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Saturday, July 12, 2008

Dude, You Should 'Ditch The Unhealthy Fad Diet' And 'Hit The Weight Room' Harder

I have always contended that people are much more assertive, aggressive, and in-your-face on the Internet than they would EVER be in the real world. Sure, there are a few exceptions to this, but for the most part it's true. And when you can post something anonymously without any way to trace where it came from, you can multiply that willingness to say ANYTHING by at least one-hundredfold!

People have their opinions and certainly don't mind sharing them regardless of the consequences. I learned a long time ago that you had better put on a thick layer of skin if you decide to start blogging for the whole world to see, especially when it comes to sharing your own personal diet and weight loss story. Everyone has their own theories about what works and I think it's great that the World Wide Web affords us the chance to hear all of these voices and decide for ourselves what is true or not.

But there is some sense of responsibility for decency and class when it comes to leaving a comment, especially when it is critical. There's nothing more cowardly in my opinion than to do what I like to call a "drive-by comment"--you come into a blog, post a flaming comment anonymously, and then run away. What good does that do? Just put your name and e-mail address on there at the end so that if people have questions about what you wrote they can reach you. How difficult would that be?

Well, I suppose they don't WANT to be contacted and that should make you suspicious of their remarks. Anyone willing to give a strong opinion should never be afraid to catch some heat back from the people who disagree. It's how public discourse should be handled and yet so many people like the following anonymous reader just don't get that.

I've blogged quite extensively about having "loose skin" after my 180-pound weight loss and this nameless, faceless commenter decided to leave his feedback--"drive-by comment"-styled--to this post. Here's what he wrote:

Everyone is being very supportive of your weight loss, but dude you are still very very overweight and borderline obese. You lost a lot of weight, but 220 pounds is not a lean weight unless you're a bodybuilder or athlete. Jesus, you've still got a good 70 pounds of pure fat to lose in order to be considered "normal."

It's seriously not "loose" skin, it's just heaps of fat that you haven't lost yet because you basically starved your body with an improper diet while not doing enough exercise.

I guarantee your body would look worlds better had you hit the weight room and treadmill six days a week and not subscribed to a fad diet that goes against nature itself. Face the facts: You lost weight too quickly while NOT exercising enough. That is not loose skin, that is fat that is backed up by emaciated muscle mass.

Don't believe me if you want, but I know what I'm saying. Your got about 60% if the way to your goal and then you stopped, thinking 220 pounds was your ideal body weight, and you neglected your body composition of muscle: fat ratio. You have no muscle and tons of fat, that's why your body looks so bad. Sure, surgery can fix this, but dedication and a gym membership will fix it as well. And before you go on saying "Well, I do work out, I do have a gym membership, etc.", have you considered you just aren't working hard enough?

Again, congrats on the weight loss, but you need to stop making excuses and face your own issue: get more dedicated to exercise and ditch the unhealthy fad diet. The human body needs carbs to fuel all of our organs, which includes the skin (the largest organ) and brain.


Nice, huh? So, tell me how you REALLY feel. Ahhhhhhh, what do you say to something like that? While there was some truth in what was expressed, there was a whole lotta crap too. I chose not to respond in the comments and to highlight this one in this post today instead because it is indicative of the kind of vitriolic hatred people have not just for people on a low-carb nutritional approach, but also who are on a journey to better health and weight loss. Let's take a look at each part of this comment to separate the good from the bad from the ugly:

Everyone is being very supportive of your weight loss, but dude you are still very very overweight and borderline obese. You lost a lot of weight, but 220 pounds is not a lean weight unless you're a bodybuilder or athlete. Jesus, you've still got a good 70 pounds of pure fat to lose in order to be considered "normal."

By what standards am I "very overweight and borderline obese?" I presume you are referring to body mass index and that's not the entire story. Yes, I'm still a big guy, but everyone who meets me says I am much taller and large structured than they expected. I'm a big guy who used to be a REALLY big guy. I'd love to lose more weight and am working on getting there the best I can. According to you, I need to weigh 150 pounds as a 6'3" man--ummmm, call me crazy, but that's just nuts!

It's seriously not "loose" skin, it's just heaps of fat that you haven't lost yet because you basically starved your body with an improper diet while not doing enough exercise.

I'm the first to admit some of it is indeed body fat, but I could not disagree more than I've "starved" my body with some kind of "improper diet." Have you read the latest studies on a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet? It's stunning and I highly recommend you read books like Good Calories Bad Calories by Gary Taubes to get the whole story before you show how ignorant you are describing this way of eating that way. And how do you know I'm not exercising enough? I did DAILY cardiovascular exercise the entire time I was losing 180 pounds in 2004. How much MORE could I possibly do?

I guarantee your body would look worlds better had you hit the weight room and treadmill six days a week and not subscribed to a fad diet that goes against nature itself. Face the facts: You lost weight too quickly while NOT exercising enough. That is not loose skin, that is fat that is backed up by emaciated muscle mass.

I'm the first to admit I regret that I didn't "hit the weight room" sooner as I noted in the final chapter of my first book. But I did upwards of 45-60 minutes (and sometimes more!) of treadmill or elliptical training every single day of the week during my weight loss. I was afraid of GAINING weight then, but I have since added a regular weight lifting routine with great success so far. What's so "fad" about eating a diet like our early hunter-gatherer ancestors did with healthy whole foods like beef, eggs, fish, nuts, and anything else they could find for nourishment? to me, eating tofu and bean sprouts and saying you love it "goes against nature itself." How did I lose too quickly and how can you possibly know that I wasn't exercising enough? There's a whole lotta assumin' going on out there.

Don't believe me if you want, but I know what I'm saying. Your got about 60% if the way to your goal and then you stopped, thinking 220 pounds was your ideal body weight, and you neglected your body composition of muscle: fat ratio. You have no muscle and tons of fat, that's why your body looks so bad. Sure, surgery can fix this, but dedication and a gym membership will fix it as well. And before you go on saying "Well, I do work out, I do have a gym membership, etc.", have you considered you just aren't working hard enough?

I will agree that I could have lost more weight than I did and I'm still on that journey to get my body weight down to around 200 pounds. That's what I'd like to be at. But I won't sacrifice my health to get there. Right now, I am as healthy as an ox despite your assertion to the contrary. Sure, my body composition could use some more muscle, but I'm working on that. In just the past six months, I've grown more muscle mass than I EVER have in my entire life. I'm proud of this and know it will continue henceforth. I'm not just a member of a gym, but I have a personal trainer guiding me each week about proper form and technique with my lifting. If I was a lazy slob who didn't stay committed to my workouts and exercise routine, then I could see you stating I wasn't "working hard enough." But quite frankly you don't have a clue what you are talking about.

Again, congrats on the weight loss, but you need to stop making excuses and face your own issue: get more dedicated to exercise and ditch the unhealthy fad diet. The human body needs carbs to fuel all of our organs, which includes the skin (the largest organ) and brain.

What a birdbrain! I've never made any excuses for the way I look. My pursuit has always been to become better and better as the years go by. Nobody is gonna argue that I looked better and was healthier at 410 pounds four plus years ago than I am right now. And I challenge anyone to tell me I'm not exercising enough for what my body needs to get stronger, more conditioned, and burn calories. Could I do a little more cardio than I do now? Sure, but the scientific evidence behind it is shaky at best. My focus is on the resistance training, but I get in several hours of cardio a week in the form of basketball, volleyball, and other recreational competitive sports events that are a part of my life. As for the "body need carbs" BS that keeps coming up over and over and over (did I mention "over"?) again and again, I simply point you to my latest YouTube video on gluconeogenesis.

Okay, I feel much better now. :D But one of my readers named Melinda who is NOT a low-carber and lost a significant amount of weight on a low-calorie diet saw this comment from the anonymous anti-loose-skin, anti-low-carb, anti-Jimmy-Moore person and decided to give her a piece of her mind about what she thought about it. You gotta LOVE this:

Alright this just peeves me off. I can't believe how people can come down on someone's success. Jimmy came ages from where he was and achieved something most people only dream about.

No matter what diet you use to achieve weight loss, you can end up with loose skin. It's just a matter of fact. I get tired of hearing people spout off about how working out harder at the gym can "take care" of the extra skin.

I've lost 175 pounds by calorie counting and exercise (no I did not follow the low-carb diet) and I am plagued with loose skin. I am 24 years old and NO I am not still overweight. If I lost any more weight, people would assume I was anorexic.

I am 5'5" tall and currently weigh 120 pounds. Slabs of skin are on my stomach, arms, legs, thighs...heck, even my breasts could use some serious help. Was it because I didn't "try" hard enough, or that I did something wrong? Um...no, it's not!

So stop bagging on people. I just get mad that other people can be such a**holes. Sorry Jimmy. Congrats on all your weight loss. You're amazing.


This is why I don't ever have to respond to negative blog comments like these that come my way. There are plenty of people like Melinda willing to tell 'em off for me. THANKS Melinda! Something tells me you'd probably tell that anonymous commenter a thing or two to his face if you had the chance. I appreciate your support and CONGRATULATIONS on your own weight loss success, too. :)

As for the anonymous commenter, I welcome your criticisms anytime. But how about coming out from behind your computer screen and sharing with us your name and contact information so an open discussion can ensue? Plus, if you have what you believe are the answers to obesity, then why not share them in a blog? I'd be happy to post about it at my blog so that others can see what you have to say. This isn't a competition about seeing who's diet or fitness routine is better. We're all on the same side trying to help people start to care about their health. These kind of needless "drive-by comment" attacks are totally unnecessary. SHOW YOURSELF and be proud of what you have to say.

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21 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Wow you take criticism much better than I ever could. If someone posted something like that about me... I don't even want to think about how I would react. I think you are doing an excellent job with your health and weight. Sure you could look better, but its all about how you feel inside and how healthy you are. I have too much respect for you to even begin to think anything negative about you, no one is perfect so why should someone expect you to be? Keep it up and don't let them get to you. Keep fighting for what you believe in, your a true inspiration.

7/12/2008 10:12 PM  
Blogger Alcinda (Cindy) Moore said...

Loose skin is a side effect of weight loss and it's worse if you're very overweight and/or older.

For a 20 yr old to loose 20-30 pounds, sure it's unlikely they will have loose folds of skin....but if they lose 120 pounds it's likely and I'd wager that if they lost 200 it would be unavoidable.

As we age our skin looses it's elasticity and exercise can only do so much! Again, a small loss probably wouldn't be noticed, but 60, 100 and more? Sure, as we get older it's less likely that the skin will easily go back to "normal".

7/12/2008 11:50 PM  
Blogger Kent said...

I think someone similar or the same guy (same tone and language) commented to me as well on youtube. I had a similar response until it devolves to a one sided, ad hominem attack which gets one person blocked and unread. Hang tough, you know your accomplishments, and until they actually put themselves out there, just tell to put up or shut up.

7/13/2008 1:12 AM  
Blogger Dave said...

The "fad diet" tag is always worth a chuckle. Low-carb has been a "fad" for about 2 million years. Anybody who thinks that modern nutritional recommendations have anything to do with our evolutionary diet should attempt the following exercise:

Find yourself a nice open field with some grasses. You'll have to pick the right time of year, when those grasses have gone to seed. Start harvesting the grass seeds (some kind of grain) by hand. Using nothing but tools you can find (rocks, sticks, etc.) and no fire, process the grain into an edible state (don't do anything stupid like actually eat this - uncooked grains can make you sick).

According to NutritionData.com, a cup of durum wheat has about 650 calories. That's about the same as a pound of lamb liver, which is considerably more nutrient dense. Which food do you think would be preferred given the effort required to obtain it?

7/13/2008 9:31 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

In fairness to the anonymous poster, what guarantee can he have that after he reveals himself you will not send a squad of goons to his house to "teach him a lesson."

7/13/2008 11:38 AM  
Blogger Jimmy Moore said...

Rather peculiar that a defender of the anonymous poster is an anonymous poster...but I digress. :)

Ummm, all I'm asking is to share your name and e-mail address so that others who disagree with your opinions are given an opportunity to continue the conversation. That's all. No need to send my bodyguards out to rough anyone up. Yet. :P

7/13/2008 1:09 PM  
Blogger Jimmy Moore said...

Kent, I LAUGH at people like this because they attempt to negate something fantastic that happened in my life by saying I didn't do ENOUGH. And people wonder why the obese don't even try to make an effort...there's too much focus on being perfect and not enough emphasis on getting people moving in the right direction from where they are. I enjoy seeing idiots like this show us for the fools they really are. :)

7/13/2008 1:16 PM  
Blogger nale said...

yeah, a "squad of goons"!
that does not sound like something Jimmy would do.....? unless there's a whole other side of Jimmy we don't know about:0 he HAS been working out!!!!!!

7/13/2008 1:54 PM  
Blogger Jimmy Moore said...

That true, AFC, I wouldn't need a posse to back me up...I could squash 'em like flies myself now. :D

7/13/2008 2:00 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why don't you just turn off the ability to post anonymous comments? Doesn't the software let you do that?

Otherwise, seems to me if you invite anonymous comments, you will get some. And some will be ignorant and mean like the one you write about.

7/13/2008 2:55 PM  
Blogger Jimmy Moore said...

Actually, Cassie, for a while the only comments I permitted to be published were from people who had a Blogger/Google account. But I kept getting complaints from readers in my e-mail box who didn't want to sign up for an account just to leave a comment. So in my effort to please these readers, I started allowing all comments which increased the responses I received immensely. I don't mind people like this leaving a comment. But if they're THIS critical about something, then I think the right thing to do is provide a way for people who disagree to reach them. That's all. :)

7/13/2008 3:45 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Jimmy,

I think the percentage of people in the world is very small indeed who know what to expect after weight loss from the other side of 400 lbs. He ain't one of them.

At age 50, I've got a bit of loose skin that won't snap back from "only" 60 lbs lost. And I suspect there's a certain amount of subcutaneous fat that's part and parcel of any skin.

Semi-anonymous

7/13/2008 4:42 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice work, Jimmy. My wife and I have both done low-carb for the last few years. I went from 234 to 174. At 51 years of age, my mere 60 lb. loss has left me with "extra" skin.

What I especially approve from your blog is the eccumenicism, i.e., you demonstrate and have visitors from other other "faiths" who show sincere interest and tolerance of competing approaches to eating.

7/13/2008 6:31 PM  
Blogger Alcinda (Cindy) Moore said...

Jimmy sending out goons! LOL

Steve....I too have very loose skin. In some places there's fat too, but other places there's none.

One that surprised me is my neck, under my jaw. Not only did I loose about 3 chins, but I also recently had surgery and have a 2 inch horizontal scar....and there is very little loose skin!

7/13/2008 7:24 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Anonymous pranksters, what is their motivation to seek out dieters and offer no facts. I personally think its a jealousy thing. Even the contestants on the biggest loser ended up with residual skin hanging and they are at the topmost of any excercise platform anyone would hope to achieve. Although, with P90x, I imagine Kent should be able to give us some insight as well.

Besides your own personal success, you have no doubt encouraged alot of us to continue this route and save our lives.

7/13/2008 8:26 PM  
Blogger Cedar Acre Lady said...

The poor guy sounds like someone that isn't well read. We all know that there are tons of wonderful books on the LC subject. All agreeing with the health benefits of a LC lifestyle. He is just a puppet listening to the worlds view instead of researching the issue on his own. Knowledge can sure be helpful! He just needs a litte.

7/13/2008 8:35 PM  
Blogger Jennifer [To PIN/share a Post, Click the 3 dots or the Red SAVE Button] said...

Jimmy, 220 to 230 lbs would be a "perfect" weight for a guy your height. That chap that did a drive-by "shooting" is nuts suggesting 150 lbs. Even at the weight you are now - still a heck of a job!

7/13/2008 8:40 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

So many of the hypercrtical views such as those from the subject poster are held by immature individuals who actually believe that humans are supposed to look like the .05% of the population who are supermodels. When I'm with my grandchildren, out shopping or hanging out, I have them do a reality check. Look around, I tell them, at the people in the immediate vicinity. Find the person with the perfect body from tip to toe. There aren't any! Some folks are fat, some are thin, some are in-between, but there is never a single person with whom they'd like to "trade" bodies with! Every person is a unique treasure, fat or not. Of course, we should strive to be as healthy as possible, and most of us want to look good, but to stress over it is silly. I've gone from 290 lbs. to 230 lbs. despite not really being able to exercise because of muscular dystrophy; I no longer need meds for high blood pressure, gout, or GERD. I'm thrilled, but I guess by the hostile poster's standards I should be worrying about some loose skin or that I still have some weight to lose! NOT! Maybe the poster is a personal trainer who has fallen on hard times because his/her former clients discovered LLVLC!

Didirina (can't get Google account to work).

7/13/2008 9:29 PM  
Blogger Alcinda (Cindy) Moore said...

Just wanted to add:
"According to you, I need to weigh 150 pounds as a 6'3" man--ummmm, call me crazy, but that's just nuts!"

I agree 100% Jimmy. My son is about 6'2" and weighs 155-160 pounds and everyone would agree he was skinny....so much so that his cardiologist (congenital problem) had him checked for eating and metabolism problems!

My dad was 6' 3 1/2" and weighed about 180 and was called Scrawny Johnny" because he was so thin!

7/13/2008 9:41 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Obviously the drive-by-poster has problems but there is some truth to the loose skin issue. Many people think they have a huge loose skin problem when what they really have is a lot more weight to lose. Pinch the skin on the back of your hand and feel how thin that is. If your stomach pinch is not similar, then you have more fat to lose. When the fat is finally lost, you may still have loose skin, but it will be very thin. See http://www.bodyfatguide.com/LooseSkin.htm for a little more on this. Or check out the pictures at http://mrlowbodyfat.blogspot.com.

7/14/2008 10:48 AM  
Blogger Tree said...

You know it was probably Kimmer/Heidi that left that hateful post. Male, my foot! lol

7/16/2008 3:39 PM  

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