this is just the tip of the iceberg. The real magic comes from consistency for a few months. So, how long should you do carnivore diet?
We want to reframe the question: is cycling off even necessary in the first place?
Do You Need to Cycle Off Carnivore?
Technically there’s no need to stop doing carnivore if you’ve adapted well and are seeing the results you’d hoped for.
Think about it like this - you came to carnivore because you wanted to make a change in your physical or mental health (maybe both?). Why would you go right back to your old eating habits?
On the other hand, maybe you are hoping to follow a more hybrid carnivore diet style, reintroducing certain foods after waiting a while to get a new baseline for health. In this case, how long should you do carnivore diet?
Short-Term Carnivore (30-90 Days)
If you’re going to go through the work of learning how to do this diet and navigate the adaptation phase, you should plan on committing for at least 30 days. Ideally, you’d give it a minimum of 2-3 months before attempting to cycle off or make drastic changes.
This is a long enough window to give your gut a complete reset by eliminating irritants like plant lectins and oxalates. You may even start to notice reduced joint pain and clearer skin within a few weeks.
But, transitioning to carnivore from the standard American diet can be a shock to your system. Reverting away from the diet just a month or two in can send your body back into shock. That’s why we highly recommend a longer-term carnivore diet.
Longer-Term Carnivore (6+ Months)
Think about how many years you’ve been eating a standard American diet and consuming processed foods. It’s going to take time to undo all that damage. Can you really expect to make serious progress in just a couple of months?
Chronic conditions or more significant health goals will take much longer to achieve. If you aren’t feeling adverse effects from the diet, give it a good 6 months to a year and see what a difference it can make in how you look and feel.
You’ll be amazed looking back at how far you came!
The Case for Becoming a Lifelong Carnivore
As we said from the start of this guide on how long to do carnivore diet, there’s technically no need to cycle off if you’re not experiencing any adverse effects from the regimen. Many have committed to becoming a carnivore for life and are better off for it.
This is especially true for those using carnivore diet for autoimmune disease - like lupus, arthritis, psoriasis, multiple sclerosis, and other similar conditions. Even those doing the carnivore diet for diabetes, IBS, gout, or ulcerative colitis should think twice before stopping.
Once you make it to the point that you’ve been on the diet for 6-12 months it’s unlikely you’d want to cycle off anyway. You’ll probably feel more energized, more mentally clear, and you’ll have become accustomed to a simpler carnivore diet grocery list!
Just be sure you’re taking steps to address the potential drawbacks of long-term carnivore dieting, most notably, nutrient deficiencies. You might need to keep an eye on your cholesterol on carnivore diet as well.
That being said, there’s no one-size-fits-all answer for how long to stay on carnivore diet. It’s entirely up to you. Listen to your body and act accordingly.
Tips on Transitioning On and Off the Carnivore Diet
Whether you’re just starting the diet for the first time or are looking for tips on how to start introducing other foods safely as you cycle off, we’ve put together some advice for you below before wrapping up this guide on how long to do carnivore diet.
Easing Into the Diet Slowly
The worst thing you can do is jump into carnivore cold turkey. You’ll feel miserable and revert back to your old eating habits. Slow and steady wins the race here, as gradually eliminating non-carnivore foods eases the “adaptation phase” we mentioned earlier. Try this instead:
- Week 1-2: Cut out processed foods, grains, and sugary snacks while focusing on meat, eggs, and dairy (if tolerated).
- Week 3: Reduce or eliminate plant-based foods like vegetables, nuts, and oils.
- Week 4: Transition fully to a carnivore-based menu of meats, organ meats, fish, eggs, and animal fats.
We know you’re eager to experience all the benefits carnivore has to offer, but a more methodical approach will minimize fatigue and digestive discomfort.
Managing Symptoms During the Transition
Even when taking it slowly you might experience carnivore flu symptoms, though. These can be managed by drinking plenty of water - better yet, water infused with electrolytes that your body is now desperately craving: sodium, potassium, magnesium, and calcium.
Start with leaner meats and smaller portions before working your way up to bigger portions of fatty cuts. We have more tips on how many ounces of meat per day on carnivore diet you should eat.
Keeping Things Fresh and Fun on the Diet
One reason we see people asking how long to stay on carnivore diet is they get bored, and that’s totally natural. But, it’s as simple as finding new ways to prepare your meals.
Rotate between steaks, chicken thighs, lamb chops, and seafood for variety. You might even consider incorporating game meats like elk or venison into your diet.
Try preparing them in different ways as well. Slow-cooking, grilling, or air-frying all bring out unique flavors and textures. It makes the actual process of meal preparation more exciting too.
Make sure you’re eating plenty of liver, kidney, and heart on this diet, as these include nutrients you won’t get in other cuts of meat.
Advice on Transitioning Off Carnivore
If you do decide to transition away from carnivore, follow the exact opposite approach you did while ramping up. Slowly reintroduce the least problematic plant-based foods first, like low-starch vegetables (think zucchini or spinach) or low-sugar fruits (berries).
Our advice is to only bring back one new food at a time so you can monitor your body’s reaction. If nothing adverse happens, great - maybe that specific food wasn’t a problem in the first place! But if you identify a sensitivity or intolerance, then you know to avoid that food completely.
Even as you phase out the strict approach of carnivore, it’s not a bad idea to keep meat and animal fats the cornerstone of your nutrition to retain the benefits you’ve gained as much as possible. Whatever you do, avoid processed foods like the plague - they never have a place on your plate.
Parting Thoughts on How Long to Do Carnivore Diet
So, how long should you do carnivore diet? Hopefully this quick guide on how long to do carnivore diet has left you with clarity on the matter.
Whether it’s a 30-day reset, a 6-month healing journey, or a lifelong commitment, this diet can make a profound differnece in your physical and mental state. Short-term carnivore helps identify food sensitivities, while benefits for inflammation, digestion, and energy levels come in the longer term.
Our blog has more resources like carnivore diet on a budget, carnivore diet fast food, carnivore diet muscle gain, keto vs carnivore, carnivore diet for inflammation, paleo vs carnivore, how to gain weight on carnivore, and carnivore diet for women.
But don’t forget to try our meat chips if you haven’t already, as they’ll be a complete game-changer for this journey. They’re a perfect choice since they are carefully crafted with just 2 carnivore-friendly ingredients: meat and salt.
We’ve sourced the meat from the most elite, ethical regenerative farms in the nation, too, so you can feel good about indulging in this delicious, meaty treat. Find your new favorite today:
