Hello friends! Following the recent launch of my magnum opus carnivore educational resource WhyCarnivore.com (a compilation containing over 2,000 testimonials outlining how the carnivore diet has helped people from every walk of life find their healthiest selves by eliminating plants from their diet), I felt it would be only right to share a summary of my own carnivore journey as well! It’s not as dramatic as many of the transformations I included in WhyCarnivore, but it was still a total life-changer for me, as I will explain in detail below. Enjoy!
Disclaimer:
I’m not a medical professional, just a weirdo who likes to try crazy things I hear about on the internet, so don’t listen to anything I say yada yada alright let’s get into it.
Photos
It’s worth noting that for all of these photos, I was doing almost zero strength-training. This is obviously not optimal – my lame excuse is that I’ve been traveling constantly and extremely busy building my podcast, WhyBitcoinOnly.com, and WhyCarnivore.com. (Not exaggerating when I say I’ve been working 16+ hour days every day for a few years straight on those projects…especially the latter two as you can probably tell by clicking into them 😅). I can’t wait to see what I look like once I finally get around to adding the weightlifting component; I’m confident it will catalyze yet another positive transformation!
ONGOING UPDATES:
Jumping back in 4 months since writing this post with an update – I finally got my lazy ass into the gym, and here are the results of 1 month doing 2-3 weight-training workouts per week (~10 workouts total), while maintaining carnivore.
Once again, my mind is absolutely blown with how much quicker results come when no carbs are getting in your body’s way. (The below progress isn’t massive, but definitely would’ve taken me 3+ months back when I was on a high-carb diet). Full story outlining my first month back to weight-training while on carnivore HERE.
Video story
My Carnivore Style
- 95% strict. I haven’t been 100% due to a number of factors (partly craziness from frequent travel, partly due to occasional indulgence on special occasions) but I can say with certainty that 95%+ of what I’ve put in my mouth since September 2023 has been fatty beef, salt, and water
- I bounce back and forth between 2MAD (2 meals a day) and OMAD (1 meal a day) depending on the price/quality of steak I have access to. (Ribeye at a good price = gorge on OMAD feasts every evening; low-quality or too expensive = 2MAD with eggs & bacon for breakfast, then 2lbs ground beef + butter for dinner)
- I occasionally mix in dairy as a treat, but keep it at a minimum as I agree with carnivore consensus that while milk/cheese aren’t full of toxins like plants, it’s still sub-optimal for adults who aren’t trying to gain weight (its purpose in nature is to help babies grow quickly via its addictive properties). I plan on giving it a closer look when I eventually commit to bulking up and building muscle; I’ll be sure to keep y’all updated on that
Origin Story
Unlike the majority of folks out there this early in the carnivore adoption curve, I did not find this diet out of a state of desperation, or even the desire to heal anything in particular.
It really came down to two things:
- I’ve always been a fan of self-experimentation, and sharing my findings across social media in hopes of helping others
- I have a frankly negative amount of respect for authority across all fields (health, finance, politics, etc.), so I’m always down to try the complete opposite of what they say (it usually works!)
- The true catalyst: As those who listen to my podcast know, I’m a HUGE proponent of Bitcoin, and the Bitcoin community is FULL of carnivore advocates who I trust (shoutout to Saifedean Ammous, the man I would credit with dragging me through the most fiat health misconceptions the fastest)
- Stumbling across Dr. Anthony Chaffee’s podcast (The Plant Free MD), and, well…we all know what happens next after someone listens to that man ramble for a while…
Long story short, after 28 years of believing in my heart of hearts that a plant-based diet was the pinnacle of healthy eating, I eventually heard enough convincing arguments that I decided I’d give it a go.
It also happened to line up perfectly with an already-planned trip to Colombia, a country where steak is significantly cheaper than in USA, with my good friend (who those of you on Twitter know as @peruvian_bull) who is also very open to experimentation and disrespecting all fiat authorities in the search of truth.
So, the two of us dove into the carnivore diet together in September 2023, with absolutely no clue how it would go. What happened next completely blew both of our minds…
Changes Experienced
Physical:
- Energy: Significantly increased. I used to regularly take mid-day naps, and generally dragged my feet after meals (which I now know were just carb crashes!) Those days are now long gone. Ketosis has my energy levels stable and sharp all day every day, without crashes, and even more surprisingly, eating my meals now actually INCREASES my energy afterward.
- Body Composition: One of the fastest changes I experienced. Within the first few weeks of carnivore, the belly softness I’ve basically always had (outside of sporadic periods of extreme exercise scattered throughout my life) chiseled out effortlessly. AND, even more crazy, after a few months I noticed (and still do) that my muscles are much fuller than they used to be, without any additional exercise. Major reminder that attaining a good physique really is 90%+ diet.
- Testosterone: I haven’t had it specifically measured, but just like the normal blood tests my concerned friends and family members keep telling me to get, I feel like I don’t need them, as my body is sending me such crystal-clear signals that I’m operating much better than I used to. Mental clarity sharper than ever, motivation to succeed sky-high, sex drive ridiculous…you name it, it’s improved on carnivore.
- Bloodflow: To my dudes out there – I’m going to keep this post PG, but let me just say: Ever since cutting out the plants, I get a very strong reminder every morning that my body is cranking all processes up a notch. (Jokes aside…if you want things operating at optimal capacity downstairs…carnivore is your answer. Trust me). Also, the overall vasculature across my body has increased visibly, and even INCREASES for a bit after I eat a giant pile of meat. Your body can’t give you a much clearer signal that things are going well than that.
Interesting thing I’ve noticed on carnivore:
After eating a giant pile of meat, my VEINS pop a little extra for a while
Compare this to getting bloated, gassy, and tanked energy after eating carbs 🤷♂️🥩 pic.twitter.com/JUuYDQytMy
— ₿en Wehrman 🦍⚡️🥩 (@benwehrman) July 15, 2024
- Facial Structure: I’ve had the jawline of a potato my whole life. After eating steak every day for several months, I FINALLY have a visible jaw! Don’t let anyone tell you that your face isn’t changeable – your jaw is a muscle just like all the others in your body, and when you actually give it the work it’s evolved to do (chewing tough meat), it WILL change shape. (For more on this concept of eating meat for improved teeth/jaw health and aesthetics, see my podcast with carnivore dentist Dr. Kevin Stock, DDS)
- Asthma: This one was a shocker…it’s GONE. I threw away my inhaler because I no longer feel any breathing problems no matter how much exercise I do. I’ll never forget the moment this occurred to me: I had just hiked up a HUGE hill in Tayrona Park, Colombia (probably 30 minutes straight of steep incline). Heart rate was thumping, sweating like a pig, but I wasn’t breathing hard AT ALL. In my carb-fueled past, I would’ve been huffing and puffing like crazy after a hill that big.
- Skin: Became much softer and more “glowing”. Mild acne I’ve had for years disappeared. I’ve noticed very clearly that when I cheat and eat carbs, a pimple or two will come back! Crazy how most people don’t know this, but as us carnivores have learned during our dive down the rabbit hole, basically all skin problems are just a result of the human body reacting negatively to plant toxins.
- Sun Absorption / Burn Resistance: HUGE difference, even compared to when I was eating “animal-based” for several months without seed oils. I used to burn like a lobster in just 30 minutes in the very mild Pacific Northwest sun as a kid. Now, I can lay out for hours in much more intense sun, and at worst get a mild singe (which quickly turns into a tan).
- Hair: Alongside my skin improvement, I noticed my hair has definitely gotten a little bit thicker on carnivore as well. Not majorly, but when I compare it with old pictures, it’s noticeable. It also has a much nicer sheen to it and is less oily, which has allowed me to ditch shampoo altogether (I just use apple-cider-vinegar + water in my hair now, plus the occasional cracked egg – much more nutrients/less toxic chemicals that way).
- Dandruff: I used to use “anti-dandruff shampoo” and avoid wearing black shirts because I was self-conscious about getting the flakes all over. COMPLETELY gone on carnivore.
- Toe fungus: Another one that I certainly do not miss! I’ll spare you the photos of my most recent bout with this annoying issue (which occurred while I was eating “animal-based” with fruit and honey by the way…interesting). I haven’t seen a single sign of it since going carnivore.
- Digestion: My digestion was never terrible like many people I know have experienced (ex: my friend Neah, who battled horrific IBS throughout her life). However, it has gone from good to stellar. Zero pain while eating ever, all bowel movements are as smooth as can be. (Note: If anyone out there is still experiencing stomach pain or “heaviness” even after going carnivore, I wrote a blog post specifically about this, as I have a theory on why that’s likely happening to you.)
- Less trips to the bathroom: Turns out, when you only eat highly-bioavailable food that your body loves to absorb, and ZERO of the indigestible plant fiber, you end up ejecting far less waste out the back end. Who woulda thunk it! #2 frequency has reduced from every day to every 2-4 days depending on whether I’m doing OMAD or 2MAD. A very welcome change.
- Gas: GONE. Like most people, I spent my whole life thinking that sporadic stanky farts throughout the day were just a normal part of life. Since going carnivore, it practically never happens anymore (and when it does, it’s tiny with zero smell).
- Teeth: “Fuzzy sweater” feel that used to be nearly constant after meals/before brushing is gone (and quickly comes back if I eat carbs.) They feel smooth and clean all the time now, to the point where I don’t feel like they even need to be brushed. (I still do, just with coconut oil instead of toothpaste as I’ve learned how toxic that stuff is). Color has also gotten whiter, which is nice.
- Joint Pain: Never had it super bad before, but this is one that shows up CLEARLY when I cheat on carbs. The day after a cheat meal, I’ll often feel a little achiness in my knees, hip, or back, and it hits me: “Oh shit, this used to happen to me all the time before carnivore!” Turns out, it was always just inflammation from the carbs. (This reduction in joint pain is one of the most common, and widely-shocking results other carnivores report as well – check out this massive collection of similar testimonials on WhyCarnivore.com!)
Mental:
- Mental Health / Happiness: I’ve always felt that I’ve had above average mental health, but WOW did I see a huge improvement. I’m happy as heck ALL the time now. Of course life happens, but it feels like no matter how much crap gets thrown at me, I’m much better at staying even-keeled and brushing off the negatives. Plus, I’m more motivated than ever to pursue my goals and live the best life possible. (For an unbelievable story of someone recovering from the depths of horrible anxiety/depression on carnivore, WATCH THIS.)
- Motivation / Drive for Life: Speaking of things I thought I had good before…my general motivation to be the best man I can be has increased to a whole new level on the carnivore diet. My drive for life, i.e. improving myself, grinding on impactful projects, and building things that change the world has gone into a whole new gear I never knew existed before starting this diet. Again, this is practically universally-reported by other people who adopt the carnivore diet. Crazy how much your brain upgrades when you remove plant toxins and load it with the healthy FAT it desires!
- Focus: I never got formally diagnosed with anything as a kid, but I was definitely scatterbrained; focusing for multiple hours at a time on a task was nearly impossible for me. Now, I can grind on a project literally all day, effortlessly, without any problem. I regularly work 16+ hour days on my personal projects, and don’t even need to take breaks – I have to force myself to just because I know it’s good for me.
- Sleep: I fall and stay asleep much easier now. I also require less total hours per night than I used to (since ketone-fueled sleep is much deeper and more efficient). Before carnivore, I needed ~9 hours to feel relatively rested the next day. Now, I wake up naturally after around 6-7, and feel MORE rested.
Note: Remember the buddy I mentioned earlier who I started carnivore with while traveling in Colombia? He suffered from debilitating insomnia his whole life (to the point of almost canceling our trip following a particularly bad stretch which sent him to the hospital). Carnivore COMPLETELY CURED THIS FOR HIM. And he’s not the only one who’s experienced this life-altering benefit.
- Mornings: SO much more OOMPH to get out of bed and take on the day. I used to absolutely despise getting up – would snooze the alarm 3+ times, sit on the edge of the bed for a while, and really need to pep talk myself into getting my ass into gear. Now, I wake up ready to ROLL.
Social:
- If you spend any time eating in public places like I do…you’ll know that this diet is certainly a conversation starter! Most people think you’re insane, but a surprising amount can be quite curious, and willing to hear WHY you’re eating the way you do. Regardless of where shocked onlookers stand on the positive/negative spectrum, it’s a great source of entertainment, and making new friends.
- Diving into the carnivore world has introduced me to the most AMAZING community of people, from the doctors who are bucking the plant-based trend plaguing their industry, to the folks who’ve battled health struggles their whole life and are dedicating the rest of their years promoting carnivore to help others heal like they have, and everything in between…it’s truly a special group. While I haven’t yet attended any in-person carnivore “meat-ups” or conferences, I’m sure I will in the future!
- For a great sampler of my favorite carnivores on earth, check out my “Carnivore” playlist on YouTube, where I’ve interviewed a bunch of them on my podcast!
Has Anything NOT Gotten Better on Carnivore?
For me, there has been one health issue that’s basically stayed the same over the course of carnivore (maybe improved VERY slightly): my allergies. This has been far-and-away the #1 boogeyman I’ve battled my whole life, so after hearing so many testimonials of people saying their allergies were completely cured by carnivore, it is a little disappointing that mine haven’t improved much.
BUT, as I always tell people: “Your health issues will only get better, or stay the same.”
Sure, my allergies miraculously disappeared, but since so many other things have improved so drastically, it’s impossible to be disappointed. If anything, it motivates me to:
- Continue going strong on carnivore, as it’s certainly possible that this could be one of those stubborn issues that will just take a much longer time to heal (which is very common for the more deeply-rooted health problems like this)
- Continue exploring other holistic health practices in search of that golden ticket that finally clears these dang sinuses out!
It’s important to remember that many of us have spent DECADES dumping plant toxins into our bodies. To assume that every single bit of damage we’ve accrued from that time will be wiped away in just 1 year is often not realistic. So, if you’re in the same boat as me and are still grappling with a stubborn problem even after adopting the carnivore diet, don’t give up – keep pushing!
Transitional / Oxalate-Dumping Symptoms
Note: for those who haven’t heard of this, “oxalate-dumping” is the process where once you stop consuming plants, your body finally “dumps” all the plant toxins it’s accumulated from all those years of eating leaves like a dummy like I did. For more on this, I recommend looking into the work of Sally K. Norton – she’s done tons of presentations and podcast appearances explaining this process in detail.
- Diarrhea. One of the most common transitional symptoms in the book as your gut microbiome transitions away from its dependence on carbs/sugar along with the rest of your body. Mine lasted a bit longer than average (a couple months vs. the usual few weeks) which was a surprise to me, but I think a big part of this was because I was eating relatively low-quality Colombian meat during the early days. I never had a single issue when eating any of the meat in USA or Mexico.
- Recurring jock itch that would pop up every 4-6 weeks. (I’ve heard some refer to this as “keto crotch”). Yeah…not fun. Worth noting that this actually begun when I made the switch to animal-based, which makes complete sense in hindsight, as for YEARS before that I ate a ton of spinach and almonds almost daily, both notoriously high-oxalate plants. Thankfully, I had a private roof for a lot of my time on animal-based then carnivore, so I was able to get plenty of time sunning the gonads outside, which DEFINITELY helped. Also, I replaced all of my polyester underwear with organic cotton, as I’d been meaning to do that for a long time anyway. For the particularly gnarly bouts, I kept anti-fungal cream on hand to knock down the flares. This period of sporadic flares lasted about a year, overlapping from the animal-based era to ~6mos. of carnivore.
- Stinging while peeing. Another common oxalate-dumping symptom. Only happened a handful of times for me, over the course of those first few months.
Carb Cheating Side-Effects
Over the course of my carnivore journey, I have thrown in a few carbs here and there as an experiment (roughly once a month), to see how my body would react. Here’s what I’ve noticed has happened consistently across these cheat tests, according to the journal I kept throughout:
Mental:
- Confidence and certainty of future decreases. On carnivore, I have an impenetrably-optimistic view of what the coming years have in store for myself, and the world at large. On carbs, I find myself questioning things more, how I’m spending my time, if I’m doing good enough, etc. Trickles of doubt begin creeping into a normally rock-solid foundation of confidence .
- I catch myself doing way more NPC actions. Mindlessly scrolling on my phone, wanting to smoke weed and watch a Mariners game instead of doing something productive, stuff like that. Really makes you think…THIS is why so many people in the world act like braindead zombies all the time – IT’S THE CARBS 🤯
Physical:
- Oftentimes I will notice a lone zit pop up somewhere on my face. (Skin is flawless when I stay strict)
- A little bit of joint pain will creep back in
- Eating routine gets wacked out for a couple days. I will randomly feel hungry sooner after a meal than I should, and likewise have less hunger during times when I’d normally be salivating. The tastes I’m craving change as well (increased desire for more carbs/sugar (just like any slippery slope of addiction), and the overall satisfaction from eating a steak goes from a 10 down to a 7-8). I’ve also found that dairy has a smaller but comparable effect; on a day when I have a couple glasses of milk in the afternoon, my usual evening ground beef bowl will be slightly less enjoyable.
Downsides to Carnivore
- No more 3 seconds of mouth pleasure from eating sugar
- Arguably makes me TOO chill…at one point I had a ton of major life stressors coming down on me, and I was just like, “Lol whatever, I don’t care because I know it’s all going to be fine.” (Guess what though…it did turn out to be fine, so 🤷♂️)
Biggest Lessons Learned
- Human beings are NOT omnivores as I (and most other 21st century humans) have been brainwashed (yes I’m going to call it that) into believing. Without getting too out-of-scope on this post, just one of the “mind blown” moments for me was learning that the human gut pH is even more acidic (i.e. built for exclusively meat / cannot break down plants) than lions, vultures, or wolves!
- The so-called “balanced diet” is a scam pushed by Big Food lobbies to…you guessed it…sell more food! When you think about it, there isn’t a single other animal on earth who eats a “balanced diet”. Every animal has a single optimal food that fuels it best, and only in rare cases when it’s unable to get that favored food, it will fall back onto something else (at a detriment to its overall vitality). Humans are no different. We operate best when we eat only our most optimal food (fatty meat), and while we can extract a small amount of nutrients from plants, it comes at a cost of bodily damage. (Our ancestors knew this. They only ate small amounts of tubers, berries, etc. when the daily hunt failed, and they had no other choice but to tank through some negative health effects from eating said plants to avoid starvation)
- The idea of bioindividuality, i.e. “everyone is different, some people do better on mixed or vegan diets” is a fallacy. There isn’t one animal in nature where different individuals within that species have different optimal diets. Plant-eaters simply have a skewed reference point, as they don’t know how good they COULD feel if they ate the proper human diet: carnivore. (I will add a small asterisk here that there are some cases where bioindividuality is relevant—ex: oxalate dumping symptoms, which can vary from person-to-person—but overall, I believe this term is greatly over-used, and every human is far more similar biologically than we are different.)
- Last one…are you ready to have your mind blown? Basically all the “chronic diseases” we as a species are facing in the 21st century are not actually “diseases” at all, but a result of poisoning from consuming the wrong foods at mass-scale. For further digging here, I recommend sifting through Section 11 “Meat Heals” on WhyCarnivore.com, which contains thousands of testimonials from people who’ve cured hundreds of “uncurable” illnesses simply by removing plants from their diet.
As just one example, here’s a fun fact: Did you know that cancer’s primary fuel sources are glucose & glutamine, so when you implement a strict carnivore + fasting approach, the cancerous cells will starve out? Don’t take my word for it…listen to these stories of people who’ve done just that and put their cancers into remission, leaving their doctors dumbfounded.
Takeaways
One year into carnivore, the most simple-yet-important mindset shift I’ve experienced is this: Carbs & sugar are drugs, not food.
Despite what many supplement-selling “health influencers” try to tell you, the optimal amount of carbohydrates for a human being to consume over their entire lifetime is not one single gram ever. Your body makes all the glucose it needs for optimal function BY ITSELF through gluconeogenesis. Every exogenous carbohydrate you add into that equation screws up this system and increases your risk for developing health problems down the road.
Where many of these aforementioned “health influencers” have gone wrong on their journey—leading them to believe and promote that “carnivore didn’t work for me, wE nEeD sOmE cArBs”—is adding an exorbitant amount of ORGANS to their diet, which is not natural, and often leads to hypervitaminosis, the real reason why these individuals encountered problems. Eating a boatload of liver for example, which contains an enormous amount of Vitamin A, is not natural for humans, and outside of a few niche cases (ex: some report small amount of liver help them heal thyroid issues faster), organs will screw up your body’s natural systems which regulate these vitamin levels. I have never eaten a single organ on this diet, and from my research, I probably never will, as they tend to cause more problems than they solve, and frankly they don’t look particularly appetizing to me.
Where To From Here?
As stated earlier, I now understand that carbohydrates & sugar are drugs, not food. Whether or not I remain 100% strict in any given month (I’ll never say I’m perfect), carnivore is my new North Star of optimal health.
When I say “North Star”, I mean that while I may not remain 100% strict at all times due to my crazy lifestyle, I will move forward with the understanding that any time I do consume a plant, it is purely for short-term mouth-pleasure, at the expense of my overall health.
Are there times where that trade-off is worth it? Of course. Life is short, so sometimes I will find myself in a case where taking a health hit for an experience is worth it to me.
Perfect example: Not too long ago, I found myself at a birthday party at a friend’s penthouse suite in the boujiest region of Cancun, Mexico. There was booze everywhere. In that moment, I don’t care what anyone says, frat Ben is coming out and we’re getting tipsy with the squad.
This spectrum of strictness is subject to change of course (I predict once I have a house, wife, family, etc. locked down then I will be more inclined to dial in 100%), but for now, my deciding factor on whether or not I’ll cheat is:
If it’s going to bring me a memorable experience (i.e. coconut vodka shots with a view to celebrate my boy’s b-day), I’m not going to beat myself up for taking a mulligan day.
If you’re saying no in this situation…you’re a better man than I!
BUT… what I will NEVER do, is go online and start spouting off that “some carbs/sugar are good for you”, as a way of rationalizing these cheats. This is shitty behavior in my opinion, and if you follow me on Twitter, you’ll know that I regularly go after the big names out there who’ve fallen into this camp of caving into carb-addiction, and coping themselves into knots trying to convince themselves (and their audiences) that carbs are healthy, thus adding confusion to the broader search for optimal health that so many people out there are embarking on.
Conclusion
I hope y’all have gained some value from this post, and for those who haven’t yet given carnivore a try…I hope you walk away from this more motivated to experiment with it yourself!
I can say without a shadow of a doubt that it has completely changed the way I view health and diet, as well as inspired me to contribute a significant amount of my own time & energy toward spreading educational content about it, as I truly believe it will play a key role in healing humanity over the coming years and decades.
Below are the highlights of what I’ve built so far to help spread carnivore signal. Enjoy, and consider sharing with a friend who you believe may benefit from this information!
— — —
That’s all for today, folks. Now, go get yourself a juicy steak, and if you even THINK about trimming that fat off…
-Ben🥩⚡️
— — —
Bonus – Thank You’s:
- Saifedean Ammous, Jimmy Song, and all the other Bitcoin carnivores, who as previously mentioned, collectively pushed me over the edge on giving this crazy all-meat diet a try, despite it sounding absolutely insane to me. Y’all just continue to be RIGHT about things, and I’m so thankful to have you in my social circle!
- Nina Teicholz, Matthew Lysiak, Daniel Trevor, and all the other meat-advocate authors out there, who are blazing the trail of truth through your literary masterpieces! (The Big Fat Surprise, Fiat Food, and Unholy Trinity, respectively)
- Dr. Anthony Chaffee, Dr. Robert Kiltz, Dr. Kevin Stock, Dr. Stephanie Rimka, and Dr. Fernando Morales, for not just taking a stand against the corrupt medical industry from the inside and bringing a level of legitimacy to carnivore that so many people need…but for coming onto my goofy little podcast to spread your truth to my audience!
- The haters, for being such a joyous source of entertainment and motivation throughout this adventure. I sincerely hope you eventually come around to the proper human diet, so you too can find your happiest, healthiest self ❤️
- Every single person out there who’s publicly shared their own carnivore journey, whether it was on my podcast or others, for playing an important role in shifting the overton window in a positive direction that will change this world for the better! KEEP FIGHTING! 👊
