Eight Interviews Today, More Coming Saturday

When I blogged about being in Nashville, Tennessee earlier today for the 2007 Eastern Regional Obesity Course and Nutrition & Metabolism Society Seminar presented by the American Society Of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP), I had no idea they were gonna run me ragged with interviews all day--EIGHT OF THEM IN ALL! Yikes!

Actually, it was a whole lotta fun getting to chit chat for just a few moments with these men and women who have dedicated their lives to helping the overweight and obese overcome their lifelong struggles with weight, diabetes, metabolic syndrome, heart disease, and worse. They are heroes in my book and I encourage you to find an ASBP board-certified physician in your area by clicking here.

What an amazing experience to hear each of these doctors almost in unison espousing some of the very principles that they have implored in their practice to help bring about weight control in their patients (see if these sound vaguely familiar):

1. Permanent weight loss is about lifestyle change
2. Weight loss will not happen until the person is ready
3. You need to find a plan that will work for you
4. Don't diet to lose weight, but live healthy
5. Sugar and refined carbs are a detriment to your body
6. Losing weight should be fun, not miserable
7. There is no one-size-fits-all diet plan for everyone
8. Protein with every meal is important
9. Regular support is essential to weight loss success
10. Transition weight loss to improving health

Keep in mind that many of these doctors are NOT strong proponents of livin' la vida low-carb. While most of them are at least respectful that the low-carb way of life is appropriate at least for some (it was hard for them to deny this with a 180+ pound weight loss success staring them right in the face!), you could tell they were entrenched in the usual low-fat, low-calorie, portion control mentality that our current society is focused on. Not all, but some.

With that said, I'd like to publicly say THANK YOU to each of the following doctors and researchers who took time out of their busy conference schedule to spend a few minutes with me. They are: Dr. Mary C. Vernon, Dr. Machiel (Mike) Kennedy, Dr. Denise Bruner, Dr. Kurt D. Kraft, Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Allen Rader, Dr. Scott Rigden, and Dr. Larry Richardson. All of these fine people were gracious enough to be recorded for a 10-15 minute interview for my podcast show. Be looking for these in the coming months.

Of course, I'm just getting started with the interviews because I have a full slate scheduled for Saturday with the low-carb researchers who will be featured during the Nutrition & Metabolism Society presentation. I will be attempting to speak with Dr. Jeff Volek, Dr. Richard Feinman, Dr. Jay Wortman, Dr. Stephen Phinney, and anyone else I can fit into the day before I have to leave (I just hate that I missed out on speaking with Dr. Brian Wansink from Cornell University who was here, but left early this morning--DARN!).

It's been fun, but exhausting...in a good way, of course. Being in the presence of such a wealth of wisdom as it relates to obesity is truly an awesome experience. What's funny is just about everyone I've spoken with here wanted to know more about MY story and how I've been able to keep my weight off for over three years. You know what I tell 'em, don't ya:

"I'm livin' la vida low-carb, baby!"