My N=1 journey began on September 7, 2024.

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On the surface, it looked like the start of yet another diet, one of many I had tried, and usually failed at, over the last four decades.

 

That part isn’t very interesting. Most of us have been there and done that.

 

What made this attempt different wasn’t the diet itself, but how I approached it this time. I began with the Carnivore Diet, but for the first time in my life I also did something new: I measured where I was starting from. I baselined my biomarkers, took body measurements, tracked my weight, and committed to updating that information as I went.

 

I had already been taking non-statin medications for cholesterol and triglycerides for years, yet I had largely forgotten why I was taking them. This time was different. A new diet built almost entirely around animal foods might reasonably affect blood lipids, and rather than speculate or rely on reassurances from social media, I decided to find out for myself.

 

Ordering those tests on my own marked the first moment I truly understood what my cardiologist had been concerned about for nearly a decade. Learning the significance of biomarkers and trends, and how they might affect me personally, woke me up and motivated me to look well beyond the original goal of just losing weight.

 

It was also the first time I didn’t simply read a bestselling diet book, try to follow its recipes, and hope for the best. Like many people, I initially drew motivation from Carnivore Diet influencers and their compelling anecdotal success stories. But as my questions grew more specific, the answers became harder to find.

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So I stepped outside the weight-loss diet box I had been building for years. I began educating myself about my overall health, metabolic disease, and how evidence is actually evaluated. Each answer raised new questions, and each question sent me searching elsewhere. Somewhere along the way, the light bulbs started turning on.

 

Eventually, my “diet” stopped being a diet at all. It became part of who I am. It evolved as my understanding evolved. Instead of cycling from one rigid viewpoint to another, I made a conscious effort to stay skeptical of dogma, resistant to confirmation bias, and wary of the comforting certainty offered by influencers and ideologies alike.

 

I've never lacked for curiosity or analytical ability: it was that I had never turned those instincts toward myself.

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This shift wasn’t just about improving my health. It also changed how I related to the people around me, including those I had long trusted to help monitor my health. I discovered that my primary care physician, who was kind, helpful, and cautiously supportive of my decisions, was no longer able to take a leadership role in the way I felt I needed. As my questions became more specific, I realized that responsibility for understanding what was happening had shifted almost entirely to me.   

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​I also learned how isolating a personal transformation like this can be. When you’re deeply engaged in learning, measuring, and improving something as fundamental as your health, it’s surprising how often that curiosity isn’t shared. Conversations are met with polite nods, glazed expressions, or vague skepticism. Genuine engagement with others is rare.

 

But a few precious people have become my cheerleaders, constantly asking about how things are going, and they express their thanks for learning something new as I learn from them. Their voices and heartwarming support are seriously appreciated.

 

This website may simply be a way for me to unload everything rattling around in my head about this N=1 journey so I can focus on the next big thing, whatever that might be. But in the meantime, I sincerely hope it’s discovered by at least a few people like me — curious, evidence-minded, and willing to think for themselves. Perhaps it can offer them a handful of data points, or raise questions that encourage them to take more ownership of their own health.

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And finally, I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to my wife. She has patiently endured my daily discoveries, my relentless blood test updates, and my occasional deep dives into obscure details that sometimes end before I remember why I started explaining them in the first place. She’s a saint. She likes my healthier appearance, and more importantly, she’s happy that I’m happy.

 

Whatever value this website may have, I dedicate it to her.  We’re celebrating a major  marriage milestone soon, and my goal is simple: to be around as long as possible so we can keep enjoying the life we’ve built together.