What’s The Lion Diet? Results, Benefits, How To Do It & Plan

What’s The Lion Diet? Is it actually life-changing, as it claims?

Also, what are its potential benefits and results?

Well – we're going to talk about it in this article:

how to do it correctly
its weight loss effects
the actual diet plan

With that, let's see what to expect from this diet and all the secrets behind it.

Note: This article includes references and studies on The Lion Diet.

Table Of Contents show

The Lion Diet (In A Nutshell)

Firstly – the Lion Diet is inspired by the lion's carnivorous eating habits.

So basically, you need to consume ruminant meats, water and salt only.

As you can probably tell by now, it's a type of carnivore diet.

Now – there are two phases of this diet (ideally):

Elimination
Reintroduction

During elimination, you need to remove all plant-based foods.

If your health symptoms improve, you can then move on to the reintroduction phase.

In this second stage, you can begin eating selected fruits and vegetables again.

Just take note that adding legumes, sugar, grains, and dairy is still highly discouraged.

However – you can only proceed to the second stage if the first one gives you positive results.

If not – you need to stay longer in the elimination phase (which is honestly not sustainable).

In addition, the Lion Diet claims to have several benefits:

promotes weight loss
leads to a better gut/digestive health
reduces blood-sugar problems and diabetes
improves inflammation and autoimmune problems
decreases the risks of cancer
boosts mental functions and skin health

But again – this dietary approach is not balanced at all.

So you might experience nutrient deficiencies and several negative reactions.

Honestly – it's very important that you seek professional medical advice before trying this diet.

Overall, there are many better ways to get the benefits above (besides this diet).

You can tell by now that I'm not a big fan of it, all in all.

But again – you can still try the Lion Diet at your own risk.

Just be sure that you're ready physically, mentally and financially for it.

What Is The Lion Diet?

Judging after its name, this dietary approach is inspired by the idea of how lions eat.

As we all know, they are predators with a carnivorous lifestyle.

So with that, let's discuss the basic details of the Lion Diet [1]:

claims to improve and treat different health issues
involves mostly high-protein and high-fat foods
is a very strict regimen that requires eliminating nutrient-dense foods

Honestly – it's a little bit similar to Jordan Peterson's diet.

But the main difference is that the Lion Diet emphasizes the equal consumption of ruminant meats (besides beef).

On the other hand, Jordan Peterson's approach only allows the latter.

However – it's still more restrictive than the Classic Carnivore Diet.

As I mentioned, there are a lot of health problems that the Lion Diet claims to be helpful for.

Usually – most of these health issues require prescription drugs.

But as with any dietary approach, it's important to consult a medical professional before trying it.

How The Lion Diet Works

As I said, the Lion Diet has very similar guidelines to All Beef Diet.

The inspiration was the time when early humans used to thrive on a carnivorous diet.

Also – this diet suspects that modern health problems can be due to carbs and processed foods.

So that's why it's believed that animal products are the primary source of nutrients.

With that, let me give you some important points about how this diet works below.

1. Elimination Phase

The first stage of this diet is called Elimination.

So here's what you have to do [2]:

remove all plant-based foods from your diet
focus more on consuming solely animal products (strictly ruminant meats)
the specific foods should be high-protein, high-fat and low-carbohydrate
this phase can last up to several weeks (and even months)

Now, this phase depends on how fast your health issues get better throughout the journey.

Basically – you need to stick to this stage until you see some improvements.

So overall, this is the strictest part of the Lion Diet.

2. Reintroduction Phase

The next step of this diet is to re-introduce some eliminated food groups.

With that, here's how you should do it [3]:

assess the current state of your body after 6 weeks of the first phase
if you've seen improvements, you can begin to reintroduce other food groups
usually, the safest options to start with are honey and wild carnivorous fish (salmon, fresh tuna and mackerel)
allow your body to adapt to the foods and monitor your symptoms
if you don't feel any negative effects, you can proceed to reintroduce the next food group

In addition, make sure that the foods you're going to reintroduce follow some criteria:

fresh and wild (avoid canned or smoked)
not organic farmed goods

Now – it's not recommended to reintroduce grains, sugar, dairy and legumes.

That's simply because this dietary approach believes those foods can cause a lot of health problems.

Conclusion

Overall – here are the important points to remember about how the Lion Diet works:

stick to ruminant meats until your body gets better
start reintroducing fish, fruits and vegetables only

The only problem I see is that your issues may not improve at all during the elimination phase.

If that happens, you would have to stick to the elimination phase for months.

This could lead to long-term repercussions to your health (due to an imbalanced diet).

Lion Diet's Benefits

Now – the Lion Diet claims to offer several benefits for the body.

By eliminating several food groups, here are some health issues it claims it can help [4]:

leaky gut
weight loss
digestive health
type 2 diabetes
joint pain and gout [5]
inflammations
energy levels
mental health
skin health
autoimmune conditions [6]
blood sugar levels
insulin sensitivity
cancer

Again – most of these health issues require certain prescription drugs.

So it's not recommended to replace those medicines with this diet.

In addition, there's limited scientific evidence to support its benefits.

Lastly – the way the Lion Diet promotes weight loss is by ketosis.

To give you an idea, it's a process where your body uses its excess fats to produce energy [7].

This happens when you have zero or limited carbs in your body (which is the case in this diet).

Again – the Lion Diet is a very restrictive diet to the point that you eliminate some important food groups.

Consequently, you could experience several side effects – which we will discuss below.

Lion Diet's Downsides

Just like any special diet, the Lion Diet is not free from drawbacks.

Its biggest issues are probably the side reactions it can cause.

Let me list down some of the potential negative effectsof this diet:

nutrient deficiencies [8]
high bad cholesterol levels
digestive problems (diarrhea, bloating, constipation and ulcer)
increased risk of heart disease [9]
fatigue or low energy
other diseases (kidney, liver and gastrointestinal tract) [10]
acne, rashes and other skin problems
cancer [11]
possible weight gain
costly or expensive
food choices limitation
mental health problems

Honestly, the lack of essential nutrients in this diet is the root cause of the issues above [12].

Also – fiber plays a vital role in helping your digestion function properly [13].

So it's really important to follow a balanced diet to avoid experiencing health problems.

However – this is not the case for the Lion Diet (due to its food restrictions).

So that's why a lot of medical professionals do not recommend it.

What You Can Eat In Lion Diet

Again, the foods allowed in this diet are claimed to be enough in terms of essential nutrients .

So with that, let's talk about them in detail.

Honestly – the rule is very easy to understand, since you only remember 3 things [14]:

ruminant meats (especially lamb and beef)
salt and water

However – it's harder to put it into practice, as eating these foods ONLY isn't going to be an easy job.

Again, you can add other food groups during the Reintroduction Phase:

wild fishes and honey
fruits (such as berries)
green vegetables and root vegetables

But don't dream about them too fast!

If you don't see any improvements during the Elimination Phase, you can't begin reintroducing these foods.

So the main focus of the Lion Diet is only high-fat, high-protein and zero or low-carbohydrate foods.

The approach behind it claims that these foods won't irritate your gut and immune system.

In addition, here are the tips you need to consider when following the regimen [15]:

eat until you're full
drink when you're thirsty
eat whenever you're hungry
the amount of food you consume should depend on your body weight and height
avoid organ meats

Now – it was also mentioned that if you feel excessively thirsty, try salting your water.

This would provide your body with some electrolytes to avoid dehydration [16].

Overall – the foods allowed in this diet are easy to remember, so eat them whenever you're hungry.

Foods To Eliminate In Lion Diet

Since the Lion Diet is a restrictive type of diet, expect it to eliminate several food groups.

First and foremost, avoid processed, canned, smoked and organically farmed foods.

So let me list down the foods you should not consume while following this regimen [17]:

grains and legumes
dairy products
sugar and eggs
foods high in gluten and soy
fruits and vegetables

Again – there are several reasons behind the removal of the problematic foods.

The advocates of the Lion Diet believe that they can cause body inflammation.

Well – it makes sense (to some point), but it's not always the case for everyone.

Other than that, I mentioned fruits and vegetables above since there's no guarantee that you can eat them.

You can reintroduce certain fruits if you're past the Elimination phase.

But a lot of people don't even get there.

Since health conditions are not the same for everyone, the Lion Diet can be dangerous for some people.

But honestly, it's not a balanced diet – so it's not sustainable in the long run.

With that – it's much better to consult a doctor or a nutritionist before trying it.

How To Do The Lion Diet & Plan

Let's now break down how to plan the Lion Diet.

With all the information mentioned above, here's how to do it [18]:

Do your research about the diet.
Get the foods that need to be eliminated out of your house.
Start stuffing your pantry with the allowed foods (ruminant meats).
Search for recipes that only require meat and salt (as much as possible).
Avoid processed and organically farmed foods.
Set water as your main beverage.
You can also buy or make your own electrolytes to avoid dehydration.
Avoid eating out to steer clear of food temptations.
If you experience histamine intolerance, take a supplement to address it.
When your health symptoms improve, you can begin food reintroduction.
Grains, sugar, dairy and legumes shouldn't be included in the diet overall.
Lastly, monitor your health every once in a while to make sure you're on the right track.