Starting the carnivore diet is straightforward: eat animal foods, stop eating everything else, and give your body 30 days to adapt. The biggest keys to success as a beginner are eating enough fat, keeping salt intake high during the adaptation period, and resisting the urge to quit during the first week when your body is switching fuel systems. This guide walks you through everything you need to know.
How Do You Prepare for the Carnivore Diet?
Preparation is the difference between a smooth transition and a miserable first week. Here is your pre-start checklist:
Step 1: Clean Out Your Pantry
Remove or relocate all non-animal foods. This is not about waste — give items to friends, family, or a food bank. The goal is to eliminate temptation. When day three hits and you are craving bread, you do not want bread in the house.
Foods to remove:
- All grains, pasta, bread, and rice
- Fruits and vegetables
- Nuts, seeds, and legumes
- Cooking oils (vegetable, canola, soybean)
- All processed and packaged foods
- Sugar, honey, and sweeteners
Step 2: Stock Your Kitchen
Here is your beginner shopping list:
Essential proteins:
- 3-4 pounds ground beef (80/20 or 73/27, not lean)
- 2-3 steaks (ribeye is the gold standard for beginners)
- 2 dozen eggs
- 1 package bacon
Essential fats and cooking:
- 1 pound butter (salted or unsalted)
- Beef tallow or lard for cooking
- Salt (sea salt, Redmond Real Salt, or pink Himalayan)
Optional additions:
- Cheese (if including dairy)
- Heavy cream (for coffee if keeping it)
- Bone broth
- Sardines or salmon
Total first-week cost: $50 to $80
Step 3: Set Your Targets
As a starting point, aim for:
- Protein: 1 gram per pound of your ideal body weight
- Fat: At least equal to protein in grams, ideally more
- Calories: Do not restrict. Eat to satiety.
For detailed target-setting, read how to track the carnivore diet.
Step 4: Download a Tracker
The first 30 days is when tracking matters most. A dedicated carnivore tracker like Vore makes this painless. It shows your protein-to-fat ratio automatically, includes beginner meal plans, and takes seconds to log each meal. Download it for iOS or Android.
What Should You Eat During Your First Week?
Keep it simple. Beginners who try to make elaborate carnivore recipes on day one usually burn out. Here is a dead-simple first-week approach:
Breakfast: 3-4 eggs cooked in butter + 2-3 strips bacon
Lunch: 1/2 pound ground beef patties with salt
Dinner: Steak (8-16oz depending on hunger) with butter
That is it. If you are hungry between meals, eat more at meals. If you are not hungry for breakfast, skip it. Listen to your body.
This simple template gives you approximately 130 to 170 grams of protein and 120 to 160 grams of fat per day, which is a solid starting range for most adults. For a full week of varied meals, check out our 7-day carnivore meal plan.
What Happens During the First 30 Days?
Here is a realistic timeline of what most beginners experience:
Week 1: The Adjustment
Days 1-2: Excitement and novelty. Eating steak for every meal feels indulgent. You might feel surprisingly full.
Days 3-5: The carnivore flu may arrive. Symptoms include headaches, fatigue, irritability, muscle cramps, and brain fog. This happens because your body is depleting glycogen stores and adjusting electrolytes. Combat this with:
- 5 to 7 grams of salt per day (about 1 to 1.5 teaspoons)
- 400mg magnesium supplement before bed
- Plenty of water
- Bone broth for additional electrolytes
Days 5-7: Symptoms begin to subside. Your body is starting to efficiently burn fat for fuel. Bathroom habits may be irregular — this is temporary.
Week 2: Finding Your Rhythm
Energy starts to stabilize. Cravings for sugar and carbs decrease noticeably. You may notice reduced bloating and clearer skin. Hunger patterns change — many people naturally shift to two meals per day.
Weeks 3-4: Turning the Corner
This is where carnivore starts to feel natural. Benefits that people commonly report include:
- Sustained, even energy throughout the day (no afternoon crashes)
- Improved mental clarity and focus
- Better sleep quality
- Reduced joint pain and inflammation
- Noticeable changes in body composition
Month 2 and Beyond
The diet becomes automatic. You know what to buy, how to cook it, and how much to eat. Most chronic symptoms that respond to carnivore show significant improvement by this point. This is also when you can start experimenting with different variations if strict carnivore feels too restrictive.
What Are the Most Common Beginner Mistakes?
After coaching thousands of beginners through the transition, these are the mistakes that derail people most often:
Mistake 1: Not Eating Enough Fat
This is the number one beginner error. If you eat lean meat without adding fat, you will feel terrible. Protein without adequate fat can cause a phenomenon sometimes called “rabbit starvation” — fatigue, nausea, and diarrhea from excessive protein relative to fat.
Fix: Choose fatty cuts (ribeye over sirloin, 80/20 ground beef over 93/7, chicken thighs over chicken breast). Add butter to everything. Cook with tallow or lard.
Mistake 2: Not Eating Enough Total Food
Your body is undergoing a major metabolic transition. This is not the time to restrict calories. Many beginners eat too little because they are used to portion sizes from their previous diet.
Fix: Eat until you are comfortably full at every meal. If you are hungry an hour later, eat again. The first month is about adaptation, not weight loss optimization.
Mistake 3: Skimping on Salt
When you stop eating processed foods, your sodium intake drops dramatically. Combine that with the diuretic effect of low carbohydrate intake, and you can become depleted quickly.
Fix: Salt your food generously. Aim for 5 to 7 grams of salt per day during the first month. If you get headaches or cramps, add more salt.
Mistake 4: Quitting During the Adaptation Period
The carnivore flu is temporary but uncomfortable. Many people quit on day four thinking something is wrong. Nothing is wrong — your body is adapting.
Fix: Commit to 30 days before making any judgments. Mark the date on your calendar. The adaptation discomfort is a one-time cost for long-term benefits.
Mistake 5: Overcomplicating It
You do not need carnivore bread, carnivore pizza, or carnivore pancakes during your first month. These recipes create more work and often use ingredients (like whey protein and cream cheese) that can cause issues during adaptation.
Fix: Keep it to meat, eggs, butter, and salt for the first 30 days. Add complexity later if you want it.
How Do You Handle Social Situations as a Beginner?
Eating only meat in a world built around plant-heavy meals requires some social navigation:
At restaurants: Order a steak or burger without the bun. Most restaurants are happy to accommodate. Ask for extra butter on the side.
At dinner parties: Eat before you go, or bring your own protein. A brief “I’m doing an elimination diet for health reasons” is usually enough explanation.
With family: Cook the meat portion of family meals and skip the sides. Most family dinners already include a protein you can eat.
At work: Bring pre-cooked ground beef, hard-boiled eggs, or leftover steak. Carnivore lunches are actually easier to pack than most meal-prep options.
What Tools Help Beginners Succeed?
A food tracker: Track your protein, fat, and ratios for the first 30 days. Vore is built for this and includes beginner-specific meal plans.
A food scale: Weigh your meat raw for the first few weeks to learn portion sizes. After a month, you will be able to estimate accurately by sight.
A cast iron skillet: The single best piece of cookware for carnivore. Sears steaks perfectly, holds heat well, and improves with use.
A meat thermometer: Takes the guesswork out of cooking steaks to your preferred doneness.
An online community: The carnivore community is one of the most supportive dietary communities. Forums, Reddit groups, and social media accounts provide motivation and practical advice.
For a comprehensive understanding of why the diet works, explore the benefits of the carnivore diet and the science behind carnivore and weight loss.
For more beginner resources, visit the Carnivore Diet Guide hub.