Six common beliefs addressed, Part 239

1. Can fasting be added to any diet?

Yes, but you won't obtain any metabolic benefits. Fasting by itself does nothing for the reversal of metabolic conditions and overweight/obesity. It is only complimentary to a proper diet and exercise regimen.

2. Are there any acceptable vegetables on carnivore?

Carnivore is an all-animal based diet. So, unless animals started growing plant parts I am not familiar with, aside from the eggplant emoji, then vegetables would not be acceptable on carnivore.

If a diet does not fit you, find another one but don't change it to fit your desires because then it loses its efficacy.

3. I have diverticulitis. My doctor told me to limit meat consumption. Could it have been caused by carnivore?

The only reason I'm answering this question is because it was made in the context of diet but, people please, don't bring me your medical problems. I am not a doctor.

This is a metabolic health blog, not an "I don't have insurance" and/or "I'm too lazy to contact my doctor right now so I'm asking around the internet for help" blog. The internet is not a surrogate for proper medical care. If you're second guessing your doctor, then find another doctor and get a second opinion. Don't get your second opinion from someone who is not a doctor and not your doctor.

The answer to your question is NO. Carnivore doesn't have anything to do with this condition. Anyone can get this. Diverticulitis is when small, bulging pouches develop in your digestive tract. When these pouches become inflamed or infected, the condition becomes diverticulitis. As you get older, your intestinal walls can become weaker putting you at risk for the development of these pouches. Also, certain chronic digestive issues can make you more susceptible to this. I'm sure your doctor has explained this to you already but I'm describing it for the reader.

This has nothing to do with carnivore. The reason your doctor most likely told you to stay away from meat is because it is slower to digest, as it's nutrient dense, causing for your digestive tract to work more and irritate these pouches further. At least, that would be the logic behind the recommendation, but we don't know if that really pans out in practice. It depends on where the pouches are. If they are in your colon then meat would be your best friend. If they are somewhere further up, then not so much.

Whatever the case, your doctor is the one who diagnosed you. Ask them to explain to you clearly why you would have to limit meat specifically and not anything else. See what answer they give you. I am sure you would be able to discern if the answer is justified and makes sense or if it's just pure BS. Usually "stay away from meat" is the go-to advice for anything from a broken leg to dandruff. This is why you should question your doctor until you get satisfactory answers because you are ultimately paying him to treat you. Don't leave the office with these types of doubts because going to the internet with them is not going to make things any clearer. You have probably already gotten 70 different answers to this before you got mine. Go back to your doctor.

4. Can you still lose weight and "regulate insulin" if you only eat potatoes one meal a day (OMAD) style?

The simple answer is no. For those that want the complicated answer, keep reading.

I don't know what you mean by "regulate insulin". Insulin can only be "regulated" through proper blood glucose regulation, unless you have a serious pancreatic condition. Eating only potatoes once a day does not acquire proper blood glucose regulation, particularly when you are already overweight/obese with bad blood glucose control to begin with.

The OMAD style is actually more detrimental for this than the potatoes. Overweight/obesity/diabetes are metabolic adaptations towards starvation. Doing OMAD will only reinforce this adaptation, not reverse it. This type of eating causes a prolonged time in hypoglycemia, which is a signal to the body that it is starving and must get its blood glucose up. That's when your hypothalamic/pituitary/adrenal axis (HPA) makes sure blood glucose goes up. Way up. Stimulating this stress response daily, causes further metabolic adaptation towards starvation.

5. I am a grazer and so don't eat "meals". What are good items to munch on?

Air. Oxygen. Breeze. Wind. Draft. All of these are good to "munch" on.

Now if you want to actually address your metabolic health, then you would first have to address your bad eating habits. Grazing is one of them. We aren't ruminants. Humans don't graze. You can't make a metabolically healthy diet fit in with your bad behaviors or it will lose its efficacy.

The way metabolically healthy diets work is when they are followed properly. When you eat is just as important as what you eat. You are supposed to be eating proper meals - two to three a day and fasting in between. That's how it works. If you can't do it, you can always remain fat. Remaining fat is always an option but wasting time is not.

6. I am going on vacation and need quick results to drop 20 pounds.

Join Jenny Craig.

There are many easy, cheap and effective weight loss programs out there for dropping 5 - 20 pounds. I've said this before. If you just want to drop some vanity weight to fit into your bikini, you can do so on a weekend liquid diet. Pick up a tabloid at the check out aisle of your local grocery store and follow whatever fad diet they recommend this week to drop weight fast. After all, the bikini doesn't care if the weight you dropped is from water, fat, muscle or bones. You can cut your leg off and drop 10 pounds instantly.

But this blog is for metabolic health. It's not a weight loss blog. You have clicked the wrong link.