Dan Sullivan [00:00:00]:
And I look forward to eating the steak, which will be happening in about two hours. You lose all cravings.
Mike Koenigs [00:00:06]:
Yes.
Dan Sullivan [00:00:07]:
What it taught me was it wasn't that what I was eating at meals was bad for me, even from a weight standpoint. It was what I was eating between meals.
Mike Koenigs [00:00:17]:
After having cancer, colorectal cancer, 12 years ago now, I've had continuous, I'd say, IBS issues in some way, shape or form. And. And there are certain things that would send me to the bathroom right away. So I did it partially out of. I'm tired of having continual gut issues, and this might be a way. So sometimes the Carnivore Diet's considered an elimination diet. I think people who are worried and they say, well, what about. What about.
Mike Koenigs [00:00:41]:
What about, you know, just remember the old food pyramid was an invention. It was made up, and it was supported by questionable ethics for a long time. All right, Dan, you've been on the Carnivore Diet. I've been on the Carnivore diet. This mini episode is just going to be our plan. It's our daily routine, and we'll talk a little bit about the psychology of the Carnivore Diet and specifically what we're eating and the benefits and results we've gotten so far. So I'm curious, how long have you been doing well? How much weight have you lost?
Dan Sullivan [00:01:24]:
Well, it's January, so we just had New Year's, and I started in July, so, you know, kind of like six months. Six months on the. On the diet. And I. I got interested in it because Babs was interested in it, and Babs was interested in it because Dean Jackson was doing it, and Dean was doing it because jj Virgin.
Mike Koenigs [00:01:49]:
Virgin.
Dan Sullivan [00:01:49]:
Yeah, jj, Virgin said, dean, go on the Carnivore Diet. And Bab said to me, dan, go on the Carnivore diet. Well, she didn't. She just started in on it, and I got interested and, you know, since you're having steak, I'll have a little piece, and then could I have a bigger piece? And anyway, so that's where I am. But I've been, you know, I've been right about the same weight for, I would say, 15 years and any attempts to lower my weight, you know, and I. I decided that when I hit 80, that you shouldn't have any baby fat after 80, you know, so. So I was 80 in May. And I said, no, no, no, we have to slim down a little bit.
Dan Sullivan [00:02:35]:
I said, you know, I got to put on a better front stage. Front stage to do it. So I started it. Two things I noticed right off the bat. One is the steak is really good and we have really good steak and I look forward to eating the steak, which will be happening in about two hours. And you lose all cravings.
Mike Koenigs [00:02:57]:
Yes.
Dan Sullivan [00:02:58]:
And what, and what it taught me was it wasn't that what I was eating at meals was bad for me, even from a weight standpoint. It was what I was eating between meals.
Mike Koenigs [00:03:10]:
Yes.
Dan Sullivan [00:03:10]:
When I had the cravings, that's what kept my weight on. And the moment I stop that and I measure myself every day and I log in, you know, and it goes, it's like the, it goes up, it goes down, then it jumps down a little bit more and then it goes up and down. So it started, you know, started, I'll give the number, it was around 203 and then I got down and then there was a day I got under 200 and then about five weeks later there's a day I got under 190 and now I'm at 183 this morning. So down. Yeah. But there's two things about that. Eat the meat. That's one.
Dan Sullivan [00:03:49]:
And the other thing is record your weight every day. I think those are the two things.
Mike Koenigs [00:03:54]:
Okay, well, I've got the. I've got my plan. So I started 10 months ago and the reason I did it was I had heard enough. And, and after having cancer, colorectal cancer, 12 years ago now I've had continuous, I'd say IBS issues in some way, shape or form. And there are certain things that would send me to the bathroom right away. So I did it partially out of. I'm tired of having continual gut issues and this might be a way. So sometimes the carnivore diet's considered an elimination diet.
Mike Koenigs [00:04:26]:
So what I did is I started while I was biking, I started stopping at butcher shops and learning as much as I could about meat and finding butchers who would have, you know, my goal was to find organic, organic grass fed beef and then find a good source of it that could be delivered to my home. So one of the things I'll do is I'll provide a link to one of the places I've been getting at. But I went out, started buying a bunch of steaks and just taste testing them. And then I began the diet, which essentially is as soon as you get up in the morning, eat a steak. And I usually start with a New York strip. It's got a little less fat and it's great protein. And, and then. So let's say that would be around 7:00.
Mike Koenigs [00:05:10]:
And I generally could, would eat right before I'd work out. I found that I'd never have, you know, you'd never get a sideache. I never had any gut issues, just could go right into it. So. And then usually around noon to 1, I'll eat another steak. And they're anywhere from 12 to 20 ounces, depending on how much mental energy I'm exerting. And then towards the end of the day, if I'm hungry, I'll eat another steak. Now, when I'm at my best, all I'm doing is steak and water.
Mike Koenigs [00:05:39]:
And a lot of people will say at this point, well, what about vegetables? And what about, what about. I'd be like, well, there's two things you can do. One of them is do quarterly blood, which I know you've been doing religiously for a long time. Check your levels and talk to your doctors. So if you need supplements, you're gonna see it right away. Here's what I found. My overall cholesterol, bad cholesterol, went down 20% in the first month and my mental acuity went up. But also my stamina throughout the day, where I generally feel like I have to take a nap.
Mike Koenigs [00:06:09]:
No naps. Now, this doesn't mean I like, if we were out, for example, you and I Dan, and there was shrimp, well, I'd eat some shrimp. Or if there's some fish, I'd eat some shrimp. Or I mean some fish. But in general, when I stick to pure meat, I feel the best. And the, and all I do is I salt and pepper it, I throw it on a Traeger grill which has a probe. You can't screw it up and it tastes great. And anytime I'm hungry, I'd eat a steak.
Mike Koenigs [00:06:40]:
So for the example, this morning I ate steaks. Last night, ate a steak. And then as far as weight and results, one thing, blood looks great. I was hovering around 185 to 190 again, kind of like you for the past 20 some odd years. I'm at 167 right now. I've got visible abs and also notice my, my muscle has gone up. My, you know, the amount of muscle, visible muscle. And the other thing that you'll notice right away if you look at pictures of me from 10 or 15 or 20 years ago, I've got a noticeably putty, pudgy face.
Mike Koenigs [00:07:23]:
So your inflammation goes down very rapidly and, and much like you, your cravings disappear. So that need to have some Potato chips or something. Or if you've got some temptation in front of you, I might take a little taste and be like, nope, don't even want to touch it. So the only other thing that I'm really, really conscious of when I go out to eat, I am really careful if there's something on the side that there's absolutely no seed oils in it, I found that that provide creates an inflammatory response, a gut response I'm on or at the toilet.
Dan Sullivan [00:08:01]:
And so the steaks and butter, if they use anything, right?
Mike Koenigs [00:08:06]:
Yes. So when I'm. When I'm on traveling, what I do now is like, if I'm traveling and I know I'm going to be next to a stove, I'll go out and I'll buy steaks and I'll get butter. And what I'll do is I'll sizzle the steak in some butter and then I'll put it in the oven and broil it. Otherwise, you know. Cause people say, well, what do you do when you're traveling? And it's like, you'd be surprised at how easy it is. So what I'm doing if I'm about to get off of a plane is I'll find maybe a Brazilian steakhouse and I'll go there on my way to the hotel or I've been requesting, like, when I go to someone else's place, is it okay if I bring my own steak? And they'll say, no, I'll get it for you. You know, you find that people are so accommodating and it's not an unusual or unreasonable requ and more than often, people are so interested when they see you.
Mike Koenigs [00:08:59]:
They're like, what are you doing? You look great. It's like carnivore diet. And I just give them a plan. And I've got a whole bunch of people have jumped on the bandwagon now. And we're also wearing our continuous blood glucose monitor. And you'll also notice, like, you can have a couple of glasses of wine, you might see your blood glucose go up maybe five points. So when you're on the Carnivore diet, if you cheat a little bit and the cheat meal is fine, you don't have to take a cheat day. So I found it to be really, really remarkable.
Mike Koenigs [00:09:32]:
But I'm curious, from a blood perspective, what have you seen in terms of any changes?
Dan Sullivan [00:09:37]:
Yeah, you know, I don't really know. I mean, David Hassi does all my blood work and, you know, it's all good. So, I mean, nothing to report on. My cholesterol has always been pretty good, you know. You know, the. The good cholesterol is high and the bad cholesterol is low.
Mike Koenigs [00:10:00]:
That's all that matters. Yeah, that your blood sugar. Blood sugar. Bruce, too.
Dan Sullivan [00:10:04]:
Yeah. And I've got good blood sugar. I'm pretty, you know, pretty healthy. You know, we got longevity in the family. I have three older siblings, you know, 86, 87, and 89. So, you know, I. I think the basic genes are good, you know, everything else.
Mike Koenigs [00:10:24]:
But your thinker works great. That's for sure.
Dan Sullivan [00:10:27]:
My thinker is. My thinker is up to par.
Mike Koenigs [00:10:31]:
Yeah. Yeah, for sure. Well, it's definitely. We're not doctors. We're not giving medical advice.
Dan Sullivan [00:10:38]:
No, no.
Mike Koenigs [00:10:38]:
But if I were to give advice to my friends, it's sort of like, look at your friends who've gone on the carnivore diet, especially the ones who are monitoring, like Dan, and keeping track of their blood and talking to their doctors. So I talked to three medical professionals every single quarter, and all of them are like, keep on doing this. You look great. Your blood looks great. And I think people who are worried and they say, well, what about. What about. What about, you know, just remember the old food pyramid was an invention. It was made up, and it was supported by questionable ethics for a long time.
Mike Koenigs [00:11:17]:
So I'd say do your research and deep dive in it. And it's not for everyone, but I can tell you if. If I show someone who's been a vegan for several years and compare them against someone who's been on the carnivore diet for a half a year, look at the difference, and I'll rest my case.
Dan Sullivan [00:11:33]:
Yeah.
Mike Koenigs [00:11:34]:
All right, well, anything else before we wrap this one up?
Dan Sullivan [00:11:37]:
Nope. That's good.
Mike Koenigs [00:11:39]:
Okay.
Dan Sullivan [00:11:39]:
I learned something, so. I always learned something. Good, good.
Mike Koenigs [00:11:43]:
Thanks for this one.
