Bowden Distances Himself From 'Low-Carb' Book

Author Jonny Bowden says he regrets writing "Living The Low-Carb Life"

If you have read my blog or my book, then you know what a big fan of certified fitness trainer and nutritionist Jonny Bowden I am. I named him one of my top 10 movers & shakers in the low-carb community in 2005 and happily introduced this incredible man to my readers in the early days of my blog last year.

But during last Thursday night's tele-seminar call with Connie Bennett's Fast-Track, Kick-Sugar Countdown program, Jonny started talking about how he wished he hadn't written his bestselling low-carb book, Living The Low-Carb Life.

Did I REALLY hear Jonny Bowden distancing himself from his famous "low-carb" book? I'm afraid so. The discussion during the interview was on the subject of low-carb diets and Connie referenced Jonny's Living The Low-Carb Life book and asked him to share his expertise in that area.

Within just a few seconds of Connie mentioning that book, Jonny said it doesn't matter to him whether people eat low-carb or high-carb as long as they eat healthy. He added that his affiliation with the book he wrote about low-carb living has unnecessarily pegged him as a "low-carb" advocate.

Uh, yeah. Isn't that to be expected? Whenever you write such a thoroughly researched and easy-to-read book on a specific subject, most people tend to look at you as an "expert" on that particular subject. As a result, the name Jonny Bowden is now synonymous with the low-carb lifestyle whether he likes it or not.

Nevertheless, I think I know where Jonny is coming from on this one. In fact, most of us low-carbers would agree that there are MANY different ways for people to lose weight and get healthy. But for most of us, too many of those other weight loss methods only led to frustration, disappointment, and weight GAIN! That's why livin' la vida low-carb has been such a lifesaver for us. There is nothing wrong with showing your support for a weight loss method that has worked for you can could help so many others.

My concern about Jonny trying to back away from his Living The Low-Carb Life book is that he really does believe the low-carb life has helped people like me change our lives forever. That's why he wrote his book and so generously wrote a quote for the back of my book. If he didn't believe it was a great way for people to change their lives, then why would he have written it in the first place?

Jonny just inked a new book deal last week and is busy working on a brand new book coming out this Fall about the most healthy foods you can eat (he mentioned blueberries are at the top of the list of the most healthy foods to eat -- they are low-carb, by the way!). You can't help but wonder if this new position Jonny is taking turning away from the "low-carb" lingo has ANYTHING at all to do with his relationship with his new publisher. If so, then that would be a shame.

The fact is we need leaders like Jonny Bowden to stand proud and tall in the face of the negative press about low-carb to explain what this lifestyle entails so we don't give the truth manipulators (aka the press) an opportunity to redefine the terms we use, such as "low-carb." The stigma that has been placed on livin' la vida low-carb will not go away unless people like Jonny are courageous and steadfast in their commitment to standing up for the principles they know are true and have worked. I don't believe he has abandoned those principles, but it concerns me that he wishes he'd never written the book.

I VERY HIGHLY recommend Living The Low-Carb Life in my book and at my blog as the MUST HAVE low-carb book for anyone wanting to cut through the muckity-muck about low-carb and learn the facts. Regardess of any regrets that Jonny may have about writing this book, it stands as the standard bearer for future books about the low-carb lifestyle.

Don't ever forget how important you are to the low-carb community, Jonny! We need you to keep shining the light about the low-carb lifestyle so that others can find their way out of obesity hell. It saved my life and is doing the same for many others.

Best wishes to you with the new book deal and I pray you will never forget those of us in the low-carb community who look up to you and the principles you believe in. Low-carb as a lifestyle will NEVER die as long as people are convinced this is the healthy, nutritious and delicious way of eating that you and so many others have said it is.