There are many common issues that can sabotage success on a carnivore diet like eating too many plants and fruits. There are also many less obvious and uncommon missteps which can lead to lack of results and abandoning the lifestyle.

Fat-to-Protein Ratio

When you are eating a carnivore diet you may or may not track what you eat depending on your current needs and goals. This could result in over consuming fat in relation to protein with each meal or per day.

Aim for a 2:1 protein to fat gram ratio which is almost calorically balanced between protein to fat since fat is 9 calories per gram to proteins 4 calories per gram. This will help ensure you take in enough fat for energy use along with enough protein to allow for healing and the body’s protein needs.

This fat intake level is perfect as your body can readily convert it to energy for use whereas the protein would require being converted to glucose through gluconeogenesis which it does only when demand for energy fails to be met.

Additionally there are issues which can impact humans when they eat too little fat, and rabbit starvation is the result.

Rabbit starvation is a state in which you feel full due to the protein we have consumed, but feel physically lethargic and mentally lacking. This happens because your body becomes satiated by the consumption of protein, but fails due to not having the fuel it needs to function.

Electrolyte Management

When you are eating carbohydrates your body has to keep additional water to store them. This water volume is also what stores all the spare electrolytes which allows you to have a reserve to pull from.

When you start a diet that omits carbohydrates you will flush out this water weight in those first weeks, (a good thing). The release of this water means you are now short on electrolytes as you have no spare reserve to pull from when you sweat or expel them.

One key to a carnivore diet to keep in mind is that when your insulin is low, your kidneys will excrete much more sodium and water. While sodium is very important in VOIDING "keto flu", all electrolytes including potassium and magnesium are necessary for your ultimate success.

Electrolytes are vital many physiological processes. They help to manage many essential functions including:

·       Balance your body’s acid/base (pH) level

·       Move nutrients into your cells

·       Move waste out of your cells

If you are lacking, some supplementation strategies may be necessary:

·       Sodium: Liberally salt all foods you are eating with high-quality salts until you hit the perfect taste point.

·       Potassium: You can use a potassium salt on food or supplement with a low dose alternative. Be cautious of large amounts of potassium at once though, as issues with heart and body functions can occur.

·       Magnesium: Magnesium can promote relaxation and sleep and many high quality supplements are available. Be aware of the effects on gut motility and adjust accordingly. Alternatively, an Epsom salt bath works well through body absorption.

·       Calcium: consume ¼ tsp of bone meal mixed with water in the mornings

Ignoring Omega Fatty Acids

Omega fatty acids are essential for functionality. Frequently though both quantity and balance are overlooked. The most common Omega fatty acids or Omega 3 and Omega 6, Omega 6 come from a great many foods like nuts, fried foods and grain-raised meats.

Grass-fed beef and pastured ruminants can help ensure you are getting sufficient omega fatty acids from your foods, as these animals get Omega 3 fats from the foods they are raised on, grasses and not grains.

Many will tout the choice of fish for high Omega-3 content but this is only when they are able to live and thrive on their natural diets. Farm raised fish tend to be much lower in Omega-3’s. If you are unsure of the source of your seafood you need to understand it may not be as nutritious as you believe.

Even when eating a perfect diet including pastured raised animal meats, you may still choose to supplement additional Omega-3 fatty acids. The DHA and EPA contained in them are vital for the brain. There is a lot of evidence showing the benefits of Omega-3 in the diet for:

·       Mental Health - Battling depression and anxiety

·       Vision Health - Improving eye health

·       Brain Function - Promoting brain health

·       Lowering Heart Disease Risk - Improving heart disease risk factors

·       Lower Inflammation - Fighting inflammation

There are a great many fish oil capsules available online, but the majority have questionable sources or can even be rancid before the bottle is even opened. Try and source a supplement that is 3rd party while also following Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP). Feel free to ask me how.

If you prefer a food-based approach to get in your Omega-3. salmon roe contains all the Omega-3 with none of the lab and processing side effects.

Not Eating Nose-to-Tail

Many people will approach a carnivore diet through eating cuts of muscle meat. While this is nutritious you may be missing out on a great amount of the added value contained in the animal.

Organ meats and gristly bits are often looked down upon and avoided in modern diets. By changing your fundamental thought process and deciding to eat in a more "nose-to-tail" style carnivore diet you can get access to far more nutrients from the entire animal.

If you eat the liver of another animal you are getting the vitamins and minerals in a far more bio-available manner that your body will be able to utilize properly and efficiently to thrive.

Challenge yourself to try eating organ meats at least once. Once you get over the ‘ick’ factor, you may be pleasantly surprised that it is not as bad as your mental picture made out. If you find that you can't stomach it or don't have access to good quality organ meats you can supplement, I prefer Ancestral Supplements grass fed beef organs pills.

Imbalanced Amino Acid Profiles

Protein is essential to humans. Each protein is composed of long chains of amino acids in specific ratios and orders. There are nine essential amino acids that you cannot create and we must consume.

This means you need to get the nine essential amino acids in from your meals or from supplementation to maintain overall body health and wellness. When you eat mostly muscle meat, you may want to look into adding in additional glycine, in the form of collagen, to help balance out the amino acid profile.

Research shows that adding the collagen can help you balance the methionine-glycine ratio. This balance supports  the utility of the protein, and less will become a waste product.

Another core reason to get all the essential amino acids is to ensure a better protein absorption rate. When you have a balanced amino acid intake your body can utilize your proteins in multiple manners to allow for any needed repair process.

When ratios are imbalances, only specific types of proteins can be created. Unfortunately, the body only needs so many of a specific protein before they are simply excreted as waste products.

Quitting Too Soon

For you to start seeing the changes you are anticipating by making the change to a carnivore diet you need to keep in mind the enormity of the physiological and psychological shift. Give yourself the time to adjust and make the transition.

Overall for most people making the shift, it takes anywhere from 30 to 90 days before experiencing full adaptation and a balance and rhythm to the routine. This means they know what to eat in emergencies and that they make appropriate choices, even in challenging situations.

The carnivore diet is a very restrictive diet by nature and is not necessarily needed to be that way forever. Depending on your personal journey, you can slowly add and validate a food to see if it causes you any health issues. If you can add it for a week or two and you experience no side effects may be perfectly acceptable to add this in.

If you should add a food and have a poor reaction to it though it does mean that food is more than likely off the table forever unless you are willing to experience the side effects to consume it.

Failing to Eat Enough

A huge issue with both novice and veteran carnivore diet adherents alike is actually forgetting to eat often enough. Over time as your body becomes nutritionally sound it will stop sending signals for hunger. While this is not problematic for limited fasting, say 16:8 for example, in most cases, you do not want to go days without eating.

If you fail to consume the necessary protein and fats each day your body starts to utilize its stored resources, many times within the first 24-72 hours. This can also be a boost to the metabolism. The longer the fasting period goes the more your body holds onto those vital resources.

This reservation on resources can lead to metabolism drop and slowing of the calorie burn through lowering overall motion, slowing speech and similar processes. This is why fasting as a limited and specific tool can be very helpful but taking it too far, as many people will do can lead to health impacts.

Eating Out Too Often

One large failing for people is that they eat out, a lot. When people eat out they tend to make poorer decisions. These decisions may not be on purpose - when eating out you are unaware what is being used to cook your foods. Furthermore, temptation is everywhere!!!

This leads to eating foods which can cause health issues like bloating, gas, and more. Then it can take up to a week for it to all clear out of your body and by then its the weekend and you are heading out to eat again and starting the cycle yet again, your body never gets to be done.

Eating out tends to greatly change your caloric intake for the day as many meals can be 2000+ calories or more, possibly sabotaging a whole week’s worth of effort in one shot!

If you are doing a carnivore diet right you will need to spend very little time in the kitchen making food. Focus on this and let the social eating become something that you avoid until you are more adept at making decisions in challenging situations.

Not Knowing Ingredients

This is somewhat a correlated to the above about eating out too often. Often, the ingredients are not what you expect them to be. This can lead to eating foods which give you issues but without the ability to know you are even eating them, leading you to blame the diet.

One place where this happens frequently is when eating breakfast at restaurants. People order the scrambled eggs believing this is a solid choice. Sadly, many restaurants actually add things like pancake batter to their eggs as it helps them stay firm and, as usual, sugar helps people enjoy foods.

When you order foods, you want to ask specifically what is used in the cooking and preparation, similar to people with allergies will do. You don't have to tell them you are a carnivore as much as ask what is used in preparation to ensure nothing that would cause you a health impact is involved.

There are a great many possible missteps a person can make when embarking on and following a carnivore diet, from not eating enough to quitting too fast due to feeling unwell. Avoiding some uncommon mistakes will ensure you do not sabotage all the results you are trying to get or lead to you quitting the diet.

The goal is health and wellness – being aware will ensure your ultimate success!!