Fat at Dinner. Sleep Better.

On a carnivore or animal based diet, what you eat at dinner directly affects whether you wake at 3am. The mechanism is gluconeogenesis — and fat is your lever.

Why It Matters
  • When protein is high and fat is insufficient, the body converts amino acids into glucose through gluconeogenesis. This process requires cortisol — and a cortisol surge at 3am wakes you up.
  • When fat intake is adequate, the liver converts glycerol from fat breakdown into glucose passively — a gentler pathway that does not require the same hormonal response.
  • Solid saturated fats digest more slowly than liquid fats or oils, providing more stable overnight energy rather than a rapid spike and drop.
What to Do
  • Aim for roughly 75–80% of calories from fat at dinner — prioritise fatty cuts over lean ones.
  • Base dinner on fatty ruminant cuts — beef brisket, lamb ribs, fatty mince. These provide the fat-to-protein ratio that supports overnight stability.
  • Avoid lean-only meals at dinner — skinless chicken breast, white fish or lean pork without added fat are the worst offenders before bed.
  • If dinner was lean, add a solid fat alongside it — butter, tallow or ghee. Solid fats digest more slowly than liquid oils.

PS. It is not about eating less. It is about eating the right things.