What is the Carnivore Diet Meal Plan?
When starting any new diet, it is always helpful to have a plan. The saying “if you fail to plan, you plan to fail” has stuck around for a very good reason. The Carnivore Diet is no different in this respect. So what is the carnivore diet meal plan?
The Carnivore Diet meal plan is simply 2-3 meals daily (ideally no snacks) of meat. Eggs and dairy can be included, and water should be the main beverage. Excluded are all fruits, vegetables, grains, legumes, nuts, processed foods and sugars. Cook a steak, put it on your plate and call it a meal.
Ready to learn more about creating the perfect carnivore diet meal plan? Let’s dive in.
1. How many meals do you eat on the Carnivore Diet?
At most you should be eating only 3 times a day, 3 meals and no snacks. This might be difficult as many of us are used to constantly grazing throughout the day. This is a habit that will need to be broken (because habit it indeed is). A meal on the carnivore diet should generally be sufficient in size to see you through to the next meal. The odd snack here and there is fine, some days you will be hungrier than others. But if snacking is the norm, you are probably not eating enough at mealtime.
Many carnivores incorporate intermittent fasting by eating 2 meals a day (2MAD) or one meal a day (OMAD). There is no right or wrong answer, as it is critical to make the Carnivore Diet work for you, rather than you work for it. However, if you are incorporating intermittent fasting you want to ensure that you are eating enough.
When creating your Carnivore Diet meal plan, plan for 3 meals with no snacks, if you believe you can eat enough meat in one meal. If you are just starting out and haven’t eaten a lot of meat for quite some time, it might be better to create your meal plan with 4 smaller meals and work towards 3 larger meals over time.
2. How much meat should you eat on the Carnivore Diet?
The amount of meat you eat at each meal will depend on how many meals you are eating. If you are eating more meals, you will eat smaller amounts of meat. If you are eating only 1 or 2 meals, you will be eating larger amounts of meat.
There is a general recommendation floating around the carnivore community that you should be eating 1-2 lbs of meat per day. This is a generic guideline and it’s important to remember that it’s an average. There will be days when you are less hungry and there will be days when you are famished.
Early on, it’s not uncommon for people to be completely ravenous as their body starts to recognize that it is finally receiving proper nutrition. Your appetite might become quite large in order for your body to start healing and top up any nutritional deficiencies.
Your Carnivore Diet meal plan should incorporate 1-2lbs of meat daily. How much meat to eat per day will be based on a variety of personal factors, including your size and activity levels. You don’t need to aim for 2 lbs per day every day if that’s just too much for you. But if you find you are consistently eating less than 1 lb, you might not be eating enough.
3. What kind of meat should you eat?
In an ideal world, everyone would eat organic, biodynamic, grass-fed, grass-finished panda-massaged meat. Obviously that last part is being facetious but when I first heard the phrase (from Dr Ken Berry, advocate of the Carnivore Diet) it made me laugh, so it’s included here for your benefit.
Though that’s an ideal, it’s not practical or realistic in any sense. Everyone is bound by their budget. Long-term Carnivore dieters will simply tell you to eat the meat you love and that you can afford. While it would be nice to eat the organic grass-fed, it’s not a requirement and to say that it is would leave a lot of people unable to afford eating such a beneficial diet. A diet consisting solely of grain-fed ground beef from the supermarket is going to be far superior to the standard American diet of processed foods. So do your best. Eat the meat that you like and the best quality you can afford. You and your health are worth it.
Fat versus protein: The meat that you eat should be fatty as well. Lean chicken breasts every day are going to leave you feeling hungry. When you remove the carbohydrates from your diet (glucose) your body needs to get energy from somewhere. This somewhere is fat (ketones). While protein does breakdown to glucose in a process called gluconeogenesis, this is not nearly as efficient a process or source of energy as ketones are.
A good practice is to eat the fattiest part of the meat first ensuring you eat all the fat you want. When the fat is gone, if you still want fat, feel free to add some butter or whipped tallow to your meat and continue eating. When you no longer want any fat with your meat, finish with the leaner parts of the meat. This will ensure you satisfy your fat requirements while also consuming adequate protein.
When creating your Carnivore Diet meal plan consider the type of meat that you like and that fits in your budget. Consider also whether the meat is fatty enough to provide energy.
4. What cooking options do you have?
While it’s not necessary to have fancy kitchen tools for cooking on the Carnivore Diet (just a stovetop and a cast-iron skillet will do) it can be nice to have additional items to make cooking easier. Cooking steak and hamburgers on the stovetop regularly will require constant clean up of grease from the stovetop, nearby counters, the rangehood on top of the stove etc. I don’t enjoy clean-up and it’s worthwhile in my opinion, to invest in an air-fryer (I like this one). Yes, the air-fryer needs to be cleaned, but it reduces the grease factor overall in the kitchen.
Another great tool to have is a quality barbecue (I’m a fan of this one). The barbecue is a great tool because it allows you to cook outside, which reduces grease clean-up inside. It allows you to cook in larger batches so you can create leftovers. Cold burger patties with butter are a great option that I take to work often. Finally, barbecuing just imparts such great flavour into your meat. Again, these tools aren’t requirements, but will make your Carnivore Diet easier and tastier.
5. Can I drink coffee on the Carnivore Diet?
I chose coffee for this question because that’s my crutch, but really, you can insert any non-animal food/product into that question. Can I drink wine or beer? Can I have herbs and spices?
These are very common questions and the actual answer is it depends. This is a frustrating answer because it is a non-answer. But you need to consider what your goals are and what your overall health is. As I said, coffee is my crutch and I have tried to give it up several times but with limited success. I love the smell and taste of it and it’s a highlight of my morning. My personal experience with coffee on the carnivore diet is that as soon as I try to cut it out, I finally feel the diet is too restrictive and fall off the carnivore band wagon. My personal context is that I’m relatively healthy with no chronic health issues and am a healthy weight. So for me, coffee is okay at this time in my carnivore diet.
You should consider your personal health context and goals when considering whether a technical “non-carnivore” food is right for you.
Sample 3 day Carnivore Diet meal plan
So with all those considerations in mind, let’s tie it all together. What does a Carnivore Diet meal plan look like? 3 meals a day, no snacks, 1-2lbs of fatty meat, cooked however you like:
| BREAKFAST | LUNCH | DINNER | |
| DAY 1 | Bacon and eggs | Ground beef bowl | Chicken wings |
| DAY 2 | Sausages and eggs | Beef brisket | Bacon cheeseburgers |
| DAY 3 | Ham and cheese omelette | Lamb Chops | T-Bone |
3 meals and no snacks? Check
Fatty meat? Check
So that’s it. That’s how you put together a Carnivore Diet meal plan. Lather, rinse, repeat and create your Carnivore Diet Meal Plan to suit your tastes and lifestyle. It’s really not that complicated, so do yourself a favour and don’t overthink it.
Let me know what your Carnivore Diet meal plan looks like? What are your favourite meats and meals?
If you know someone who is thinking about the Carnivore Diet or is just starting out, please share this article with them to get them started on their Carnivore Diet journey.
Disclaimer: This website is for general informational purposes only. It must never be considered a substitute for advice provided by a doctor or other qualified healthcare professional. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified healthcare professional with questions you may have regarding your medical condition.
