After 16 Days on Carnivore: What It Revealed

I Tried the Carnivore Diet to Fix My Body, But It Ended Up Confronting My Flesh

I didn’t expect a two-week meat-only experiment to expose how little self-control I actually had.

I’m not usually a fan of diets. I honestly believe God created our bodies to be adaptable to our environments. People around the world eat differently based on culture, economics, and food availability. But over the last several years, I’ve experienced changes in my body that have led me to believe I might be allergic to certain foods, or at the very least, reacting to them.

So, two weeks ago, my husband Daniel and I started the Lion Diet. For five days, we ate nothing but beef, lamb, salt, and water. It was easier than fasting entirely, but it was still SO hard.

At first, the idea of eating only meat felt wrong. No fruits. No vegetables. That part unsettled me more than I expected. However, after listening to several testimonies online, I decided to try this elimination diet to reset my body and hopefully discover what was setting me off.

WEEK ONE: The Lion Diet

The first few days were filled with nerves.

I worried I was depriving my body of essential nutrients. I worried about losing the joy of eating and gathering with people. I worried I wouldn’t last long enough to figure out what foods were bothering me.

While I was having a mild existential crisis, Daniel was living his best life. He thought this diet was incredible.

The cravings hit hard around day three.

I wanted a sweet potato more than I have ever wanted anything in my life. I thought about sweet potatoes day and night. I begged for a slice of pizza. I wanted something, anything, other than meat so badly that I put a slice of pizza in my mouth and let it sit there for a few seconds without taking a bite.

Three days felt like ten years.

My body was transitioning from using carbs as its primary energy source to fat adaptation, and emotionally, it felt dramatic. I have never wanted to cheat at something so passionately.

But while my body was fighting me, something else became obvious: my mind felt sharper than ever. I had incredible mental clarity. I could focus longer. My thoughts felt cleaner. I felt energized in a way that’s hard to explain, almost euphoric. I told Daniel I felt like I was on drugs. He couldn’t relate, but I knew something was different.

The clarity almost outweighed the cravings.

Almost.

Because as intense as the cognitive benefits were, the pull of a single sweet potato felt stronger.

What?!

The Date Night Tradition

On day six, we broke the Lion Diet for our weekly date night.

When Daniel said we were still going out to eat, I was elated. Over the moon. Intoxicated with happiness. I was going to eat something other than beef.

Daniel told himself he would stick to the diet and just order beef with salt.

I thought he sounded like a fool!

We sat down, opened the menu, and he knew there was no sticking to it.

The meal we shared that night was heavenly. We didn’t track anything. We didn’t stress. We just ate. And I appreciated that meal more than almost any meal I’ve had in a long time.

I was so used to eating whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted, that I didn’t realize how good food actually tasted when it wasn’t constant. Mustard, on its own, tasted incredible.

I went home completely satisfied.

WEEK TWO: Carnivore

We transitioned from the Lion Diet to a broader carnivore approach: adding fish, eggs, some dairy, and fermented sauerkraut for gut health.

Surprisingly, the sweet potato cravings disappeared.

Adding variety made the experience infinitely more sustainable. My body seemed to adapt, and I didn’t feel like it was working against me anymore. The mental clarity remained. I didn’t react to the date-night meal. And it felt surprisingly easy to return to meat the next day.

We continued that rhythm for another week: carnivore during the week, and enjoying date night without guilt or excess.

We didn’t gorge ourselves. We simply appreciated the food, something I realized I hadn’t been doing for a long time.

What It Actually Revealed

After sixteen days of eating this way, I realized the most significant discovery wasn’t which foods caused irritation.

It was that I was controlled by my cravings.

I didn’t realize how often I indulged in whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted it. That mentality robbed me of control over my mind, body, and even my spirit when it came to food.

I always associated indulgence with overeating. I never considered that it could also mean a lack of self-control, choosing immediate gratification for comfort, pleasure, or convenience.

Over the last five years, that subtle indulgence added up. Twenty pounds. Extra spending. Thinking about food far more often than necessary.

I still don’t know exactly what triggers my hives.

But I gained something far more valuable.

Eating “healthy” isn’t the ultimate goal. Spiritual maturity, learning to be in control of what you consume rather than being ruled by it, is far more powerful.

Don’t get me wrong. Food is a gift. Gathering around a table to worship, laugh, and commune with others is sacred. I’m not suggesting we all live off meat forever.

This started as an elimination experiment.

But what it revealed was something I think every Christian can grow in: mastering our fleshly desires instead of being mastered by them.

Appreciating food without worshiping it.
Enjoying pleasure without being enslaved by it.
Receiving the gift without abusing it.

Maybe you don’t try carnivore. Maybe you cut sugar. Maybe you try intermittent fasting.

Whatever you choose, I think it’s worth asking: Are you in control of your cravings, or are they in control of you?