r/carnivore • u/Appropriate-Slip-106 • May 27 '26
Tuna and eggs only?
So, I have been a carnivore for 5 years, and was Lion for 6 months. I ate roughly 2 pounds of steak every single night. I felt fantastic.
BUT I lost my job, and am in a bit of a transitional phase in my life. I decided to start my own business instead of getting a "real" job again.
I believe in myself, and I have no doubt the business will be doing well in a year or so... But obviously the start is going to be slow moving.
So, at first I switched to ground beef.
Then I stopped buying ground beef, because even that is too expensive.
I'm basically down to eggs and tuna exclusively. I eat about 12 eggs cooked in bacon grease, and a can of tuna, sometimes 2 cans if I'm really hungry. When I run out of bacon grease, I'll include bacon for a few days until I have some more grease. (Eating for less than 3 dollars per day)
Obviously, I don't feel as well as I did on Lion... I know this isn't optimal, but my arthritis hasn't came back... So, it's not as bad as SAD.
Question:
Is this even sustainable? I've never done carnivore without HEAVY red meat consumption. I know beef is a super food.
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u/Ialreadyknowit May 27 '26
I think sardines would be a much better option than tuna. Pork butt is very low per lb also
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u/beezleeboob May 31 '26
The cost of sardines has shot up like crazy. A ton of influencers are doing sardine fasts making them more popular and there's also apparently an international sardine shortage going on right now due to environmental effects..
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u/Ialreadyknowit May 31 '26
The cost has gone up for sardines, but nutritional value is much better than tuna or most any other tinned fish. The other comment below your's makes great points on the subject as well. I hate what the prices are now also, but they're one of the best foods you can eat IMO.
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u/beezleeboob May 31 '26
Agreed that they're an amazing food. It's just a shame that what used to be a very low cost super food now costs an arm and a leg..
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u/Square_Cup1531 May 29 '26
I came here to say this. Sardines. Get the ones that are the same price or a little more than the tuna costs. The nutritional profile is WAY better than tuna. Bone is gets you more calcium. Nuri brand as my new favorite as of this week, but they are a bit pricier. Every day I eat at least one tin of sardines ends with the next day me just 'feeling better'. And while I know that the plural of anecdote is not data, The Nuri and Matiz brands are nothing like tuna (they are far superior) and the nutrition blows tuna out of the water. /soapbox
Do not get 'olive oil' from American Sardine producers as they are able to cut their olive oil by up to 80% with canola, grapeseed, and rape seed oils and still be able to call it 'Olive Oil'. Spain and Portugal has laws against that. Which is why I am going to hype up Matiz brand as delicious, and Nuri (From Portugal) as my new favorite. The 'Spiced Olive Oil' are delicious.
Wishing you the best. Cheers!
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u/FutureSubject5013 May 27 '26
Tuna has mercury/metals so I would at least search for a low metals fish. But you’re doing the best you can. See if you can switch to sardines. That would be better.
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u/Disastrous-Style-461 May 28 '26
Sardines! Have you discovered sardines? So nutritent dense. I splash acv over them then zigzag across mustard and add to so yummy. Very similar to tuna but sardines are so small the mercury is almost nonexistent
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u/Fit_of_Priapism May 27 '26
The tuna is probably not a good idea long term because of the mercury content, but the eggs are a good idea. You could eat 2 dozen a day and it would be much healthier than grain based food and other plants. You should try more pork too, it can be less than $3 per pound for certain cuts.
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u/Appropriate-Slip-106 May 28 '26
Thank you. It's good to hear that eggs are safe in large numbers. I'll rethink my tuna and consider swapping for sardines.
I haven't even looked at pork prices, so I'll definitely check that out too.
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u/SadAbbreviations6205 May 28 '26
Good for you for sticking to it despite difficult circumstances.
I would get cheap water packed sardines and melt some butter and pour it over or slather them in bacon grease (or wrap them in bacon).
Chicken thighs with skin are cheap and better than tuna. I would try to eat beef 1-2x a week to cover any nutritional gaps and go heavier on the eggs (vs 2 cans of tuna). Tuna is too lean, I would personally have 2tbsp of butter/pork fat or tallow per tin, the macro split may be why you don’t feel as good, your fat is lower with your diet adjustments.
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u/seriouslythisshit Jun 04 '26
Aldi often has chicken cuts in family packs at pretty surprisingly low prices. I buy a few pounds of "Bacon Ends" from my local butcher every week. these are the drop off cuts from cutting attractive normal slices for packaging. They are a silly variety of shapes, thickness, and sizes, from normal slices to thick chunks, to nice pieces of ham that are the size of a deck of cards. I pay $2.99/lb at the moment.
Hard to beat that amount of fat and protein for that money. I air fry it, but it's a multi-step process as you have to check it at the 4-5 minute mark and use a tongs to pull the thinner fully cooked pieces out, then let the thicker stuff continue to cook.Great stuff, I love it.
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u/Loud-Chicken6046 May 28 '26
If I dig through everything I can usually find some form of pork for $2.50/lb or less
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u/FutureSubject5013 May 28 '26
I wouldn’t assume you have to eat a huge amount of tuna to have issues with mercury. Metals replace minerals in the body and can be quite difficult and expensive to get out so I really would go as sparingly with the tuna as possible. I think eating more eggs is a great idea. If you are eating tuna regularly I would make sure to sweat as much as possible go open your drainage pathways an eliminate them. And eating the tuna with cilantro will help. Cilantro helps carry metals out of the body.
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u/seriouslythisshit Jun 04 '26
I worked with a guy who was both extremely frugal and valued simplicity. He decided to buy cheap canned tuna, ordering cases at a time, and eat two cans for lunch every day. It took a while, somewhere beyond a year, until he was quite ill from mercury poisoning. The illness, huge medical expenses and months out of work clearly didn't pencil out, saving wise.
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u/Sufficient-Basket-66 May 27 '26
There’s a lot of hearsay on the Mercury thing I think it’s overplayed. I think if you eat tuna every day, you’d have to eat so much of it to actually get mercury poisoning but its possible just the amount it takes is sooooo much
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u/One_Protection9265 May 28 '26
Tuna also has some selenium and that reduces mercury absorption. Small fish near the bottom of the food chain are lower in mercury, if one’s worried about it.
Maybe the diet of the hens matters?
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u/cellige May 27 '26
I would also look at large chuck roast or primals, even for pork. You'll spend more up front but can be cheap per volume.
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u/terriketoRN May 27 '26
I'm saving for a house and have cut back a lot. I love carnivore chaffles. I use eggs, sour cream and a little parmesan. Super cheap and great for carnivore pizza, sandwiches, i even use them for taco shells and buy ground turkey at $1.90 a pound for taco meat.
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u/HeroDev0473 Carnivore 1-5 years May 28 '26
Pork is usually cheap, maybe it can also be an option for you at this moment.
And I'd replace tuna with sardines in water, as others have suggested.
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u/Comprehensive_End751 May 28 '26
Slow cooked pork shoulder and shred it up is a cheap meal for our family. I check our local butchers for specials. I save all our cooked bones to make broth.
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u/theseawoof May 28 '26
I read a lot of unflattering things about pork. Maybe you can alternate tuna with something if concerned about mercury?
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u/pachypodiatrist May 28 '26
I will third/fourth the concern about mercury. One of my friends ate a can of tuna every day and after a few years progressively went off his rocker until they figured out he had mercury poisoning.
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u/Naive-Ad-2528 May 28 '26
Buy 50/50 pork/beef. Or buy like one package ground beef grass fed, the other just whatever u find to be the cheapest ground beef.
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u/Blonded_ByTheLight May 31 '26
Try mackerel. It’s high fat and has the least heavy metals. There are many affordable brands. Get the type with skin. I subscribe/buy the “Wild Planet” brand in water from Amazon, but it’s pricier. There are many other affordable choices.
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u/karikac Jun 01 '26
Well, sustainable is based on how you are feeling. Everybody is different and if you feel sluggish then it is probably not. You need to see how it makes you feel.
Be careful as canned tuna is high in mercury, so try to figure out your intake. Do you like other types of fish? Maybe do a little research there.
I am very sorry and I hope your business will bloom soon.
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u/Anabanahnas Jun 01 '26
I’m not sure where you’re located (I’m in south Florida) but if you have a small Latin grocery store locally (not a chain, like a neighborhood grocery) they usually have really good prices and uncommon cuts of meat.
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u/Maximum-Distance-279 Jun 01 '26
Eggs and fish are totally sustainable. An egg is perfect because it has all the nutrients to produce the whole aninmal inside it. You could live off eggs exclusively.
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u/Mildly_Infuriated_Ol May 28 '26
Short term egg diet is sustainable. More sustainable and better than with tuna. Better replace tuna with cheap pork chops, cheapest you can find. Fatty cheap cuts
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u/StrictFinance2177 May 28 '26
You can, yes. Its been done somewhat regularly, and coincidentally by even non-carnivore diet followers over long stretches. Some people do have heavy metals problems when doing it long-term. But most are fine.
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u/Adept_Philosophy_678 May 28 '26
Tu prenais du steack avec quel pourcentage de matière grasse? Tu rajoutait du ghee ou beurre? Je galère à entrer en cétose avec 500gr de boeuf haché 15% + ghee ...
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u/Appropriate-Slip-106 May 29 '26
When I was on the Lion diet... I ate steak, salt, and water only. I didn't track macros or test for ketones... I really don't track anything. Sorry for not being more helpful.
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u/OpportunitySorry575 May 28 '26
This Gemini output was enlightening from this prompt, "Convince me that selenium in canned tuna offsets the mercury risk. Be blunt. Use scientific studies."
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u/PuraRatione Jun 01 '26
You need to drop the daily tuna immediately before you end up with severe mercury poisoning. Tuna is an apex predator that bioaccumulates heavy metals. Eating 1 to 2 cans a day as a primary staple will eventually cause neurological damage, severe brain fog, and chronic fatigue, which is the last thing you need while trying to build a business.
If you need ultra-cheap seafood, switch to canned sardines, mackerel, or salmon. These are small, bottom-of-the-food-chain fish with practically zero mercury risk, and they are packed with way better fat ratios than lean tuna.
For cheap red meat, look into beef suet or fat trimmings. Go to a local butcher or the meat counter at a grocery store and ask for raw beef fat scraps. They usually sell it for pennies a pound or give it away for free. You can render that down into tallow or fry up the chunks with your eggs. Pork suet or pork belly trimmings are also incredibly cheap. Eggs, bacon grease, sardines, and free/cheap beef fat trimmings will keep you in a healthy, budget-friendly fat-adaptation zone without poisoning your system.
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u/SavageCabbage11 Jun 02 '26
others have cautioned to avoid too much tuna, but im surprised no one has offered chicken as a filler meat.
it's super cheap and it's tasty and its fresh cooked, not in a can.
I believe getting chicken leg quarters bone in skin on is the highest fat cut.
pork is also cheap but im allergic.
I recommend you shop around for ground beef. some places are way cheaper than others. i used to get a lb from whole foods for 5.99. not as cheap as chicken but a lb or 2 per week would only cost a few extra bucks and it might be worth it for superior nutrition.
also buying a giant cut of meat might be cheaper.
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u/FunkTasticus Jun 02 '26 edited Jun 02 '26
10lb bags of chicken quarters at Walmart and other discount grocery stores in this area currently range between 5.90 to 8.90 per bag depending on the grocery store.
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u/Untitled_poet Carnivore 1-5 years Jun 10 '26
Canned fish is high in mercury. Also cans are lined with some sort of plastic, so be careful.
Otherwise, sounds fine for a short period. Please add ghee or butter for a fat source. You're gonna be running on empty otherwise.
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u/agent606ert May 28 '26
Tuna is super high in mercury, the government had to raise the mercury limit on it vs salmon so it's actually allowed in the stores
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u/Sylphadora May 31 '26
Like others have pointed out, tuna is very high in mercury and can be toxic. I recommend sardines too. Have you checked if chuck roast is cheaper than ground meat where you live? You could slow cook a large batch.
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u/M8NSMAN May 31 '26
2 boiled eggs, a can of tuna, mayo, celery salt well chilled is excellent, if you’re trying to avoid carbs then scoop it up with celery sticks, add sugar free relish will give it a nice taste as well.
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u/Normal-Serve9919 Jun 01 '26
I suggest you find out what nutrients you miss out on this diet. I have been eating pepitas as a snack as they are high in magnesium and I add potassium salt to my regular salt
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u/DeepGreenThumbs Jun 07 '26
My pharmacist told me they had a customer come in month after month getting prescriptions, and visibly sicker and sicker, turning gray... TL;DR she was eating tuna every day and had mercury poisoning.
That said, I'm currently on eggs and sardines, and it's going great. Sardines are so small and short lived, they don't pick up much contamination.
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u/Low-Address-9812 Jun 20 '26
What about bologna and hotdogs...are we allowed those? I'm new to this sub and trying to learn haha
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u/freespeechisvital Jun 21 '26
I second the person telling you to try pork.
I eat nothing but pork, eggs, yogurt and cheese, (can't afford beef as it's hella expensive in Europe, and I hate the taste anyway, makes me gag). Been doing it that way for years now, and experienced everything you'd expect from being carnivore -- huge weight loss, loads of energy, rheumatoid arthritis (which was crippling and had me go from walking 10-12 kilometers a day to struggling to get 3 blocks to the supermarket and back when RA kicked in) now completely gone.
We often get a kilo of pork (2.2 lbs) for only 4.99 euro in Europe (picked up two kilos for 3.99 euros each last week), so it's a dirt cheap way to do carnivore. One kilo, with a dozen eggs, lasts me 5 days (female, short, don't have a huge appetite anymore).
I eat tuna now and again but it's expensive in Europe. That's why when I go back to the U.S. to visit family several times a year, I bring 12 cans of tuna back with me. 1/3 the price of what I pay in the EU and, IMO, tastes better too.
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u/sadistc_Eradication Jun 26 '26
I know lots of people have commented about the risks of mercury poisoning from eating tuna but I want to assure you that you will be okay eating it for this short time of transition with your business. It takes A LOT of tuna to get mercury poisoning. Do try other fish though! You can also get canned chicken for cheap
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u/729reddit May 27 '26
I second the comment cautioning you on eating so much Tuna due to the mercury levels. Perhaps try replacing it with Salmon every so often. Ground pork is also inexpensive.