Summary

Dr. Anthony Chaffey, a neurosurgical resident and former professional rugby player, shares his strict carnivore diet approach and insights into nutrition, athletic performance, and longevity. He emphasizes eating only animal-based foods—primarily beef—and excludes plants, sugar, artificial ingredients, and plant-derived seasonings or drinks such as coffee. Dr. Chaffey typically consumes two large meals a day, mainly ribeye steaks, adjusting portions based on hunger and exercise intensity. He listens to his body’s taste signals to determine satiety and nutrient needs, often avoiding organ meats which he believes are not essential daily. His diet is grounded in evolutionary biology, citing examples like the Inuit and ancient Ethiopians who thrived on meat-based diets, and he questions conventional nutritional guidelines and supplements, arguing that meat alone provides all necessary nutrients for optimal health.

He rejects the need for supplements, seasonings (except salt), and standard carbohydrate-based foods, explaining how carbohydrates cause insulin spikes, water retention, and misleading muscle “pump” that masks true lean muscle gains. Dr. Chaffey advocates for fat-adaptation, where the body efficiently produces energy from fat and protein, eliminating the need for stimulants like coffee or pre-workouts. He also highlights the importance of lifting heavy weights to muscle fatigue and eating enough to support muscle growth, without calorie counting or forced feeding. His approach fosters a state of feeling “supercharged” with better recovery, no soreness, and an overall transformation in how the body functions. He stresses the importance of purity in diet—removing all non-meat elements—to achieve the best results in health and physical performance.

Highlights

• 🥩 Dr. Anthony Chaffey eats a nearly 100% carnivore diet, focusing mainly on large portions of ribeye steak.
• 🔥 He avoids all plants, sugar, artificial ingredients, and even common seasonings and drinks like coffee.
• ⚖️ Dr. Chaffey believes humans are genetically wired to live around 120 years, citing ancestral populations thriving on meat-only diets.
• 💪 Muscle gain and athletic performance improve through lifting heavy to failure and eating according to body signals, not calorie counting.
• 🧬 He challenges standard nutrition science, attributing many health problems to carbohydrates and sugar, not fat or cholesterol.
• 🥚 Occasionally consumes raw meat and eggs safely, trusting modern food safety standards.
• 🚫 He experienced increased soreness and impaired recovery after consuming coffee, reinforcing his avoidance of stimulants.

Key Insights

• 🥩 Purity of Diet is Paramount: Dr. Chaffey stresses that the last 5% of diet purity—avoiding even minor plant-derived ingredients or artificial additives—accounts for 95% of health improvements. This suggests that marginal dietary impurities can significantly impair metabolic function and recovery, highlighting the importance of strict discipline in carnivore dieting for optimal results.

• 🔬 Evolutionary and Anthropological Evidence Supports Carnivory: He references Inuit populations and historical accounts from Ethiopia to argue that humans evolved on predominantly meat-based diets and that such diets can support longevity up to the genetic potential of 120 years. This challenges the conventional reliance on mixed diets and emphasizes ancestral dietary wisdom over modern nutritional guidelines.

• ⚡ Fat-Adapted Metabolism Provides Superior Energy: Instead of relying on carbohydrates or stimulants like coffee, Dr. Chaffey’s metabolism produces energy efficiently from fat and protein. This enables sustained energy, quicker recovery, and reduced muscle soreness. It illustrates the body’s ability to adapt to a ketotic or carnivore metabolism that can outperform carb-dependent energy systems in athletic contexts.

• 💪 Muscle Growth Depends on Stimulus and Adequate Nutrition, Not Carbs or Calorie Counting: Dr. Chaffey highlights that real muscle gains come from heavy lifting to near failure combined with eating enough meat to satiety. Unlike bodybuilding bulking phases that rely on carbs for glycogen and water retention, carnivore diet muscle growth is lean and sustainable without the “fake” pump from glycogen and water. This offers a paradigm shift in understanding muscle hypertrophy beyond carb-driven models.

• 🍖 Organ Meats Are Optional, Not Essential: Despite their nutrient density, Dr. Chaffey rarely eats organ meats and believes they are not necessary daily. He reasons that consuming excessive liver, for example, can lead to nutrient overdoses (e.g., vitamin A). This challenges common carnivore dogma that organ meats are indispensable and makes the diet more accessible to those who dislike them.

• 🥚 Raw Meat and Eggs Can Be Safe and Nutritious: Dr. Chaffey eats raw or lightly cooked meat and eggs, trusting rigorous modern food safety protocols. He dispels myths about raw meat risks, noting produce causes more food poisoning. This insight invites reconsideration of traditional cooking norms and suggests raw animal foods can be safely incorporated in carnivore diets.

• 🚫 Carbohydrates and Stimulants Impair Recovery and Increase Inflammation: After consuming coffee, Dr. Chaffey experienced increased muscle soreness and stiffness, whereas on a carnivore diet without coffee, he recovered rapidly even after intense workouts. He also explains how carbohydrates cause insulin spikes leading to water retention, fat storage, and a misleading bulky muscle appearance. This points to hidden metabolic harms of carbs and stimulants, advocating for their elimination to optimize recovery and physique.

• 🧂 Simplicity and Listening to the Body Trump Calorie Counting and Complex Nutrition: Dr. Chaffey never counts calories or worries about micronutrient supplements, trusting that eating whole animal foods until satiety and pushing physical limits naturally regulates intake and meets nutritional needs. This approach contrasts sharply with modern diet culture and emphasizes intuitive eating and evolutionary alignment.

• 🌱 Avoidance of Plants Due to Toxicity and Anti-Nutrients: The bitterness or aversion to certain plant foods is interpreted as the body’s warning against toxic compounds. This reinforces the carnivore tenet that plants contain harmful substances that disrupt optimal physiology, supporting a meat-exclusive diet.

• 🥩 Grass-Fed and Older Animals Provide Superior Nutrition and Taste: Dr. Chaffey prefers grass-fed beef, especially from older animals, for better flavor, nutrient density, and fat quality (yellow fat indicating carotenoid content). While grain-fed beef is acceptable, grass-fed is likened to Olympic gold standard versus silver, highlighting quality differences without dismissing practicality or affordability.

• 🛑 Skepticism Toward Conventional Nutrition Science and Supplements: Dr. Chaffey critiques historical nutritional guidelines and studies, citing biased research funded by sugar companies that wrongly vilified cholesterol and fat. He also questions the need for supplements if eating a pure carnivore diet, underscoring the importance of empirical, individualized evidence over generalized recommendations.

Conclusion

Dr. Anthony Chaffey’s approach to a strict carnivore diet combined with heavy, frequent training offers a compelling model for longevity, health, and athletic performance. His emphasis on purity, evolutionary biology, intuitive eating, and fat-adaptation challenges mainstream nutrition paradigms and resonates with those seeking alternatives to carbohydrate-heavy diets. His insights into muscle growth without carb reliance, safe consumption of raw animal foods, and the elimination of stimulants like coffee provide a holistic framework for optimizing human physiology through animal-based nutrition.