Why Did Shawn Baker Go Carnivore? The Story Behind the Shift

January 10, 2026 •

4 min read

At 53, Dr. Shawn Baker found his health declining despite a long and strenuous athletic career, suffering from issues like metabolic syndrome, joint pain, and weight gain. His eventual shift to an all-meat diet was not an impulsive decision but the culmination of years of experimentation and frustration with mainstream nutritional advice.

Quick Summary

Orthopedic surgeon and world-champion athlete Dr. Shawn Baker transitioned to a carnivore diet to resolve significant health declines, including metabolic syndrome and joint pain, after other dietary approaches failed to provide lasting relief.

Key Points

Health Deterioration: In his mid-40s, despite being an athlete, Shawn Baker developed metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea, joint issues, and weight gain.
Dietary Experiments Failed: Prior attempts with low-fat, low-calorie, and paleo diets provided only temporary or incomplete relief and were not sustainable due to hunger and dissatisfaction.
30-Day Carnivore Trial: His curiosity about a meat-only diet led to a 30-day trial in 2016, which produced remarkable health improvements with no negative side effects.
Symptom Reversal: Upon temporarily reintroducing other foods, his previous health issues returned, reinforcing his decision to commit fully to the carnivore diet.
Performance Boost: As a carnivore, Baker continued his athletic pursuits, setting world records in indoor rowing in his 50s, demonstrating sustained high performance.
Emphasis on Results: Baker advocates for focusing on individual health outcomes rather than blind adherence to conventional nutritional dogma and flawed epidemiological science.
Therapeutic Reset: He views the carnivore diet as a powerful therapeutic tool, especially for those with autoimmune or metabolic conditions, who find relief through dietary elimination.

The Health Crisis That Sparked a Change

In his early forties, Shawn Baker experienced a dramatic shift in his health. Despite his history as a high-level athlete, having competed in rugby, powerlifting, and the Highland Games, he began facing significant health problems. He found himself 40 to 50 pounds overweight and developed what he describes as metabolic syndrome, along with other age-related issues such as sleep apnea, persistent back pain, and general joint problems. This decline occurred despite his continued athletic discipline, leading him to believe that his dietary approach was the underlying issue. He could no longer rely on exercise alone to outrun poor nutritional habits.

The Journey of Dietary Experimentation

Baker's quest for a solution led him on a six-year journey exploring various dietary paths. He began with what many mainstream health professionals would recommend: a low-fat, low-calorie diet. While he did lose some weight initially, he found himself miserable, grumpy, and constantly hungry, proving that the diet was unsustainable for him long-term.

He then moved to a paleo-style diet, which offered some improvement but still didn't resolve all of his issues. This led him down a "rabbit hole" of nutritional research, eventually experimenting with a low-carb diet and then a ketogenic diet. It was during this time that he discovered a small community of individuals reporting remarkable health improvements on a strict meat-only diet. Intrigued by what he observed, Baker decided to conduct a personal experiment.

The 30-Day Carnivore Trial

In 2016, Baker committed to a 30-day trial of eating nothing but meat, salt, and water. He was fully aware of the common fears and criticisms surrounding such a restrictive diet, including warnings of scurvy and other health problems, but he proceeded with an open mind. To his surprise, nothing terrible happened. Instead, he felt remarkably good. The experiment yielded positive results, but after the 30 days, he returned to a more varied diet to test the outcome. He immediately noticed digestive discomfort and his old aches and pains returning. Deciding that he preferred feeling well, he switched back to a pure carnivore diet, a lifestyle he has maintained for years since.

The Dietary Journey: A Comparison

To understand the evolution of Baker's diet and its impact, consider this comparison of his experiences on different regimens:


Dietary Phase	What He Ate	Feeling/Health Outcome	Sustainability
Mid-40s (Standard American Diet)	Variable, but high-carb	Metabolic syndrome, joint pain, sleep apnea, weight gain	Low (for optimal health)
Low-Fat/Low-Calorie	Low-fat, high-fiber, vegetables	Lost weight, but miserable, hungry, irritable	Very Low (for him)
Paleo-ish	More animal foods	Felt slightly better, but not completely resolved	Moderate
Ketogenic	Low-carb, high-fat	Improved health further	High (led to the next phase)
30-Day Carnivore Trial	Meat, salt, water	Remarkable health improvement, felt great	High (for him)
Return to Varied Diet	Reintroduced plant foods	Digestive issues, aches and pains returned	Low (motivated return to carnivore)
Long-Term Carnivore	Mostly red meat, some dairy, eggs, etc.	Excellent health, high athletic performance	Very High (for him)

The Core Philosophies Behind the Shift

Baker's reasons for going carnivore extend beyond simple dietary preference; they are rooted in a fundamental skepticism of modern nutritional science and a focus on therapeutic outcomes. He argues that much of the dietary advice today is based on low-quality epidemiological studies that rely on notoriously inaccurate methods, such as food frequency questionnaires. Instead, he advocates for an n=1 or individualized, results-based approach.

Baker's Core Principles

Results Over Ideology: Baker is not dogmatic about carnivory for all. He believes people should find what works for their body, and for many with chronic issues, a strict carnivore diet offers a powerful therapeutic reset.
Skepticism of Poor Science: He challenges the dogma that we must eat a balanced, varied diet, pointing out that it is not based on strong evidence and is a modern construct that doesn't reflect humanity's evolutionary past.
Focus on Nutrient Density: Baker emphasizes that animal products, especially organ meats, are the most nutrient-dense foods available, providing all essential nutrients without non-essential or potentially harmful plant compounds.
Satiety and Adherence: He found that the high protein and fat content of meat is deeply satiating, helping to eliminate cravings and making long-term adherence to the diet far easier than calorie-restricted alternatives.

Beyond Personal Health: Baker's Broader Message

After his personal transformation, Shawn Baker became a vocal proponent of the carnivore diet, spreading his message through his book and social media. His viral appearances on podcasts like Joe Rogan's significantly boosted the profile of the carnivore lifestyle. He co-founded companies like Revero and MeatRX.com to help others discover how a meat-centered diet can improve their health. His approach emphasizes healing over dogma, encouraging individuals to test what works for their unique physiology, especially those who have been let down by conventional advice.

Conclusion

In his mid-forties, Shawn Baker was a world-class athlete facing serious health declines and disappointment with conventional diets. The reason he went carnivore was not based on trend or dogma but on a pragmatic, results-driven desire to reclaim his health. Through a process of elimination and personal experimentation, he discovered that an all-meat diet addressed his chronic issues, enabled sustained high-level athletic performance, and proved to be a simple, satiating way of eating. His story stands as a testament to the power of personal experience and the value of questioning established dietary norms when they fail to provide the promised results. The Certified Piedmontese blog post offers additional insight into his story and reasoning.

Frequently Asked Questions

Before adopting the carnivore diet, Shawn Baker suffered from metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea, joint pain, back pain, and was 40-50 pounds overweight, despite being a lifelong athlete.

Yes, Baker experimented with several diets, starting with a low-fat, low-calorie plan, then transitioning to paleo and later a ketogenic diet before finally trying an all-meat carnivore diet.

During his initial 30-day trial of eating only meat and salt, Baker experienced significant improvements in his health and overall well-being, dispelling the negative predictions he had heard.

Yes, after completing his initial 30-day experiment and reintroducing a wider variety of foods, Baker's digestive discomfort, aches, and pains returned, confirming his positive experience with carnivory.

No, Baker is not dogmatic about the diet. He emphasizes finding what works best for each individual and views the carnivore approach as a potentially powerful therapeutic tool, not a universal requirement.

Baker continued to see athletic success while on the diet. In his 50s, as a 'pure carnivore,' he set multiple American and world records in indoor rowing.

Baker is highly skeptical of much of modern nutritional science, particularly population-based epidemiological studies, which he argues are often based on flawed methodologies like inaccurate food frequency questionnaires.

Baker emphasizes that the high protein and fat content in meat promotes deep satiety, which helps eliminate cravings and makes it easier for people to adhere to the diet long-term, unlike many calorie-restrictive plans.

While he primarily focuses on red meat, especially beef, his version of the carnivore diet can include other animal products like pork, eggs, seafood, organ meats, and some dairy, depending on tolerance and preference.