Interview with Maria

Introduce Yourself.

Heya, I’m Maria, and reside in the cold arctic of northern Norway, where the sun barely shines. Here, I live with my puppy, while working as an artist and graphic designer at the studio and gallery Blåtimen.

I’m approaching 32, and most my life, I’ve been a fairly slender person, up until I got into a stressful place in life.

How did you eat before Carnivore.

I was generally considered fit and healthy, though seemingly “normal” problems were becoming more and more frequent in my life; constipation, depression, anxiety, fat gain, chronic candida infections, acne, sleep problems, rotting teeth, and so on and so forth. I thought all these problems were a part of becoming old, at the age of 18.

My diet was generally a typical Norwegian diet: fish frequently, potatoes with most dishes, starchy sauces, high carb vegetables, fruit when we had it, and candy every weekend and some weekdays (more frequent as I became more independent). Similar to the SAD diet, but less processed food.

Why did you try Carnivore to begin with.

As I moved on in life, and got more and more upset with how I looked, never feeling OK with myself (I always struggled with self esteem), I started dabbling with ways of eating. I found carnivore/zero carb in 2011, but I had no name for it. All I knew was that I felt good. But friends would scare me with the dangers of eating no carbs, and therefore I slid off. That was the road towards even worsening symptoms.

In 2015, I went back to LC/keto, after remembering how good I felt while doing ZC. I joined several forums and groups, and as time progressed, I started seeing NSV. Weight loss was not very big, but it was a motivation too, seeing something was happening. I started seeing comments regarding eating meat only. What!!! doing what I had been doing some years back, was allowed?!

I jumped right in!

How do you personally approach the Carnivore Diet.

In the beginning, due to economy (and thinking it would be cheaper), I did a lot of frozen chicken and pork. I did very well, and soon experienced what some call zero carb zen.

What benefits have you seen since starting the Carnivore Diet.

Sooner than expected, I was off all my medications for mental illness. I started noticing I felt better doing red meat, and realised that the cost for eating red meat would be equal, if not less, than buying the equal amount I needed to satisfy my hunger and nutrition needs, compared to chicken and pork. I used a lot of dairy in the beginning, but as time has passed, the amount has been reduced. I feel the best doing zc as clean as possible, but life sometimes does not allow that.

Either way, the “problems” I experience regarding consuming dairy and non optimal foods, are so small, it’s not a big issue for me.

What negatives have you found with the Carnivore Diet.

My family was very negative regarding the way I started eating. They would often battle me during meals or in birthday parties where cake was served and such. As time progressed and they saw how I changed, the acceptance has become more improved. Especially after hearing and seeing my blood tests results.

I do not supplement whatsoever; no vitamins, no minerals, no oils (even though there’s little sun were I live).

Do you exercise on the Carnivore Diet, if so how do you find it and what do you do.

I don’t exercise; I quit one month into ZC in March 2016, and did not feel like going back. Yet, I’m seeing more muscles than I have ever done in my entire life, even though I weigh the same as when I worked out like a nutcase some years back and had very little progress. I also feel stronger than before.

What piece of advice would you give someone who is interested in trying this diet, but hasn’t taken the leap yet.

Generally, the benefits I’ve had is: no candida problems, haven’t been sick since I started ZC (I used to have the flu/influenza at least twice a year), stronger hair and nails, improved skin condition, no more rotting teeth, no constipation or painful bowel movements, improved sleep, more balanced mood, no need to constant drink alcohol (a part of my depressive state), less painful periods, generally all is very well.

The most negative part of this lifestyle, is when people who have no personal experience or real facts, come and try to convince you what you’re doing is dangerous. People who are sick, yet try to prey on you, who are healthy, that your choice is wrong and dangerous, unhealthy.

The biggest and best advice would be to ALWAYS make sure you eat enough! Eating inadequate is the biggest reason most people fall off. Don’t fast (same as neglecting your body nutrition). Most people I follow or followed online, who are doing ZC, then start doing fasting or other restrictions, generally fall off. No veterans restrict, so why should you, just because you’re not having as fast progress as you believe your mind thinks is right?

Do you think Carnivore will ever be accepted as a mainstream diet.

Some day, perhaps very soon, I think that if people do this WOE correctly, it will be accepted. People who fall off tend to blame the ZC, it doesn’t work etc, yet the fault and problems lie with themselves. Therefore other people are afraid of trying it, because they’re given false information, which is very sad. It took me a long time before I lost weight/fat, but when I did, I felt like a totally new person.

Anything you would like to add, and where can people follow your journey.

I post about my journey in the veteran group Zeroing In On Health on FB, and also have a profile on IG called @devious.meater. My puppy is also raw fed, and has the best fur and teeth, so I sometimes post about him too.

I’m also an admin of the Norwegian zero carb group, Zero Carb Norge.

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