Early illness and unresolved digestion

• For years Mark followed bodybuilding-style macro targets, usually capping fat around 70 g a day despite enjoying steak and butter.
• On September 26, 2025, at age 37, Mark went to hospital with glucose around 337 and received a type 1 diabetes diagnosis; his HbA1c exceeded 14%.
• Mark had lifelong digestive problems that became severe around diagnosis. He connected them with autoimmunity and possible high-glucose injury to the vagus nerve, including gastroparesis.
• An endocrinologist, primary-care physician, and gastroenterologist explored differing possibilities, including SIBO, gastroparesis, or psychological causes. Digestive enzymes, fiber, probiotics, and kiwi did not resolve his symptoms, even after glucose control improved.

Why carnivore initially seemed absurd

• Mark logged food-related gut symptoms, including problems with foods common in plant-based or Mediterranean diets. Carnivore initially seemed to him like the "Tide Pod challenge" of diets, not a serious intervention.
• Videos by Shawn Baker, Ken Berry, Anthony Chaffee, and other ketogenic-diet advocates challenged Mark's assumptions about meat, cholesterol, and saturated fat. He remained skeptical of cardiologists calling saturated fat protective, while continuing to feel ill despite following medical advice.
• On May 14, Mark switched abruptly to beef, bacon, and eggs, despite previously struggling to tolerate eggs. His aim was relief of gut symptoms, not discontinuation of insulin; he saw the diet as a reversible experiment.

Weight loss and diabetes diagnosis

• Before diagnosis Mark weighed about 200 lb, ate roughly 2,500 calories and 265 g of carbohydrate daily, and adjusted intake around training. His weight continued falling as he increased calories.
• Mark progressively raised intake to 3,000, 4,000, 5,000, and perhaps 7,000 calories a day, adding bagels, chips, cookies, ice cream, juice, and other sugar-rich foods. His weight fell to around 150–155 lb; he initially connected the fat loss with training.
• Hospital staff initially called the condition "pancreatic overload" and were uncertain whether Mark had type 2 diabetes. Ketosis and inadequate insulin were identified, while his initial medication included metformin and very little insulin.
• Mark's primary-care team ordered GAD65 antibodies and C-peptide. Strongly positive GAD65 and C-peptide of 0.26, against a lower normal value he recalled as 0.85, supported type 1 diabetes; his primary-care clinician arranged insulin and continuous glucose monitoring urgently.
• With diabetes management Mark lowered HbA1c from above 14% to 5.9% and then 5.7% within roughly three to six months, before carnivore. Metformin ended because of digestive symptoms, and improved glucose numbers did not restore his gut health.

Carnivore adaptation, glucose, and insulin

• Mark began carnivore for digestion and initially expected indefinite insulin use. He identified close glucose and insulin monitoring as essential during the first weeks for type 1 diabetes, connecting that period with glycogen loss, "oxalate dumping", and cortisol changes.
• Mark's gut began improving within a couple of weeks. Around six weeks he experienced major improvements in digestion, mood, and energy, which he linked to fat adaptation; he also regained tolerance for eggs.
• At the start Mark's continuous glucose monitor averaged about 116, and within the first weeks his HbA1c was around 5.6%. Large one-meal-a-day portions seemed incompatible with digestive trouble and fear of further weight loss, so he experimented with meal size and frequency.
• By about six weeks, Mark's average glucose moved toward 105 and roughly two daily units of long-acting insulin began causing lows, sometimes requiring honey. His long-acting dose fell to zero.
• Mark's fast-acting insulin also fell in stages from roughly 8–10 units daily to six, then four to six, three to five, two to four, and eventually about 1.5–2 units. His insulin requirements had already been unusually low and declining before carnivore.
• Coffee coincided with a worse glucose response and a temporary increase in insulin use, leading Mark to suspect an autoimmune trigger. Chicken wings twice coincided with rises from around 90 to 170, so he eliminated them and returned to basic animal foods.
• Resistance training sometimes raised Mark's glucose to 120–160, yet even half a unit of insulin could later pull it near 75. Ten-minute post-meal walks and ordinary movement increased his concern about lows.
• Mark stopped insulin around October 18 because the smallest dose available to him, half a unit, no longer felt safe. At interview time he was using neither insulin nor metformin, had continuous-monitor glucose averaging around 95–100, and was tracking ketones.
• By six weeks Mark's lifelong digestive symptoms had essentially disappeared; hunger and fullness signals returned, food noise diminished, and energy became steady. He also eliminated energy drinks.

Meals, strength, and clinical uncertainty

• Mark's wife joined him after seeing the changes, although she initially worried about their cholesterol tests. Both enjoy the food.
• Mark eats two substantial meals: a morning meal of roughly 8–10 eggs, ham, four to six slices of bacon, and a little olive oil and sauerkraut, then 1–2 lb of beef or sometimes salmon around 1–2 p.m. He includes olive oil because of research on polyphenols and autoimmunity; his diet is not literally animal-only.
• Mark still lifts four or five days per week, but sessions have shortened from about an hour to 35–40 minutes, often with heavier weights and fewer sets. He experiences greater strength and more consistent energy at roughly 165–170 lb than around 200 lb.
• The doctors saw positive antibodies and very low C-peptide as consistent with classic type 1 diabetes, but Mark needed unusually little insulin even while eating carbohydrates; his long-acting dose had fallen from ten to six, four, and eventually only two or three units.
• Mark contrasted his doses with his estimate of common type 1 requirements of roughly 24–30 units of long-acting insulin plus mealtime doses, perhaps 60 units total daily. Doctors raised the "honeymoon phase" as a possible explanation because some beta-cell function can remain.
• Mark's C-peptide rose from 0.26 to 0.37 in June, soon after beginning carnivore, but remained below normal. Its subsequent trajectory and the reason for his lower insulin requirements remain unknown; his antibody results and the possibility of a honeymoon phase leave major questions open.
• Mark sees autoimmunity and gut dysfunction as closely intertwined and wants diabetes care to address nutrition and these symptoms more directly. His endocrinologist left the practice, and neither specialist nor primary care had a clear explanation for his course.
• Mark plans repeat C-peptide testing and has sought parasite testing and intervention along with other investigations, sometimes paying himself. His priorities are answers, lasting relief, and health and energy for his three children.

Cholesterol criticism and practical advice

• Friends and family question the diet and Mark's elevated cholesterol number, but he gives greater weight to how he feels and to work by doctors such as Anthony Chaffee on emerging research. He sees his critics as less active and energetic than he wants to be.
• For Mark, resistance to giving up processed carbohydrates reflects the appeal of sugary foods. He linked sugar and cocaine to overlapping dopamine pathways and acknowledged his own reliance on sweets before diagnosis.
• Mark also experienced relief from longstanding insomnia and more consistent daytime energy. Those improvements changed his response to other people's seemingly exaggerated success stories.
• Mark would not advise most beginners to switch overnight. His own abrupt change came from desperation; without similar urgency or discipline, he favors carnivore dinners first, then lunches, while gradually eliminating ultra-processed foods.
• Mark favors three meals over an immediate shift to one meal a day, with time for increased fat intake and microbiome changes, and an experiment of around 120 days. His examples include people who needed to discontinue blood-pressure or type 2 diabetes medication during that period.