Carnivore January!

Dear 99 Counties Family, 

Please find below some information regarding the carnivore diet shared via our good friend Michael Risher at the Rehab Lab in Chicago. 

What is the carnivore diet?  The carnivore diet consists of meat, poultry, eggs,  seafood, honey, and other full fat dairy products (like butter, milk, and cheese). Traditionally this diet does not contain any plant based products (fruit, veggies, or other  roots). 

Because higher fat diets increase satiety (meaning the sensation of being full), it’s great  for losing weight or changing body composition. 

Additionally, it eliminates foods that may cause autoimmune response or inflammation  (like gluten). 

What is our challenge?  This January you can join a special group of health conscious customers partaking in a Carnivore or Carnivore Lite diet. Each person’s training goals and dietary needs will differ, however, we will fully eliminate processed foods at a  minimum. 

Full Carnivore Diet means no plant based products at all. Only meat, poultry, eggs,  seafood, honey, and other full fat dairy products. 

Carnivore Lite (as Mike has named it): is slightly closer to paleo. Meat, Fruit, and Roots.  Typically this is 90% meat and 10% sweet potato + fruits. Carnivore Lite is for those athletes that need more immediate energy for high output workouts (think Crossfit, hyrox, or other metabolic conditioning workouts). 

Regardless, let’s remove all the processed garbage from our diet! 

Resources: 

• 99 Counties Bulk Ground Beef (link).
• 99 Counties Full Product Listing (link).
• Recipes on the 99 Counties Blog (link).
• Dr. Shawn Baker has many resources on the carnivore diet (link).
• Dr. Paul Saladino has a lot of research on this diet (link).

The Plan  

Here is your nutrition plan, and how to efficiently get it done! 

You will need to eat enough meat to hit your protein goals. Typically this is 1-1.5g  protein for every 1lb of body weight. The body weight you’ll use is your goal body weight. That may mean you stay the same weight, or if you’d like to use this month to lose weight, set the protein goal for what you’d like to weigh ideally at the end of the month. Should you continue on this route, you would reassess and adjust your protein goal for the next month of weight loss. 

Example: Dr Risher weighs 175lbs and would like to weigh 170lbs by the end of the month. His daily protein goal is 170g protein per day. (He can/should go up to 255g if he would like to maintain or gain weight). 

Some Examples of protein in food:  

• 85/15 and 80/20 Ground Beef contains ~5g protein per ounce 
• Ribeye Steak contains ~8g protein per ounce 
• Eggs contain 6-7g protein per egg 

We work with small processors who do not have the budget to add macronutrient labels to product labels, however if you are looking for a quick answer as to the macros (protein, fat, carbs) levels in a given item, you can easily look it up here.  

Which form of the carnivore diet should you choose? The answer is completely up to  you. The carnivore diet is not easy at the beginning, however, it becomes unbelievably simple to make food decisions. You’re only eating meat. Carnivore Lite is slightly more  flexible, however, you will end up with more calories and higher blood glucose levels.  Still incredibly healthy and a great way to dip your toes into the carnivore water. Also, If you’re like me and get a bit light-headed during an intense workout, you may need a little bit extra glucose via the Carnivore Lite plan! 

Strict Carnivore  

For the strict carnivore diet, you will eat meat, eggs, poultry, fish, honey, and full fat  dairy products only. This is intense but incredibly rewarding. 

Carnivore Lite 

For the carnivore lite diet, you will include sweet potatoes and some fruit in addition to  the strict carnivore diet. 

Beef Organs  

Beef organs are an excellent way to add more nutrients into your diet. Mike typically eats 1oz of beef liver daily as he goes through months of the carnivore diet. The other thing Mike usually adds is bone broth. Homemade bone broth is very easy and delicious! You can make your own homemade Chicken Bone Broth using the 99 Counties Chicken Backs and Recipe. 

Diet Resources  

At a minimum you should order enough meat for each week and defrost/cook as  needed. So you don’t risk running out and if you have enough freezer space I’d suggest ordering in bulk for peace of mind. 

For recipe inspiration head over to the 99 Counties Blog or check out Dr. Shawn Baker’s meal plan outline here. 

I will probably eat mostly eggs and ground beef with some steaks sprinkled in for  variety. While pork and chicken are also good options, you’ll find they are slightly less  nutrient dense than the beef. Ground Lamb is a great way to change it up if  you’re looking for more variety. 

No Seed Oils  

Finally, please cook only in butter, single source olive oil, coconut oil, or tallow (99 Counties Beef Tallow will be back in stock soon!). Go ahead and throw out all of your vegetable oils and canola oils while you’re at it this month and get ready to enjoy feeling healthier by the day! 

Sincerely,

Christian and Dr. Risher 

Note: This is not medical advice but rather a diet description.