Weight loss on a Carnivore Diet or generally any diet depends on metabolism, hormones, activity levels, and food intake. While minimizing carbohydrates and consuming meat-based meals can lead to weight loss, some people may hit plateaus. Let’s find out why you are not losing weight on Carnivore Diet and find the best solutions to get back on track and get rid of stubborn belly fat.
The short answer is yes, you absolutely can lose weight on the Carnivore Diet—many people do. By avoiding carbohydrates and plant foods, you cut out major sources of sugar, insulin spikes, and processed junk [1] [2].
This shift can lead to significant fat burning, improved insulin sensitivity, and appetite control. Remember that you shouldn’t just lose weight, but lose weight healthily.
On a Carnivore Diet, you don’t have to count calories—a general idea of what and how much you eat will do. Carnivore is all about removing unnecessary foods, simplicity, and satiety.
On this diet, some people automatically eat fewer calories because fat and protein are filling. Also, after you get fat-adapted, you’ll experience reduced cravings and emotional eating.
So, if you do everything according to the plan, how much weight can you lose on a Carnivore Diet?
Learn More: Can I Lose Weight on a Carnivore Diet? How Much? How Fast?
You can lose weight on a Carnivore Diet, but the amount depends heavily on personal factors, such as your starting weight, health status, foods you eat, metabolism, and activity level.
However, generally, someone may drop 10–20 pounds in the first month, especially due to water weight and reduced inflammation. Others may experience slower, more gradual losses of 1–2 pounds per week.
The important point is that weight loss is rarely linear. You might see fast progress at first, then experience a plateau as your body adjusts [3] [4].
It’s also common to see fluctuations based on water retention, hormonal cycles, and digestion. Instead of obsessing over daily weight, it’s better to track weekly averages or take measurements.
Also, if you have already lost a lot of weight or are closer to your goal, progress may slow down. At this stage, tweaking your fat-to-protein ratio, meal timing, or physical activity may help restart fat loss.
Additionally, it’s important to understand that weight loss isn’t just about calories in vs. calories out. Your body’s stress levels, sleep quality, gut health, and even how often you eat can influence progress.
Some people may even gain weight temporarily as their body adjusts to the high-fat, zero-carb eating plan. The trick is knowing when this is normal and when it is a red flag!
Let’s learn why you are not losing weight on Carnivore Diet and find solutions to get back on track and reach your ideal weight healthily.
Here are the main 30 reasons why you are not losing weight on Carnivore Diet. Don’t worry, the solutions are also given for each problem.
While fat is the most important macronutrient on a Carnivore Diet, consuming too much fat can lead to a calorie surplus. Some people overuse butter, tallow, or ultra-fatty cuts without balancing protein intake [5] [6].
The first rule of a healthy Carnivore Diet is balancing macronutrients, meaning you should keep the protein-to-fat ratio. At first, you should find the right ratio based on your metabolic flexibility, health status, and goals by consulting a healthcare professional.
You can also use this free Carnivore Diet Macro Calculator to find out the right balance of macronutrients (fat and protein) for your body.
You should also use leaner cuts like sirloin, chicken breast, or venison for a while. Avoid adding extra fats unless needed for cooking. Let your body burn its own fat instead of the fat on your plate.
Protein is another essential macronutrient on the Carnivore Diet, and you are possibly not losing weight on Carnivore Diet because of consuming low levels of protein, which is not in balance with the amount of fat you consume [7].
Protein supports lean mass and boosts metabolism. If you’re too much fat, you might not be triggering the satiety and thermogenic benefits of adequate protein.
To solve this problem, you can use this Macro Calculator and find out the amount of protein you need in accordance with the amount of fat you should consume.
You can provide high-quality protein from rich sources, such as top sirloin, pork loin, or seafood. Generally, you need 1g of protein per pound of your ideal body weight.
Another reason for not losing weight on Carnivore Diet can be consuming too many carbohydrates. Do not listen to others’ ideas and don’t follow their plans because everybody has different needs and reacts differently [8].
You can consult a healthcare professional or Carnivore Doctors to find out how many carbohydrates you need based on your metabolic flexibility.
You can also use this Carnivore Diet Food List to know what exactly you can eat and find the best sources of nutritious foods.
If it has been a long time since you have been minimizing carbohydrates, for example, some months or years, your metabolic rate gets used to this situation and slows down.
This slowdown means lower weight loss or a plateau. To break this cycle, you can keep your current weight and focus on gaining muscle. This way, you maintain a strong body and have healthier weight loss in the long run.
Also, being on a zero-carb Carnivore for a long time can decrease leptin and thyroid (T3) levels, body temperature, and libido, and increase cortisol and plateaus.
So, you need a little bit of balance at this point if you are a long-term carnivore. To boost leptin, which kickstarts fat-burning, you can use cyclical carbohydrates.
This doesn’t mean you are cheating or quitting Carnivore; it means you're periodically using carbs as a tool to break plateaus, improve hormone health, and keep fat loss going.
You can still stay meat-based 90% of the time and do 1 carb day/week or even 1 carb meal every 4–5 days. Of course, you can do this after consulting your Carnivore coach or doctor on a Carnivore Event/ QA Session.
Another reason for not losing weight on Carnivore Diet can be consuming too much of low-quality foods or not eating enough nutritious sources.
The Carnivore Diet is not just about avoiding carbohydrates. Rather, it is a balanced lifestyle toward a healthier body and mind. To restart weight loss, you need real, nutritious foods.
So, steer clear of processed low-carb foods. They are not as beneficial as whole foods. You can eat whole proteins like chicken, fish, eggs, and good fats instead of refined carbs.
So, focus on a low-carb, high-fat, and moderate-protein balance, so your body can enter ketosis and burn fat, which means weight loss.
If you are avoiding main meals and going for snacks, even Carnivore-friendly ones, your body may fall into a weight loss plateau.
This is because eating too often can keep insulin levels high, reduce fat burning, and make you consume too many calories.
So, you should have 2 or 3 big meals every day and avoid too much snacking between the meals. This way, your digestive system and metabolism have time to rest and function properly.
Although dairy products are allowed in some versions of the Modified Carnivore Diet, overeating them can slow weight loss [9].
This is because dairy products like cheese and heavy cream are calorie-dense and insulinogenic (keep insulin high) for some people. They can trigger cravings and bloating, stalling weight loss.
The solution for this one is easy. You just need to limit dairy products for 30 days and restart eating them cautiously to see how your body reacts.
However, you don't need much dairy on a Carnivore Diet, and it is even forbidden on stricter versions. You can follow your specific plan based on your food list, needs, and body reactions.
Some meats like bacon or sausages that can be accepted in some versions of the Carnivore Diet contain hidden sugars, additives, and fillers that can stall fat loss.
So, it is best to stick to the main foods allowed on a Carnivore Food Pyramid and choose clean, unprocessed cuts. If you want to eat bacon or sausage, look for sugar-free, nitrate-free options with minimal ingredients.
While it is okay to eat out on a Carnivore Diet, restaurant meals are often cooked in vegetable oils or contain hidden carbohydrates/ sugars that you may not be aware of.
You can use these Carnivore Diet recipes to cook healthy, easy, affordable, and yummy Carnivore meals at home. When eating out, ask for plain grilled meats with no sauces or oils.
Nuts are allowed in some modified versions of the Carnivore Diet because they are whole foods. However, they are high in non-animal fats, especially walnuts, hazelnuts, and almonds.
Nuts are energy-dense, but eating large amounts of them won’t make you feel full, which is why it is easy to eat too many of them. The negative point is that a bag of nuts has more calories than a regular meal [10].
So, if you are following a standard Carnivore, you should avoid nuts. Even if you are on a more relaxed version of Carnivore, you should avoid snacking on nuts every now and then because they increase your caloric intake and stall weight loss.
You may be careful about eating high-calorie foods, but you should also have an eye on high-calorie drinks. Bone broth, milk, cream in coffee, or even fat coffees can increase calories and reduce your natural hunger signals.
Stick to water, electrolytes, and black coffee or tea if they are allowed on your Carnivore variation. Also, avoid adding calories to your drinks.
Learn More: 20 Best Zero-Calorie Drinks: Are They Good for Weight Loss?
One of the most common reasons for not losing fat on a Carnivore Diet that is often neglected is having low body fat.
When you have a high percentage of fat in your body, you can generally burn it more quickly when you change your lifestyle and diet than when you don’t have much fat.
But as you make more and more progress, your weight loss slows down and gets more difficult. Mathematically, if you have 20% fat, you can more easily bring it to 5% than when you want to reduce 5% fat to 4%.
If you are already in a healthy range of body fat, you probably won’t need to strive for the remaining percentages. Consulting a healthcare professional can tell you if you have enough or too much body fat.
Yes, Carnivore can still cause weight gain if you're eating far more than your body needs, even if it's all meat.
Of course, you should balance your macronutrients on a Carnivore Diet, but you should also keep an eye on the number of calories you consume.
You don’t need to count every calorie you eat; just having a general idea of the number of calories is good enough. So, eat mindfully. Stop eating when you are satiated. Consider tracking food intake temporarily to learn your baseline.
You can use these Food Tracker apps to easily record what you should eat and avoid on a Carnivore Diet to stay healthy and eat nutritious, high-quality foods.
If you’re eating too much protein or snacking frequently, you may be in a glucose-burning state rather than fat-burning ketosis.
To know if you are in a ketosis state, you can track ketones with a blood meter. To induce and maintain ketosis, you can adjust macros or eating frequency.
Generally, if you balance your macronutrient (fat and protein) ratio, you will automatically induce ketosis. Then, you just need to keep the balance to maintain this fat-burning state.
If you are constantly using so-called healthy sugars, such as coconut sugar, raw cane sugar, honey, agave nectar, etc., you may experience plateaus on a Carnivore Diet.
Sugars are carbohydrates, and eating them is against the low-carb nature of the Carnivore Diet. Even if you are on modified Carnivore diets, you should keep these carbohydrates and sugars at a minimal level.
While low-calorie sweeteners can be added to your Carnivore food list, you should consider minimizing or avoiding them if you hit a weight loss plateau, especially because some of these products contain digestible carbohydrates as fillers.
You can also use this free GoCarnivore Sugar Calculator.
Hormonal imbalances are one of the most common reasons for not losing weight on Carnivore Diet. Thyroid issues, insulin resistance, or estrogen dominance can block fat loss, even on a zero-carb Carnivore.
To get rid of hormonal issues, you need to visit a physician or specialist to do necessary blood tests and control thyroid, cortisol, and insulin sensitivity through lifestyle and diet tweaks or medicine [11] [12].
One of the best things about the Carnivore Diet is that it focuses on improving health by targeting the main causes of chronic illness. Hormonal issues are among the most common diseases that can be fixed on a Carnivore Diet, even if you just follow it to lose weight!
.webp)
Consulting a healthcare professional before starting a Carnivore Diet is necessary because the doctor can give you personalized advice and see if the diet aligns with your health status.
Also, they can recognize if you have underlying health conditions that may affect the results of your diet. Even when you have visited a professional at the beginning, revisiting them while you face a weight loss plateau can help you find out if a medical condition is delaying your weight loss.
One of the factors that is generally neglected when considering weight loss plateaus is stress level. High cortisol from mental or physical stress can increase blood sugar and block fat-burning mechanisms [13] [14].
So, it is best to use stress management techniques like deep breathing, nature walks, or journaling. You can also use meditation apps to control your stress levels and get rid of weight loss stalls.
Staying hydrated is not only good for your electrolyte balance and digestive system, but it also helps you lose weight. Despite what you may think, hydration and weight loss are closely connected [15].
Water helps your body flush toxins and fat stores. So, not drinking enough water means your body cannot properly get rid of toxic materials and fat, which is another reason why you are not losing weight on Carnivore Diet.
Again, enough is different for each person, but you can generally have 8-12 glasses of water per day. So, remember that caloric deficit and macronutrient balance alone are not enough.
Learn More: Alcohol on the Carnivore Diet: The Best and Worst Beverages
Lack of sleep affects hunger hormones ghrelin and leptin and leads to insulin resistance and weight retention. To lose weight healthily and quickly, you should have 7–9 hours of quality sleep [16] [17].
You can set a bedtime routine, limit screen time 30 minutes before bed, and keep your room cool and dark.
Some people do OMAD Carnivore or long sessions of Carnivore Diet Fasting, then binge on too much food in a single meal, which is the exact opposite of calorie deficit.
Use fasting cautiously. See if your body tolerates it and if it gives you the results you want. If you overeat after fasting, try switching to two meals per day with smaller portions.
You can also use these fasting apps to try intermittent fasting healthily.
While OMAD Carnivore can affect caloric deficit, consuming more than 3 big meals a day can also negatively affect weight loss on a Carnivore Diet.
Many people believe that they should eat frequent, small meals during the day to lose weight. However, not enough studies confirm this.
Eating too many meals means consuming excess calories, which simply leads to weight stall or even gain. It is similar to snacking too frequently.
The safe and healthy way is to have 2 or 3 main meals during the day and 2 or 3 small, Carnivore-friendly snacks between the meals.
If you are sitting most of the time during the day, you cannot expect quick weight loss. Even if you are on a meat-based, low-carb diet, you need regular physical activity to reach your ideal weight [18] [19].
A sedentary lifestyle can prevent your body from using energy efficiently, even with clean eating. So, go walking, jogging, or cycling every day, do bodyweight exercises, or resistance training. Even 20–30 minutes a day helps.
Some people are not losing weight on Carnivore Diet because of not moving enough, yet others see the same result because of over-exercising!
Doing too much physical activity can increase cortisol levels, deplete recovery, and cause fat retention.
The best method is to balance movement with rest. You can also try strength training instead of excessive cardio, and remember efficient recovery.
Digestive issues such as gut imbalances, parasites, or poor digestion can lead to bloating, inflammation, and metabolic dysfunction, which hinder weight loss because the body cannot function properly.
To solve these problems and improve your gut microbiota and digestive system, consume organ meats and bone broth. You can also consider digestive enzymes. If these didn’t work, you can visit a healthcare professional.
The Carnivore Diet fights inflammation and autoimmune conditions by clean eating and avoiding unnecessary foods. These two are the causes of a wide range of chronic diseases, including obesity.
Systemic inflammation from underlying conditions can stall fat loss and make the body resistant to change. Although it can cause serious issues, it is easy to fight it.
You can eliminate potential triggers (dairy, eggs, pork). Focus on anti-inflammatory Carnivore foods like beef, lamb, and fish.
Some bodies take time to heal from years of metabolic damage. Fat loss may be delayed or stalled because internal healing is more important for the body.
So, if you are just starting Carnivore, you should be patient. Focus on non-scale results, such as energy increase, improved digestion, and better mood. You need to give the diet at least 90 days before judging Carnivore Diet results.
Learn More: Carnivore Diet Before and After Photos: Carnivore Diet Results
Emotional or boredom eating, even of meat, can cause you to consume calories more than needed. Listen to true hunger cues. Eat only when hungry and stop when satisfied. Practicing mindful eating is the best way [20].
Sometimes, everything is going as planned, but we are just expecting too much! Expecting rapid, significant weight loss every week can create frustration, even when slow progress is happening.
So, track body measurements, energy, and strength, not just the scale. Consider this point that progress isn’t always visible, but may still be happening.
Instead of expecting to lose weight every day, see how the diet is doing in general because weight loss is not a linear process.
Remember that fat loss and losing weight are not the same thing. Sometimes, when you are doing weight training or bodybuilding while on a Carnivore Diet, you may gain muscle while losing fat, which is the best.
So, sometimes we are actually losing fat, which is healthy, but are gaining muscle (not fat) because of exercising. This means fat loss, even if we don’t realize it!
So, to ensure if you are losing weight on a Carnivore Diet, you can measure your waist circumference with a measuring tape to see how the diet is doing weight loss-wise. Healthcare professionals can also check your body fat percentage.
Weight loss can happen slowly sometimes, but it doesn’t mean it is not happening!
The Carnivore Diet is a healthy way to lose weight, but sometimes you are not losing weight on Carnivore Diet for different reasons.
Usually, if you’re not seeing results, it doesn’t mean the diet isn’t working; it means something needs tweaking. Whether it's your fat intake, eating schedule, or lifestyle habits, small adjustments can lead to great results.
