'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 138: Jennette Fulda Lost Over 200 Pounds On Her 'Half-Assed' Diet

Blogger Jennette Fulda shares about her 200+ pound weight loss

It's one thing to blog about losing weight for the entire world to see. But it's yet another thing to actually LOSE weight and cut your weight in half. That's exactly what popular weight loss blogger Jennette Fulda did on her way shedding not just triple digits, but over 200 pounds! And guess what? She did it following a lower-carb South Beach diet and exercise program. WOO HOO!!! Way to go, Jennette!

In Episode 138 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore," you'll hear directly from Jennette who shares about what life was like for her when she weighed over 370 pounds, how she was able to overcome her old habits by implementing smarter diet and fitness choices into her routine, and how all of these dramatic changes increased her confidence so much so that she penned all about her experiences in her debut book release entitled Half-Assed: A Weight-Loss Memoir.

Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 138:

"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 138 [19:25m]: LISTEN NOW | Download

I gotta tell you, Jennette is a real trip! If you've never seen her "Half of Me" blog (which I first told you about in this blog interview from last year), then you are missing out on some of the best free entertainment on the Internet. This woman is an amazingly talented writer who has been on both sides of the fitness equation. She knows what it's like hearing the fast food calling out your name, but she also knows why you should resist the urge to splurge. Although that perky personality has always been there, losing weight has shone a bright light on this beautiful young lady as she provides hope and inspiration to others who struggle with obesity like she once did.

If you were watching NBC-TV's Today show on Sunday morning, then you probably already saw Lester Holt interview Jennette about her weight loss and new book. She did an amazing job on the show, although I thought it was funny they wouldn't allow her to say the same of her book because of the word "ass" in the title. In fact, when they showed the front cover, there were two stick figures where the "ss" was. Too funny! And Jennette, bless her heart, tried to get in as much of the title at the end of the interview as she could. Ironically, I've heard MUCH worse on NBC (but that's another story!).

Get inspired by weight loss successes like Jennette Fulda by:

1. Listening at the official web site
2. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via Podlinez
3. Subscribing to the RSS feed
4. Going to iTunes--Click here to subscribe!

Are you inspired in your weight loss efforts after hearing from Jennette Fulda today? Is there anything you'd like to tell Jennette about how her story has impacted you? Share what's on your mind in the show notes section of Episode 138. Don't forget to check out Jennette's incredible blog for before and after pictures like you've never seen before, inspiring and hilarious blog entries, and everything else you'd expect from someone who has so dramatically changed her life for the better.

I'd like to remind you of a new feature we now have available to the listeners of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." You can provide audio feedback for me anytime by dialing (206) 202-6516. We'd LOVE to hear from you with your questions, comments, rants, or whatever is on your mind. Just share and you may hear yourself on a future episode the podcast. Also, don't forget to sign up for you chance to win your own copy of the hit Canadian low-carb documentary called My Big Fat Diet simply by going to the show notes section of Episode 137 and sharing a brief essay explaining how a high-fat, low-carb diet has transformed and changed your life forever. We'll be announcing the THREE winners on Monday, so hurry and enter TODAY!

And the wait is almost over! Coming up on Monday is Part 1 of my highly-anticipated and very exciting interview with award-winning science writer and bestselling author of Good Calories, Bad Calories Gary Taubes. I met him in person at the 2008 ASBP/Nutrition & Metabolism conference in Phoenix last month and he sat down and shared quite a bit about what has happened since the release of his book last Fall and discusses what's coming next for him in our 45-minute interview. I really think you're gonna enjoy what Gary has to say, so join us for Part 1 on Monday and Part 2 of my interview next Thursday. THANKS so much for listening! I really appreciate it.

5-15-08 UPDATE: Jennette shared about this interview at her book web site today!

South Beach Diet Now Emphasizing Lifestyle Change With New Name

I snapped a picture of the new South Beach packaging at Sam's Club

One of the most common themes I talk about is how you can't just go on a low-carb "diet," but that you must make it your permanent and healthy lifestyle change. That's why I use livin' la vida low-carb instead of "low-carb diet" to describe this way of eating for me. It's all about the "living" and the makers of the bestselling South Beach line of products are finally embracing this concept in their marketing.

This Cape Cod Times story explains why Kraft Foods, manufacturer of the popular low-carb food line prominently using the name of Dr. Arthur Agatston's famous diet plan, has changed the name from "South Beach Diet" to the new and improved "South Beach Living." Sure, it's merely semantics but the word "diet" has almost become taboo now. Lifestyle change or "living" is a kinder, gentler way of saying the same thing.

According to the article, consumers have become increasingly agitated by the use of the word "diet" and would prefer to be pursuing healthy "living" instead. After all, it's better to be living than the alternative (which just coincidentally happens to be the first three letters of that "d" word we no longer like!). Or is this much ado about nothing by some back room marketing executives?

The story goes on to site other examples of this move away from the use of "diet" in the marketing of products, including the much-heralded Coke Zero--a new version of Diet Coke that is sweetened with the overly-used sugar substitute aspartame (or as I call it NASTY-tame!) and the sweetener-enhancing acesulfame potassium (ACE-K). The Coca-Cola Company credits the absence of "diet" in the name of their product to its early success (no, it couldn't have anything to do with the fact that every other commercial on television was advertising Coke Zero when it came out, couldn't it? NAH!).

They say young men (hey, I'm still pretty young at 36) wouldn't buy Diet Coke because it was a chick thing. For me, it wasn't about anything other than taste. Regular Diet Coke is disgusting to me which is why I prefer Diet Coke with Splenda (sweetened with Splenda and ACE-K) or the caffeine-free Diet Rite which is also sweetened with Splenda and ACE-K).

I think these marketing analysts get a little too caught up in their own little world to really know why anyone buys their product. It probably has a lot less to do with how offensive the word "diet" is on a product and more about the quality that "diet" product offers. I'm personally disgusted by aspartame and try to avoid it as much as possible in the diet sodas and other products I consume. Give me good quality alternatives (which includes diet sodas sweetened with the plant-based stevia) and I'll show you a consumer base that will clamor for your products.

Getting back to the South Beach product line for a moment, a Kraft representative says they want to "broaden the appeal of the brand and fuel its growth" by implementing this name change. Since more people are looking to eat healthy rather than losing weight (something I discussed in a recent podcast show), they wanted to put that message on the 70 South Beach products that line supermarket shelves. And "South Beach Living" fits the bill.

I blogged about the tremendous success of the South Beach Diet food products in early 2006 which was the "primary growth driver" for Kraft. In a market that doesn't have much competition, South Beach has great name recognition and fits a niche market. The tens of millions of South Beach Diet followers are a built-in consumer base for these products, although I highly suspect most who have read Dr. Agatston's books don't currently buy the products. That certainly opens the door for creating a wider customer appeal by marketing it for healthy "living."

Although the popularity of The South Beach Diet books was at its highest in 2003, there is still great interest in it as well as general low-carb in 2008 thanks to the resurgence in this way of eating that has happened over the past couple of years within the researcher community and with a big boost most recently by the release of Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories. One criticism I have about the South Beach products is that they contain some ingredients I wouldn't necessarily put in my mouth (sugar, flour, and the like) and have a higher carb count (double-digit carbohydrates for a bar is NOT good) than I feel comfortable with on my low-carb lifestyle. But that's just me.

That said, I know people who swear by these products and love 'em! Good for them and I certainly don't want to discourage anyone from using these South Beach Living products if they work for you. CONGRATULATIONS on making this "diet" your new way of "living" for life. In the end, that's all that really matters if you have found a way to be healthy.

Does this name change from "diet" to "living" make you more likely to buy Kraft's South Beach products or does it really matter at all? Share your feedback about this in the comments section below.

Don't Get Fooled By Ridiculous Atkins Diet Blood Vessel Study

Dr. Michael Miller puts his personal low-carb bias ahead of science

Despite being called out by Gary Taubes in his book Good Calories, Bad Calories, the use of sensationalism by the active players in modern health research and journalism hasn't changed a bit! Want an example of this? Just look at today's headline from Reuters to see what I mean:

"High-fat Atkins diet damages blood vessels: study"

Most people will simply read that headline and say to themselves, "Oh my God, why in the world would I ever go on the Atkins diet?" Then from there, people will infer that they shouldn't go on ANY low-carb diet at all because we all KNOW how unhealthy it is, don't we? This is the kind of sloppy science and reporting that has prevented the healthy low-carb lifestyle from ever gaining any favor in the public eye. And that's such a crying shame.

Lead researcher Dr. Michael Miller, director of preventive cardiology at the Baltimore, MD-based University of Maryland Medical Center, and his colleagues wanted to see what effect a maintenance diet has on blood fat levels, cholesterol, and other markers for inflammation. They observed 18 people over a ONE-MONTH period following one of three diets:

ATKINS--50 percent of calories from fat
SOUTH BEACH--30 percent of calories from fat
ORNISH--10 percent of calories from fat

The researchers made sure that NONE of the study participants lost weight so the results would not be skewed by weight improvements since it was about weight control and not weight loss. Each of them had their blood tested for all of the health markers checked out for the study.

What was the result?

The ATKINS group allegedly saw an increase in their cholesterol levels and inflammation which the researchers concluded would cause "long-term damage to blood vessels" and could very likely lead to heart and artery disease. On the other hand, the SOUTH BEACH and ORNISH groups saw their cholesterol levels come down and artery function was improved.

Using an ultrasound machine to measure flexibility and dilation of the blood vessels as well as proteins in the blood, the researchers found major inflammation in the ATKINS group.

"Some markers of inflammation were increased by as much as 30 to 40 percent during the Atkins phase, whereas during the South Beach and Ornish phases, the markers either were stable or went down, some by as much as 15 to 20 percent," Dr. Miller remarked.

Oh my God, oh my God, what am I gonna do now?! Oh my God, somebody hurry and call 911 for me or something because this "study" says I'm gonna blow a blood vessel or something, oh my God, oh my God! EEEEK!!! What a freakin' crock of horse manure if you ask me! I've been livin' la vida low-carb for MUCH longer than one month (nearly four years and counting!) and I have not been harmed by my high-fat Atkins diet.

What's most interesting about this grand conclusion about how dangerous the Atkins diet is for people to be on is that it is merely based on the results of SIX PEOPLE! Yep, the millions of us who are enjoying our low-carb lifestyle must now put up with a very small-scale study reported on by an overzealous anti-Atkins researcher and his willing accomplices in the press reporting on it as the gospel truth. And that's the worst part of a study like this one.

So, was this "study" actually published in some prestigious medical or science journal? Nope! Instead, it was presented as a paper at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association help in Orlando, Florida this week. No peer review. No long-term observations. No real proof of anything except a sloppy way to compare the supposed impact of diet on blood vessels. The lack of substance in this study along with some rather suspicious and shady implications about what the Atkins diet is should have made anyone with a brain at this conference stand up and question the validity of such research.

Did it happen? Yeah right!

Was anyone else struck by the almost-exclusive focus on the dietary fat content of these diets? What was the ratio of the other two macronutrients--protein and carbohydrate? If that "Atkins" diet with 50 percent fat was matched up with say 30-40 percent carbs, then it is NOT the Atkins diet. If that's the case, then no wonder their LDL cholesterol went up. Fat consumption is only healthy when carbohydrate intake is kept to a minimum.

Most of us who are doing the Atkins plan as outlined in Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution (the only Atkins diet that REALLY counts since it is BY THE BOOK!) even in maintenance are consuming less than 10 percent of our calories in the form of carbohydrates. My personal diet ratio of fat/protein/carbohydrate is close to 60/30/10.

Obviously, Dr. Miller was no fan of the Atkins diet from the beginning.

"It really is the Atkins diet that is the worst," he told Reuters. "The Atkins diet caused the LDL levels to go up by about 7 percent, whereas in the Ornish and South Beach diets ... they went down 7 to 10 percent."

Yeah, so what? What happened to the HDL "good" cholesterol in the ATKINS group, Dr. Miller? How about the triglycerides? I would be willing to bet that there was a SIGNIFICANT difference in the increased levels of HDL and decreased triglycerides for them compared to the other two low-fat groups. Why wouldn't you talk about that data since these are tell-tale signs of health improvements on low-carb, Dr. Miller?

Describing the Atkins diet as "the worst" is merely your opinion, sir. This "study" of yours shows nothing but what happens when you fail to provide honest and trustworthy research to a world who unfortunately trusts everything people like yourself have to say about your research. They rely on you to provide quality, accurate information about health, not some sensationalist, headline-grabbing ruse of a research scam. These kind of shabby conclusions are what drives people away from listening to anything you have to say because they get tired of hearing you cry wolf when there isn't one anywhere close.

While the diets used in this study were supposed to simulate what would happen when you begin a maintenance plan on the various plans, there is something to be said for those of us who DID actually lose weight on these methods and then continued to follow them long-term after the weight has come off. When I weighed 410 pounds in 2004, my weight was bad, but my health was getting much worse. Without the Atkins diet, I never would have regained my health and become the energetic man I am today.

And my lipid profile did improve and has continued to do so four years later. But Dr. Miller believes any positive impact of livin' la vida low-carb will only reach a certain level before your health declines.

"When you lose weight everything looks good but after a while you plateau and you hit a maintenance stage," Dr. Miller contended.

That's right, you do, Dr. Miller. But that's what happens on ANY lifestyle change when you begin as an overweight or obese person and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Whether you choose low-fat, moderate-fat, or low-carb, the end result is still the same--lasting and permanent weight and health control. If one option doesn't work, then another one should be tried. That has always been my motto in trying to help people in their own journey to better health. Low-carb is definitely one of those permanent weight loss solution options that people should consider.

Sadly, you have people like Dr. Miller who insist on pushing the low-fat lie that is at the root cause of why obesity and disease still exists in America and around the world today. Pushing vegetables has forced people into choosing potatoes and other starchy choices (according to statistics from the American Diabetes Association) while shunning healthy meat selections has made the high-carb beans, tofu, and whole grains the protein source for many people to the detriment of their health. But, no, we can't be having people on that low-carb Atkins diet, Dr. Miller says.

"We don't recommend the Atkins diet," Dr. Miller concluded. "Why not start out with a diet that will be healthier for you in the long run after weight loss?"

And what kind of diet would that be, hmmmm? We have such varying definitions of what constitutes a "healthy" diet these days, Dr. Miller, that you can't possibly expect people to know what that looks like. So please tell us. I'm sincerely interested in hearing what you have to say.

But don't spout off sound bytes like a "balanced" diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (that's nothing but a big fat copout if you ask me!) because that doesn't mean a thing to most people. Give us sample menus of the foods you would recommend on your "healthy" diet and let's see how it stacks up with how real low-carbers like me eat now. I would not be surprised to find that my diet is as healthy or even healthier than what you come up with, sir. So why pigeonhole people into following YOUR definition of that kind of diet?

Drawing broad-based conclusions about a healthy nutritional approach like the Atkins diet, which was created by a world-renowned cardiologist who clearly understood the science behind eating a controlled-carbohydrate diet, looking at a very short-term study with a small sample size and trying to extrapolate long-term consequences from such limited data is both irresponsible and repugnant. Isn't the very point of research to help people BETTER understand what may happen to their health in a given circumstance?

So then why would you try to purposely manipulate the results of that research just to suit your own personal agenda? That's just plain shameful, Dr. Miller, and I cannot believe you would put your professional integrity and character on the line just to follow the template of your own biased belief system. Tsk tsk!

The general population of laymen like myself who simply want the science to speak for itself deserve better than this--MUCH BETTER! Weight loss, healthy living, and solid nutrition are too important to just be playing games. What we need and quite frankly DESERVE are researchers who can get back to doing what they were meant to do. And that's looking at problems objectively, following research protocol precisely, and then letting the results show what they show. It's the right thing to do and anything else is merely garbled and twisted chatter among ideological zealots like yourself!

The Atkins low-carb diet is absolutely sound nutrition, pure and simple. For the past three decades, we have seen excellent independent research validating every single point that the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins wrote about in his books as well as real people like Jimmy Moore who lost nearly half of his body weight and now kept it off for close to three years. Is that not long-term enough for you, Dr. Miller?

It's this kind of validation of the low-carb lifestyle that should have researchers excited about looking into this program (and there is "strong interest" behind-the-scenes) rather than seeking to annihilate and destroy it at every opportunity just because you don't like it personally. The history books will look back someday on all this vile hatred for the Atkins diet and livin' la vida low-carb as a sad time in the history of health in the world with so many people clueless to the benefits of low-carb living while people getting fatter and sicker than ever!

Want more helpful insights about Dr. Miller's ridiculous Atkins diet blood vessel study? Check out what the always-entertaining Dr. Mike Eades wrote about it at his blog today. ENJOY!

11-7-07 UPDATE: Here is the official response to Dr. Miller's study today from Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.:

A presentation at the recent meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida, comparing the maintenance stages of three diet regimens, Atkins, South Beach and Ornish, has relied on faulty research and a misunderstanding of Atkins protocols to suggest the Atkins diet may not be heart healthy.

Dr. Michael Miller, who made the presentation, apparently ignored more than 30 years of clinical experience and independent research on low carbohydrate diets, and now four years of trials looking specifically at the Atkins protocols, which have consistently demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of the Atkins diet.

Colette Heimowitz, M.Sc., Vice President of Nutrition & Education at Atkins Nutritionals, commenting on Dr. Miller’s presentation, referenced several peer reviewed studies which report opposite findings. Among the most prominent was a year-long weight loss and health study conducted by Stanford University researchers and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association which showed no increased risk of cardiovascular markers in more than 300 overweight subjects.

In summarizing his study, Dr. Miller acknowledged that researchers considering the effects of low carbohydrate diets have reached very different conclusions depending on sample size, research protocol and any number of other uncontrolled variables. Unfortunately, Dr. Miller's research cannot be fully evaluated since his study has not been peer reviewed or published. But, given the short duration of his study, the very small sample size, and the weak correlations, drawing conclusions about possible long term health risks tied to fat consumption in the maintenance phase of any weight control program is not good science.

According to media reports, the subjects in Dr. Miller’s study were put on what’s described as the maintenance phase of Atkins with 50% of their calories coming from fat. However, this is not the Atkins maintenance phase protocol, nor is it part of the Atkins diet protocols. The lipid response Dr. Miller reported is what one might expect from a combination of rich carbohydrates and fat, but it’s not Atkins.

When it comes to nutrition and weight control, the public deserves science based conclusions. Time and again independent research has shown the benefits of a low-carbohydrate nutritional approach to safe and healthy weight loss and weight maintenance. And that's Atkins!

'Half Of Me' Blogger Loses 200 Pounds On Low-Carb South Beach Diet

Jennette Fulda went on South Beach, dropped a cool 200 pounds!

Something rather strange happens when you become a blogger. You kinda get so caught up in your own blog, working on your stuff, writing about this and that and everything else, and responding to your readers that you forget there's a big universe full of people JUST LIKE YOU out there on the Internet doing the exact same thing in their own little world. The bad part of becoming so self-absorbed in what you are doing is that you miss out on some rather extraordinary people who have achieved some rather amazing accomplishments.

Take blogger Jennette Fulda from the "Half Of Me" blog, for example.

I discovered this superb blog a few months ago and I've been hooked ever since! THIS is a blogger who has poured out her life story sharing with the entire planet about her stunning weight loss success journey from over 370 pounds down to her current weight of 180 and falling. CLICK HERE to see her progress pictures from the very beginning until now (you can even have some fun spinning Jennette round and round--you'll get dizzy watching them all spinning at the same time!).

Since I too lost nearly 200 pounds on a low-carb diet, I thought it would be interesting to interview Jennette about her South Beach Diet weight loss success story that is still in progress. And it will always be in progress for those of us who have chosen this journey to travel down for the sake of our weight and health. But it's a choice that both Jennette and I happily take!

You'll enjoy Jennette's sometimes off-the-wall take on life and weight loss at her blog, so I recommend you read her "best of" blog posts or you can go through her entire archives to get a feel for her writing. But right now you can hear directly from the woman herself as she answers all the questions I had for her about her remarkable journey from almost 400 pounds into that adorable, cutie pie of woman she is today. Prepare to be inspired!

1. We are thrilled beyond imagination today to have the ever-popular, ever-talented, ever-everything--is your head big enough yet?--Jennette Fulda a.k.a. the "PastaQueen!" Like me, this beautiful woman has radically changed her life for the better through amazing weight loss success and even started a very highly successful blog about it called "Half Of Me" that you absolutely must check out if you've never read her stuff. It's GOOD!

The journey for you began on January 15, 2005 when you weighed in at a whopping 372 pounds on your 5'9" frame. People ask me this question about my own nearly 200-pound weight loss all the time--what made you after so many failed attempts to lose weight permanently finally do it for good this time? What was the spark, the impetus, the "aha" moment that told you this time would be different than before?

I thought my "aha" moment would be when I was wheeled into gallbladder surgery at only 23 years old. It was clear I was going to be watching many more hospital ceilings roll by if I didn't get my weight under control. My surgeon mentioned the possibility of weight-loss surgery, but I wanted to give a hard-core effort to really lose weight before I started to seriously consider that.

After my gallbladder was removed, I decided I was really going to lose weight this time, for real! I was really gung-ho...but three days after surgery my motivation died down a little and I never made any changes that lasted longer than a week. I finally got my ass in gear in mid-January over a year later, partly as a New Year's resolution and partly because that's how long it took to finish eating all the Christmas candy.

2. My low-carb readers will be especially interested in hearing that you did The South Beach Diet, although you're not a fan of necessarily promoting any specific diet plan since we are all different and must find our own path. I feel the same way that people should find the plan that works for them, follow that plan as prescribed by the author, and then keep doing that plan for the rest of their life. What led you to try a low-carb diet like South Beach and why do you feel this is a diet that "is as good a place as any" for people to begin with?

A year after my surgery my brother started the South Beach Diet and started walking around the house 80 pounds thinner. I always thought diets were stupid, unsustainable plans that would make you eat only grapefruit. However, my brother wasn't doing anything crazy and he was gently nudging me to at least consider reading the book if not go on the diet.

I was really scared to commit to any sort of diet because I was afraid of failing, especially if everyone knew about it. But I really needed to do something, so in January I read the book and started exercising and planning meals. After a month I felt like I could do this for the rest of my life and really believed I was going to lose the weight this time, for real.

South Beach was good for me because I was pretty incompetent when it came to food. The book explained a lot of basics that everyone else must have learned in health class the day I was absent. I didn't have any understanding of how my body reacted to carbohydrates or why some fats were good or bad. If you'd asked me what an Omega-3 was I would have guessed it was a secret government spaceship.

South Beach also didn't vilify foods. There were lists of foods to enjoy and others to avoid, but they were never banned for life. It was still okay to have cake on my birthday as long as I got back on plan the next day. And it didn't make me count calories or fats or carbs, which seemed really complicated and overwhelming to me at the time. I was willing to think more about my food, but I didn't want to only be thinking about my food.

Essentially, it didn't make my life miserable and it was sustainable for life.

3. Now for a personal question: what's with the obsession of the word "ass" on your blog? Why not bedonkadonk or derriere or even butt? LOL! Is there anything particularly special about using the three-letter "a" word when describing your weight loss experiences? :)

ASS! I don't know. It's a word that is not so offensive that it scares people off completely, but it's still kind of dirty. My friend said a word isn't naughty if a Baptist preacher can say it, and since Mary rode to Bethlehem on an ass I figure it's fair game. ASS!

4. I LOVE your blog, Jennette, because your honesty about your past and even current struggles are things I can personally relate to as a former morbidly obese man. I try to do the same thing at my own blog as well so that people who are going through the process of shedding the pounds can feel a sense of understanding and compassion from someone who's actually been there, done that.

What gives you the most gratification and satisfaction in your blogging experience? Are there any particular stories or memories over these past couple of years that you'd like to share about how your blog has impacted the lives of other people?

I once got a comment from a woman who had spent several days secretly reading my blog at work. Afterwards she said she didn't feel like she wanted to die anymore. I was stunned that words typed into a text box could do that to someone. I felt a heightened sense of responsibility afterwards to remain honest and open about my experiences. Words have a lot of power.

I write a post about once a month where I try new fruits and vegetables and people have told me they've tried golden kiwi or mangoes because I wrote about them. It's funny to think I'm influencing the profits of the mango farmers of America in some small way. I learn a lot from my readers too. An entry might start about one topic and spin off onto something else, like how to cook radishes that sound really tasty or discussion of what a super-taster is.

I've had readers tell me that when they started reading my blog they weighed the same amount as me, but now I'm 20 or 30 or 40 pounds thinner than them. It's a reminder that if they had been working towards their weight-loss goals they could have made some noticeable progress by now. It kicks them back into gear and it's great knowing that I'm motivating people to make changes in their own lives that they were too scared to try until they saw someone else succeed.


Jennette will be releasing her debut book in May 2008

5. Your blogging and weight loss success have earned you a golden opportunity to publish your very own book about that experience entitled Half-Assed: A Weight-loss Memoir (there's that word again!) set to release in May 2008 from Seal Press. I will be EXTREMELY interested in reading your story and sharing it with my readers as soon as it is available. But give us a sneak peek at what we're gonna see in that book. I understand you really get into the emotional and psychological aspects of this amazing journey you have taken, right?

My memoir focuses on how I lost half my weight without losing my sense of humor. It recounts how I became morbidly obese, what it was like living large, and how I lost the weight but found my way. There are already a million books that tell you what to eat and how to exercise, but Half-Assed: A Weight-loss Memoir focuses on what the unusual experience of working half my ass off was like both mentally and physically. It's inspiring, honest, and all the laughing you'll do is good cardio!

There will be all new material that I have never blogged about and each chapter covers a specific theme or time of my life. It's a smoother, more polished, more organized than the blog which jumps topics from day to day. While the book is about my weight loss, ultimately it's about how I learned to take care of myself and become a part of the world instead of watching it pass me by.

And it's only $10.85 if you PRE-ORDER ON AMAZON today!

6. Exercise was and is a major part of your weight loss success and you give it proper credence along with the changes in your diet for helping you reach your goals. I remember the agony of walking on that treadmill at 3mph for 15 minutes when I first started losing weight and literally sweating like a dog and gasping for air wondering what the heck I was doing to myself.

But I trudged forward knowing this hard work would eventually pay off if I just stuck with it. What was it that kept you motivated and energized to exercise when all you really wanted to do was go crawl back in bed or plop down on the couch watching television eating bon-bons?

When people say they wish they were motivated to exercise, I think they're really saying they wish they wanted to exercise. It's a sad fact in life that you frequently have to do things you don't want to do, like go to work or pay taxes or clean up cat vomit. But you do those things because your need to get paid and you don't want the IRS to break down your door and regurgitated tuna smells really bad.

I didn't always like exercising, but I always liked the results, so I stuck with it. And strangely enough, I started to like it! Sometimes people assume athletes love working out 100% of the time, but that's not true. It's still hard and painful some days. My lungs still feel like they're on fire when I've run several miles, but after awhile I get that lovely runner's high. I also get a great sense of accomplishment that I ran a 5K when a couple years ago I could only run a dishwasher.

7. I'm curious, since you've lost over half of your starting weight (and you're STILL losing!), how many pounds did you lose before anyone noticed? For me, it wasn't until I lost 100 pounds and then stalled out for ten weeks in a row before people starting saying, "Hey, Jimmy, have you lost a little weight?" Um, yeah, you could say that! Like triple-digits already!

Those comments are what kept me motivated to keep it going despite my extended stall. Did you have any stalls along the way and what did you do to keep your head in the game when that happened? Did you change anything about your routine from the norm?

It's crazy isn't it? I had to lose about 70 pounds before a coworker down the hallway asked if I'd lost weight. My family said they noticed a change at around 30-40 pounds, but they knew I was losing weight so I think they were biased.

I did have some plateaus along the way. When they happened I tried to switch things up, either by trying new exercises like Pilates and weight-lifting or by trying new recipes. I searched online for advice and one site said you should eat whatever you wanted for a day to reset you body, which convinced me to go eat a Big Mac. That was nice, but I have no idea if it helped.

The best thing about plateaus is that they teach you to persevere. Too frequently people give up at the slightest bit of resistance, but if you keep fighting for what you want in a smart way you can eventually get there. The things you have to work for hardest for are often the most valuable.

8. Your goal weight is 160 pounds and you are only 25 or so pounds away from making it there. Have you noticed it gets more and more difficult to take off those last few pounds than it did the first 200? By the way, I LOVED the original subtitle of your book--"The Last 200 Pounds Are The Hardest." Too funny! What are you doing differently, if anything, now from when you first started your weight loss journey at nearly 400 pounds almost three years ago?

I'd heard everyone say the last 20 pounds were the hardest and they do not lie. I've been in a plateau for the last several months. All of the bad things about being obese have disappeared from my life, so I haven't been pushing as hard to lose weight as I did before.

I've started to make some progress again in the last couple weeks because I started tracking my food, which I had vowed never to do for fear of becoming compulsive about it. However, it's been very enlightening to discover how many calories are in that tuna melt casserole. I should never have had the third piece!

It may very well take another three years to get to goal, but I'm going to get there and do a touchdown dance when I do.

9. I have to ask this question since you've lost a whole buncha weight like I did. Do you have any loose, hanging skin? I'm sure you get just as many questions about this issue as I do and I've blogged quite extensively about it myself. You look at those contestants on NBC's weight loss reality show "The Biggest Loser" and you know they're gonna have some skin issues after their weight loss--especially the really big people like you and I were.

If you do have the loose skin, then how do you deal with the mental challenge it presents you now and do you plan to have surgery or implore some other strategy for taking care of it?

So many people ask me about my skin that you'd think I was the spokeswoman for Neutrogena. I eventually wrote a post where I fleshed out the state of my skin and included a link to it on my "Contact Me" page so people could get the information faster.

I have some loose skin as I expected, but it's not as bad as images I've seen online or on TV shows like Dr. 90210. I'm lucky because I'm young, I don't tan, and I've never smoked, so my skin is still very elastic. However, it was stretched out to a large size for a long time, so I suspect it will never snap back completely.

I've considered plastic surgery, but at this point in my life I don't think it's worth the pain or money. I'm so proud of what I've accomplished that what extra skin I have is like my battle scars. I wouldn't rule out the idea of plastic surgery one day, but for now I just wear tights with my skirts to hide my sagging thighs. I used to really hate my underarm flab, but since I started lifting weights I no longer fear tank tops because I love my biceps!

10. THANKS so much for spending a few moments with us here at the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog, Jennette. Obviously, I'm a big fan of yours and I'm so very proud of what you have been able to accomplish with your life. it warms my heart to see someone with so much obvious talent and dedication as you getting the appreciation and accolades you so appropriately deserve. Keep fighting the good fight, PastaQueen!

We need a few more people like you on the front lines of helping those who feel like they are trapped inside the body of a fat person with no way out to give them hope, inspiration, and a living example that it CAN be done. Is there anything else you'd like to share with my readers to encourage them in their own personal journey to better health?

Don't give up. Everything works out in the end. If it hasn't worked out, it's not the end. And don't take weight loss failures personally. Your size is a reflection of how your body is responding to your environment, not your worth as a person or a moral judgment of your character.

You just have to tweak your diet and exercise until you find out what works for you. There is no failure, just feedback. Listen to your body's feedback, educate yourself about nutrition and exercise, and keep trying! Eventually you'll get there! You have the rest of your life to figure it out.

Read more from Jennette Fulda at her "Half Of Me" blog and place your order for her book Half-Assed: A Weight-loss Memoir today. You can e-mail your comments and reactions about this interview to Jennette directly at halfofme@pastaqueen.com. If her inbox is anything like mine, then she probably doesn't get hardly ANY e-mails at all. HA! Even still, I KNOW she'd love to hear from you, so show your appreciation to her today. :)

Share Your Low-Carb Experiences On 'Fat Secret'

"Fat Secret" lists the Atkins diet as one of the top weight loss plans

If you found my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog, then you are already aware of my feelings regarding the low-carb lifestyle. I'm an enthusiastic and unashamed supporter of this way of eating because it quite literally turned my life around for the better.

Now there's a new web site that wants to know which diet plan is your "secret" to weight loss success. It's called "Fat Secret" and was created to be an online community of "people interested in diets to come and find out what works."

The creators of "Fat Secret" believe real people who have not just tried the various diets, but seen success on them are the greatest indicator of their effectiveness. That's why this web site "harnesses the collective contributions" made by people about what worked for them so that other "can make better decisions to achieve your goals."

Sounds like an awesome concept, doesn't it?

You know what? Three of the Top 10 diets listed on "Fat Secret" are low-carb diets--#2 is South Beach, #3 is Atkins, and #7 is the GI Diet.

Wanna push those low-carb diets to the very top of the charts at "Fat Secret?" Why not share YOUR story with them by signing up and showing that there are actually people who go on this diet and lose serious amounts of weight doing so. I lost 180 pounds in one year on the Atkins diet, so I know it REALLY works. Let others know how well it works for you, too!

They even allow the members of the web site create their own personalized diet plans. Guess what the top member diet is right now? Check it out--the Carbs Are Evil! diet. HA! I love it!

Look at the description of this hilarious low-carb diet plan on "Fat Secret":

"Don't get me wrong, I love carbs. But you can't beat the nice full feeling you get from eating lots of fats and protein, you eat less, and the weight slowly comes off."

ROTFL! The only thing I'd change about that description is the word "slowly." Change it to "quickly" and it's a perfect description of livin' la vida low-carb. :D

There are even delicious recipes to choose from as well as a member community where people can ask and say whatever they want as it relates to diet, weight loss, and health.

As their slogan states, "the secret is out" so be sure to visit "Fat Secret."

Darleen Says Low-Carb 'Brainwashed' Her Into Getting Healthy

Darleen went from 212 to 136.5 pounds--looks and feels fantastic!

Hearing personal stories about livin' la vida low-carb success NEVER gets old. How much more invigorating does it get than to hear how real people have been able to shed the pounds quickly and permanently with a healthy nutritional approach?

Such is the case with a 58-year old woman named Darleen. She's that remarkable woman at the top of this post who used to be a miserable 212-pounder with all the aches and pains that come from being obese.

"I was feeling it big time," Darleen recalled. "It was not all that uncommon for me to be out of breath at the slightest exertion, have rashes in the folds of my skin, and a bunch of other health issues were cropping up."

When you are going through all of these kinds of health problems due to your obesity, it's very difficult for people who haven't been in this situation themselves to understand why you would stay there. But it happens until something finally clicks in your head to wake you up and shake you back to reality. For Darleen, it happened one day after work.

"Since I had no energy, I spent the evening munching on corn chips and bowls of ice cream while reading books and thought to myself, 'Is this all there is to life?'" Darleen exclaimed.

Soon thereafter, Darleen put some feet to her desire to lose weight and get healthy by joining the popular gym called Curves and then read several diet books including Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution and The South Beach Diet. Additionally, she supplemented her knowledge with articles about eating more protein and less starchy foods.

Darleen had tried Weight Watchers and their low-calorie weight loss plan in her 20's, but she described it as "torture."

"I was hungry all the time and lost 1/4 pound a week or nothing," she remembered. "I didn’t want to go through that again. I love food too much!"

But she had to give up many of her favorite foods she had always loved.

"No breads, rice, potatoes, pasta or any sweets," Darleen quipped. "Geez, that was my entire diet!"

Even still, she was also a big fan of meats, cheeses, eggs, fruits and vegetables, so livin' la vida low-carb "didn't sound too bad" either. She especially liked the fact that you didn't have to keep track of calories or portion sizes when you first start eating this way because low-carb naturally regulates these for you.

Because of her new low-carb diet, Darleen was never hungry and ate until she was "comfortably full." This kept the cravings at bay so she wouldn't "grab bad stuff to eat." She also knew to take vitamins and fiber supplementation to make sure she was getting adequate nutrients that her body needed as she was losing weight.

Darleen ate lots of meals throughout the day as well as plenty of water.

"I sip on water all day long at work," she said. "Sometimes you think you are hungry but really you are just thirsty."

After 13 months of livin' la vida low-carb, Darleen lost a grand total of 75.5 pounds! That was about 5-6 pounds per month (just a little more than a pound a week!) that she credits her desire to stick with her commitment.

"Maybe it’s just being stubborn but I just read too much about the large numbers of obese people in the United States and I didn’t want to be one anymore," she revealed.

Today, Darleen says she views food "differently" than ever before.

"Reading the Atkins book about what all the processed foods do to your body scared me straight! How sugar/carbs affect your insulin, heart, blood really got to me. I almost shudder when I look at a doughnut now," she exclaimed.

Yeah, I know what you mean, Darleen! Me too! RAT POISON, RAT POISON! LOL! I especially liked the way she described what low-carb did to help her learn how to live healthy.

"I brainwashed myself into healthy eating habits and it worked," she said.

Now those new healthy eating habits have taken firm root in Darleen as her permanent lifestyle change. Life for her has been radically changed for the better with her stunning weight loss and improved health. Although counting carbs was important while she was losing weight, today she is more meticulous about the totality of her diet to make the best choices for her.

"I look at the total picture of food," Darleen noted. "During the losing part I focused on carbs. Now I look at the calories, fat and carbs to help decide. I’m still eating very little to no processed foods. Lots of meat and fresh veggies and fruit are still a part of my life every single day."

After her stunning weight loss success thanks to livin' la vida low-carb, Darleen went to visit her sister across the country to surprise her with her new look

"With my hair a different color and a much thinner body, my sister told me she would have passed me on the street and not known it was her own sister. Needless to say, I loved hearing that," Darleen remarked.

It's been three years and counting and Darleen is STILL livin' la vida low-carb. She's eating lots of fat and highly recommends it for anyone who wants to eat a healthy low-carb lifestyle.

"I know some people think it's gross, but I always eat the beef and pork fat that comes with my steaks and chops," Darleen shared. "I love it! Eat the chicken and turkey skin. Cook with butter and olive oil and have eggs frequently. I absolutely adore blue cheese salad dressing."

She added, "Of course, this is all the stuff the low-fat people cringe at."

Yep, they sure do. But the real proof is in the blood test results Darleen recently got back from her doctor. This is exactly the kind of bloodwork YOU can have if you start livin' la vida low-carb:

Triglycerides: 55
Total Cholesterol: 149
HDL: 79
LDL: 59
Ratio: 1.9
Glucose: 67

I might add that Darleen doesn't take ANY prescription medications at all and is as healthy as she's ever been in her entire life. And doesn't she look absolutely beautiful, too?

Her inspiring low-carb weight loss was the impetus for her husband's 60-pound loss and health improvements, too! He was in danger with his lipid profile and now "everything is normal." WOW! What an story, Darleen! THANK YOU so much for sharing it with me and my readers today. You keep at it girl, and keep on livin' la vida low-carb. I KNOW you will! :)

Are you like Darleen and have a low-carb weight loss success story to share? Send it to me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.

Cholesterol Confusion And Concerns Continue

One thing I have noticed about writing here at my blog is that previous topics I have already addressed have a peculiar way of coming back around again and again as more and more new people suddenly discover this site for the very first time. If that's YOU, then let me officially welcome you to "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb." Feel free to browse through the archives in the lower right-hand side of the page to access the more than 1,600 blog posts I have written.

I certainly don't mind covering an issue over and over again as long as people are still asking the questions that they are most concerned about. Today I received a question from a concerned e-mailer that I am sure is on the minds of many people who are either on a low-carb diet for the very first time or are thinking about it. It's about cholesterol.

With the widespread prevalance of cholesterol-lowering prescription drugs such as Lipitor, Crestor, and Zetia (with that commercial featuring the fat female television cooking show host who is utterly annoying!), people have come to fear their cholesterol numbers like never before. Oh my gosh, am I gonna die if my cholesterol goes up above 200?! As absurd as that may sound to those of us who have educated ourselves about the cholesterol lie that exists, you have to realize that a great majority of people totally freak out when they perceive they have "high" cholesterol.

Here's the frantic e-mail I received from a new low-carber about her cholesterol:

Hello! I am in my second month of a low-carb diet. I am following a modified version of South Beach. To date, I have lost 14 pounds already and was feeling great...until this week. I had a physical and got my blood work done and the results were scary. My cholesterol is sky high:

Total -- 301 (yes 301!)
HDL -- 83
LDL -- 148
Triglycerides -- 62

Now I am afraid to continue on with my low-carb diet. My doctor only states that she "Does not trust the lab results....this profile does not make sense." Boy that really scares me to hear her say she is not trusting the results. Anyways, now I fear I'm gonna have a heart attack or stroke. Do you have any insight about this? It would be greatly appreciated.

Because this e-mailer is expressing a lot of issues that I believe may be on the hearts and minds of many other brand new low-carbers or potential ones, I'd like to share with you my thorough e-mail response including pertinent links to articles I have written about this subject before. Hopefully this will shed some light on the cholesterol issue and clear up the confusion and concern that apparently continues in the minds of many.

This was my response:

THANK YOU so much for writing to me today. CONGRATULATIONS on making livin' la vida low-carb your permanent lifestyle choice and I'm happy to address your cholesterol concerns.

First, let me calm your fears and ask you to try to relax about your blood test results. We have been conditioned by the medical establishment to assume certain things as it relates to health indicators (namely cholesterol) that people get in a tizzy when the numbers fall outside of the so-called "normal" parameters.

This may surprise you, but your lipid profile isn't all that different from mine actually. And it was about this time last year that I had many of the same feelings you did regarding my supposedly "high" cholesterol numbers. Check out just a few of the posts I wrote about it at the time:

"Cholesterol Conundrum: Do I Statin Or Not?"
"Doctor Gives Me Four Months To Get LDL Down"
"Consensus On Cholesterol Is Avoid Statins"
"My Cholesterol Craziness Continues"
"Lowering Cholesterol Through Better Choices"

Since I wrote all of those posts, I have become much more educated about cholesterol numbers for people who are on a low-carb diet. They should be measured quite differently than the traditional tests administered to people eating a high-carb diet. Respected physician and low-carb expert Dr. Mary C. Vernon has said that when your triglycerides are below 100 (as yours are), then your LDL numbers are not going to be accurate.

Dr. Vernon also added that elevated HDL (which you have and that's a VERY GOOD sign you are doing the diet correctly) and total cholesterol can happen "because intermediate density lipoproteins are being measured as LDLs." In other words, some of what is being measured as LDL is actually a false positive that could be LDL or could be HDL. It distorts the entire picture.

All the latest research is pointing to low-carb benefitting cholesterol greatly, that high LDL can be good, low HDL can be bad for heart disease risk, that the triglyceride/HDL ratio is what is most important, and that HDL and triglycerides are better markers for cardiovascular risk than LDL and total cholesterol.

Those are the cold hard facts directly from the latest research!

In fact, coming up this Tuesday afternoon there will be a HUGE study that will shock the world of diet and health set to be published in a major medical journal about how low-carb diets have been found to be just as good or better on all the health indicators than high-carb, low-fat diets, including on cholesterol number. Be sure to look for my post about it then!

Also, if you haven't yet picked up a copy of Anthony Colpo's "The Great Cholesterol Con," then it is well worth the time to read all the research this Australian man has compiled about the truth regarding cholesterol. I also was able to interview him last year just before he released his book.

Are you starting to feel a little better now? I sure hope so. Like I said earlier, we have been so conditioned to worry about issues that really have no negative bearing on our health whatsoever and cholesterol is one of them. That's not to say you can't have cholesterol problems when you are on a low-carb diet, but it looks from your numbers like you are doing AWESOME with your blood test results. Your triglyceride/HDL ratio is an astonishing 0.75 (that's better than my 0.83)!

Be proud of what you are doing and confident that you are living a healthier life than you ever have before. THANKS again for writing and please feel free to contact me anytime! Take care!

Does anyone else have a thought, comment, or question to share about this issue?

3-5-07 UPDATE: One of my "lurking" readers who doesn't even have a Google or Blogger account sent me the following e-mail because she just HAD to share her appreciation for what I wrote in this post.

Hi Jimmy:

I wanted to thank you for posting this entry. I am one of those like you described who just believed everything about high cholesterol. I have to admit that while I have done the Atkins diet before, and it worked BRILLIANTLY for me, I have about 15 more pounds I wish I could lose but was a little concerned about doing it again because of the "high" cholesterol talk.

I know Atkins works and I know that those in the media who try to say it doesn't work or doctors who try to say it doesn't work and that it is bad for you for all kinds of reasons (not just cholesterol) have NO idea what they are talking about. It DOES work and I've actually never been healthier.

I get the feeling that many of these people have never read Dr. Atkins' books and just go around stating that if you eat a pound of bacon every day, you'll do your health bad. I don't quite recall ever reading that you can eat a pound of bacon in those books.

You may wonder how I could have read his books and know firsthand that those who speak poorly about the low-carb diet were wrong. Nevertheless, I fell into the trap of believing all the hype about cholesterol. Why did I do this to myself? That's a very good question.

So, let me say thank you. I appreciate that you put this issue out there and all the information you provide for us to read and educate ourselves. Not only have you done great for yourself, you DO make a difference for other people out there.

How about my feelings regarding the Atkins diet and my concerns over cholesterol now? I think I will start the Atkins diet again and lose that final 15 pounds that just will not come off any other way. I can exercise until I'm ready to pass out and I can try low-fat, low-this, low-that...but the only thing that works for me is low-carb.

Thank God for Dr. Atkins (and may he rest in peace), and thank you, Jimmy, for not being afraid to fight against the untruths while keeping us all informed.

Anyway, I'll go back to lurking now, but this entry just needed to be commented on. You've done a wonderful thing by writing it. Have a great week!

WOW, this is AWESOME! THANK YOU for writing this comment because it started off my week on the right foot. I'm always happy to share my experiences with my readers so that others can benefit from the truths I have learned. Keep up the fight and never give up! Take care! :)

More Machine Gun Low-Carb Blogging

This has been quite the month for me to try to squeeze in everything I want to blog about, but there's just so much going on I have been having some leftover topics that I REALLY want to blog about still waiting to be blogged. As a result, I have been resorting to something I recently dubbed machine gun blogging to try to catch up. Get ready, get set, because the topics are gonna come at you fast and furious along with my regular commentary. So, without further delay, let's get started!

Starting us off is this Rocky Mountain News column which had some very thought-provoking points about diet and health that you should check out for a few reasons.

First, it features one of my favorite people in the whole widey widey world--Nicki Anderson from Reality Fitness in Naperville, Illinois. If you have not heard of Nicki yet, then you need to get to know her better because she is putting out a positive message of hope for people dealing with living a healthy life (and she's FRIENDLY towards people who are livin' la vida low-carb! WOO HOO!). Visit her web site at RealityFitness.com and sign up for her "Happy Monday" newsletter in the lower left-hand corner of the page. An inspiring message arrives pronto in your e-mail inbox bright and early on Monday mornings and you WON'T be disappointed.

Second, the story features the real founding father of the modern low-carb movement--William Banting. Most people erroneously believe that the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins invented the low-carb diet, but actually it's been around for thousands of years. It was the ORIGINAL diet that most of our ancestors feasted on throughout the ages. Nevertheless, in the mid-1800s, Banting stumbled upon low-carb when his ENT doctor prescribed it for his hearing problems. He went on to lose 50 pounds by livin' la vida low-carb and wrote down the basic tenets of what many describe as the first diet book ever written entitled Letter on Corpulence. Today, Banting's principles still live on in the millions of people who are losing weight and improving their health with the low-carb lifestyle.

Third, we learn that three of the top ten diets being used in America today according to an NPD Group/Dieting Monitor survey are low-carb. They are Atkins at #6, South Beach at #8, and Sugar-Free at #9. Of course, there may even be some low-carbers in the #1 diet on the list called "my own." But the fact that most people think they know how to lose weight without the use of any specified program may explain why the latest dieting craze is weight gain!

One of my diabetic readers passed on this Diabetes In Control article about fooling your body into losing weight. Some of us have an overactive chemical imbalance in our brains that won't shut off even when we are not hungry. That's why you may get the sudden urge to nibble even after finishing your dinner. Of course, their ONLY answer to this "problem" is to prescribe a drug to control this from happening. I'm still not buying into that line of thinking because there is almost always a more natural way to lose and maintain your weight without such drastic interventions, IMHO! I'll give them some credit at the end of the column, though, when they try to provide practical tips for preventing this from happening similar to the ones Cornell University psychology professor Dr. Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating, outlined in his book. But still no mention of livin' la vida low-carb as a possible solution. :(

Last night, I had the privilege of attending an auction for two young men from my church who will be going on a mission trip overseas for a couple of weeks in February. Members of the church choir (which both Christine and I are a part of) brought items to be sold during the auction to help raise the funds for them to go. You know me, I couldn't resist making up a "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" basket full of all kinds of goodies, including an autographed copy of my Livin' La Vida Low-Carb book, Connie Bennett's fantastic new SUGAR SHOCK! book, all three of Jonny Bowden's motivational audiobook CD collection, and about 50 more items for this total package valued at around $500.

I was hoping it would garner at least $100, but they started the bidding for it at $50 and NOBODY would bid on it. It seems livin' la vida low-carb was not all that interesting to the people there. For a minute there, I thought I may have to bid $50 just to keep them from lowering the price. But finally one of my fellow choir members who is a diabetic and has been asking me LOTS of questions about low-carb lately perked up and bid $50 on it. Of course, nobody outbid him, so he won the basket. I went up to him afterwards and thanked him for getting it because I know he'll LOVE it! He said he wanted to share some of the low-carb books with his daughter who is struggling with her weight. A seed is planted and I'm happy to help water it to blossom! :)

Geting back to some articles in the media from this past week, I couldn't overlook this St. Paul, MN-based Pioneer Press story about a woman my age who was so fed up with her weight that she decided to go on Weight Watchers and their low-fat, low-calorie diet. GOOD FOR HER and I'm proud of her commitment to her new lifestyle change. But she said something about livin' la vida low-carb that I will not let slide without comment.

Here's her quote:

"I had been on the Atkins diet and lost weight. But that lifestyle just isn't maintainable. I had gained some weight back and was holding on."

Actually, livin' la vida low-carb IS maintainable if you make it a PERMANENT lifestyle change rather than just a diet. This is something that people who follow programs like Weight Watchers always fail to acknowledge. Sure, they have their little meetings, but when do you stop, hmmmm? The answer is NEVER and the same goes with the Atkins diet. It's the lifestyle change many have been looking for their entire lives. While some may not stick with the plan and start gaining the weight back (DUH!), most people who didn't fail on low-carb saw amazing long-term sustainable and maintainable weight loss success by staying on the plan. As long as you remember there is no "after" with low-carb, then there's no reason you shouldn't lose weight and keep it off forever!

Have you heard about the latest miracle weight loss food according to this United Press article? You're not going to believe this, but it's white rice. Yep, the same white rice that is absolutely a no-no when you are livin' la vida low-carb. The brilliant wonder-twins of The Serotonin Power Diet are Judith Wurtman and Nina Frusztajer Marquis. They foolishly assert that people need to eat lots and lots of carbohydrates to keep their serotonin levels high enough to control their appetite. Say what? If I nix the carbs and eat plenty of fat and protein, then something tells me I'm not gonna have to worry about hunger. This diet reminds me of another screwy high-carb diet I blogged about before called The Bread For Life Diet.

When I read this BruneiDirect.com story about giving hope to people who are obese that weight loss and improved health can indeed happen for them, I was encouraged. But that quickly diminished when I came to this part of the article:

Nora is also advising the public against resorting to the Atkins diet or the low carbohydrate eating plan to reduce weight. She said that the Atkins diet had been questioned due to its unconventional low carbohydrate but high protein diet. She noted that Dr. Robert Atkins, the pioneer of the diet, died from a heart attack.

Are these people TRYING to keep people fat? Whether they know it or not, by discouraging people from even attempting to lose weight using programs like the Atkins diet, that EXACTLY what they are doing. They turn their nose up at livin' la vida low-carb as if it's worse than obesity itself! Come on, people, get serious about this! Low-carb not only works but it keeps on working for those of us who LIVE IT day in and day out. Stop the scare tactics and give people the truth. And don't get me started on this vicious and hateful lie about Dr. Atkins dying of a heart attack again. We're just not going to entertain such ridiculous and unfounded theories over and over again after they have been clearly debunked. Next subject!

Here's another article from the Ozarks Newsstand that looked like a pretty good one on improving your body through diet and exercise...well, it was good until I got to this part:

The Atkins Diet is built around no carbohydrates. The South Beach Diet stresses cutting sugar-rich carbs such as bread, potatoes and even fruit. But which one is the right one? According to Herman, none of them. Eating healthy boils down to one thing-moderation.

"A lot are full blown on Atkins," he said of the low-carb diet made popular by Dr. Robert C. Atkins. "It does have good ideas and good points. You shouldn't overdo it on carbs. But don't restrict yourself. If you hold back, you'll go overboard. Reward yourself, but do it within reason."

Okay, I'm gonna say this LOUD AND CLEAR so nobody will misunderstand it. There is NO phase in the Atkins diet that requires you to eat NO carbohydrates. Not a single one. Even in the most restrictive phase of Induction during the first fourteen days of your low-carb plan, you still get to enjoy around 20g carbs daily. It only goes up from there eating lots of those low-glycemic foods mentioned with the South Beach diet. This idea of ZERO carbs may work for some people, the fact is most of us who are livin' la vida low-carb are STILL eating the right kind of carbs and gladly so. I like the fact that this expert admits there are good aspects to Atkins, but furthering the misinformation about this remarkable weight loss program is not cool at all. Don't they know Jimmy Moore will call their bluff by now? :D

Finally, have you heard about the controversy happening in Tennessee over the popular weight loss method known as gastric bypass surgery? This Fox News story reveals that healthcare provider BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is now requiring (GET THIS!) an IQ TEST before overweight or obese people will be allowed to try this risky way to shed the pounds. Not surprisingly, people are up in arms about this claiming it's discrimination against fat people. But I disagree.

Before we make it so easy for people to have a surgery like this one, why don't we have them tested not just for their intelligence (which is irrelevant if you ask me), but also do a complete psychological evaluation to get at the root cause of the weight problem to begin with. A lot of people who choose to have the gastric bypass surgery have not exhausted all the natural ways to lose weight first and feel it is simply a quick fix to their weight problem. Getting to the bottom of the REAL problem may prevent many people from having regrets about their decision to be cut open and radically altering their life forever. Besides, they're gonna be eating low-carb when the surgery is done anyway, so why not start livin' la vida low-carb to begin with?

Okay, that's plenty of low-carb morsels for you to munch on for today (but there's plenty more to come!). Feel free to comment on any or all of these topics that may tickle your fancy or get your blood pressure cooking. Don't hold it in, share it with Dr. Jimmy and leave all your burdens behind you. Let's talk it over, shall we?

Livin' La Vida Low-Carb E-mail Extravaganza

The feedback I have received from hundreds of brand new readers who have put me on an all-time record pace for pageviews this month has kept me a busy bee lately. I enjoy reading every single e-mail that comes my way and wanted to share a few of the ones that may interest you.

Here's an e-mail from a man who is contemplating a diet called No White At Night by Bill Gavin:

Jimmy, you are an inspiration! Let me make that clear. I am on my own weight loss journey, but it's been a hard one. I'm now down to about 305 from a high of about 389. I'm about 6' tall. I hit a spirit-killing plateau last summer and tried just about everything to get the weight moving again. I even hired a personal trainer and started working with weights. I wasn't doing a low-carb diet, instead doing moderate everything, counting calories, and exercising. I also realized I needed to increase my water intake, so I'm doing that now.

I recently checked a book out of the library called "No White at Night." Have you heard of it? Do you have an opinion of it? I saw your review of the Carbohydrate Addicts Diet (which I did several years ago), but this diet is slightly different from that one.

Here are the basic principles:

1. Eat 3 meals/day (though I do 5),
2. Protein at every meal
3. No starches/sweets at night

I'm working my mother to help her lose weight because she's extremely overweight and in poor health. She's GOT to lose weight. My mom's doctor won't approve Atkins (I already asked), but I figured this plan would be good for us both. Since she's diabetic, it's possible I am having insulin metabolic resistance. I've never been tested as a full-blown diabetic, but that doesn't mean I'm not suffering from hyperinsulinemia.

So, my basic question is whether you think this approach can work, or if you are just for straight Atkins. Thanks, and keep up the good work.

Hmmm, this plan certainly sounds interesting, but it's not that different from Atkins. My only concern is eating the "white" foods during the day. If they changed the book to "No White During The Day Or At Night," then THAT would be a plan I could throw my full support behind. :)

As for your doctor not approving Atkins for your mother, tell him you want to put her on a healthy diet consisting of removing the sugar, white flour, starchy vegetables, and processed foods and replacing those things with low-glycemic fruits like berries as well as green leafy veggies. How much you wanna bet that doctor would say "Oh, that's really healthy." What they don't even realize is that perfectly describes the Atkins diet! This kind of ignorance is everywhere.

Speaking of doctor ignorance, here's another e-mail from a lady who wants to go on the South Beach diet, but her doctor said it will cause her cholesterol to go up:

For the past couple of weeks I have been researching low-carb diets, reading books etc. I have been doing this in order to decide which eating planning will work best for my husband and I. We need to lose some weight and recently were told by our doctor that our cholesterol was a little high. I finally made a decision to put my husband and I on 'The South Beach Diet' because I felt it would work with our lifestyle the best and easiest. I was really excited after reading Dr. Agatston's book on the diet and was excited about the possible outcome with our weight and health.

However when I called the doctor's office today to get the okay from our doc before going on this diet the nurse told me the diet wasn't good for lowering cholesterol. Now I am really discouraged and confused. How can there be so many different opinions about this subject? I wouldn't imagine a cardiologist recommending a diet that wouldn't help lower cholesterol. Now I am stuck and in need of some suggestions from you.

I haven't started any diet as of yet, for this very reason. I don't want to be in the middle of something and either get discouraged or told it wasn't a healthy choice for me. I was on Atkins a few years ago and I felt very ill on that diet. I had heart palpitations and I was weak. I did however lose weight. I know that Dr. Agatston doesn't agree with Atkins on some points, but now my doctor doesn't agree with South Beach.

I am reallty trying to make the best decision here before changing a lifestyle and then having to change it again. Any input would be appreciated.

This is the kind of thing that REALLY angers me more than anything. Here's someone who wants to seriously do something for herself and her husband about their weight and health problems and yet it is the doctor standing in the way and actually DISCOURAGING them from doing SOMETHING! UGH! I'd really like to ask these doctors like this one a very pointed question--Which is worse, low-carb or obesity? There's no doubt what the right answer is.

Here was my response to this e-mail:

THANKS for writing and sharing your concerns about low-carb raising your cholesterol. It doesn't matter which low-carb plan you choose, your doctor is not gonna like it. Mine didn't before I started on Atkins in 2004, but I did it anyway.

I've written extensively about the cholesterol issue several times before--

- How high blood sugar is the health threat, not cholesterol
- How HDL "good" cholesterol is improved while on low-carb
- How low-carb living with regular exercise lowers total cholesterol
- How even the LDL "bad" cholesterol can be healthy for you
- How low-carb makes worrying about your cholesterol unnecessary
- How traditional cholesterol test results don't apply to people on low-carb

Also, if you haven't seen my interview with Australian independent researcher Anthony Colpo yet, then it's worth checking out. He spent years looking at all of the scientific data to determine the truth about cholesterol and its implications on our health. He wrote a book called "The Great Cholesterol Con" that details the results of his extensive examination of this issue.

I'll warn you now, if you want to start on any low-carb plan--whether it's Atkins, South Beach, Protein Power, or whatever--you are going to run into naysayers, especially in the medical community. They are living on the research that took place many decades ago and have not updated their knowledge to the latest studies. Please take time to read all the links I provided because it will expand your understanding and give you peace about going on South Beach.

Hope this helps! Take care!

Thankfully, there are SOME doctors out there who realize how awesome livin' la vida low-carb is. Meet Dr. Rick Boatright who found me doing a search recently and he is doing some fantastic work helping people with Type II diabetes overcome their challenges with the disease thanks to low-carb.

Here's his e-mail:

Hi,

My name’s Dr. Rick Boatright and I’m a chiropractor. I’ve been getting reports of very good success with my recent book, “Surviving Type II Diabetes (In Spite of the Experts’ Advice)” from both my patients who have purchased it in my office and others who have bought it online and in stores. So my wife and I have been considering re-focusing our practice on helping the Type II diabetic and on weight loss. When I typed “weight loss and chiropractic” into my search engine, I found a Jimmy Moore weight loss article on your blog and just had to find out more about you.

My book has only been out since May and I’ve been steadily plugging along. I believe that the low-carb message is incredibly vital to most Americans today. Any way I can get that message out, I feel I must. Not only is it a vital element in weight loss issues, it’s also a major player in cholesterol control, heart health, controlling triglycerides, and controlling one of the most prevalent of 21st century epidemics – type II diabetes, which represents more than 80% of all diabetes cases in the US today.

I want to applaud you for your incredibly important work. It’s a shining example to follow. You’re a leader and an inspiration. I’ve dropped nearly 50 pounds over the past 3 years and continue to lose, and my wife has dropped 105 pounds and is still losing. I’m pre-diabetic and she’s a Type II diabetic.

I'm a hard core, low-carb proponent coming from the slant of its importance as it pertains to Type II diabetes and I'm proud to have you doing what you are doing.

Sincerely,

Dr. Rick Boatright

WOW, thanks so much Dr. Boatright. I have found most chiropractors at least acknowledge the low-carb lifestyle (except for this lone "dufus Denver doc" I had to set straight!) as a viable option for many since their profession also bucks the trend of conventional wisdom. Please visit Dr. Boatright's outstanding web site to learn more about what he is doing to use low-carb for treating Type II diabetes.

Another web site you might want to check out is a creatively-titled low-carb blog called "The Steaks Are High" by a woman named Kate. I referenced this blog last week in my blog post "When Is Fat Not Fattening?" and Kate just had to respond.

Hi Jimmy,

I just wanted to thank you for linking to my blog last week. My traffic soared after you did that, so thank you. Blogging is fun, but it doesn't make me leap out of bed in the morning to post when the likelihood is that only a few people will actually read it. However, despite my low numbers, I do agree with the point you made in your podcast show today about low carb blogging increasing accountability.

I can honestly say that I have not cheated once since beginning my blog. I'd feel like a bit of a hypocrite publicly touting the benefits of low-carb living and then stuffing myself full of sugar! But even if I do slip up at some point, I think knowing that I'll want to post about it will keep me in a healthy frame of mind where instead of berating myself for cheating I'll be using it to examine what went wrong and how I can do better in the future. This will help me help others who are struggling.

Thank you again for the link! You should've heard me on the phone to my mom--'He's one of the most famous low-carb bloggers ever and he linked to me!' Thanks for all the amazing work you do. I really enjoy reading what you have to say, whether it be ranting or raving, or simply passing on good info. Have a great day!

Kate, you're making me blush! It was my pleasure to point people to the fantastic writing you are doing at your blog. You are doing an outstanding job and I'm happy to announce you are the newest contributing writer at Low-Carb Newsline. Be sure to check out what Kate has to say! Tell mom I said HI! :)

There's another new low-carb blog out there called "Notso Fatso: Chronicles Of A Low-Carb Maniac" featuring the hilarious writings of Andrew Ross. He decided to drop me an e-mail to let me know about his blog and here's what Andrew wrote:

Congratulations on your low-carb success! I’m hoping to catch up to you with my weight loss. I’ve lost a net amount of 90 lbs, and have another 130 to go and it feels a whole lot easier after seeing how much you lost. I was blown away and greatly encouraged when I came across your blog via Google. In fact, it’s inspired me to start my own blog. I saw you asked for emails concerning new blogs, so I thought I’d mention it.

So far, I’ve just been blogging about random low-carb subjects. In the next few weeks, I’m going to start narrowing the scope of it a bit when I find particular low-carb subjects that need attention. I’m also a lover of diet humor, so I’ve posted a few items concerning that as well. At any rate, enough about my stuff…

I’m glad to see someone (that’s you) pouring such attention into matters of health – I get the feeling you are truly passionate about others. You’ve made a difference in my life, and I hope I get the pleasure of sharing the good news of my success with you!

Andy

What an awesome e-mail, Andy! I'm stoked you have found some benefit in what I am doing here at my blog and I KNOW you will be very successful at your intentionally politically incorrect blog as well. YOU GO BOY! Keep in touch and let me know how you're doing. I'll be watching your blog, too!

Finally,

I lost 100 lbs on Atkins about 3 years ago I am just now starting to creep some pounds back on. I have added 29 pounds and cannot get away from that weight. Now I am still not skinny by any mean--I currently weigh 329. I don't know how much I was when I started but I lost quite a bit and then finally went to my dad's dialysis place to weigh on thier scale that was on the floor and looked like a loading dock scale. At that time I weighed 380. I remember how excited I was to get down to a weight that I could use a home scale and now I am pressing that number again.

I got down to 298 and swore I would never see 300 again, but my daughter came back home and her and I like to run around and go out to eat. Her moving back caused extra expenses and stress, then she got pregnant etc. I am in my 2nd marriage and all my kids are from the first marriage which adds stress and I am a major stress eater.

A week and a half ago the company I worked for bailed out of the blue and left us all unemployed. The really bad thing was me, hubby and daughter all worked there so our whole house lost it's income. So needless to say I have not been eating so great the last week. But tomorrow we should have our last paychecks in the mail and I want to by good food and stick with it.

So any ideas, help, family friendly recipes, etc. would be great. Hope you are doing well.

Aw, that just breaks my heart hearing about this. But life does happen and it's that much more important to stick with low-carb living when the going gets rough. Here was my response to her:

I'm sorry to hear about your job loss. I too lost my job in October 2006, but you just keep trudging forward knowing that better days are coming because they are. I'll pray that you and your family find gainful employment real soon. Keep the faith, my friend!

Regarding what to eat, check out my sample low-carb menus. That should give you an idea about what I eat over several weeks. Keep the carbs low and the protein and fat high and you'll be in business. :)

THANKS again for writing and I know God has a miracle in store for you soon. Believe it, then recieve it, okay? SEE YA!

Life can get difficult, but that's when you find out what you're made of. Some use that as an excuse to go crazy with the carbs. But I encourage you to stay strong and have the last laugh when this storm passes because you triumphed without sacrificing your weight loss efforts. YOU CAN DO THIS!

Do you have a comment or question for me? I'd love to hear from you, so drop me an e-mail anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. I answer EVERY e-mail personally, so let me hear from you!