We're all told that a balanced and varied diet is an important part of staying healthy, but what happens if you only eat two kinds of food for the rest of your days? Apparently, it might not have the results you'd think, as one man has explained what happened to his body after a year of only eating red meat and eggs.
Yes, a daily diet of a 16-ounce steak, one pound of ground beef, and six eggs is one that some people actually adhere to.
Advocates of the 'carnivore diet’ include Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson, but as reported by the Mail Online, one Nebraska man turned his life around by sticking to just red meat and eggs. Before starting his year of endurance, Patrick Ensley apparently weighed around 300 pounds and his stomach was 'too big' to be measured.
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After going on the carnivore diet, Ensley reportedly lost 140 lbs, no longer suffered from depression, and had more energy to play with his son. In a YouTube documentary charting his diet, Ensley explains how he shrunk his chest by 13 inches (down from 51), his stomach by 19 inches (from 57), and how his hips dropped to 37 inches (from 49.5). He explained: "I still have about 15 to 20 more pounds left till I hit my goal but the difference between then and now is insane."
With disturbed sleep and snoring that would 'rattle the walls', he added: "I woke up several times throughout the night.
"I'd wake up in the morning; even if I had 10 hours of sleep, I'd wake up just not wanting to get out of bed.
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'I'd be sore and stiff. My ankles and my back and my knees would hurt, and I've just been miserable."
As well as feeling 'refreshed' and 'energized', Ensley says how he used to struggle with his job as a HVAC technician due to his 330 lb weight but has now escaped being a 'prisoner' in his own body.
Even though diets high in red meat have been linked to conditions ranging from heart disease to cancer, some doctors claim these fail to differentiate between 'whole' red meats like steak and processed foods like hamburgers.
British cardiologist Dr. Aseem Malhotra says there's 'no evidence' that red meat increases these conditions: "I tell my patients, 'I don't care how much red meat you eat...' the evidence is only there for processed meat, not red meat." He agrees that most studies don’t account for differences between red meat and processed meat, although the American Heart Association suggests we should still moderate our consumption of foods that are high in saturated fat like red meat and eggs.
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This isn't the only potential problem, as UK-based specialist bowel nurse Jane Clarke warned: "When your diet is just plate after plate of saturated fat and cholesterol, you are putting immense strain on your heart.
"Eating a carnivore diet long-term will increase your risk of heart attacks and strokes."
Despite critics, Ensley has stood by his diet and concluded: "Take 'before' pictures, even if it feels uncomfortable, because months down the road, you'll look back and say, 'Wow, I've changed so much.'"
As with any extreme diet, you're advised to speak with your doctor if you're considering it.