A former vegan influencer has shocked her fans after going on a "carnivore diet" for 30 days.
Alyse Parker took to her Instagram and YouTube accounts to reveal that she had absconded from her meat and dairy-free lifestyle, and was only eating animal products for a month. Parker, who has been vegan for almost five years, rose to fame on the back of her plant-based and exercise content, and accordingly, her 207K followers were taken aback by the news.
The carnivore diet restricts you to only eating meat, fish, and other animal products including eggs. It excludes all other food groups, including fruit, vegetables, grains, nuts, seeds, and legumes.
This vegan said that a plant-based lifestyle made him sick...Parker shared her decision-making process in an Instagram post. "By this point, you probably know that I looove trying new things, running little experiments, and diving into challenges of all sorts," she wrote.
"Yehhh — some may call me crazy.. But I’m a firm believer in experiencing things first hand + getting a real feel for what something is all about before I form a personal opinion on it [sic]."
"The Carnivore Diet first came into my awareness when a close friend shared with me all of the benefits that he was experiencing by eating this way," she continued. "Coming from being vegan 4.5 years, I was hellla resistant to the concept of eating ONLY animal foods (aka only meat, seafood, + eggs). I didn’t make ANY sense to me. It actually sounded pretty f*cking ridiculous [sic]."
"But oddly enough, I started to hear story after story from my fellow vegan friends jumping ship, testing out the carnivore diet and experiencing amazing health transformations. I was so confused. But I had my own fair share of health struggles and eventually reached a breaking point where I was willing to try anything to function properly again. With an online community of 800,000 people ~ many of which were primarily showing up for my vegan related content... I was a bit conflicted to say the least [sic].
"But I knew I needed to make decisions based on what was in the best interest for my health. I swallowed my pride + decided I’d give it a shot. Full onnn carnivore. I woke up the next morning feeling more mentally clear, focused, wholesome, and healthy than I had felt in years. God bless. But also, WTF? My vegan identity crumbled immediately [sic]."
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She continued: "This past year of my life has been a journey of remembering who I am separate from what I eat. In hopes of challenging others to step out of their current perspective ~ I documented my newest challenge of eating only meat for 30 days."
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Parker's announcement proved to be contentious with her followers. "I’m so confused as to how someone can be vegan for 4.5 years and then eat meat? Grass-fed and humanely raised doesn’t mean they are 'humanely' slaughtered to pieces," commented one social media user, while another corroborated "Sorry, we have to unfollow. So disappointing. Food is more than a lifestyle. It’s a sign of respect for life. Choose compassion."
Another user typed: "Good luck with cancer and your arteries. Also you don’t have the right to contribute toward the rape and slaughter of another individual."
Others, however, were pleased that the influencer had found a diet that made her feel healthy. "Inspired by you, that no matter the opinions of others, that you stand true to who you are!!! girl keep it up! whatever keeps your body mind & soul healthy in your shoes, do it! prayers for you," wrote one follower.
