Cereal Diet Is High-Carb Weight Loss Disaster

The so-called healthy cereal diet not recommended on low-carb lifestyle

This New Jersey Star-Ledger story about the new dietary claims of these so-called "healthy, whole grain" cereals on the market today ignores one of the most important elements people need to be aware of about these products -- excessive carbohydrates!

The weight loss claims made by the manufacturers of cereals such as Special K from Kellogg's and Raisin Bran from Post are out there in full force. They are being marketed to consumers as the latest solution to weight and health problems. It really has become the new "weight-loss craze," according to the article.

Hoping to take advantage of a desperate group of people who long for weight loss, these cereal diets urge people to eat their cereal products twice a day with low-fat milk and fruit and boldly proclaim that people will shed the pounds.

Strong statements indeed. Whether they are true or not remains to be seen. But the manufacturers of these cereals don't care as long as their "we're healthy" message for these cereals is resonating with the consumer.

"Sales have gone up, and we've seen gains in the way consumers think of our brand. They think of Special K as a brand that helps them manage their weight," said a representative for Special K.

Yet, is it true? Does simply eating two bowls of this cereal a day for six weeks alone shed 10 pounds as they claim? I'm sure if this cereal diet was supplemented with a low-fat/1500-calories a day/portion control diet that people could probably lose 2-3 pounds a week on it.

However, people who are livin' la vida low-carb may be thinking that they should start eating these "healthy" cereals as part of their low-carb diet. But this would be a detrimental mistake for low-carbers to make since these cereals are high-carb.

Check out the nutritional label for Special K:



While you will notice this cereal if fat-free, it is LOADED with 22g carbohydrates. Not good when you are low-carbin' it!

Now, let's look at the Raisin Bran nutritional label:



Again, you will notice this cereal is low in fat with just two grams, but YIKES, look at the carb content -- 47 grams!!! Whoa! This cereal is NOT healthy for you on a low-carb program and will quickly derail you from being the success you want to be in your weight loss efforts. Don't scratch your head wondering why your weight loss stopped if you start eating these cereals just because they're being marketed as "healthy!"

Not surprising, the column notes that nutritionists support these cereal diets. Well, gee, I wonder why? Could it be because they are LOW-FAT?!?!?! Although they are skeptical that people can stick with a diet like this because of boredom and don't think people will limit their cereal intake for one meal to the serving size of a half-cup to a full cup. But many people eat a GIANT BOWL of cereal like Jethro Clampett used to have on The Beverly Hillbillies!


Have you ever eaten a bowl of cereal this big? I have!

Actually, the cereal diet is just as bad for you as Slim-Fast and other "meal-replacement" diets out there. If you are wanting to restrict your fat and calories to lose weight, then perhaps this would work for you. But this is a recipe for disaster if you are livin' la vida low-carb. Avoid eating cereals like this if you have committed yourself to the low-carb lifestyle.

This article takes a quick pot shot at low-carb diets by stating that the nutritionists who love these cereal diets so much say they are better than the low-carb diets because it is a return to grains and fiber since people didn't eat bread and cereal on low-carb.

Oh, give me a break people! The whole grain craze is pretty lame-brained if you ask me. There are MANY excellent low-carb versions of breads and cereals out there (I'll be reviewing a new low-carb cereal I'm currently trying sometime over the next week). This myth that low-carbers don't get enough grains and fiber is simply absurd.

The cereal companies contend their weight loss claims are backed by scientific studies, although information about these studies is scarce and the supposed weight loss that real people are seeing is suspect at best.

Thankfully, at the end of the column, a real consumer made some pretty intriguing comments about these cereal diets. She said she tried it for a few days, but found it incredibly impractical for her busy lifestyle. She insinuates in her comments that the carbohydrates in the cereal make you get hungrier quicker than the satisfying low-carb foods.

"You would end up at Burger King by late afternoon," the consumer stated.

Yikes! And THAT is exactly why these cereal diets won't work. They don't satiate your hunger and you end up getting hungrier quicker after eating all those carbohydrates. When you are trying to lose weight, this is NOT good.

So why waste you time on a diet that's gonna restrict you to one kind of food for two meals a day and will not satisfy your hunger? Instead, start livin' la vida low-carb and eat better-tasting foods that will satisfy you and help you meet your weight loss goals much quicker and easier than you ever thought possible.

Succulent Shrimp Scampi, Baby!

This satisfying shrimp scampi recipe will liven your low-carb plan up

Shrimp has to be one of my all-time favorite foods in the whole wide world. I can vividly remember from my childhood when my family would go visit my Aunt Gere in Memphis, Tennessee at Christmas and she would always have a huge platter full of boiled shrimp. She spent hours shelling, deveining and arranging those shrimp for our family to enjoy.

My love for shrimp still exists to this day and you could just about call me Bubba Moore with the way I like shrimp so much (boiled shrimp, shrimp on a stick, shrimp cocktail, shrimp scampi...I'm making Forrest Gump so proud right now! LOL!).

WIth that in mind, I've got another great recipe from Elaine at Low Carb Connoisseur to share with you today that includes shrimp in it to enjoy on your low-carb lifestyle. With a whopping 30g protein and just 4.5 net carbs, this recipe is a low-carb delight.

You will also notice that this recipe includes several excellent ingredients for enhancing the overall flavor of the shrimp, including lemon, wine and garlic. Mmmm, I can smell this one cookin' already! ENJOY!

LOW-CARB SHRIMP SCAMPI

2 tablespoons butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup chopped fresh Italian (flat-leaf) parsley
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup dry white wine
Pinch of dried hot red-pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper
1 pound large shrimp, shelled and deveined

1. Heat butter and oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat until foam subsides. Add garlic, parsley, lemon juice, wine, pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer 3 minutes.

2. Add shrimp to skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for 5 to 6 minutes, until shrimp are pink. Remove from the heat. Place shrimp on a serving plate and pour sauce from the skillet over them. Serve immediately.

Servings: 2
Prep time: 10 minutes
Bake/Cook time: 10 minutes

Carbohydrates: 5 grams
Net Carbs: 4.5 grams
Fiber: 0.5 grams
Protein: 30 grams
Fat: 26.5 grams
Calories: 418

THANK YOU again, Elaine, for sharing this low-carb recipe with the shrimp-lover in all of us. Keep 'em coming!

Vegan Chick Ticked At Atkins Diet

I had not intended on writing so many columns this past week on vegans, but the words and actions of certain ones make it impossible for me to ignore.

Even as vegans like this plead with me to "get back on topic," along comes an e-mail from yet another vegan expressing their opinions against me and my Atkins diet. I'm more than ready to move on from this, but apparently the vegans are the ones who aren't.

Here's the latest diddy from a wacky veg-head:

Mr. Moore,

Has Mrs. Atkins informed you of what killed Dr. Atkins? HEART DISEASE!!!...please don't allow her to convince you it was from some genetic defect, either!

I've been a vegetarian for 26 years...I'm 53. I don't look much older than you do...

Not only are you ignorant and ill informed, but skating on thin ice with a---low carb/eat-meat-till-you-drop diet.

Until you have actually lived as a vegan you have nothing but your blindingly myopic opinions to guide you.

As a former meat eating southerner from Texas, raised in ranching and hunting country...I've been on both ends of the spectrum. Knocking something because you have no intentions of giving up your cruel, selfish and environmentally destructive ways....because you are guilt ridden about your treatment of the innocent, (and believe me that IS the case...otherwise you would try veganism before publicly denouncing it.) will only hurt you and people gullible enough to follow such lame advice.

Do the world a favor....educate yourself first by becoming vegan...then learn something called "balance" in reviewing both sides of the issue. Who knows...if you succeed...you may just be credible. Until then, YOU appear to be the lunatic and extremist.

Can you see why I've spent so much time on this now? With such bogus and inaccurate statements as these, why should I move on. This gives me a prime reason to explain why I choose the low-carb lifestyle over the vegan lifestyle.

This is the same kind of behavior we have seen from this vegan goofball as well as these bloomin' vegan idiots, too! Just one look at what these people are saying about livin' la vida low-carb confirms my description of their vitriol. They're a bunch of imbecils!

As for this e-mailer today, she's just as whacked as the rest of them have been. Is there not just ONE vegan with a lick of sense out there who can intelligently explain their positions without spewing their hate-filled, anti-meat propaganda?! One?!

Whenever the first thing out of a person's mouth is about HOW the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins died, you know there's gonna be trouble and whatever else follows that statement is virtually null and void. The same goes for the good ole PCRM line that Dr. Atkins died from heart disease.

I think you've been tellin' that lie so long that even YOU believe it's true now. Thankfully, most of the general population knows the truth and simply ignores these claims that his death was caused by anything more than a slip and fall accident on ice. Do you realize just how silly you sound making these accusations? And you want me to take you SERIOUSLY? Riiiight!

You know, I'm happy you have CHOSE veganism and that it has worked for you over the long-term. But it doesn't work that well for EVERYONE. My "eat-meat-till-you-drop-diet" just happened to save my life and got rid of over 180 pounds forever. If that can happen for me, then it can happen for others, too. Give me some skates because I'll be happy to take a ride on that ice, baby!

There ain't no way on God's green Earth you could ever get me to eat a vegan diet. NO THANK YOU! Not for me! Again, congratulations on making it your lifestyle change and more power to ya. But don't degrade me for my wise choice to eat a meat-laden diet full of healthy fats and protein to control my weight and make my body perform the best it can. I don't care that you choose to eat just veggies all the time. So why do you care if I eat meat? Hmmmm?

So my decision to eat meat makes me "cruel, selfish and environmentally destructive," huh? I can live with that as long as I have found a way to permanently keep my weight down and feel better than I ever have in my entire life. I am not "guilt ridden" about anything, except for the fact that I didn't start livin' la vida low-carb sooner. Now that I am, there's no turning back or looking back on my old lifestyle! Those ways are long gone now in favor of low-carb living! WOO HOO!

You challenge me to "educate" myself by becoming a vegan. LOL! How about you "educate" yourself by livin' la vida low-carb?! I've found my way and you've found yours. Now it is up to each of us to clearly articulate why we support our respective dietary plans to those who are still undecided about which way is best for them. That's what I do at my blog. But I guess vegans have to resort to tearing down the low-carb lifestyle to make themselves and their diet look good.

How about a "Livin' La Vida Vegan" blog? Does any vegan dare attempt to make a blog like mine dedicated to veganism? I doubt it because none of them have the commitment and dedication to their preferred way of eating as I do for mine.

The passion for their lifestyle is there, but it is devoid of any (pardon the pun!) meat to it! Let's see what you've got vegans? Would this vegan chick who is ticked at the Atkins diet be willing to start her own blog? I'll be waiting.

As for me, I'm done talking about vegans. Next topic!

Chocolate Has Sweet Effect On Health

Dr. Brian Buijsse believes chocolate consumption could improve health

This Washington Post story provides even more scientific evidence supporting the increased consumption of chocolate for your health.

Led by a nutritional epidemiologist at Wageningen University in The Netherlands named Dr. Brian Buijsse, the largest study of its kind on the health effects of cocoa beans followed 470 elderly men who were 65 years old and older in 1985 and were free from chronic disease at the matriculation of the study to determine the effects of cocoa-containing foods on the blood pressure and cardiovascular mortality of the participants.

Pulling information from those participants in the Zutphen Elderly Study, Dr. Buijsse and his team measured blood pressure levels at baseline and every five years after that over a 15-year period. The study participants' cocoa intake was estimated by chronicling the consumption of cocoa-containing foods, such as hot chocolate, pudding, and chocolate candy bars.

At the beginning of the study, 33 percent of the participants did not consume cocoa and the average cocoa intake among those who consumed chocolate regularly was a little over 2 grams per day.

The blood pressure of those men in the study who ate chocolate was lower than those who did not and the cardiovascular mortality and all-cause mortality rate was 50 percent lower among the cocoa-consuming men in the study.

The results of this study were published in the February 27, 2006 issue of The Archives of Internal Medicine.

But Buijsse believes it is a bit premature to proclaim that chocolate consumption should be increased.

"It's way too early to make recommendations about whether people should eat more cocoa or chocolate," he said.

However, the main concerns regarding people eating more chocolate is that is could cause people to become obese, which leads to GREATER risk for heart disease and hypertension.

That's why I've got the perfect solution to this problem -- JUST EAT SUGAR-FREE CHOCOLATE!

While the chocolate manufacturers attempt to fool the consumer into believing they are making "healthy" versions of chocolate, the fact is even these chocolate bars still contain way too much sugar in them. Thankfully, though, some companies have figured out that all the goodness of chocolate can be made available for people to enjoy without inundating their bodies with waistline-expanding sugar that WILL lead them to getting fat!

That is why I support products such as ChocoPerfection chocolate bars because they give you all the best you want from a chocolate bar without all the guilt that is usually associated with the sugary versions. Yes, you can still have chocolate even when you are livin' la vida low-carb! Yeah, baby!

During my weight loss and even today, I eat my fair share of chocolate. What would life be WITHOUT chocolate?! Pretty boring if you ask me. Why fret over getting fat from chocolate when you can enjoy all the luscious, rich, and creamy taste and keep the obesity monster away by choosing sugar-free?! Living without chocolate is NOT an option for me.

A previous study confirmed the blood pressure-lowering effects of dark chocolate, but this new study proclaims that ALL chocolate products can produce the same positive results for your health. Makes you want to celebrate with a big bowl of low-carb chocolate ice cream with melted sugar-free chocolate drizzled on top, doesn't it?

I expect the companies that manufacture chocolate will jump all over this study and start touting the "healthy" benefits of their products.

But remember this: As long as they keep putting sugar in their chocolate, it's NOT a healthy option for you. Instead, you should make wise decisions about what you put in your mouth by selecting those chocolate bars that are sugar-free and low-carb to not only keep your blood pressure down, but to control your weight as well.

Incidentally, this study was supported by grants from the Netherlands Prevention Foundation.

You can e-mail Dr. Brian Buijsse to thank him for his research on the effects of chocolate on health at Brian.Buijsse@rivm.nl.

Splenda Claims Questioned In Tele-Seminar

Opponent of artificial sweeteners will explain why in tele-seminar call

In the interest of providing you with information to help you educate yourself further about what is good for your health, I wanted to let you know about a FREE tele-seminar call scheduled for Tuesday, February 28, 2006 beginning at 8:30pm EST featuring nutritionist Dr. Janet Starr Hull who authored a book entitled Splenda®: Is It Safe Or Not?

This tele-seminar is the latest from Connie Bennett's Fast-Track, Kick-Sugar program where she is attempting to help people overcome their addiction to sugar. Connie is billing this as "the real lowdown on sucralose (Splenda)."

As most of you know, I am a strong supporter of Splenda and believe it helped me become the weight loss success that I was. What is most disturbing to me is that most of the attacks against Splenda have come directly from the sugar industry in protest to the low-carb lifestyle.

While I am not closed-minded to the issues that people like Connie and Dr. Hull have about Splenda, I'm just not convinced that what they are claiming is supposedly "toxic" about Splenda is true. I'm just not. It has been found to be safe in numerous studies and I have not had any harmful side effects from consuming this wonderful product. And it is certainly a lot better to consume than sugar EVER will be!

With that said, I do believe other artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame (aka Nutrasweet, Equal) as well as saccharin (aka Sweet 'N Low), are not good for you and can cause certain physiological reactions. For me, aspartame causes really bad headaches when I consume it in larger quantities. Plus, the fact that you cannot cook with aspartame or saccharin because they break down at higher temperatures makes them incompatible with what most people want a sugar substitute to do.

But not Splenda. It can be cooked and perform just as well as sugar does. I have made many recipes that use Splenda in them and they have tasted delicious.

Additionally, I have found several other artificial sweeteners, such as oligofructose and SweetPerfection (made from chicory root), which are excellent alternatives to sugar as well and are all-natural. I will be curious to hear what Dr. Hull and Connie think about these kinds of sweeteners during the tele-seminar call.

A thorough discussion of all the artificial sweeteners is expected from Dr. Hull and Connie says she believes "this will be one exciting tele-seminar."

To participate in the 60-90 minute tele-seminar call with Dr. Hull entitled "Are Artificial Sweeteners Such as Splenda A Smart Way to Wean Off Sugar?," here is the telephone number to call and the access code to enter the conversation:

Call (512) 623-5163 and then enter 585223 followed by the (#) sign

As an added bonus for being a part of the tele-seminar call, there will be raffle prizes, including 6 FREE 45-minute sugar counseling sessions with Connie Bennett as well as complimentary copies of Dr. Hull's Splenda®: Is It Safe Or Not? to two lucky winners.

If you are unable to be a part of the tele-seminar call on Tuesday night, then it will be available for download by clicking here.

Celebrate The Gift Of Weight Loss Daily

Life is so incredible when you finally become free from the bondage of being overweight or obese and it is something to celebrate DAILY once you get there. I praise God for helping me get there even when I wasn't always so sure that day would ever come. But it DID and I'm still living the dream. WOO HOO!

If you are in the midst of your own journey towards weight loss and improved health, then take hope in the fact that you WILL get there as long as you remain focused on the prize that awaits you. Livin' la vida low-carb didn't happen overnight for me and it won't for you either. Making some BIG CHANGES and then taking those day-to-day steps that will get you there is what counts the most in this tranformation from flabby fat to fabulously healthy! YOU CAN DO IT!

I received this short, but sweet e-mail from someone today who had a quick question about my Atkins diet experience:

"Amazing weight you lost. Did you have any kind of calorie restriction when you did the atkins diet? Or did you just reduced you carbs and did not count protein and fats? Thanks."

THANKS for the quick e-mail and I am ALWAYS happy to answer this question because it is one that so many people are curious about for some reason. Regular readers of my blog KNOW how I'm gonna answer it.

Here's what I wrote back to her:

"My objective from the day I started the Atkins diet even through today has been to watch my carb intake only. I don't count calories, measure portion sizes, count fat grams, try to "burn off" more calories at the gym than I take in (I wouldn't know what that is since I don't count calories) or any of the other things we are 'supposed' to do when we are losing weight.

Instead, I'm just eating BETTER now than I ever have by keeping a constant eye on my carbohydrates while making sure the scale doesn't begin an upward trend again. Over two years later and it's still working well for me! Thanks for writing!"

People always say to me, "How did you lose weight without counting calories?" I usually just smile back and then and utter, "Because I didn't have to."

Now this doesn't mean that calories don't count because they do. But your body will adjust to what the calories it needs automatically. And the best part is you get to eat what YOU want, including delicious full-fat versions of meats, cheeses, and even chocolate if that is what you want to eat as part of your low-carb plan. Nobody should ever make you feel guilty for LIKING the way you eat because there's nothing to be ashamed of eating this way. I did it and lost over 180 pounds! 'Nuf said!

The satiety from the protein and fat contained in low-carb foods has actually been found to lower caloric intake and, thus, help you lose weight. It's the beauty of how the body works and you should take the metabolic advantage of eating low-carb and make it work for you to the fullest. The results are astounding!

Some people argue that people on low-carb merely eat less calories and that is what makes you lose weight. To that I answer WHO GIVES A RIP?! As long as I am losing weight, why does it matter which nutritional approach I choose to get there? It sure beats sucking on tofu all day and washing it down with soy milk. EWWWWW!

The low-carb lifestyle is probably the most revolutionary concept in the history of metabolic science and yet it has to be the most misunderstood and misinterpreted as well. Someday we will look back on this time of rejecting the science behind carbohydrate restriction and say to ourselves, WHAT WERE WE THINKING?!?!

Once people get a better grasp on what exactly livin' la vida low-carb is and WHY it works, there is nothing that can stand in their way of becoming a success. Whether your goal is big like mine was or small consisting of just a few pounds, you can experience the joy and happiness that comes from accomplishing weight loss in your life.

For someone like me who struggled with being a fat kid, a fat teen who lost weight on Slim-Fast and then gained it back, a fat college student who lost weight with portion control and gained it back, a fat young husband who lost weight on low-fat and gained it back...I think you get the picture. No more rollercoaster rides for me! My weight is controlled, my blood sugar is evened out, my cholesterol numbers are outstanding and I have never felt this great in all of my life.

To all the people who wanted to discourage me in my low-carb weight loss, I just have one thing to say to you:

NA NA NA NA NA NA!!!

I AM celebrating this wonderful gift of weight loss each day that I have been able to keep it off. In the race of life, I still have many more miles to go until I reach the finish line.

Thanks to livin' la vida low-carb and the lifechanging weight loss I have been able to experience, I am now well-conditioned to finish the race strong, healthy, and without regrets for what I SHOULD have done.

Once you get a taste of what this feels like, you'll never go back again!

Are you ready for this?

Is Hemp-Based Protein Powder Safe?

Nutiva manufactures and distributes hemp-based health products

Hold on to your hats today folks because everything you thought you knew about the plant known as hemp is about to change. Now before you think I've gone off the deep end on this one and started smoking the stuff, here me out on this.

There is a company called Nutiva, in business since 1999, that has taken the same plant species that we get marijuana from and extracted the very healthy hempseeds out of them which only contain undetectable trace amounts of THC (tetrahydrocannabinol), the chemical that causes halucinations when people smoke marijuana. There's no more danger in eating this product than there is from the trace amounts of opium found in poppy seeds.

But these hempseeds are very healthy for you and even look like sesame seeds. They have a distinctively nutty flavor to them and are packed with essential fatty acids as well as protein similiar to what is found in flaxseed.

Nutiva's hemp protein powder, for example, has 11g protein, 14g fiber, 120 calories, and 3g healthy omega-6 and omega-3 fats in addition to other key vitamins to supplement your diet. It even comes in a hempseed oil which tastes superb on salads especially. The fatty acids found in hempseeds are good for controlling your blood pressure, reducing inflammation, and can even improve irritating skin conditions like eczema. Cool!

Just in case you are wondering (and I know you are!), this hemp protein powder and oil meets all USDA standards for organic labeling and Nutiva even donates 1% of its sales to help promote sustainable agriculture. The best part of hemp is that it can be grown without the use of harmful and dangerous pesticides which are much worse for your body than consuming hempseeds ever will be.

For people who are livin' la vida low-carb, you will be pleased to hear that Nutiva hemp protein powder contains ZERO grams of net carbs and can be used to make your favorite protein smoothies. Unlike soy-based protein powder, hemp protein powder can be eaten raw to preserve its nutritional content and eliminating the risk of consuming hexane, a harmful greenhouse gas byproduct in most soy protein production which is also used in gasoline production.

Battling government backlash against the use of their product over the past 7 years, Nutiva has won every court case brought against them regarding the use of hemp in their products. While they are still being scrutinized by the government despite several rulings that have shielded them from remaining in business, they are finally being recognized for providing products that are helping people live healthier lives.

Fast Company magazine honored Nutiva in their March 2005 issue as one of the Milestones Honorable Mentions in their Fast 50 list last year and sales have been very strong for this upstart company. Since 2003, they have seen their sales over the previous year DOUBLE annually. This phenomenal growth is expected to continue in 2006 as more than two million pounds of organic hempseed will be used to supply products to over 3,000 stores around the world.

But hempseed isn't the only thing that Nutiva does well. Just wait until you try their unbelievably delicious coconut oil, too! WOW! This healthy oil smells and tastes divine and is cold-pressed within 2 hours of being chopped. This nutritious superfood is cholesterol-free and trans-fat-free as well.



However, coconut oil has not been without controversy either! Ever since the low-fat lie has hit the United States decades ago, this health food has been unfairly labeled as "unhealthy," allegedly causing clogged arteries because of its high fat content.

Yet the coconut oil produced by Nutiva is grown in the Phillipines and is a raw extra-virgin unrefined expeller-pressed organic coconut oil which nutritionists say you should eat up to three tablespoons a day.

Unlike other coconut oils that are refined, bleached, and use week-old coconut that causes the oil to be nearly odorless, bland tasting, and off white in color, you'll notice that Nutiva coconut oil is different. I used it instead of butter in a low-carb chocolate chip pecan cookie recipe over the weekend and oh my goodness, those cookies were incredible! The light coconut flavor brought out the best in the cookies and complemented the ingredients so well.

Unlike hydrogenated and hexane-processed oils which are very high in trans-fats, Nutiva coconut oil is the healthy way to sweeten and flavor your favorite recipes with the goodness that nature intended.

To find out more about Nutiva and their healthy line of products, visit their web site at Nutiva.com. Or you can click here to find a store that carries Nutiva near you.

Vegan Pleads With Low-Carb Blogger To 'Get Back On Topic'

I certainly don't mind being challenged on any of the positions I take at this blog and freely welcome the feedback of anyone who wants to wite to me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.

With that said, I received the following e-mail from a vegan today within a couple of hours of posting this blog column about the scathing feedback I had previously received from another vegan about his animal rights-loving, meatless lifestyle.

Here are his comments:

I can't help but notice that this is no less than the fourth post on your blog devoted to follow-up on your review of "Skinny Bitch." As I am not a regular reader of Livin' La Vida Low-Carb, I don't know if this is common practice for you, but it seems odd to me that anyone would bother posting so much on one topic that is only peripherally related to the subject of their blog.

If, as you write, you truly believe that, "It's time to stop this sophomoric bickering about this 'my way is better than yours' mentality and simply state your case for why people choose low-carb, or low-fat, or the vegan lifestyle," why do spend so much of your time writing about a lifestyle you clearly don't subscribe to? Wouldn't your time be better spent arguing for a low-carb lifestyle instead of arguing against a vegan lifestyle? And why is it okay for you to write a scathing review of a vegan book, but if a vegan criticizes you, they are a "hornet" or a "loony"?

I am, in fact, a vegan, but this e-mail isn't meant to persuade you to adopt my lifestyle. All I ask is that if you feel free to criticize other dietary choices, perhaps you could be more prepared to have your own choices criticized. And finally, if your blog is really devoted to promoting a low-carb lifestyle, and not to criticizing other lifestyles, perhaps it's time to call a truce and get back on topic.

As I have said many times before, I welcome and appreciate feedback of all types and certainly can understand the concerns of someone like this. But I feel it is necessary for me to clarify just a few things for this e-mailer and anyone else who thinks he has valid points to make.

Let's get one thing straight right off the bat. What I write about at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog is MY business and nobody else's! I created this blog in April 2005 and have never had anyone dictate to me what I can and cannot blog about. It's one of the things that I think attracts people to my blog and I am happy that it provides an entertaining, educational, and encouraging place for people to visit daily for the latest news, information and commentary on diet, health and nutrition.

While I certainly make no bones about supporting the low-carb lifestyle, I have also tried to provide information for my readers about other nutritional lifestyle choices to help them make the best decision about what eating method can work for them. I've blogged about the low-fat diet, low-calorie diet, Slim-Fast, LA Weight Loss, fad diets, coffee diets, and much more.

Obviously, NONE of these have anything to do with the low-carb lifestyle, but I talk about them anyway because they interest me from the perspective of a low-carb weight loss success story. Again, I am not required to stick with just talking about low-carb at my blog, although I do attempt to incorporate my experiences doing low-carb with whatever I am blogging about.

Pretty much anything and everything that is related to health and weight loss is fair game for the theme of my web site, though. If you were a regular reader of the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog, then you would already know that. And, if the feedback I receive from a specific blog post I write about generates enough interest that warrants a second, third, or fourth article, then that is my prerogative to continue on with it. Who says that everything I want to write about a certain topic will be covered in just ONE post?

As to your specific concerns, I think you need to go back and read my review of "Skinny Bitch" to see how this all started. It was two vegans who wrote a book exclaiming, "You are a total moron if you think the Atkins Diet will make you thin." Was that not meant to provoke supporters of the low-carb lifestyle in some way? Well, it did me.

So when I wrote my review of that awful book, I wanted my blog readers to know how I felt about it. That was going to be the end of it until some of your vegan buddies took offense to my review claiming I just didn't understand the vegan lifestyle and one of your cohorts even threatened to sue me. Am I supposed to remain silent in the face of these kind of responses? I don't think so!

Of the nearly 700 posts I have penned in the past 10 months I have been writing at this blog, the overwhelming majority of them ARE about the low-carb lifestyle and how it changed my life and can change yours, too. Much of what I write about underscores all the scientific evidence that has come out in support of livin' la vida low-carb while also noting some of the problems that other nutritional approaches have in helping people lose weight and get healthy.

Veganism is not immune to this scrutiny from the perspective of one who had tried everything else to lose weight and NOTHING WORKED! I'm not "arguing against a vegan lifestyle" so much as I am expressing my concerns with the misinformation that vegans and others are spreading about the low-carb lifestyle. Even you cannot disagree that a concerted effort has been ongoing from organized radical groups like PCRM and their parent organization PETA to weaken and destroy anything and everything that the Atkins diet and low-carb lifestyle represents. It is so transparent to anyone with eyes!

THAT is why I write what I do at my blog because somebody has to stand up for the truth. And the truth of the matter is that these vegans who have expressed their criticisms of me fail to even acknowledge the low-carb lifestyle as an acceptable manner for weight management and improving their health for some people. I at least recognize that some people have improved their health and weight by choosing veganism. There's no denying that. So tell me why can't vegans afford this same courtesy to those of us who have succeeded on low-carb? Hmmm?

THANK YOU for sharing your comments with me in an e-mail today and I appreciate that you openly and courteously expressed what was on your mind. But you have to realize that the low-carb lifestyle is ALREADY bombarded with criticism on virtually a daily basis by the media and from those who are supposedly "experts" on health. My lifestyle choice was already being criticized even before I started this wonderful way of life. And it still is to this day.

I proudly stand up in support of it and don't mind getting passionate about doing it in the process. The course of my life has been forever altered and I cannot help but share the good news of what has happened to me and my life with everyone I know. That's why you do the same regarding your vegan lifestyle and I applaud you for it.

One last thought: If anyone disagrees with what I write about at my blog, then nobody is forcing them to read it. But apparently there must be SOME interest in what I write about from these loony hornets who have been posting their comments at my blog this past week. They must be getting tired of sucking down just veggies all the time and have become quite ornery in the process. It's nothing a few slices of ham with bacon on top wouldn't cure!

Guess what? When I get this kind of response to something I have written about, I AM "on topic." THANKS again for writing! And stick around a while, you might like what you read here.

Low-Carb Fajita Recipe Mexican-Styled

High-fiber and loaded with protein Beef Fajitas with Peppers

Despite what you may have heard, Mexican food is not off-limits when you are on a low-carb program. This incredibly easy and absolutely delicious recipe for Beef Fajitas with Peppers proves that! Using low-carb tortillas, which have become pretty commonplace in grocery stores and low-carb stores these days, you'll have a meal that your whole family will LOVE you for.

BEEF FAJITAS WITH PEPPERS

Marinade:

3 garlic cloves, pushed through a press
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 jalapeno pepper, finely chopped
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 pounds skirt steak, trimmed and cut into large pieces 1 tablespoons canola oil
1 green bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
12 controlled carb flour tortillas
3/4 cup green salsa
3/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1. Make marinade: In a large bowl or resealable plastic bag, combine garlic, salt, lime juice, jalapeño, cumin and olive oil; whisk together. Add steak pieces to marinade; coat well. Marinate, refrigerated at least 1 hour.

2. Heat oven to 350° F. Wrap tortillas in foil; place in oven to warm 15 minutes before serving.

3. Remove steak from marinade; discard marinade. Grill 5 inches over hot coals (or over medium-high heat) 3 to 4 minutes per side for medium-rare doneness; set aside. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat canola oil. Cook bell peppers and onion 5 minutes, until vegetables are softened.

4. Slice steak thinly across the grain. To assemble fajitas, spread tortillas with salsa, top with steak slices and vegetable mixture, sour cream, and cilantro. Fold over and serve.

Servings: 6
Prep time: 10 minutes
Marinate time: 1 hour
Bake/Cook time: 10 minutes

Carbohydrates: 29.5g
Net Carbs: 10.5g
Fiber: 19g
Protein: 46.5g
Fat: 43.5g
Calories: 653

Special THANKS to Elaine from Low-Carb Connoisseur for this delectable, mouth-watering recipe. Ooh lah lah! Sink your teeth into this one and enjoy the rich, vibrant flavors as your tastebuds do the tango on your tongue after eating this! LOL!

Loony Loewenthal Spews Vegan Propaganda

Of all the e-mails I received last week regarding my recent comments about veganism, one stands out above the rest.

A 49-year-old computer programmer from Falls Church, Virginia named Gary Loewenthal is arguably one of the most vocal animal rights supporters I have ever seen. His writings have appeared in various places across the Internet in opposition to what he sees as cruelty towards God's creatures and he uses it to forward his support for veganism.

For example, In this review from last July of a book about modern poultry practices, Loewenthal asserts that "billions of delightful, smart, social animals" are made to go "through Hell each year because we like the taste of their flesh or eggs."

He added in the review: "It's amazing how we put animals down, and use that as an excuse to make them suffer."

As if that wasn't laughable enough, Loewenthal then tries to invoke his Christianity into why he believes in the soul-like existence of animals as somehow being equal with humans in God's eyes. As a Christian myself, I have never heard anything more perverted or sacreligious than that in my life!

This religious-laden essay of his from January 2006 just how truly radical this man is in support for animal life (what's funny is how he TOTALLY neglects the sanctity of HUMAN life in all of his writings and he only seems concerned for animals -- THAT'S JUST SICKO!). Where's his outcry against the needless slaughter of the lives of unborn babies every single day? Hmmm?

Finally, on another extreme animal rights web site, Loewenthal equates the declawing of cats with the amputation of an arm or leg for a human. Oh brother! As the owner of 4 cats, what an absurd and ridiculous statement by a man claiming to be a reasonable-thinking person.

With that background, let's take a look at what dear Mr. Loewenthal wrote in response to this recent blog post.

In defense of the front group for PETA called Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), Loewenthal said the work they are doing to help promote healthy living should not be discounted.

"PCRM's collaboration on the development of a non-animal insulin test, their diabetes trials in which volunteers on a vegan diet improved so dramatically they were able to quit their medications, and their various articles in peer-reviewed medical journals are done by physicians and PhDs."

Well, yippy skippy, Mr. Loewenthal. But diabetes has also been found to improve when a low-carbohydrate diet rich in animal fat and protein is consumed as well. These patients also got to quit their medications and the study results have been reviewed in various medical journals as well. The point is that your so-called perfect vegan diet is but just ONE of MANY ways to attain better health, even as a representative of your beloved Dr. Dean Ornish recently responded to me in an e-mail.

Shifting gears, Loewenthal took direct aim at the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins by mocking what I described as his "great work."

"A bit of advice: never trust a diet guru who a) is selling books and add-on products to promote his diet, b) is overweight. The leanest healthy people on the planet eat a ton of carbs - whole grains, not junk. Carbs are essential. Most mainstream health organizations have already soundly criticized the low-carb craze; there's no need to repeat that here. Fortunately, the fad is starting to fade."

I don't think anyone has a problem with someone who has found an amazing way to lose weight and keep it off forever putting his thoughts and ideas in a book. Nobody made those tens of millions of people by Dr. Atkins' books. They did it ON THEIR OWN, Mr. Loewenthal, because they saw how incredible it was in the lives of people like me.

As for the urban legend that Dr. Atkins was "overweight," this is exactly why nobody takes people like you or the PCRM seriously. You keep telling the same lies over and over again thinking (hoping?) they will become true. Try as you may, you will never be able to make that one stick because Dr. Atkins was as healthy as an ox before his tragic slip and fall on ice.

Carbohydrate consumption is indeed a good thing, but you don't need to "eat a ton of carbs" as you claim. That's just not true. In fact, you could actually live WITHOUT ANY CARBS if you wanted to, but you must have fat and protein in your body to function.

The "low-carb craze" that you describe as a "fad" is indeed on its way out. THANK GOD! People who are genuinely living the low-carb life never bought into the whole consumer scam of the so-called "low-carb" products anyway. Instead, we chose those foods that are naturally lower in carbohydrates, including tender cuts of fresh meats along with the very best cheeses, fruits and vegetables available. Now that the dust has settled on the "craze," people are finding livin' la vida low-carb to be exactly what they needed to lose weight and keep it off permanently.

Moving on to his support for Dr. Ornish's low-fat diet plan, Loewenthal said that plan has revolutionized the thinking about healthy living forever.

"It may not be the low fat per se, but the lack of animal fat and animal protein that produces the dramatic benefits. More recent research from Dr. Ornish shows that a vegan diet may reverse prostate cancer, also. Meanwhile, there are thousands of studies that link meat and dairy to heart disease, breast cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and other serious diseases."

Well, good for you. If you choose to NOT eat meat, then that is your prerogative. But don't go scaremongering or guilt-tripping people into thinking their decision to EAT MEAT as part of their healthy lifestyle change is somehow bad for them. THAT'S A LIE! If it wasn't for the Atkins diet and ALL THAT MEAT I ate doing it, then I would have never been able to overcome my morbid obesity.

I tried low-fat and it failed! It just didn't work for me. Livin' la vida low-carb did and I'll be a changed man forever because of it. Why do we have to make this a debate over which is better and simply move the conversation to what has worked and MAY work for people? That's what I'm trying to do.

Obviously low-carb worked for me and I'm going to tell people about it. But I just wish that people like Loewenthal and supporters of low-fat, low-calorie, portion-control, vegan, vegetarian, and other such diets would just state their case about why their method of eating is preferred without bringing down the low-carb lifestyle. If you want to skip dairy and meat as part of your lifestyle, then GO FOR IT! But don't condemn me for wanting to eat those things.

Unfortunately, that's where people like me and Loewenthal differ. He actually thinks these animals that I enjoy eating so much have feelings and are being tortured all to be sacrificed at the altar of my dinner table.

"Think about how it must feel to be held down while receiving third-degree burns from a branding iron. Think about getting your testicles chopped off without painkillers. Think about dying of thirst in the back of a sweltering truck headed to the slaughterhouse. Think about the repeated reports from slaughterhouse workers of cows still alive, moving, and blinking as their sides are slit open –- the result of super-fast slaughterhouse line speeds to increase profit. Think about more than your own pleasure when choosing what to eat."

Uh, no I'm not going to think about those irrelevant things, Mr. Loewenthal. God put animals on this earth for his chosen creation, human beings, to eat and enjoy while they live on this earth. Unlike humans, animals do not have a soul and cannot attain everlasting life through faith in Jesus Christ. That special relationship is reserved for humans alone, not for animals.

While I am sure you earnestly believe you are doing the Lord's work in defending animals against cruelty (and there is real animal cruelty happening with illegal dog fighting and the like), the people you are supporting have nothing but a one-sided agenda up their sleeve. They want to bring down anything and everything that goes against what they believe. That's why PCRM put opportunist Jody Gorran up to his lawsuit against Atkins Nutritionals and why they continue to bash the Atkins diet with all their might.

Try, try as you may, but you will never convince me that eating this way is anything but the healthy, delicious and nutritious lifestyle that I have seen it is for over two years now. Despite reports that low-carb is down and out, there are still tens of millions of people who make this their healthy way of life now. It's a fact that makes you animal rights wackos sick to your stomach, but the truth is what it is.

One final thought: The opinions I express in this forum are my own. I share with you from my heart based on my own experience with the low-carb lifestyle. Nobody will ever take away from me what this way of life has given me -- a new lease on life. I will still face challenges in maintaining my weight, but I KNOW I won't have to worry about how I will keep it under control ever again with low-carb living in my corner. It's the BEST choice I've ever made.

As for Loewenthal, he has his reasons for supporting the vegan lifestyle, too.

"You're more at peace with the natural world. It's far more gratifying than taking pot shots at animal activists, and far more permanent than the latest fad diet. I've seen family, friends, and co-workers try and fail at Atkins. But, with exceedingly rare exceptions, no one who adopts a plant-based diet out of compassion for animals ever regrets it. Their diets actually become far more diverse and interesting, and they never look back."

My life is peaceful now that I don't have to worry about declining health due to obesity. Those people who supposedly did "Atkins" and failed probably never even read his books like I did. This program may not work for everyone, but I highly doubt it didn't work for ALL of your "family, friends, and co-workers" who tried it.

While I have never tried to eat just a plant-based diet and especially never "out of compassion for animals," I know that I couldn't last long eating THAT WAY for the rest of my life. More power to ya if you can, but not me. Give me a way to eat healthy cuts of meat with melted cheese on top and a side salad and I'll show you someone who has lost over 180+ pounds and kept it off for over a year.

Livin' la vida low-carb did that for me and no radical, anti-meat, anti-Atkins animal rights activist will EVER EVER EVER convince me that it wasn't the right thing to do for me.

But thanks for trying, Mr. Loewenthal. Better luck on the next idio...er, I mean prospective convert.

2-26-06 UPDATE: As much as I'm ready to move on from this topic, it's people like this that keep me writing about it! Oi!

2-27-06 UPDATE: Not surprisingly, Mr. Loewenthal decided to respond to my blog post about him today. Here's what he wrote in his comments over at LowCarbNewsLine.com:

Mr. Moore,
I first want to point out how your piece misstates what I have written about declawing. While declawing is, by definition, a series of ten amputations, I do not equate it specifically, in the article you referenced or any other article, to amputation of an arm. It is more like amputation of the last joint of each finger. It is debilitating, since cats use claws nearly every day of their lives for core activities such as scratching. Note that in most countries with high numbers of companion cats, declawing is illegal or de-facto illegal on grounds of animal cruelty. Apparently, veterinarians in these regions of the world are, to use your phrase, "absurd and ridiculous."

Second, you are mistaken about animals not having souls. In the original Hebrew Bible, the same phrase is used to describe the souls of humans and animals. Dichotomies were introduced in later translations, such as King James.

Third, your assertion that animals were put here by God for us to eat misses the bigger picture. Norm Phelps, in his book "The Dominion of Love," references an anonymous Christian who frames our obligation to Creation beautifully: "If God's dominion is love, and a king's dominion is stewardship, why should humanity's dominion be torture, abuse, and killing?"

Fourth, I have done quie a bit of activism on behalf of humans. I highly respect all sentient life, including human fetuses. Just because one is an advocate for animals or for preserving historical buildings, for that matter - does not mean he or she is unconcerned about humans. That's a scurrilous, baseless charge.

I advocate for animals because a) there is enormous ignorance about how we mistreat them (most people don't know that standard industry practice on dairy farms is to steal calves from their mothers when only two days old, or that egg-laying hens typically are alotted a living space smaller than a sheet of notebook paper), b) they are underrepresented, c) they are underprotected (e.g., most animals are not covered by the Humane Slaughter Act), c) through simple actions, such as buying veggie chicken instead of chicken, we can nearly eliminate their human-imposed suffering, d) by acting mercifully toward all creatures, we are applying one of God's fundamental rules of life.

I would respond to other parts of your piece, but, frankly, it is of such poor quality that it is incriminating enough on its own.

Oh, I just feel so enlightened now! NOT!

Study: High-Carb Potato Consumption Leads To Greater Risk For Diabetes

This MSNBC story outlines a new study that should make you very proud of yourself if you are one of the intelligent people who has decided to start livin' la vida low-carb.

Researchers at the prestigious Harvard Medical School led by Thomas L. Halton released a 20-year study of about 85,000 American women ages 34-59 with no history of chronic disease which found that higher consumption of potatoes increased their risk of developing Type II diabetes. By the end of the study, there were close to 4,500 new cases of Type II diabetes among the study participants.

Of even greater concern to the researchers was the fact that obese women, who are already putting themselves at a greater risk for developing diabetes because of their weight, may be especially adversely affected by eating large amounts of high-carb potatoes.

The results of this eye-opening study were published in the February 2006 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

For far too long society has tried to convince us that potatoes are healthy by dressing them up as goofy cartoon characters and even through a freak of science trying to make them low-carb. But the fact remains that potatoes are decidely UNHEALTHY for you because of the excessive carbohydrates that are contained in them and what that does to your body.

Eating a potato is tantamount to eating a big piece of chocolate cake! They both cause a rise in your blood sugar followed by the quick drop which necessitates eating more and more carbohydrates to start the ruthless cycle all over again. I got off that rollercoaster ride forever when I started my low-carb lifetyle and I don't miss it one bit. Stabilizing your blood sugar and keeping it under control is one sure-fire way of preventing diabetes from becoming a part of your life.

But, potatoes are relatively cheap and people sometimes buy whatever they can because it saves them money. Yet one of the lessons I have learned from my 180+ pound weight loss experience is that people must make better choices for themselves about the kind of foods they put in their mouth. Sure potatoes are inexpensive compared with certainly healthier choices, but what price can you put on your long-term health?

If avoiding potatoes can keep obesity, diabetes, and other such diseases from being a part of my life, then by golly that's what I'm gonna do for myself. The fact is we do not NEED potatoes in our diet and the world would be a lot healthier place if people would stop consuming them forever (but with alternative products like this, who needs potatoes?!). Of course, this will never happen in my lifetime, but it would make a noticeable difference if it did.

The study found that the high glycemic index of potatoes caused huge spikes in the participants' blood sugar which caused damage to the pancreatic cells that produce insulin, the key ingredient in metabolizing blood sugar. Additionally, the researchers explained that those who are carrying around excess weight and do not excercise are already prone to being insulin resistant where body cells lose their sensitivity to insulin and eventually leads to diabetes.

Dr. Halton states that potatoes hurry up this process and leads to a more rapid onset of diabetes. Therefore, it is a good suggestion for the obese to stop eating potato-based products such as French fries, potato chips, etc. to improve their chances of warding off diabetes, the researchers recommended.

The risk chance for diabetes increased 14 percent for those study participants who ate the most potatoes and rose by 21 percent for those who chose to eat French fries as part of their diet.

Interestingly, the researchers noted that the women in their study generally ate potatoes and white flour products in lieu of whole grain foods such as high-fiber vegetables, fruits and beans. Halton concluded that the diabetes risk would most likely be modestly cut if they just started eating whole grains instead.

I have talked about this before and I'll keep saying it. People in general and especially Americans eat way too much sugar, white flour, starchy foods and processed foods. We don't need this JUNK in our diets people. I know it feels good and is dirt cheap to eat this way, but look at what you are doing to your health. If we want the children of today to live a long and healthy life themselves, then WE need to be the examples for them to lead the way on eating healthy and living right.

This madness of continually telling the same lie over and over again expecting a different result is insane! But that's exactly what the health care industry, government leaders, and the self-appointed "experts" along with their willing accomplices in the press have been doing since the early 1970s with the promulgation of the low-fat diet. As I have stated before, I don't care if somebody chooses to go on the low-fat diet if that's what works for them.

But we need alternatives to be promoted with as much gusto and fanfare as low-fat has been. That includes low-carb! The stigma that has been placed on livin' la vida low-carb is unprecedented in the history of mankind. What are these people so afraid of about the low-carb lifestyle? If it gives hope for even ONE person out there that they can find a permanent way to lose weight and keep it off forever, then isn't it worth getting the word out about what it is, too?

As someone who weighed 410 pounds once and knows the pain of feeling hopeless regarding weight loss, the answer to that question is YES YES YES! It is so worth it! Don't ever let anyone tell you that you shouldn't try the low-carb life if everything else you've tried has let you down. You just start low-carbin' it for yourself and watch the unbelievable results begin happening for you, too! And don't you dare ever look back or start listening to the naysayers who will only try to drag you down.

This is your day. NOW is the time. There's nothing that is gonna hold you back from becoming the thin person that you so deeply desire to be. Throw away the excuses and JUST DO IT! Make today the first day of the rest of your long and healthy life. Because today you are gonna start livin' la vida low-carb. GO FOR IT!

Sincere Affection For SweetPerfection

Look out sugar, there's a new kid in town that's got you beat!

Logical and forward-thinking people these days realize and know that sugar is one of the root causes of obesity and cannot be a part of a healthy lifestyle.

But don't you wish there was a naturally sweet alternative to sugar that is completely sugar-free, low in carbohydrates, tastes sweet without a funky aftertaste, is full of healthy fiber, and can be used exactly like sugar in recipes?

Well, wish no more because your dream has now become a reality. It's called SweetPerfection!

From the makers of the incredible ChocoPerfection chocolate bars, SweetPerfection was created to be an "all-natural sweetener" made from ground chicory root to provide a very fine soluable fiber product that looks and tastes like sugar.

But the best part is the dietary fiber in just 1 teaspoon of SweetPerfection is a whopping 3 grams! WOW! That packs a powerful punch of fiber for anyone who needs to add more of it to their diet.

You can use this product in ANYTHING that you would normally put sugar in: coffee, tea, sweet recipes, and more! The possibilities are indeed endless when you find a product like SweetPerfection because it can be so versatile, especially if you love to be in the kitchen as much as I do cooking and experimenting to make the perfect low-carb foods to eat and enjoy.

When used in larger quantities for certain recipes, SweetPerfection has just 5g net carbs for each cup compared with the nearly 200g of carbohydrates for a cup of sugar! WHOA! Aren't you glad you're gonna save 195g carbs right there alone! :)

For those of you interested in the glycemic index, SweetPerfection is "ultra low" with a GI close to ZERO! Pretty cool, huh? It won't cause any insulin surges and has a 100% guarantee that it will taste and cook exactly like sugar. So what do you have to lose with a deal like that?

I tried SweetPerfection for the first time this week and my initial reaction when I tasted it right out of the bag was "cotton candy." It tasted to me like cotton candy! That's a good sign for a product claiming to be "like sugar" since cotton candy is nothing more than spun sugar. But after using this product in some of my favorite recipes, that was the clincher for me. It works VERY well in any recipe calling for sugar and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone looking for a natural sugar alternative.

I bet even your most cynical low-carb critic out there won't even realize they not eating sugar once they get a taste of SweetPerfection in your next recipe! Go ahead, give it a try. Watch the look on their face when you tell them what they are eating is sugar-free! Hee hee! That'll be a priceless moment no doubt!

Whether you are looking to lose weight, maintain weight, deal with diabetes, or just want to eat heathier, SweetPerfection will help you get there with a delicious alternative to the harmful effects that come from eating sugar.

Friends don't let friends eat sugar -- so try SweetPerfection instead!

Click here to learn more about SweetPerfection and be sure to tell Mary Jo that "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Man" sent you. :)

2-25-06 UPDATE: I posted this EXCLUSIVE recipe for SweetPerfection Pecan Brittle Cookies at CarbWire.

Official 'Biggest Loser' Application Exposed

NBC's "The Biggest Loser" show returns this Fall for Season Three

It's no secret to anyone who reads my blog that I'm a HUGE fan of the hit NBC reality show "The Biggest Loser." I started watching this show from the very beginning when it debuted in 2004 while I was still in the midst of becoming a "big loser" myself and have continued to keep up with the progress of the contestants from Season One. Of course, when Season Two rolled around in 2005, my infatuation with the contestants and their amazing before and after pictures did not wane and I am so proud of what these contestants have been able to accomplish.

The incredible transformation they have made has been an enormous inspiration to so many as they attempt to duplicate these efforts for themselves. The impact has been so far-reaching that it inspired an Australian version of "The Biggest Loser" that is currently being aired in that country to an enthusiastic Aussie viewership! Sweet (I only wish we could see it in America)!

Although I have shared my concerns that "The Biggest Loser" is likely creating an unreasonably high expectation level for weight loss among the viewers at home, I still see the show having redeeming value as a powerful motivator in the battle against the bulge.




Now that the application process for Season Three came to a close last Friday, I thought it would be fun to take a closer look at the official application for "The Biggest Loser" to see what the show's producers are looking for in terms of contestants.

Before I get into the application itself, I have to share with you a humorous story that still makes me laugh every time I think of it. A couple of months ago, I received an e-mail from someone who had read one of my articles about "The Biggest Loser" and she must have made some assumptions about who I was. The reason I say this is because she wrote the following:

"Can you tell me how you got on 'The Biggest Loser' show as a contestant? I thought you were great on the show and I'd love to know the secret to being selected to be on there. Thanks a lot!"



Um, how do you answer an e-mail like THAT one? For the record, I was NOT on the show "The Biggest Loser" and had already lost over 100 pounds before the show was even on the air in Season One. Don't get me wrong, I would have LOVED to have been considered for the show, but my success on the low-carb lifestyle has made me my own "biggest loser." :) Now, even Season One "Biggest Loser" winner Ryan Benson keeps his weight off by livin' la vida low-carb! Maybe she thought I was Ryan or something. Who knows?! :-~

Anyway, although I was not a contestant on the show myself, this e-mailer poses an interesting question. How DO you get on the show and what exactly are those producers with "The Biggest Loser" looking for in contestants for their show?

While I'm not even gonna pretend to think I know precisely what a bunch of television producers looking for high rating want, I think the show's official application reveals quite a bit about what they are looking for.

The 9-page application I got from "The Biggest Loser" web site before the deadline passed on February 17, 2006 has all the usual requests for info and disclaimers that come with applying to be on television, including your contact information, education, birthday, acting experience, criminal background, etc.

But what sets the contestants who make it from the ones who don't make it are the answers to questions like these:

What would motivate you to lose weight?
What's the hardest thing about being overweight?
How competitive are you?
What was the last unusual, exciting or spontaneous thing you instigated?
What do you think would be the best thing about being thin?

I can tell you now, they don't want the same old answers that EVERYONE gives to questions like these. The producers are looking for people with personality, charisma, and people who have a grip on who they are and what they want to become. The only thing "wrong" with the people who apply for shows like "The Biggest Loser" is their failure to get their obesity problem under control. That's all.

Or at least that's all the producers want to be "wrong" with them. Believe me, they don't want to have to deal with any mental cases or psychos who snap right in the middle of the taping process!

For the most part, the contestants who end up on the show are just like everyone else. It's sad that weight issues too often cover up the unbelievable talents and gifts that people have to share if people would only notice them. But fat gets in the way of that and the silent discrimination against the overweight population continues. It's an unspoken discrimination, but it does exist. Nobody can deny it!

Looking around the rest of "The Biggest Loser" application, the producers want to know who the people applying are, including their best and worst qualities, what their dieting history has been like (obviously it will be dismal if they are trying to be on "The Biggest Loser"), what annoys the heck out of them (to see how tolerable they will be with other contestants, no doubt), as well as what the contestants think about food, eating, exercise, and their weight.

These are all extremely important to the producers as they want to find contestants who will be interesting and provide a good storyline for their show. The appeal of "The Biggest Loser" is that these are real people with a very real problem trying to overcome that problem once and for all. Deep heartfelt emotions are usually involved when you talk about these kinds of issues and the contestants who are willing to open up in their application will undoubtedly do the same once they are on camera all for the benefit of the viewers who watch and make the ratings soar for the show.

Case in point: I can remember very early on this past year when eventual Season Two "Biggest Loser" winner Matt Hoover broke down on camera in the second or third episode and started crying in the arms of Jillian Michaels when he talked about how he used to be an athletic wrestler in high school and now had allowed himself to become an overweight and unhealthy man.

It was a powerful image of a man who just a few months later would be crowned the champion of the show's biggest prize and, more importantly, reach the goal that he had set for himself during that emotional outburst on the show itself. THAT is why we keep watching, right? I know it was a compelling reason for me to keep watching to root him on to victory.

Other questions on the application that the producers want the contestants to consider include:

Describe your most embarrassing moment or experience.
Do you have any bad habits you wish you could change?
What are you like in a room full of strangers?
How important is money to you?
Describe a major issue that has affected your life?

With questions like these, the producers are getting into the nitty gritty of the thought processes of their potential contestants to see what they are made of. Are they just wanting to be on the show for fame and possible fortune or are they committed to putting forth their best effort to work hard at losing weight to make the show look good and successful and to sincerely do something permanent about their weight?

"The Biggest Loser" must have contestants who continue to keep their weight off long after television viewers forget their names in order to have credibility as a genuine weight loss show that is changing people's lives. When I saw Drea and Gary from Season One in "The Biggest Loser Workout DVD," I was convinced that they made "The Biggest Loser" principles work for them and stuck with it.

But not all of the show's contestants have necessarily made that mental switch. When one of the Season Two contestants chose not to participate in the final weigh-in, it was proof that not everyone who goes through this experience loses a lot of weight. That doesn't mean the show failed, it simply means the weight loss message either did not work for them specifically or they didn't commit themselves fully to making it work for them. In the end, it is all about the individual making it happen.

The producers with "The Biggest Loser" want people with passion, vigor, energy, and a deep desire to change -- FOREVER! It makes them look good as well as the show itself. That's the magic behind making a show like "The Biggest Loser" work. There needs to be the exact chemistry of plot, personality, and proven success for it to continue to be successful as a public image on television and in other subsidary products such as their bestselling book.

These final set of questions on the application can make or break a potential contestant:

How competitive are you?
How athletic are you?
Do you smoke?
Do you drink?
How much weight do you want to lose?

If the answers to questions like this are weak and wimpy, then don't expect that applicant to go very far in the application process. But the people you will end up seeing in the Fall 2006 on Season Three of "The Biggest Loser" will exhibit all the qualities I have described in this post. They will have exactly what the producers of the show are looking for and will become household names because of it.

Ryan had it, Matt had it, Drea had it, Suzy had it, as have most of the other contestants who have been on the show. Look for a new set of contestants to "have it," too coming to NBC in a few months! Even now, the producers are mulling through hundreds of thousands of potential contestants to narrow it down to a handful. We may not know WHO they will choose at this point. But one thing is for certain, they will have the qualities and characteristics I have described for you here.

And that is the official "Biggest Loser" application exposed! Don't you feel so enlightened now?! :)

Is Healthy SC Challenge Open To Low-Carb?

First Lady Jenny Sanford promoting healthy living in South Carolina

I need to brag on the First Lady of my home state of South Carolina for just a moment. Her name is Jenny Sanford and she is the wife of South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford.

Last May, Mrs. Sanford started a new project designed to get South Carolina residents interested in their health by providing them with information on diet, exercise and making better lifestyle choices. She called it the Healthy South Carolina Initiative and launched the web site HealthySC.gov as a resource for people to learn more about improving their health.

However, I previously expressed some concerns about this new program in this blog past last year because I thought they were focusing too much attention on cutting fat in their nutritional recommendations and not paying enough credence to taking measures to reduce the high-carb foods that seem to derail most people's weight loss efforts.

The reason my weight loss has been sustained is because I am no longer constantly having to feed the need for more and more carbs with the rollercoaster ride that my blood sugar used to go on when I ate a low-fat, high-carb diet. Now that I'm livin' la vida low-carb, those cravings are gone and I'm eating some great-tasting and filling low-carb, moderate-fat, moderate protein meals to keep my weight under control. So far, so good keeping my weight off for one year and counting.

Now it is nine months after this new initiative began and Mrs. Sanford is still playing an active role in this movement in South Carolina. She is currently asking citizens of the Palmetto State to make their recommendations about how to improve health through "choosing better foods, reducing overall caloric intake, creating healthier versions of favorite recipes and discovering ways to get in shape in their communities."

It's called The Healthy SC Challenge and they are looking for recipes and outdoor activities that real people in South Carolina have found to help them be successful at managing their weight and overall health.

To take Mrs. Sanford up on her challenge, click here to submit your entry. The winners who are selected will join Gov. and Mrs. Sanford at the Governor's Mansion in Columbia, South Carolina in the Spring 2006 for a special reception in their honor for suggesting improvements in overall health during the first year of the Healthy SC Challenge and those winning entries wil be posted at the official Healthy SC Challenge web site.

“There are so many great ways to eat well and have fun getting fit in our beautiful state. Sharing different ideas that have gotten proven results can help motivate us to become a healthier state," Mrs. Sanford said.

To that end, the two types of entries they are looking for include:

1. RECIPES

They want "healthier versions of traditional Southern foods." LOL! Anybody got a good "healthy" fried chicken recipe? Hee hee! Just kidding! But use your imagination and share your cooking prowess with everyone. The recipes should consist of "healthy foods like fruits, veggies, whole grains, beans, fish/seafood, lean meats, low-fat dairy, nuts/seeds and healthy fats/oils." Substitute ingredients in the recipes should be included for ingredients such as "shortening, margarine, butter, and excessive refined carbs (white flour, white rice)."

Why? Except for the refined carbs (which I COMPLETELY agree with), why must the fatty oils be eliminated from the recipes? With all the evidence of how healthy eating fat is for improved heart health, why would you want to eliminate that from the recipe? Believe it or not, even the vilified saturated fat has been found to be GOOD for you!

I think Mrs. Sanford should take a look at the latest studies that prove the low-fat diet has failed to produce any measurable weight loss over the long term, is actually making people fatter, and has shown no decrease in the risk of contracting disease. These studies are all very well-documented and reveal a lot about the low-fat lie we have been told for the past three decades.

To narrowly pigeonhole people into the low-fat mold in a discussion of "healthy" living is denying the very methods that some of us have used to get healthy to begin with. I cannot in good conscience submit a recipe to this challenge if I omit the healthy fats that MUST be a part of my healthy lifestyle change. Would including ingredients such as butter, coconut oil, or olive oil automatically disqualify my entry as "unhealthy" despite the fact that eating in that very manner is what led me to lose nearly 200 pounds? I think this is a legitimate question for me to ask.

The old definition of "eating healthy," which has always been translated as low-fat/low-calorie/portion-controlled, needs to be revised. Stories like mine prove that there are MANY ways to eat healthier which can include fat and protein with a deemphasis on poor carbohydrate choices such as sugar, white flour, and starchy foods.

Would anyone deny that I'm eating "healthier" now at 220-something pounds than I was when I weighed 410 pounds? Anyone? If not, then why wouldn't my recipe suggestion be looked at in the same manner as a low-fat recipe would be? I would hope so.

2. HEALTHY ACTIVITIES

On a less controversial topic and one that I am in total agreement with Mrs. Sanford on is exercise. You will not find a stronger advocate for increased physical activity in my state than me. What used to be the most dreaded thing in the world to me is now something my body could never live without! Sadly, a recent fitness study shows our nation is in an exercise crisis because this is such a foreign concept to most people. That MUST change immediately!

The Healthy SC Challenge is looking for creative ways that people in South Carolina incorporate exercise into their busy lifestyle. Studies have shown that just 30 minutes of exercise a day keeps the heart healthy and has even been shown to extend the length of your life. Combining your exercise program with a low-carb lifestyle can help lower your total cholesterol, help you burn body fat while preserving lean muscle mass, and to maximize your workouts.

I devoted an entire chapter of my book, "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb," to the subject of exercise because I consider it an essential part of ANY healthy and effective long-term weight loss program. It's NOT a dirty word, I promise you!

The deadline for submitting your recipe or healthy activity entry is March 31, 2006. Please include your full name and contact information when you submit your entry just in case they need to speak with you.

Submissions can be sent to the Healthy SC Challenge headquarters by:

1. Applying online
2. E-mailing them here
3. Faxing your entry to 803-737-3860

Be sure to tell them "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Man" from Spartanburg sent you! :)

2-25-06 UDPATE: In response to my concerns, I received the following e-mail from Meghan Wood, the Director of the SC Challenge, today:

I totally agree with you that we must have fats in our diets. Of course, that not all fats or oils are created equal, but we've never advocated eliminating fats. As you know, eating a balanced diet and exercising even in small amounts helps improve our overall health. The goal of the Healthy SC Challenge and this latest recipe/exercise contest isn't to pick the best way to lose weight, but rather to improve the overall health of our state.

I think you'd agree that our bodies and metabolisms are all different; thus, some will lose weight on a low carb diet, others in other ways. Our hope is to encourage them all and applaud their efforts. Our recommendation is to pay attention to the fats you eat and making sure to eat healthy oils, nuts, grains, fruits and veggies, and eliminate or at least reduce that processed stuff we all know is bad for us.

Actually, it was funny that you mentioned someone sending in a better-for-you fried chicken recipe - we talked in a planning meeting that we were hoping for one! I imagine your recipes are modified to reduce carbs, and we'd love to see some of those and of course any exercise secrets you might have.

Your success is tremendous. You really found what works for your and your testimony of freedom from the burden of excess weight is inspiring. What you did was hard and you make it sound pretty darn easy! Thank you again for your help
promoting this contest. I hope you and your readers do have some submissions for us - I'd really love to see them!

Anyone who has read my blog for any length of time knows that I don't make the claim that low-carb is "the best way to lose weight" out there. Instead, I ALWAYS encourage people to find something that works for them and JUST DO IT!

However, while all of our bodies and metabolisms are indeed different, I don't like the fact that I must exclude butter from any recipe I would want to include as an entry in the challenge. Butter is INDEED healthy, along with eliminating processed foods and eating nuts, fruits and vegetables. I feel like the low-fat model is being used to determine what is healthy and what is not.

Nevertheless, I will submit my suggestions for this challenge both with recipes and workout hints that helped me in my weight loss and now weight maintenance. I appreciate the fact that South Carolina cares enough about wanting to help the people who live here get healthy. That IS what this is all about.

No, it wasn't "pretty darn easy," Meghan, but it was the best "diet" I ever went on. And the last! THANKS for responding to my concerns and I'll get my suggestions to you very soon.

How about YOU? Gotta healthy recipe or physical activity to share in the Healthy SC Challenge? Send it to Meghan NOW! :)

Can Somebody Translate This Please?

I'm amazed whenever I see my blog mentioned on a foreign language web site because it tells me that the topics I discuss here are being discussed before a worldwide audience. Weight loss and health issues cut across all continents and I am happy to see "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" casting an influence across the globe.

But I need some help from SOMEONE with this column that mentions my blog. But I have a slight problem -- I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT THE HECK IT SAYS! LOL!

Here is the post:

Stoppen met Atkins dieet, gewichtstoename?
Dieet | 04 Februari, 2006 11:03

Heeft het stoppen met het Atkins dieet gewichtstoename tot gevolg, het antwoord is ja.

Als je aan Atkins begonnen bent met het idee om snel een aantal kilos af te vallen en vervolgens weer verder te gaan met je normale eetpatroon dan is het zeker dat je na het stoppen met Atkins snel weer op je normale gewicht zal zitten of zelfs meer. Daarom is het zo belangrijk om het Atkins dieet meer te zien als een permanente levensstijl die je blijft volgen dan als een dieet. De makers van de site livin' la vida low-carb vertellen dit altijd aan hun bezoekers en hebben aan de reacties van hun lezers voldoende bewijs voor de door hun gedeponeerde stelling.

Does anyone speak the language of what I think is the Netherlands and can translate this for me? If so, then e-mail me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. THANK YOU!!!