I'll Know This Week If I Made It In George Clooney's 'Leatherheads' Movie

"Leatherheads" is FINALLY coming to theaters on Friday, April 4, 2008

The wait is almost over and I can hardly contain myself waiting for this Friday when the romantic comedy vintage football film Leatherheads hits movie theaters across America. It was just a little more than one year ago that I was given an incredible once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to appear in this major Hollywood motion picture starring two of the hottest stars in Tinseltown today--George Clooney and Renee Zellweger. The experience of being on set for what will surely be one of the top films of 2008 is one I'll not soon forget and the anticipation leading up to this Friday to see if any of my scenes actually made it on the silver screen is killing me right now. I WANNA KNOW!!! :D



For my newer readers, it all started back in December 2006 when a local call for football players in the Greenville/Spartanburg, SC market was put out across the media and my ears perked up. Was it because I had the big strapping body of a football player because of my tremendous prowess in my younger years? HA! Yeah right, that's a good one! Remember, I was the fat kid growing up and actually I played in the band in high school.

And yet there I was waiting in line with over 1,000 other guys who were vying for their chance to be in a big-time movie. That alone was a neat experience and my story very well could have ended there. But then I got a call at the end of February 2007 from the casting director wanting to know if I still wanted to be in the Clooney flick. Uhhhh, lemme think about it--YES YES YES (and did I mention YES?!)!!! In fact, I thought I would be a football-playing extra in the film, but...



It turns out they needed me to play the role of The Doorman for the "Emerson House Hotel" (thus, the EHH on my hat) because of my height and slender body type. Uh, okay...whatever it takes to be in this movie, I'll do it. You can read all about how that glorious all-day Sunday event went in my first experience on the set of Leatherheads in downtown Greenville, South Carolina by clicking here.

I'll never forget the amazing job the wardrobe department did to make that hat work on my big head. Everything about the costume fit perfectly EXCEPT for the hat. My enlarged forehead (gee, thanks Dad!) wouldn't even allow it to come close to fitting. So they ripped the back of the hat out and put in some stretchy material so it would wrap around my head. Never mind the fact my brains felt like they were gonna squeeze out of my ears that day it was so tight! But at least it was on my head! ;)

That wasn't even the most memorable part of my story of being The Doorman, though. It turns out, this role was an integral part of the 30-second scene we were shooting because Clooney's character (Dodge Connolly) rides in on an old-timey 1920's motorcycle in front of my hotel where I am standing guard and parks it right there while swaggering his way off of it looking at me stating sarcastically, "Keep it close now, will ya?" The director instructed me to give him the dirtiest look I could and then shut the door behind Clooney after he enters the building. I'm almost 100% sure this scene will be in the final version of the film (did I say HOPING?!). The camera was just a few feet from where Clooney and I were standing during the scene and we did a bazillion takes of just this scene all day long. It's GOTTA be there!



In fact, George and Renee were in town this past week thanking our area for their hospitality during the filming and promoting the movie. Uh, yeah, I think we'll sell out a few theaters in this area just with all the extras and their families alone! But this Friday will be quite an eventful one for me and Christine because we will be participating in a special Red Carpet Gala just for the extras who were in Leatherheads. I'm getting dressed up in a tuxedo and Christine will wear her favorite black evening dress for the opening night festivities. The press will be there interviewing us about what it was like being on the set, so we'll get our few minutes of glamour and glitz!

But I've already told Christine that I wanna go see the movie earlier in the day around noon on Friday to see if my Doorman scene made it. I was also a fan in the stands for several of the football scenes that were shot in Traveler's Rest, SC and Charlotte, NC, but you'll never be able to make out the faces of the extras in those scenes. I'll be zeroing in on The Doorman scene when I'm watching the movie. It's so exciting and I'll be sure to let you know if I made the film or not (cross your fingers for me!).



Be sure to check out all my Leatherheads posts which include lots of pictures from the set, including exclusive behind-the-scenes photos of Clooney and co-star John Krasinski in action. If you happen to go see this movie, then watch for The Doorman giving George Clooney a "dirty look." That'd be me! Is it Friday yet?!

4-4-08 UPDATE: I'm in the movie!!! Christine and I went to see Leatherheads for the matinee showing at 12:30pm and there was my brief glimpse of cinematic glory about 10-15 minutes into the film. Clooney drives up on his motorcycle in front of the hotel and there I am (all 6'3" of me!) standing at attention in my green doorman outfit. They cut the scene short, but Christine about had a hissy fit seeing me in the movie. :D I'll be blogging more about this after our big Red Carpet Gala event tonight. GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!! :)

Lots Of Local Love For 'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb'

Story on my blog and business in two Spartanburg, SC papers

The local media here in my hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina have been very kind to me ever since I lost 180 pounds on the Atkins diet in 2004. I've been on all the major local television affiliates, the powerhouse talk radio station, and in several different newspaper columns over the past three years. You can see links to all of these features and more at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Links" blog in the section called "More Moore." It's a real honor to be able to share my low-carb weight loss success story with people on a local level right here in my own hometown.

Three weeks ago, I received an e-mail from a columnist for the local newspaper The Spartanburg Herald-Journal named Christina Wilson. She came across my blog while searching for health-related information in the Spartanburg, South Carolina area. Because of the enormous traffic I receive, my blog articles are ranked very high in the Google search engines and she contacted me about writing a story about me.

Since they had already done an article about my weight loss a couple of years ago, I said they could update my story to let people know I've kept the weight off. But Wilson was more interested in the business aspect of what I do working full-time as a blogger, doing podcasts and YouTube videos, and selling my own low-carb chocolate bar. Yeah, I suppose doing all that for a living is kinda rare these days.

She asked me all sorts of questions about how I got into blogging, where did I learn how to do what I am doing (I still don't know! LOL!), what is my source of income--almost exclusively focused on the business aspect of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb." It was an awesome column and I encourage you to read it all by clicking on the images below:

PART 1 PART 2
CLICK ABOVE to enlarge Part 1 and Part 2

Originally, I was told the article on me would be featured in an insert in the newspaper that publishes once a month called The Pulse. This health-oriented magazine features stories about diet, weight loss, health, and fitness as a supplement to the regular newspaper. An online version of the January 9, 2008 edition of The Pulse can be accessed by clicking here (you'll see my picture and a tease about the story on the front cover and the article appears on pages 9-10).

But imagine my surprise on Tuesday this week when that same story written by Christina Wilson ended up on the FRONT PAGE of another sister newspaper of The Spartanburg Herald-Journal called HJ Weekly. This was way cool because it's a free newspaper that gets delivered to the driveway of every single home in Spartanburg County. And when they open it up, that's me they see smiling at them along with my business story. WOW!

Okay, now about that picture they used of me jumping up with my mouth open. You might be wondering why was it so goofy looking (no comments from the peanut gallery)? Here's the final photo they chose for the column:



A little wild and crazy? SURE! But what the newspaper photographer Holly Bowman asked me to do was simply hold up my old "fat boy" pants in front of me. Yaaaawwwwnnn! BORING! See for yourself:



It was a nice picture, but let's have some fun with it, shall we? So she asked me what I had in mind and I decided to jump up and show some personality. The photographer was lovin' it and she said, "do that again" and "how about something else?" So we got a whole buncha photos of me in poses that gave me a workout. Here are a select few others that didn't make it to print:



All in all, it was an exhilarating experience to get the word out about the healthy low-carb lifestyle in a positive story in my local press. Every time something like this happens for me, I generally receive feedback from people who said that my blog is just the inspiration they needed to start living healthy again. You just don't know how good it feels to know that.

If you read about my story in either The Pulse or HJ Weekly, then welcome to the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog. I'm happy to help you in any way that I can to become the same kind of success that I was back in 2004 when I shed 180 pounds on the Atkins diet. Feel free to e-mail me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net and I'd be honored to assist you in your low-carb lifestyle. THANKS for reading and please come back often for education, encouragement, and inspiration for living better than you ever thought possible!

Dangit, My Apple iPhone Was Stolen Today!

Six months after getting my iPhone, it was stolen from me

Can I whine just a bit for a moment? WAH!

I'm just a little bummed out right now because earlier today my beloved iPhone was stolen. Yep, right from under my nose, the dad-blamit thing just disappeared on me. What makes it worse is that it happened at the gym likely while I was using the abdominal equipment to do my 150 crunches (as part of my new commitment to resistance training). Double whammy! UGH!

I know, I know, some of you are laughing hysterically right now because you feel utter glee that I would allow myself to lose something like an iPhone which I paid $600 for back in August 2007 (they've since dropped the price to $400). Alright, got that out of your system now? Good. For the rest of you without iPhone envy syndrome, I have to tell you that little gizmo was one of the best business investments I'd ever made. Besides my computer, that phone was my lifeline to so many facets of what I do. And it had EVERYTHING about me on it (but I'm not worried about identity theft since I got LifeLock four months ago to protect me).

But now my iPhone is gone in the blink of an eye. Shoot!

Here's what happened: Around noon today, I drove down to the gym to get in a quick 30-minute resistance training workout before running some errands to the bank and to pick up some kitty litter and cat food from PetSmart. The first thing I did when I got to Peak Fitness was head straight to the machine to do my abdominal workout since my personal trainer wants me to get in at least 100 a day (I've been doing 150).

As always, I kept my iPhone in my left pocket in case I got any calls while I was out. It's the same place I always keep it when I exercise and I've never had an issue. In my right pocket was my Sony Walkman to listen to the radio while I worked out. I went through my entire routine working on my abs and arms today, ran my errands, got home, and only took three steps inside before I felt down my left pocket for my iPhone and it wasn't there.

My heart immediately sunk (don't you just HATE that feeling?!).

Before I even spoke to my wife Christine, I raced out the door to my car and hurriedly drove back to the gym that was about a mile away from my house. When I got there, I asked the attendant at the front desk if anyone had turned in a cell phone. He starts digging for a box and said, "You can check in this box we have." I explained I was just there less than an hour before and that it would have been turned in recently. He said nothing was brought to him.

My heart sunk some more.

So I retraced all my steps in the gym and headed straight for the abdominal machine first. Not there. I looked around all the equipment and weights where I had been to see if it has slipped out around them. Same result...not there. I was getting sick to my stomach thinking that this little expensive apparatus that is one of the lifebloods of what I do had been stolen by a member or staff at my gym. ARGH ARGH ARGH!

Okay, so I seethed all the way back home and had to break the news to Christine who was the level-headed one for once when she suggested we call the police and file a stolen item report, call our insurance company to file a claim against our home owner's insurance, and call AT&T to suspend the usage of the iPhone until we can sort this thing out. Before I did all of that, though, I decided to call my cell phone number to see if someone had it and wanted to return it to the proper owner. But after three attempts and it went to voicemail each time, we started making the calls.

What was supposed to be an afternoon filled with getting some regular work in--making calls, doing some research, and blogging before the BCS Championship game tonight--turned into nearly five hours of being put on hold, transferred, sharing information, and the whole rigmarole you go through when something like this happens. We all have been through something like this at one time or another, so today was my lucky day. Ain't it great? NOT!

We suspended the telephone number with AT&T so the creep that has my iPhone couldn't make calls (as if he would even try that anyway since that would open himself up to being caught). I wasn't really worried about him/her running up the bill because I had a TON of minutes on there and AT&T has the rollover minutes as well. The person would have to talk nonstop for days before the bill would have been run up.

The next call was to Allstate to report this with my homeowner's policy. The deductible is $250 and I paid $600 six months ago for my iPhone, so we should get a little assistance with paying for a replacement phone. The actual report will be taken by a third-party processor on Tuesday so wish us luck!

Finally, we called the Spartanburg County Sheriff's Department here in Spartanburg, South Carolina to report my iPhone being stolen. The very nice woman who took the report responded, "Oh my!" when I told her my iPhone was the item taken. She indicated the phone is a hot commodity for thieves. Not what I wanted to hear!

More rumbling in my stomach! Grrrrr!!!

But then some relatively good news started happening. I found a couple of old Apple credits that I had not used and decided to call them up to purchase a new iPhone to replace the stolen one. I was concerned about whether I had enough money in the bank to cover the replacement since our checking account balance was about $400. We don't use credit cards, so our check card was the only other payment option. After the two credits were applied, the total cost on our check card was just over $300. WHEW! That's $300 I didn't want to spend, but I need my iPhone again! They said it should be here by the end of the week.

Then I received a check in the mail today that fully replenished our checking account (Thank you Lord!) and helped us pay for the new phone. I drove down to the AT&T store and transferred my cell phone number that was on my iPhone to my old cell phone until the new iPhone arrives. At least I'll still get my calls from clients and be able to call long distance in the interim.

As for the punk who stole my iPhone, it's pretty much useless to him now. I've reported the serial number--75727M6HWH8--as STOLEN with AT&T, my insurance, and with the cops, so he's screwed if he tries to sell it or reactivate it for his own personal use. For the life of me, I cannot even begin to imagine what would compel somebody to think that taking something that doesn't belong to them is even remotely the right thing to do. The guilt of doing something like that would eat me alive.

I am thankful that the phone was simply taken and not robbed from me. I guess it would have been worse had the thief hit me upside the head with a blunt object or pointed a gun at me in order to steal my iPhone. Not only would I have been out the phone, but then I would have needed to have my head examined (some would say I need to anyway!) or I would have been shot. EEEEK!

Christine said this whole incident had her so stressed today she wanted to eat carbs (she recently started back eating strict low-carb again to lose some weight she gained during our recent IVF cycle). But she resisted the urge and stuck to plan. I'm proud of her because stressful times are no reason to give in to carbs! She made me so proud. :)

Alright, enough of my whining already. Dangit, my Apple iPhone was stolen today, but at least there was a somewhat happy ending. All will be back to normal again by the end of the week--except for that $300 or so hit to my wallet! I'll have to chalk it up to another one of those tried and true lessons in the school of hard knocks that we all go through.

Special Welcome To WSPA-TV Viewers

Hey there to everyone visiting from the Greenville/Spartanburg, SC area

I told my regular readers earlier this week that I would be appearing on my local CBS television news affiliate today in the Upstate area of South Carolina and indeed it happened. WSPA-TV reporter Carrie Davis and her cameraman came by my house around 8:30am this morning and interviewed me about my weight loss, book, blog, and podcast show. They were very pleasant and spent about 40 minutes filming me.

If you are brand new to the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog, then let me officially welcome you and invite you to browse around the archives of over 1600 blog posts on the lower right-hand side of the blog. I live on the west side of Spartanburg and really did lose nearly 200 pounds on the Atkins diet in 2004 and kept it off ever since. Please e-mail me with your questions or comments about livin' la vida low-carb at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.

Carrie did a fabulous job with the interview and even posted this outstanding story about it on the WSPA web site. There is even a place at the bottom of the article inviting comments from people to share what they think about my low-carb weight loss story. I invite you to say lots of nice things about me. LOL! Just kidding.

Hey, just be honest! If you think I'm a nut case (no, not you Christine--my wife was licking her chops on that one!), then share away to your heart's content. Or if you are inspired and have been encouraged in some way by what I do, then share that, too! Let's flood the WSPA comment board with LOTS of comments! :D

Here are a couple of quotes from my interview she posted:

"People lack inspiration when it comes to weight loss and I think they want to know somebody else has done it and well..here I am. I did it so can you."

"People have to find what works for them. Do it exactly as prescribed and then keep doing that for the rest of their life."

Hmmm, have you heard those comments somewhere before? I can't imagine where! :D

Special thanks to Carrie Davis for crafting a wonderful segment about the work I am doing right here in Spartanburg, South Carolina to spread the good news about the low-carb life. Please show your appreciation to her for conducting a positive story on an Atkins/low-carb weight loss success. E-mail her at cdavis@wspa.com. We need more exposure for encouraging stories of success rather than the constant bashing from people who oppose this way of life.

THANKS so much for visiting and ya'll come back now ya hear! :)

I Joined The Spartanburg 'Shrinkdown'

Let me share with you the ambitious thing I did on Monday. I joined something I first blogged about last year called "Shrinkdown" sponsored by my local YMCA in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Last week I blogged about a man who lost 128 pounds in 2006 after beginning his weight loss journey with the "Shrinkdown" challenge, an effort taking place all across the state of South Carolina over the next eight weeks.

It took a little more than an hour to get through the process of registering for this weight loss event. As I was waiting to have my health markers checked, I started flipping through the materials they handed out. It should come as NO surprise to anyone that this plan is focused on increasing physical activity (a VERY good thing since exercise goes hand-in-hand with low-carb living) and good nutrition. What does that mean? You know--low-fat, low-calorie, portion control! UGH!

Why can't organized weight loss programs like "Shrinkdown" EVER acknowledge the low-carb lifestyle as an equally healthy and beneficial plan for losing weight and keeping it off forever, hmmm? Who died and made the low-fat diet the ONLY way to lose weight and improve health?

It broke my heart to think how many people at that "Shrinkdown" sign-up yesterday will lose a few pounds in the next couple of months eating foods like the apples, fruit bars, and water they provided at this event only to get frustrated by the disgusting choice of foods and from being hungry so much eating this way. That was my experience on a low-fat diet in 1999 and it wasn't pretty.

Click here to read more about my experience signing up for the "Shrinkdown" program and why livin' la vida low-carb could save a lot of the participants on this low-fat, low-calorie, portion-controlled diet a lot of disappointment.

SC Man Experiences 128-Pound Weight Loss Watching Calories, Carbs

Jimmy Dorsett lost 128 pounds watching his calories and carbs

One year ago, I blogged about an exciting weight loss initative taking place in my own backyard here in South Carolina called Shrinkdown. Thousands of overweight and obese people stopped by their local YMCAs all across the Palmetto state to say enough is enough with their weight and health problems. One man that did that locally in my hometown of Spartanburg, SC was 41-year old Jimmy Dorsett.

According to this Spartanburg Herald-journal column, Dorsett was more than just a little apprehensive about trying yet again to lose weight for the bazillionth time and the large crowds of people waiting to join the Shrinkdown efforts didn't calm his fears any. But the reality was he weighed nearly 400 pounds and NEEDED to be there although he once thought he would "always be big."

Yet, his fateful decision to stay which led to his eventual weight loss success was due to the prodding of his loving wife Lisa.

"There were so many people, and he asked, 'How are we going to do this?' and I said, 'One day at a time,'" she recalled.

Today, Jimmy Dorsett is still taking it day-by-day and is so glad his wife convinced him to stay. One year later, he has now lost an incredible 128 pounds and dropped 14 total pants sizes. WOWsers! What an amazing accomplishment that almost didn't happen because of his pride.

But the big payoff is what this weight loss has meant to him not just physically, but also emotionally.

"I really feel healthier, and I have more energy and my spirit is higher," Dorsett explained.

While the actual duration of the Shrinkdown program was only a couple of months (which resulted in a 35-pound weight loss over that time for Dorsett), the real challenge was whether he would maintain those new habits he had learned.

So, you might be wondering, how did he do it?

Dorsett began eating more fruits and vegetables and incorporated regular walking into his life. But what about his actual diet? I was pleased to see he pays close attention not just to his calories, but also his carbohydrates. In other words, he's livin' la vida low-carb--and he's committed to doing it for a lifetime!

"I learned this wasn't a diet," Dorsett said. "It was a life change."

WOO HOO! That is exactly what I talk about here often at my blog. Regardless of which plan you choose as your method for losing weight, just do it with all of your might and for the rest of your life. Nobody will debate me on this idea because only the individual can know what works for them. Jimmy Dorsett found his plan and now he's sticking to it!

When I read this story in my local newspaper, I decided to look up Dorsett's telephone number in the phone book to congratulate him on his phenomenal weight loss success. His wife Lisa answered the phone and I told her how proud I was of her husband Jimmy for getting his weight and health under control. I shared with her about my 180-pound weight loss in 2004 on low-carb and encouraged her to continue providing her husband with positive feedback so he can keep the weight off.

Lisa admitted to me that Jimmy had allowed himself to indulge over the Christmas holidays, but that he gotten right back on his low-carb diet and exercise routine at the first of the new year. She said the determination that Jimmy has displayed has astounded her and she is so happy to see her husband taking his weight and health more seriously now.

Interestingly, Lisa said the newspaper article left out an important part of Jimmy's weight loss--God's role in it. I told Lisa that the Spartanburg Herald Journal wrote a story on my weight loss too and omitted my mention of my faith and its impact on my success. I explained to her that kind of thing just comes with the territory when you talk with the media nowadays.

I previously explained in this blog post about how having faith in God can indeed help you in your weight loss efforts, so I won't bother repeating that here. Suffice it to say, Lisa and Jimmy believe in their heart of hearts that this would NOT have happened without the Lord's help. Amen because I couldn't agree more!!

One of the neat things about Jimmy's outstanding weight loss success is that fact that his wife Lisa and teenaged son Jimmy Ray both went on this diet with Jimmy to support his efforts. Lisa lost 32 pounds and Jimmy Ray shed nearly 20 pounds. Lisa told me they have gained back some of the weight, so they need to get back on it again. Ironically, she said her husband is now being the example for THEM!

I had to share with Lisa about how Christine weighed 95 pounds on our wedding day while I was around 350 pounds. This more than 250-pound weight gap has now been whittled down to less than 75 pounds in 2007! HA! Christine really HATES it when I tell this story which is why I keep telling it. LOL! Hey, I've gotta whip that girl into shape, ya know? Oh the irony of just a few years that have passed.

The real "it" moment for Jimmy when it all sunk in and he realized his life had dramatically changed was when he went to fasten the seatbelt buckle on the rides at the local country fair a few months back during the Fall.

"Tears got in my eyes and I said, 'Last year, I could not do this,'" Dorsett stated.

Man, that brings back memories for me, too. Sitting in a movie theater seat, realizing your gut is no longer touching the steering wheel of your car, walking down a narrow hallway easily, rings falling off my fingers and so much more. These are little changes that happen to you when you lose weight, but every single one of them are confidence boosters that propel you to want to keep the weight off forever.

For all intents and purposes, Jimmy Dorsett got his life back in 2006 and extended it for many years to come. His blood pressure is stable, he feels better and younger than he ever has in his entire life, and he can now wear his own wedding ring again for the first time in a very long time.

"I'm just so proud of him," Lisa said. "He's a new man. I told him he's sexy, and he likes to hear that. He's my hunk now."

Sounds like we know WHY Jimmy was so successful now, don't we? Lisa reminds me a lot of Christine who encouraged me all the way through my weight loss and she still does to this day. I couldn't have done it without her and neither could Jimmy Dorsett do it without Lisa. It's yet another low-carb weight loss success story with a happy ending.