Today, I am becoming a carnivore
By Francisco Roque de Pinho, co-founder of The Land Group
January 3rd, 2025 - As I sit in front of my computer, easing back into work after thefestive season, I find myself still recovering from the indulgences of the pastfew weeks. Like many, I overdid it, and my final days of 2024 were a blur offeasting, drinking, and partying.
As 2025 begins, I reflect on the usual New Year's resolutions: spending more timewith my family, prioritising my health, working harder and smarter, and -naturally - surfing bigger and better waves.
But today, I am also becoming a carnivore.
I am a co-founder of The Land Group, an asset manager and farmland operator thatproduces ethically raised, grass-fed beef in Uruguay and Paraguay, and iscurrently expanding to Argentina and Portugal. Yes, I do have a vested interestin seeing more people consume more meat - provided it is the non-factory farmedkind, ideally originating from one of our farms.
With that disclosure out of the way, in the coming weeks, I will explain some of thepersonal reasons behind my decision to try the Carnivore Diet and document howI approach and experience it. I will share the results, the highs, and the lows(hopefully more of the former and fewer of the latter). Along the way, I willalso review books, podcasts, and other resources that have influenced mydecision. I will also document my journey from a lousy cook who can barely fryan egg to, hopefully, a Master Chef specialising in all types of meats, cuts,and grilling techniques.
The Carnivore Diet is a radical elimination diet* that involves consumingexclusively animal-based foods, primarily beef, but also pork, chicken, fish,shellfish, eggs, and limited dairy. It is fundamentally a zero-carb,high-protein, high-fat diet that excludes all processed and plant-based foods,including fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes**. The philosophy behind itis rooted in the idea that human ancestors thrived on a diet rich in animalproducts and that our bodies are best suited for such nutrition.
Followers of the Carnivore Diet typically reportseveral benefits that have caught my attention. These include improveddigestion and gut health, more effective weight management (as the absence ofblood sugar spikes and crashes associated with carbohydrates leads to greatersatiety on fewer calories), and increased muscle mass and strength. Many peoplealso report significantly higher energy levels and enhanced focus and mentalclarity - which I am particularly looking forward to. The Carnivore Diet also seemsto significantly reduce inflammation, helping improve skin health, chronic pain(such as joint and back pain), and autoimmune conditions.
The simplicity of the Carnivore Diet also piqued myinterest. Most other diets require careful attention to a wide variety of foodgroups and combinations. In contrast, the Carnivore Diet simplifies mealplanning by focusing exclusively on animal products, eliminating the need forcomplex recipes or intricate food pairings. This approach saves time andreduces the decision fatigue often accompanying other diets, making it easierto stick with it over time.
Of course, there is a vigorous debate about andlimited research on the long-term sustainability and health impacts of such arestrictive diet, which we can explore in future posts. But the immediatebenefits seem promising enough to make me want to try it, at least to induce ashort-term reset of my eating habits.
Francisco Roque de Pinho
*A structured approach to identifying foodsensitivities, allergies, or intolerances by temporarily removing specificfoods or food groups from your diet and then gradually reintroducing them toobserve reactions. It is commonly used to pinpoint foods that may be causingunwanted symptoms, such as digestive issues, skin problems, or headaches.
**Itis, therefore, a more restrictive version of the ketogenic diet, which allows avariety of foods, including low-carb vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Both dietsseek to lead to a state of ketosis, where the body burns fat for fuel insteadof carbohydrates.
