Yuri in his favorite spot!

1. How long have you been eating a Zero Carb (No Plant Foods) diet?

I have been testing and eating it from April 2016 to the present time.

2. What motivated you to try this way of eating? Weight? Health? 

Like many other people, I’ve started to have a growing number of chronic, degenerative diseases and health problems related to bad diet and aging.

3. How long did it take you to adapt to a Zero Carb diet, both physically and psychologically?

My adaptation lasted 3-4 months.

4. What books or people were most influential in guiding you to this way of eating?

Many books and people were influential on my search and eventually finding this way of eating.

5. Do you eat only meat, or do you include eggs, cheese, and cream in your diet?

I eat mainly raw beef and raw fish on my Zero Carb diet and nothing else. Wild raw sea fish has vital fatty acids and micro-elements that terrestrial meat does not always have enough of at the present times.

6. What percentage of your diet is beef verses other types of meats?

About 80% beef and 20% fish.

7. When you eat beef, do you cook it rare, medium, or well done?

I eat only raw beef and fish. Raw because the raw food gives stronger immunity, gradually increases the production of more stomach acid (HCl), breaks itself down with its own enzymes, digests faster and more easily. Actually, genetically we aren’t designed for cooked food and many years of evolution did not adapt us to cooked food completely.

8. Do you add extra fat to your meat? (i.e. butter, lard, tallow)

No, but I always choose more fatty pieces when I buy beef.

9. Do you limit your meat consumption or do you eat until satisfied?

Usually I eat the same amount of food daily at almost the same time and don’t think about it. The body and brain can accustom to these changes quite easy during some period of time. They start to get really hungry just before I start to eat. Food is just fuel not entertainment.

10. Do you eat liver or other organ meats? If so, how often?

No, for me it’s quite enough and satisfying to eat only raw meat and raw fish without organs.

11. Do you consume bone broth? If so, how often?

No

12. How many meals do you eat per day on average?

I eat two times a day.

13. How much meat do you eat per day on average?

Now I eat 700-800g daily portions – half at the morning and half at the evening (I’m quite slim – 70 kg weight and 180 cm tall).

14. Do you eat grass-fed/pasture-raised meat, or regular commercially produced meat?

I eat mostly regular commercially produced meat.

Raw fatty sirloin – with the lean meat on one side of the plate and the fat on the other – cut into 1/2 inch bite-sized pieces.

15. Do you drink any beverages besides water? (i.e. coffee, tea)

I drink only pure water.

16. Do you use salt? 

No

17. Do you use spices?

No

18. Do you take any supplements?

No

19. How much money do you spend on food each month?

It depends on seasonal prices in Costco ($450-$650 CAN).

20. Do you have any tips for making this diet more affordable?

You may buy fat trimmings separately from more cheap lean meat and eat them together.

21. Do you exercise regularly? If so, how often and how vigorously?

Not regularly. I don’t see too much sense in having a mountain of muscles or to run 10 miles every day in behalf of health if I already have quite good health and live without diseases at all (I’m 66 years old).

However, I will add that with the raw Zero Carb diet your muscles may start to grow and adjust according to your genetically predisposed body type even if you are not active or do not exercise. If you do exercise, the shape of your body can change according to your chosen plan. 

22. What benefits have you experienced since beginning a Zero Carb diet? (i.e. recovery from illness, overall health, body composition, exercise performance, hormonal, mental or psychological, etc.)

I have experienced many benefits since beginning a Zero Carb diet. After the adaptation, my overall health has been improving gradually. 

I have started to have mostly a good mood, feeling more alive, better sleep (no insomnia at all), good lightness in the body, my memory stopped diminishing and improved, and increasing clearness of my mind. 

My mind became more organized and my mental and physical reactions became faster.

I don’t have any headaches or diseases anymore! 

For long periods of time I can be around people who have the cold or flu and yet stay healthy and not contaminated. 

My back pain, which would last a few days at a time after lifting something very heavy, stopped occuring after half a year of the diet. 

My joints don’t have any pain and aren’t swollen anymore and they have become more flexible without any exercise. 

Small red spots, acne, and pimples on my body and face, as well as chronic shingles, have disappeared. 

My skin has become better and many brown (liver) spots and keratomas on my head have disappeared.

On my face I have had a big thick flat grey mole that appeared during my experiments with diets. After about year being on the raw Zero Carb diet the mole has started to crack and fell off (all other diets I have used before this diet just helped the mole to grow up). 

Small white lipomas under the lower eyelids have disappeared.

The process of balding on my head has stopped and my hair stopped graying more. 

The feeling of being permanently thirsty, needing lots of water, and then making frequent visits to the bathroom has disappeared.

A hot feeling inside the body after eating sweet fruits no longer happens because I don’t eat them anymore.

All of my allergies have vanished.

My past frequent constipation, diarrhea and bloating do not appear anymore, and I have a normal bowel movement mostly every day. 

My gums and remaining teeth have become clean, healthy, and strong. The dental tartar does not appear anymore after being 1.5 years on the diet. I brush my teeth only with water and use dental floss. I don’t have bad breath anymore and it’s always fresh. 

My sex drive and sexual abilities are increased. 

I do not know how long I will have my great healthy condition, but I hope it may compare to that of wild animals. In the wild, if animals eat the species-appropriate, genetically-proper raw food, they age significantly less visibly than humans do. The wild animals keep their health, energy, and strength until they die from natural causes.

23. What do you enjoy most about eating a Zero Carb diet?

Simplicity and affordability, in addition to all of the great health benefits. It’s definitely better than suffering from the myriad illnesses that plagued me for the rest of my life.

24. Do you have any advice for someone who is just beginning a Zero Carb diet? 

I encourage you to try the raw Zero Carb diet. At the beginning when you start to eat only raw food you can protect yourself from parasites and pathogens by buying products from reliable sources at least for half a year. 

It’s best to freeze your raw fish and raw meat previously and then thaw it out during 1-2 days in the refrigerator before eating It. This is a precaution to kill any parasites.

You can decrease the symptoms of adaptation if you divide your daily meat or fish into 3-5 small portions because your stomach still doesn’t excrete enough the stomach acid and the acid is still not strong enough for efficient digestion of a large amount of meat or fish. Moreover, it’s better when you first start this way of eating not to use ground meat due to the bad effects it has on digestion. 

Also due to unpredictable results, it’s not a good idea if you continue to use some of your favorite cooked foods and beverages instead of only pure water. 

During this half year your stomach acid will become stronger and its ability to kill parasites and dangerous pathogens will be significantly increased. Your body will be cleaned from collected toxins, build ups of waste, and some collected by-products (which are staple foods for parasites) usually created during cooking.

25. Are your friends and family supportive of your Zero Carb lifestyle? If not, how do you handle this?

My two daughters have started to eat more meat and one of them now eats part of her meat raw.

26. Is there anything you would like share about this way of eating that I have not already asked you? 

This way of eating doesn’t decrease your spirituality and sensitivity as many vegans like to claim. My experience has been just the opposite!

For  additional  information about raw Zero Carb diet, please visit my blog: Raw Diets

A meal of wild, raw salmon!

If you would like to connect with other like-minded Zero Carb Carnivores, please join us in our Facebook group Principia Carnivora.