Some of the very best high-quality low-carb products aren't made and manufactured in the United States. Unfortunately, the big low-carb "craze" that swept across America in the early part of this decade with all their low-carb impostor products ruined the reputation of some truly great companies who made some remarkable foods for your healthy low-carb lifestyle. Meanwhile, low-carb companies are thriving with some rather amazing products overseas.
The product is called CiaoCarb Cookies and they are very low-carb, protein-packed morsels of healthy goodness that taste absolutely fabulous! I don't know if you've ever tried any other "low-carb" cookies before, but most are absolutely disgusting, fall apart and crumble when you try to hold them, and leave you wondering if you'll ever get to enjoy this sweet treat again. After trying these CiaoCarb Cookies for myself, I can tell you cookies are back and I'm hooked!
With a full 10g of protein in each cookie packaged in pairs, you can use these as a perfect pre-workout power-up snack, breakfast replacement, or anytime you want a little something healthy and delicious to eat. Best of all, the net carbs are so negligible (less than a third of a net carbohydrate in each cookie!) that it's virtually ZERO carbs!
Of course, these CiaoCarb Cookies are sugar-free which makes them PERFECT for diabetics and look and taste like a crunchy gourmet cookie you would purchase in Italy. Available in Almond, Chocolate, Coconut, Coffee, Lemon, and Orange (my personal favorite!) flavors, these cookies have just 95 calories each and are sweetened with a blend of maltitol, Splenda, and ACE-K. Although I'm not usually a fan of maltitol in low-carb products, I was pleasantly surprised that these did not bother me like some other products do. With less maltitol, there was little to no reaction. AWESOME!!!
This is very likely gonna be CarbSmart's 2008 breakout product of the year, so order your own stash of CiaoCarb Cookies today. They are available EXCLUSIVELY at CarbSmart right now, so go ahead and give them a try. You will no doubt LOVE these cookies as much as I do and CarbSmart will stand behind their quality 100%. If you don't like 'em, then CarbSmart will take care of you. But you WILL eat these up!
I'd love to hear your feedback about these innovative low-carb cookies directly from Italy, so try 'em and lemme know what you think! ENJOY! :D
Basics, basics, basics! If you don't even know the bare-bones information about the Induction phase of livin' la vida low-carb, then you can never fully experience all the wonderful benefits this way of eating can afford you. It's one of the reasons why I have been dedicated to sharing this information in my latest YouTube videos. While this doesn't replace what you can learn from Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution or Protein Power, for example, hopefully it will get you started the right way.
In Episode 40 of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube," Christine and I yet again continue what we started in Episode 38 and then in Episode 39 discussing some more of the dos and don'ts of low-carb Induction. In this episode, we discuss the beverages you can drink during Induction, what vitamins you should take during this phase, whether alcohol is permitted or not, and how much food you are supposed to eat. Whether this is brand new and old hat to you, let this be a great refresher course about low-carb Induction.
See even more dos and don'ts of low-carb Induction in today's video:
We'll be sharing some more tips and advice about low-carb Induction as well as menu planning ideas for Induction in our next YouTube video. Let us know what you'd like to see in future videos in our "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube" series by e-mailing your ideas to livinlowcarbman@charter.net. Check out our previous YouTube videos and subscribe to our YouTube feed. We are thankful for your support of our videos, so THANK YOU for watching! :D
Dr. Jim LaValle says "we are way over-medicated" as a society
Sometimes I feel like there are two parallel universes going on simultaneously. The first one is full of traditionally-trained doctors who feel like the best first answer to any health problem is a prescription drug. The second one is full of naturopathic physicians who embrace the nutritional therapies for dealing with just about any concern about health. Both exist, but can both be the very best method for treating disease?
In Episode 142 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore," we speak with Dr. Jim LaValle who is a pharmacist, nutritionist, and natural medicine doctor who chooses to treat his patients through dietary changes that involve a low-carb lifestyle change (not a diet, as you will hear him repeat over and over again). What a refreshing voice of sanity in an increasingly insane world! You're gonna get excited about livin' la vida low-carb anew as you listen to Dr. LaValle in today's podcast.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 142:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 142 [34:10m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
He started the Cincinnati, OH-based LaValle Metabolic Institute to give people with obesity, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, heart disease, and worse the hope they have been looking for that better days are ahead for them. He employs several physicians, dietitians "that are well-versed in low-carb," acupuncturists, and more who are ready to help people restore their health back to where it needs to be. When you visit the web site, be sure to sign up for Dr. LaValle's new Metabolic Minute newsletter.
If you want to learn more about Dr. Jim LaValle and his health philosophy, then you'll want to pick up a copy of his book Cracking The Metabolic Code. And be looking for several new books coming from him later this year and in 2009. What a wealth of information Dr. LaValle is as he seeks to promote healthy low-carb living with his patients from all around the world.
Get access to real experts like Dr. Jim LaValle anytime by:
What did you think about Dr. Jim LaValle in today's podcast? Share your thoughts in the show notes section of Episode 142. Leave us feedback by calling our comment line at (206) 202-6516 and tell us your response to this interview.
The tremendous low-carb interviews will continue in the month of June with our regular Monday/Thursday shows as well as a special weeklong event of daily interviews coming up in a couple of weeks on "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." Your comments about my interviews lately have been greatly appreciate and I encourage you to keep sharing your response to the interviews by e-mailing me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.
What Exactly Is Happening With My Bewildering Blood Sugar Levels
Ever since I blogged about my recent struggle to lose 30 pounds that have refused to budge since I put them on in the first couple of months of my resistance training which began in December 2007, the comments, e-mails, and overall good wishes that so many of you have shared with me have come pouring in and I sincerely appreciate everyone's advice and positive reinforcement for me through this frustrating time. I realize I am not alone in this and that is what drives me to want to get to the bottom of the issue to help others who have a similar predicament.
While there are likely several issues going on right now that might be the culprit in my case, I kinda stumbled onto something accidentally yesterday that was quite odd to say the least. For perhaps the first time in the more than four years I've been livin' la vida low-carb, I may have figured out something that has happened to my body somewhere along the way that goes against everything you've ever heard about the physiological mechanism of blood sugars. This totally freaked me out because I've never experienced anything like this before.
Out of pure curiosity, I decided to go to my local Walgreen's and purchase a blood glucose monitor on Tuesday along with all the lancets and testing strips to check my blood sugar levels. I couldn't believe the monitor was like $15, but the test strips cost $55 for a box of 50! WOW, paying over a dollar a pop for a tiny little test strip was a bit pricey, but Christine and I have considered buying this thing for a long time just to see where we are with our blood sugars.
No, we're not diabetic or even pre-diabetic and don't really NEED to check this, but I was just very, very interested in seeing something for myself--what happens to my blood sugar AFTER I eat? We've all talked about one of the major benefits of livin' la vida low-carb is stabilized blood sugars and keeping it from spiking so high after a meal. It makes sense, we believe it is true, now let's see. And so I did.
After a full night of fasting, I attempted to test my blood sugar levels yesterday morning. I say "attempted" because I had trouble using the lancet to provide me with enough blood for the testing strips. After reading the instructions about poking yourself in the forearm since it's not supposed to hurt as much there, I cocked that baby back on the "3" setting and let 'er rip! OUCH! Shoot, they didn't say it was gonna be like a shotgun coming out with that little pointy needle! That bad boy left a pretty big bruise on me today:
Then, when I attempted to put the blood into the test strip for my reading, apparently there wasn't enough blood for the test and the monitor shut off automatically. AAAACCK! I turned it back on again and the stupid thing showed "Er3" which I assumed was some sort of error message. Dangit, that mistake cost me over a buck and I pulled out another expensive test strip to try again.
After trying to produce blood (out of a turnip!) from my forearm three more times with no success, I reluctantly went to my fingers. UGH! I type with these things all day long, so the thought of pricking the tips of my fingers was not very delightful at all. I have SO much respect for diabetics who do this EVERY SINGLE DAY! Oh my gosh, more power to ya and I bow down in your honor. I used my index finger the first time and it produced a painful, yet productive flow of a drop of blood for the monitor this time around. On subsequent readings, I alternated to my ring finger, a few times on my thumb (more bruises!) until finally figuring out the side of my middle finger works the most pain-free of them all. I feel like I'm gonna leak if I drink something with all these holes in my fingers! :)
Okay, so I finally get my first reading after a full 15 hours of fasting--107 mg/dL. It seemed a little high after no food for such a long period of time, but I was pleased with it being well within "normal" range. I took my fish oil supplements and vitamins prior to this test, so I'm wondering if they might have impacted my blood sugars a bit. Even still, I wasn't at all concerned about my reading. It was right where it needed to be.
So Christine and I decided to eat a pretty large meal for lunch which you can see at my menus blog for May 27, 2008. Although it was a low-carb meal, there was still plenty of carbs from spinach, eggs, Ranch dressing, dried cranberries, cheese, mashed cauliflower, and the protein that gets synthesized into carbs in the body (remember gluconeogenesis?). So you would expect that my blood sugar would go up even slightly, right?
Well, not exactly.
When I tested my blood one hour after this meal, I was in for a BIG SHOCK! Hold on to your hats with this people, but it literally stunned me--my blood sugar levels DROPPED 26 points down to 81 AFTER my meal. What the? How did? Is it possible? HUH?!?! Now, wait a minute. I thought your blood sugar was supposed to go UP after eating a meal? I ate all these carbs, so wouldn't my blood sugar go up under normal circumstances? Strange, huh?
Oh, but it gets even better. Three hours after eating, I decided to check my blood sugars again (man, my fingers REALLY hurt with all this testing!) and it had risen back up to 94 again, but still well below my fasting blood glucose of 107. Although it was on the rise again, my blood sugar was still kinda low and made me hesitant about eating something else lest it drops again. I know it sounds funny to say that, but what else am I to think about this bewildering blood sugar predicament?
You'll see from my menus blog yesterday that I ate a slice of homemade key lime cheesecake in the afternoon followed by a Stallone chocolate protein pudding prior to my Tuesday night volleyball games at church. This fueled me up for the 150-minute cardio workout I received and kept me satiated throughout all my games. When I got home, I was curious to see where my blood sugars were three hours after the last time I ate (the protein pudding). The readout? I was at 91. Weird doesn't even begin to describe this.
I have to tell you during my lunch meal on Tuesday, I experienced a rather excruciating splitting headache from temple to temple across my forehead. I don't usually get headaches, but this one was a doozy. I took three Aleve when I got home and it went away within an hour, but I can't help but think it may have something to do with my blood sugar DROPPING while I was eating my meal. Counterintuitive? You bet it is!
Yes, I realize my blood sugar numbers are fabulous and that people with very serious hypoglycemia have their blood sugars drop dangerously below 60 with all kinds of negative side effects, including headaches, the shakes, sweating, numbness in the extremities, thirst, hunger, heart palpitations, and worse. I would NEVER want to have to go through that myself and I know many of you have.
But does your blood sugar ever go DOWN after eating? Everything I've ever heard and read about blood sugars is that they go UP following a meal and then come back down again over the next few hours. In fact, that's exactly what Christine's did when we measured her blood sugars at the same time as mine. She started at 83 after a full night of fasting and then hers jumped up to 127 one hour after eating lunch before falling again down below 100 a few hours later. That's a normal blood sugar response. So what the heck happened to mine then?
Being the ever-inquisitive investigative reporter-type that I am, I couldn't resist the chance to experiment today and you're gonna think I've lost my marbles when you hear what I did. Because of the way my blood sugars responded to that low-carb meal for lunch yesterday, I wondered what would happen if I consumed an especially high-carb meal today for lunch. Some of you suggested I hearken back to my controversial "planned splurge" idea again to see if that will get the scale moving downward again, and so I did--I went to Pizza Inn and had their buffet!
It was weird going to a pizza place for the first time in about three years (the last time was my infamous 30 slices of pizza splurge when I was visiting my dad in Tennessee) and I was preparing to hate it. Actually, it wasn't too bad. I was hungry, the food was pretty tasty, and I ended up eating about 15 slices in all. I fully expected my body to react to all these carbs (which undoubtedly numbered well over 300 grams!) by being lethargic, bloated, and miserable. And I also predicted my blood sugar would JUMP way up.
Before we headed off for the pizza feast, I tested my fasting blood sugar this morning and it was 91 (lower than yesterday's reading of 107, but I didn't take my vitamins and fish oil prior to today's measurement). Would eating a very high-carb meal make any difference at all in the way my blood sugars react to it today? I wanted to know and see it with my own eyes.
I ate and ate slices of garlic cheese pizza, pepperoni pizza, bacon cheeseburger pizza, sausage pizza, and even chocolate chip pizza. I ain't gonna lie, it was good! But I wouldn't want to eat like that everyday. As has happened in the past when I ate a bunch of carbs, I usually feel miserable the rest of the day regretting my transgressions. That's what I was expecting today along with a spike in my blood sugars. Did it happen?
The answer is no to both. I feel great right now over five hours after eating all that pizza and interestingly my weight is only a couple of pounds up from what it was this morning when I weighed. That's curious since my weight has been known to fluctuate as much as 8-12 pounds after a big meal like that. But even more remarkable is what happened with my blood sugar just one hour after eating all those starchy and sugary pizza slices. I should have expected this.
My reading was 90--that's right, my blood sugar dropped a point from my fasting level one hour after my meal. I had to see my two-hour reading and it FINALLY rose above my fasting level to 100 and then my three-hour reading started coming down again to 98. What's going on here? Am I producing excessive insulin which is keeping my blood sugars very low even after a meal? Is this what they call "reactive hypoglycemia" at work here? If so, how did I get it and what can I do to overcome it?
Thankfully I have a whole host of low-carb experts at my disposal to discuss this phenomena and I suspect a lot more of us low-carbers are dealing with this issue than we would like to admit. Is this part and parcel of eating this way over the long-term and is there anything necessarily wrong with this happening? What can we do to counteract it if it is something that needs to be addressed?
In the meantime, I'm finished eating pizza for a LONG time and back to the healthy low-carb lifestyle again. If all of this doesn't have at least SOMETHING to do with my recent inability to get rid of those 30 pounds I've put on since beginning weight training, then I don't know what else is happening. It seems too coincidentally odd that all this is happening simultaneous to the weight gain, so I'm pursuing this further with my doctor to see if it will shed some light on my situation.
You'll be the first to know when I hear ANYTHING about this, so THANK YOU again for all of your encouragement, advice, and support through this. I appreciate the friendships I have seen in action over the past few months as you all remind me of the great community we have surrounding the low-carb lifestyle. We're just real people living our lives and trying to figure out what works best for weight and health management. We KNOW it's livin' la vida low-carb which is why we LOVE it! :)
Please feel free to share your thoughts and experiences about these blood sugar fluctuations. I'm sure I'm not the only one who has seen this happening while following a low-carb nutritional approach. Thoughts anyone?
5-28-08 UPDATE: I just took another measurement of my blood sugar six hours after my meal (no, I'm still not hungry after all those pizza slices!) and it was 90--back to my fasting baseline again. Hmmmmm...
A "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog reader will win this bike
It's contest time again everyone and this prize is PERFECT for anyone who is living healthy and enjoys the outdoors. You can win an ultra-chic, way-cool, radical-ride known as the Fuji Crosstown 2.0 Bike from our friends at Lipton Teas in promotion of their "Free Your Y" campaign on behalf of their new line of white teas.
Apparently, the new Lipton White Teas come from "young" (that's the "Y" they are referring to) tea buds to give them their amazing youthful flavor and this is the basis for developing "Free Your Y." Whether you are young, feel young, or wanna feel young again, Lipton is celebrating the things people to do recapture the essence of what it means to be youthful, energetic, and full of promise. It's a nice concept to think about, especially for those of us whose lives have been radically changed for the better through livin' la vida low-carb!
Okay, enough about the slogan, you wanna know how you can get your grubby hands on that bike, right? YEPPERS! It's pretty simple. Go to the LiptonFreeYourY YouTube page and click on the "Vote Now" button to see the entries that people submitted to the contest. Here's a brief video talking about voting in this contest with some sample videos of what people entered:
Your vote will determine who wins the $25,000 grand prize as well as two runner-up $5,000 winners. But you only have until Friday, May 30, 2008 to enter and the winner will be announced on Monday, June 2, 2008. GOOD LUCK to all the entries!
But what about the bike, Jimmy?! I hear ya, I hear ya...to win this snazzy bike for yourself (man, I'd love one!), all you need to do is vote for your favorite video and then leave a comment (no anonymous submissions permitted) at this blog post stating who you voted for and why. Since the voting at the "Free Your Y" contest ends on Friday, so will this bike contest at 11:59PM EST--SO DON'T DELAY!
The winner will be chosen at random among all the entries and he or she will have delivered to their home a Fuji Crosstown 2.0 bike, 5 coupons for a free 1.5 Liter Bottle of Lipton White Iced Tea, and a $75 check to offset the expenses for a professional bike assembly. WOO HOO!!! The Pepsi/Lipton Partnership will provide a check for $75.00 to be used for professional assembly of all Lipton Fuji bicycles awarded. Neither Pepsi Co. nor Unilever is liable for any injuries, damages or accidents that may result from the receipt, assembly or use of this bicycle.
So are you ready to "Free Your Y" and vote for favorite video submission in the Lipton contest? Then head on over to YouTube, place your vote, come back here and tell us who you voted for and why, and then wait expectantly for your name to be announced the BIG WINNER! GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!!!
Today is Memorial Day, the annual day on the calendar when we honor the men and women who sacrificed their lives to uphold the values and freedoms that personify the very essence of the United States of America. May we never forget the selflessness of our founding forefathers and those who have defending the American way on foreign battlefields so that we can enjoy the freedoms we have today. They are the ones who give us the opportunity to talk so openly about livin' la vida low-carb without fear of being censored and silenced (although I'm sure there are a few who wished we'd just go away--NOT HAPPENING!).
I'm getting so backed up with quality low-carb news that it necessitates a rather large low-carb diet dispatch full of some truly amazing information today. As you enjoy your Memorial Day festivities, take some time to get updated on all that's happening with livin' la vida low-carb as we enter the summer months of 2008. ENJOY!
It's not unusual to see the healthy Atkins low-carb diet referred to as a "fad" diet, but this column actually details the criteria for what they mean by that. This was no doubt written by a duh-duh-duh-dietitian. Check these qualifications for a "fad" diet out and see if you agree:
- Recommendations that promise a quick fix - Claims that sound too good to be true - Simplistic conclusions drawn from a complex study - Recommendations based on a single study - Dramatic statements that are refuted by reputable scientific organizations - Lists of “good” and “bad” foods - Recommendations made to help sell a product - Recommendations based on studies published without peer review - Recommendations from studies that ignore differences among individuals or groups - One or more of the five food groups eliminated
My response? Nobody claims the Atkins low-carb diet is a "quick fix," is an incredible diet that lets you eat delicious foods but not "too good to be true," is not based on making "simplistic conclusions" but rather solid diversified peer-reviewed scientific evidence and the experience of those who follow it, does not qualify foods but explains why you want to choose some foods over others, is not tied to any specific "products," and most definitely does not "eliminate" any foods. So, I suppose using this criteria as our guide, livin' la vida low-carb is decidedly NOT a "fad" diet. THANKS for clearing that up for us!
We always hear from those so-called health "experts" about the supposed lack of long-term evidence for health benefits of the low-carb lifestyle. This column actually points the finger at the high-carb, low-fat diets, too, which is good, but they neglect to give any credence to the long-term low-carb research that already exists. Have you seen this 20-year heart health study with low-carb? Conversely, we are VERY aware of the dismal failure of the low-fat lie. Plus, I don't need a "long-term study" to tell me what has worked for me and thousands upon thousands who come here every single day. That's all the proof I'll ever need!
A few weeks ago, Christine and I were excited to join the Triangle Low-Carb Cooking Meetup group in Cary, NC and it was a fabulous time with so many enthusiastic low-carbers in that area. Now they are ready to start meeting regularly again like when I blogged about the group last Fall. Join this Meetup at the Golden Corral on Roxboro Street in Durham, NC on Sunday, June 8, 2008 at 6:00PM EST. If you make it out to the meeting, be sure to tell Jen and the gang HEY for me. :D
Have you seen this EatSmart scale yet? I haven't seen anything quite like it and it gives you all the nutritional facts on any food you want to know more about. Just enter a code for the food you want to weigh, place the food on the glass-top platform, and voila! You get the portion size, calories, carbs, etc. for the food. The digital readout is perfect for people who like to cook a lot or just want to have accurate information about the food you are consuming. Give it a try for yourself and see.
After introducing you to DiabetesNewsStand.com last month by featuring this video featuring Dr. Mary C. Vernon, now they have another video available with Dr. Alan Einstein, D.O. as he describes metabolic syndrome and how a low-carb lifestyle can help cure it. You're gonna LOVE this!!!
When I talk about my low-carb weight loss success that happened in 2004, one thing I ALWAYS try to do is give credence to and acknowledgment of God's role in making this happen. Like the person in this "Chicken Soup For The Soul" article, I too found great strength that went beyond anything I could have done to overcome my morbid obesity. Greater is He that is in me than anything this world could ever offer and that includes your weight loss efforts. Trust the Lord to guide you, give you the power to overcome your addictions, and win this battle of the bulge! May God bless you in your own efforts like He did for me.
Gee, what a surprise--a high-protein, low-glycemic diet is the preferred way of eating to help you keep the weight off once it has been lost. This flies in the face of those who constantly tell us that you need to eat a low-calorie/low-fat diet over the long-term to keep the weight off for good. WRONG! A recent podcast interviewee Dr. Yoni Freedhoff explained that eating protein at every meal keeps the hunger away so you end up eating less calories than you would if you loaded up on carbs. It makes perfectly logical sense and I'm glad to see this study as well confirming what we already know.
One year ago, I blogged about The Coca-Cola Company teaming up with Cargill to bring the plant-based stevia to the market and get FDA-approval of their version as a sweetener. This new web site explains how rebiana is somewhat different than stevia because it is the sweetest and best-tasting part of the stevia leaf. This is what they are making TRUVIA, the name brand for this new sweetener, out of and expect to have on the market by the end of the year in packets. Coke will be working on a variety of beverage products for 2009 while Cargill will be working on various food products. I'm working on doing a podcast interview with a representative from either Cargill or Coke to talk about these developments! Developing...
We all LOVE our low-carb recipes and our friends at dLife have created this new recipe finder that allows you to search through thousands of delicious recipes that are perfect for people with diabetes or following a controlled-carbohydrate nutritional approach. There are categories depending on what level of carbohydrate restriction you are in: Carb Safe (≤ 30g), Low Carb (≤ 15g), and Very Low Carb (≤ 3g). Spruce up your low-carb cooking with these incredible recipes!
Another recent podcast interviewee Monica Reinagel has an excellent blog post about being careful about anything that claims to be "low-carb." My motto is ALWAYS to be skeptical about the carb count of anything until you can check it out for yourself. Monica's web site has this amazing tool for doing a nutrient search on virtually any food you can think of.
I got an exciting e-mail from a low-carb blogging buddy named Muata from the "Mr. Low Body Fat" blog today who told me CNN contacted him last week about doing a story on his incredible triple-digit low-carb weight loss success. WOO HOO! They taped him training on Friday and will air the segment for their "Fit Nation" show coming up at 8:30AM EST on this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. CONGRATULATIONS Muata! You are an amazing ambassador for this remarkable way of eating. YOU GO BOY!!!
One of my readers shared the following story with me about the restaurant chain Cracker Barrel and their amazing low-carb menu:
"I was recently in a Cracker Ballet restaurant in South Carolina, your neck of the woods, we were vacationing on Tybee Island. On the trip home we stopped in a Cracker Barrel. I noticed that the menu had changed. There was no low carb section! This is why I stop at Cracker Barrel. I asked the waitress why? She said oh we changed it because nobody ate the low carb stuff anyway. I said what!?
I later talked to the manager and she said that the low carb menu was definitely coming back because they had received a lot of complaints. Great! This particular store was a test site for the new menu. I love the Cracker Barrel menu. It is the only restaurant I know that offers a great Low Carb Section.
This is proof positive of the power of the people to impact change. Cracker Barrel is one of the few restaurant chains still catering to people on the low-carb lifestyle. KUDOS to them for recognizing that livin' la vida low-carb is here to stay for many of us. THANK YOU Cracker Barrel!
The self-publishing company I used to print my debut book Livin' La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey From Flabby Fat To Sensationally Skinny In One Year is BookLocker.com and the owner Angela Hoy has filed a class action lawsuit against Amazon.com because of some rather unscrupulous practices they are engaged in to corner the publishing the market all for themselves. Amazon is picking off print-on-demand (POD) publishers one-by-one by forbidding anyone from being able to order books from any POD except for their own (BookSurge). In other words, they are monopolizing the book market and Booklocker doesn't think this is fair. This will be interesting to watch because it could impact how books are sold in the future. That's why I am encouraging people to get my book directly from Booklocker where you can get it in paperback or as an e-book download. :D
That's about it for now, so you're updated on just about everything you need to know about the low-carb lifestyle for now. We'll keep researching and investigating all the latest happenings in the wonderful world of low-carb living for you so you'll never miss a beat. THANK YOU for reading and feel free to send me anything you see about low-carb that I might be interested in by e-mailing me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.
Dr. Julie Kahn tells us about the unique role of diet in fertility
One of the most precious miracles that we are able to witness and experience in our lives is the creation and development of a baby boy or girl inside of a mother's womb. Procreating is arguably the most amazing thing human beings are able to do, but how often do we take it for granted? Are there things we can do even before conception that will enable us to give that soon-to-be baby the best chance at being healthy?
In Episode 141 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore," we get the answers to those questions and more from a bona fide expert in the field named Dr. Julie Kahn from The Institute for Progressive Medicine. She is a naturopathic physician with specialization in infertility, gynecology, nutrition, functional endocrinology, bio-identical hormone replacement therapy, environmental medicine, and cranialsacral therapy. In other words, she's MORE THAN QUALIFIED to speak about the indelible connection between diet and fertility and we're pleased to offer this interview with her on my podcast today.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 141:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 141 [30:07m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
Dr. Kahn hit on quite a few topics in this podcast, including what meats are best for fertility, which kinds of carbs are worst for fertility, what is the impact of soy for both men and women while trying to conceive, are supplements required when eating the recommended fertility diet, and ways you can avoid harmful chemicals around the house to eliminate the toxins the can cause problems when attempting to conceive. Considering all that Christine and I went through trying to get pregnant via in-vitro fertilization in December 2007, we thought it would be nice to interview an expert in this field to help other hopeful parents put themselves in the best position possible to start their own family.
I was especially impressed with Dr. Kahn's preference for natural ways to improve your chances for a healthy pregnancy. Too often doctors overlook how important a solid healthy diet and a toxic-free environment is for people wanting to have a baby. She provides practical ways to make your diet better and improving the way you live your life in the day-to-day so you can put your best foot forward in your efforts to conceive. If you or someone you know is trying to have a little one, then you need to listen to this podcast interview with Dr. Julie Kahn! :)
Hear directly from experts like Dr. Julie Kahn anytime by:
What are your thoughts about preconception healthcare as described by Dr. Kahn in my interview with her? Do you buy into the notion that it is necessary to begin changing your diet and lifestyle long before conception? Talk about this issue in the show notes section of Episode 141. What are your experiences in this area? Leave us feedback by calling our comment line at (206) 202-6516.
Coming up on Thursday, we will be sharing my interview with Cracking The Metabolic Code author Dr. Jim LaValle. This low-carb doctor is changing the lives of real people suffering from all sorts of health problems simply by getting them to examine the quality of the food they are putting in their mouth. It will be a fascinating discussion as we continue my interview series on "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." THANK YOU for listening!
One of the most beautiful developments I have personally witnessed over the past couple of years or so are the ever-increasing prevalence of low-carb blogs on the Internet. Oh my gosh, I had no idea there were this many people willing to share their thoughts, express their opinions, and provide their own personal experiences in the wonderful world of livin' la vida low-carb! It's great to see and I'm happy to do my part to spread the good word about these amazing new blogs.
If you're a little bored and have some time to kill, then you'll never believe all the literally HUNDREDS of new low-carb blogs that have come out lately. Don't believe me? Then hold on to your hats for one wild and crazy low-carb blog rollercoaster ride by clicking here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here, here, here and here. And if you like all of those, then you're gonna LOVE these.
Here are the hot, hip, good time, rock 'n roll low-carb blogs leaving their mark in the blogosphere for all the world to see:
You gotta love Casey! She's one super-excited, well-educated low-carber who shares quite extensively about her experiences on low-carb at her blog. Her infectious passion will rub off on you...in a GOOD way! Love that gal! :)
Jenn Baker is a work in progress as it relates to weight loss. She is going to school to be a nurse and strongly believes in the healthy low-carb lifestyle as the means by which she gets there. WOO HOO! You keep learning and sharing, Jenn!
The Bionic Broad is a 50-something woman from Southern California who has shed 65 pounds on a combined LAP-BAND and low-carb lifestyle. Now she is telling everyone she can about the lessons she has learned. And she's even cuter than Paris Hilton (at least that's what she says!).
The Vitamin Tutor is a wealth of information about natural solutions to some of the most preventable health problems that we face (and generally treat with prescription drugs!).
Michelle is a Michigan mom who understands low-carb isn't just a diet, it's a permanent and healthy lifestyle change. Her blog allows you to follow her progress as she has shed 70 pounds on this way of eating. YOU GO GIRL!!!
If you're a Christian and trying to lose weight while regaining your health, then this is the blog for you. Get all sorts of support, tips, encouragement, and Biblical edification as you seek to shed the pounds.
I love the attitude of SassyChik who runs this blog because she "stopped reflecting on my past and have instead decided to focus on the 'reflection' I hope to see in the future." What a mature way to think about your low-carb lifestyle and I have no doubt she's gonna be the success she deserves to be. Follow her low-carb journey!
A follower of Dr. Richard Bernstein's low-carb diet plan for controlling diabetes, Star has a blog for her favorite low-carb recipes as well as another blog that lets you track her progress controlling her disease.
The lovable little fuzz ball Barry Hughes is a low-carb buddy with big hopes and dreams about weight loss nirvana--losing 200 pounds over the next year. It's not impossible and I admire his determination to make this happen with the healthy low-carb lifestyle. YOU CAN DO IT, Barry! Go get 'em tiger!
She's searching her way through the low-carb plans to find out which one will work for her. But this ain't just "another fat chic" without a purpose...she's dead-set on finding that plan that will work for her and then doing it for the rest of her life. GO FOR IT!!!
In November 2007, Leslie was a 23-year old woman weighing in at 267 pounds and said she's "sick and tired of being fat." So what did she do? She started livin' la vida low-carb, baby, and has lost 43 pounds to date. YEAH!!! This is one low-carb weight loss success I can't wait to see happen. NEVER GIVE UP, Leslie!!!
Maya is one truly amazing woman and I am happy to have her as a regular reader of my blog, listener of my podcast, and viewer of my YouTube videos. And she has quite a bit to say about low-carb living at her own blog.
James is a Costa Rican who decided to take his amazing weight loss story and combine it with his entrepreneurial experience to make a living in the diet and health industry. I can admire anyone who takes risks like this in pursuit of their dreams.
Christina is a young lady on a mission to tell the world about the wonderfully healthy Atkins low-carb nutritional approach. She realizes this is a lifestyle change and not some fly-by-night "fad" diet. You can learn a lot about low-carb from this very wise chick! :)
GymRat does Atkins and has a knack for making you feel good about doing low-carb, too. Be inspired and encouraged in your own journey to better health.
Here's a lady who was pushing 300 pounds and lost over 170 pounds! What an amazing story she is and now she's "maintaining the loser mentality" to keep it off. WAY TO GO!
Have a holly jollyblogger! Okay, sorry, couldn't resist. :) This is one joyous blogger who writes about a lot of life stuff, but also hits low-carb every now and then, too.
Although he's not necessarily livin' la vida low-carb, this nearly 400-pounder is working his way down the scale with what he believes will work for him. I admire his tenacity because he reminds me of myself just four years ago. Go get 'em Strick!
A very new Atkins dieter starting up this week, you gotta root for this person who is "wishin', hopin', and dreamin'" for weight loss and improved health. I have all the confidence in the world that wishes, hopes, and dreams will come true.
I like what Stargazey says about this low-carb blog: "Low carb works if you're male or female, young or old, short or tall, rich or poor, morbidly obese or maintaining a normal weight. I don't want this blog to focus on me. I want it to focus on you and how the low carb way of life can work for you in your journey to good health!" I couldn't have said it better myself!
That's all the blogs I have for you at this time. As you know, I like sharing about the new low-carb blogs that keep coming out, so feel free to share any you see with me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. I'll be providing another great list of low-carb blogs soon. And see a full listing of low-carb blogs and web sites at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Links" blog.
Understanding the basics of low-carb Induction is essential to your success on a carbohydrate-controlled diet. This minimum two-week period where you are transforming your body from a futile carb-burning pariah into a supercharged fat-burning powerhouse is arguably the most important facet of your entire low-carb lifestyle. If you can figure out Induction and do it well, then there's no reason at all why you can't be success livin' la vida low-carb for life!
In Episode 39 of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube," Christine and I continue what we started in our previous video discussing the Induction phase of low-carb living. Getting down these basic dos and don'ts of low-carb are essential to your eventual progress in both weight loss and improved health. Today's video is merely Part 1 of a series of upcoming videos we will be conducting on this subject. If you get this, then YOU GOT IT! And when you truly "get it," there's no stopping you! :D
See some of the dos and don'ts of low-carb Induction in today's video:
This video shares some excellent low-carb Induction snack ideas to complement your low-carb meals, explains what the most important macronutrient to restrict is, shows you which fats and oils are preferred, details how to make a great low-carb salad, and reveals which sweeteners are best when you are livin' la vida low-carb. You should reference these videos about Induction over and over again whenever you need a quick refresher course. Coming up in our next video, we'll talk about what you can drink, vitamins, fish oil supplements, alcohol, and SO MUCH MORE!
Watch all of our previous YouTube videos and be sure to join the ever-increasing group of subscribers so you'll never miss the new episodes of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube" when we upload them. E-mail us what's on your mind anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net and be sure to tell everyone you know about our videos. We love making them, so share 'em with others! :D
Last week I had a contest on my podcast show where I asked people to share their real life stories of how livin' la vida low-carb has changed their lives. Three winners were chosen at random--Justin Wallraven, Maya, and Steve Whitley--for a complimentary copy of the DVD of the documentary My Big Fat Diet. CONGRATULATIONS to the winners! :)
The responses were so amazingly encouraging and uplifting that I just had to share them with the readers at my blog. Special thanks to each of the men and women who so openly shared and GREAT JOB on your success. Keep it up!
Justin Wallraven wrote:
Low carb has changed my life.
I’ve struggled with weight (and been on some form of diet) for as long as I can remember. For a long time, I assumed it was my own self-discipline that caused me to remain overweight. All that changed when my wife and I began seriously talking about having a baby. Not wanting to be the “fat dad,” I threw myself into what was “everyone knows” is the healthiest weight loss program. Weight watchers. I counted every point and never cheated. I lost about 12 pounds the first month but then my weight lost stalled.
I thought, “No problem. I’ll exercise.” I threw myself into an intense exercise program. I worked an hour and a half a day, 5 days a week. Exercise helped me lose about 4 more pounds…then the scale stopped moving downward for me permanently.
For 4 more months, I counted every WW “point” and exercised religiously. Despite my effort and dedication, I was horrified to find that not only was I NOT losing weight, I began to GAIN weight! Weight watchers was making me fatter! When I got back within about 5 pounds of my starting weight (despite my religious dedication to the diet and exercise program), I quit Weight Watchers.
I was incredible frustrated, but at least I now knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it wasn’t my level of dedication that was keeping me over weight. The dedication was there. I just had bad information. That’s when I began reading about low carb.
Weight loss—for me—has always felt like an uphill battle. The analogy I like to use to describe it is pushing a rock up a steep hill. It’s a tremendous amount of work, and I know that if I slip up even once, the rock is going to roll right back over me, and I’ll be right back where I started (or worse.) Even if I could somehow find a way to lose weight, I knew that I would find it impossible to keep the weight off. It was just too hard.
Eating a high fat/low carb diet completely changed that. Losing weight still isn’t easy for me. I still have a few more pounds to lose, and I have to watch my carbs, portions and exercise (The trifecta!) in order to LOSE pounds, but now it’s possible when it wasn’t before!
However, the magic of a high fat diet—at least for me—is in the maintenance. I’ve lost over 55 pounds, and I find maintaining the loss to be effortless. I don’t even think about it.
I have found that when I keep my carbs low, I am unable to gain weight no matter how much food I eat, and remember, I’m the kind of guy who can LOOK at a donut and gain weight. Being able to eat as much as I want without gaining weight is a completely foreign concept!
For me, THIS is the miracle of a low carb/high fat diet and it has changed my life.
Dan (aka Renegadediabetic) wrote:
Low carb has also changed my life. I have always struggled with my weight and tried to follow the low fat dogma for close to 20 years. I always suffered from insatiable cravings, which drove me to overat. I would pig out on “health, complex” carbs with plenty of fiber, but they failed to satisfy me. I was just on a weight roller coaster and eventually ballooned up to 350+ lbs. I became so frustrated that I just gave up on trying to lose weight. I thought it was impossible.
Then I got my wake-up call after being diagnose with type 2 diabetes. I had to do something. In diabetes education, they told me to eat low fat, high “complex” carb. However, it soon dawned on me that they were telling me to do the same thing I had been doing before, which had failed me big time.
Insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting different results. I had to end the insanity and tried low carb. I was shocked to see that I was getting about 70% of my calories from fat, but I quickly got used to the idea. Fat is yummy and much more satisfying than carbs. Even though I now give myself permission to eat as much as I want, I find I don’t want as much and don’t eat as much. There are still some “mindless eating” situations, but I find it much easier to deal with them now that the cravings ar gone.
The results are that I’ve lost over 110 lbs to date. More importantly, my blood sugar has improved greatly and I have been able to get off some of my meds. I have adopted low carb, high fat as a permanent lifestyle and will never go back to my former way of eating (or my former weight for that matter.)
Amy Dungan wrote:
Low-carb has been my saving grace. Before starting my low-carb lifestyle I was an overweight, lethargic, depressed stay-at-home Mom who felt completely useless, hopeless and defeated. Keeping up with my two young children was a monumental task. I saw no hope for change. After being diagnosed with Fibromyalgia, someone recommended I try a no-sugar diet. I started researching sugar-free diets and naturally it led me into low-carb diets. I was skeptical, but bought Dr. Atkins book and read it cover to cover. I was amazed. I felt like this might just be the answer I’d been looking for.
Since that day I’ve learned a tremendous amount about health and the benefits of low-carb dieting. I’ve lost weight, improved my health, and regained my life! My energy levels are high and my FMS pain is non-existent. Besides weight, I’ve lost Acid Reflux, IBS, joint pain, and my depression is under control WITHOUT medication. I enjoy living again!
I’ve learned a lot about myself as well. My emotional and mental state has improved beyond what I could have ever imagined. I have a self confidence that I don’t think I have ever had. Low-Carb has given me the courage to branch out and help others with their low-carb lifestyles. I now run a low-carb website, a low-carb blog, and help in various other capacities. It’s exciting to see others discover this amazing way of living. I’ve also gained the confidence to further my education and start my own business.
I simply would not be who I am today if it had not been for the low-carb lifestyle. I would still be sick, miserable, depressed, and scared of living life to it’s fullest.
Maya wrote:
I’m not sure which came first the depression or the fat. Regardless the loss of control I felt gaining weight for the first time in my life after a lifetime of being small was a huge jolt. I had always felt slim and beautiful and was if anything...cocky and suddenly I didn’t know who I was anymore. I came the low carb desperate. I was heavy, hadn’t dated in over two years and allowed myself to be hurt in far too many ways because I honestly felt I didn’t deserve better.
I gave up on my BA one unit shy because that tiny obstacle seemed so huge and I was tired of trying. I gave up three years smoke free. I never looked in the mirror or ate with my kids for the two years. As a single mom that was the worst, one time my kids asked why I never ate with them anymore and I just couldn’t admit the shame; I changed the subject.
Low carb made sense, it seemed to follow what my ancestors would have eaten. I made a false start once and it felt right but I wasn’t quite ready. While I wasn’t ready I knew I had found the key. I just wanted to do it right. I abandoned my effort after three weeks. Instead I choose to quit smoking three days before Christmas and caffeine a few days after all in preparation for low carb.
My official low carb start was February 5. That is what I would consider my new birthday. Not for physical reasons but because of all the emotional and life changes low carb has given me. I had never stuck to any diet more than a few weeks. This didn’t feel like a diet though; it felt like a new life.
Low carb showed me my own strength. It showed me that given the right tools I can succeed and that I can give those tools to myself. It helped me get ahold of my ADD and asthma when I ran out of health insurance and medication. Finding that inner strength allowed me to find joy in exercise for the first time in 10 years. I feel strong regardless of being assaulted not long ago.
It reminded me that I can overcome and achieve. My weight gain was full of emotion and as the weight comes off so do those emotions. I have began to shed hurt, pain, and confusion with every pound. I’ve also began to own my own body again.
On Saturday I graduate after 10 years of being in and out of school and having given up last year. In OCT I am taking the LSAT and applying to Law School. It sounds really over dramatic but Low carb reminded me of who I am. Everything suddenly became much easier because I knew I was committed and stronger than something that most people never overcome. Quitting smoking or applying to law school back east doesn’t seem so scary.
I am braver now. I guess Low Carb changed my life the way some Marathoners talk about that first race. So for me the gains emotionally have been far more that physical. I am in awe at the human capacity for strength and healing.
Teresa H wrote:
At the young age of 34 I had already been on every low-calorie low-fat diet out there. I was in poor health and getting fatter every year. Then once I started the low-carb high-fat lifestyle my life started to change. My health started to improve and the weight started coming off.
As a child, I loved beans and corn bread night! My grandmother used to tell us, “You better eat your beans because they stick to your ribs” (little did I know they really would stick to me!). Because of our wonderful diet I was over weight all my life. I remember going on my first diet the summer before my freshmen year in high school. I limited myself to 500 calories a day. I ran a mile in the morning and before bed.
During this time I also had summer Marching band practice and color guard drills all on 500 calories a day. I lost 25 pounds that summer just to regain it as fast as I lost it. So started my yo-yo dieting of starving and low-fat eating which lasted around 19 years and left me weighing a whopping 325 pounds.
In November 2007 I sat in my doctors’ office with type 2 diabetes, PCOS, high blood pressure and taking all kinds of medications for all my ailments. My doctor came into the room with my lab results shaking his head. He told me my results were not good and then went on to tell me that he was going to have to add another medication to my list because my cholesterol was high.
It was then I knew I was going to die if I did not make a change. The doc then told me that if he sent me to a dietician it will only make me sicker. I looked at him in shock. He then handed me a two page diet outline he wanted me to follow. After looking it over I realized he just told me to go on a low carb diet.
I went home, talked to my husband and started a new chapter in my life. Low-carbing was hard at first. I wanted bread so bad I could taste it. I started researching and joining low-carb support groups and cooking at home. It only took a few weeks to start feeling like me again. I started working out and coming home and eating bunless hamburgers with a side salad and low-carb pizza with loads of vegetables (which did feel a little strange at first). I was no longer hungry all the time and my blood sugar was under control. I also started having monthly menstrual cycles again and the weight was falling off.
Six months later I went to my doctor for a follow up appointment. My doctor was in shock! I had dropped 59 pounds, my blood pressure was normal my cholesterol was down and my Diabetes was under control. He took me off my medications for all my ailments and cut my Diabetic medication in half! My doctor told me I was his first diabetic patient to ever change there health around the way I had and that he wished he could have someone follow me around to see how I did it. I was thinking “What?”, “I am living the low-carb lifestyle like you told me” but he was out the door before I could say a word. The doctor was out in the hall telling his staff the great news! I was on cloud nine.
In conclusion, my new found low-carb high-fat lifestyle has taken me from a young dieing woman with uncontrolled Diabetes, PCOS, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, taking all kinds of medications and a whopping 325 pounds to a healthy young woman with controlled Diabetes, PCOS, only on one medication and down 59 pounds! Low-carb is my life and living this way will keep improving my health and help drop the pounds so that I will have a long and fulfilling life.
Taiwan gal wrote:
I am still new to the low-carb lifestyle. I stuck to a low-fat diet in my early 20’s, and managed to lose around 50 pounds. I hovered around 105 pounds for about many years, which wasn’t healthy, I know. But I loved being thin. Unfortunately, I lost my menstrual cycle for 9 years due to distance running, low body fat, and a messed up thyroid. My pituitary gland was “frozen,” according to the doctors, and I probably saw up to 30 different doctors during those 9 years.
Strangely enough, even though I still exercise a LOT, I have gained about 30 pounds in the last 3 years. I DID need to gain some weight…but I could stand to lose about 5 of those pounds. I would feel a lot better if I did. Since low-fat living wasn’t working for me anymore, I needed to try something else. Finding Jimmy’s web site has been a real eye-opener for me.
I have had a phobia of fat for as long as I can remember. Even now, it’s sometimes hard for me to acknowledge that fat is GOOD for me. But after 5 years of dealing with no menstrual cycle and infertility, I realized that my diet needed to change. I have always had a sweet tooth, and I know now that I can’t eat 3 brownies and then just “run it off.” It doesn’t work that way anymore.
Therefore, I am trying my hardest to live a low-carb life. I am also taking Chinese herbs to help get my body back in balance, and for the first time in NINE years, I have had several menstrual cycles ON MY OWN. (with no help from hormone shots or birth control pills). It is truly a miracle, and I think that a low-carb/ high-fat diet plus Chinese meds plus God’s mercy is the reason my body is slowly getting back where it should be.
I would like to give up sugar/flour/wheat for good, and I am taking steps in that direction. I hope someday I can bear my own children. I hope I can spread the news about low-carb living here in Asia, where I live. And I hope I can someday see the DVD, My Big Fat Diet, so I can continue to learn more about this life-changing way of eating.
Thank you for asking us to submit an essay, Jimmy. I enjoyed writing down my thoughts, and I hope I didn’t get too personal. But you’re always so transparent and REAL with us that I don’t think you’ll mind all the details. :)
TigerEyes wrote:
I started getting interested in nutrition sometime around last year, as my family has a history of degenerative diseases, including Celiac Disease from my grandfather, Diabetes from my late grandmother, and a tendency to gain weight (both my parents). My father has also had problems with his appendix and gall bladder (both are now removed). I started researching nutrition in hopes of helping them and also not ending up like them.
My mom and youngest sister have started to adopt some of the things I tell them, although not as much as I think they should, especially my mom who still has some weight to lose. I’m not perfect either, as I don’t regularly have access to grass-fed meat and dairy and organic, local produce, and all that at the moment. Going low-carb has helped clear up my acne and relieve me of my insomnia and menstrual cramps though, and I’m extremely thankful for that. Little by little, we’re all getting healthier!
Nicholas Hahn wrote:
I was–and still am in the military–and while I could still pass the physical fitness tests, I could see that I was gaining weight, even though I really didn’t eat that much. Additionally, I ran on average 32 miles a week, but I was still 235 pounds. Obviously, there was a disconnect. I think I actually eat more now than I did when I was eating all the carbs, yet I weigh 30 pounds less. I knew nothing about hormones and all the effects they have on us.
I came across the Zone diet and learned about hormones, GI, GL, and how these things can affect not only how much fat we carry, but how hormone levels are probably better explanations for “diseases of civilization” than simply obesity. Then I read Taubes’ book. He was saying that all these diseases were the effect of probably one cause–carbohydrates and it all made sense. It was a revelation to me.
I started by cutting out all bread, jellies and cereal. Later, I cut out oatmeal. Now, I eat leafy greens, non-starchy fruits and veggies, and lots of meat and olive oil.
I’m not sure if all the science is true or not, but I’ve started suggesting to all my friends that they try it out. I tell them all the benefits: I don’t get food coma any more, I rarely get hungry, and I’m not overweight. My fasting blood sugar is 88, and my cholesterol is 128. I tell people those figures and they just play it off as genetic or because I exercise more than them.
I still can’t believe how long the high carb myth has persisted so long. I’ve gotten a few converts and hopefully I’ll get more. Thanks for your blog.
Steve Whitley wrote:
120 Pounds Down in 7 months!
At 345 pounds I would look in the mirror and feel that I wasn’t that overweight. I was just big boned you know. I figured out that walking down the stairs backwards was easier on my knees. Not because I was fat of course, but because I had arthritis in my knees. Hearing my stomach growl 15 minutes after eating a whopper and fries meant that it was time to eat again, goody! I had to listen to what my body was telling me to do so another trip to the drive through was called for. I avoided having my picture taken. not because I was fat, but because I wasn’t photogenic.
So many more examples, but then something clicked. I saw a picture of myself cooking dinner at a party and realized I wasn’t fat, I was OBESE! I got mad at myself. It wasn’t fair to my better half, I was letting her down. How could she stand being around me? I became embarrased at the way I looked. That’s what it took. None of that big and proud crap for me, I was a medical time bomb. High blood pressure, arthritis, allergies, anxiety, I had issues.
I looked on the web for weight loss information and soon found out about the evils of carbohydrates. I decided that I would start my journey by staying away from everything white - sugar, rice, pasta, white flour, and no more fruit juice either and the pounds started to come off. I got motivated and bought a “trainer” for the bicycle I owned. That’s a device that you attach to your bike to make it a stationary bike you can ride indoors. It was a struggle to do more than 10 minutes--my knees hurt, but I just kept them moving. It got easier after the fourth day. I would peddle for 15 minutes at a shot 3 times a day after eating breakfast, lunch and dinner. Luckily I have the luxury of being able to come home from work for lunch so it worked out well for me.
Then I stumbled across the Livin’ La Vida Low Carb podcast site. I listened for a couple of hours straight. It really kept me motivated and on track over the ensuing weeks. Following the advice I was hearing led to more weight loss with very little hunger cravings. This eating fat and protien idea really seemed to work for me.
I’ve lost 120 pounds, my allergies are gone, I’m off half the medications I was on. And the best part is it has seemed pretty easy, just stay away from carbs and move my body some everyday.
Jimmy, please keep up the great work. I’ve motivated about 5 other people so far to actually start a low carb weight loss program and use your site as a tool to keep them going. Great interviews an links on your site. Thanks!
P.S. My stomach hardly ever growls any more. That’s a good thing.
Wanna share your story? Please feel free to do so in the comments section below. And if you have a passion for sharing how low-carb living has changed your life, then consider sending your story to the American Diabetges Association, the United States Department of Agriculture and the American Heart Association. These key health organizations need to know low-carb is working for real people. Let 'em NEVER forget this fact!
It's seems like light years ago now, but before my livin' la vida low-carb days I used to be actively involved in the Christian music industry in the 1990's. While I was attending graduate school at Regent University in Virginia Beach, VA beginning in 1993 at the age of 21, I was privileged to be able to meet and know quite a few of the most famous singers and performers in contemporary Christian music thanks in part to my gig as a radio disc jockey and later as the music buyer for a major Christian retail chain.
Because I absolutely fell in love with Christian music while still attending The University of Tennessee at Martin from 1989-1992, I was thrilled to have the chance to work at a Christian radio station on Virginia Beach Boulevard called WODC 88.5FM The Lighthouse (the station changed the call letters to WJLZ The Current in 2003 when it updated to become a more progressive Christian music station) where I hosted my own weekly countdown show called "The Christian Hits Countdown." Featuring the latest top 20 songs in contemporary Christian music, I became well acquainted with the biggest and the best artists producing the songs that inspired and uplifted people of faith.
Additionally, I started out working part-time at Christmas while still pursuing my Master's degree in the mid-1990's at a pretty major regional Christian bookstore chain in Virginia called Heaven & Earth and eventually worked my way up to my store's music expert then manager and then music buyer and marketing manager for the entire chain of 16 stores. It was a very cool job to have (didn't pay much, but the fringe benefits were VERY nice!).
One of those benefits included meeting the top artists in the world of Christian music. And if you think Christian music is just a bunch of boring hymns and sappy twangy ballads, then you don't know what you've been missing. The rise of contemporary Christian music in the early 1990's brought us some truly amazing artists with a heart for God and reaching the younger generation with music that appeals to them. The biggest names included dc Talk, Michael W. Smith, Amy Grant, The Newsboys, Jars of Clay, and so many more I could just keep naming. But one man stood above the rest when it came to excellence in creating engaging Christian music--Steven Curtis Chapman.
Here's an old photo of (fat) me and SCC in the late 1990's
What a true godsend this multi-Dove Award (the Christian Grammy award) winning artist has been in my own life encouraging me with such stirring songs as "The Great Adventure," "His Strength Is Perfect," "Dive," "Signs of Life," "Speechless," "Let Us Pray"...the list just goes on and on. Steven is the most highly-decorated and honored Christian music ambassador there is. Every time I have met him over the years, the immediate thing you notice is his humility. He does what he does because he has a Savior who loves him and was willing to die on a cross for his sins. That act of selfless love is what drives Steven Curtis Chapman to share his talents with those who are lost and dying and don't even know it as well as bring believers closer to God.
When the infamous Columbine shootings happened in April 1999, I was in Nashville, Tennessee for Gospel Music Association week where Steven was scheduled to attend to promote his new album entitled Speechless. But as soon as he heard about this tragedy in Littleton, Colorado, Steven canceled his promo tour with the Christian music industry to offer words of comfort and solace for the families of the victims singing a song he was inspired to write for them called "With Hope." That's just the kind of person Steven Curtis Chapman is and he has always been there to offer the peace that passes all understanding for grieving victims of life's circumstances.
That's why it pains me today to report that Steven's 5-year old adopted daughter from China was killed yesterday when her older brother accidentally backed into her with the family SUV. Steven and his wife Mary Beth have three biological children as well as three adopted children from China. They are so committed to providing solid loving homes for orphans in China that they set up an adoption assistance organization called Shaohannah's Hope, named after the Chapman's oldest adopted daughter. The news of Maria's sudden and tragic death is stunning and a reminder of the fragility of life.
You can see how much Steven loved Maria in this YouTube video he posted last month while washing the dishes with his beloved daughter:
Ironically, Steven's latest release to Christian radio is a song called "Cinderella" which he wrote for his two little ones, Maria and Stevey Joy. Here's the music video and story behind the song that will break your heart in light of their great loss this week:
Here are the lyrics to "Cinderella" which somehow take on even more meaning now than Steven probably ever thought they would:
She spins and she sways To whatever song plays Without a care in the world And I'm sitting here wearing The weight of the world on my shoulders
It's been a long day And there's still work to do She's pulling at me Saying "Dad, I need you
There's a ball at the castle And I've been invited And I need to practice my dancing Oh, please, Daddy, please?"
So I will dance with Cinderella While she is here in my arms 'Cause I know something the prince never knew Oh, I will dance with Cinderella I don't want to miss even one song 'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight And she'll be gone...
She says he's a nice guy and I'd be impressed She wants to know if I approve of the dress She says, "Dad, the prom is just one week away And I need to practice my dancing Oh, please, Daddy, please?"
So I will dance with Cinderella While she is here in my arms 'Cause I know something the prince never knew Oh, I will dance with Cinderella I don't want to miss even one song 'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight And she'll be gone
She will be gone
Well, she came home today with a ring on her hand Just glowing and telling us all they had planned She says, "Dad, the wedding's still six months away But I need to practice my dancing Oh, please, Daddy, please?"
So I will dance with Cinderella While she is here in my arms 'Cause I know something the prince never knew Oh, I will dance with Cinderella I don't want to miss even one song 'Cause all too soon the clock will strike midnight And she'll be gone
Rest in peace Maria Sue Chapman (2003-2008)
Today, Maria Sue Chapman may be gone, but she's dancing with Jesus in heaven. Remember the Chapman family in your prayers during this very difficult time as they try to make sense of all that has happened. A tribute blog in memory of Maria has been set up to communicate messages of love and support for the Chapman family as they walk through the valley of the shadow of death with one of their children. You can send cards of condolences to Steven Curtis Chapman and his family by writing to P.O. Box 150156 Nashville, TN 37215. They are requesting in lieu of flowers that any gifts be directed to the Shaohannah's Hope web site or by sending in your check directly to Shaohannah's Hope, c/o Maria's Miracle Fund, P.O. Box 647, Franklin TN, 37065.
Steven, hold strong to your faith, trust God's eternal wisdom for what has happened, and continue living your life as the amazing testimony you are for the glory of the God Almighty who gave you the privilege of having Maria in your life. We love you and will remember you in our prayers during this difficult time. God bless The Chapmans!
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 140:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 140 [26:44m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
Gary Taubes continues his discussion of his book Good Calories, Bad Calories, including how much he initially hated that title for his book until his wife convinced him otherwise, the impact of carbohydrate calories on weight, the change of heart that Dr. Andrew Weil has had regarding low-carb, the theories espoused by low-fat diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish, and what can be done to influence the health authorities about the positive impact of low-carb living.
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Now that the Taubes interview is completed, share what you thought about it in the show notes section of Episode 140. If you happened to miss any of my blog posts about Gary Taubes and Good Calories, Bad Calories, then you can see them all in one place by clicking here. You can also provide us with your audio feedback about this interview by calling (206) 202-6516. Special thanks to Gary Taubes for his generous donation of time at the ASBP/Nutrition & Metabolism conference in Phoenix, AZ last month.
Coming up next week, we'll shift gears a bit on Monday's podcast as Christine and I talk with a reproductive endocrinologist from the Institute For Progressive Medicine named Dr. Julie Kahn about the role of diet and fertility and then on Thursday's show I'll be speaking with Cracking The Metabolic Code author Dr. Jim LaValle. DON'T MISS IT!!!
