As you can see, that’s not carnivore diet compliant (plus there are other regular things like a few dates daily due to very high potassium … just 3 dates: 200 mg potassium). But I got to this place largely by seeing an increasing number of high-meat-eating and carnivore-diet types talk about going to all or mostly ground beef (full fat, like 15-20% minimum). Just go to YouTube, for instance, and search “ground beef carnivore.” Increasingly, many are benefiting by making 80/20 ground beef the base or staple of their diet.

I’ve been at it for nearly a couple of weeks, and my consumption ranges from 300 to 600 grams daily. For the metric challenged, 500g is roughly a pound (1.1 to be exact). I’ll be including a perfectly cooked salmon filet from time to time.

But my story begins a long time ago.

I’ve always known that lean ground beef (like 5% typically) is only good for soups, sauces, and other stuff that’s highly seasoned (like lasagna and casseroles). It can be better, actually, because high fat can ruin the mouthfeel unless you skim or drain the fat. I’m talking about thick, pink, and juicy burger steaks, bun or no bun.

(Note: I never drain the fat for taco meat; the 20% fat is perfect for absorbing the seasoning packet. And, BTW, taco-seasoned meat is very versatile if you don’t do tortillas. One of my favorites is omelet filling.)

I’m pretty impressed with how this makes me feel. Listen, I love good steaks cooked perfectly. But I get fatigued. I get tired of them. I do not seem to get tired of medium-cooked ground beef, full fat, grilled or skillet. I always look forward; I always crave.

Burger steaks or patties have to be 15-20% fat or above.

I asked Grok for a brief on the nutritional difference between a burger steak and a ribeye steak.

Here in Thailand, I have completely stopped buying minced beef at markets (to make burger steaks/patties), even those geared toward us farang (foreigners). While they don’t label the fat content, you know it’s low because the burgers are dry and tasteless, even with the greatest care in the cooking method.

Recently, I found this Thai company that imports Australian Angus, makes 150g patties, and sells them in the freezer section rather than fresh. PERFECT patties. 4 of them in 2 sittings gets you 600 grams. Add a few eggs and some butter, and you will not be hungry.

I can get tired of steaks, even good ones. I never get tired of perfectly cooked ground beef patties, pink and juicy, so long as they have 15-20% fat MINIMUM.

In fact, recently I have usually been cooking them on a hot skillet rather than the BBQ grill to retain the fat, which I then mix with a bit of butter as the patties are resting and then drizzle all right back on the burgers like a sauce.

I am not carnivore, at least not fully (but reasonably close). I live in Thailand, and I don’t see white rice and fruit as detrimental for those who eat sensibly. I do not eat much of either. I simply don’t shun them completely.

If you are heavy on meat (like around 500g daily on average), I certainly have been persuaded that ground/minced beef with a minimum of 15-20% fat is your best daily foundation, and for me at least, food fatigue just never sets in.

In closing, 2 things. First, you may be wondering WTF about the can of baked beans. Well, I have had issues with low, even dangerously low, potassium levels, and it turns out that beans (all of them) are godlike sources of potassium (also the reason for 3-6 dates daily … 400 mg potassium). I don’t even heat the beans. Just a room temperature can, and I typically mix in some American plain yellow mustard for pro level (try it … about a tsp per serving)

Second, there’s this guy on X, @samahoole. His post this morning was the prime inspiration for this post. I intended to search his feed for posts about ground beef this morning, first thing. Now I don’t need to. His post was waiting for me.

… When I first encountered him in my X feed months ago, he struck me initially as a dogmatic, religious fervor carnivore dieter. I call them “Shiite Carnivores.” You might know what I mean.

Maybe it was just me, or X, only feeding me certain stuff. I don’t know. It doesn’t matter.

Turns out he’s hyperknowledgeable about the true and actual Mediterranean diet. I gather he lived in or spent extensive time in regions. I lived in France for years and spent a lot of time in Spain, and remote village regions in France, Italy, and Greece.

I knew when I became a Paleo Diet influencer back in the latter 2010s that 100% of what diet influencers, doctors, PhDs, and media were talking about the Mediterranean diet was utter bullshit. Absolutely fraudulent and criminal. Bears zero resemblance to how these people live and eat.

So, give him a follow on X if you like.

And that’s about it for me, today.

Later: I made breakfast. Ate the entire thing. That was roughly 10 am. Now 4:30 pm and still can’t think about food.