I haven’t had a drink in sixty days. It’s been a major turning point for my health, my mindset, and my entire life.
In this post, I’m sharing why I cut out alcohol, how it affected my carnivore journey, how it impacted my body and mind, and the benefits I’ve experienced over the past few months of not drinking.
My Relationship with Alcohol Before Carnivore
Before I started the carnivore diet the first time, I rarely drank alcohol. I’d have a drink if I went to a concert, on vacation, at family gatherings – maybe once every couple months or so. It was never a big part of my life or anything I would consider a problem.
After I started carnivore, nothing really changed. I lost most of the 100 lbs while rarely ever drinking.
Then two years ago, while I was doing well on carnivore and steadily losing weight, I went through some difficult life changes. I separated from my husband of 15 years and moved 850 miles back to my home state. It was the hardest thing I’d ever dealt with in my life.
I was living alone for the first time and not coping well with my circumstances. So, as many people do, I turned to alcohol to numb the pain.
The Beginning of a Problem
It started with drinking only on the weekends. That turned into having a drink or two on weeknights when I felt especially lonely.
I was never drinking every single day, but over the past two years, I was drinking a lot more than I should have been. It became a coping mechanism that I had difficulty letting go of.
For the first year of this, I was still maintaining my weight on the carnivore diet. I even managed to lose more and get down to my lowest weight ever while drinking regularly. But I wasn’t always eating as much as I should due to depression. I might have been thin, but I could feel that I wasn’t truly healthy.
This past year, I continued drinking on and off. I’d go a few weeks or sometimes even a couple months without alcohol. I felt like I was managing better. But I was also falling off carnivore, gaining weight back, and letting old habits creep back in.
A Fresh Start in Virginia
We moved to Virginia temporarily a little over three months ago for my partner’s job. I saw this as an opportunity to start fresh. I was in a new environment with new routines and new people, and I wanted to develop new habits. I was going through a pretty rough depressive episode when we came here, and I desperately needed a change.
I talked to my doctor about starting a new medication – a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI) specifically. I don’t like being reliant on Big Pharma, but I needed something to help. It was definitely the right decision for me at the time. It pulled me out of my depression and destroyed my desire to drink.
After a few weeks on the new meds, I started feeling happier and good about myself again. My motivation came back. I started living a life that I didn’t want to escape from.
And best of all, I didn’t feel like I needed alcohol anymore. My mental health improved dramatically in just a couple months. I was ready to start improving other areas of my life too, like my physical health.
I got back on the carnivore diet, started running and hiking, doing yoga, prioritizing sleep, and just caring for myself in a way I hadn’t done in two years.
Now the progress I’m making on carnivore is leading to real health, not just weight loss. Though I do want to lose the extra weight, I also want to be healthy. I’m determined to get in the best shape of my life. So that means regular alcohol consumption is out. It just doesn’t align with my goals anymore.
How Alcohol Affects the Body (and Carnivore Specifically)
It’s obvious that alcohol isn’t great for your health. You don’t need to be a scientist or doctor to understand that. And when you’re doing something as intentional as the carnivore diet for healing and balancing hormones, alcohol can really hold you back. Here are some of the reasons why:
Alcohol is a Toxin
Your liver treats alcohol as poison (because it is). When you drink, your body halts fat burning and prioritizes detoxing alcohol. Even one drink can spike inflammation and stall ketosis.
This is true even if you’re drinking zero-carb options like distilled spirits, which were always my choice when I was drinking. It’s no wonder I gained weight back and had difficulty losing over the past year when I was drinking regularly.
In addition, when your liver breaks down alcohol, it produces a carcinogen called acetaldehyde that damages your body on a cellular level. Excessive alcohol use contributes to a ton of chronic diseases, including liver disease, heart disease, and cancer. These diseases are everything we’re trying to prevent by eating a carnivore diet.
Alcohol Hijacks Your Brain Chemistry
Drinking alcohol raises your dopamine levels temporarily, which leads to feelings of euphoria and relaxation. I was always a dopamine-chaser, and I think that’s why going on an NDRI medication helped me reduce my alcohol intake so much.
Though increased dopamine feels good in the moment, chronic alcohol use depletes serotonin long-term. This leads to worsening anxiety, depression, and cravings for both alcohol and junk food.
I was caught in a vicious cycle where I used alcohol to relieve my depression and anxiety, but it was making those symptoms worse at the same time. I was becoming reliant on alcohol to fix the problem alcohol was causing. It can be hard to escape from.
Alcohol Destroys Mental Health
Alcohol is a depressant. It temporarily boosts dopamine and then crashes your mood. I can tell you from experience there was nothing worse for my mental health than drinking all the time.
While it may provide temporary relief from stress or negative emotions, these effects are short-lived. Alcohol will worsen mental health problems and exacerbate existing conditions in the long run.
Alcohol Disrupts Hormones and Sleep
Drinking alcohol affects your cortisol levels, estrogen, and melatonin. I used to wake up at 3 AM after drinking, anxious and unable to return to sleep. Even when you “pass out,” your sleep quality is poor – especially your vitally important REM sleep.
On the carnivore diet, my sleep improves greatly. Getting drunk disrupts my sleep for days afterward, and it’s just not worth it anymore (at least not to me).
Carnivore helps stabilize hormones, but alcohol throws them all off again. Mild to moderate alcohol use has been found to disrupt normal menstrual cycling and reproductive function, and to alter hormonal levels in postmenopausal women. (Source: Alcohol’s Effects on Female Reproductive Function). As a 42 year old woman with PCOS, this is a huge concern for me.
Alcohol Impairs Digestion and Absorption
Alcohol inflames the gut lining, causes bloating, weakens stomach acid, and disrupts digestion – even while you’re eating a carnivore diet. Independent of diet, alcohol hurts your gut health.
It also reduces your ability to absorb necessary nutrients like B vitamins, zinc, and magnesium.
Alcohol Makes it Harder to Stay Compliant
So many times over the past year, I tried to get back on carnivore but caved to late-night junk food binges because I drank too much alcohol. You make poor decisions when you drink.
Alcohol also increases cravings for sweet foods, which makes it even harder to stick to the meat-only carnivore diet.
Alcohol fights against every goal you have on carnivore. It disrupts weight loss, hormone balance, mental clarity, and your overall physical health.
The Benefits I’ve Seen After 60 Days Alcohol-Free
The changes I’ve felt since abstaining for the past sixty days have been huge. Some of them were immediate and others surprised me over time.
Here’s what I’ve noticed:
- Deep, restful sleep – no more waking up in the middle of the night unable to go back to sleep
- More energy – waking up feeling refreshed and no more afternoon crashes
- Clearer skin – fewer breakouts and reduced inflammation overall
- Fewer cravings – alcohol increased my cravings for junk food and sugar, and made it easier to “cheat” when I was buzzed or drunk
- More stable moods – fewer emotional roller coasters
- Improved workouts – I’ve started running again and training or cross-training six days a week
- Better focus – more creative drive; I’m excited about content creation again
- More weight loss – I’ve lost more weight in the past two months than I had in the previous six months before that
- More discipline – motivation is back, sticking to my training schedules and getting shit done!
The best part is I just feel so much better. It’s like coming home to myself.
Should You Drink Alcohol on the Carnivore Diet?
Alcohol is not carnivore. It’s not an animal product. It’s a toxin with absolutely zero health benefits. However, some people still allow for the occasional drink in their diet.
While you technically can have the occasional drink on carnivore, maybe ask yourself if it’s really worth it. If you struggle with drinking “moderately,” it might be best to avoid it all together.
If you are going to drink, stick to spirits with zero carbs like whiskey, vodka, gin, tequila, or rum. Mix with soda or another sugar-free mixer, and drink as little as possible.
No amount of alcohol is considered “safe.” But the CDC recommends the following guidelines for moderate alcohol use:
- For men: No more than 2 drinks in a single day
- For women: No more than 1 drink in a single day
Keep in mind these guidelines refer to drinking on any single day, not on average. According to the NIAAA, drinking at this level may reduce, but not eliminate, health risks.
Life is Better without It
I’m not saying I’ll never drink alcohol again. But I can say that I’ll never go back to the way things were. My days of drinking every week and weekend, or even every month, are over.
Alcohol used to be a comfort for me. Now, I find comfort in movement, nourishment, self-care, work, relationships, nature, and hobbies. My life is so much better without it.
Have you tried quitting alcohol or cutting back? How did it affect your health or your progress on carnivore? Let me know in the comments. I’d love to hear from you!
Good luck out there!
PS. Don’t forget to check out the YouTube video where I talk about this in more depth:
