Both the carnivore diet and fasting are trendy topics at the moment, and many (like myself) have felt the benefits first hand. But if you were to choose between the two, which would be the better option?
Both the Carnivore diet and fasting have been shown to have health benefits. Combining both can be an extremely effective way to get maximum benefit. However, if you were to choose one, then the carnivore diet would be a more sustainable choice, since it can also be considered a ‘fasting-mimicking’ diet.
In reality, some people will benefit more from fasting, and others more from an animal based diet. But which one is best for you? In this article, we’ll cover:
- the benefits of both fasting and the carnivore diet
- which one trumps the other and why
- which one might be best for you personally
Let’s talk about why you would do either of them in the first place…
The Benefits of Fasting vs Benefits of Carnivore Diet
Here are some of the benefits of both lifestyles, and then we’ll discuss why these are benefits:
- Induce a state of ketosis in your body (which brings numerous benefits that we’ll discuss in a bit)
- Give your digestion an easier time
- Been shown to have healing effects on the human body in studies (such as this one for the carnivore diet, and this one for fasting).
Let’s talk about why some of these are indeed benefits…
Some Potential Benefits of Ketosis
Ketosis is a state that the body goes into when it doesn’t have access to carbohydrates. During ketosis, the body burns fats rather than carbohydrates as its primary fuel source.
Being on the carnivore diet and/or fasting can induce ketosis in the body.
Because the carnivore diet contains no carbohydrates, your body goes into a state of ketosis. And of course, when fasting, you are not eating anything at all, so this forces your body to go into ketosis too.
The difference here, is that the carnivore diet will not necessarily keep you in ketosis all of the time. Eating large amounts of protein in one go can kick you out of ketosis. You can read about this more in my article, “Does The Carnivore Diet Keep you in Ketosis?“.
Fasting on the other hand, although it may take some time to get into ketosis (around 4 or 5 hours, depending on what you have been eating beforehand), you will stay in ketosis and continue to get into deeper ketosis the longer you are fasting, until you peak at around 54 hours where you will be in the deepest state of ketosis.
NOTE: The carnivore diet is not the same as a ketogenic diet. Check out my article here to learn about the similarities and differences between keto and carnivore.
Some of the benefits of ketosis are:
- Weight loss – ketosis can lead to reduced appetite and increased fat burning which can help with weight management (R).
- Improved blood sugar management (R).
- Improved risk factors for heart disease such as lowered triglycerides and blood pressure (R).
- Reduced visceral fat (the bad kind of fat found around your organs) and appetite control (R).
- Reduced inflammation throughout the body
However, there are some differences. Fasting for example, gives your body a complete break from digestion, giving your body a boosted time to concentrate on healing, detoxing, etc. Whereas the carnivore diet floods your body with nutrition, giving it everything it needs to start healing.
Here’s a table summarizing some of the similarities and differences between the carnivore diet and fasting:
| Carnivore Diet | Fasting |
|---|---|
| No restriction to eating animal based foods | Complete abstinence from food |
| Can go in and out of ketosis if consuming large amounts of protein in one meal | Once in ketosis (5 hours in), you stay in ketosis and continue to deepen your state of ketosis |
| Easy on the digestive system | Complete break to the digestive system |
| Can feel restrictive | Mental break from food |
| Provides bioavailable nutrients to the body | Relies on stored energy to provide nutrients |
| Highly satiating, omitting the need for snacks | Induces autophagy (cell repair in the body) |
| Minimal research backing the benefits | Extensive research backing the benefits |
So, you can see from the table above, although there are some similarities, there are also some subtle differences. Now, if you had to choose one, which one would be best? That would depend on a few things…
What to Consider When Deciding Between Fasting & the Carnivore Diet
Here are a few questions to ask yourself before making a decision between the two…
Which will be More Sustainable for You?
Your personality and preferences will be the biggest deciding factor when choosing to either fast, or go on the carnivore diet. And it’s important to be honest with yourself!
TOP TIP: If you’re new to fasting and/or new to the carnivore diet, DO NOT try and start both at the same time! It will place too much stress on your body and could potentially have the opposite of the desired effect on your body!
The method you choose should be the one that you will be able to do consistently. Both lifestyles have some form of ‘restriction’. Will you better be able to keep away from food altogether? Or will you better be able to control which foods you are choosing?
For many, it is easier to say no to foods when you have made the decision to not eat during a certain period of time, knowing that you will eat whatever you want during your eating window. For others however, it is easier to continue to eat, but make the choice to eat only certain types of foods (i.e. animal based foods).
NOTE: Check out my article here to learn “How to Deal with Sugar Cravings on the Carnivore Diet“.
Having experienced both, I personally found it surprisingly easier to fast, rather than try to control what I was eating. This was because it was much easier to make the decision at the beginning of the fast, that I was saying no to all food.
It felt like I wasn’t having to constantly make ‘good’ decisions throughout my day about choosing the ‘right’ foods, whenever I was presented with a choice. And this choice became more and more difficult for me as the day went on. Whereas with fasting, it was actually easier and easier to not eat as the day went on.
Decision fatigue is real! So, bear that in mind if you tend to have less will power and motivation as the day goes on (like me!).
But of course, each person will be unique, and what works for me, doesn’t necessarily work for someone else. The best way would be to try each one and decide which one is more sustainable for you. (And, like me, you may end up eventually doing both together; but more on that later).
Some more things to think about when deciding which way of eating is right for you…
What is Your Goal?
It’s important to understand why you are considering both lifestyles. Are you looking to lose weight? Fix auto-immune issues? Optimize your already good health?
It will be a case of understanding your biggest reasons, and matching that up with the biggest benefits that each lifestyle gives you.
For example, if you are otherwise healthy, but you have some excess weight to lose, you may be more suited to fasting to get rid of the excess weight as a healthier form of caloric restriction, and to encourage your body to feed on the excess fat rather than calories from food.
Check out my article, “Is the Carnivore Diet Good for Weight Loss?” to discover how animal based eating affects your weight. (You might be surprised at the answer!)
If, however, you are suffering from autoimmune issues that you would like to heal, then the carnivore diet may be a better option due to the healthy fats and nourishing calories that your body will receive to help heal things, (and in turn, help regulate your weight, if needed).
Do you mostly need nourishing right now, or do you mostly need a break from eating to reset things?
How is Your Relationship with Food?
This is an important one to think about. If you tend to be a bit of a binger, or suffer from other unhealthy behaviours around food, then fasting could trigger or encourage unhealthy eating behavior. If this is you, it may be best to consider doing the carnivore diet instead as a way of eating healthier but not restricting yourself in any way.
If you are somebody who generally has a good relationship with food, and are able to moderate, then fasting may be a way of you enjoying a variety of foods, but still benefitting from everything that fasting brings to your body.
Do you Prefer the More Science-Backed Approach?
Fasting has numerous studies backing it up, so if you’re the kind of person that wants to do something more evidence-based, then fasting is going to be the method for you.
In addition, fasting, in its different forms, is an age-old tradition that spans across many different cultures, religions, spiritual teachings, and has been practiced for thousands of years by many different people.
Although the carnivore diet has some studies supporting it, there are not many yet, and the evidence is more anecdotal (you can read my story here). This doesn’t mean the carnivore diet is not right for you, it just means you need to decide how much scientific evidence you are comfortable with before trying something out.
Do you want to Continue Eating Everything?
If you want to continue to eat everything, then obviously fasting would be the better option for you! However, I should say here, that your choice of foods whilst maintaining a fasting lifestyle will definitely affect:
- how easy or difficult you find the fast
- how effective your fast is going to be
Now, this doesn’t mean that you still won’t benefit if you are making questionable choices on the foods you eat. But it doesn’t mean you may be making it harder for yourself, and making the fasting less effective. More on that later in this article…
Whichever way you decide to eat (or not eat), it is always recommended to approach things from an informed and holistic perspective. Once you have decided which one you are going to try, it is extremely important that you:
- Talk to your healthcare professional before embarking on any new lifestyles that will affect your health.
- Research how to carry out your new lifestyle in a safe and sensible manner.
IMPORTANT: It is super important NOT to make extremely dramatic changes to your lifestyle, as this could be too much for your body. Here are some tips to get you started:
5 Top Tips When Starting a Fasting or Carnivore Lifestyle
Interestingly, most of these tips that I am about to share, are useful for both the carnivore diet and a fasting lifestyle. The reason being, that these 2 lifestyles share many of the same benefits.
However, if you’d like tips specifically for adjusting to the carnivore diet, check out my detailed article here.
Tip #1: Start Off Slowly
It is super important that you take things slowly when it comes making new changes, especially when beginning fasting. The body will take some time to get used to the changes, and if you do too much too soon, you are in danger of:
- damaging your metabolism
- suffering adverse side affects
- slipping back into old habits due to things being too tough
When fasting, start off by simply increasing the gaps between your meals/snacks. And slowly stretch that window of time more and more as time goes by.
With the carnivore diet, if you decide to start it instantly rather than gradually, you will likely have some adaptation symptoms to deal with. I have more details on these symptoms, and how to reduce them in my article here.
Top Tip: Ensure that you are eating enough between each fast to stay healthy and to continue to benefit from the fasting. Restricting calories between fasting will hurt your progress!
Tip #2: Be Mindful of Your Food Choices
As I mentioned earlier, technically speaking, you could eat whatever you want and still benefit from fasting. But that doesn’t mean it’s the best choice.
In fact, the healthier your diet, the easier your fast will be. And more than that, the less carbohydrates you consume before your fast, the quicker your body will be able to get into ketosis and start benefitting from the effects of fasting.
Tip #3: Listen to Your Body
This one goes without saying, but you’d be surprised how easy it is to tell yourself to keep going, even when your body is telling you do otherwise!
Here are some signs to look for to make sure you are not over doing it. And if you are experiencing any of these, stop your fast immediately:
- Feel dizzy
- Feel extremely cold
- Feel extremely fatigued
- Feel extremely lethargic
- Your blood sugar drops below 50 mg/dL (2.3 mmol/L) – you can track it with this.
- Your ketone levels drop below 7.0 – you can track it with this.
NOTE: It’s a good idea to track your blood sugar levels and ketone levels whenever you fast longer than 24 hours. I personally love the Keto-Mojo, as you can track ketone levels and blood sugar levels using the same machine. It’s available Amazon here.
Tip #4: Consider Taking Supplements
These are like an ‘insurance’ to make sure you have your bases covered. By far the most important supplement to consider is electrolytes. You can either heavily salt your water (I’ve discussed in this article why salt is important), or use specifically designed electrolytes, such as these on Amazon.
Other supplements to consider are: (I’ve linked to the ones I prefer on Amazon; they contain no nasties, and are easily available)
Tip #5: Combine Fasting with Animal-Based Food When Ready!
This last tip is something that I ended up doing, as I discovered it is a complete powerhouse for your health! Read on to learn why…
Combining Fasting with the Carnivore Diet: The Ultimate Combination (& My Experience)
You will find from the studies that I have referenced above, that your body going into ketosis is by far the biggest reason why both fasting, and an animal based eating, are beneficial to your body. This is why both lifestyles will bring about benefits.
But what about if you wanted the additional benefits that are unique to each lifestyle? Can you do both at the same time? The answer to that is….Yes, you sure can!
There are of course some caveats, but generally speaking, an animal based diet and fasting actually complement each other really well. In fact, doing one, makes doing the other easier!
I say this from personal experience. I have fasted my whole life at least every year through Ramadan, but once I became animal based, I found that fasting became sooooo much easier! Why? because my body would be mostly in ketosis anyway. Meaning it was already in the mode of using fat for energy, making going into a fast seamless.
See, the hardest part of the fast is the initial hunger, fatigue, and irritability you get when your body is making the switch to burning ketones instead of glucose. But when you are on the carnivore diet, you tend to already be in ketosis. So, the transition into a fast becomes far, far easier. The hardest part of the fast is no longer there.
In fact, you won’t feel hunger in the same way when you are animal based, and this is the key to bringing fasting into your lifestyle pretty seamlessly. Here are some important things to note if you are going to do both:
Tip #1: Go Carnivore Before Introducing Fasting
Never start doing both at the same time! The body needs to adjust to the carnivore diet first, before starting to use fasting. Yes, my opinion is that you should do carnivore and get used to that before going into fasting. This is far easier than doing it the other way round.
In fact, some people eat carnivore-friendly food in preparation before their fast anyway, to make their transition into the fast easier.
Tip #2: Eat Enough Calories!
During your eating window, make sure you eat enough calories. If you can’t eat enough calories in, then have bigger gaps between fasts to make sure you do not damage your metabolism! This is super important, because most people tend to feel full for a long time when eating such high levels of protein and fat.
Tip #3: Switch up your Routine Regularly
Whilst we all love a bit of routine to help keep us on track, it’s also important to switch things up a little every now and again. Sometimes, all it takes, is switching up the timings of your eating window to help overcome weight loss plateaus.
I hope my amateur analysis has been useful in helping you decide which way of eating is right for you. If you’d like to compare other ways of eating to the carnivore diet, check out my other articles:
- Carnivore Diet vs Mediterranean Diet: A Fair Comparison & My Experience
- Carnivore Diet vs Lion Diet: Which is Better?
- Carnivore Diet vs Keto Diet: The Similarities & Differences
Hi, I’m Aysha,
I came to the carnivore diet with the hope of healing, & I love sharing what I learn in hopes it’ll help you too!
If you enjoy my content, consider leaving me a tip here.
I appreciate your kindness & support, and wish you good health 🙂
Disclaimer: The information on this site is provided for general informational & educational purposes only, & is not a substitute for professional advice. I am simply someone passing on information that I have found useful to myself. For full disclaimer, click here.