At 63, I was given a grim prognosis: poor heart function due to aging heart muscle and a lifetime sentence of medications. This wasn't my first brush with serious health issues - I'd already undergone two major heart operations, with the second nearly claiming my life during an eight-week hospital stay. Add to that chronic IBS, severe migraines, a hiatus hernia with acid reflux, and hyperthyroidism - I was a walking pharmacy, told I'd need medications "for life."
The irony? I was always the "healthy eater." I followed all the rules - plenty of chicken and fish, mountains of vegetables, and minimal red meat. Sure, I enjoyed my sweets, but being naturally skinny, I never saw it as a problem. I tried everything - vegetarian, vegan, keto, paleo - desperately searching for health while getting progressively sicker. I blamed it on bad genes, having been first diagnosed with heart disease at just 27.
Then I discovered the carnivore lifestyle. After exhausting all other options, I thought, "Why not try something completely opposite to everything I've done before?" I had nothing to lose - I was just trying to survive.
The results have been nothing short of miraculous. My IBS vanished almost immediately. After a year, I was able to completely eliminate the Omeprazole I was told I'd need forever. Migraines became a rare occurrence. But the most shocking transformation? My "age-related" poor heart function disappeared completely. I've now abandoned ALL medications, despite still having one imperfect heart valve. At 66, I'm as active as a twenty-year-old and, for the first time in my life, I know what it feels like to be truly well.
The GoCarnivore community has been instrumental in this journey. In a meeting, Dr. Chaffee gave me the courage to finally break free from my medication dependence, while the community provided crucial guidance on everything from electrolytes to managing acid reflux. I couldn't imagine navigating this transformation alone.
While I lost about 10 kilos without trying, the physical changes went far beyond weight loss. My body became more defined, stronger, and more capable than ever. What's most surprising is how the improvements keep coming, even after more than a year on the carnivore lifestyle.
The biggest challenge hasn't been following the diet - that's been easy, as I love meat and felt better consistently. The real struggle has been watching others continue down the path I once walked, depending on medications while their health deteriorates.
At 66, I'm more ambitious than ever - not financially, but in my desire to live a full, meaningful life. I'll never return to vegetables or fruits, which I now believe contributed to my poor health with their depleted nutrients and chemical treatments. While I remain open to optimizing my diet further, carnivore has given me something invaluable: the ability to instantly feel what works for my body and what doesn't.
For someone who spent decades believing they were eating "healthy" while slowly dying, this transformation has been nothing short of a rebirth. I'm finally becoming the person I should have always been, and I'm living proof that it's never too late to reclaim your health.
