sovereignbeef on Nostr: Building Muscle on (Mostly) Carnivore I’ve been eating a typical bodybuilding diet ...
Building Muscle on (Mostly) Carnivore
I’ve been eating a typical bodybuilding diet for close to 20 years. It’s evolved much since the early days when I’d hit my daily protein target any way I could and then eat everything else imaginable on top of it.
The last few years, things have been very structured with mostly the same standard bodybuilding foods including rice, fruits, vegetables, nuts, nut butters, nut oils, oats, grits, potatoes.
In 2024, I was out of the gym for a decent chunk of time and tried 30 days of strict, nose to tail carnivore during my time off. It was something I’d been interested in but felt I could never implement due to the macronutrient requirements set forth by my physique goals (maximize muscular size and conditioning).
I experienced less hunger, greater mental clarity and more energy, as I expected to. But the biggest benefit, which I didn’t expect, was the improvement in my digestion. I had long held the belief that fibrous veggies and dietary fiber found in starchy carb sources were paramount in healthy digestion. The feedback I got from my body turned this belief on its head.
Eventually, I got back in the gym and resumed my standard bodybuilding nutrition, gradually adding back all the foods I’d normally consumed. What I’ve noticed since then is a real struggle to nail down my digestion. I can’t seem to restore my digestion to anywhere near the level it was while on carnivore. I’ve swapped out carb sources multiple times and have gone through all the foods that have typically always digested well for me, but optimal regularity feels like it’s eluding me.
Prior to using carnivore, I would have described my digestion as good to great. But now I’m questioning if it was ever really even good. I’ve been digging into the “why veggies are bad” rabbit hole the last few days and I’m going to remove the fibrous foods that I’ve always thought were necessary for good digestion. I’m going to pull out the nuts and nut butters as well.
The plan is to try to match the macros I use for my bodybuilding goals while getting my protein and fats from animal meat, eggs and butter. I’ll use white rice, fruit and cyclic dextrin as my only carb sources and time them around my workouts so they’re utilized as well as possible. I may look to incorporate honey as well, but is not a food I typically eat.
As my weight climbs and calories need to increase, I’ll have to expand the carb allotment, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. The goal is to maintain as many of the benefits of carnivore while still maximizing muscle gain.
I’ll update as feedback develops.
I’ve been eating a typical bodybuilding diet for close to 20 years. It’s evolved much since the early days when I’d hit my daily protein target any way I could and then eat everything else imaginable on top of it.
The last few years, things have been very structured with mostly the same standard bodybuilding foods including rice, fruits, vegetables, nuts, nut butters, nut oils, oats, grits, potatoes.
In 2024, I was out of the gym for a decent chunk of time and tried 30 days of strict, nose to tail carnivore during my time off. It was something I’d been interested in but felt I could never implement due to the macronutrient requirements set forth by my physique goals (maximize muscular size and conditioning).
I experienced less hunger, greater mental clarity and more energy, as I expected to. But the biggest benefit, which I didn’t expect, was the improvement in my digestion. I had long held the belief that fibrous veggies and dietary fiber found in starchy carb sources were paramount in healthy digestion. The feedback I got from my body turned this belief on its head.
Eventually, I got back in the gym and resumed my standard bodybuilding nutrition, gradually adding back all the foods I’d normally consumed. What I’ve noticed since then is a real struggle to nail down my digestion. I can’t seem to restore my digestion to anywhere near the level it was while on carnivore. I’ve swapped out carb sources multiple times and have gone through all the foods that have typically always digested well for me, but optimal regularity feels like it’s eluding me.
Prior to using carnivore, I would have described my digestion as good to great. But now I’m questioning if it was ever really even good. I’ve been digging into the “why veggies are bad” rabbit hole the last few days and I’m going to remove the fibrous foods that I’ve always thought were necessary for good digestion. I’m going to pull out the nuts and nut butters as well.
The plan is to try to match the macros I use for my bodybuilding goals while getting my protein and fats from animal meat, eggs and butter. I’ll use white rice, fruit and cyclic dextrin as my only carb sources and time them around my workouts so they’re utilized as well as possible. I may look to incorporate honey as well, but is not a food I typically eat.
As my weight climbs and calories need to increase, I’ll have to expand the carb allotment, but we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. The goal is to maintain as many of the benefits of carnivore while still maximizing muscle gain.
I’ll update as feedback develops.