Carnivore Diet and THRU-HIKING

THRU-HIKERS SECTION HIKERS & LD HIKERS in general
Morning folks, hope your all well today ?
Im trying to do research on the above in relation to The carnivore lifestyle. (100% meat and some dairy)
There must be some folk who do the above whilst adhering to carnivore lifestyle .
Most long distance hikers survive ( for want of a better word) on eating and drinking junk food...you know the sorts so i wont mention them) .
Id love to hear of tales of success from folks that have managed to complete some big trails like the Appalachian Trail , PCT in America or some of the long distance trails in Scotland etc...or even just a few days hiking .
What did you eat, where did you eat, how did you eat , did you rely on dropping into towns etc more.
How did you resupply ?
I'm more of an ultralite section hiker, and would like to visit America for my 50th (or beyond then) to hike one of the great trails .
Even doing multi day treks accross Scotland like the TGO or the Wainwright coast to coast would be testy for a carnivore.

Please keep replies on topic. Live your own life as i will mine. Im not here to ask for opinions on the pros and cons of eating as i do....just experiences and advice from people who eat the same way or know of people that eat the same way and have completed multi day long distance walks.
Thanks for reading......

I'm an omnivore. My longest trip with no resupply is 8 days (and I was also subbing 'the boy' on rations) - I started out carrying 21+Kg .
Food was a mix of everything. Dehydrated meals, lots of choc. flapjack for snacks, and an apple and piece of carrot every day = heavy but it helps keeps the digestive system "running smoothly". A diet of all meat and dairy could result in a nasty incidence of constipation .

@cathyjc I bet your back thanked you when the food was finished !
I've been eating only fatty meat and vary little dairy for 3 weeks now.
My digestive system is great thanks as my body processes nearly all the food into nutrients and there is very little waste.
If I'm worried about the difference between feeling well nourished and blocked up...I just need to add more fat ...and viceversa if not.

Wit this way of eating, I only eat when hungry (Not false hunger from carb addicted cravings) and eat until properly full.
Depending on what my body needs, I only eat twice a day and sometimes once with a meaty snack if I'm hiking hard.

I'll be making proper pemmican tomorrow and will be testing that for a stamina food for long distance multi day hiking.

Worst case for a weekend away...I'll just pack either raw or cooked ribeye steaks for breakfast and tea. The weight I can live with for the nutritional (mine not anyone elses) value .
A bit of hard cheese and some well cooked salted bacon isn't heavy ( even though at the moment I can eat 2 lb of bacon and half dozen eggs in one sitting) to use as a top-up if needed.

Beef jerky for trail snacks.

@Diddi I'll be making my own jerky in the oven tomorrow and it will be ground up and used in the pemmican .
I'll keep some for snacks but it will have to be natural and not sweetened like store bought or home marinaded ones...thankfully my tastebuds are becoming delighted at just meat without need for seasoning other than some Himalayan salt .
I belive some on the carnivore 'woe' do use a little mustard...but they maybe called dirty carnivores !

I reckon i could see how the body will adapt to what it has available for main nutritional requirements. As a slimmimg world veteran of the largely meat based original plan i found cutting out carbs was easy when i could chuff a whole chuck but i did it along side heaps of veg. Im guessing there must be some vitamins or amino acids or other trace elements you cant get from meat and dairy. What happens in that case Chis? Im also guessing salty bacon is bad on a salt front consumed in large amounts and that would apply to any diet?

@Chiseller

mman.us

bearlakerendezvous.wordpress.com

It goes quite deep the answer to your question @paul ...but to shorten it ...yes...meat(with It's fat ) and water provides all the nutrients I need. The body changes it's requirements and adapts so that it needs less of certain vits etc. E.g....vitamin c isn't a concern (iirc)
The main thing is that I don't count calories, don't graze, eat when hungry and eat till full.
Yesterday I ate probably over 5lbs of meat from bacon belly pork , 20%fat mince and ribeye steak.
I did 13 miles hiking yesterday .
This morning i ran for 9 miles with elevation and all I've eaten today is 2 lbs of fatty mince (made into burhers) topped with cheese and slow oven cooked bacon..
My body will take perhaps 6 months as it heals and then I should really enjoy the benefits.

're salt. I don't add salt to bacon but do add plenty of salt to my burgers and sometimes my steak.
I only use the himilayn pink salt. This is better absorbed and has minute minerals that help.
The water I need is governed by how my body is processing it.

People have had plenty of blood work done and there are no issues with the salt etc. It may sound excessive what salt I use, but as all the food is in its raw state with no added salt other than some of the bacon and corned beef...then it's ok.

Hopefully when I enter the beef and water only stage...I'll really start to reap the benefits for trekking and long distance running.
I've quit coffee too...that caused me more stress than the beer and whisky lol

Ps. nobody in the groups I'm involved with take any supplements of any kind and some have been doing it for twenty years ...

I met a few 'keto-thrus' in my US travels; almost all were adding significant amounts of low carb vegetables to their diets as they felt they needed them, but that that need varied.
Responding to how your body feels was probably a summation of their approach. They were all in good shape....but most had walked in excess of 1000 miles when I met them.

@Baldy That was some good reading...I didn't see pemmican mentioned. I thought I'd heard somewhere that Clark had pemmican on his journeys...the dried salmon is interesting and I imagine that could be used in pemmican.
I'm not a salmon fan bit will be trying some before I go on the beef and water stage.
After that it can be optional to add in none optimal foods one at a time to see if my body accepts them...this way a personalised diet can be formed.
Cheers

I didn’t know this was a thing. From your first description is sounded like you exclusively eat meat and dairy products?
But you said burgers, so I guess you eat bread as well?
I’m just curious as to what “restrictions” this diet has.
And what does it heal?

No judgement passed, this is a new concept to me so trying to understand.

@edh that's interesting. I have heard from a few keto hikers and ultra runners that it works for them. With carnivore there's no veg or fruit but it can be adapted in if going down the route of dirty carnivore or world carnivore trainer.
A lot of athletes on Keto hold world records in stamina events and there is a pure carnivore who holds records in ultra running. I know Dr Shawn Baker holds records in explosive energy rowing ( I cand remember what it's called , some kind of machine) and also is very very strong in the field of power lifting ...especially considering his age.
Cheers

Chiseller said:

@Baldy That was some good reading...I didn't see pemmican mentioned. I thought I'd heard somewhere that Clark had pemmican on his journeys...the dried salmon is interesting and I imagine that could be used in pemmican.
I'm not a salmon fan bit will be trying some before I go on the beef and water stage.
After that it can be optional to add in none optimal foods one at a time to see if my body accepts them...this way a personalised diet can be formed.
Cheers

Click to expand...

How to make pemmican in mman.us
Looks quite tasty.

Chiseller said:

A lot of athletes on Keto hold world records in stamina events and there is a pure carnivore who holds records in ultra running. I know Dr Shawn Baker holds records in explosive energy rowing ( I cand remember what it's called , some kind of machine) and also is very very strong in the field of power lifting ...especially considering his age.
Cheers

Click to expand...

I wonder if this is a red herring. There are often cited vegans who are world champion weightlifters, bodybuilders, ultra runners etc, but on dietary principles I don’t think there is anything more opposite.

So in either case this sounds compelling, but I think it’s a misleading claim from any group with an agenda (vegans, carnivores, etc).

oreocereus said:

I didn’t know this was a thing. From your first description is sounded like you exclusively eat meat and dairy products?
But you said burgers, so I guess you eat bread as well?
I’m just curious as to what “restrictions” this diet has.
And what does it heal?

No judgement passed, this is a new concept to me so trying to understand.

Click to expand...

Cheers
The burgers are without bread. And they are home made with no ingredients other than high fat content mince.
This way of eating...you only eat from.the animal kingdom. So meat and fish.
Dairy wise. It's cheese, butter . They are the restrictions...coffee is a cheat that is allowed but not used for optimal gains.

Example...we went for a meal.with extended family..I ate only steak poached eggs and a little side of cheese. Drank just water.

Healing wise...
There's plenty of claims.out there .
Mainly better brain function, less aches and pains . Diabetes, Relief for ms sufferers , chrones disease , skin conditions , teeth and bone conditions...
Strength and vigour improvements , libido ...
I'm only 3 weeks in and I have a personal ailment that appears to be visibly improving already!
People on carnivore seem to suffer less day to day ailments like cold and flu...some claim.to not get cold or flu at all since they became carnivore !

Just with any way of eating, it's really down to the individual. I have a mostly vegetarian friend and he's a strong hiker and long distance runner...
I'm in it to help with mild amnesia , Strength and endurance gains to help me enjoy trekking and long distance running.

Baldy said:

How to make pemmican in mman.us
Looks quite tasty.

Click to expand...

Sorry , the links didn't work, I used Google just on the bottom one. I'll look again later. Cheers

Chiseller said:

Cheers
The burgers are without bread. And they are home made with no ingredients other than high fat content mince.
This way of eating...you only eat from.the animal kingdom. So meat and fish.
Dairy wise. It's cheese, butter . They are the restrictions...coffee is a cheat that is allowed but not used for optimal gains.

Example...we went for a meal.with extended family..I ate only steak poached eggs and a little side of cheese. Drank just water.

Healing wise...
There's plenty of claims.out there .
Mainly better brain function, less aches and pains . Diabetes, Relief for ms sufferers , chrones disease , skin conditions , teeth and bone conditions...
Strength and vigour improvements , libido ...
I'm only 3 weeks in and I have a personal ailment that appears to be visibly improving already!
People on carnivore seem to suffer less day to day ailments like cold and flu...some claim.to not get cold or flu at all since they became carnivore !

Just with any way of eating, it's really down to the individual. I have a mostly vegetarian friend and he's a strong hiker and long distance runner...
I'm in it to help with mild amnesia , Strength and endurance gains to help me enjoy trekking and long distance running.

Click to expand...

Gotcha. I hope it works for you.

Being a pedant now, but you said you use salt (ie not animal kingdom). Can you ‘flavour’ your food with spices and herbs? Presumably no if exclusively animal products.. or are minute amounts considered ok?

oreocereus said:

I wonder if this is a red herring. There are often cited vegans who are world champion weightlifters, bodybuilders, ultra runners etc, but on dietary principles I don’t think there is anything more opposite.

So in either case this sounds compelling, but I think it’s a misleading claim from any group with an agenda (vegans, carnivores, etc).

Click to expand...

I appreciate what your saying...each group has it's own agenda...but carnivores don't spam vegans etc and we don't say the world will be a nicer place ...and don't have links with groups like peta.

As for the world records ...they are fact ... one bloke called Charles summat or another has been carnivore for years...he runs 100k plus races.
Zach Bitter is a champion elite ultra runner and eats mostly carnivore bit does use carbs lightly depending on how frequently he is doing ultra marathons.
Dr Shawn Baker ...well...he is the largest voice in carnivore and his world record ...is just that...a world record. That stands today iirc.
Cheers

oreocereus said:

Gotcha. I hope it works for you.

Being a pedant now, but you said you use salt (ie not animal kingdom). Can you ‘flavour’ your food with spices and herbs? Presumably no if exclusively animal products.. or are minute amounts considered ok?

Click to expand...

Like coffee...herbs are permitted when not.on the pure form..so yes. Some do. Usually the smallest amounts and used in a ground form...I'm still new to this and learning as I go.
I know some.use ground garlic, onion amongst.others...that is.more.the zero carb side...which is a bit.of a misnomer as trace carbs can be found in some meats and cheeses. Main thing is that they are allegedly naturally occurring.
Like salt , again there can be trace elements in meat, from the animals digestion.
The very pure ( and not skint) only eat grass fed beef ...but they are purist/extremist call it.what you may.

@oreocereus here is a pretty good base guide...
There's a bit of reading but it's in layman's terms without agenda other than helping people know what's what as far as what is excepted and what isn't.
Meat Health

Yah, but once people adopt an ideology, regardless of whether it’s a diet or being a fan of a sports team or joint a club for a board game etc, they tend to curate facts. Especially when it comes to personal things that could be considered self improvement (such as a conscious diet, to whatever end). Especially when it’s outside the mainstream and therefore will often be criticized or at least questioned by the mainstream. So I don’t think the lack of moral motivations makes a huge difference there.

I chose veganism as a counter example as it was the most obvious “opposite,” and as it was a world I was in for a time, so I’m quite familiar with what is actually fact from that community.. and what facts are curated.

That said there’s no vegan conspiracy with (with peta) that I’m aware of I think I can say that with more certainty and objectivity as someone who moved on from that world, than most vegans or otherwise soule be able to.

Thank you for that. Herbs and spices seem like they make a lot sense for sanity. I will have a read of the site and stop treating you as the faq.

edh said:

https://backpackinglight.com/forums/topic/56326/

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I read that last year . It helped me when I was paleo/keto . It was interesting and helped me on my way.
A lot of people move onto carnivore from keto. Especially as it's more simple and there's no need for calorie or macro counting .