I Starved, but Found Keto, Carnivore, The Primal Diet and Myself – Chapter 5

Preface
This is the final chapter of a 5-part narrative where I revisit my search of optimum health through diet, and how I found it in animal foods. It’s not meant to abide to a particular group or “movement”, nor is it meant to preach.
What it does emphasize is the value of good quality meat for hormonal health and strength, and how deliberate food/calorie restriction is counter productive to happiness and fitness.
In this final chapter, I describe what my routine looks like now, and a few pointers for you to improve the quality of your meat consumption.
Jump to: Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4
German translations provided by Anina
Last Six Months
I believe what the combination of dialing down the exercise and introduction of starchy carbs did, more than anything, is normalize my excess hormones and toxicity as Vonderplanitz suggested.
- I only need two meals a day now – breakfast and lunch. I eat anywhere from 500 G – 1 KG of fatty meat in those meals, and don’t feel hungry till 5 AM the next morning. When having lunch with friends or organizing parties, I’ll order some cooked grilled meat (mostly fish) without being dogmatic, although raw still digests best.
- My meat is eaten predominantly raw, warmed in a pan for a minute in some melted raw butter; my body doesn’t extract as much nutrition or energy from cold raw meat straight from the fridge. Cooked meat on the other hand dehydrates me and gives me the odd blood sugar related issue.
- More importantly, my body is no longer holding on to an excess of water or flab in my midsection. I see increased vascularity all over.

- I have more energy than ever before; the increased walking and switch from carbs/fat has improved the way my body utilizes fat for energy. My day starts at 5 A.M and ends at 11 P.M – I don’t need much sleep to get by, and certainly am too hyperactive for a nap.
- I’m able to hold on to my muscle mass with just bodyweight exercises (I’ve got a weighted vest now).
- I no longer feel the urge to drink alcohol excessively; I drink once a week, on a Friday, and even then, it will be a reasonable amount just to unwind.
- I still smoke because I enjoy it, but feel fine (both in terms of cardiovascular health and energy) as long as I’m smoking natural tobacco cigarettes.
What I do feel the urge for is a lot of walking; walking feels good, keeps me lean, and improves digestion several fold. It’s the most effective and underrated forms of exercise, I’m convinced – I average 15k – 25k steps a day.
Around New Year’s last year, friends of mine suggested that I should give modelling and nutritional coaching another serious try, given my “being in shape”, the uniqueness of my “diet”, my experiences, and sense of fashion.
I’d already been considering the same for a while.

- As of this year I’ve begun collaborating with other freelance photographers and applying to modelling agencies in and outside Germany; I’m currently represented by Elli Gilgal models in Frankfurt.
- As for the “spiritual” side of things — when I’m eating raw fatty meat, I feel an unnatural sense of bliss and calm; there’s no worrying about the future or brooding in the past. It’s a heightened level of consciousness that’s hard to explain or believe unless you’ve experienced it.
- Through the last 6 months I’ve continued to provide nutritional and fitness advice to people in my circle. I’ll mostly emphasize the importance of fatty meat and make suggestions to their diets to accommodate more meat and improve its digestion. When I can and if they’d like, I’ll prep them a steak. I also get them to walk more, especially if they’re stuck at a desk job.
- There’s not a day I wake up feeling like I don’t want to do anything or head out the door; on the contrary, I now feel time is too short for the things I want to do. I still sleep my best sleep on the floor.
As things change in my environment, food items might be added or removed; I might eat some unripe fruit and drink vegetable juices in the summer, or sip on raw milk if I’m travelling to a farm.
Regardless, what would be stupid to let go on my part is the fact that animal meat and fat should be the foundation of any lifestyle. That is our natural diet; everything else is secondary.

Closing Observations
To wrap up, I won’t explicitly list the benefits I’ve experienced eating fatty meat as those are not only apparent through the story, but is also common with the benefits others have experienced on a carnivore, raw meat or ketogenic diet for that matter.
What I will do is list observations made through my experience, that could possibly help you on your journey. It isn’t gospel, so choose to accept or ignore them as you see fit:
- The brain fog that I struggled with was predominantly a blood sugar issue; I was clearly dipping around lunch time, either because of too many carbs or not eating anything at all. Interestingly, I’ll still get it if I’m eating lean meat with insufficient fat.
- The intense diarrhea I developed when switching to all meat lasted a good 3 months. It was mostly green and caused by overconsumption of leafy greens and spinach. Till today, my body and mind reject the sight of raw vergetables.
- Not eating sufficient animal fat results in cravings for savory and sweet food. Those who are mostly plant based can be observed eating or mimicking savory and creamy food items.
- Quality, raw animal fat is the most nourishing and healing macronutrient — in combination with animal protein of course. Vegetable fats and proteins are inflammatory and incomplete.

- Human bodies are not meant to be extremely “lean” and “shredded”; this is a false image that’s been propagated by the media, Instagram, movies and the fitness community. Women are healthiest around 18 – 20%, while men at 12% – 15%. Eating a diet predominant in minimally cooked meat will automatically set your body to its healthiest body fat percentage.
- Sometimes it’s necessary to put on weight and fat before you can get healthy.
- The body fat level that is the healthiest for you is the one that lets you stay energized all day, without eating too frequently or obsessing over/restricting food. If you find yourself hungry, you just aren’t feeding it enough. Period.
- Calories aren’t everything and forced calorie restriction is never healthy. Fat loss and health gain is mostly hormonal; calorie restriction on a meat-only or low carb diet can even be counter productive.
- Exercise shouldn’t be done strictly for fat loss. More importantly, you shouldn’t be forcing your body to exercise. When your body is healthy and nourished, it will force you to exercise.
- The best exercises are those that improve your strength (push, pull and squat heavy weights), and also let you burn fat without stressing out your hormones. Intense cardio ages you, and burns you out long term – walking is the best in this case.
- Walking after a meal (carnivore or not) helps in its digestion and prevents any erratic blood sugar spikes/dips after (within reason; you can’t outwalk a terrible diet). Walking before bed induces restful sleep. 10k steps a day is easy to achieve and maintain.

- If you are having trouble digesting meat, there are other things that need to be addressed – the degree of cooking (minimal/raw is best), the amount of fat (fat helps in digestion and protein absorption), and what you’re combining your meat with (best eaten by itself, or with acidic fruits).
- Both overcooking and freezing meat destroys the availability and quality of its nutrients. Meat, when stored, should be left to air in the fridge and not wrapped in plastic; meat left to age in plastic is toxic.
- Vegetables shouldn’t be combined with meat. Not only do both require different biochemical environments to digest, but vegetables, nuts and seeds are extremely high in anti-nutrients that impair digestion and nutrient absorption. Salads. if at all, should be eaten by themselves.
- Intermittently fasting is not healthy if you are forcing your body to. You should be eating sufficiently in each meal, at the right times, so that your body automatically doesn’t feel hungry for dinner.
- Eating your first meal after waking up around sunrise is essential; this normalizes hormones, makes you less hungry during the day, and lets you sleep more restfully at night. If you say eating breakfast makes you ravenous for the rest of the day, consider if you’re eating only animal fat and protein in that first meal. Anything else (especially carbs) will only confuse blood sugar.
- There’s no need to worry about others judging you, nor is it necessary to preach; I eat raw meat out in the open and tell people about it only if they are genuinely curious.
- Water shouldn’t be overconsumed; water can be dehydrating and when consumed in large amounts in one go, tends to affect your natural fluid/mineral balance. Sip every 20 minutes, do not gulp, and drink to thirst. If you’re abnormally thirsty before or after a meal – you’re most likely hungry, stressed, or have eaten something that’s playing havoc with your blood sugar/insulin.
- Once you have your health in check, spend the rest of your life doing the things you love. Get off the internet, stop feeding the panic/fear/narcissism/depression, and connect with nature.

Thanks for reading.
laurence britt
Thanks for all you efforts! i’ve just given a quick once over the story, liked alot of it, i’ll be trying the meats + acidic fruits! As best i understand it, this is to balance out the alkaline of the meat; alkaline products promote the stomach to produce more stomach acid, and acidic products… promote it less? something like that. I found a slight difference in how my body felt when i started trying to balance out acidic/alkaline meat/fruit/veg, and have had significant improvements in the dreaded hemmaroids… Has that issue resolved for you?
Thanks again 🙂
I@seanbrags.com
Hey Laurence,
Thank you for reading through!
No, actually, meat is acidic and so eating acidic fruits with it is conducive to its digestion. Vegetables and other fruits on the other hand are alkaline, which is why it’s never a good idea to combine them in a single meal; that’s what leads to the bloating and uneasiness most people feel when they eat meat with grains or veggies.
I’m not surprised that you noticed improvements in balancing your acidic/alkaline food intake — We Want to Live, the book I mentioned in the story, suggests eating raw alkalizing foods to soothe the condition. These include all fruits and vegetables.
Yea, pineapples, citrus, tomatoes etc. are acidic, but they also have an “alkalizing” effect on the body.
I’d say eating the fruits I listed with meat would be a good idea for the hemorrhoids , while also having other fruits separate from your meals in small servings. That said, even then, it’s best to eat unripe fruits in limited amounts IME as if you, like me, are prone to mood/energy issues with fluctuating blood sugar — adding fruits to your regime could make things worse. So see how you feel.
Let me know how your experiments turn out!
As for my haemorrhoids; yea they did go away. Although they came at a time when I was drinking too much fruit juice, grains, and hard liquor on an empty stomach.
Armaan
Wow, I finally got around to reading it and ended up finishing it all in one go. Sounds like it’s been a crazy journey and you’ve been to hell and back, but those years have led you to a place that most people won’t reach in a lifetime!
I’ve of course picked up a few tips from your content, but now it’s time to start my research from scratch (I’m not very educated in diet stuff but have wanted to adopt a clean, healthy diet + get bigger for a while) I’m only intimidated by the amount of contradictory information that’s out there, and reading about the number of (possibly necessary) wrong turns you had to take is also scary! The confusion is probably the most intimidating part. Another is the whole unfortunate organic, raw meat situation in India. I doubt I’m going to be able to easily find the kind of things you eat out here (which actually look quite tasty) Some research regarding that will be required.
Also I have to add – as someone from India, from a (sometimes overly) caring and concerned family, I was quite relieved to hear you had the same struggles as I do when it comes to the topic of diet. My mum starts freaking out and asks me why someone like me needs to “diet” (that dirty word only reserved for people trying to lose weight) It’s good to see that was another obstacle you had to deal with, and if you can, then I can too 🙂 (basically, don’t argue, just do it away from them and let the results speak ;))
One thing I picked up from your story is that there isn’t always a black and white way when it comes to finding the right diet for yourself – listening to how your body and mind feel, going a bit with the flow (A bit like “wu-wei” maybe) and not being overly obsessed with fitness is important.
Your transformation (body, but also overall life situation) is really inspiring and is now something I look up to and aspire towards (also wish I lived some place cool like Germany! lol) I have some time on my hands these days, and I plan to read up on and research this stuff. Gonna be confusing, but hopefully I can figure it all out and eventually get there! 🙂
Finally, a question – with all the contradictory information around, what’s a good place to start on educating oneself on the foundations and basic stuff about nutrition? I’m guessing “We Want to Live” as mentioned in your post, would be a good starting point? I’ve also heard about “How Not to Die” (lol @ similar names) was wondering if I should pick that as well.
SeanBrags
Thanks for taking the time to read through all of it, Armaan!
So firstly, I understand it can be very confusing especially when every website that you read diet information off of is affected by bias, and probably also has a “valid” argument against other diets. I felt this way when reading a lot of the “zero carb” community’s stuff and when I did hit a point where I didn’t know how to eat anymore, since all that was being preached wasn’t working, I decided to start from scratch.
So basically how it would be out in nature — raw meat and dairy mainly, everything else according to season or for a specific purpose. In this regard, Aajonus Vonderplanitz’s We Want to Live and The Recipe for Living Without Disease were very helpful. It’s important to note however that I didn’t just read it because I had heard mentions of it, but whatever snippets I’d read of it, aligned with what I’d inferred from my own experience by then. His books were only confirming and expanding those lessons I’d learned. 🙂
And while I’ve read about plenty of other diets, I’ve found that a lot of them tie into the what Aajonus propagated — although he guised his principles (that were based on his own research) in a way that would appeal to people eating a standard diet.
Secondly, regarding the organic raw meat situation in India. Doing some research you could probably find a farm or seller of poultry and goat meat from a farm (gauti chicken as they call it, which is the equivalent of “free range” in the west). The Islamic community down there (butchers) would know where to get good mutton from; speak to them, find out where to get goats fed grass, and try to make connections on the street that way.
For a while, this might mean having to eat sub-quality meat for a while and honestly, not that I’m telling you you should, but I’ve done it. And I didn’t fall sick; once you’re past the initial transition phase, you’ll find that your body is pretty adept at handling meat of any kind.
As for moving, that is always the best. You are a game developer with plenty of talent; you’d get a place in a studio out here pretty easily. Work full time for a few years, raise enough money, then break away and do your own stuff; or why not both? With talents like yours, the possibilities are endless my friend. I was just another writer. 🙂
I’ve told you about what’s the best place to start reading, but if you haven’t caught it already, I also created a video on the subject recently – https://youtu.be/C2441W1ucJc
Hope this helps; besides, you have me on Instagram, so shoot me a message if I can help in anyway. Good luck, chief.
Armaan
Hey Sean
Thanks for the great and detailed reply 🙂 I did just watch your video now and then came over here to check your response. A lot of the questions I had have been answered in the video, and I’ve found a good starting point to begin my own research and my own journey (as I’m sure that is your goal – to show us a starting point rather than give readymade answers without understanding the “why”)
The links in that video look like a goldmine of information and it’s exactly what I was looking for! Thanks for the tips on meat in India as well, I’ll look into it 🙂
And about moving – that’s exactly the idea I’ve had in my mind for a while now. I’m doing a little programming crash course and working on my CV these days. Good to hear you think that’s a workable plan too!
Will hit you up on Instagram if I have questions – looking forward to getting started with my own journey. And thanks for the inspiration! 🙂
Jorge
I think that what you said made a great deal of sense.
However, what about this? suppose you added a little content?
I mean, I don’t wish to tell you how to run your website, however suppose you added something that grabbed
a person’s attention? I mean Sean B –
Snaps and Steaks is a little boring. You could peek at Yahoo’s home page and see how they
write post headlines to grab viewers to open the links. You might add a
video or a related picture or two to get readers interested about everything’ve got to say.
In my opinion, it might make your website a little livelier.
ОbmAhlv
Спасибо, ваш сайт очень полезный!