Today, I am becoming a carnivore
Today, I am becoming a carnivore.
January 3rd, 2025 - As I sit in front of my computer, easing back into work after the festive season, I find myself still recovering from the indulgences of the past few weeks. Like many, I overdid it, and my final days of 2024 were a blur of feasting, drinking, and partying.
As 2025 begins, I reflect on the usual New Year's resolutions: spending more time with my family, prioritising my health, working harder and smarter, and -naturally - surfing bigger and better waves.
I am a co-founder of The Land Group, an asset manager and farmland operator that produces ethically raised, grass-fed beef in Uruguay and Paraguay, and is currently expanding to Argentina and Portugal. Yes, I do have a vested interesting seeing more people consume more meat - provided it is the non-factory farmed kind, ideally originating from one of our farms.
With that disclosure out of the way, in the coming weeks, I will explain some personal reasons behind my decision to try the Carnivore Diet and document how to 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 will also review books, podcasts, and other resources that have influenced my decision. I will also document my journey from a lousy cook who can barely fry an 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 consuming exclusively 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 it is rooted in the idea that human ancestors thrived on a diet rich in animal products and that our bodies are best suited for such nutrition.
Followers of the Carnivore Diet typically report several benefits that have caught my attention. These include improved digestion and gut health, more effective weight management (as the absence of blood sugar spikes and crashes associated with carbohydrates leads to greater satiety on fewer calories), and increased muscle mass and strength. Many people also report significantly higher energy levels and enhanced focus and mental clarity - which I am particularly looking forward to. The Carnivore Diet also seems to 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 my interest. Most other diets require careful attention to a wide variety of food groups and combinations. In contrast, the Carnivore Diet simplifies meal planning by focusing exclusively on animal products, eliminating the need for complex recipes or intricate food pairings. This approach saves time and reduces the decision fatigue often accompanying other diets, making it easier to stick with it over time.
Of course, there is a vigorous debate about and limited research on the long-term sustainability and health impacts of such a restrictive diet, which we can explore in future posts. But the immediate benefits seem promising enough to make me want to try it, at least to induce a short-term reset of my eating habits.
By Francisco Roque de Pinho, co-founder of The Land Group
*A structured approach to identifying food sensitivities, allergies, or intolerances by temporarily removing specific foods or food groups from your diet and then gradually reintroducing them to observe reactions. It is commonly used to pinpoint foods that may be causing unwanted symptoms, such as digestive issues, skin problems, or headaches.
**It is, therefore, a more restrictive version of the ketogenic diet, which allows a variety of foods, including low-carb vegetables, nuts, and seeds. Both diets seek to lead to a state of ketosis, where the body burns fat for fuel instead of carbohydrates.
