I have enjoyed the WordPress format immensely and this new version of the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog will implement the WordPress tools on my own server. This move cost me a pretty penny, but it was worth every dime I am spending on it to make it happen. You'll notice the new blog has some ads from sponsors on it which is something WordPress did not allow me to do on their format. I appreciate your continued support of those who support the work I am doing.
So come on over to LIVINLAVIDALOWCARB.COM/BLOG to join the fun. We're gonna be there a while, so make yourself at home. :D
I've sat at my computer for hours on end posting to Blogger
I've put this decision off for a very long time because I wanted to be absolutely sure it was the right thing to do. As much as I love blogging, you just knew the time was gonna come for me to hang it all up, call it quits, and take this show elsewhere--and that's exactly what I'm doing today. See ya, adios, and so long Blogger!
But today it is good riddance to them. Out with the old and in with the new! Does this mean I'm finished blogging about the healthy low-carb lifestyle? Not by a long shot! You can check out my new blogging home RIGHT NOW at LivinLaVidaLowCarb.wordpress.com. I worked all weekend on it to make it look as good as it possibly can and I am so thrilled with the way it turned out. All of your favorite posts and comments have been moved over to this new blog as well as some new bells and whistles that will bring a smile to your face.
A few of my testers have commented how much faster this page loads than the Blogger blog, so I am happy about that. Speed of loading was one of the major problems people complained about with this old blog. The new one is like lightning it's so fast! You'll also notice the layout is very clean and the look is much more precise than Blogger. My favorite feature of the new blog is the fact that you can click on "Next Page" at the bottom of each page and see the next set of blog posts. So now I only have to post 5 blog posts instead of 15-20. WOO HOO! Just click on that link and you'll get 5 more blog posts on the next page...SWEET!
Along the top of the blog are seven clickable links to important information. "Home" will always take you back to the front page of the blog. "Before & After Pics" shows my photos from 410 pounds, pictures from right after my 180-pound weight loss, as well as a new feature showing current photographs in the years since. "Contact" allows you to reach me with your questions and comments. "Disclaimer" explains I am not a doctor, so use the information at your own risk. "LLVLC Sites" lists the various web sites I am affiliated with. "Meet Jimmy" is a brief bio of who I am and why I started the blog. And finally, "Our Sponsors" is a grouping of all the companies that are lending their financial support to the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog so I can keep doing what I'm doing.
On the left-hand side panel, you'll see some more new additions: a Subscribe To Feed link, the most recent comments on the blog, the most popular clicked pages on the blog, some weight loss links, the full archives all the way back to April 2005, the MyBlogLog widget box, and the total traffic at the blog which I transferred the numbers from my Blogger account over these past 3+ years (currently at over 3.5 million pageviews!).
On the right-hand side panel, there's a link to my About page connected to a picture of me, a list of the latest blog posts, a link to my book, a link to my before and after photos, an RSS feed of my Low-Carb Menus blog, a list of "LLVLC Quicklinks" that will help you find what you need in a flash, my latest photographs on Flickr, a Meta list, and a link to audio podcasts of my blog posts courtesy of Odiogo.
Finally, in the upper right-hand side of the new WordPress blog is a search box that is unbelievably fast and accurate. If I have ever blogged about it, then you'll find it with this search box. It's located right beneath the blog logo and you should use it early and often to find what you need. Of course, if you need help, then I'm always happy to assist. :)
So this is it! My days at Blogger have come to an end and that's just too bad. I appreciate having them as my blogging tool for over three years, but it's time to move on to bigger and better things at my new WordPress blog. And I'm not alone: Regina Wilshire has also set up shop at WordPress at her new WeightOfTheEvidence.com blog. I'm sure many more current Blogger blog owners will be making the move soon...or they should lest the robots shut down their blog as "spam," too!
Don't forget to change all of your bookmarks to the new blog and resubscribe to the blog feed here so you'll never miss a single post at the all new and improved "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog at WordPress! THANK YOU so much for your support for the work I am doing over the years and I look forward to continuing this for many years to come over at the new blog.
Blogger Locks Another Low-Carb Blog As 'Spam': Let's Help Get It Unlocked
Now look at the low-carber who's been blocked as "spam"
I am livid right now with the hosting site of my blogs right now and it has forced me to make a decision I really hoped I wouldn't have to make. But Blogger has really forced the issue now and I don't feel like I have much of a choice in the matter all things considered. More about that in a moment.
As you know, my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog was first identified by Blogger's robots as a "spam blog" back in April this year and it took nearly a week to get it back again. When your blog is locked by one of these computer robots automatically, you have to go through a rigorous waiting period until a real live human being can look at your blog and realize it is not "spam," but actually legitimate. Visitors coming to the blog wouldn't know that it's locked, but the owner is unable to make any new posts or changes until a Blogger representative bothers to take a look.
Adding insult to injury about my particular case is the fact that it was locked for a second time in less than a month AGAIN, although this time I got it to come back MUCH quicker because I had a Blogger employee name that I urged so many of you to write to. Thanks to the efforts of my faithful and dedicated supporters at my blog and on my other web sites, my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog was restored in just two days.
Now we have yet another low-carb blogger who has been locked out of her popular blog. It's Regina Wilshire at the "Weight of the Evidence" blog who informed me today that she has been identified by Blogger as a "spam" blog. This would be hilarious if it wasn't dead serious because Regina's blog has been a longtime source for quality low-carb research information well before Jimmy Moore was even on the scene. It's such a travesty that genuinely good bloggers are forced to endure this kind of aggravation.
To make matters worse, my "30-in-30" Low-Carb Weight Loss Challenge blog was also locked today, so it looks like Blogger is on the rampage again with the trigger-happy robots. This is utterly stupid if you ask me and I would like to ask for your help yet again. As of the writing of this blog post, it's late on Friday afternoon. So nothing may come of this until Monday. But it's worth a shot for Regina's sake.
The last time I asked for your help with unlocking my blog, I gave you the name and e-mail address of the Blogger employee who was the first one to unlock my blog. His name is Mishka and his direct e-mail address is mishkablogger@yahoo.com. In your e-mail, kindly request that the URLs WeightOfTheEvidence.blogspot.com and 30-in-30.blogspot.com be unlocked since they are not "spam" blogs. Thank him for his prompt attention to this and express your personal experiences reading these sites. If all goes well, then Regina should be back up and running by Monday. And the same with my "30-in-30" blog.
THANK YOU again for your help everyone! You are the best!
So what am I contemplating doing? Right now I'm moving all of my posts from Blogger over the WordPress and will make a decision soon about making my new permanent blog home over there. You never hear about any issues like this over there, so it's looking more and more appealing by the moment. I'll let you know if and when that will happen, so don't worry. THANKS again for your support!
8-2-08 UPDATE: Well, YOU DID IT!!! Both my "30-in-30" blog and Regina's blog are now back...but neither of us is happy with Blogger right now. That's why we're moving to WordPress and you'll be hearing more about that soon. In the meantime, check out Regina's new address at WeightOfTheEvidence.com.
Christin Sherburne leading a lawsuit against the Kimkins diet
Most people who have been following my blog for any length of time over the past year already knows about the Kimkins diet scam and the ongoing class action lawsuit that has been brought up against the diet's founder Heidi Diaz, aka "Kimmer." One of the leading voices against Kimkins now is a woman who was featured on the front cover of Woman's World magazine in June 2007 touting her 100-pound weight loss in just five months. But a series of strange events involving Diaz and some potentially life-threatening health complications opened up her eyes to the dangers of the Kimkins diet scheme.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 163:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 163 [29:56m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
Christin Sherburne takes us through this up-and-down journey over the past year when she was in support of Kimkins because of her incredible weight loss on it and then to her fervent opposition to this diet plan that threatened her health and is harming the lives of real people even to this day. I've been privileged to get to know Christin over this past year and met her in February this year on our first annual low-carb cruise (she'll be coming on the cruise in January 2009 as well!). She really is one of the nicest people you will ever meet.
In the podcast, Christin opens up about those confusing days following her experience as the Kimkins cover-girl when she became the public relations spokesperson for the diet, how she ran into a brick wall when she asked Heidi Diaz/Kimmer to answer some of the questions that had been swirling around the Internet from concerned onlookers, the role Laura Dolson played in helping her see the fraud this diet and its founder is, her unending determination to expose this scam wherever she can to help protect others from falling victim to it, what's happening with the class action civil lawsuit and potential criminal lawsuit against Heidi Diaz, and the positive things that have come out of this entire ordeal that are impacting her life today.
Never miss a low-carb beat and tune in anytime by:
So what did you think about Christin Sherburne? Regardless of your stance on the Kimkins diet, did Christin convince you one way or the other? Share your thoughts about today's interview in the show notes section of Episode 163. Check out more from Christin Sherburne by visiting her at her LivinLowCarbDiscussion.com page as well as her inspirational "The Journey" blog.
Come back next week for a highly-requested two-part follow-up interview with Dr. Keith Berkowitz who will answer a slew of questions that came in following my first podcast interview with him a few months back about the subject of "reactive hypoglycemia" while on a low-carb diet. If you sent me a question about this, then tune in on Monday and Thursday to hear it answered by Dr. Berkowitz. THANKS for listening to "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore."
One of the most fascinating things I have noticed since I began blogging about the healthy low-carb lifestyle back in 2005 is how amazingly diversified the low-carb community is about the "proper" way a low-carb diet should be done. The definition of "healthy low-carb living" varies depending on who you talk to. In fact, if we had a room full of 100 low-carbers I would bet you'd have at least 50 or more different versions of livin' la vida low-carb. And that's okay because individualization of the diet is what makes it work in the long-term.
Some people believe you should only eat whole foods all the time. And for the most part, that's a good philosophy to live by. In fact, if you look at my low-carb menus then you will see that's precisely what I eat the vast majority of the time. Of course, I also like to add in some chocolate and other treats from time to time to enhance my low-carb lifestyle. It's what helped me lose 180 pounds in 2004 and I've been doing it ever since.
However, with my recent 30-pound weight gain in 2008 that has pretty much sustained for the past six months, I've been looking at ways to bring that weight back down. I now know that I'm dealing with an erratic blood sugar issue that is tied to an unusual insulin response even after a low-carb meal. Frustrating doesn't even begin to explain this process, but I'm certainly not giving up.
After interviewing Dr. Keith Berkowitz in June (and I'll be having a follow-up interview with him coming the first week of August) about his "reactive hypoglycemia" theory, I decided to implement a strategy of eating more often with lots of small "meals" throughout the day and I saw some success. But then the weight started going up again and I cut back on my protein intake to slow down gluconeogenesis. Again, good progress, but then the weight came back up yet again. I even cut out all of my favorite low-carb products a couple of months back for two weeks--DIDN'T LOSE A SINGLE POUND! UGH!
So, imagine my discouragement to see the following recommendations for getting my weight to reduce from my low-carb doctor this week:
1--no low-carb "treats" or substitutes for otherwise high-carb food (although sugar-free Jello and other desserts such as we allow our patients would be okay in limited amounts) 2--foods should be chosen from those listed on the "No Sugar, No Starch" guide we give patients 3--adequate protein (as determined from lean body mass) should be consumed, but care should be taken not to exceed protein requirements 4--portion-control and calorie-restriction should be implemented, as determined by BMR
No "treats" at all are allowed right now for me, including my chocolate bar, low-carb wraps, bars, or anything. NONE! I'll skip the Jello thank you very much, but I'll make some cheesecake out of cream cheese, heavy cream, and other REAL foods. I'm well aware of what's good to eat that is non-sugary, non-starchy, so that won't be a problem. Getting that "adequate protein" is the tricky part for me right now, although I've done well with it as of late. Controlling portions and calories goes against everything I've ever done with livin' la vida low-carb, so that's gonna be hard.
But I'm game for it and starting today I'm doing all of this. I'm gonna go low-carb product-free as an experiment and see if it makes a difference in my weight. I feel fantastic right now health-wise, but the sustained weight hovering around 260 is getting old quick. Even my stepmom Faye said to me during my visit to Tennessee earlier this week, "Oh no, Jimmy, you're not gaining back all that weight again are you?" What a slap in the face when I'm busting my butt trying to figure out what's going on. I'll be blogging more about this soon.
In the meantime, you can track my progress on this new diet experiment to see what if any impact cutting out the low-carb products will have. Based on my previous experience, it's not gonna do anything to help with this issue I have now. I've eaten these things throughout my 180-pound weight loss and ever since, so why would it suddenly be impacting me now? I don't understand that logic at all.
Here we are, though. I'm doing it and you can see what I'm eating at my low-carb menus blog. I'll share how my weight is doing each day along with the meals I am eating. I'm not convinced this is the answer, but nothing else has worked yet--WHAT THE HECK! :)
Literary Agent: Forget About Highlighting 'Low-Carb' In Your Future Books
Ever since I wrote my self-published debut book Livin' La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey From Flabby Fat To Sensationally Skinny In One Year in October 2005, that "itch" to write another book has been growing and growing. I've bounced around ideas in my head these past few years for books with low-carb success stories, user-friendly low-carb research studies, a best-of-the-blog compilation (which I'm currently working on), and the most requested one from readers has been a low-carb cookbook (which I would LOVE to write!).
I have talked with quite a few publishers since 2005 to let me write books for them. Of course, my biggest obstacle is the fact that the theme of my books is "low-carb" and that's become taboo among editors lately. Dana Carpender, the most famous low-carb cookbook author out there, was forced to remove "low-carb" from the title of her column (which she no longer writes for as of January 2008 because of the editor's deemphasis on "low-carb") and prevented from putting "low-carb" in the title of her latest low-carb cookbook (Every Calorie Counts) for the first time in her writing career.
Dana told me in this blog interview as well as my upcoming podcast interview on Monday that she is moving away from using "low-carb" in favor of low-glycemic load (which she'll be releasing this Fall in conjunction with Rob Thompson) or controlled carbohydrate, but it's all basically low-carb. I can certainly understand her reasoning to get the low-carb message out there in a stealth manner because at least the message gets out there.
But I am not in that camp. I still think "low-carb" is viable considering my various sites and online projects garner nearly a million visitors a month. Not too shabby for an idea whose time has supposedly passed already. This is why I refuse to sidestep the term "low-carb" and proudly name it and claim it in the name of just about everything I touch--"Livin' La Vida LOW-CARB!" Wouldn't my blog be dead as a doorknob if nobody was interested in hearing about "low-carb" anymore? One would think.
So, with that knowledge in hand, I approached a literary agent recently about finding a publisher for a "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Cookbook" to gauge their interest. Most publishers just want to know if you have the marketing mojo behind the books on their label and I've told them all about how enthusiastic all of you guys are about the healthy low-carb lifestyle. But, as you will see from these candid remarks I received back from this literary agent, they just don't care because somebody out there has fooled these editors into thinking low-carb is dead.
Dear Jimmy,
Thank you for your kind words about our agency. Your cookbook query came my way and I'm afraid we would not be interested at this time in representing a low-carb cookbook. We have an extremely full list of projects currently, and we are taking on few new clients, regrettably. It's also a volatile time in the publishing industry, and I can't say with conviction that a low-carb book would be appealing to publishers at this time.
I will say that I do know the term "low carb" itself has lost favor with editors, so you might consider other ways to title your book that focus on healthful eating rather than highlighting the low-carb focus (but that's just a thought and you may disagree!).
Kind regards and we appreciate your interest in our agency.
So there you have it! They're not interested in "low-carb" and it's the same thing I've seen over and over again as I've approached publishers. That's too bad because I REALLY believe in my heart of hearts that a publisher brave enough to give me or another low-carb author a chance to show them what we can do with a "low-carb" book using that exact term in the title would not only sell well, but exceed their flimsy expectations. I wouldn't need any marketing help from the publisher either. Who's gonna take that chance on my future low-carb books?
In the meantime, I will go back to self-publishing my books and proudly put "low-carb" in the title of every one of them. The best way to show these publishers how wrong they are is to prove they can sell despite that term. I'm looking forward to releasing my "best-of-the-blog" trilogy later this year and that low-carb cookbook in early 2009. THANKS for all of your amazing support of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb."
Type 2 diabetic Cindy Swanson loves low-carb living
Sometimes it feels like I've been blogging about livin' la vida low-carb forever, but there was a life for me prior to my 180-pound weight loss and subsequent career path I am now enjoying. Looking back at all those old jobs I have had--customer service, retail, marketing, management, political writer, short order cook, busboy, and a lot more jobs that I don't care to even remember--all of them prepared me for the work I am doing now serving the needs of my readers and I am grateful for the training I received from each of those.
But there was one particular job that I especially enjoyed during the 1990s that has come in handy for my podcast show and other speaking engagements that I am able to do. I was an on-air radio personality at a contemporary Christian music radio station in Virginia Beach, VA and even hosted a weekly show featuring the top songs in Christian music called "The Christian Hits Countdown." Even then I was always trying to be creative and I dreamed of doing bigger and better things in the future. Today I am living that dream. :)
Doing radio sounds so easy--just sit in a comfortable chair behind a microphone, press the play button on the CD player and talk into the microphone every once in a while. But it's so much more than that as Cindy Swanson from Positive Hit Radio 101QFL in Rockford, IL can personally attest to. She's half of the morning team at the radio station and is very good at what she does. It looks like a simple job, but there are certain stresses that come with radio announcing that you don't even want to talk about (and it has nothing at all to do with that chatty listener who likes to call you every now and then to talk and talk and talk right in the middle of your show...did I mention they like to talk?).
Why am I sharing about a Christian radio announcer today? Because Cindy Swanson was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes last year and has become VERY interested in the healthy low-carb lifestyle. She found my blog from a recent post I did with former "Biggest Loser" contestant Julie Hadden and was curious to find out I am a Christian who likes many of the same Christian artists that she does (I list them under "Favorite Music" in my blog profile). So she contacted me and told me about her fabulous blog "Notes in the Key of Life".
I enjoyed reading her blog and requested an interview with her to discuss how she handled learning she has Type 2 diabetes and what plan of action she is taking to bring it under control (she's livin' la vida low-carb, baby!). I'll be sharing that interview at my podcast later this month. Cindy also asked if she could interview me for her weekend spotlight show and I was delighted to have the opportunity to share about my healthy low-carb weight loss success with her listeners. You can listen to the entire 20-minute interview Cindy conducted with me by clicking here.
Cindy was also kind enough to blog about me and the work I am doing on behalf of low-carb living and I am grateful for her kindness and support. She is the perfect example of someone who NEEDS to be livin' la vida low-carb to control her diabetes and help her shed the pounds. By the grace of God and His guidance in her life, I have no doubt that she will live a long and healthy life with her diabetes under control and at the weight she was meant to be.
THANK YOU Cindy for featuring my story at your blog and on your radio station there in Rockport, IL. I am honored to have readers like you out there championing the cause of Christ as well as the positive message of livin' la vida low-carb. I can't wait to share my interview with you and appreciate all of the kindness and support you have given me since we met two months ago. God bless you and keep doing the work of the Lord within your sphere of influence. I appreciate you!!! :)
The Real Deal On Low-Carb Living From Real People In Real Life...REALLY!
It's one thing to tell people about how much livin' la vida low-carb can change their life because it is backed up by solid science that shows it is the preferred way that humans were meant to eat for maintaining their weight and health. It is yet another thing altogether for that simple, yet profound message to sink into the minds of people who have become so disillusioned about what is healthy and what is not by all they've "heard" about it over the years.
One of my readers named Alejo posted his theory about why the low-fat diet hypothesis continues to dominate popular health thinking despite the very clear lack of scientific evidence in support of it compared with low-carb living in response to this blog post about Dr. Atkins I wrote this week. He compares low-fat diets to religion by describing it more as a religious BELIEF rather than relying on what the facts from science say to the contrary. This is a notion that Dr. James Carlson promoted in my podcast interview with him earlier this month.
So with so many people following low-fat diets based on their heart telling them it's the way to go because they must suffer for the sins of their obesity (depriving themselves of their favorite foods, feeling hungry, not eating as much, exercising for hours on the treadmill everyday), Alejo contends that all the evidence in the world in favor of low-carb from the research world is virtually meaningless. Until you can change the hearts and open up the minds of those who are caught up in the latest low-fat demagogue to spout off such nonsense (need I name names?), it's gonna be an uphill battle.
But I think that's where blogs like "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" and others can play a major role. The fact is that real people who are living real life on the low-carb lifestyle come here on a daily basis and have a story to tell. Their lives have been changed for the better and I highlight these testimonies of transformation for all the world to see what livin' la vida low-carb is REALLY doing for people. This ain't no fad diet that's dangerous as you oftentimes hear in the media and from those self-proclaimed health "experts." Instead, this is the REAL DEAL on low-carb living and I'm gonna keep sharing it.
One thing that blogging does allow me to do that I would not otherwise have as many opportunities for is a public dialog about the benefits of low-carb diets. I have been criticized for being too hostile against low-fat diets while propping up low-carb ones. While I don't disagree that I share livin' la vida low-carb in a much more positive light than low-fat diets, I am all in favor of people finding what works for them to lose weight and get healthy. But even if you disagree with my chosen way of eating, I have no problem answering any questions about it to those who contact me.
Such is the case today with some recent e-mails I've received from readers wanting to know more about the low-carb lifestyle and how it can help them. I literally receive hundreds of e-mails a day and I really do read and answer all of them as quickly as I possibly can. I don't always have all the answers that people are looking for, but I try my best to get the information needed from people within my circle of influence who DO know the answers. Please don't hesitate to e-mail me anytime. :)
Here are the e-mails:
I have always had a terrible time losing weight no matter what diet. I do like the Atkins program because it is the only diet that I am not famished on (I needed to go below 1,000 calories to lose weight and it's not pretty). Still, I never had that super weight loss on Induction or any other time on Atkins. I also never can get off Induction without a complete stall or even weight gain.
If I want to lose weight I must go under 20g carbs. I am so bored of this and now even this stalls me out. I am worried about nutrition because my carbs must be so restricted. I am also worried about the future. I lost 26 pounds (took me a year!) but regained 7. First I regained 3 pounds going on a vegan diet. Then when I switched back to low-carb I actually gained 4 more!!!
I am very depressed right now. I am still 60 pounds overweight--not obese, but on the high side of overweight. I walk about 6 miles a week and I’m not diabetic or on any medications. I am a 41-year old woman with three kids. It has been so upsetting to see posts where people lose 8, 10, or 14 pounds on Induction and I only lost 4 rotten, stinkin’ pounds. Many weeks I lost nothing. If I was lucky I'd lose one measly pound.
Any advice to help me keep my sanity would be truly appreciated.
THANK YOU so much for writing to me today and I can certainly sense your frustration about not being able to lose weight. This is something you don't hear talked about much in the world of weight loss, but there are other issues going on that can impact your ability to lose weight even when you are doing everything correct. In fact, I recently blogged about this very thing happening to me.
It can be discouraging and upsetting to compare yourself to what others are being able to accomplish. But don't do that to yourself. You are you and not those other people. They probably don't have the issues that you do metabolically so it would not be fair to measure your success against theirs.
Hey, 4 pounds is 4 pounds, so don't let it get your down. And also remember that livin' la vida low-carb is more about improving your health first and foremost and then weight loss is merely a side effect of eating better. I encourage you to get back to the basics of the Atkins diet by reading the book, following the plan as prescribed, and not worrying so much about your results. Some people it just takes longer, so DON'T GIVE UP! Watch my YouTube videos on Induction for helpful hints.
If you need to be on 20g or less for the rest of your life, then join the club. I'm one of those people too as are many I know. There's certainly nothing wrong with eating that few carbs as long as you get lots of fat for fuel and energy and moderate protein at every meal. Go check out my menus blog to see what I eat on a daily basis.
I've blogged about stalls and lack of weight loss many times before because this is something people need to realize is serious business. It's not the end of the world as you might think. Here are those posts that I hope will encourage you in this journey:
KEEP AT IT! Get involved at my discussion forum for support as you go through this experience. There are several people there who have been stuck and can't figure out why they're not losing either. It could be any number of things and the people there can help support you through this.
My issue was a condition called reactive hypoglycemia which a physician who worked with Dr. Atkins named Dr. Keith Berkowitz identified and helped me with. Here's my podcast interview with him about this and it may be what you are dealing with. I'll be doing a follow-up interview with Dr. Berkowitz soon to talk more about the questions people having regarding this condition.
If nothing else, I hope all of this gives you hope as you pursue weight loss and better health. It can be challenging going through this, but it is NOT impossible to beat it. YOU CAN DO THIS! I'm here for you anytime, so don't hesitate to contact me with any questions or comments. NEVER GIVE UP!!!
I was looking around the web in an attempt to find new ways to clean up pictures for my photo site (mostly bird pictures) and ran across an article written by you. I noticed a couple of links concerning your weight loss and decided to check it out.
I am 50 years old and do not live a healthy lifestyle. I drink as many as 10 sodas a day and eat unhealthy food constantly. I have purchased good food (broccoli, cauliflower, etc.) at the commissary (I live and work in Germany) and I bought a steamer but they just sit there until the food goes bad and the steamer gets so dusty I need to wash it again. I've tried to stop drinking the sodas in the past but when I do I get excruciating migraine headaches and nothing seems to alleviate the pain. I'm told it's from either the caffeine of the sugar but it makes it very difficult to stop. I also enjoy the taste and when I drink water it just doesn't seem to do the trick.
I know all of this stuff is not healthy and I really do want to change since I've had some health problems and weighing between 230 and 300 pounds at various times doesn't help. I'm also not very active mostly due to a back problem. I had part of my spine removed and there is constant pain which is probably exacerbated by the extra weight I'm carrying around.
I love rice and broccoli as well as cauliflower and other veggies but I also like eating various types of bread and cheese which I've been told is a real no-no. It seems I'm stuck in this cycle and don't know how to get out of it. From what I read on your biog it seems you became motivated and worked hard at changing your life style. I was wondering if you had any words of advice.
I know you probably get this all the time and I apologize for bothering you but at my age I'm wondering if it's even worth it to try and change things but deep down I know it would help.
Thanks for reading this and I'd appreciate any response.
THANKS so much for writing to me and I appreciate your fragility about your current circumstance. It's exactly where I was a little more than four years ago when I began my own weight loss journey at 410 pounds. I was drinking Coca-Cola like it was going out of style and didn't think anything of it at the time. In fact, my addiction to sugary soda (and that's exactly what it was!) had me drinking upwards of 16 cans of Coke a day! EEEEK!
To even think about doing that now just makes me shudder. One can of soda has so much high fructose corn syrup (SUGAR!) in it that there are more carbs in that one drink than I eat all day now. Whenever you ingest one of these soda pops, think about this--you are putting 45 grams of sugar into your body or about 12 teaspoons! Multiply that number times the cans you drink in a day and it really adds up.
I came up with a mantra that helped me overcome my sugar addiction. Here it is: SUGAR IS RAT POISON! In fact, I loved using that so much that I named it as one of the chapters of my book about my low-carb weight loss. And there's even a study that came out verifying that the strategy I used linking sugar to rat poison has merit.
It sounds like you already like many of the foods you can eat on a low-carb diet, including broccoli, cauliflower, and even cheese (yes, you can eat cheese in limited quantities when you are livin' la vida low-carb). You should also check out my recent YouTube videos on Induction so you can see exactly what you eat on a low-carb diet especially in the early going.
If you watch those and grasp the concepts my wife Christine and I share about the basics of low-carb, then you will be well on your way to success. YOU CAN DO THIS, Eric!!! You are NOT too old to shed the pounds. Check out these stories of people who are OLDER than you who did it, too:
THANKS again for writing and now I urge you to do this with all of your might and GO FOR IT!!! You'll be so glad you did. :)
Hi Jimmy,
Life really throws us some surprises, doesn't it? Not all good ones, either.
I'm 60 years old, way overweight (almost 300 pounds), diabetic (with several other fat-induced ailments) and I'm just not having much success with the American Diabetes Association's high carb "high fiber" recommended diet.
So I'm ready to try the high protein way of eating when--BAM!--I get served with divorce papers. Maybe that's not the bad news, because this toxic relationship hasn't been helping me achieve any level of healthier living (even so, it is very painful). But the real bad news is that now I find myself financially devastated. I still have a truckload of canned and dried beans and other stuff from the diabetic diet, and I really can't afford to toss all that stuff and buy all new food.
So why am I writing to you? Well, I'll bet I'm not the first little old lady who has found herself in this position. I'm hoping that you have a reader or two who can offer some hope and encouragement, and maybe a tip or two about how to make the dietary transition since I can't just go totally LC tomorrow. I'll be starting job #2 tomorrow, and that extra income will eventually allow me to get in the full swing of the high protein life, but right now things are a little bit tight.
I've just discovered your site and you have a huge archive of material for me to work through, so I haven't had a chance to read much of the material yet. If you can direct me to any existing blogs or threads that I can read, I sure don't mind doing my own research. I'm not expecting anyone to rescue me or to provide my education in the LC eating plan, but there's an overwhelming body of work to get through and a little direction for where to start would sure be appreciated.
I am so inspired by your personal story, as well as the stories of several others who have lost huge amounts of weight by reducing or giving up carbs, and I'm feeling very hopeful that I can do it too. Thank you from the bottom of my heart for putting out such a wealth of factual information and the experiences of others who have had success. Sometimes the stories are just as important as the dietary guidelines.
You'll probably never know (on earth, anyway) how many lives you have changed or even saved. But as a fellow believer in Christ I can tell you my life experience is that people get new information and direction when they are ready to actually use it. Things don't look that great for me right now, but check back in a few months and see if things are not different. Jesus never fails those who believe in Him.
Jimmy, I look forward to any advice you or your readers can provide to help me jump start my new lifestyle. Thanks again for being there.
THANK YOU for writing to me today and I am so sorry to hear about your pending divorce. As the child of divorced parents, I can somewhat relate to what you are going through. I pray that the Lord grants you the grace and mercy to get through this difficult time and rise triumphantly on the other side as the woman He desires you to be. :)
Yes, I have written quite a bit about eating low-carb on a budget, so check these out:
You can find GREAT support for your low-carb lifestyle by joining my forum to meet real people who are living the low-carb lifestyle, too. Hearing their stories and learning from them will get you started and keep you going the right way. I am confident you will SUCCEED at this! DON'T YOU GIVE UP!!! I'm here for you anytime, so don't hesitate to contact me.
Hi Jimmy,
It's so weird that I feel this way. I've followed the low-carb lifestyle before, but didn't actually make it a lifestyle. I'm restarting Induction tomorrow, re-reading my book, and I've joined the gym. No need to take it one step at a time. I want to do it all in one whop.
So what is my fear--that I'll lose the weight and get healthy? If you could find some time to share your thoughts on this and leave me with some valuable tips, then I'd appreciate it.
The fear of failure has a VERY strong pull on our psyche when we attempt to lose weight. Sometimes that fear can become so REAL in our lives that it totally encompasses us and we become consumed with guilt and shame over a single bite of anything off plan. This is no way to live.
When I started livin' la vida low-carb, I made up my mind at that very moment that this was the lifestyle change I needed, that I needed to be dead serious about it, and no matter what others might say to me I was gonna DO IT! It wasn't some willpower or anything like that, but a steadfast resolve to make better choices for my health.
And the results for me were phenomenal. You gotta believe the same can and WILL happen for you, Lynisha! And when you get there, it'll be the most glorious experience of your life--especially if you have been overweight or obese your entire life like I was before my weight loss. Life DOES change for you and it's mostly for the better. I did a recent YouTube video about all the changes that have happened since my weight loss in 2004.
Embrace this lifestyle, never let go of it, and become that woman you were always meant to be. Your confidence will skyrocket, your quality of life will greatly improve, and nothing will be able to stand in the way of whatever you put your mind to in the future. The REAL YOU is just BEGGING to come out and show the world what she's made of. Are you ready to unleash her? :) Let me know about your progress and I'm happy to help anytime. Take care!
Got a question or comment for me? I LOVE hearing from my readers and you WILL hear back from me if you do. E-mail me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net and give me the distinct privilege of hearing from you about whatever is on your mind. Whatever you do, just keep on livin' la vida low-carb! :)
Everyone is a critic on the Internet and that's what makes the blogging universe so much fun in my opinion. You get an unfiltered, uncensored, and sometimes irreverent response from virtually every angle you can possibly think of. And the opinions that are expressed in this format include some that would never EVER be uttered in "real" life from these people. That is especially true of people who leave anonymous comments.
Over the years I have received plenty of complaints that my blog is too much this, not enough of that, blah blah blah. While I appreciate hearing feedback from a representative segment of the thousands who come here daily, the fact of the matter is I blog about what's on my mind from my perspective. I'm certainly not saying that my opinion is 100% accurate every single time I start typing and anyone who believes they are infallible should watch out for that lightning bolt coming down from the sky!
When I started writing about livin' la vida low-carb, it was with a purpose in mind. Tell others about how the low-carb lifestyle can change their life through weight loss, health improvements, and a commitment to living this way for the rest of their long and healthy life. There are all sorts of web sites and blogs just like this for the low-calorie lifestyle, the low-fat lifestyle, the vegan lifestyle, and so forth. So why not have one for the healthy low-carb way of life, too? :)
Unfortunately, some people mistakenly believe that I'm not allowed to be an advocate for low-carb at my blog. Why? Because a low-carb diet isn't necessarily for everyone--something I READILY admit is true. In fact, I tell people all the time to find the proven plan that works for them that they'll enjoy, follow that plan exactly as prescribed by the author of that plan, and then keep doing it for the rest of their lives. If that's low-carb, low-fat, low-calorie, vegan, vegetarian, meat only, WHATEVER, then DO IT!
Yes, I'm enthusiastic about low-carb living and why shouldn't I be? It has changed my life forever. And despite some minor weight gain issues this year (which I'm getting under control now, by the way, with my weight moving down again!), this way of eating has afforded me some of the best health markers of my entire life. Livin' la vida low-carb is why this is happening and I want the whole world to know what it has done for me. Again, this is what my blog is all about.
However, after blogging about that idiotic "big breakfast" study earlier this week to counter all those silly headlines that made people believe they should eat a high-carb breakfast to lose weight, I got the most peculiar comment in response to what I shared. It was an "anonymous" comment (OF COURSE!) and the person who penned it follows a low-calorie diet. While I appreciate that there are readers who come at the nutrition subject from a different perspective than me, it's a bit disingenuous on their part to expect me to kowtow to their preferred way of eating. Ummmm, this is a LOW-CARB blog, so it shouldn't come as a surprise to learn I'm gonna blog about low-carb living. DUH!
Try asking low-fat diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish to talk positively about the low-carb Atkins diet on his web site. He'd laugh in your face because this dietary philosophy doesn't jive with what he believes is the most nutritionally sound advice for people desiring weight loss and better health. He has a right to his opinions about healthy living and people can choose to embrace or reject what he has to say. The information age we live in affords us the luxury of educating ourselves about what is true and what is not.
That's what makes this comment I received from that nameless low-calorie loving reader so odd. Here's what he wrote:
While I generally agree that some of the articles you post are a bit bogus, I find that you are ever increasingly hostile towards anything non low carbohydrate. I know you are a very strong advocate for the low carbohydrate lifestyle, it has changed your life and you make a living from it. However, not everyone has the will power or the drive to make such a lifestyle change.
A calorie restricted diet is not evil, it won't hunt you down and kill you. A lot of doctors and health professionals choose for their patients to restrict their calories because they can eat the foods they love. If you take a person who has never been on a low carbohydrate diet and suddenly expect them to eat nothing but induction food for two weeks or longer, a high percent of them will fail. Even if they can later add in fruits and nuts and the like, it may be too much of a severe restriction. It may very well be that your health will vastly improve, but it does happen on a restricted calorie diet also.
I respect the work you do, and I respect your opinions, but I do not agree that you should be bashing everyone else in the process. If you had lost your weight on a restricted calorie diet, improved your health, and maintained your weight, would you not promote that and disagree with everyone else?
Jimmy, I have nothing but the utmost respect for you and your lifestyle, honestly. I am not wanting to cause arguments or hard feelings. I just think that a carbohydrate restrictive diet is not a magic cure nor is a calorie restrictive diet. Some will have success on one and not the other, neither is for everyone. I would just like to see a little less hostility towards other peoples choices and beliefs. I respect yours, please respect mine.
My response to this reader's complaint was so lengthy and detailed (because it needed to be), I decided to feature it as a post of its own today so that more people will read it and understand a little more about what I do and why I do it. ENJOY!
THANK YOU for openly expressing your concerns, anonymous. Anyone who has read my blog for any length of time knows I have often hit hard on ridiculous studies like this one because they are simply continuing to push the message that low-carb is unhealthy while propping up a low-fat diet as the preferred way. This is not something new and you can see examples of where I've come down on the low-fat/low-calorie lie many times in the past:
These are but a few examples of how my general writing style has not changed very much as it relates to challenging the low-fat diet wisdom. If anything, I've toned it down somewhat from those earlier columns.
With that said, most people who read my writings know that I am all in favor of people finding the proven plan that works for them to lose weight, following that plan exactly as the author prescribes, and then KEEP doing that plan for the rest of their lives. If that's a low-fat and/or low-calorie diet, then who am I to stand in their way and tell them NOT to do it. There are certainly a dime a dozen support sites out there for those particular ways of eating that people can visit.
But when someone comes to the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog, I want them to be encouraged, educated, and inspired about the healthy low-carb lifestyle. Yes, this way of eating worked remarkably well for me to help shed the pounds and greatly improve my health, so I can't help but share the positive experiences and research about it. It's precisely why I started this blog to begin with.
With all the constant negativity out there about livin' la vida low-carb as exemplified in studies like this one, we need MORE people to get fired up and responding to these kinds of things. There are no checks and balances on these people who espouse low-calorie, low-fat diets. They just write assuming ahead of time that low-carb is bunk. But I know better than that because of what has happened to me and to many moore people.
Trust me, if you need to hear from more low-carb success stories, I'm sure they are all too happy to fill up this comments section with their testimony of change.
I'm curious, though. What articles have I posted that you think are "a bit bogus?" Everything I write about is researched and accurate to the best of my knowledge. If you think I've made something up (ergo, the use of the term "bogus"), then I'm all ears. Don't throw something out there like that without providing examples.
And don't misunderstand my passion for wanting to get the word out about healthy low-carb living and think that means I am "hostile." Enthusiastic, maybe, but there is no hostility in my blood. I care about people enough to tell them the truth about what is healthy.
While you believe someone can only accomplish success on low-carb if they have some miraculous willpower or drive, the reality is it takes neither of those to be successful. All you need is a steadfast resolve to make better choices for the sake of your weight and health. When people start caring enough about themselves to reduce their carbohydrate intake to control blood sugar and insulin, eat some protein at each meal for satiety, and consume plenty of fat to burn as fuel and to keep their diet delicious and healthy, then we will see some pretty major changes happening with obesity and disease.
As it currently stands, the low-fat, low-calorie, portion-controlled diet has been given DECADES to rule the nutritional roost. And what has it gotten us? MORE obesity, MORE diabetes, MORE sickness, and MORE death. We're taking more prescription drugs now than ever before and nobody is disgusted by this.
This isn't me "bashing" anyone, it's just presenting the truth. Isn't it true obesity rates have gotten MUCH worse since the great low-fat, low-calorie diet began being promoted in this country in the early 1970s? And diabetes, especially Type 2, has exploded into a literal crisis of health over that same time period, hasn't it? Who is gonna argue that we are healthier as a nation today than we were 30 years ago? Anyone?!
By the way, I DID lose a whole lot of weight on a low-fat diet in 1999 and I was miserable on it. Hungry all the time, weak with barely any energy, dizzy and nauseous, and downright MISERABLE! Although I lost 170 pounds in nine months eating that way, I gained it all back within four months when I couldn't take it anymore.
With livin' la vida low-carb, that impulse to rebel against how I eat has NEVER even remotely crossed my mind. I am more satisfied now with how I eat than I even was when I was eating whatever I desired. Now I desire those low-carb foods my body was always meant to eat.
There are no hard feelings from me. Life is too short to be upset at anyone, let alone someone who was brave enough to share their thoughts and concerns with me (albeit anonymously). I can appreciate your perspective and am grateful you respect mine. Nobody is saying livin' la vida low-carb is a "magic cure," but it sure is dramatically changing the weight and health of a whole lot more people than we are being told about.
If low-calorie diets are working for you, then GO FOR IT! Keep working your plan and it will keep working for you. Get involved at a low-calorie supporting web site, forum, or blog and get all the inspiration you need for your chosen dietary approach. But this is "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" and I will keep on talking about the healthy low-carb life. It's the purpose I have in my life right now and, God willing, nothing will ever keep me from fulfilling that purpose.
THANK YOU again for sharing your thoughts with me and my readers. I may just have to make a blog post out of this response. :)
And so I did! What are your thoughts about this criticism that I am too "hostile" towards anything that's not low-carb? Agree? Disagree? I appreciate hearing what you have to say. Even from "anonymous." :D
A father is protective of his son even in adulthood
I get a lot of e-mails as you can imagine from people who have been reading the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog for years all the way down to those who have only just stumbled upon it for the first time this week. It's so exciting to see all the people who are interested in learning more about livin' la vida low-carb which is why I am here. If we can educate, encourage, and inspire millions more in their own personal journey with this way of eating, then the tremendous positive impact will be difficult to ignore for much longer.
Most people who write to me have questions they want answered for themselves or an immediate family member or friend about low-carb living. I'm always happy to acknowledged and respond to someone when they write to me because it is the least I can do for your taking time out of your schedule to contact me. Yes, I really do read and answer all of my e-mails and happily so. If it weren't for you, then I wouldn't have a reason to blog. I appreciate you guys!
However, I got a request this month from a well-meaning person who asks me to contact someone close to them about their weight problem. This seemed like an odd thing to me because here I am a complete stranger and these people want me to contact someone in their life to tell 'em they need to lose weight. As Dr. Phil would say, "how's that working for you?" It would pretty much defeat the purpose of trying to help someone who isn't ready to help themselves.
I do advocate that people should confront the obese (read the blog post so you don't misunderstand what I'm saying) about their weight, but in a caring, loving manner rather than the judgmental way that too often happens. Christine did this "nagging" about my obesity for years before she finally realized it doesn't work. Not until I was ready to make the decision on my own to shed the pounds was I EVER gonna make it happen in my life.
Thankfully that happened in 2004 when I lost 180 pounds on the Atkins diet, but it was ultimately MY decision and mine alone. Yes, the outside forces trying to get me to change my eating habits played a role in nudging me in that direction, but Jimmy Moore had to be the one to say enough is enough and DO IT! Unfortunately many fat people remain in deep denial about their obesity and simply refuse to change on their own or otherwise. This is precisely the situation my brother Kevin has put himself in over the past few years (although he's at least making an effort to lose weight again...for now).
Let me get back to that person who e-mailed me about his son for a moment. Sure, if someone is contacting me directly to help them with their low-carb weight loss efforts, then they are the ones who have reached out and I'm overjoyed to offer any kind of assistance I can to get them going in the right direction. It's why I spend upwards of 15 hours a day sometimes working on everything I am doing. And I wouldn't trade this job for anything else in the whole world!
But this desperate father asked me to write to his son who is morbidly obese despite doing everything he could think of with his diet. The son is now contemplating having gastric bypass surgery and this dear and loving father asked me one question: "Will you e-mail my son about his morbid obesity?" Man oh man oh man. I feel where the guy's coming from, but it just seems so bizarre to write to someone out of the blue.
Here's the impassioned plea from the father:
Hi Jimmy,
I'm so impressed with your blog. I sent it to my son. My son is 35 and weighs around 450 pounds and has been unable to lose any weight after a few years of trying every diet known to man I think. He is now considering surgery which I think of as an absolute LAST OPTION.
Anyhow, I'm here asking for a favor. Would you e-mail him? I think some contact with you might spur him forward. He is already having cholesterol issues.
His name is XXXXX and he lives in XXXXXX. His email address is: XXXXX@XXXXX.com. It would be marvelous and so very helpful if you made contact with him.
Thanks so much!
Now, my initial gut reaction to this was OF COURSE I'll write to him. I'm sure he'd love to hear from Jimmy Moore telling him about how he used to be morbidly obese and was able to beat it with the use of a low-carb nutritional approach. That'll be just what he needs to get his weight loss going again. But then...
Another part of me was screaming, "What are you doing? Are you CRAZY?! You can't write to this grown man about his weight when he hasn't solicited your advice!" Plus he doesn't know who Jimmy Moore is from Adam, so what good could possibly result from any communication I send to him? It was a brief internal struggle, but I made the decision to NOT contact the son.
Here's what I wrote back to that father:
THANKS so much for writing! I can certainly sense the pain you feel for your son going through this extremely traumatic time with his weight right now. The love you possess is one of care and concern for this boy turned man who still struggles with obesity which will in turn lead to more and more health problems for him in the future.
My wife Christine was concerned about all those exact same things for me too. In fact, she reminded me often that I was gonna make her a widow if I kept eating the way I did, getting bigger and bigger each year, with no end in sight. The more she nagged and talked about it, the more I refused the message she was so desperately trying to convey to me.
You wanna know why I decided to take back control of my weight and health in 2004? I wanted to do it for ME. Christine had already given up on trying to coerce me into doing it, so she just started supporting me no matter what. That reinforcement gave me the confidence to feel like I could do this on my own. After a series of events happened that shook me into reality, I started on this journey and have never looked back again!
Why do I share all of this with you? Because if I contact your son as a complete stranger out of the blue and he's not ready to hear the message yet, then it'll do absolutely no good. In fact, I have a brother named Kevin who is four years older than me and in the same predicament as your son--only worse. He is 40, but is already suffering from so many health issues...Type 2 diabetes, hypertension, he has a defibrilator in his heart, and so much more. And he's SEEN his own brother change his life, but he hasn't made the decision to do it himself.
This is ESSENTIAL for anyone who wants to be a success at weight loss. They have to come to the point where THEY want to do it or else they'll be doing it for someone else as a temporary thing. Once he takes ownership of this problem, then it's his to go after and it will be more meaningful and lasting when all is said and done. Nothing dad or Jimmy Moore can do could possibly replace that in his life and I wouldn't want to take that away from him.
So what do you do for your son right now? Obviously, keep on loving him as you already do, support and encourage him with what he does in his life, and do everything you can to create an environment in your relationship that fosters on open communication. Because when the time comes (and it will!), he will be begging for a way out of his 450-pound body and this is the time to confront him about his obesity in a way that tells him you want nothing but the best for him.
If he likes to read, I wrote a book about my weight loss of 180 pounds in one year after starting out at 410 pounds that may be uplifting to your son. I've been through all the pain of being that large, so maybe he'll see himself in my story. Feel free to forward on my contact information to him to have him initiate communication with me and I'm always happy to respond quickly to any questions he may have for me.
THANK YOU again for writing! You're a great dad and I only wish others had the kind of support you are so willingly giving to your son. He and I are the same age, so it hits home for me reading about your son. He has to want this like nothing else he's ever wanted before and it WILL happen. Keep me informed about what's happening with him and I'm here for you and him when he's ready. Take care!
I was a little concerned that might not be what the father wanted to hear, but I believe in my heart of hearts it was the right thing to do. In hindsight, I am so glad I responded that way and I am still waiting to hear from the son when he is good and ready to contact me. I'll be here for him when he does.
His dad understood it's his son decision in a follow-up e-mail:
I e-mailed my son and gave him your blog. I encouraged him to e-mail you and I hope he will, but now it's up to him.
I'm sure that was very difficult for him to type, but the reality of the situation is you can't force the issue with somebody who's not ready to lose weight and get back their health. Circumstances in life can hurry up the process like they did for me back in 2003 in the months leading up to my decision to start the Atkins diet on January 1, 2004. When I started that day after reading Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution with a plan in hand and a willingness to do whatever it took to make this a permanent lifestyle change, I was already well on my way to success.
The same CAN and WILL happen to this man's son and anyone else who decides the time is right to do this. It may happen today, it may happen tomorrow, or it may happen next year. But the encouraging thought I want to leave with anyone who has a close loved one who is not doing anything about their weight and health problems is to NEVER lose hope. There is an answer for everyone--they just have to figure out what works best for them.
If you're an overweight or obese person wanting to know how to overcome your weight problem once and for all, I've said it many times before but I'll say it again--find a proven plan of action that will work for you and that you'll enjoy, follow that plan exactly as prescribed by the author (aka READ THE BOOK!), and then keep doing that plan or some semblance thereof for the rest of your long and healthy life. No matter what others might say to you about the path you choose to take, this is YOUR life and YOU are in control of what happens next. Will you make good choices to radically improve your life or will you slide back into the old habits that led you down the path of destruction?
Ultimately, it is up to YOU! I'm here for you as a means of support and information about the healthy low-carb lifestyle, so don't hesitate to e-mail me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. It is my distinct privilege and honor to offer up assistance and guidance to anyone who asks.
The low-carb blogging community has grown by leaps and bounds over the past couple of years as I often highlight the literally HUNDREDS of brand new ones that have been created by people just like you who have gone on a low-carb diet and seen extraordinary improvements in their weight and health that they can't wait to talk about. That's the beauty of this way of eating--you try it, you like it, you see results from it, and then you can't shut up about it! :D That's the power of livin' la vida low-carb, baby!!!
In Episode 42 of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube," Christine and I talk about why it is important for low-carbers to start their own blogs and/or YouTube videos in our society hellbent on erroneously portraying the healthy low-carb lifestyle as a dangerous "fad" diet that is gonna kill you. The reality is the government-recommended high-carb, low-fat diet is wreaking more havoc on the weight and health of average, everyday people who think that's the ONLY way to healthfully shed the pounds. We know better and it's high time we share our experiences with others so they can learn the truth about low-carb living. What better way than writing a blog or recording some YouTube videos, right?
Find out why YOU should have your own low-carb blog in today's video:
When I decided to start writing about my experiences on the Atkins low-carb diet in April 2005, I had no idea if anybody would ever actually read what I had to say. That really didn't matter to me as much as having an outlet for simply sharing my experiences with others so they can see what was happening to me. As the readership began to grow and grow, I realized just how important being active in this new media really is in a society where blogs, podcasts, and YouTube videos are where people are getting their information. YOU can be a part of all of that, too, and it's so super simple to sign up for a FREE blog.
If you wanna see a comprehensive list of most of the low-carb blogs out there, then go to my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Links" blog and look down the right-hand side panel. There you will find more low-carb blogs than you could ever visit in a lifetime! But these are the trailblazers in my mind because they have chosen to put themselves out there for all the world to see their progress on the low-carb lifestyle. With a united front of low-carb bloggers, we can show that livin' la vida low-carb is indeed here to stay because of the enormous impact it has had on our lives. And that's what low-carb blogging is all about!
Do you have a low-carb blog that you'd like for me to know about? I regularly post links to brand new low-carb blogs that I find while surfing around the Internet, but I don't always catch them all. Send your low-carb blog's URL to me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net and I will make sure it gets mentioned in my next low-carb blogs update coming soon. And the same goes for low-carb YouTube videos--put yourself out there like these people have and you'll be astonished at the feedback you will get. Let's start a new low-carb revolution and be world changers in the process! :D Who's with me?!
Christine and I appreciate you watching our "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube" videos and welcome your feedback and ideas at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. Check out our previous YouTube videos and join the more than 500 people who subscribe to our YouTube videos so you will never miss a single episode. We appreciate your dedication to the work we are doing and want to THANK YOU for the special uplifting and encouraging notes you send us in e-mails and in the comments section of our videos. YOU ARE THE BEST!!!
By the way, how do you like my new blond hairdo as well as Christine's blond highlights? :)
Jamie is taking her unique writing style to the next level
Move over all you wanna-bes because there's a new low-carb sheriff in town and she's getting ready to make some major tidal waves like we haven't seen before. Okay, maybe that's a bit hyperbolic, but at least I have your attention now. If you haven't heard about Jamie Van Eaton just yet, then pretty soon you will. She's the brand new columnist at Examiner.com and they've given her a bold and exciting feature of her own called "Low-Carb Examiner."
What was I saying (I got distracted by Oopsies because I'm so hungry on the first day of my intermittent fast!)...oh yes, Jamie! Oh my gosh, what an opportunity she has now to reach so many more people with the positive message of livin' la vida low-carb. This is a golden chance for a real voice of reason to show others that low-carb is so much more than a simple "fad" diet that is only about weight loss. Jamie understands this is about a total lifestyle change that transforms your weight and health to new heights you could never imagine before.
Take a look at some of her posts which already appear at Examiner.com:
She is already establishing herself as quite the prolific writer and I say the more she writes the better! This is an entirely new audience of readers who have probably never been exposed to the low-carb lifestyle quite like this before. Jamie Van Eaton is the perfect ambassador for low-carb because she's smart, funny as all get out, writes better than most people I know, and is a fervent supporter of this way of eating we all love and appreciate.
Go visit the "Low-Carb Examiner" page and subscribe to this feed TODAY! And while you're there, leave Jamie comments at each of her posts to let her know how much you support her in this new endeavor. Let's give her the enthusiastic reception she deserves for being willing to put herself out there where not everyone will necessarily be in full agreement with what she writes about. That's alright, she's planting seeds with each new post, so you never know what impact the work she is doing will have.
Send Jamie some encouragement and congratulate her on this opportunity she now has to reach people. Her e-mail address is cleochatra@gmail.com. I couldn't think of a nicer woman for this happen to and I see a new low-carb superstar in the making with Jamie Van Eaton. YOU GO GIRL!!! We are all so proud of you and wish you nothing but success with the doors that keep opening for you. So, before you become too big, can I have that podcast interview with you now? :D
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:
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.
I feel like I've been playing catch-up for over a month with so much to blog about and no time to do it. So, as has often become my custom when I'm on information overload to blog about, we're just gonna let loose all this great low-carb information so you can see all the latest happenings in the grand world of livin' la vida low-carb! ENJOY!
This should come as no surprise, but a new survey published in the April 2008 issue of the journal Cell Metabolism from researchers at the University of California-Davis found that most research of a high-fat diet conducted on mice is inaccurately portrayed. It all centers around the macronutrient makeup and quality of the foods the researchers are feeding these mice and it's a fascinating look at how you cannot extrapolate information for humans based on these mice comparisons. Remember this the next time you hear a damning study on high-fat diets that were conducted in mice and now they want to scare YOU from eating fat as a result.
Speaking of bad research, did you hear about this one last month published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition? I brought it up in my interview with Drs. Mike & Mary Dan Eades earlier this month, but it's just as preposterous as anything I've seen coming out of the research community. The researchers portend that eating a total of seven eggs or more will lead to higher mortality rates. YIKES! If I read that headline, then I'd be running scared of eggs myself. But I know they're healthy and I eat at least seven eggs A DAY! When will this kind of scaremongering of healthy nutritious foods like eggs ever end?
A couple of years ago I highlighted that U.S. Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice uses a regular exercise routine to keep her health in order and stay in shape. Now we learn from this news story that she is "sticking to a low carb diet" during the week as she shares in an interview she did with Fitness magazine. COOL! If one of the top government leaders can be livin' la vida low-carb and lovin' it, then why can't we get the USDA and the FDA to start recommending it for health, too? Hmmmmm?
In November 2007 I shared with you about a new entertaining documentary film about the subject of obesity called Fat Head. In fact, I conducted an interview with the filmmaker Tom Naughton in December and he's been working behind-the-scenes ever since to try to land a distribution deal for his very funny movie about how we've been scammed into thinking fat makes us fat. You'll be pleased to know Naughton has already secured international distribution through a Canadian company who will be taking Fat Head to the prestigious Cannes film festival this week to lobby for domestic distribution within the United States. Cross your fingers on this one because this is merely the first in a long line of documentaries to come on this subject. Low-carb is making a BIG comeback in the trenches and cultural-cutting flicks like this are gonna speed up that process.
I get so tired of reading columns like this one blaming low-carb for why athletes are afraid to consume carbohydrates when we all KNOW that you NEED them to perform. I'm gonna keep saying this over and over again--your body does NOT need carbs. It needs fat and it needs some protein, but there is no dietary requirement at all for carbohydrate. NONE! Even still, there's this perception that if you are training with weights or for athletic performance that you need these gobs and gobs of carbohydrates to "fuel" your workouts. You may recall this Olympic athlete who challenged me on this last year. In fact, the lead trainer at the gym I go to said I need to be eating big plates full of rice, pasta, potatoes and other high-carb crap both prior to and after my lifting. WHAT?! Do I have "stupid" written on my forehead? It's this kind of thinking that confuses a lot of people about carbs. Are they REALLY necessary? I think you know the answer to that question now.
I always count it a real privilege when my blog is added to one of the "best of" lists for diet and health sites on the Internet because it reminds me of the tremendous responsibility I have to continue providing the best content I possibly can. When FoxNews.com named my blog one of the best health blogs of 2006, I was stunned! That came out of nowhere, but it was super cool. I've received several more awards like that since, including this latest one from a web site in the UK called Keep The Doctor Away. The only other blogs I recognized were Diabetes Mine by my blogging friend Amy Tenderich and Men's Health where my fellow low-carber Adam Campbell is an editor and writer.
Well, look what we have here! Dietitians at UCLA are noticing an increasing trend among the students who are trying to lose weight--they are cutting back on portions and the weight loss is not sustainable. SHAZAM! Ya think? Although their opinion of the Atkins low-carb diet is skewed (your brain needs carbs for energy, yadda yadda yadda!), I like the fact that they address this issue of "starvation mode" when you cut your calories and portions down too low. AWESOME!
If you happened to miss this outstanding Prevention magazine column written by Gary Taubes from Good Calories, Bad Calories fame, then it is well worth checking out. Anyone who has joined this low-carb revolution will be able to relate to just about everything Taubes wrote in this piece. By the way, I'll be sharing my two-part interview with Gary Taubes that I conducted at that Nutrition & Metabolism conference in Phoenix last month on my podcast show on May 19th and May 22nd! You're gonna LOVE it! :)
It's bad enough all the hyperbole that is thrown around about livin' la vida low-carb these days, but there's one that really makes no logical sense at all. I'm sure you've heard low-carb described as a "high-protein" diet as this one does. In my experience with low-carb, I wouldn't necessarily call it that. Instead, it's more of a high-FAT diet which serves as your body's energy fuel in the absence of carbohydrates. Yes, protein is important to consume, but not more than your body needs or it can turn into glucose (carbs) in the body through a process known as gluconeogenesis. Don't you just wish some of these reporters would take a few moments to educate themselves on this stuff?!
Remember all the hoopla that happened a few weeks ago when stories like this one came out reporting that Sam's Club will begin limiting the sale of rice to no more than four 20-pound bags? Oh the horrors! Yeah right! I don't think this is such a bad thing if you ask me. Maybe if we get away from these commodities that are experiencing record price increases (except for eggs which have gone up in price by more than 35% since 2005), then perhaps our collective weight and health would be better. It's just a thought to me, but I see no downside in limiting the sale of these foods. Maybe people will go back to eating delicious low-carb vegetables, meats, and cheeses again for a change. The market forces could lead people that way. Although this editorial blames it on "those Atkins Diet people again, trying to scare us away from carbohydrates." Who...us? Would we do such a thing? Great Scott!
You can't blame them for trying, but the Whole Grains Council is desperately trying to fool themselves into believing the low-carb lifestyle has gone extinct. DREAM ON! Keep on extolling the virtues of eating pasta, bread and rice while obesity and diabetes become more and more prevalent. When people realize the ruse you pulled fooling them into believing your whole grains are healthy, then you'll have a lot of explaining to do.
One of the most closely-watched things happening right now as it relates to sweeteners is what the Food & Drug Administration is gonna do with the plant-based one called stevia. Despite being readily available and sold as a sweetener all around the world, the geniuses who run the FDA have yet to get on the bandwagon and approve it in the US. But one year ago I told you about The Coca-Cola Company lobbying the FDA to approve stevia so they can begin selling stevia-sweetened Diet Coke in the United States for people who try to avoid artificial sweeteners. Now another company is getting in on the action--Corn Products International wants to market stevia as a sweetener under the name brand Enliten. At some point, the FDA will have to cave in to this growing demand which could spell doom for Nutrasweet and other artificial sweeteners with questionable side effects.
I always hate it when I see recommendations for "healthy" meals at popular restaurants because invariably that means cutting the fat, calories, and portion sizes. Sure, there's some credence to low-carb in the column, but they consider bacon and fat in the "danger zone" at Bob Evan's while they describe the Meat Lover's Scramble from Denny's by saying it "is as bad for you as it sounds." No it's not! I enjoy that meal because it has ham, sausage and bacon mixed with eggs along with a side of bacon and sausage. Then I substitute mixed veggies and a salad for the carby stuff and it's an EXCELLENT low-carb meal. Who are these dopey people writing these articles?
This is a really cool story! A friend of Michael A. Moore (no relation to me!) needed a kidney transplant and Michael wanted to help. He was a match for his friend, but he had one problem--he was pre-diabetic and needed to lose some weight. So what did he do? Michael went on the Atkins diet and bike riding to lose 50 pounds! WOW! What an act of love and friendship to help out his buddy Steve. Check out this Good Morning America interview on YouTube about this incredible story.
Diabetes Health has a fascinating pro and con about whether putting a child on a low-carb diet is good or not. Con obviously thinks the diet is lacking in nutrition, but the pro brilliantly outlined just the opposite--this way of eating is a very nutrient-dense and healthy way for just about ANYONE to eat. I've even blogged about this issue of whether low-carb living is healthy for children or not several years ago.
This blogging preacher named Chris Brauns wants to know what your experiences have been following a low-carb diet. Share your story with him and how livin' la vida low-carb has changed YOUR life. :)
You may recall that President Bush recently gave a speech in response to rising food prices where he encouraged Americans to start buying food from local farmers as a means for communities to be more self sustaining. That's the mission of the non-profit group called Sustainable Table. Get fresh food grown locally that is organic and super-healthy for you. Go to their web site to enter your zip code and find out how you can support this self sustaining food source for your healthy low-carb lifestyle.
I love stories like this one! When Donna Orr chose to go into a competition to see who could lose the most weight as a percentage among her co-workers, she knew exactly what she needed to do--the Atkins low-carb diet, baby! She ditched the bread and potatoes and replaced those with meat, green beans, and salad. Also, she did 30-45 minutes of exercise daily. WOO HOO!!! Way to go, Donna. :D
Once again, Diabetes Health has an outstanding column about artificial sweeteners. There's still much debate within the low-carb community about these and I fall on the side that they can help you get past your addiction to sugar and should be used. Others feel when you eat low-carb, it's better to try to kick your desire for sweet so you'll never go back to sugar again. I can see both sides, but for me I want to have my sweet and I'd rather it be something other than sugar when I have it! :) Go educate yourself more about the various sweeteners in this well-researched column.
I have blogged about this before, but it's worth repeating again in light of the recent media attention given to this published study in the May 3, 2008 issue of the scientific journal Lancet Neurology. What diet are the wanting to put these epileptic children on--a very high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet (VLCK) and it works wonders for treating seizures effectively without the use of medications. As low-carb brain surgeon Dr. Larry McCleary explained so well in his book The Brain Trust Program, ketone bodies are the preferred fuel for your brain rather than sugar/carbs which can only be created in the absence of carbohydrate and the addition of fat in the diet. For these children, it means a life with multiple seizures versus one that is closer to that of a normal child. Who said livin' la vida low-carb wasn't for children anyway?!
Here we have yet another example of journalistic idiocy on display from a duh-duh-duh dietitian who urges people to follow some rather easy ways to improve their mood through diet. Wanna know what one of her five tips are? "Avoid the low-carb diet hype. When one considers the overall health implications, carbohydrates should still be the most predominant nutrient in our diet." What hype? There's no upside to eating gobs and gobs of carbs no matter how "healthy" you think they are. My diet has about 5% or less carbohydrates a day compared with the upwards of 60-70% carbs that dietitians like this one think I should eat. And yet look what she says people should be doing instead of "low-carb": "Try to limit the refined carbohydrates such as white flour and white sugar-based products." Ummm, hello?!?! That's low-carb living. Man, this gets really frustrating sometimes dealing with such nincompoops!
Okay, now this is a stretch and I've blogged about it before. But this vegan chick from Dean Ornish's PETA-loving front group Physician's Committee For Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has repeated the claim that low-carb diets are "quite harmful to both human health and the environment" because (GET THIS!) "livestock production is a key contributor to deforestation and a major source of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming." Oh really! What's with these radical anti-meat vegetarians? They just keep showing the world what a whacked out group of people they really are (who does something like this with a sane mind?).
There's a great new site I recently found called Blogged that lists various blogs across the Internet according to category and they've listed the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog at their site. You can see the latest posts, similar blogs, and even write a review about my blog (that'd be cool!). Go ahead and check it out for yourself.
These so-called "experts" absolutely kill me with their silliness. Here's a column about livin' la vida low-carb and blood sugar control and the author says if you decide to cut your carbs, make sure you don't replace them with animal fats and proteins, but rather vegetable fats and proteins (this has also been repeated on a food blog called "Fanatic Cook"). Why? According to him, it will help you lose more weight and control your diabetes better. But we also see from this "expert" that you should lower your fat intake and increase your whole grains while living as a diabetic, too. How credible can you be when you're telling a diabetic to stuff their mouths with the very thing that causes their blood sugars to rise? Come on! Is this the best America's finest health leaders have to offer as sound diet advice?
Maria Gajewski went on a self-imposed 30-day diet where she wasn't allowed to spend more than $30 on groceries. So she basically lived on rice and beans for a month! EEEK! Maria donated the leftover money she would have spent on groceries to her favorite local charity, but what's the point? Last May, low-carb blogger Regina Wilshire showed us how she fed her entire family on $3 a day which was about a dollar per person. It was difficult, but she managed. I suppose this just goes to show you that despite the more challenging economic times we live in, it is possible to eat on a very low income. Regina's was pretty healthy...Maria's not so much.
Finally, just when you thought the whole Kimkins diet scam saga was about to go away, along comes somebody trying to get rid of the URL Kimkins-Diet.com to capitalize on the continued interest in this story. Perhaps this would be a good URL for one of the anti-Kimkins bloggers to gobble up and reap the benefits of the traffic. Is it worth $457 for that, though? Who knows? And if you ask me, who cares?
And, that's a wrap! See, I told ya I had a blitzkrieg of low-carb news to share with you. I've unloaded a lot, but there's always something to share. Feel free to pass on your low-carb news and headlines that you see to me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. I'd love to hear from you and share anything interesting with everyone. THANKS for reading!
