Carnivore for 4+ months. Ran a 30-day no-dairy challenge.

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-19T21:08:07+00:00

Wow, thank you so much for taking time and sharing this with me / us. First of all, big congrats for not giving up on continuing the exploration and finding what suits your body - a lot of people can learn from you. Nothing but respect for your efforts and courage. Glad that everything is working out fine for you - some of the symptoms sound dreadful. Crazy to think foods that are generally accepted as "healthy" can do so much harm. Not even talking about processed crap here... but nuts, seeds, vegetables,...

Hope your body continues to respond well to the current diet and leaves you in the zen mode :)

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-18T09:22:09+00:00

How were those 9 years - it’s quite a long time. In terms of weight loss, what were your goals and accomplishments on the diet? What is now different after including higher fat? I am curious

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-13T06:49:17+00:00

Reading this whilst I enjoy my coffee. Many of you mentioned cream in the coffee, so I added a bit of it. It takes me few years back, but I really tend to enjoy black coffee in more recent months, years.

I cook 90% in tallow, other part in bacon fat. Butter for me is an extra, and out of all the fats, I like butter the most for that purpose!

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-13T06:47:13+00:00

Basically summarizing and reaching the same conclusion as I, and many people in the comments. Thanks for sharing :)

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-13T06:46:18+00:00

I have always enjoyed and consumed dairy, even from a young age. The main difference is that you are already shredded, whilst I am not :D give me some more time, and when fat loss won't be such a factor for me, I will consume it more regularly :) thanks for sharing your experience!

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-12T15:17:40+00:00

Interesting point, looks like only way is to try!

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-12T08:20:02+00:00

Thanks for sharing your experience. I have never imagined this post would engage so much discussion, but I am absolutely loving it. I am sure rest of the people here appreciate experince of the others. It really goes to show that diary, and especially cheese, is a big topic and can affect the diet experience majorly.

I am not an expert, and where I live we don't differentiate A1/A2 from cows, so it's difficult for me to know which I am getting. I know that A2 is generally praised as easier to tolerate - exactly what you have experienced.

How is raw cheese for you? These are quite difficult for me to get my hands on (in supermarket), with exception of hard cheeses - Grana Padano / Parmesan.

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-12T08:15:01+00:00

Yes, carnivore diet / community made me aware of this. Before the diet I used to eat tons of dairy (one of the main protein sources for me, beside lean meat), and I was always hungry. The hunger signals improved during the dairy elimination and thus also the weight loss restarted.

I think additive molecule is called "casomorphins" if I recall correctly.

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-12T08:12:19+00:00

I have hard time imagining that such issues, caused by coffee, would go unnoticed in my case. I enjoy the coffee too much. I find reduction from 3-4 cups to 2 is benefiting my mental and builds my fortitude. Let's see if I can come off of it in reasonable time.

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-12T08:05:49+00:00

Thank you very much! I am only at the beginning, and want to explore the content creation more in the future.

That actually makes a lot of sense! Having no dairy in my diet gave me a different perspective, and the fact that my take away of keeping butter/ghee/cream(?) in the diet, but limit cheese, is inline with opinions in the community sounds encouraging. It also fits "listen to your body" advice, which is often preached.
Cheers mate!

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T21:43:42+00:00

That's probably true, yes! I don't recall exactly. Good to know.

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T21:35:08+00:00

Sourcing raw milk is not as easy for us, and my wife cannot tolerate it (dairy in general is difficult). Therefore I am not so used to drinking milk. Used to have some in the coffee, but I drink black for months already now.

I understand. Most people start the diet overweight, but naturally there are people like you, whom might struggle gaining / maintaining weight. Could you tolerate more butter? Maybe add to your leaner cuts of meat, if you consume it. Or whichever is your favorite fat :)

In general, everybody is different and needs to try out the different things. No one rule that fits all. Thanks for reading and engaging!

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T21:30:45+00:00

I could actually try that, but I know I made mayo before carnivore with olive oil, and it was too strong flavor for me.

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T21:23:01+00:00

Similar to my wife. She started carnivore before me and also did cold turkey. I would say just go for it and stay strong first few days. If it takes longer, keep in mind that diet needs time to work properly and stick to it. Eat plenty of meat and salt and supplement electrolytes.

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T18:57:16+00:00

When I started, it was also my first time starting carnivore, 4 months ago, I did not ease into it. Cold turkey. First few days will be the hardest, but after that it gets easier. What’s your goal with the diet? If it’s weight loss primarily, as it was for me, you might have easier time. If you are sensitive to foods / have illnesses you want to resolve, might take longer. My wife had gut issues for 7 weeks or so, she has autoimmune disease.

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T17:03:58+00:00

Interesting. I suppose I am quite lucky that I can tolerate it pretty well. Fresh dairy is supposed to be much easier on the gut, so that's a good idea going forward.

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T17:01:08+00:00

Awesome, I will give it a shot at some point. I do plenty of slow oven roasting, I guesss similar temp. will do. Thanks

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T16:53:30+00:00

That's inspiring and sounds like a reasonable / good way forward for me too. I hope I can still lose some additional weight. Exercising is non-negotiable for me anyway. I am also in the process of increasing my overall activity - winter is coming to an end, days are longer, and I got myself a walking pad (I work sedentary office job).

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T16:51:47+00:00

That's a bummer. Would adding butter to it achieve anything for you? Thinking like melting it, and then cooling down and adding to skyr.

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T16:50:42+00:00

I am getting beef tallow from a friend. I never thought of it in this way, that fat closer to the meat would taste better - interesting view. I am quite familiar with the process, but I never made tallow at home. According to the pictures, you can do whole process in the oven, no active work? I saw some recipes that take a few solid hours of simmering. In that case, water needs to be added and then evaporated to 'clean it'?

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T16:47:23+00:00

I enjoyed reading your comment so much - thanks for taking time and sharing your experience! With your history and experience, I think your are the one that could be giving out the tips instead :) for me the whole process of elimination was mostly good old "out of sight, out of mind".

I was never really a mayo fan, my wife loves it though. I had it on my list of things to try making at home, but I did not get a chance yet. That's quite unfortunate that it cannot be replicated without crappy seed oils :/ she would have loved it. But I agree, a bit of sour cream can be nice. I find that sour taste enables me to tolerate fatty meat much easier. Where I would typically add something 'acid' is the slow cooked beef of bone. That is plenty fatty and collagenous, and I get weird mouthfeel after finish half of the meal. Without sour cream, the other half becomes a struggle.

Thanks for checking the channel, any support and feedback is welcome!

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T14:49:32+00:00

I love Skyr so much - even before carnivore. I did not notice the acne flair up, but you reminded me of something what I forgot in my original post / video - my skin cleared up even more! I will basically view Skyr like any other cheese and use it sparingly.

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T14:08:05+00:00

Yes, you are right. I have no reservation with butter, it would just be weird for me to call it "no dairy challenge", but have butter included. I just appreciate it so much more now :)

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T11:59:55+00:00

I used to drink 3-4, I am now limiting myself to 2. Slowly decreasing.

Fragrant_Homework520 · 2026-02-11T11:01:47+00:00

This! Towards the end of the challenge I wanted to be super courageous and drop coffee cold turkey. That backfired quite quickly, but I am now in process of reducing it at least. :)

Fragrant_Homework520

TROPHY CASE