Low-Carb Diet Gets 'Frosty' Reception, Despite 'Great Success' By Many
It's no secret that livin' la vida low-carb is at a crossroads right now.
On the one hand you have those who are vehemently opposed to this way of eating because it goes against everything we've always been told about a healthy diet. To them, eating fat, especially saturated fat, is just about the worst possible thing you can possibly do while avoiding or severely limiting carbohydrate is considered "extreme" and "dangerous." Anti-meat organizations, led by radical vegetarians, hyperbolize the supposed dangers of livin' la vida low-carb to your health.
Yet, there is an ever-growing group of people like myself who are not only bucking the trend by managing our weight with a low-carb diet, but also encouraging many others around the world to do the same for themselves. While public acceptance of low-carb diets like Atkins is slow to come around, the science behind low-carb diets is moving forward at breakneck speed confirming everything we know to be true about this way of eating.
In the coming years, I fully expect there to be a revival of low-carb that will be even bigger and better than what happened earlier this decade. While I certainly don't hope for a repeat of all those awful "low-carb" products that attempted to capitalize on the trend, a serious paradigm shift in how we view livin' la vida low-carb is way past due. The beginning of this is already happening at this very moment.
We need to keep showing our government and health leaders that obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other obesity-related diseases are being eradicated or greatly improved thanks to this nutritional approach that calls for reducing unnecessary sugar and refined carbohydrate intake. Yes, it IS counterintuitive to everything we've ever known about diet and health, but that doesn't make it wrong.
One of my newest readers from the UK wanted to share her appreciation for my blog and podcast show as they have helped her on her low-carb lifestyle which she began in January 2007. Here's what she wrote:
Hi Jimmy,
I was delighted to stumble upon your podcast and have just listened to a few episodes while out on a jog. I found myself chuckling, nodding in agreement and generally getting completely involved in the topics you discussed (fortunately I live in a quiet village in the English countryside, so wasn't observed looking like a madwoman!) Although I haven't nearly climbed the mountain you have, I started my low-carb lifestyle in mid-January this year and have been really enjoying it.
After having four children, I wasn't obese, but certainly overweight and seriously lacking in willpower. Between my second and third pregnancies I did have some success with Weight Watchers, but on reflection was appalled by how much junk I could eat and still lose weight. It wasn't a healthy eating plan for me at all.
By contrast, although I still have a way to go in terms of optimizing the balance of healthy foods in my diet, I am eating far better than I have in ages thanks to Livin' La Vida Low-Carb.
I have recently started going to a personal trainer who expressed concern after reviewing my food journal. He, like so many others, is fixated by the whole fat consumption concept and lumps this way of eating together with so many other 'fad' diets.
I did explain that for me it is a way of life and I don't mind if I never eat another baked potato again, but not sure he's convinced. He is, however, delighted with the slow and steady weight loss I am achieving through my improved diet and exercise.
To date, I have lost about 8% of my initial weight and am happily carrying on, although I did have a bit of a blip at a Cinco de Mayo party last weekend, it was a planned one and I'm back on track. Like you, I am delighted to sing the praises of this way of living from the mountain tops, but the reception here in the UK is still somewhat frosty.
I understand that there are plenty of skeptics in the US, too, but there are equally a HUGE number of people who are enjoying great success with this lifestyle change. It's catching on slowly over here, but I do look forward to trips home (I'm a displaced American) to stock up on low-carb goodies.
Not sure there was any real point to this message other than to say thanks for your podcast and website. The encouragement and support are great and I now feel I have somewhere to turn if my resolve weakens.
CONGRATULATIONS on making livin' la vida low-carb your permanent lifestyle change...for the BETTER! :)
I appreciate your kind comments and sentiments about low-carb living. I'm happy to see low-carb is being embraced by the UK, although it's still an uphill climb in the US. What's amazing is this is all in the face of some pretty compelling evidence in favor of low-carb diets as I said before. Hold on to your hats because it's coming sooner than later.
If you go back to the archives for my "Fact-Filled February" podcasts, I focused just on the research to underscore what science says about this way of eating and it's encouraging and reassuring that we are on the right track. Lots more studies are coming which you will hear about here at my blog when they release.
Don't worry about that trainer's concerns. Get an adequate amount of protein and a low-carb plan is perfectly fine (Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. Stephen Phinney are the research leaders on this topic--stay tuned for more GOOD NEWS!).
THANKS for writing to me and feel free to come to me anytime you need a boost of encouragement in your low-carb plan. YOU GO GET 'EM, GIRL! Keep be informed about your progress. I LOVE success stories and want YOU to be one of them...soon! YOU CAN DO IT!!!
Do you have a story to share with me? E-mail me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.
On the one hand you have those who are vehemently opposed to this way of eating because it goes against everything we've always been told about a healthy diet. To them, eating fat, especially saturated fat, is just about the worst possible thing you can possibly do while avoiding or severely limiting carbohydrate is considered "extreme" and "dangerous." Anti-meat organizations, led by radical vegetarians, hyperbolize the supposed dangers of livin' la vida low-carb to your health.
Yet, there is an ever-growing group of people like myself who are not only bucking the trend by managing our weight with a low-carb diet, but also encouraging many others around the world to do the same for themselves. While public acceptance of low-carb diets like Atkins is slow to come around, the science behind low-carb diets is moving forward at breakneck speed confirming everything we know to be true about this way of eating.
In the coming years, I fully expect there to be a revival of low-carb that will be even bigger and better than what happened earlier this decade. While I certainly don't hope for a repeat of all those awful "low-carb" products that attempted to capitalize on the trend, a serious paradigm shift in how we view livin' la vida low-carb is way past due. The beginning of this is already happening at this very moment.
We need to keep showing our government and health leaders that obesity, diabetes, heart disease, cancer, and other obesity-related diseases are being eradicated or greatly improved thanks to this nutritional approach that calls for reducing unnecessary sugar and refined carbohydrate intake. Yes, it IS counterintuitive to everything we've ever known about diet and health, but that doesn't make it wrong.
One of my newest readers from the UK wanted to share her appreciation for my blog and podcast show as they have helped her on her low-carb lifestyle which she began in January 2007. Here's what she wrote:
Hi Jimmy,
I was delighted to stumble upon your podcast and have just listened to a few episodes while out on a jog. I found myself chuckling, nodding in agreement and generally getting completely involved in the topics you discussed (fortunately I live in a quiet village in the English countryside, so wasn't observed looking like a madwoman!) Although I haven't nearly climbed the mountain you have, I started my low-carb lifestyle in mid-January this year and have been really enjoying it.
After having four children, I wasn't obese, but certainly overweight and seriously lacking in willpower. Between my second and third pregnancies I did have some success with Weight Watchers, but on reflection was appalled by how much junk I could eat and still lose weight. It wasn't a healthy eating plan for me at all.
By contrast, although I still have a way to go in terms of optimizing the balance of healthy foods in my diet, I am eating far better than I have in ages thanks to Livin' La Vida Low-Carb.
I have recently started going to a personal trainer who expressed concern after reviewing my food journal. He, like so many others, is fixated by the whole fat consumption concept and lumps this way of eating together with so many other 'fad' diets.
I did explain that for me it is a way of life and I don't mind if I never eat another baked potato again, but not sure he's convinced. He is, however, delighted with the slow and steady weight loss I am achieving through my improved diet and exercise.
To date, I have lost about 8% of my initial weight and am happily carrying on, although I did have a bit of a blip at a Cinco de Mayo party last weekend, it was a planned one and I'm back on track. Like you, I am delighted to sing the praises of this way of living from the mountain tops, but the reception here in the UK is still somewhat frosty.
I understand that there are plenty of skeptics in the US, too, but there are equally a HUGE number of people who are enjoying great success with this lifestyle change. It's catching on slowly over here, but I do look forward to trips home (I'm a displaced American) to stock up on low-carb goodies.
Not sure there was any real point to this message other than to say thanks for your podcast and website. The encouragement and support are great and I now feel I have somewhere to turn if my resolve weakens.
CONGRATULATIONS on making livin' la vida low-carb your permanent lifestyle change...for the BETTER! :)
I appreciate your kind comments and sentiments about low-carb living. I'm happy to see low-carb is being embraced by the UK, although it's still an uphill climb in the US. What's amazing is this is all in the face of some pretty compelling evidence in favor of low-carb diets as I said before. Hold on to your hats because it's coming sooner than later.
If you go back to the archives for my "Fact-Filled February" podcasts, I focused just on the research to underscore what science says about this way of eating and it's encouraging and reassuring that we are on the right track. Lots more studies are coming which you will hear about here at my blog when they release.
Don't worry about that trainer's concerns. Get an adequate amount of protein and a low-carb plan is perfectly fine (Dr. Jeff Volek and Dr. Stephen Phinney are the research leaders on this topic--stay tuned for more GOOD NEWS!).
THANKS for writing to me and feel free to come to me anytime you need a boost of encouragement in your low-carb plan. YOU GO GET 'EM, GIRL! Keep be informed about your progress. I LOVE success stories and want YOU to be one of them...soon! YOU CAN DO IT!!!
Do you have a story to share with me? E-mail me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.
Labels: diet, Jimmy Moore, lifestyle change, Livin' La Vida Low-Carb, low-carb, podcast, The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show
posted by Jimmy Moore at
5/11/2007 10:15:00 PM
2 Comments:
You know, when I first started reading this Blog, it seemed like you were a very positive person, but I've just scrolled down and read about your last 15 posts, and you seem very bitter and venomous lately. Don't forget that different people can use different strategies to lose weight, whether it be low-carb or low-fat or whatever. I really admire the way you want all people to be healthy and enjoy life, but you seem to be really negative lately towards anyone who has success with anything other than Atkins. Perhaps you need a Bahamavention, Jimmy.
THANKS, Jake! But I'm still an extremely positive person always seeking to encourage and educate people about this lifestyle change that has transformed my life forever.
But don't mistake passion for being "bitter and venomous." Yes, I can come across very forceful in my writing and sometimes that is by design. There are things worth getting riled up over and I don't mind getting people to think about what they believe in the process.
I agree with you that people should find what works for them, follow that plan exactly as prescribed, and then keep doing it forever. That's been my mantra from day one.
But it won't stop me from pointing out the problems with dietary approaches that have been shown in research and in real life to be inadequate. That's why we talk about this stuff so much at my blog.
I appreciate your concern, Jake, and will certainly take you up on the trip to the Bahamas. Are you paying? LOL! SEE YA, buddy! ;)
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