To the horror and delight of her viewers, one TikTok user is giving rise and grind a whole new meaning. A college student who goes by “MACK Z” on the app closely documents their eccentric nutrition habits, including waking up at around 3 a.m., snacking on raw liver, and drinking fresh coffee mixed with a hearty serving of butter. After days typically packed with study sessions, classes, bone broth-making, and a weightlifting workout, they settle into bed as early as 6 p.m..
Mack’s on-screen diet tends to exist mostly of meat. In her day-in-the-life videos, it’s rare to spot a vegetable or piece of fruit. Their habits align with the internet-famous carnivore diet, which limits devotees to red meat, poultry, eggs, and fish. Their punctilious routine has prompted commenters to remark that “life is never this serious” and “this is my nightmare no offense happy for you tho.”
Yet this meaty lifestyle has resonated on certain corners of the internet in recent years, including among controversial talking heads like Jordan Peterson and Joe Rogan, along with cult-like Facebook groups inspired by these podcast personalities. It’s unclear why Mack has chosen her peculiar regimen (they did not respond to The Daily Beast’s requests for comment) but carnivore dieters claim that it helps them lose weight and keep up energy.
These claims are far from proven, but one thing’s for sure: It seems to be great at giving people diarrhea due to the lack of fiber and distressed gut microbes.
That’s not the only concern that experts have about the carnivorous diet. Over time, scientists have suggested that high red meat intake (above around three portions per week) can contribute to the development of conditions such as cancer, kidney disease and heart disease.
Jacob Mey, a nutrition scientist and dietitian at Louisiana State University’s Pennington Biomedical Research Center, told The Daily Beast that it isn’t clear overall how a strict carnivore diet impacts the body because this niche lifestyle has received scarce research. Some early studies have indicated that it can dramatically increase levels of LDL cholesterol, which can increase one’s risk for stroke and heart disease.
“We would typically not recommend the carnivore diet because we have other diets that have decades of research that do very well, so why would we recommend something that’s so new and different and unproven?” Mey said.
This means that Mack Z is wading into uncharted territory, and it’s unclear how her meals will impact her health over the long run. However, to get a sense of the pros and cons of Mack Z’s extreme routine, The Daily Beast walked Mey through the highlights of her popular day-in-the-life video that has amassed over 4 million views.
[This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.]
2:55 a.m. Rise and shine! Mack Z wakes up to start their day
Jacob Mey: To me, circadian rhythm [the physical, mental and behavioral changes that follow a 24-hour cycle] is very individualized, but also dependent on the light cycles like the sun. So 2 a.m. to 3 a.m. seems pretty early. If that’s before sunrise, that’s probably not going to align with circadian rhythm.
I don’t think there’s anything super special about being up that early or going to bed early. But if someone personally has tried it and feels that they work better on that schedule then they’re probably right.
Would I generally recommend that? Probably not because I don’t think it’s going to fit most people’s lifestyles.
3:06 a.m. Drink some water with salt and trace minerals (including magnesium, calcium, potassium and zinc)
That’s kind of like drinking a Gatorade or another electrolyte beverage. This person seemed to have a really niche diet overall, so it’s possible that they may have been missing these from other areas of their diet.
If you eat a good variety of foods, do I think it’s necessary? Not unless you’re exercising three hours-ish a day intensely, like you’re in sports where you’re sweating a lot. I don’t see a huge benefit otherwise.
3:10 a.m. Brew up some bulletproof coffee (fresh joe mixed with butter) with some supplements added in—including mushroom powder and collagen
The main concern with supplements like that, especially in the botanical realm, is the lack of regulation. Are you using reputable sources or third-party testing on mushrooms or otherwise?
There’s really nothing special about collagen. There’s been a lot of questionable research publications on collagen that I think have shifted some people’s views. I would just view collagen as a protein supplement. I don’t think there’s a downside to adding protein to the majority of situations. No concern on my end with that one, other than the regulation as well.
6:57 a.m. The first meal of the day: grass-fed beef with salt and a small portion of raw liver, along with some matcha made with full-fat coconut milk
Organ meats tend to be very nutrient-dense. That’s generally a decent thing to have in your diet. I’m not a fan of raw foods in most scenarios. I am a fan of appropriately cooking and making sure we’re not risking any bacterial or food contamination issue. But plenty of people have high-quality sources and can eat raw food just fine.
When we look at large-scale dietary patterns, fruits and veggies tend to be very protective towards having a healthy body weight, reducing risks of diabetes, high cholesterol, heart disease, and high blood pressure. Does liver consumption replace those benefits? Not to any of the information that I’ve seen.
5:18 p.m. to 6:01 p.m. Gym session with squats and reverse lunges, plus some mobility work
Exercise, especially if you’re hitting about an hour a day as with Mack Z, is extremely beneficial. You can add variety with resistance training and high-intensity cardiovascular work like sprinting, getting your heart rate up as high as you can for a little bit.
Having a mix of those different types of activities where you’re stressing your body in different ways is going to help no matter what your diet is.
6:45 p.m. Dinner time: Beef with salt and grass-fed butter
The main goal here is considering, are we getting enough calories and protein in to make sure the body has everything it needs to function? It sounds like a very large amount of beef. I’m a pretty big guy. I’m typically above 250 pounds. I’m 6 feet tall and an ex-college athlete. I would literally never eat two pounds of beef in a meal.
It seems like a lot but I don’t just want to say that bluntly because I don’t know the rest of their diet and their total activity. I tend to not believe the majority of these vlog views of life. I tend to think there’s probably areas where they’re consuming a more varied diet because we are ingrained as people to really hate bland and repetitive things.
“Seeing these influencers do these weird things … It makes me nervous for people that dive too deeply into these alternative approaches.”
— Jacob Mey, Louisiana State University
Is there a concern of things like scurvy popping up? I think so. But when we developed all these parameters for our understanding of nutrient physiology and the needs of the body, it was all based on the carbohydrate diet. There’s reason to question that because we just haven’t tested that scenario. All of the molecules in the blood and the processes in the body are just different when you’re on a ketogenic diet versus a carbohydrate diet. I wouldn’t recommend just doing it but I would leave it open to additional research.
8 p.m. Bedtime! But first, bone broth and magnesium
8 p.m. bedtime sounds pretty reasonable, because that’s likely going to be around when the sun goes down. Is there anything special about bone broth or adding magnesium? You’d get some protein and minerals. Most researchers’ recommendations would suggest people tend to have better health outcomes on a variety of measures where they have a more varied diet.
So would you recommend the lifestyle showcased in this video for students, or just anyone in general looking to get healthier and more productive? Mack Z claims her routine helps her achieve some stellar grades.
I would not personally recommend this over any other targeted plan to be consistent with your studying routines and habits. I don’t think there’s any unique benefit to the lifestyle that I’ve seen in these videos versus another lifestyle that is equally as rigorous in terms of their study habits and routines.
I tend to get concerned with stuff on the internet. Students have such a hard time these days, and there’s so much misinformation out there. Even in the scientific literature it’s so hard to understand what’s good and what’s not. Seeing these influencers do these weird things… It makes me nervous for people who dive too deeply into these alternative approaches.
