A young man has revealed the bizarre diet that he claims helped him shift more than six stone – chowing down on up to 126 eggs a week.
Ray Hicks adopted the ‘carnivore’ diet – which involves eating nothing but meat, seafood, butter and eggs – last August, and says he has never felt better.
The 26-year-old heard about the unusual way of eating on a podcast and was intrigued by claims that he could feel better mentally as well as physically by following it.
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Within two and a half months, he has dropped 90lbs (6st 4lbs) and says he even saves money by following the strict diet.
“For the most part, I save money on the carnivore diet,” Ray, a mortgage loan officer, from Nashville, Tennessee, told What’s The Jam.
“I am a frugal person, so it’s rare I intentionally spend a lot of money.
“I am also a simple person – I can live off eggs, ground beef and butter, being perfectly content. I love those foods.
“If you are eating out every meal or even most meals, I would say yes – the carnivore diet is more expensive.
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“But if you shop for foods within your budget and cook from home, I’m confident most would find they save money compared to what they spend currently on groceries.
“Most weeks I spend around $60 (£47) a week.
“Weeks that I decide to stock my freezer full of steak, that number quickly goes up to about $120 (£94).”
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Comparatively, he estimates he spent between $200-250 (£157-197) a week before changing diets – though he ate out more often.
Ray, who used to weigh 295lbs (21 stone), says a typical day of food involves between 6-18 eggs, 1-3lbs of meat (often steak, ground beef and liver) and butter.
The fitness buff, who now weighs 205lbs (14st 6lbs), said: “I have had drastic improvements in health since starting.
“The most noticeable difference to people was my weight loss, but I always say the weight loss was my least favourite benefit.
“Don’t get me wrong, if you’re obese and you have the weight to lose, it’s a great feeling.
“However, it is nothing compared to the other benefits I’ve experienced.
“Mental health is hands down my favourite.
“As someone who struggled with depression from a very early age and has successfully taken anti-depressants, I can tell you that nothing has compared to my mental health on the carnivore diet.
“It’s the best it’s ever been.
“If my weight didn’t change a bit, but I felt this good mentally, I’d still be on the carnivore diet – it’s that big of a difference and it’s that important to me.”
Ray also claims the diet has helped ease knee pain he’d had since his teens, as well as helping him to focus – benefits he says date back to just his third day eating this way.
He added: “All of these have drastically changed my life for the better.”
Ray has also documented his journey on TikTok, where he boasts more than 197,000 followers.
In one post, which garnered 1.7 million views, he documented his nine-month anniversary by sharing a ‘What I eat in a day’ clip.
In the post, Ray prepares 10 eggs, which he cooks in bacon grease, for breakfast, along with a snack of a stick of butter.
Next, he chows down on more butter, plus a large portion of ground beef seasoned with salt.
As he hasn’t worked out, he says it will likely be his second and final meal of the day, though he’ll snack on more eggs if he feels hungry.
In another post, which attracted 2.7 million views, Ray shows his followers a typical shopping trip.
Shopping at Costco, he purchases ground beef, rib-eye steaks, eggs and butter.
He says: “That’s it right there, that’s what I’ve eaten the majority of the last eight months on the carnivore diet.
“I feel like a fricking superhero.”
