I have a sugar addiction. I have known that for many years and have tried too quickly but have continually battled it. So this summer, knowing that I needed to change my eating radically, I decided to do a hundred days of Carnivore. If you haven’t heard of it, it is simply eating meat (mainly beef), milk and eggs. It’s eliminating all carbs. So how did it go? It was simply amazing and helped bring a whole shift to my body and health. Here is the story.
I know that I have ADHD (I will write on this soon) and that I run to things for excitement. I don’t like feeling dull or blah. Often then, food can be a comfort, especially desserts. My mom is a fantastic cook; we had many favorite treats and snacks growing up, such as chocolate-covered rice crispy desserts, cookies, oreo desserts, etc. I loved drinking pop. One thing, though, is that I have always battled my energy and feeling fatigued. I have researched over the years, and one of the consistent themes was to get off sugar. Ten years ago, I was at a conference praying more for healing in my body, driving, and asking the Lord about my health. I felt this phrase enter my heart as strongly as I have heard anything. I will heal you if you get off sugar and coffee. Both of those were potent stimulants that I used to pick me up.
More often than not, I have failed at any attempts related to obeying that word. In 2019, I did Keto for a few months, and it felt amazing. I could exercise more. I knew then that it did something to my body when I had fewer carbs. But then COVID happened, and it was hard to sustain. I would hear many lies. You can’t be radical with your food. You need to have a cheat day. Enjoy all the food. So, I would keep giving in. Yet, I started to see that sugar and food were a legitimate addiction. We wouldn’t ever say to a recovering alcoholic. Enjoy the beer on the weekends. Be reasonable five days a week, but then you celebrate and use it in moderation. No one would suggest that, so why do we make excuses for food?
One year ago, I was finally off sugar again. I did great until Ethan and Mollie’s wedding. I was conflicted as I wanted to celebrate with them, but I knew it could open a door. Well, the temptation came. I first had a cookie at their dress rehearsal and pie at the wedding, and by Christmas, I was giving in to sugar. The cravings were so intense, and it felt like a legitimate addiction I couldn’t control.
I will share later in another post about my goals and dreams related to running. I am in the middle of training, but eating poorly affects my body. I feel sore and achy. By late spring, I needed to do something. A good friend, a pastor in the region, told me about how he lost 40 pounds on Carnivore. That didn’t make sense, but it planted seeds in me.
I needed a radical change in June, so I committed to the Lord to do 100 days of Carnivore. I watched many YouTube videos, read a book or two, and found a podcast with some testimonies about it. I listened to testimony after testimony of how once they got going; their aches went away, they had mental clarity, lost weight, and felt the best they ever had. I couldn’t wrap my mind around what I was about to do. 100 days of steak, hamburger, sausage, raw milk, and eggs, and I was going to feel better about this? Part 2 is coming soon to give more in-depth on how it went.