A fitness model has revealed how her life has drastically changed after following a ‘carnivore’ diet for an entire month.
Petrina Barber, 41, who splits her time between London and Dubai, decided to cut out all processed food and carbohydrates to reduce her stoma output.
The mother-of-one became an awareness campaigner and founded her business, Beyond The Stoma, after undergoing treatment for cervical cancer nine years ago and requiring a stoma bag.
With her new diet, which consists of eating only meat, fish, eggs, and small amounts of cheese, Petrina’s goal is not to lose weight, but to improve her energy levels for athletic performance by eating only animal products. He said that he was
Before starting the diet, rice, sourdough, jam donuts and chocolate were her life’s favorites. And her first few days were a struggle with her not being able to eat her go-to snacks.
But after just a week, Petrina said she had lost weight, her snack cravings had disappeared, her sleep had improved, and people said she looked healthier.
Every week, she writes for FEMAIL and delves into the struggles and positives of dieting…
first week
During my first week on the diet, I realized I was facing an immediate challenge.
On the first day, we spent the entire day doing activities with our son, surrounded by the temptation of burgers and fries. I hadn’t prepared well for this dietary transition, so my regular diet relied heavily on good carbohydrates.
As a result, I quickly realized that I needed to increase my intake of high-quality protein and therefore my calorie intake. The first few days were tough, I was unprepared, had no meal plans, and struggled to come up with food ideas. On top of that, I had a severe headache and general fatigue.
I quickly discovered that I was a snacker. I usually had a piece of toast or a jam donut most days, but if those weren’t on the menu, I had to think twice about my options. At first, snacking on meat didn’t seem appealing, but what I learned was that it’s important to feel full at every meal.
After the first few days, my cravings disappeared along with the drop in energy that was common with my previous snacking habits. While following a carnivore diet, I noticed that I no longer wanted to snack and was always full and satisfied.
I lost 2 kg in the first 4 days and ended up losing a total of 4 kg, but eventually my weight stabilized.
My goal wasn’t to lose weight, so I focused on maintaining it. This was a natural progression for me and I had no desire to continue losing weight beyond what my body was naturally adapted to.
The first week I felt terrible. I was exhausted – I thought I might be for a few days, but not long enough to last. My head still hurt and my memory was vague.
But I was fully aware that it would take a week or two to transition my body to the new diet, as I would have to reconfigure the way I ingested glucose by switching my fuel supply.
I was still training at the gym and my training level was the same as before, so I didn’t see any difference in my training performance even though I felt tired.
On the fifth day, I received a vitamin D and B12 injection and had a blood test. My body has difficulty absorbing supplements orally due to health issues and pelvic radiation disease, so I choose injections.
Some people have trouble getting enough fiber, especially after a bowel resection. So I stopped eating fruits and vegetables about two years ago.
The definition of a “healthy” diet is ultimately always relative, as certain medical conditions often make symptoms worse.
Despite common beliefs suggesting potential nutritional deficiencies, routine blood tests were unremarkable as long as I continued my vitamin B12 and VitD vaccinations. I believe it’s perfectly reasonable to eliminate them from your diet and still be healthy. Everyone is just different.
The first weekend on the diet was really tough. I wanted to eat the usual foods I associate with weekend family time, especially donuts.
Also, the fat content was too low so I could have had something better for lunch. Chicken and egg whites weren’t as filling, and while I enjoyed them, I struggled to feel full afterwards.
Then I had to make avocado toast for my son and I wanted some too. I love the taste of avocado and carbs. When I got home, I was tired and had no energy, so I had a hard time not eating my jam donut. It was more out of habit and fatigue than out of pure desire.
Afterwards we went out to dinner and it was incredible. I thoroughly enjoyed the beef carpaccio and steak, and was very satisfied and full.
2nd week
By the second week, I found it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep. I’ve already noticed a difference in how my clothes fit. My muscles became more defined and looked more toned.
I’ve read a lot of advice that recommends daily exercise while dieting. However, I did the opposite and stopped my workouts to conserve energy, but instead increased the intensity of my workouts to allow for more active rest and recovery time.
This allowed me to stick to my routine because I knew I wasn’t running into the ground, which helped me feel less fatigued and get through the early days of my diet. My workouts were intense, consisting of three weight training sessions per week and one cardio session for him.
We went out to lunch as a group to socialize, and it was easy to choose our food without standing out like we needed to eat certain foods.
I changed a few appetizers and had a large steak for lunch. I didn’t look or feel like a social outcast. That was a big advantage. While eating lunch, I received more comments about how good I looked.
I never had any desire to eat dessert or anything sweet after lunch, but that always happened to me. But while her husband was full after lunch, I had to eat more. So, I immediately tried making a hamburger steak.
3rd week
Knowing what I was going to eat, planning ahead, and buying my food ahead of time made it easier to stick to my diet this week.
But I was shocked at how easy it actually is to overeat. I started my diet by logging what I ate, but I’m glad I did because I realized I was way off track.
At first I didn’t choose the right food. I’m on a diet to reduce my stoma output, but it’s not about losing weight, it’s because I believe it affects my overall health.
That said, if you switch to a carnivore diet, you’ll end up losing a lot of weight because cutting out all processed foods and carbohydrates will make it much harder to overeat. I was worried that I would lose too much weight, but the fact that I’m starting to balance out is reassuring.
I love food. Since protein is my favorite type of food, I found it relatively easy to eat protein all day every day.
4th week
During my last week, those around me gave me many compliments. Two people noticed that my skin was brighter and commented on my face. Her husband said I looked healthier.
At the end of the month, I am generally more active and do three high-performance strength training sessions per week. I stopped doing aerobic exercise. I have lots of energy so that’s not a problem anymore, but I don’t want to lose any more weight.
I no longer feel hungry or need to snack. I was having breakfast and wanted another piece of toast afterwards. Or maybe you want something sweet after eating dinner.
I realized that I had no appetite, as rice, sourdough, jam donuts and chocolate were the staples of my daily diet. This is a shock. I was about to break under the pressure of wanting to eat a jam donut, but it’s okay.
I realized how planned this diet needs to be. I’m usually very well-planned when it comes to meals, but without some planning and preparation, it’s hard to get through a day, let alone a week. This is not a diet where food is easily available in an emergency. You can’t just pick up a sandwich and eat what’s inside.
As with any diet, you probably already have some habits that are established and difficult to break. In my case, weekends are very busy and I have an image of eating meals with my family, so it was very difficult.
The carnivore diet is no joke, especially considering the difficulties and side effects of the first few weeks. I can understand why many people abandon diets or find them too difficult.
But for me, I feel like it was a huge success overall and I plan to stick with the diet for the foreseeable future.
