Table 3.

Lived Experiences with a Zero-Carb Diet.

Theme	Illustrative Quotes
Wellbeing	“My overall health has drastically improved. I had constant stomach issues eating even small quantities of vegetable and these have basically gone after going zero-carb. Depression and brain fog have gone and probably for these reasons alone I will not change the way of eating” (P6, male, aged 58, South Africa).
	“Best physique of my life, despite spending less time lifting weights daily than I had for the previous 8 years (and without any steroids or supplementation)—strongest I’ve ever been in my life even with less time in the gym-lowest body fat I’ve ever been without even actively trying to lose weight/fat” (P7, male, aged 28, USA).
	“I developed connection with like-minded individuals in the zero-carb community. Opened my eyes to what ‘healthy’ really can be. Gained an increase in knowledge of health, wellness, diet and lifestyle (and I am constantly learning and evolving, daily)” (P8, female, aged 35, Australia).
	“I am a widow and live alone so no one else to cook for or eat with most of the time I’m 51 and care less about what others think. The meat I eat is easily accessible to buy and cook and financially affordable” (P9, female, aged 51, Canada).
	“I have a low need for social validation and interaction-Financially well off enough to make it affordable-Enough intellectual and education background to trust my own research” (P10, male, 36, The Netherlands).
Challenges	“It is socially quite paralysing, unless you make an effort to find like-minded individuals with whom you could dine…As you are deviating from societal norms, you attract lots of derision from friends and family-You don’t feel like you belong quite as much on sociable occasions when you choose to reject almost all food and drink on offer. Socially people are always trying to ‘talk me into’ carbs. ‘One bite won’t hurt you’. ‘It’s just a piece of cake, it won’t make or break you’” (P11, male, aged 27, UK).
	“Any and all doctors, medical experts or nutritionists solely advocate a vegetable/carb-based diet” (P12, male, aged 60, USA).
	“It is difficult to order ‘meat only’ meals sometimes as people often get the order wrong…You pay the same price for just a meat only meal plate as a meat/side/bun/dessert meal plate” (P13, female, aged 49, USA).
	“I have less tolerance for non-ZC foods. Initially, diarrhea (1–2 weeks every other day), then normalized” (P14 male, aged 34, USA).
	“Options are severely limited. I occasionally get bored…” (P15, female, aged 40, UK).
	“The diet is not backed by a lot of scientific studies or research material, so it could be damaging in the long term” (P16, male, aged 33, UK).
Internet families	“The support that I have found online has been paramount to my staying the course and adjusting my eating habits over time” (P17, female, aged 51, Canada).
	“My Twitter ‘family’ of LCHF/Carnivore plays an important role in providing indirect support through information and general sharing of experiences” (P18, female, aged 37, UK).

Note. Illustrative quotes taken from open-ended survey questions on behavioral beliefs. Note. p = Participant.