THE FAST & THE CARNIVOROUS

Reality Star Credits Weird Diet for Dramatic Weight Loss After 7 Kids

After trying everything, the “Bringing Up Bates” alum spilled the secret to her transformation.

Reality star Erin Bates has revealed the surprising secret behind her 30-pound weight loss after welcoming seven children.

The Bringing Up Bates alum, 35, revealed in a YouTube video⁠ on Saturday that she turned to an unusual combination of the carnivore diet and intermittent fasting after years of struggling with her weight.

The mother of seven said she had tried keto, exercise, and other approaches without success, leaving her discouraged, exhausted, and uncomfortable in her clothes.

“I felt so not myself,” Bates said. “It just felt like nothing was working despite me trying to do everything, so to speak, right.”

Her eventual solution was hardly conventional: Meat, eggs, and dairy, with no fruits, vegetables, or snacking.

“For me, it was a mix of carnivore and fasting,” she explained. “Those things paired together were really the game changer.”

Bates also addressed speculation that she had used increasingly popular weight-loss drugs.

“I did not do shots or any GLP-1s,” she said, explaining that she wanted to avoid potential side effects.

Instead, she says she opts for a menu that consists largely of grilled steak, fish, chicken, hamburgers, eggs, cheese, and cottage cheese. She avoids pork because it upsets her stomach and favors grass-fed and organic meats.

She also pairs the restrictive diet with an eight-hour eating window, allowing herself two or three meals daily and eating until she felt about 80 percent full.

But Bates took her fasting routine further than simply skipping breakfast.

She said she fasted for a full 24 hours once a week, sometimes going 36 hours without food every few weeks. During fasts, she drank tea, water, and sugar-free electrolytes.

---

ANGEL STYLE

Lingerie Model Walks Runway Just Weeks After Giving Birth

Natalie Demaree

---

“It was almost like the weight was falling off and I was hardly doing anything,” she said.

The carnivore diet excludes plant foods, eliminating dietary fiber and potentially increasing saturated-fat intake. The Cleveland Clinic⁠ warns that it can contribute to constipation, nutrient deficiencies, and elevated cholesterol.

Extended fasts also carry risks, including dizziness, fatigue, and weakness. Bates herself said she would not recommend staying on the carnivore diet long term.

She didn’t rely on grueling gym sessions, either. Instead, Bates took daily walks with her children, sometimes pushing her two youngest boys in a stroller.

Only after losing about 25 pounds did she start strength training, alternating 20- to 30-minute home routines focused on her arms, legs, stomach, and posture. She gradually increased her dumbbells from eight to 12 pounds.

Her focus on getting healthier comes after a frightening medical ordeal.

Play Video

Bates welcomed her seventh child, Henry, with husband Chad Paine in August 2025. Shortly afterward, a serious urinary tract and kidney infection led to septic shock, followed by a severe seizure. She spent nearly three weeks hospitalized and initially lost function in her right leg.

By October, Bates had begun walking again. “They might be a little wobbly, but they are steps I wasn’t sure I’d ever take again,” she wrote on Instagram.

She also previously spoken about undergoing three ovarian surgeries and struggling with hormonal changes, telling Us Weekly⁠ in 2021 that she was receiving hormone therapy.

Her efforts to improve her health, however, began long before that hospitalization. In 2021, Bates spoke about undergoing three ovarian surgeries and receiving hormone therapy. By 2023, she said she was following a “low-glycemic healthy eating plan” and exercising with her husband.

And while the dramatic weight loss prompted questions from followers, she insisted the payoff wasn’t simply a smaller number on the scale.

“Right now, I feel so much more energy than I’ve had in years,” she said, adding that she sleeps better and has more stamina.

“It’s really about saying, I want to be the healthiest version of myself.”

---

Tamilore OshikanluContributor

---

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here.