Health2 min(s) read
In a desperate bid to lose weight, one woman has gone to lengths arguably more extreme than injecting herself with chemicals. Rachel Ashby, 41, has cut out every food product except meat and dairy.
The mom-of-four is adamant that the carnivore diet has changed her life after she lost 56 pounds eating exclusively animal products.
Despite the diet’s strict rules, Rachel loves it so much that she has stuck to it for the last seven years and no longer feels restricted by tiny portions or balancing food groups.
She claims she no longer feels hungry throughout the day and has managed to build more muscle than she ever did on other diets.
Although the controversial diet gets glowing reviews from a small community of 'carnivores' online, which Rachel is an active part of with her 31.6 thousand followers, there are some real health concerns that come with such restrictive eating.
A 2025 review of the carnivore diet, while finding it helped with weight loss, greater fullness, and improvements in some metabolic and inflammatory markers, it also found potential nutritional gaps.
Cutting out plant foods means cutting out major sources of fiber.
The researchers also flagged possible shortfalls in vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium, magnesium, and iodine.
Another serious health concern that comes with eating only meat is the impact it could have on heart health, as a lot of dairy products and some cuts of meat are very high in saturated fat.
According to the American Heart Association, too much saturated fat can raise LDL cholesterol and it recommends choosing unsaturated fats instead.
Also, overeating red meat has long been known to increase the chances of developing cancer.
While Rachel’s thousands of followers on social media clearly prove that people are fascinated and inspired by the unconventional weight loss method, she also receives a huge amount of backlash against it.
Under one of her posts promoting her meat only diet, one person pondered: “Why would you eat butter if not on bread? Mmmm I’ll have a chew on that block of butter.”
Another Instagram user raised an important issue to think about before deciding to make the jump to meat-only, by saying: Three rib eye steaks for dinner. Ok. She’s rich.”
