Delicious Satiatrim wards off hunger by increasing CCK in the body
Although a healthy low-carb lifestyle is an excellent way to naturally reduce hunger and increase the satisfaction you have with the foods you consume while losing weight, Satiatrim is a 50-calorie beverage that will help those of you who deal with getting hungry or have the propensity for overeating. If that's you, then listen up and find out more about this amazing new low-carb appetite-suppressing drink.
In Episode 31 of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube," the all-new and improved video series (check out the snazzy updated opening to the video along with a change in the format of the video itself--ENJOY!) focuses in on this product called Satiatrim and the impact it has on your body. There's an important hormone in your body called cholecystokinin, aka CCK (that's easier to say anyway!), that regulates how full you feel as you are eating and afterwards. Satiatrim greatly stimulates the production of this hormone.
Learn more about how Satiatrim can help you in today's video:
The good people at Satiatrim have an incredible offer for the readers of the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog. In addition to getting 20% off and FREE SHIPPING with any order, they also want to provide another $5 off of your order just by using the coupon code "JIMMY!" As Christine says in the video, my name is actually useful for something now. HA HA! Gee, THANKS honey!
If you could suppress your appetite before meals for around a dollar, then why wouldn't you do it? Try some Satiatrim and become a believer in it yourself, too! It's low-carb and comes in three yummy flavors--Chocolate, Vanilla, and Mixed Berry (our favorite!). Plus, if you're not completely satisfied, Satiatrim offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. But you're gonna fall in love with this stuff as much as we have!
Fitness phenom Phoenix Gilman encourages a low-carb lifestyle
In Episode 125 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore", we continue with my recent series of interviews with various diet and health experts by bringing you the ever-encouraging and positively passionate voice of Phoenix Gilman, author of the book Diet Failure...The Naked Truth. You see that picture of the man and woman on the front cover of her book up there at the top of this blog post? Well, that's Phoenix at the age of 46 and one of her 53-year-old clients at the time. YEP, I'm not kidding you!
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 125:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 125 [45:59m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
You can't help but be encouraged by the enthusiasm of somebody like Phoenix Gilman and I was so fortunate to find her on YouTube talking about many of the ideas that so many of us believe in for healthy diet and fitness. She gets the carbohydrate connection to weight and health issues and articulates it in a no-nonsense, smack you between the eyeballs style that will make you stand up and cheer. It was such a pleasure speaking with someone who has obviously educated herself well on this subject and is now championing the cause of livin' la vida low-carb to everyone she comes into contact with.
Hear other low-carb advocates like Phoenix Gilman anytime by:
How'd you like Phoenix Gilman? Is she not one of the most amazing people you've ever heard talk about the low-carb way of life? I happen to think we need a whole lot more people like Phoenix out there in a major way to continue the cultural turnaround towards livin' la vida low-carb. Share your impression of her in the show notes section of Episode 125. We originally were gonna run this interview as a two-parter this week, but decided it was so uplifting we had to share it all at one time! I hope you enjoyed it! :)
In today's podcast, I introduced a brand new sponsor of the show which I have featured here at my blog for a couple of weeks called Satiatrim. For anyone who struggles with hunger on your low-carb diet (and I receive quite a few e-mails from people who do) or are susceptible to overeating, Satiatrim may be what you need to control those hunger pangs, stay fuller longer, and cut your calories naturally which can result in weight loss. I'll be sharing a YouTube video about this stuff later today, but you gotta try it for yourself. Right now, get 20% off plus FREE SHIPPING--and if you enter the coupon code "JIMMY," then you will receive an additional $5 off your order. Give it a try and let me know what you think! :)
Coming up on Thursday's podcast, we'll be talking with Dr. Jeffry Gerber from the Denver, Colorado area. Dr. Gerber is a family doctor who for the past five years has been prescribing a low-carb diet to his patients with metabolic syndrome, diabetes, obesity and a whole host of other medical conditions. He's one of the rare physicians who actually understands the detrimental role of carbohydrate in our diets and will give us hope that other doctors around the nation will soon understand and apply what he knows. DON'T MISS WHAT HE HAS TO SAY!!!
"Leatherheads" is FINALLY coming to theaters on Friday, April 4, 2008
The wait is almost over and I can hardly contain myself waiting for this Friday when the romantic comedy vintage football film Leatherheads hits movie theaters across America. It was just a little more than one year ago that I was given an incredible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to appear in this major Hollywood motion picture starring two of the hottest stars in Tinseltown today--George Clooney and Renee Zellweger. The experience of being on set for what will surely be one of the top films of 2008 is one I'll not soon forget and the anticipation leading up to this Friday to see if any of my scenes actually made it on the silver screen is killing me right now. I WANNA KNOW!!! :D
For my newer readers, it all started back in December 2006 when a local call for football players in the Greenville/Spartanburg, SC market was put out across the media and my ears perked up. Was it because I had the big strapping body of a football player because of my tremendous prowess in my younger years? HA! Yeah right, that's a good one! Remember, I was the fat kid growing up and actually I played in the band in high school.
And yet there I was waiting in line with over 1,000 other guys who were vying for their chance to be in a big-time movie. That alone was a neat experience and my story very well could have ended there. But then I got a call at the end of February 2007 from the casting director wanting to know if I still wanted to be in the Clooney flick. Uhhhh, lemme think about it--YES YES YES (and did I mention YES?!)!!! In fact, I thought I would be a football-playing extra in the film, but...
It turns out they needed me to play the role of The Doorman for the "Emerson House Hotel" (thus, the EHH on my hat) because of my height and slender body type. Uh, okay...whatever it takes to be in this movie, I'll do it. You can read all about how that glorious all-day Sunday event went in my first experience on the set of Leatherheads in downtown Greenville, South Carolina by clicking here.
I'll never forget the amazing job the wardrobe department did to make that hat work on my big head. Everything about the costume fit perfectly EXCEPT for the hat. My enlarged forehead (gee, thanks Dad!) wouldn't even allow it to come close to fitting. So they ripped the back of the hat out and put in some stretchy material so it would wrap around my head. Never mind the fact my brains felt like they were gonna squeeze out of my ears that day it was so tight! But at least it was on my head! ;)
That wasn't even the most memorable part of my story of being The Doorman, though. It turns out, this role was an integral part of the 30-second scene we were shooting because Clooney's character (Dodge Connolly) rides in on an old-timey 1920's motorcycle in front of my hotel where I am standing guard and parks it right there while swaggering his way off of it looking at me stating sarcastically, "Keep it close now, will ya?" The director instructed me to give him the dirtiest look I could and then shut the door behind Clooney after he enters the building. I'm almost 100% sure this scene will be in the final version of the film (did I say HOPING?!). The camera was just a few feet from where Clooney and I were standing during the scene and we did a bazillion takes of just this scene all day long. It's GOTTA be there!
In fact, George and Renee were in town this past week thanking our area for their hospitality during the filming and promoting the movie. Uh, yeah, I think we'll sell out a few theaters in this area just with all the extras and their families alone! But this Friday will be quite an eventful one for me and Christine because we will be participating in a special Red Carpet Gala just for the extras who were in Leatherheads. I'm getting dressed up in a tuxedo and Christine will wear her favorite black evening dress for the opening night festivities. The press will be there interviewing us about what it was like being on the set, so we'll get our few minutes of glamour and glitz!
But I've already told Christine that I wanna go see the movie earlier in the day around noon on Friday to see if my Doorman scene made it. I was also a fan in the stands for several of the football scenes that were shot in Traveler's Rest, SC and Charlotte, NC, but you'll never be able to make out the faces of the extras in those scenes. I'll be zeroing in on The Doorman scene when I'm watching the movie. It's so exciting and I'll be sure to let you know if I made the film or not (cross your fingers for me!).
Be sure to check out all my Leatherheads posts which include lots of pictures from the set, including exclusive behind-the-scenes photos of Clooney and co-star John Krasinski in action. If you happen to go see this movie, then watch for The Doorman giving George Clooney a "dirty look." That'd be me! Is it Friday yet?!
4-4-08 UPDATE: I'm in the movie!!! Christine and I went to see Leatherheads for the matinee showing at 12:30pm and there was my brief glimpse of cinematic glory about 10-15 minutes into the film. Clooney drives up on his motorcycle in front of the hotel and there I am (all 6'3" of me!) standing at attention in my green doorman outfit. They cut the scene short, but Christine about had a hissy fit seeing me in the movie. :D I'll be blogging more about this after our big Red Carpet Gala event tonight. GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!! :)
Is Dean Ornish prepared to admit a high-fat, low-carb diet is healthy?
I have had ample opportunities to meet and interview some of the best and brightest minds in the world of diet and health over the past couple of years and I consider it a real privilege and an honor anytime I am afforded the chance to glean from the many years of knowledge and experience that these people possess. As a simple layperson without any medical or nutritional background or education, I am merely a student trying to learn everything he can in order to make informed decisions about what is right for me and my body.
You can read my blog interviews or listen to my podcast interviews which now total well over 100 to see and hear from these amazing people and the fine work they are doing to promote good health. I honestly believe that everyone who is involved in this industry is doing it for the right reasons in their heart of hearts even if they are misguided in some areas. It's okay to have disagreements as long as you don't become disagreeable in the process.
That's sorta what I wanted to talk about today because I received a rather terse e-mail response from noted low-fat diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish (who I have interviewed TWICE in the past two years) earlier this week that accused me of making him out to be a "straw man" with the same old "stereotypes" about him that have existed for decades as the face of the low-fat diet. You'll recall I recently interviewed Dr. Ornish for a four-part podcast about his new book entitled The Spectrum where he supposedly has shifted his dietary philosophy away from a strict low-fat diet into one that allows people to make choices along a spectrum of choices. It's a nice concept on paper and I certainly applauded him for moving away from his dogmatic belief that a low-fat, high-carb diet is the ONLY way to good health.
However, during our interview and while reading through The Spectrum, I couldn't help but notice that despite the grand plans of branching out and broadening his nutritional horizons, not much has changed about what Dr. Dean Ornish actually believes. Once you get into the meat (which, by the way, you can't have according to Dr. Ornish since it is in the "least healthy" Group 5 end of the spectrum) of what he writes, everything he considers "healthy" is merely a bunch of the same old high-carb, low-fat propaganda we've always heard from Dr. Ornish. I explained my concerns about this in great detail in a post-interview blog I wrote a couple of weeks ago.
While I was critical of Dr. Ornish in the blog post (and rightfully so), I still appreciated the open dialog that he invited to discuss and debate the ideas he presented in his book. I have nothing against him personally and he's been nothing but respectful to me in all of our conversations. We just disagree about what a healthy diet looks like a lot more than he wants to admit it. And deep down inside, he knows that.
While he says we all agree and believe many of the same things, I have yet to hear Dr. Dean Ornish confirm that a low-carb nutritional approach may be needed for some people. He's just never done it despite being given several opportunities by me to state it rather explicitly. And even I am the first to admit that low-carb is not necessarily right for everyone. That's why studies have shown you need to find the diet that's right for YOU and then DO IT and I believe that with every fiber of who I am! It simply amazes me that a world-famous diet doctor like Dean Ornish can't even acknowledge this basic truth about health.
After having such an extended interview in which I thought I was clarifying my position about carbs--including acknowledging that Robert Atkins was right about the unhealthful properties of refined carbohydrates but disagreeing that all carbs are bad and acknowledging that fat also plays an important role in health and illness, especially in weight control--that you continue to use me as a straw man.
In your latest email (referring to my blog post), you write, "This is the equivalent of low-fat diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish coming out and saying that the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins was right and that there are some people who should be eating more fat and less carbohydrates if they need to manage their weight and health. Following my recent interview with Dr. Ornish, I sincerely doubt THAT will ever happen." But I say in my new book that there are many people who should be eating less refined carbohydrates--and more unrefined, high-fiber carbs, not necessarily more fat.
I had hoped that we could get past these stereotypes.
With best wishes,
Dean
As I sat there and read Dr. Ornish's e-mail, I pondered what he had to say. But I couldn't help but come back to the elementary questions that still linger in the back of my mind about what he thinks we all "agree" on when very clearly we have some major differences about livin' la vida low-carb that he continues to deny.
Here was my response:
Hello Dr. Ornish,
THANKS for your e-mail. With regard to your concerns about my latest blog column which discusses Dr. Andrew Weil agreeing that total carbohydrate restriction in conjunction with an increase in fat intake as outlined by Gary Taubes in GOOD CALORIES BAD CALORIES is indeed based on solid scientific evidence and experience, I don't see where we're in disagreement about this. We both agree that controlling at least some carbohydrate intake and consuming at least some fat is indeed a healthy way to keep your weight reduced and your health in order.
What we do disagree on is by how much.
I'm sorry if you feel my using you as an analogy of the magnitude of this change in perspective by Dr. Weil in favor of a more carbohydrate-restricted for weight and health management was inaccurate. But based on both what I read in your book THE SPECTRUM and heard directly from you during our 100-minute interview a few weeks back, I did not sense any agreement on your end that a moderate-to-high fat, controlled-carbohydrate ketogenic dietary approach as espoused by the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins and then brought back to the discussion by Gary Taubes is one you would even remotely consider recommending for anyone as part of your "spectrum" of choices since most of the foods that fall within this way of eating are in Group 5--what you consider the "least healthy" choices. Please tell me where I got it wrong, Dr. Ornish, because it looks like I've hit the nail on the head about what you believe based on what I've read and heard from you.
Based on that alone, it appears what I stated was not inaccurate at all. Please feel free to correct my misunderstanding if you would like because I'm sincerely interested in what you have to say about what you believe regarding a high-fat, low-carb diet. I'm happy to give you the opportunity to officially come out and state with great clarity that you believe a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet is indeed an acceptable way for certain people to manage their weight and health.
I'd be delighted to share this great news with my enthusiastic readers that we all agree this particular nutritional approach is one you endorse just like Dr. Weil does now. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to share that Dr. Dean Ornish agrees with so many of my readers that restricting carbohydrate intake and consuming fat can be a part of a healthy lifestyle. Keep in mind, this isn't a low-fat vs. low-carb issue either. It's simply about realizing and recognizing that there are certain ends of your "spectrum" which aren't as unhealthy as you claim. Despite that, though, we're absolutely all in agreement, right?
THANKS for sharing your concerns and I do hope to hear back from you soon with a crystal clear message of support for livin' la vida low-carb that I can share with my readers. Take care! :)
Jimmy Moore
It has been five days since I sent that e-mail to Dr. Ornish and he has yet to respond. I suppose we can deduct from his failure to provide an answer to my simple question about where he stands regarding a high-fat, low-carb diet for certain people that he still believes it is unhealthy. That's too bad since most of the health establishment is in major disagreement with him about his monopolistic low-fat, high-carb recommendations for everyone. Even Dr. Weil no longer believes that.
The floor is still open to you, Dr. Ornish. If you truly want to mend the fences you have destroyed by needlessly attacking the Atkins diet over the years, then here is the PERFECT chance for you to do it. Reach across the aisle to your low-carb counterparts and tell us where we have common ground with you since we all agree total carbohydrate restriction and increased fat intake is an essential to a healthy lifestyle. You wanted the opportunity and here it is.
How about it, Dr. Dean Ornish? Are you supporting livin' la vida low-carb as a viable nutritional approach for controlling weight and health? Admit a high-fat, low-carb diet is healthy. It's not a difficult question and we're patiently awaiting your answer.
But even more exciting than that is the transformation that is happening to Nicki's philosophy about a healthy diet over the past couple of years that is evident in columns she has written about eating fat here, here, and here. Two prominent low-carb books--Life Without Bread and Good Calories, Bad Calories--along with reading my blog and other online resources has helped transform Nicki's old way of thinking forever.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 124:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 124 [27:29m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
When you've been active in the health industry for as long as Nicki Anderson has, it's difficult not to fall in line with what conventional wisdom has always taught us regarding diet--low-fat, low-calorie, portion control. And yet it is people like her who have chosen to remain open-minded and willing to accept new information based on the science in order to shape and mold what she believes that will kick start the next revolution. Despite the heavy criticism she has received, Nicki remains steadfast in her newfound belief that carbohydrate is at the center of disease and obesity. YEAH!
Hear from old and new low-carb enthusiasts anytime by:
What do think about someone like Nicki Anderson coming around to the truth about livin' la vida low-carb after years of helping clients with weight loss and exercise? Is this the beginning of a glorious trend that was bound to happen in light of all the overwhelmingly positive data about the healthy low-carb lifestyle? Let's kick it around a bit in the show notes section of Episode 124.
Coming up next week, we have two more exciting interviews to share with you from international author and health activist Phoenix Gilman who wrote a fabulous low-carb fitness book that's in your face entitled Diet Failure...The Naked Truth. You are gonna absolutely ADORE Phoenix and I can't wait to share my interview with her on Monday and Thursday in a special two-part interview.
If you are even a casual reader of health journalism these days, then I'm sure you've run across the regular columns from The Washington Post health and nutrition columnist named Sally Squires. Her regular "Lean Plate Club" feature includes lots of news and commentary on the latest developments in the world of diet and living healthy. Unfortunately, Squires comes at it from the conventional low-fat, low-calorie, low-cholesterol, everything-in-moderation yadda yadda yadda approach that has dominated our culture for decades now.
Whether you're livin' la vida low-carb or not, egg consumption is a VERY healthy way to start your day with a power-packed meal or anytime as a snack idea. I love my eggs and probably eat 2-3 dozen by myself every single week. Yep, yolk and all, Ms. Squires! Why? Because they are indeed (say it with me now!) H-E-A-L-T-H-Y!!!
First, let's address the "artery-clogging cholesterol" comment. Ummm, where's your proof that dietary cholesterol has any impact on your lipid profile or in your arterial walls? Noted researcher on low-carbohydrate diets Dr. Stephen Phinney (who I hope to interview for my podcast show when I meet him at a symposium on saturated fat in Phoenix, Arizona next month) once conducted a test on himself eating a total of 17 eggs in one day to see what impact it would have on his cholesterol levels. Guess what? His cholesterol went up by only one point. So, this myth that eating cholesterol will raise your cholesterol is as archaic and WRONG as eating fat will make you fat. Again, I ask, where is the proof?
Then Squires quotes a professor of epidemiology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health named Dr. Lawrence Appel who claims the "unhealthy saturated fat" that accompanies egg consumption from all the bacon and sausage they eat with them is what concerns him the most because it will in his opinion significantly raise LDL cholesterol levels. And he made one of the most asinine statements I've ever heard about why you shouldn't eat these delicious low-carb breakfast foods.
"And many of these foods are cooked in trans fat, which also hikes LDL levels," Appel exclaimed.
HUH?! What trans fat is used to cook eggs, bacon and sausage, Dr. Appel? If you're referring to margarine--a low-fat concoction that I wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole--then obviously you know nothing about people who are livin' la vida low-carb. We cook our eggs in butter, macadamia nut oil, avocado oil, and other wonderfully healthy saturated fats. There's no trans fat in my cooking oils. And you don't need a lick of oil when you cook bacon and sausage because they've got plenty of amazing fats in them already to get brown and crispy for a wonderful complement to eggs.
Ironically, Dr. Appel already understands this dynamic about eating less carbs and more fat for better heart health because of this study he published in the December 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. Is he now disagreeing with what the science showed him quite clearly just a little more than two years ago? Come on, Dr. Appel, you know better than to allow your own personal zealotry to get in the way of being an objective observer.
This quote from Dr. Appel certainly took the cake.
"But what I am concerned about is that some people will think that the exception is the rule," he stated. "So they will eat an omelet on the weekend and then grab a breakfast sandwich on the run on Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. We don't want people to reverse the strides that have been made."
Let me tell you, sir, it's not the eggs that will "reverse the strides" these people are making in their health. It's the SANDWICH part of that breakfast sandwich with all those carbohydrates in them that makes it worse for your body--NOT the eggs or the cholesterol and fat that's in them. If you cut out the bread and eat the eggs and meat for breakfast, then you've got just about the perfect meal. Check out my daily menus and you'll see that eggs are a major part what I eat and proudly so. They are AMAZINGLY good for you!
The final paragraph in Squires' column was a bit appalling, too.
"To make sense of all this, here's the bottom line: If you're healthy and you like eggs, eat them in moderation," she recommended. "If you've got high cholesterol or Type 2 diabetes, skip the yolks or limit your intake to no more than one per day."
In a word, Ms. Squires, NO THANKS (okay, that's two words!). I am VERY healthy precisely because I do eat eggs--yolk and all!--regularly as part of my reduced-carbohydrate nutritional approach. As long as you are limiting your carb intake, eggs can be a yummy way to get lots of hunger-satisfying protein and fat into your body to help burn body fat and build muscle. I wouldn't think of ever giving up my eggs as long as they are providing me an inexpensive way to stay healthy. And that's exactly what they are doing!
There was a chat about this Sally Squires column that was quite revealing about why she believes what she does about eggs being harmful to health, especially for Type 2 diabetics. Check out this question and answer exchange:
Eggs and Type 2 Diabetes: I can understand the cholesterol issue with eggs and heart disease, but why is there an issue with eggs and Type 2 Diabetes?
Sally Squires: Because diabetes significantly raises the risk of heart disease. In fact, some experts have told me that we should consider diabetes "early heart disease." It has just that much effect on blood vessels and the heart. So the National Cholesterol Education Program--part of the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, advises that people with type 2 diabetes need to take many of the same steps in prevention as those who already have high blood cholesterol or other signs of heart disease.
The good news: We know from the Diabetes Prevention Program that weight loss, exercise and eating right can significantly reduce risk of developing diabetes. And we know from other research that people who already have type 2 diabetes can takes steps to control it and sometimes even reverse it.
Okay, Ms. Squires, if diabetes raises heart disease risk, then why not treat the diabetes first with the best proven method for controlling it--LOW-CARB! If you want to help diabetes ward off heart disease from happening to them, then logic tells you to cut down on their carbs along with a regular exercise routine to bring about those reductions in blood sugar, insulin levels, and weight. Why do we have to make this so difficult for people to understand? Just tell 'em the truth about livin' la vida low-carb and watch the results happen right before our very eyes.
Maybe that's what the Sally Squires of this world are afraid of!
Simple and delicious salmon salad with toasted low-carb pita chips
Earlier this month, I introduced you to a man named Chef Nicky--aka "The Racing Chef"--and the fabulous work he does keeping the race car drivers and their crew well-fed while competing. Chef Nicky is a real wizard in the kitchen as he proved with this Brussels sprouts recipe with lemons and walnuts that is low-carbilicious!
The response to that recipe was such that Chef Nicky wanted to share yet another one of his fabulous low-carb recipes with you again today. Although he calls for using pitas in this recipe, I took the liberty to find a low-carb version of pita bread from our friends at LO-CARB U which you can toast just the same as Chef Nicky calls for in his recipe. Or you can get pre-toasted pita chips and save the hassle of cooking them yourself. That's your choice!
THANK YOU Chef Nicky for yet another AWESOME low-carb recipe! I personally LOVE LOVE LOVE salmon because it is LOADED with healthy omega-3 fatty acids that your body absolutely needs. Throw in the greens and you've got a dish worth the wait. ENJOY!
LOW-CARB SMOKED SALMON SALAD WITH PITA CHIPS
For the Pita: 1 piece low-carb pita bread 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil Salt (to taste) Fresh ground black pepper (to taste)
Rub the top side of the pita with the oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake pita in a pre-heated 450 degree oven until a little crunchy. Cut into 8 even pie shaped pieces.
For the Salmon Salad: 4 ounces of smoked salmon (sliced) 2 cups mixed baby greens 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil 2 teaspoons lemon juice (fresh squeezed) 2 tablespoons sunflower seeds (toasted) Salt (to taste) Fresh ground black pepper (to taste) 1/2 fresh tomato (sliced thin)
Divide the salmon into 2 portions. Lay the salmon slices end to end overlapping about an inch. Toss the remaining ingredients together except for the tomatoes. This can be done in a resealable plastic bag. Arrange the tossed greens at one end of the salmon and roll the salmon around the greens creating a pinwheel effect. Sprinkle the tomato with salt. Arrange the salad, pita, and tomatoes on plate. Enjoy!
Serves 2. Get more recipes from Chef Nicky (not all of them are low-carb) anytime by clicking here. And we'll have more recipes to share with you in the future, so keep reading! :)
Last week I shared with you about my wife Christine's latest physical which found her triglycerides were elevated despite following a lower-carb diet over the past year. She dropped 35 pounds, saw her HDL increase slightly to 57 and her LDL plummet by 50 points to below 100. All in all based on those numbers, she's in excellent health. There's only one problem--her triglycerides are at 297! EEEEEEK!
In Episode 30 of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube," we wanted to bring you up-to-date with this story I started in that blog post last week to let you know how our talk with the registered dietitian went, what plan of action we are taking to help bring those triglycerides way down, and to hear Christine's response to some of the comments that have been left about her health. It's good news because we now have a solid method for treating this rather than lamenting on what was done (or not done!) in the past.
Hear the surprising comments from Christine's dietitian in today's video:
We were kinda shocked to hear this dietitian talking about restricting carbohydrates and choosing good omega-3 fats to help lower triglycerides. YEAH!!! Maybe I've been too hard on dietitians in the past and there are a few diamonds in the rough (kinda like Monica Reinagel). While Christine's dietitian did spout the usual "saturated fat is bad for you" mumbo jumbo, she was dead on about carbs. It's a slow start, but I think the positive impact of livin' la vida low-carb among nutritionists is getting there.
The beautiful and articulate AmyB shares her painful Kimkins story
In Episode 123 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore", I'm happy to share with you an exclusive interview with someone who has been at the center of the ongoing Kimkins diet controversy over the past six months since the founder of that company has been outed as a morbidly obese scam artist named Heidi Diaz who has bilked tens of thousands of people with her devious and dangerous dietary advice. Her name is AmyB and she knows all too well about the manipulation that Diaz can inflict on people and was a personal victim of such while she was a member at the Kimkins site. Hear AmyB speak candidly about how she was taken advantage of by "Kimmer" and why she is now one of the most outspoken critics of Kimkins today.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 123:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 123 [36:45m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
It's amazing to hear AmyB talk about Kimkins and Heidi Diaz as she does now with all the innocence and honesty of the entire situation. Even as everyone else was becoming privy to the truth about this increasingly obvious scam (myself included!), she stayed for months afterwards. It wasn't about Heidi, but the people she grew so close to at the Kimkins site that kept her there. Now she's reaching out to them to rescue them from the snares of a delusional woman who is under investigation for fraud. AmyB's message to anyone still at Kimkins: GET OUT NOW!!!
Get low-carb living news at its very best anytime by:
Whether you are engaged in the whole Kimkins debacle or not, what did you think about AmyB's comments? Do you think her concerns about the impact this diet had on her health got her banned by Heidi? Or was it something else that drove this decision by Diaz to suddenly happen? Chat about it and tell us what you think in the show notes section of Episode 123.
Special thanks to Elle from "Grilled Cheese with Pickles" for providing a full transcript of the podcast interview I conducted with AmyB. She volunteered to do that and I am very grateful for her service. You can access this transcript right now by clicking here.
Be sure to tune in again on Thursday when I'll be sharing another interview with a fellow health and weight loss motivator named Nicki Anderson from Reality Fitness who I have talked about before. Nicki's perspective has been radically changed after reading Life Without Bread and Good Calories, Bad Calories over the past year. You're gonna LOVE what she has to share as we enjoyed "meeting" each other during this incredible interview. DON'T MISS IT!!! And thanks so much for listening to "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore."
You all know how much of a fan I am of Dr. Jonny Bowden. At the age of 61, this man has more energy and enthusiasm for life than just about anyone else I know. He's a tireless champion of healthy living and is a proponent of reducing carbohydrate and especially sugar intake to get you there. It's one of the reasons he wrote his fabulous book Living The Low-Carb Life and why I chose him to be among my Top 10 Low-Carb Movers & Shakers of 2007.
As much as I rave about him, I've never actually met Jonny in person. His charismatic voice and charm are evident on the phone lines, but I've always wondered what it would be like to sit down and chat with him over lunch. Well, guess what? If you've never seen Dr. Jonny Bowden in person, then here's a great interview that was conducted by Kevin Gianni from Renegade Health featuring the man himself talking about health in the middle of Los Angeles traffic:
Can you see why I love this guy? He's awesome and we'll be hearing plenty more from him for many years to come. KEEP GOING STRONG, JONNY!!!
Dr. Andrew Weil now recognizes the importance of carb control
Light bulb moments can happen at virtually anytime to anyone. We all have our own biases and predetermined beliefs about just about everything in life that make up who we are. But even when you try to keep an open mind and stay objective, those rock solid ideals that encapsulate who you are can be difficult to change. Only the strongest among us are able to admit when we were wrong about something and then completely change our way of thinking based on new evidence that has come to light.
That's exactly what has happened with one of the world's most recognized and renowned health leaders of our day Dr. Andrew Weil. For the past three decades, this man has dedicated his life to the subject of health by authoring a plethora of books, lecturing about the negative impact of unhealthy eating, and establishing himself firmly into diet and nutrition by encouraging a comprehensive integrative approach to treating disease. He really is a legend in the health industry which is what makes what I am about to share with you all the more astounding!
You'll recall that right after the release of Gary Taubes' bestselling blockbuster book Good Calories, Bad Calories was released last Fall, there was a panel discussion about the book on CNN's Larry King Live show with Joy Behar guest hosting along with guests Taubes, Dr. Mehmet Oz, personal trainer from "The Biggest Loser" Jillian Michaels, and others. Right smack dab in the middle of that discussion was commentary from Dr. Weil about what he thought of the book. Click here to see a nearly 7-minute clip of what he had to say.
For anyone who watched that October 2007 show which Taubes described as "quite a circus," this short segment with Dr. Andrew Weil's comments was indeed the most valuable and surprising revelation that came out of it. Guest host Joy Behar described Dr. Weil's comments as a "Valentine" for Taubes and it was obvious to everyone that he was the ONLY person on the panel who had actually read Good Calories, Bad Calories prior to coming on the show. But this "light bulb moment" for Dr. Weil was extraordinary to watch happening right before our very eyes.
This is the equivalent of low-fat diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish coming out and saying that the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins was right and that there are some people who should be eating more fat and less carbohydrates if they need to manage their weight and health. Following my recent interview with Dr. Ornish, I sincerely doubt THAT will ever happen. But Dr. Weil's virtual endorsement of livin' la vida low-carb was unmistakable and it didn't end there.
It turns out that he himself decided to begin implementing carbohydrate-restriction in his own personal weight management routine with AMAZING success! According to this interview with Dr. Weil appearing on his web site this week (hat tip to my reader Peter who pointed this out to me!), reading the Taubes book has changed his life because he now realizes he is "quite sensitive to high-glycemic-load carbohydrates."
"Most of the processed, refined, manufactured foods are the ones that are quick digesting and problematical," Dr. Weil explained. "Cutting back on them has helped me get my weight down, because my metabolism is certainly carbohydrate sensitive."
Can I just tell you how incredibly HUGE this is?! Dr. Weil acknowledges that there is "a real explosion of quality research" coming out so far in this century about carbohydrate restriction and the impact it can have on insulin sensitivity and weight gain. And he's even coming around on the subject of saturated fat, too.
"With regard to saturated fat, I tell people that you can have some saturated fat in your diet; just think about where you want to spend your saturated fat budget. I choose to spend mine on quality cheese," Dr. Weil stated.
Oh man, I'd love it if Dr. Weil could attend that Nutrition & Metabolism Symposium in Phoenix, Arizona in April where the very latest research on saturated fat consumption and heart disease will be presented by some of the best and brightest researchers and scholars on the subject today, including Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Richard Feinman, Dr. Jeff Volek, Dr. Patty Tarino, Dr. J. Bruce German, Dr. Mary Vernon, Dr. Jay Wortman, Dr. Steve Phinney, and Gary Taubes. I'll be there covering the event for my blog and interviewing many of these participants for my podcast show. It would not surprise me to see Dr. Weil sitting there soaking in all the very research that is quite literally changing his life forever.
Wanna see how low-carb living has changed Dr. Weil? Check out this recent video of him posted on YouTube:
Doesn't he look fantastic? And I'm confident his health has also seen a correlating improvement along with the weight loss. Dr. Weil says he is "much happier" now eating less carbohydrates and the remarkable impact that it has made on him personally. Can you imagine how this personal transformation is going to seep into the very crevices of everything Dr. Weil does now with his work helping others with their weight and health? It's gonna revolutionize everything he does and make it that much better.
For those of you who think livin' la vida low-carb isn't making an impact on our society like it should, I just want you to remember what you have seen happen to Dr. Andrew Weil over these past six months. You cannot underestimate the power of a changed life and especially when that life is one that has been making recommendations about health for so long. Be encouraged everyone--better days are DEFINITELY coming!
I've written to Dr. Weil requesting an interview with him for my podcast show to talk about the changes he has made in his mode of thinking and where he will be going from here both personally and with the people he counsels regarding diet and health. It's a long shot, but wish me luck landing that one. And, by all means, take the advice of Dr. Andrew Weil and keep on livin' la vida low-carb! :)
Nope, this ain't no Egg McMuffin. It's an Oopsie--seriously!
Some of the best food creations to come out of my kitchen have happened almost by accident. Just when you think you've totally messed up the perfect recipe and you're kicking yourself for not following it by the letter, along comes a pleasant surprise to totally blow you away. Of course, you really MEANT to do that, right? *wink wink*
Remember this low-carb "magic shell" recipe that sorta fell in my lap last Fall. I couldn't believe it when I saw it because all I was trying to do was come up with a nice chocolate syrup sauce for my low-carb ice cream. But lo and behold, looky what happened when I poured it on top of my ice cream--a sweet, delicious hardened topping just like that magic shell stuff. OH MY GOSH!!! What an amazing find that was--despite it being an "oops."
Well, today I have another "oops" recipe for you from a wonderful low-carb blogger I told you about on Monday (see #12 under this post) named Cleochatra who runs the fantabulous blog called "The Lighter Side Of Low-Carb." If you haven't already bookmarked this blog, then DO IT NOW! She is one incredibly funny and entertaining writer and a pretty awesome low-carb cook, too, if you like recipes (and who doesn't?!).
But even the best sometimes experience the trials and tribulations that hit our inner Paula Deen where we're a whole lot close to Paula Abdul instead! Ah, but never fear because fate always has a way of turning that lemon into lemonade and the birth of a new and exciting recipe awaits. Or, something like that.
In the case of Cleochatra, that lemon would be the appropriately named "Oopsie Rolls." It's obvious why she named them this because they were supposed to be one thing and ended up another. But the flexibility of these oh-so-yummy low-carb bread roll thingys is quite evident in a series of recipes I'll share in just a moment. First, let me show you this neat little recipe compliments of Cleochatra.
CLEOCHATRA'S BEST EVER REVOL-OOPSIE ROLLS
3 large eggs 1 packet of Splenda A dash of salt A pinch of cream of tartar 3 ounces cream cheese (not Tbsp!) Do not soften!
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Separate the eggs and add Splenda, salt, and cream cheese to the yolks. Use a mixer to combine the ingredients together. In a separate bowl, whip egg whites and cream of tartar until stiff (if you're using the same mixer, mix the whites first and then the yolk mixture).
Using a spatula, gradually fold the egg yolk mixture into the white mixture, being careful not to break down the whites. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray and spoon the mixture onto the sheet, making 6 mounds. Flatten each mound slightly.
Bake for about 30 minutes (You want them slightly softer, not crumbly). Let cool on the sheet for a few minutes, and then remove to a rack and allow them to cool.
Storage and freezing:
I store them in a Ziplock bag with the bag open partially (this way they breathe and don't get too moist) and keep them in the fridge after the first day. Then, when you want to use them, take them out and set them on the counter for 15-30 minutes or until they are room temperature. This makes them more "dry" and less sticky.
As for freezing, I tried freezing and they do freeze. This time you want to close the Ziplock when storing (I only store two per bag). To thaw, let them rest on the counter until room temperature in the bag with the bag open. When they're close to room temperature, set them outside of the bag so that they can "dry" out slightly for use.
Makes 6 "Oopsie Rolls" Calories 85 each Carbs Less than 1g each (WOWee!!!)
So there you have it--the world-famous "Oopsie Rolls" (not to be confused with the high-carb copycat candy known as Tootsie Rolls). Oopsie mania is sweeping the nation now, so do you wanna see some fabulous recipes using the "Oopsie Roll" as the centerpiece? SURE YOU DO! Check these out:
Think you can come up with an "Oopsie" recipe to add to Cleochatra's collection? Post it in the comments section below and Cleo might just share your recipe with her readers at her blog in the very near future. "Oopsie" mania is running wild! AAAAAAAAAACK!!!!!
Monica Reinagel laments the dietary monopoly that exists today
In Episode 122 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore", we continue with the interview I started on Monday with nutritionist Monica Reinagel from the NutritionData web site as we discuss the low-carb lifestyle and why it is such an important aspect of living healthy despite all the low-fat messages that pervade our society. She wrote a book called The Inflammation-Free Diet Plan and keeps up with all the very latest news in diet and health for the benefit of her readers. She's definitely a friend of the work I am doing and I'm honored to have had the opportunity to interview her at my podcast show.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 122:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 122 [18:22m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
What a great change of pace Monica Reinagel is from the rigidness that you usually hear from nutritionists who think that there is only one right answer as it relates to diet--low-fat. Monica knows better and is open to listening to what the research is saying. Although she laments the inflammatory properties of saturated fat, I'm anxious to see what she thinks about the research I'll be hearing next month at that Nutrition and Metabolism symposium on the healthiness of saturated fat. The good news is she will listen and draw her own conclusions based on the studies that have been done.
Get locked in to the low-carb lifestyle anytime by:
My interview with Monica Reinagel is finished now, so what is your impression of her and what she had to say? Don't you wish we had dietitians like her all across the nation? The state of weight and health in America would certainly be a whole lot different if more nutritionists would take the Monica Reinagel approach to doing their job. Talk about it in the show notes section of Episode 122.
We've got TWO MORE interviews to share with you next week--coming up on Monday, I'll be sharing an exclusive interview with Amy B about the continuing Kimkins scam that she recently decided to speak out against. It's quite a revealing interview that you WON'T want to miss. Then on Thursday, I'll be sharing an interview with fellow health and weight loss motivator Nicki Anderson from Reality Fitness who I have blogged about a few times before. Despite working in this industry for a very long time, Nicki is realizing just how detrimental carbohydrate is to our weight and health after reading Life Without Bread and Good Calories, Bad Calories in the past year. She's a fun person to hear from and you'll get that opportunity next week. THANKS so much for listening! :)
My Wife Christine: The Perfect Example Of Why Low-Carb Isn't Just About Weight Loss
How can this beautiful face be anything but healthy?
When most people talk about the low-carb lifestyle, the subject usually centers around weight loss. And naturally so! After all, books like Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution, which totally changed my life forever for the better in 2004 when I lost a total of 180 pounds that year, are marketed as "diet" books. And bookstore shelves are absolutely LOADED with author after author touting this plan and that plan to help you lose the blubber.
But when we talk about "diet" in the full context of what that word really means, we're not just referring to weight loss. The simplest definition of a "diet" in my mind refers to "the way you eat." That's it! So, for people on any of the various low-carb diets like Atkins, Protein Power, South Beach, or The Zone, for example, the focus is on the mechanism that happens inside the body when you reduce your carbohydrate intake. And that is what produces the ever-elusive weight loss.
Yes, eating low-carb does indeed result in some rather spectacular weight loss. But the thing that amazed me more than anything about livin' la vida low-carb when I first started on it were the massive improvements in my health. I was taking prescription medications for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and breathing problems. Within nine months of my low-carb way of eating, I no longer needed those prescription drugs. And I've never taken another pill from a pharmacist since.
People e-mail me all the time wanting to know why they haven't lost weight on low-carb because the scale hasn't moved as fast as they were hoping. My response back to them is usually to remind them that at least they are losing weight and that their first and foremost priority when livin' la vida low-carb is NOT weight loss, but rather it should be their health. This is perhaps the most overlooked aspect of the low-carb life that is simply ignored by people who don't think it's necessarily something they need for their life.
Take, for example, a normal weight person. Most people would look at that individual and conclude that a low-carb diet is unnecessary for them because they're not overweight or obese and, thus, are healthy, right? Welllllll, not necessarily. And the same goes for an overweight or obese person. Just because they are carrying around a few extra pounds doesn't automatically mean they are unhealthy. Of course, the extra weight can lead to health issues in the long run, but it's not a perfect indicator of current health problems.
With that said, I wanted to share with you some rather startling results from a recent physical that my dear wife Christine had at her doctor. She started on a reduced-carb dietary approach about a year ago after her triglycerides had risen to a slightly-elevated 250. Her HDL was over 50 at the time and her LDL was over 140. Of course, the doctor was very concerned about this and wanted to put her on Lipitor, but her husband (that's me!) advised against it. That's why we tried low-carb for her.
In just a few short months, Christine dropped 35 pounds and was feeling a lot better by quitting sugary sodas and eating less carbohydrates than she was. Keep in mind that she has a much higher carb tolerance than I do. I have to keep my carbs below 50g daily or I gain weight whereas Christine can eat around 150g before weight starts to creep up on her. It's the difference in our metabolism and I'm cool with it (although watching her get away with eating more carbs is a bit frustrating...but I get over it!).
Since she got her weight back down by livin' la vida low-carb, Christine has allowed a few bad habits to creep back into her diet again--eating French fries (one of her favorite foods!) when we eat out, having breaded meats, eating sandwiches with the bun, and eating her favoritest candy in the whole widey-widey world--M&M's! Yes, old habits are hard to break, but as long as her weight was in check there wasn't a reason to panic.
Or was there.
Today we got the results of her blood work and one number stuck out like a sore thumb among all the others--HER TRIGLYCERIDES!!! While Christine's HDL rose slightly to 58 and her LDL plummeted to 94 without the use of that statin drug her doctor wanted to put her on, her triglycerides actually ROSE to 293. HOLY COW!!! Needless to say, she was quite upset by this and couldn't understand why her cholesterol improved, but her triglycerides didn't. And here's the crux of why I decided to write this blog post.
Christine is the perfect example of why low-carb isn't just about weight loss. Despite all her best efforts to reduce her sugar and carbohydrate intake from the levels she used to eat and the weight loss success she experienced as a result of doing that, her health in the form of her triglycerides did not see a benefit. Sure, her lipid profile was a positive, but what happened with her triglycerides?
Christine is looking at an anomaly of sorts. On the one hand, her cholesterol numbers are fabulous and keep her from ever having to consider the "s" word to lower them (not that she would!). But on the other hand, now her doctor wants to put her on a risky prescription drug called Lovaza to bring her triglycerides down. Christine got a big bag full of samples for her to try (HOO BOY!) and I am always curious to read the fine print about these wonder drugs.
Check out these disclaimers for Lovaza:
Before you take LOVAZA you should take these steps to control your very high triglyceride levels: modify your diet (YA THINK?!), lose weight if you are overweight, increase exercise and reduce alcohol use. Treatment with LOVAZA has not been shown to prevent heart attacks or strokes (EEEEEK! Then why would you want to take this drug in the first place?!). Burping, infection, flu-like symptoms, upset stomach, a change in your sense of taste, back pain and skin rash are LOVAZA’s most common side effects, but there are others.
Oh, is that all? Sheeez! Reading off all these potential side effects of medications designed to help improve your health is enough to make me nauseous (do they make a pill for THAT?!). As someone who has suffered with the negative side effects of statin drugs, if I can find a way to "modify" my diet to lower my triglycerides, then I will. And that's what we're gonna try with Christine instead of Lovaza.
Starting right now, she is on a strict low-carb diet. No more French fries, breaded chicken sandwiches, or M&Ms until we can get the triglycerides down (and hopefully after that, too!). It's not a weight loss thing...it's a HEALTH thing! And Christine now realizes that her lack of weight gain gave her a false sense of comfort with the way she was eating. How many others are walking around out there thinking they're okay when very clearly they are not? That's the question we should be asking about rather than what diet is good for weight loss.
Christine will go meet with a dietitian on Friday afternoon and I'll be sitting in the room with her during this conversation. We're bracing for the low-fat lecture, but I was encouraged to see on her chart that a 1600-2000 calorie diet consisting of low-glycemic foods with 35 percent fat was recommended alongside a moderate exercise routine. Considering her fasting insulin levels were also slightly elevated, this may be a plan for success. I'll be anxious to hear straight from the horse's mouth on Friday what she thinks about Christine's condition and hopefully it won't have anything to do with taking prescriptions of any kind.
We'll be meeting some of the best and brightest minds in the world of low-carb research next month in Phoenix, Arizona for a Nutrition & Metabolism symposium, so you bet we'll be asking them for their opinion about what Christine should do henceforth. But I open the floor to you my readers to share your comments about this and any personal or professional experience with what Christine is going through. I'm just surprised her cholesterol improved so much and her triglycerides did not. Any thoughts?
David "Cowboy" Griffin lost triple digits thanks to "The Biggest Loser"
1. Today we welcome David Griffin from Season 4 of one of my favorite television shows ever--NBC's weight loss reality series "The Biggest Loser." David weighed in at 368 pounds when the cameras started rolling and went on to lose a total of 140 pounds through this experience. CONGRATULATIONS David on such a remarkable achievement and I'm very proud of you for making the commitment to improve your health as it is something that will stay with you for the rest of your life. I thought it was interesting that you had never even watched "The Biggest Loser" before you became a contestant. As an obese person, did you feel the show was too personal and embarrassing since you knew you had a problem? Or did you just not care?
Even though at one time I tipped the scales at a little more than 400 pounds, I had never been much for watching television. So it had nothing to so with embarrassment or not caring--I didn't even know that the show existed.
2. So it was a nutritionist friend of yours who encouraged you to apply for the show. Some people are intimidated about how they can approach a friend or loved one about their weight problem without hurting their feelings and jeopardizing the relationship. Do you have any tips about how to go about helping someone who needs to lose weight for the sake of their health?
I encourage people to get involved with their friends or loved ones who need to lose weight. It is not always enough to just talk to them about it. Take them for a walk, go grocery shopping with them while giving them nutrition tips, or start cooking from a healthy cookbook with them. Definitely don't forget to tell them how important they are in your life and how much you would miss them if they were gone.
I remember when my daughter Michaela was 8 years old she said to me, "I wish I could hug you all the way around." I was so large at the time that she could not get her arms around me at all. That definitely was not an endearing conversation with my daughter about weight loss. But during my time away from home at The Biggest Loser Ranch when I was training three times a day, anytime I wanted to quit or not go workout I thought about what Michaela had said and used that to motivate me to get better and work harder to become healthy.
3. You were a member of The Red Team led by personal trainer Kim Lyons. What was your immediate impression of Kim both as a person and as a professional and do you feel she enabled you to reach your fullest fitness potential during your time on the "The Biggest Loser?"
I instantly liked Kim and I think she is a wonderful trainer who really prepares her team for success for when they are away from The Biggest Loser. I did really well with Kim, but it took my body a little time to program for continued weight loss. She tried numerous strategies and I just could not consistently produce big numbers every week. But the perseverance and determination that she taught me helped me continue at home with my personal trainer.
4. The "game" aspect of Season 4 was the most one-sided it had ever been in the history of the show. In a way, it was kinda disappointing to see one team dominating--The Black Team--while the others were being picked off one by one. Talk about the morale of The Red Team when you started seeing your fellow teammates going home very early. Did you think it was fair and did it motivate you to work that much harder when you got home to keep up the work you had begun on The Biggest Loser Ranch?
The game play was horrible. No offense but if you look back to the beginning of the show The Black Team got a freebie weigh-in the first week. If they would have had to weigh in with the other teams when you review what their numbers were revealed on Episode 1, then they would have been the ones going to the elimination room instead of The Red Team.
Our first elimination was easy because Amber wanted to go home. But after that it was very hard and it seemed evident at that time that Jillian Michaels (trainer for The Black Team) was very good at playing the game. She has a lot of experience and it continues to show through in her success on The Biggest Loser.
I worked very hard day in and day out to stay on campus as long as possible. Speaking of game play, it was the game play of Neil, Amy and possibly Ryan playing the water game that ultimately got me eliminated. But, hey, it's a game and they had that right to play it.
5. If you could go back and change anything about your experience on "The Biggest Loser" using the 20/20 vision of hindsight, what would you do differently?
Nothing!
6. When I lost 180 pounds in 2004, I almost immediately found this newfound sense of purpose about what my life was supposed to be. It's an empowering feeling that you yourself have no doubt felt since your incredible weight loss success. What do you plan on doing to continue inspiring and motivating others on this journey to better health? Have you considered making this your full-time occupation as so many of the past contestants on "The Biggest Loser" have?
Inspiring, supporting and educating people about weight loss and getting and staying healthy has become my new passion. I am currently the spokesperson for GET FIT Tennessee. My personal trainer Carter Hays and I are doing Boot Camp and nutrition weekends all over the country with various events and involvements. It is my purpose to help people in their journey to better health and I enjoy every minute of it.
7. You're starting to sound like me. :) As a self-described "cowboy" who no doubt works hard to keep up the family ranch as well as chasing around four kids, how did you become so obese? Walk us through a day in the life of what you do which undoubtedly includes a lot of manual labor. Have you found that routine has changed any since your weight loss success?
To answer the first part of your question, I had been heavy all of my life and just continued to make poor nutrition decisions and exercise became obsolete for me. You can do all the manual labor in the world, but if you don't exercise to get healthy, then you won't be. On any given day I can be loading or unloading hay or feed. We work a lot of horses and cattle.
I stay pretty busy all the time including a full-time job. My routine of physical labor has gotten easier for me to achieve now that I'm in shape. I have so much more energy to work and play with my kids and spend time with my wonderful wife as well.
8. Everybody would love to know what your diet looked like before you were taught how to eat better on "The Biggest Loser?" And what do you eat now to continue the progress of your weight loss as you head into lifetime maintenance?
My diet before was a life of convenience--whatever I could get quick and on the go--never fully realizing how bad the processed foods and fast foods were for my body. If it's not natural, then it definitely will not nourish your body. Now we eat very healthy 24/7. Basically healthy carbohydrates and proteins with each snack and meal bout 5 to 6 times per day, with the exception of one cheat meal per week. I'm contemplating the idea of writing a cookbook next year, so stay tuned.
9. We'll definitely have to check that out, David! Make sure a few of those meals are low-carb. ;) I'm sure your family is thrilled by your new body and that you'll be around with them for many more years to come as long as you remain committed to your weight management routine. Discuss how much your relationship with your wife and children has changed for the better because of "The Biggest Loser." Did those few months you were apart strengthen the bond?
Most people don't realize how hard that time apart from your family really is while you're on The Biggest Loser. We had virtually no contact with our families because of the rules of the show. It is difficult to change every aspect of your life and not include your wife and children in that process. Now that I have been home for awhile and we all work out and eat healthy together, we are definitely happier and stronger than ever.
10. David, it's been a pleasure having you here at the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog today to talk about your time on "The Biggest Loser" in Season 4. Again, kudos to you for accomplishing something that very few overweight or obese people are able to do--lose over 100 pounds! I'm here to help you and encourage you anytime, so don't hesitate to let me know what I can do to help you along in this permanent lifelong journey. Do you have anything you'd like to share with my readers as a final thought for them to remember?
Remember my motto: Nothing Tastes as Great as Fit Feels!
We haven't heard the last of "Biggest Loser" 4 contestant David Griffin. Catch up with all that's happening with him at his MySpace page or his newly-formed and creatively-titled DontStopDavid.com web site. He'd also love to hear from you via e-mail at DavidLGriffin@comcast.net.
It's March and you know that means--MARCH MADNESS!!! No, not those silly little basketball games on television, ya'll, but a whole buncha great stories about diet, health, and nutrition that you WON'T want to miss. So, if you've been looking for the very latest and greatest health news and information, then look no further. It's here! ENJOY!
I LOVE it when some of the main themes of what we talk about here at my blog sneak into the mainstream press every once in a while. This column by health columnist Connie Howard from last month was simply too amazing NOT to share with you. She says reducing dietary cholesterol does very little to lower cholesterol levels in the body and statin drugs aren't the answer either! YEAH!!! Finally, we've got some sanity in this world from somebody writing about health. Here are my favorite highlights of the article:
"One overlooked but key bit of information is that dietary carb intake stimulates insulin production, high levels of which alter blood profiles like nothing else does...High insulin levels required to deal with high-carb eating increase LDL cholesterol production and decrease protective HDL. Chest pain and heart attacks are more likely after a high-carb meal than after a high-fat meal—because raised insulin levels cause arterial constriction and arterial plaque formation...High insulin levels also increase homocysteine levels (a heart disease risk), and there’s a pile of research showing that low-carb eaters score significantly better on all markers of heart disease than low-fat eaters. And though a meta-analysis of the literature back in 2000 concluded that dietary saturated fat has no significant effect on heart disease mortality, low-saturated-fat diets are still routinely recommended."
You can send Connie Howard a quick note of thanks for speaking the truth about heart health by e-mailing her at health@vueweekly.com.
Dr. Walter Willett from the Harvard School of Medicine is one of America's leading voices regarding health today. Although I have my issues with some of what he believes and promotes (although he was very open to low-carb living for people needing weight loss in a recent interview), I do think he tries to follow the science wherever it leads him. His current focus is on cancer and the inevitable obesity link that is there. Admitting a low-fat diet and a high fruits and veggies diet have not been working, Dr. Willett stopped just short of recommending livin' la vida low-carb as a means for treating cancer. But we've seen some incredible studies on brain cancer, pancreatic cancer, esophageal cancer, kidney cancer, breast cancer, and prostate cancer, among others, all being improved by a reduced-carbohydrate therapy, so perhaps leaders like Dr. Willett will come around in due course. When we see studies like this from The American Journal of Gastroenterology pointing to carbohydrate as the culprit in esophageal cancer, it's VERY difficult to ignore any longer.
Just up the road from me is a town called Asheville, North Carolina and a group of four people from the local newspaper there decided to join a weight loss challenge called "Lighten Up 4 Life." In the first month of the competition, the four team members lost a combined 68 pounds--six percent of their body weight--to take the early lead. They ditched the junk food and went on a low-carb diet with moderate exercise. SWEET!!! Way to go, Team Doublewides (that's what they called themselves!). While they talked about eating "all that meat," the good thing is they are getting a taste of what this lifestyle change can do for them. KEEP IT UP!!!
Hold your gag reflex before reading this one! A group of cardiologists were asked to name their secrets to keeping their heart so healthy and you're not gonna believe some of these suggestions--take aspirin, take statin drugs (EEK!), take blood pressure meds, and get drunk (okay, they didn't say that, but they did recommend drinking a little bit of alcohol each day). But not all of it was bad either, like don't worry, take fish oil supplements, eat well, and exercise regularly. It's an interesting read, although I wouldn't do all nine of these if you PAID me. And my heart is quite healthy, thank you very much!
One of my readers pointed me to this web site DietPolicy.com and their page about livin' la vida low-carb--WOW, what an eyeopener that is! The part that really got to my reader and I totally agreed this was absolutely preposterous was this:
"For low carb diet regimens, careful meal preparation is a must and the urge to snack has to be overcome at all costs. Undertaking such an eating plan requires a considerable amount of willpower, so before choosing a low carb diet it's important to consider all the potential benefits and drawbacks to be certain you know exactly what you're getting into."
Say who what? Are these people serious? I don't carefully measure my foods now that I'm low-carbing--that's what I did when I was a low-fat dieter! NEVERMORE! I'm not constantly having the "urge to snack" because the fat and protein in the foods I eat keep me very satisfied. And willpower? It doesn't take willpower to live this lifestyle, but rather a steadfast resolve to make better choices for the sake of your health. Willpower is what you'll need as you suffer through that low-fat diet. I did it in 1999 and willed my way to a 170-pound weight loss--but gained it ALL BACK within four months because I was sick and tired of living so miserably. Like I said, NEVERMORE!!!
Contact DietPolicy.com using this online form to let them know just how wrong they are about the low-carb way of life. Share YOUR positive experiences eating this way and request they remove that idiotic quote about willpower. Are people really THIS dopey nowadays?!
You gotta love it when a study like this one comes along and flies all in the face of conventional wisdom regarding health. Published in Nutrition & Metabolism, the researchers tested the theory that consuming eggs (which I HIGHLY recommend) would cause more inflammation in the body of overweight men. But that's not what they found. On the contrary, eggs acted as an ANTI-INFLAMMATORY theorized to be due in part to the cholesterol in them increasing HDL good cholesterol while the antioxidant lutein modulates the inflammation response. One of the researchers on this study is Dr. Jeff Volek from the University of Connecticut who I will be meeting in Phoenix, Arizona next month for a symposium on saturated fat (where he'll no doubt be sharing about this published study from late last year). I hope to interview him to get more information about this and other fascinating studies he has been conducting.
The continued shockwaves that have come from the September 2007 release of Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes are being felt as the message of fat is good, carbohydrate is bad seeps its way into the arena of ideas regarding health. The more this happens, the more people will begin to understand the bill of goods they've been sold over the years. At the end of the column, Taubes said we need a large detailed study of at least a decade long on the impact of refined carbohydrates and fat on our diet and health to begin ASAP! AMEN!!! Look for renewed interest in the Taubes book this Fall when it releases in paperback for the first time.
Shhhhh, you're not supposed to tell anybody this who goes on a low-fat diet, but there's something that will almost inevitably happen for those who do--WEIGHT GAIN! Yikes!!! Why? Because long-term weight loss requires that you do things that are natural and cutting back on fat and calories is NOT. The less food you eat, especially satisfying fatty foods, and the hungrier your appetite. This leads to eating more food to try to fill those cravings, but consuming the lower-fat ones just leave you hungrier and hungrier. My low-carb supporting friend from the UK Dr. John Briffa (who I hope to interview for my podcast show VERY soon!) details this conundrum brilliantly in this column that you absolutely MUST READ!
I'm always wary of lists that purport to give you the "best" or "worst" diets because who's to say which plan is good or bad for any one person. I mean, unless you're starving yourself or consuming toxic chemicals in your body, how bad can a diet be? According to THIS list, Atkins is at the top! Here's the explanation for why it is a "ridiculous and ineffective" plan for weight loss:
"Although wildly popular, and quite effective for some people, the Atkins diet is just not sustainable for most dieters. This diet cuts out healthy foods like fruit, and adopts a limited list of foods that are often high in fat and otherwise unhealthy. Above all, this diet's extreme restriction makes it incredibly difficult for most people to stick with it."
If it's "quite effective for some people" (like me and so many of you!), then why bemoan it as a bad diet to follow. I get so tired of the redonkulous excuses that you eat too much of this and not enough of that--come on, people! Leave someone alone who wants to start livin' la vida low-carb because it's a whole heckuva lot healthier for an overweight or obese person than staying in their current situation.
Although South Beach also made this list, I don't think they were very fair to Dr. Agatston's plan either. But I couldn't help but wholeheartedly AGREE with them about #19--the Kimkins diet. This one is a genuine, full-fledged scam and I'm glad it made the list. Too bad they lumped in Atkins and South Beach with a bogus diet program like that. Oh well!
Lists aren't always so bad and this one was a perfect example. I didn't agree with a couple being "myths"--EATING SMALL and FREQUENT MEALS BOOSTS YOUR METABOLISM, PASTA MAKES YOU FAT, there were some fabulous ones pointed out, like GOING ON A DIET IS THE BEST WAY TO LOSE WEIGHT, TO LOSE WEIGHT, YOU NEED TO CUT CALORIES DRASTICALLY, and EATING FAT MAKES YOU FAT. Give this list a gaze and see what you think!
Ever since the American Diabetes Association officially approved low-carb as a viable means for weight loss for diabetics earlier this year (although we KNOW it is so much more than that for people with diabetes), the interest from diabetes advocates in livin' la vida low-carb has become much more pronounced. And I'm LOVING seeing this because it means people are talking about how carbohydrates impact blood sugar levels, insulin production, weight and health. AMAZING! Now the About.com Diabetes page guide Debra Manzella, R.N. is getting in on the action with her readers. I so much appreciated her wrap-up about the subject of carb intake when she wrote the following:
"It's generally wise to eat a lower carb diet and increase protein intake. How many carbs to eat a day? It's really an individual issue. Testing blood glucose often will give you a better handle on how many carbs you can have and still maintain good control of your blood sugar. Work with your healthcare provider, diabetes educator or nutritionist. Over time you will learn what percentage of carbs is right for you."
One of my favorite low-carb bloggers is Cleochatra--aka Jamie VanEaton--because she always comes at life from a slightly "tilted" perspective (kinda like me!) and this group of Italian recipes using cauliflower as the basis for pizza, bread sticks, and even lasagna shows just how creative she can be in the kitchen, too. Hey, don't knock it until you try it and Cleo gives you some pretty amazing instructions about how to do this up right! So grab you some cauliflower and get to cooking up some delicious low-carb Italian foods. And leave a comment at the bottom of the page to cheer her on as she has been chosen as a finalist in the YourHub.com Hit Parade contest. Click here to add to her "hit" totals! :D
"Eschew Atkins in Favor of Veggies" the headline screams followed by the equally obnoxious and nauseating subtitle "Does This Veganism Make Me Look Phat?" Oh brother, somebody gag me with a spoon before I choke! Sheeez, where do these people come from who write such garbage? Oh well, what do you do? The columnist goes on to try his best to convince people why a vegan diet is the way they should go, but I'm not so convinced. How about YOU? :)
Are you still drinking all those aspartame-sweetened diet sodas as part of your "healthy" low-carb lifestyle? You know what I think about NASTY-tame as I call it, but now Victoria Inness-Brown has dedicated an entire web site to share with you what she has learned about this worst of all the artificial sweeteners. I'm gonna warn you--if you aren't prepared to see the truth, then don't click on that link. But it's shocking what you will see there and will likely keep you away from Equal, Nutrasweet, aspartame ever again. Enter at your own risk!
You gotta love it when an article like this comes along about new research that makes all the dietary advice of the day look so foolish. This new study out of the Charleston, SC-based Medical University of South Carolina looked at the impact of psyllium fiber supplements on 162 overweight or obese study participants. They expected to see lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and all the other health improvements often touted by a high-fiber diet. NOPE! Inflammation markers remained constant for both the fiber and non-fiber groups. AMAZING! This study was published in the March/April 2008 issue of the Annals of Family Medicine.
The potato industry has tried hard to shake the negative impact that livin' la vida low-carb has had on their business over the past few years. They created a character named Spuddy, but that didn't work very well for them. So now they're back to the drawing board again with their new "Potatoes: Goodness Unearthed" campaign. I don't know what kind of "goodness" they're referring to, but there is NOTHING good about a potato if you ask me. You might as well just eat a bowl full of sugar if you're gonna eat one of these health calamities. It's a good thing that low-carb diet fad has passed so we can get back to eating potatoes again. Oh, wait a minute...that hasn't happened! OOOOPS! :)
Weight Watchers and their infamous points system...oh, I'm so glad I never did that! What a waste of time and money that would have been for me. But this page shows you how they came up with the "points" and suckered...er, I mean, convinced dieters to start counting them. I still think they miss the insulin/carbohydrate connection with this mumbo jumbo, although they finally came up with a slightly lower-carb plan when they realized how well it worked for some people. DUH! They still don't understand the low-carb lifestyle enough to help people, though.
That's more news than you can shake a stick at for now, but I'll have lots more for you real soon. As always, if you see something that you think I should know about regarding diet, health and the low-carb way of life, then please e-mail it to me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. THANKS so much!
