Anytime you make changes in your diet you can expect your body to respond. Carnivore is no different.
Switching from a standard diet to one made almost entirely of animal foods is a pretty dramatic change, and your bathroom habits may change right along with it. That can mean going less often, constipation, or sometimes the exact opposite problem.
You may not need to go as much
Going less often on a Carnivore diet doesn’t necessarily mean you’re constipated or that there’s a problem. It’s actually pretty common. But if you’re used to having a bowel movement every day and suddenly you’re going every other day, or even less often, it’s easy to understand why you might be worried.
The thing is, Carnivore contains little to no fibre. fibre adds bulk to stool, and carbohydrates retain lots of water. So when you take those two things out of the equation, there may just simply be less material to get rid of.
Research on very-low-carbohydrate diets has found that reducing carbohydrates and fibre can decrease bowel movements, both in frequency, and in how much when you do go.
So if you’re going less often on Carnivore but your stools are still comfortable and easy to pass, you probably have nothing to worry about.
But constipation can happen
That doesn’t mean constipation isn’t ever a problem on Carnivore. It absolutely can be. But there’s a difference in going less often and truly being constipated.
True constipation may include hard, dry stools, straining, discomfort, bloating, or feeling like you haven’t completely emptied your bowels.
If you feel truly constipated, there’s a few things that might be happening:
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Hydration - You may not be hydrating enough. Water is important to keep things moving smoothly. And when you start burning fat, as you usually do when you switch to Carnivore, you lose a lot of water. It’s easy to get dehydrated. Aim for at least 64 ounces/1.8 Litres of water a day and after that drink to thirst.
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Electrolytes - Many Carnivore “experts” say that you don’t need to supplement electrolytes on the Carnivore diet, and that may be true for some people. But again, you’re losing fat and water, and you can lose a lot of electrolytes with it. Sodium, magnesium, and potassium are all important for normal bowel function.
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Fat - Are you eating enough fat? Even though the Carnivore diet is naturally high in dietary fat, if you’re eating more lean meats than fatty ones, you might need more fat. Try fattier cuts of beef, or adding more butter to your meals.
Or you might have the opposite problem
Then there are people who start Carnivore and can’t get very far away from the bathroom.
Loose stools and diarrhea can happen, particularly when someone suddenly increases their fat intake.
If you’ve gone from a relatively low-fat diet to pouring butter over everything and drinking all the rendered fat from your ground beef, your digestive system may have something to say about that.
You don’t necessarily have to force huge amounts of fat into your diet to be doing Carnivore right. If you’re having loose stools, experiment with smaller amounts of fat and see how your body responds.
Give your gut some time
Your digestive system has been used to eating a certain way, possibly for decades. Then suddenly you’ve removed bread, vegetables, fruit, grains, sugar, and most carbohydrates. It’s a lot. Things may be a little off for a while.
Pay attention to how you actually feel instead of just judging your digestion by how often you go. Are you uncomfortable? Are stools hard and difficult to pass? Are you straining? Or are you simply going less often? Those are very different situations.
Know when something isn’t normal
Not every digestive problem should be written off as a “Carnivore” issue. If constipation or diarrhea becomes severe, lasts for an extended period, or is accompanied by other symptoms like abdominal pain, vomiting, or fever, talk with your healthcare provider.
Digestive changes may be normal
Your bathroom habits may look different on Carnivore, especially at first as you adapt, and that’s not always a bad thing. You don’t have to go on a schedule to prove your digestive system is working.
Most people who stay Carnivore long-term eventually settle into a predictable bathroom pattern.
