A man who drastically changed his diet to nothing but red meat and eggs has revealed the impacts it had on his weight and overall health.
Patrick's life before the diet
Patrick Ensley and his wife, Caitlynn, decided to become hardcore carnivores last year, at a time when Patrick's weight came in at around 300 pounds.
The father-of-one, who works as a HVAC technician in Milford, Nebraska, was struggling with depression and had little energy left after work each day to play with his young son, but all of that changed when he switched up the things he was using to fuel himself.
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Speaking to the Mail Online about that period, Patrick said: "I woke up several times throughout the night. I'd wake up in the morning; even if I had 10 hours of sleep, I'd wake up just not wanting to get out of bed.
"I'd be sore and stiff. My ankles and my back and my knees would hurt, and I've just been miserable."
Patrick found himself out of breath just from climbing a flight of stairs, and he described feeling like a 'prisoner' in his own body because he was 'so big, heavy, and unhealthy'.
How Patrick changed his diet
Wanting to make a change, the father decided to adopt a diet that involved eating a 16-ounce steak, a pound of ground beef and a half-dozen eggs every day.
In order to avoid temptation, Patrick removed all non-carnivore items from his home and developed a meal plan to stop himself from snacking too much.
If he did snack, foods included things like homemade meatballs, pork rinds, string cheese, beef jerky, salami, and pepperoni.
Patrick also wrote down the reason why he was changing his diet - to make sure he could watch his son grow up.
"Post it somewhere. For me I put my wallpaper as my son on my phone so I saw it every day. Put it somewhere where you're going to see it," he said.
Patrick also took 'before' pictures to track his progress, saying: "'You'll see how much weight you've lost and can track progress, like losing 20 inches off your belly. When the scale stalls, those photos and measurements will remind you that you're still making progress, so you don't lose motivation."
What impacts did the carnivore diet have?
A year on, Patrick's life has changed completely. He's lost 140lbs and 19 inches on his stomach; he has a better quality of sleep and wakes up feeling 'refreshed, energized', and no longer in pain.
"Even after the first month or two, I noticed a huge change in my mood, ambition, and positivity. I felt better mentally almost right away," Patrick told the Mail.
"This experience has completely changed my life, and I've found my purpose again."
Patrick can now climb four or five flights of stairs before feeling winded, and he has much more energy each day.
"Now I come home, and I'm able to throw around my two-year-old son on the couch and swing him upside down and play trucks and trains and all the fun stuff he likes to do and still have energy left over," he said.
In one YouTube video about his diet, Patrick revealed that after losing 140lbs he planned to reintroduce some plants, such as organic strawberries, into his diet, to see how his body reacted and to adjust to a life without 'constant restriction'.
What are experts saying about the carnivore diet?
Experts have mixed feelings about the carnivore diet, with Harvard Health noting that risks include an increased intake of saturated fat through meat, as well as an increased risk of kidney stones, gout, and osteoporosis.
The high protein intake from the diet can also lead to impaired kidney function.
Liz Weinandy, a dietitian at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center in Columbus, told Everyday Health there are a lot of 'downsides' to the diet, including a lack of nutrients.
“We have multiple food groups for a reason: They each provide us with a range of nutrients," she said.
By limiting yourself to a diet of meat, you can run low in certain nutrients that are present in plants, like vitamin C and vitamin E, the dietician said.
However, British cardiologist Dr Aseem Malhotra has pointed out the difference between red meat and processed meat, telling the Mail: "I tell my patients, 'I don't care how much red meat you eat', the evidence is only there for processed meat, not red meat."
Before considering a change in diet, it's advised that you speak to a doctor to ensure the healthiest approach.
Topics: Health, Fitness, Food and Drink
Emily Brown