The Anti-Resolution Playbook: Why Carnivore Beats New Year Goals
Everyone's making resolutions. "This year I'll get healthy. This year I'll finally lose weight. This year I'll change." You know how that ends. February comes, and you're back where you started.
Carnivore is different. It's not a resolution. It's a system. Here's how to use it that way, and why it actually works when resolutions don't.
Why Resolutions Fail and Carnivore Doesn't
Resolutions Are Vague
"Get healthy." What does that mean? Vague goals don't work. Carnivore is specific: meat. That's it. No ambiguity. No wondering if you're doing it right.
Carnivore Removes Decisions
The number one thing that kills diet consistency is decision fatigue. What should I eat? Is this allowed? Should I try something new?
Carnivore removes all of that. The answer to "what should I eat?" is always meat. Ribeye, ground beef, chicken, fish, whatever. It's meat. Done. Your brain has 1000 fewer decisions to make, which means your willpower stays intact for things that actually matter.
Resolutions Depend on Motivation
Motivation is temporary. Carnivore doesn't care about motivation. You eat meat because that's what you eat. By February, it's not a resolution anymore. It's just what you do.
Results Are Fast
Most resolutions take months to show results. Carnivore shows results in weeks. Energy up in days. Hunger gone in a week. Mental clarity in two weeks. Weight loss in two weeks. Fast results mean fast motivation.
Your brain likes seeing results. Results drive consistency. Consistency is what wins.
The Anti-Resolution Framework
Instead of a resolution, build a system:
Constraint > Willpower
Don't rely on willpower to avoid certain foods. Eliminate them. Clean out your kitchen. Donate the cookies. Remove processed food. Now the constraint does the work, not you.
Small Start > Big Change
Don't "go carnivore" all at once. Eat meat for lunch. One meal. That works. After two weeks, you're used to it. Add dinner. Three weeks later, you're mostly carnivore. The big change is built from small, easy decisions.
Identity > Behavior
Don't think "I'm trying carnivore." Think "I'm someone who eats meat and feels amazing." That's identity. Once that's set, the behavior follows automatically. You don't decide every meal. You just do what someone who eats meat does.
Simplicity > Perfection
You don't have to do it perfect. You don't have to buy only grass-fed beef. You don't have to track macros. You don't have to fast. Just eat meat. That's it. Consistency beats perfection every single time.
The Actual Playbook
Week 1: Add Meat
Eat meat for lunch every day. Just lunch. Ribeye, ground beef, whatever. Make it delicious so you actually want to eat it. That's the only change. Everything else stays the same.
Week 2-3: Add Another Meal
Now eat meat for lunch and dinner. Breakfast stays the same. Again, no other changes. No need to optimize yet. Just add the meal.
Week 4: Evaluate
How do you feel? Do you have more energy? Is your appetite different? Are you sleeping better? If yes to any of those, you're onto something. Keep going. If no, carnivore might not be for you. But you'll know instead of wondering.
Week 4+: Optimize
Now you can optimize. More fat. Less meat (if you want). Add organs for nutrients. Find the version of carnivore that feels best for you.
Why January Isn't Special
Here's the secret: January 1st is arbitrary. The only thing that changes is the calendar. You can start March 15th and it works just as well. But psychologically, January is a fresh start. Use that if it helps. But understand that the magic isn't in the date. It's in starting and not stopping.
What Makes This Different From Every Other Diet
Carnivore is restrictive, which sounds bad but is actually the advantage. Fewer choices. Fewer decisions. Less willpower needed. Every other diet tries to give you "flexibility" which just means more decisions and more failure points. Carnivore is the opposite. It's simple. Simplicity wins.
How to Not Quit
Tell someone. Share your plan. Not for motivation, but for accountability. When you skip meat for a day, you'll think about telling someone you quit. That matters.
Track something. Not calories. Not weight. Just "did I eat carnivore today?" A simple yes/no. A streak of yeses is satisfying. That streak motivates itself.
Plan your environment. Have meat in the freezer. Always. When you're hungry and there's no easy carbs but there's meat, you eat meat. Easy choice beats willpower every time.
The Anti-Resolution Take
Don't make resolutions. Don't rely on willpower. Don't expect it to be easy. Do build a system. Do remove friction. Do start small. Do track progress. Do build identity. Carnivore makes all of that easier because it's simple.
January 1st is coming. You don't need a resolution. You need a system. Carnivore is the system. It's specific. It's simple. It works. Stop planning and start eating meat. That's all you need to do.
—Casey