Meeting Steve Yu, Flying To Phoenix, And Leaving You With 15 New Low-Carb Blogs

Christine and I will be leaving out of town on Wednesday afternoon to drive down the road three hours to Atlanta, Georgia to meet up with Steve Yu, the producer and director of an incredible film project entitled INSPIRED: The Movie. You'll recall Steve brought his wife Mariah and a film crew up to my home in Spartanburg, South Carolina last year to shoot some footage of me talking about my low-carb weight loss success. I'll be interviewing Steve for my podcast show to talk with him about the status of his amazing movie and when you can expect to see it either in theaters or on DVD. Stay tuned!

Then on Thursday, we'll be getting on an airplane heading out west to Phoenix, Arizona for the American Society of Bariatric Physicians and Nutrition & Metabolism Symposium. I've been looking forward to this trip for months and now it's this week. WOO HOO! Everybody who's anybody in the world of low-carb research is gonna be at this amazing conference and I'm gonna do my best to interview and meet as many of them as I can.

In fact, Christine and I came up with a YouTube video idea--since we'll have all these experts in one place, why not ask them a rather simple question that should warrant a variety of responses. Here's what I'll be asking: If you only had 15 seconds to communicate one message about health to the entire world, what would you say? Imagine what people like Dr. Mike Eades, Dr. Mary Vernon, Gary Taubes, Dr. Richard Feinman, Dr. Jeff Volek, Jackie Eberstein, and others would have to say to that question! Well, you won't have to imagine because we're gonna see EXACTLY what they'd say in that video. Be looking for it when we return early next week.

While we're away in Phoenix, I should still have Internet access and I'm bringing my laptop. But I don't know how much time there will be for blogging. Probably little to none since the schedule is so tight. And the hotel we're staying at is a luxurious resort with a water theme park on site, full spa and gym, and lots of scenic beauty that may distract me from blogging. Sorry ya'll, but you gotta soak it in while you can! :P

To that end, I'd like to share a bunch of new low-carb blogs with you as has become my custom before leaving on a long trip away from home. If you missed any of my previous blog posts featuring the latest and the greatest new low-carb blogs, then you can see them here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Here are 15 pretty amazing new low-carb blogs I've come across lately:

1. JON'S ATKINS CHALLENGE

Jonny D from the UK is on a rather bold, but possible mission--"Reducing my Weight and Improving My Health" and "To discover if the Atkins Approach Really Works." Let me tell ya, Jon, IT WORKS IT WORKS IT REALLY WORKS! He's already approaching 50 days of livin' la vida low-carb (well, sorta, if you don't count cheats like this one with a donut!) and is working his way down to 12 stone, or 168 pounds. Jon is currently at 200 pounds and well on his way to reaching his goal. Check out his blog for posts of what he is eating on his way to fit and healthy the low-carb way.

2. DYED IN VERMONT TIE-DYES

Okay, you might be wondering, "Uh, Jimmy, what's a blog about tie-dye shirts got to do with low-carb dude?" GREAT QUESTION! And I could say I'm looking for the inner 60's hippie inside of me. But the reality is this Vermont blogger named Richard Rogers has some great stuff to say about diabetes that you should read. He's already said there will be more posts about how he controls his Type 2 diabetes. I LOVED this quote: "All type 2 diabetics can benefit from reduced carbohydrate intake, and I have personally found that a very low-carb diet (along with medication and blood testing) can be very effective for controlling blood sugar." WOO HOO! Somebody else that gets it! Are you getting the message yet ADA?

3. ROY AND HAZEL

How can you NOT love a couple like Roy and Hazel? Here they are sharing their livin' la vida low-carb experience for all the world to see warts and all and they LOVE it. Unafraid to share whatever's on their mind good, bad, or ugly, Roy and Hazel are a trip and you should REALLY check 'em out often. Looks like a Ricky and Lucy thing if you ask me. LOL! Luuuuuuuuucy?! AWESOME and ENCOURAGING info, too!

4. 4 KINGS AND A QUEEN

Here's a 30-year old California homemaker named Sarah who deserves a medal or something--raising four boys and a special needs little girl while livin' la vida low-carb, too! You're my hero!!! She's trying her hand at the low-carb lifestyle eating an amazing Atkins-like high-fat/low-carb diet consisting of a fat/protein/carbohydrate ratio of 80/15/5. OUTSTANDING!!! Sarah says some people may think she's "crazy" eating this way, but it apparently "works for a lot of people." That it does. She's "playing around" with doing this for her weight and health and I think the results are gonna be much better than she could have ever imagined. You go get 'em, Sarah!!!

5. GLUCOHOLIC

If you are a diabetic or low-carber looking for sugar-free snacks reviews, then this is the blog for you. ENJOY! :)

6. WEIGHTY MATTERS

Dr. Yoni Freedhoff is an amazing bariatric physician in Ottawa, Ontario Canada who uses non-drug therapies for treating obesity and disease. His blog is chock full of some wonderful information for people looking to live a healthy lifestyle without the need for prescriptions. I'll be sharing a podcast interview with Dr. Freedhoff very soon that you're sure to enjoy!

7. PAUL'S HEALTH BLOG

Paul, a prostate cancer survivor who took control of his own health, is "living the natural path" and wants others to understand clearly why this is more preferred than being drugged up for this and that health condition. I love what he had to say about the "cholesterol deception" that is going on in our culture today. I admire your strength and determination to educate, Paul, and wish you nothing but continued success at keeping your cancer in remission.

8. DR. SEARS' ZONE DIET

Okay, so this site isn't new nor is it a blog. But if you haven't come across Dr. Barry Sears and The Zone diet before, then it's certainly worth taking a look at this site. Dr. Sears has been on the cutting edge of nutritional science talking about the subject of inflammation as the culprit in obesity and disease long before anyone else was. And lately, he's been lauded for helping 1200-pound Manuel Uribe get his weight and health under control (he's lost 500 pounds and counting following Dr. Sears' lower-carb nutritional approach). Check it out!

9. MISS WISABUS

Elizabeth, a 23-year old senior at the University of Oklahoma, is livin' la vida low-carb and loving it too. Check out what she had to say on her April 7, 2008 blog entry: "So, I’m low-carbing, right? It’s changed my life. Complete 180. I couldn’t have imagined how much better I would feel, the energy I would have (Though, I could definitely handle requiring more sleep than I currently feel like I need. The energy I have between 10pm and 2am alone may be enough to raise Dr. Atkins from the dead. Will look into this.), and how good bacon can taste." You ain't seen nothin' yet, Liz! Wait until you've been eating this way for several years--UNBELIEVABLE FEELING! Keep up the great work with your low-carb progress and impeccable blog.

10. THE NEW MANDA--MY WEIGHT LOSS STORY

Manda is a 22-year old student from El Paso, Texas on a "fat loss journey." She hasn't posted in a couple of months, so how about we all encourage her to start blogging again and try livin' la vida low-carb if she's ready to get serious about losing weight and getting healthy.

11. LESLIE'S LOW-CARB LIFESTYLE

Leslie is a spunky 23-year old, 275-pound (and falling!) Indiana girl who's ready to be dead serious about livin' la vida low-carb and lose over 100 pounds. And she's doing it, too, already shedding over 35 pounds this year! Cheer her on to GREAT success in 2008. YOU CAN DO THIS, Leslie!!! We believe in you, girl, so KEEP AT IT!

12. TALKING OUT OF TURN

Charlie Seabold is one interesting chap. Just take a quick look at his blog to see what I'm talking about. But one thing about Charlie that I especially enjoyed seeing is that he is succeeding on the Atkins diet along with implementing Fred Hahn's Slow Burn techniques into his routine starting last month. He's below 200 pounds now thanks to Gary Taubes and Hahn and that's a very good thing. Click here to read about how Charlie's thinking on diet has evolved because of what he has learned about low-carb living.

13. HYPERLIPID

52-year old Peter is a veterinarian from the UK who consumes a diet consisting of 80 percent fat. YEAH BABY!!! He does eat enough carbohydrates to stay out of ketosis and has been doing this ever since June 2003 claiming "I feel better than I did as a teenager." I adored what he had to say about his diet: "I am always looking for evidence that I may be wrong to eat against most current medical advice. So far Pubmed backs me up." HA! You get 'em Peter!!! Superb information found throughout this blog.

14. SH.NET BLOG

Syera is another one of those unconventional bloggers. But I couldn't help but stop in my tracks when I saw this blog post she entitled "Because some people just don't get it." In it, Syera explains the REAL reason why people get diabetes (and it's not because of their obesity) and the diagram she uses to show the connection between carbs, sugar cravings, and insulin spikes is worth taking a look at. THANKS for making this crystal clear, Syera!

15. KELLY THE CULINARIAN

I am a low-carb recipe nut, so naturally Kelly Mahoney's blog was a perfect choice to include among my list of low-carb blogs since that's what she features at her site. This Illinois journalist isn't an exclusive low-carb recipe blogger, but she certainly makes some incredible dishes when she does decide to make 'em low-carb (like this low-carb chicken parmesan dish--WOW!). Bookmark Kelly's blog and visit early and often (preferably on an empty stomach, too!).

Give these blogs a look see and leave a comment for the ones you REALLY like. I'll bet you'll make their day if you do. Tell them you read about their blog at "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" from Jimmy Moore. That'll trip 'em out for sure. :D

Got a new low-carb blog you want me to know about? Send me the URL at livinlowcarbman@charter.net and I may just feature it in a future blog post. And if you're thinking about starting a blog, let me encourage you to DO IT! The more low-carb bloggers we can have sharing the good news of livin' la vida low-carb to the world, the better! There are real people who need to know there is a better way than the high-carb, low-fat diet. EWWWWW!

You can access hundreds of low-carb links at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Links" blog.

Two Different Diet Documentaries, One Unified Low-Carb Message

The lingering aftershocks of the September 2007 release of Gary Taubes' blockbuster book Good Calories, Bad Calories has only just begun. Over the next year, there will be at least two major pro-low-carb documentary films to be released that will share the positive message of livin' la vida low-carb with the masses unlike anything that has ever hit movie theaters before. The truth will be laid out for all the world to see and quite frankly I am waiting with pins and needles to see these films do their thing.

Complementing the work of Steve Yu's INSPIRED: The Movie, which has more of a motivational message in mind for viewers who want to make essential changes in their lifestyle to transform their entire outlook on life, there are two other projects underway and likely to release sometime in 2008 that are geared more towards the actual dietary changes that are needed to bring about meaningful results for people struggling with diabetes, obesity, and related diseases.

The first documentary is CJ Hunt's In Search Of The Perfect Human Diet. I've shared with you about this incredible journey to find the best possible diet for humans to live on by a man who once died at the age of 24 and was given a new lease on life. Hunt is now using his skills as a professional filmmaker to illuminate the lessons he has learned about healthy living.

You'll recall this blog post from a few months ago when he asked the readers of my blog whether livin' la vida low-carb was just another diet you've tried to lose weight or if it is something more than that. Most of you know how much low-carb changed my life for the better, so it is MUCH more to me than just a simple weight loss diet. Telling everyone I know about the miracle of low-carb is the very mission of my life right now and I wouldn't have it any other way.

CJ Hunt is also on a mission with his movie and has finally revealed a little taste of what he's been working on for everyone to enjoy. Here's a little snippet of In Search Of The Perfect Human Diet he posted today at YouTube. Be sure to leave a comment about the video, give it a 5-star rating if you liked it, and add it to your favorites. Sign up for updates from CJ Hunt about this exciting film, including more clips and news about the forthcoming release.

The second documentary is one that I only recently learned about. It's billed as the "anti-SuperSize Me Movie" because the filmmaker couldn't stand how Morgan Spurlock perverted the numbers in his breakout documentary a few years back to force culpability for obesity on McDonald's and the fast food industry. While they are certainly not completely blameless in this epidemic, ignoring the role of the individual and what they are putting in their mouths is irresponsible.

That's why comedian Tom Naughton has created a new documentary called Fat Head. Right now there is not a working web site, but Naughton has secured the URL FatHead-Movie.com when there is content to be displayed. Keep checking back at that location for more information about this film.

There is a brief, but very pointed 2 1/2 minute video from Naughton featuring a sneak peek at Fat Head that has YouTube all abuzz right now. Check it out:



Go to the direct link to the video on YouTube and leave comments, rate the video, and make it one of your favorites. Did you see what he wrote in the "About This Video" section for this clip? WHOA!

"Guess what? Fat and cholesterol don't cause heart disease. The theory was based on bogus science from the very beginning."

YEAH BABY, that's what I'm talking about!!! Tom Naughton is sharing pure unadulterated dietary truths and that has to make people who still buy into the low-fat lie absolutely shaking in their boots. Ornish, Fuhrman, McDougall, Oz...EAT YOUR HEART OUT!!!

I have a feeling this movie is gonna get a LOT of attention, especially when Naughton nails down a major movie distributor willing to give Fat Head the spotlight it deserves. Just you wait and see! In the meantime, sign up for updates on Fat Head and take a look at his other clips "Blaming Fast Food," (why McDonald's isn't to blame for making you fat) "Spurlockian Bologna," (how Morgan Spurlock fudged the calorie numbers in SuperSize Me and "The Guy From CSPI" (a hilarious spoof of Michael Jacobsen from the Center for Science in the Public Interest).

My favorite clip is "The McGovern Report" where a low-fat, low-cholesterol diet was created because of politics and not any scientific evidence. The USDA followed suit and decided to create low-fat dietary guidelines based on overzealous bureaucracy rather than solid sound data. Dr. Mary Dan Eades and Mary Enig, noted low-carb supporters, appear in this video.

I will be watching an advance copy of this documentary soon and blogging more about it as it gets closer to being available for public release. Also, Tom Naughton has agreed to an interview here at my blog, so I'll be bringing that to you soon as well.

Let's show our support for these two different documentaries with one unified low-carb message. With success will come accessibility to the masses and the furthering of the uplifting, encouraging, and inspiring theme that low-carb living is indeed a viable long-term and permanent solution to the weight and health problems modern society faces. Now more than ever we can grab this bull by the horns and run with it!

Thanks to CJ Hunt and Tom Naughton, that's EXACTLY what we're about to do!

11-29-07 UPDATE: A reader named Richard asked some interesting questions regarding Tom Naughton's upcoming anti-SuperSize Me movie in the comments section of this blog post. I wanted to give Tom an opportunity to respond and here's what he wrote:

Hi, Jimmy -

Sure, I'd be happy to answer the comments:

First off, as a former journalist and voracious reader (40-50 books per year, plus magazines, online articles, etc.) I would never suggest - and didn't - that anyone consider watching my film as a substitute for reading Gary Taubes' book. I began this project over a year ago, before I'd ever heard of his book, and I plowed through a dozen books and more articles than I'd care to count as part of my research. Read, people! Read, read, read!

I haven't read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" yet because my wife informed me there will soon be a copy under our Christmas tree, so I can't honestly tell you where Taubes and I would agree or disagree. But I will offer my take on your questions.

Exercise is not the only key to losing weight - there is no single key - but it's an important component. Our diets have changed for the worse in the past several decades, but our activity level has changed even more. When my brother was constructing pools for a living, he was, by his own admission, an eating machine. He was also muscled and cut like a wide receiver. Later, when he became a disk jockey, he ballooned up even though he was eating less.

The honest low-carb proponents, like Dr. Mike Eades, state specifically in their books that to lose weight you must create a calorie deficit. Exercise can and should be part of that deficit. Exercise also increases your output of human growth hormone, which helps to burn fat, and builds your muscles, which also helps to burn fat. And if you don't exercise at all, I don't care how thin you are - you're not healthy.

If you think research funded by government is somehow less biased than other research, you haven't been paying attention. The grain-based, low-fat diet theory is specifically endorsed by our government, and they use federal funding - or fear of losing it - to bludgeon researchers into supporting the theory. I recently spoke with Dr. Kilmer McCulley - who was fired from Harvard for disagreeing with the lipid hypothesis - and he told me the university bigwigs were afraid they'd lose their government funding if they kept him around. That's your government at work. I'm sure we would all love to see honest government funding of health research, but to date, government involvement has been more of a problem than a solution.

As for my approach being mean, well, that's a rather strong statement to make without having seen the film! In the film, I recount my own history of becoming fat as a teenager and then spending much of my adult life trying to lose weight. If anyone has sympathy for fat people, it's me.

But accepting fat people for who they are - including their right to choose pleasure over long-term health - isn't mean. Trying to convince them they should all prefer to be thin - which is a white, upper-class attitude left over from our Puritan heritage - well, that is mean. That's trying to impose someone else's value system on them.

The desire to be thin is hardly universal. In fact, as Dr. Oliver explains in his book, in many cultures being fat is considered a sign of beauty and success. My wife worked in Africa for two years and was surprised to learn that when girls approach marrying age, their parents try to fatten them up to make them more appealing to men. Among African-Americans, describing a woman as "thick" is a compliment. In an episode of my favorite sitcom ("Scrubs"), a white doctor about to go on his first-ever date with a black woman asks a black doctor for advice. "Oh, it's just like dating a white girl," his black friend answers, "But if she asks, 'Does this dress make my butt look big?' you better answer 'Hell, yeah!'"

As for diabetes and obesity, of course there's an association; where you see one, you often see the other. There's also an association between tobacco-stained teeth and lung cancer, but no one thinks brown spots on teeth cause lung cancer. They're both caused by smoking.

Loading up on sugar and starch can make you fat, and can also lead to diabetes. My point is that being fat does not cause diabetes. According to the government, I am (or was when I started filming) obese, and yet my triglycerides were only 70. Meanwhile, my rail-thin father-in-law developed Type II diabetes at age 60. He loves sugar and starch. I don't.

Thanks for you questions, and thanks, Jimmy, for the chance to address them.

THANK YOU for providing feedback, Tom! I'll be interviewing Tom Naughton about his film very soon, so keep reading to see that in the near future. THANKS for the questions, Richard!

'INSPIRED: The Movie' Will Exhibit The Positive Role Of Weight Loss Motivation

Jimmy Moore with INSPIRED: The Movie director Steve Yu

The debate over what the best diet for weight loss and health rages on, but one independent filmmaker is going deeper in his quest to help those two out of every three Americans who are currently overweight or obese in the United States today.

His name is Steve Yu and his upcoming film is entitled INSPIRED: The Movie. You can watch the trailer for this movie RIGHT NOW (you'll notice somebody familiar in it!):



I've been teasing you about this film over the past few weeks since Steve was in my hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina to interview me for his movie.


Steve and his filming crew were top-notch professionals

What an honor and a thrill it was even to be asked to be a part of something like this! With such well-known and highly-respected diet, health and fitness experts like "The Gazelle" creator Tony Little, former pro wrester Diamond Dallas Page, Dr. Jeff Levine from The Biggest Loser: Season 2, Mindless Eating author Dr. Brian Wansink, Harvard University nutritionists, and many others already on board in support of this project, I have no doubt in my mind this will be a HUGE hit when it releases in 2008.


I talked about my blog and podcast show during the interview

You can check out the official blog for INSPIRED: The Movie for special messages directly from the heart of the director as he has taken this journey over the past two years to give people the hope they have been craving so much. This isn't just another movie about obesity. I sincerely believe this film will impact tens of thousands to become inspired enough to begin their own personal weight loss journey, too. I know that's what Steve would like to see happen.


Posing with Steve and his lovely wife Mariah after the interview

You see, Steve and his beautiful bride Mariah are also inspirational regarding the power of a changed life as both of them have transformed their bodies from slightly flabby blobs of flesh into lean mean muscle machines that look absolutely fantastic! When I saw their before pictures, I was floored! They are an impressive duo.


I shared what was on my heart during the interview

While I was sharing my low-carb weight loss success story with Steve, he became quite intrigued by my brother Kevin who at the time I thought had given up on losing weight. In fact, he captured precisely what I was feeling at the moment about Kevin in this brief video clip from INSPIRED: The Movie. Be sure to subscribe to their YouTube page for more video clips.

Following the interview with me, Steve asked if I thought Kevin would be interested in being in the movie, too. I told him I would ask Kevin and see--not surprisingly, Kevin said YES! But I was also surprised to learn Kevin is now losing weight. Perhaps this experience being filmed in a couple of weeks will be the impetus he needs to FINALLY lose the weight for good. We can hope and pray!


Director Steve Yu listens intently during the interview

While there is creative freedom in making a documentary like this, one of the real challenges is raising the funds to cover the expenses of such an undertaking. INSPIRED: The Movie is no different. If you are as passionate about seeing this movie exposed to the audience that needs to hear it, then consider donating through PayPal or sending a check made payable to INSPIRED: The Movie, 1281 Aalto Main NW, Atlanta, Georgia 30318. A donation of ANY size will be GREATLY appreciated!


Filming my interview for INSPIRED: The Movie in my living room

This is an historic opportunity to be a part of something worthwhile that's bigger and more meaningful than simply going through the motions of life. It's about changing lives, helping people, sharing hope, and, more than anything, giving that despondent dieter a chance to be INSPIRED! What more could you ask for?