In a recent YouTube video, Dr. Anthony Chaffee and Richard Smith tackle one of the most controversial questions in the carnivore community: why are some people claiming to quit the diet?
The answer might surprise you.
Both longtime carnivore advocates with over a decade of experience each, they’re diving deep into the claims, the science, and whether these “quitters” were ever truly carnivore in the first place.
What they reveal could change how you think about long-term ketosis and animal-based eating forever.
Jump to:
- The Great Carnivore Exodus: Fact or Fiction?
- The Thyroid Controversy Explained
- Testosterone and Hormone Optimization
- The Leptin Resistance Reversal
- Is Gluconeogenesis a “Stress Response”?
- The Protein Poisoning Problem
- The “Carb Sensitivity” Phenomenon
- The No-Man’s-Land Effect
- What the Science Actually Says
- When Carnivore Might Need Adjustment
- The Bottom Line on Quitting Carnivore
The Great Carnivore Exodus: Fact or Fiction?
According to Dr. Chaffee, many of those claiming to abandon carnivore never actually followed it properly. Some have admitted they never consumed fewer than 100-150 grams of carbohydrates daily—nowhere near ketogenic levels.
Others were drinking alcohol regularly or consuming sweeteners while simultaneously blaming their health issues on meat consumption.
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Some people who are the proponents of getting rid of carnivore were never ketogenic before by their own admission. They said explicitly that they’ve never done a ketogenic or a carnivore diet.
The timeline doesn’t add up either. If someone thrived for 15 years on carnivore, why would problems suddenly emerge now rather than 5 or 10 years ago?
The Thyroid Controversy Explained
One of the biggest claims against long-term carnivore involves thyroid dysfunction. Critics argue that ketosis suppresses thyroid hormone production.
Dr. Chaffee sees the opposite in his clinical practice. He’s treated hundreds of patients whose thyroid issues actually improved on carnivore.
Why Carnivore Actually Supports Thyroid Function
The leading cause of hypothyroidism in Western countries is Hashimoto’s thyroiditis—an autoimmune condition. Plant lectins, known since the 1970s to trigger autoimmune responses, are eliminated on a carnivore diet.
Additionally, many plant foods contain goitrogens—compounds that directly interfere with thyroid function and block iodine uptake. Cruciferous vegetables like kale, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts are loaded with these thyroid-disrupting substances.
I have hundreds of patients who have come to me with thyroid issues and it was actually a ketogenic carnivore diet that fixed their thyroid issues.
Research spanning two years shows ketogenic diets produce no deficit in thyroid function or cortisol. In fact, metabolic and hormonal improvements were documented.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
The T3 Misconception
Some people notice their T3 thyroid hormone decreases on carnivore and panic. But there’s a physiological explanation that critics miss.
In ketosis, cells become dramatically more efficient. Oxidizing fat produces over 140 ATP molecules compared to just 30-32 from glucose—more than three times the energy output.
Richard Smith elaborates on this metabolic shift:
When we remove carbohydrates, our requirement for T3 becomes less. It doesn’t mean that we’re now devoid. It just means that we get more bang for the buck.
The body simply doesn’t need as much T3 to produce the same energy. TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) remains normal, indicating healthy thyroid function despite lower T3 levels.
Testosterone and Hormone Optimization
Insulin resistance and diabetes suppress testosterone levels in men—a well-established fact in medical literature. The mechanism involves LH (luteinizing hormone) receptor sensitivity.
Chronic insulin elevation from constant carbohydrate consumption causes receptor downregulation. Like cocaine tolerance, the body needs increasingly stronger signals to produce the same response.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Dr. Chaffee sees testosterone improvements happen within months:
I have men that have doubled or even tripled their testosterone. I’ve had a couple dozen men that have even been able to get off TRT.
For women, the benefits are equally dramatic. Insulin blocks the conversion of testosterone to estrogen in ovaries, contributing to PCOS—the leading cause of infertility worldwide.
Women who switch to carnivore frequently experience:
- Normalized menstrual cycles
- Reversal of PCOS symptoms
- Delayed or reversed early menopause
- Restored fertility
The Leptin Resistance Reversal
Critics claim carnivore causes leptin resistance—a metabolic state that suppresses energy expenditure and increases appetite. Dr. Chaffee’s clinical experience shows exactly the opposite.
Leptin acts as your body’s fuel gauge, signaling energy availability to the brain. When leptin signaling is blocked, the brain thinks you’re starving and slows metabolism accordingly.
Six Major Causes of Leptin Resistance
- Insulin (from carbohydrate consumption)
- Fructose (the sweet component of sugar)
- Alcohol
- Lectins (plant toxins that bind insulin receptors)
- Cortisol (from chronic stress and poor sleep)
- Blue light exposure
A carnivore diet eliminates four of these six factors immediately. Dr. Chaffee observes consistently elevated leptin levels in metabolically unhealthy patients that normalize within months on carnivore.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
I’ve never once seen any of these people with massively elevated leptins lose all this weight, completely reverse all their metabolic issues and then suddenly somehow just start causing the problems that they cured.
Is Gluconeogenesis a “Stress Response”?
One common objection to carnivore claims that making glucose from protein (gluconeogenesis) represents metabolic stress. This reflects a fundamental misunderstanding of human physiology.
Everyone performs gluconeogenesis constantly, producing 40-70 grams of glucose daily regardless of carbohydrate intake. Red blood cells require glucose because they lack mitochondria needed to burn ketones.
When carbohydrate intake stops, glucose production continues at the same rate—just from different substrates.
The Glycerol Pathway
The primary pathway for glucose production in ketosis uses glycerol, not cortisol-driven muscle breakdown. When burning fat, triglycerides split into three fatty acids and one glycerol backbone.
That glycerol converts to glucose at a steady rate that matches activity level. The harder you work, the more fat you burn, the more glucose becomes available—perfectly calibrated without stress hormones.
In hospital settings when someone has taken too much insulin and they’re hypoglycemic and in a coma, we don’t give them a shot of cortisol. We give them a shot of glucagon.
Glucagon, not cortisol, is the primary hormonal driver of gluconeogenesis through the glycerol pathway.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
The Protein Poisoning Problem
Some carnivore “failures” stem from eating too much lean protein and insufficient fat—a genuine metabolic issue unrelated to meat consumption itself.
When protein becomes the primary energy source rather than fat, amino acid breakdown produces ammonia. Excessive ammonia overwhelms the liver’s conversion capacity to urea.
Symptoms of protein poisoning include:
- Hair loss
- Severe fatigue
- Poor energy metabolism
- Elevated ammonia and urea levels
The solution? Add carbohydrates for energy, which stops the excessive protein breakdown. People feel better and mistakenly credit carbs rather than recognizing they simply weren’t eating enough fat.
If you’re not getting the energy from the fat and a lot of those nutrients are in the fat as well, that’s not a balanced diet.
Traditional carnivore cultures understood this instinctively. Pemmican contained 2 grams of fat for every 1 gram of protein—80% calories from fat. The Inuit consumed 50/50 lean to fat ratios, translating to roughly 92% calories from fat.
The “Carb Sensitivity” Phenomenon
Many former carnivores claim they became “allergic” to plant foods after removing them. Richard Smith explains this isn’t new sensitivity—it’s restored awareness.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
The comparison to alcohol tolerance is instructive. First-time drinkers feel intoxicated quickly. Regular drinkers need progressively more to feel the same effects. The damage continues regardless; tolerance simply masks perception.
These issues were always there, but your body’s ability to recognize the damage is diminished for survival purposes.
Plant compounds enter the body and immediately trigger detoxification pathways. They’re not used to build hormones or cellular structures—the body treats them as toxins and works to eliminate them.
After months or years without these compounds, reintroduction activates early warning systems that were previously suppressed. Inflammation, rashes, digestive issues—these represent restored immune vigilance, not new problems.
The No-Man’s-Land Effect
Many people who claim carnivore “failed” never actually achieved ketosis. They existed in metabolic limbo—not low-carb enough to produce ketones, not high-carb enough for sustained glucose energy.
This zone creates genuine misery. Insulin remains elevated enough to block fat access, but carbohydrate intake is insufficient for energy needs. The result is constant hunger and fatigue.
Adding carbohydrates back provides immediate relief—not because carbs are necessary, but because the person finally has some consistent energy source.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Dr. Chaffee has counseled patients on this for years:
If you actually remove the rest of those carbohydrates, you actually will have much better energy than if you just had some carbs.
What the Science Actually Says
The National Academy of Sciences and Institute of Medicine have publicly stated that the amount of dietary carbohydrate required for human health is zero for entire lifespans—provided adequate protein and fat intake.
Historical populations like the Inuit lived for generations consuming virtually no carbohydrates. During the Little Ice Age, Native American groups in southern Canada ate exclusively meat year-round, even when plant foods were seasonally available.
A 16th-century New England colonist documented his amazement at this dietary pattern, noting that these populations thrived without any plant consumption whatsoever.
The Animal Kingdom Perspective
Approximately 70% of all animal life on Earth—including insects—are carnivores subsisting on fat and protein exclusively.
Even herbivores don’t truly run on carbohydrates. Their gut bacteria ferment plant fiber into saturated fatty acids, not glucose. These animals absorb 70-80% calories from fat and 20-30% from protein when bacterial bodies are digested.
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
Nearly every animal on the planet operates on fat and protein metabolism. Humans are not the metabolic exception that carbohydrate advocates suggest.
When Carnivore Might Need Adjustment
Richard Smith proposes one theoretical scenario where temporary carbohydrate addition might provide benefit: reductive stress from extremely high UV exposure in populations unaccustomed to intense sunlight.
High UV increases melanin production, which powerfully reduces reactive oxygen species (ROS). For someone already in optimal metabolic balance, this might push ROS too low—creating reductive stress as harmful as oxidative stress.
Fruit consumption temporarily increases ROS production through advanced glycation end products, potentially restoring balance and triggering dopamine and serotonin responses.
However, Smith emphasizes this would be seasonal and medicinal—not a long-term dietary requirement. Continuing high carbohydrate intake through winter months would be counterproductive.
The Bottom Line on Quitting Carnivore
Most people claiming carnivore failure fall into predictable categories:
If you want something simple that actually works, this is one of the most effective tools I’ve used to build strength, conditioning, and endurance without needing a full gym setup.
- Full-body training with one weight using swings, squats, and presses
- Solid cast iron build that feels stable and lasts for years
- Comfortable grip that makes high-rep workouts easier to handle
- Never actually followed carnivore or ketogenic guidelines
- Consumed too little fat relative to protein
- Remained in the metabolic no-man’s-land between carb-burning and fat-burning
- Consumed excessive organ meats or supplements
- Simultaneously used alcohol, sweeteners, or medications
- Never achieved full ketogenic adaptation (which can take 6-12 months)
Dr. Chaffee’s clinical experience treating over a thousand patients reveals consistent metabolic improvements on properly-implemented carnivore diets—not the widespread failures critics claim.
I’ve not had one patient who has had any of these issues over the hundreds, over a thousand people that I’ve seen directly as a patient checked their blood work and followed them.
Blood markers consistently improve: leptin normalizes, thyroid function optimizes, testosterone increases, inflammation decreases, and metabolic disease reverses.
The human body is fundamentally composed of fat and protein. Every cell membrane, hormone, and structural component requires these macronutrients. Carbohydrates remain the only non-essential macronutrient—a fact acknowledged even by mainstream nutritional authorities.
For those thriving on carnivore, the message is clear: if it works, don’t fix it based on fear-mongering from people who never properly followed the approach themselves.
