'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 146: The Dr. James E. Carlson Interview (Part 2)

Dr. James E. Carlson boldly proclaims "the calorie means nothing!"

If you somehow missed hearing Part 1 of my podcast interview with Dr. James E. Carlson on Monday, then you really missed one of the most fascinating and encouraging interviews about livin' la vida low-carb that I've EVER conducted. Dr. Carlson is quite articulate and makes the low-carb way of eating sound so enthralling and irresistible that you can't imagine anyone NOT doing it!

In Episode 146 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore," Dr. Carlson continues sharing from and about his controversial new low-carb book entitled Genocide!: How Your Doctor's Dietary Ignorance Will Kill You!!!. The infectious enthusiasm of this man is undeniable and I am so excited to share even more from him in today's podcast.

Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear Episode 146:

"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 146 [34:48m]: LISTEN NOW | Download

In Part 2 of my interview with Dr. Carlson, he gets into the health aspects of livin' la vida low-carb discussing a whole host of conditions where low-carb can help: obesity, Type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, PCOS, pregnancy, high triglycerides, low HDL, cancer, and so much more! Listening to this man speak so eloquently about the healthy low-carb lifestyle is so uplifting because I wish we could get more doctors to understand it as well as he does. It's certainly not surprising why he was chosen to become the Nutrition Expert at WalkRadio.com.

Access interviews with Dr. James E. Carlson anytime by:

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

Now that you've heard both Part 1 and Part 2 of this interview with Dr. James E. Carlson, what is your reaction? Is there anything he said that you disagree with or have a question about? There's even this great discussion going on at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Discussion" forum right now where Dr. Carlson has said he may pop in to offer answers to your questions. Share your thoughts about what you've heard also the show notes section of Episode 146.

Again, his book is called Genocide!: How Your Doctor's Dietary Ignorance Will Kill You!!! and it is, as I stated in the interview, the PERFECT companion book to Gary Taubes' Good Calories, Bad Calories because it takes all of the scientific knowledge from that book and puts it in practical terms for average, everyday people to understand and grasp rather easily. And as you heard in my interview with him this week, he is an enthralling communicator so you will not be bored reading this book!

Next week will feature a special week-long series of podcasts Monday through Friday in a series I'm calling "Week of Weight Loss Wisdom" and it will highlight the stories of five people whose lives have been changed through weight loss success, including Sue Knorr who is the official spokesperson for Dr. Barry Sears' The Zone Diet, Micah McCain who is currently a contestant on the hit Bravo TV show "Workout," Kent Altena (Bowulf) who lost over 200 pounds on the Atkins diet, Rebecca Wilhoit who got into shape on Cassandra Forsythe's The Perfect Body Diet, and Charlie Hills who has been on every diet known to mankind and survived (he's quite an interesting character who's written a rather funny, but brutally honest book about a lifetime of going on diets called Why Your Last Diet Failed You and How This Book Won't Help You on Your Next One). It's gonna be so much fun next week with DAILY podcasts for you to listen to and enjoy. :)

As always, please feel free to provide us with instant feedback about the show, ideas for future guests and/or topics, or whatever else is on that pretty little mind of yours simply by calling us at (206) 202-6516 and leaving a message (we LOVE hearing your voice when you call, so don't be bashful!). Yes, you can still e-mail me your comments, complaints, gripes, whines (okay, maybe not too many gripes and whines!), and just about anything else you'd like at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. THANK YOU for your continuing support of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." We've got lots more interviews coming up this month and beyond, so don't miss a single episode!

Eades Blogs About Calories, Colpo Responds With A Rather Ostentatious Outburst

Dr. Mike Eades and Anthony Colpo still sparring over diet

Have you been paying attention to the very public and sometimes nasty feud that has been going on between Protein Power author and low-carb diet expert Dr. Mike Eades and independent Australian researcher Anthony Colpo over the past year or so? It's gotten pretty ugly at times as Colpo continues to openly castigate the low-carb community for being too partisan and monolithic in their thinking on diet (something I happen to agree with him somewhat about and a thought that was first expressed by Dr. Jonny Bowden in my August 2006 interview with him).

I've been a fan of the work Anthony Colpo has done over the years on behalf of livin' la vida low-carb. He blasted the idiocy of low-fat diets while extolling the virtues of low-carb living in his fabulous 2006 self-published debut book entitled The Great Cholesterol Con. That book showed such great promise for Colpo who had firmly established himself as a leader in the low-carb community with his knack for witty, in-your-face writing combined with nearly irrefutable independent scientific research backing up every word he wrote. That's the Anthony Colpo we knew and loved at the time and you could tell his passion for the low-carb lifestyle was deeply rooted in this blog interview I conducted with him in June 2006.

But shortly after the release of The Great Cholesterol Con, some strange behavior started happening with Anthony where you could already see some deeply harbored resentment towards the low-carb community seeping out into the pages of his writings. Who can forget the day when Colpo removed the content from TheOmnivore.com because of what he described as "freeloaders" who forced him to shut it down for good.

Colpo explained his reasons for that decision this way:

"Judging by the sales figures over at [his print-on-demand publisher] Lulu, only a small fraction of my newsletter subscribers have even bothered to buy the book. Yet I still get people emailing to tell me what a great guy I am, how great the (free) info on my web site is and still wanting (free) answers to their questions."

I suppose Colpo expected every member of the low-carb community to immediately go out and buy his book as soon as it released. It's certainly worth having on your mantle because it is chock full of the best research on cholesterol you will find anywhere. But the sales were going "VERY slowly" according to him and it ticked him off that this was the thanks he received for all of his contributions on behalf of low-carb. He even responded in typical fashion to those people who were upset about having to pay extra for the book to be shipped where they live.

"Here I am, having self-published a book that has literally costs me thousands of dollars out of my own pocket (and caused me more than a few headaches along the way) to bring to market, and in return I get disgruntled wankers writing to complain about how they have to pay an extra ten piddly bucks to have the book delivered to their country."

After this incident, I tried to help Anthony out by blogging about his book and encouraging others who support the low-carb message to buy it to support what he was doing and to show him that we aren't all a bunch of "freeloaders" as he claimed. We got the book to crack the Top 1000 at the time which was a pretty major feat that even my own first book has never seen happen.

By August 2006, Anthony Colpo still hadn't brought back his fabulous web site, but was back in usual form with the high-fat, low-carb message responding to a ridiculous study about how one saturated fat meal will clog up your arteries. He was back to doing what we loved about him in the first place--refuting weak research and bombastic claims with real, hard evidence delivered with a healthy dose of attitude. It was good to have him focusing his attention on the failed low-fat diet message again, but unfortunately it wasn't gonna last very long.

Although he created a low-carb bodybuilders forum, released an e-book with his old posts from TheOmnivore, and I named him to my top 10 low-carb movers & shakers of 2006, Colpo apparently still held a lot of anger and resentment towards the low-carb community in general for not rallying behind his book which he spent years researching and writing. And, in his mind, what did it get him? In a way, you can understand the disappointment he experienced, but the way he responded tended to turn off more people than it turned on. Plus, having a self-published book presents limitations that I suppose Colpo didn't anticipate (anyone who's ever done it can relate).

The first time Dr. Mike Eades from Protein Power enters the picture with Anthony Colpo is in October 2006 when I interviewed him and Dr. Mary Dan at my blog. I asked them if they had read Colpo's book on cholesterol promoting the consumption of saturated fat as part of a healthy low-carb lifestyle to help protect against cardiovascular health and here's what Dr. Mike wrote in response:

"I agree with Colpo (though I haven’t read his book, I have skimmed through it) and Dr. Uffe Ravnskov that saturated fat isn’t an issue. There is no conclusive evidence that saturated fat causes any kind of problems."

At this point, both Colpo and Dr. Eades seem to be on the same page regarding a healthy high-fat, low-carb diet. But what happened next that created such an inexplicable ongoing rift between these two is still a mystery to this day. More about that in a moment.

In December 2006, Colpo released an updated and expanded edition of The Great Cholesterol Con in the hopes that it would provide more incentive for people to purchase the book. As far as I can tell, these changes did not measurably improve the sales so I am sure Colpo's disenchantment with the low-carb world was ever-increasing. Even still, he was gracious enough to respond to an e-mail one of my blog readers had for him about low-carb diets and cholesterol in March 2007 from someone who HAD purchased his book and wanted some additional information. He was still on top of his game about what he was sharing and I sincerely appreciated his assistance with my reader who wanted to learn more about this subject.

Colpo's amazing writings and work on low-carb diets was finally noticed by a health newsletter founded by Dr. Al Sears called Total Health Breakthroughs and he was brought on as a contributing writer as I shared last August. In that same month, I asked Colpo to once again share his feedback with a reader who had a question about muscle fatigue on a low-carb diet. At the time, Colpo was promoting his new e-book called The Fat Loss Bible where I couldn't help but notice he started recommending higher carbohydrate counts than I had ever seen from him advise people to eat before.

Here's what he shared with my reader about what she needed to do post-workout when she leaves her spinning class:

"I would suggest you begin drinking 75-150 grams of carbohydrate in liquid form, along with either 30-40 grams whey protein and/or 6 grams of a powdered amino acid formula that is rich in branched chain amino acids, immediately after your spin classes...Suitable forms of carbohydrate include maltodextrin (a.k.a. glucose polymers) or rice syrup, diluted in around 500 ml water. You can add a little glucose or honey to sweeten the mixture."

Colpo was basically recommending she drink sugar water after her workout which seemed a bit odd to me at the time based on all that I had learned about the negative impact of sugar consumption on blood sugars and insulin levels and their effect on the body. It seemed to go against everything I knew about exercise while livin' la vida low-carb. But I didn't argue that point at the time, although a few of my readers reacted to this seemingly out-of-place recommendation in the comments section of that post.

Then in September 2007, it happened.

Dr. Eades wrote a blog post heard 'round the world called "Is A Calorie Always A Calorie?" that basically detailed how and why low-carb diets create a spontaneous drop in caloric intake compared with those following a low-fat diet. He was defending the "metabolic advantage" that so many of us believe exists as it relates to livin' la vida low-carb.

Less than a week later, Anthony Colpo responded to Dr. Eades' post about calories with his now infamous open letter entitled "The Hopelessly Biased 'Research' of Dr. Michael Eades" where he blasts Dr. Eades for believing in the "metabolic advantage" of low-carb diets. The overall tone of this first open letter from Colpo to Dr. Eades was very snide and snobbish like an arrogant teacher chiding a student for missing such an OBVIOUS question like 2+2=4. Quite frankly, if Dr. Eades had chosen to ignore Colpo's antics at this point, I wouldn't have blamed him. What he was accusing Dr. Eades of wasn't nearly worth all the hostility and contempt that Colpo was pouring on.

There was no immediate response from Dr. Eades to this letter from Colpo, but two months later in November 2007, the time was ripe for a refutation of the charges made against him. Anyone who reads Dr. Mike's blog knows he has a unique way of making his points in written format much in the same way Anthony Colpo does. And so he did when he wrote in the lengthy blog post "Learn why Anthony Colpo is MAD and get a free book" where Dr. Eades goes through the charges made by Colpo point by point citing references and links where appropriate. You'll notice in this mammoth response that Dr. Eades isn't very impressed by who he describes as "a pretty slippery fellow" who is "a legend in his own mind."

The war of words had begun and Colpo and Dr. Eades continued this back-and-forth exchange on their various blogs and forums. In late November 2007, Anthony wrote the following to me regarding this rift between him and the low-carb community:

The animosity between the MAD crowd and myself has become irreparably personal. So be it. Contrary to what the MAD crowd claim, they drew first blood. It was they who took such deep offense to my 2005 fat loss article and began attacking my persona on web forums. I get the feeling that some of those folks felt a sense of betrayal, that they felt angry that I dared turn my spotlight on myths *within* the low-carb camp.

I have no time for such nepotism. And I give as good as I get. If they want to keep this up, I'm more than happy to stay in the ring. So far their animosity has inspired the creation of a popular ebook and a mini-PDF that are receiving enthusiastic praise from those who have not hopelessly succumbed to MAD. So if they want to keep providing me with creative inspiration, good luck to them."

In March 2008, I contacted Anthony Colpo about coming on my podcast show to discuss this at the time six-month dispute with Dr. Eades and those in the low-carb community he disagreed with. I was offering an olive branch out to him as a means of giving him a voice to talk about what had him so upset. But he refused stating that the "MAD (metabolic advantage dogma) crowd" as he calls those of us in the low-carb community has become too partisan about their beliefs. Okay, but here I am giving you a chance to share your side of the story, so why wouldn't you take it?

Here is Colpo's decline of my invitation for an interview:

Hi Jimmy,

Thanks for the kind offer to appear on your low-carb show, but I really don't want to be identified with a particular dietary paradigm anymore. It's been my experience that followers of particular dietary paradigms tend to be very myopic and dogmatic, and I have to honestly say that low-carbers are among the worst - if not *the* worst - offenders. As a result, I will be changing the direction of my web presence in due course, in order to shake off the annoying "low-carb" and "Paleo" labels I've been tagged with (partly my own fault). I'm just not interested in catering to the kind of one-eyed crowd that these labels tend to attract.

All the best,

Anthony

As if it wasn't abundantly clear before, it was at this point that I realized the great defender of low-carb we once knew as a brilliant orator of this way of eating was now gone for good. Anthony Colpo had now taken on a martyr mentality and he would do anything and everything to prove he's right no matter what.

At the April 2008 ASBP/Nutrition & Metabolism conference in Phoenix, AZ, I was able to sit down with Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades for an interview with them. One of the questions I had for Dr. Mike was about none other than Anthony Colpo himself. Here's what I asked Dr. Mike Eades about Anthony Colpo in that podcast interview which ran in May 2008:

"I wanted to ask one more question about another gentleman who you have had a very open spout with. Of course, we're talking about Anthony Colpo. What has happened to him? I mean he used to be a champion, I guess, of the low-carb diet and something changed him. I don't even know how to ask the question, I mean, what's going on with him based on your analysis in the midst of this squabble with him. What's happening, is he seeing scientific data that's there that we don't? I don't get where he's coming from."

Dr. Eades very carefully started to answer this question to give his honest opinion about the Colpo situation as he saw it from his perspective. Here's what he said:

"Well, it's a hard question to answer because I'm not inside Anthony Colpo's head, so I don't know how he thinks. So all my analyses are just sorta pop psychology analyses. I mean, when this whole thing blew up because I'd never even heard of him until he wrote something in on my blog and I started checking him out. I read some of the stuff about him.

I got the same impression that he used to be a real proponent of the low-carb diet and actually I have read his old TheOmnivore and I'd read it a while before and I didn't put Anthony Colpo and TheOmnivore together. It was only after this whole thing happened that I thought, 'Oh, that's TheOmnivore guy.' And I actually liked his web site.

So I couldn't figure out what set him off on this thing. And apparently he's just somebody that doesn't deal with people disagreeing with him very well which I saw on his web site, too. I tracked it back and he used to be on these various low-carb bulletin boards and I found a sort of back and forth that I think pushed him over the edge. The sad part of it is I think he was right and the other people were wrong.

He was trying to make the point in this piece that he wrote that low-carb diets and people that followed low-carb diets will spontaneously reduce their intake which is true. The literature is full of studies showing they spontaneously reduce their caloric intake. And when they spontaneously reduce their caloric intake, it creates a deficit and it's that deficit that causes them to lose weight. I think that's absolutely true, I think he was absolutely right about that.

And I think that some people on this web site thought that somehow he was attacking Robert Atkins about that or that their impression of Robert Atkins is that he says you can eat as much low-carb food as you want and you lose weight. And so they got on to Anthony about that saying 'That's not true, how can you disagree with the great Dr. Atkins?' and Anthony was saying, 'Because I'm right. You have to have a caloric deficit.' And you really do!

I think he and I really believe the same thing about that. There's this whole issue of the metabolic advantage which is neither here nor there. But you actually do have to have a caloric deficit, get it spontaneously on a low-carb diet in most cases. But some people don't. Some people can eat enough on a low-carb diet that they don't get the deficit and they don't lose weight. So you've got to have this deficit and I think that just kinda put him over the edge. Because I tracked back and looked at that and I saw him getting more and more and more and more hostile toward low-carbers and then he was just off and running from there.

That's my analysis of the situation which could be totally wrong because as I say I'm not inside his head. Going back trying to reconstruct this whole thing because I couldn't figure out why he was coming on so strong about this. It just seemed so bizarre to me, especially over the metabolic advantage because we're only talking a couple hundred calories. It nothing like saying this is the be-all, end-all and whole huge deal. My God, he's written whole books about me because I believe in the metabolic advantage--it's crazy. And now I think he's just kinda gone the other way and he thinks people that believe in low-carb diets are idiots, that they're non-scientific."

As you can see from the parts of the transcript that I have highlighted in boldface, Dr. Eades says he agrees with Anthony Colpo regarding calories and their impact on weight. If you put aside the differences about the "metabolic advantage" which Dr. Eades says only amounts to "a couple hundred calories" difference, there are really no substantial differences of opinion between these two men. That's right, they actually AGREE! You wouldn't know it with all the hyperbolic language that has been flying around for the past year!

When I told him what Anthony said about low-carbers being too partisan towards our way of eating, Dr. Eades responded this way:

"He's right, you can lose weight on a low-fat diet. I mean people have done it, zillions of people have done it. I don't think it's the best way and I don't think it's the easiest way to do it. If you create the caloric deficit, you're gonna lose the weight. But the problem is this calories-in, calories-out thing. Those are not independent variables.

You can't just reduce calories-in and calories-out stays the same. Pretty soon it goes down, too. And if you go out and exercise more it makes you hungrier, you tend to eat more. People don't realize how little, how few calories that exercise burns up and how little you have to increase your diet to make up for that.

I just think [Colpo] is sorta rigidly locked into this your energy expenditure is whatever it is by the equations and that stays the same no matter what. If you eat less, then you're gonna create this deficit. I think he thinks those are independent variables and not dependent variables and there's a big difference."

Colpo must have missed my interview with Dr. Mike because I never heard a peep out of him regarding what was said during the podcast. But when Dr. Eades emerged from finishing the manuscript to his upcoming book, he decided to pen "Low-carb and calories" that continues the concepts he talked about beginning in that post last September. This controversial post dared to question that calories count on low-carb, although that is something he readily stated as fact during my podcast interview with him. Nevertheless, Anthony Colpo interpreted this post as Dr. Eades providing a mea culpa about calories.

Here's what Colpo sent out to his mailing list on Saturday:

In September of last year, I publicly exposed what I considered to be an extremely misleading blog post by Dr. Michael Eades, author of the best selling book Protein Power.

In retaliation, Eades has gone to great lengths in an attempt to portray me as a "clueless young prat" who has it all wrong when it comes to weight loss.

However, Eades has recently done an about-face. In a recent blog post, he acknowledges that I was right all along!

To get the full story on Eades' bizarre behavior, simply click this link.

Yours in health,

Anthony Colpo

I'm not gonna bother rehashing this latest "book" Anthony Colpo has written about Dr. Mike Eades, but it's just more of the same personal attacks we have seen over this past year. Come on already! It's one thing to have a personal difference of opinion and expressing that opinion with what you believe and why you believe it. But it's yet another to degrade and embarrass yourself with childish name calling and frivolous accusations.

These rather ostentatious outbursts from Colpo are unbecoming of someone attempting to communicate useful information about diet and health to people who are disinterested in all this drama. It's obvious to everyone by now, Anthony, that you are the one who is MAD because the low-carb community didn't all run out in great numbers to buy The Great Cholesterol Con two years ago. I still happen to think it's a fabulous book that everyone should own a copy of, but your crybaby antics we have witnessed ever since have done you no good whatsoever.

My advice to you is to call for a public truce with Dr. Eades. He's right, you're right, we're all right. Calories count, although the jury is still out on whether you actually need to count them while livin' la vida low-carb. But this is a subject you two AGREE with each other on, so enough is enough already!

While you continue on with your verbosity (which I assume my blog post today will warrant yet another book-long response--this time about Jimmy Moore!), the lives of real people seeking to lose weight and improve their health continue. And THEY are the reason why people like you, me and Dr. Eades should be doing what we're doing. Set aside your personal differences with those who you think are out to get you and get back to doing the kind of work that endeared you to so many of us just two years ago. You have a lot to offer with your knowledge, experience, and writing talents. Whether you choose to use these tools wisely for good or whimsically for folly is entirely up to you.

There. After months of sitting on this, I've finally said my peace. Comments anyone?

A Collection Of Low-Carb News To Kick Off 2008

It's the dawn of a new year, but low-carb hasn't slowed a bit!

Waving goodbye to the end of another year simply means it's time to say hello to a new beginning as the calendar year turns over yet again. While 2007 was indeed a year to remember, I'm so looking forward to 2008 and all that awaits people who are contemplating, in the midst of, or head over heels about the amazingly healthy low-carb lifestyle.

Good things are happening all the time and it is always a pleasure to share with you the very latest in the wonderful world of livin' la vida low-carb. My commitment to you is to keep doing this in the new year so you'll always stay ahead of the game. In fact, I'm happy to share with you a collection of positive low-carb news right now to help kick off your 2008 the right way. HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

BREAST CANCER MADE WORSE BY HIGH INSULIN LEVELS

I've shared with you many times over the past few years how researchers are beginning to see an unmistakable connection between the prevalence and growth of cancer tied to the existence of high levels of insulin in the body. Most notably was this Time magazine article on German researchers using a high-fat, low-carb diet to combat cancer in the most dire of patients with astounding results.

Now researchers out of Yale University have found that women with high levels of insulin in their body are likely to develop breast cancer. Although the lead researcher Dr. Melinda Irwin recommends "exercise and eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables and low in fat," what they need more than anything is a sugar-free, low-carb diet rich in healthy amounts of fat, including saturated fat, to combat and prevent this disease.

The problem I have always had with generalized recommendations from people like Dr. Irwin who say we should "eat a diet rich in fruits and vegetables with a low-fat diet" is that it is not backed up by the latest published research and in my opinion is simply a copout for providing guidance about which foods are better. Not all vegetables are good for you (potatoes and other starchy ones especially) and neither are all fruits (bananas alone have 29g carbohydrate in them!).

It's nice to see the research is finally showing the detrimental role that insulin is doing to our health brought on by a high-carb diet, but it's high time we start matching up our dietary recommendations to adequately take on these health challenges properly. Share your comments and concerns with Dr. Melinda Irwin about her study by e-mailing her at melinda.irwin@yale.edu.

IS THERE REALLY ANOTHER NEW ATKINS DIET BOOK?

You may have already heard about this new book, but in case you haven't it is not a misprint. There's a brand new Atkins diet book called The All-New Atkins Advantage: The 12-Week Low-Carb Program to Lose Weight, Achieve Peak Fitness and Health, and Maximize Your Willpower to Reach Life Goals that released on December 26, 2007 and is being marketed as an updated version of the low-carb diet made popular by the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins.


This Atkins book co-written by Dr. Stuart Trager and Collette Heimowitz

I've been reading through this "new" Atkins diet book and the overriding message that I am seeing is that there are different levels of carbohydrate tolerance for each individual and this book will help guide you regardless of the amount of carbs your body will permit you to eat. There are menus for varying levels of carbohydrate intake from 20g a day to 80g a day, so you never have to guess about what to eat.

Dr. Trager is a fitness expert who uses his experiences in Ironman competitions and implementing a low-carbohydrate nutritional approach to help others reach their weight loss goals. I've blogged about him previously in this blog post and he devotes a major portion of the book on specific exercises you can do to go along with your Atkins diet.

As for Collette Heimowitz, I've interviewed her at my blog before talking about the continuing role of Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. in the realm of diet, health, and nutrition. She has been a long-time supporter of livin' la vida low-carb sharing with others all the research and data supporting low-carb living.

I will likely be sharing a book review of The All-New Atkins Advantage as well as some possible giveaways real soon, so keep reading the blog for those updates! This looks to be a good book for anyone needing a little bit of extra hand-holding as you begin the low-carb lifestyle.

CAL-CARB CLICKER TO BE FEATURED ON QVC

A few weeks ago, my wife Christine and I shared with you some great low-carb gift ideas to share with people who are livin' la vida low-carb on special occasions like birthdays, Christmas, and other such events involving presents. One of those products I told you about was something called the Cal-Carb Clicker which allows you to keep track of your calories, carbohydrates, and water intake all in one device that's super-easy to use.

Well, this little gadget is gonna hit the big time on New Year's Eve as the clock strikes midnight to head into 2008 because it will be featured for the first time ever on the QVC television shopping network. If you are up late watching the ball drop in Times Square, then be sure to switch over to QVC to watch Sandy Martucci, one of the two sisters who invented this gizmo, talk about it sometime between midnight and 2 a.m. This thing is expected to blow the doors off of QVC and it's exciting that one of the things it measures is carbohydrate intake. AMAZING!!!

If the Cal-Carb Clicker does as well as QVC expects selling at around $12, then they will keep offering it as part of their regular programming. This is excellent news because more and more people are discovering the importance of carb control and this tool will help them keep better track of it. And that's a VERY good thing! :)

ARIZONA STATE RESEARCHERS RIP LOW-CARB DIETS

As much as all the evidence keeps pointing to low-carb as being one of the healthiest ways you could possibly eat, I have come to the conclusion that there will ALWAYS be somebody out there who thinks the sky is green. When it comes to the alleged healthiness of a high-carb diet, this guys takes the cake (both figuratively AND literally!).

Joining in on the lunacy are researchers from Arizona State University who put out this damning press release against low-carb diets recently that claims (among many things) ketosis from a low-carb ketogenic diet will kill you, your bones will dry up and crumble like a cookie, and your LDL cholesterol will go up so high your arteries will explode! Okay, maybe it wasn't filled with that much hyperbole, but it might as well have since all of those flimsy excuses are the same ones we've heard over and over again for years.

What do they recommend instead? Eating a more "moderate" level of around 120g of carbohydrates daily as a STARTING POINT and much more than that if you even dare try to exercise a little. They say your body needs carbs but we know better don't we? It's called gluconeogenesis and is a very natural part of human physiology and metabolism.

These pompous, self-proclaimed researchers--Carol Johnston and Pamela Swan--need to get off their high horse every once in a while to start living in the real world like the rest of us rather than the fantasy land of higher academia! I'm sure they'd LOVE to hear from YOU, so feel free to e-mail them at carol.johnston@asu.edu and PSwan@asu.edu.

NUTRITION DATA GIVES LOW-CARB DISCERNMENT ADVICE

If you haven't been to the "Nutrition Data" blog yet, then you are doing yourself a huge disservice because they offer some really fantastic information about diet, health, and nutrition. And they also are quite the fans of livin' la vida low-carb, too. In this recent post about dietary dogma against low-carb diets, an excellent response was provided by Monica Reinagel for people confused about how to discern the good information from the bad as it relates to low-carb studies that seem to contradict themselves (as will frequently happen when the zealots release their biased research while genuine studies show the truth).

I especially liked Monica's four tips about what to do for living healthy:

1. Do what works...If a low-carb diet is the only way for you to do it, then the possible risks are probably justified.

2. Consider your health history. If you are diabetic or have metabolic syndrome and have weight to lose, a lower-carb diet may be a better choice.

3. Monitor your risk factors. Regardless of which dietary dogma you ascribe to, have your cholesterol, triglycerides, and inflammation markers (CRP) tested on an annual or bi-annual basis.

4. Don't over-simplify...A diet rich in low-glycemic carbs like vegetables and legumes is not going to have the same negative effects as a diet high in high-glycemic carbs like rice cakes and white bread.

See what I mean...don't you LOVE it when you find someone of like mind? In 2008, make it a point to visit The ND Blog early and often! And let Monica hear from you about what you think of her site by e-mailing her at feedback@nutritiondata.com.

Speaking of this fabulous web site, I just had to share with you about a recent poll conducted by NutritionData.com that simply asked the question, "What motivates you to eat healthier?" Wanna know what the surprising results were depending on what part of the United States you live in? Check this out:

One-third of Americans want to look good (33.3%) and just under a third want to feel better. But the results of the poll showed that Americans have different motivations for eating healthier based on where they live.

- Americans living in the Heartland States want to change their diets to lower their risk of diseases like heart disease, diabetes and cancer

- People living on the East Coast of the U.S. eat healthier in the hopes that they will live longer

- People in the South and on the West Coast try to eat better in order to lose weight and/or look good

- Americans on the West Coast change their diets for the better so that they will have more energy

What do you think about this? Is it true based on where YOU live? This should be a lively discussion in the comments section. :D

A USER-FRIENDLY WEB SITE EXPLAINING LOW-CARB DIETS

Have you been looking for a page on the Internet that would accurately describe what the low-carb lifestyle is REALLY all about, explain in simple terms what makes this way of eating so effective, and put it in language we can all understand? Well, look no further than "Why Low-Carb Diets Work" by author Adam Khan. He did a yeoman's job of breaking it down in digestible chunks for virtually anyone to grasp the basic concepts of livin' la vida low-carb. Whether you are a low-carb expert or a novice, this one's WELL worth the read!

NEW STUDY CONFIRMS LOW-CARB FOR EPILEPSY TREATMENT

I've blogged about the use of a very low-carb ketogenic diet for seizure control in people with epilepsy and other neurological diseases before. In fact, I highlighted a web site called "Atkins For Seizures" that is a grassroots attempt to educate people who suffer from epilepsy about this potential dietary cure for their disease Now there's a study scientifically backing up this treatment method.

Lead researcher Dr. Kelvin Yamada, professor of Neurology at the St. Louis, MO-based Washington University School of Medicine, and his team of researchers found that the key to helping people with epilepsy the release of leptin brought about as a result of a ketogenic low-carb diet. The science is a bit complicated to follow, but the bottom line is livin' la vida low-carb was shown to help reduce the occurrence of seizures in laboratory rats.

This study was published in the December 20, 2007 issue of Journal of Clinical Investigation. You can e-mail Dr. Kelvin Yamada about his study at yamadak@wustl.edu.

LAURA DOLSON HELPS WITH "BABY STEPS" TOWARDS LOW-CARB

One of the greatest low-carb resources on the Internet is the About.com Low-Carb Diets page from Laura Dolson. She works tirelessly to provide accurate, informative, and professional information regarding anything and everything that has to do with the low-carb lifestyle. I wanna be like Laura when I grow up! :)

Recently, Laura shared a post entitled "Seven Steps to Greater Carb Control" that is essential reading for anyone who thinks livin' la vida low-carb is an impossibility for them. It's amazing how making some very minor changes in your current habits can reap huge rewards in both your weight and health management. I know from talking to Laura that health is a HUGE part of everything she does, so take some advice from someone who has been there and cares.

DIABETES HEALTH MAGAZINE PUBLISHES LOW-CARB SUCCESS

Now that the American Diabetes Association (ADA) has given the green light to low-carb for diabetics, it will be very interesting to see how many amazing stories of blood sugar control that start happening for people who will try this for perhaps the first time as a means for treating their diabetes. While the ADA is focused on the weight loss aspect of livin' la vida low-carb, it's what will happen as insulin production slows for Type 2 diabetics that will be the really fun thing to watch for.

But even before that has happened, there's a fantastic column in Diabetes Health magazine written by Riva Greenberg from the "Diabetes Stories" blog. She simply shared from her experiences following Dr. Richard Bernstein's plan for controlling her Type 1 diabetes.

Here's a quick excerpt, but be sure to read the whole column:

"I essentially eliminated refined carbs, such as white bread, white potatoes, rice, pasta, sweets, muffins, and starchy veggies. The result? My sugars indeed dropped. They were consistently lower, and my insulin doses dropped. Maybe best of all, I was no longer chasing high blood sugars - you know, the ones that come from refined carbs, where you just can't seem to knock them down all day. My Lantus dose went from 20 to 12.5 units, and my pre-meal Humalog was all but cut in half. The results were so dramatic and made my life so much easier that I never went back to my old ways."

Riva's story is merely the first in a long line of successes that are to come now the the ADA has given recognition and credence to the healthy low-carb lifestyle. If you have an amazing story you'd like to share about how low-carb has helped you control your diabetes, then please feel free to send it to me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. It's important for the ADA and other health entities like them to know that real people are getting healthy eating this way. THANKS for sharing!

DR. RICHARD FEINMAN'S SATURATED FAT COLUMN AT DLIFE

I had the privilege of interviewing one of the most brilliant low-carb researchers in the world today in June 2006--Dr. Richard Feinman from the Brooklyn, NY-based SUNY Downstate. He told me in that interview that he believed the ADA was close to coming out in support of livin' la vida low-carb and 18 months later he was right!

As a strong advocate of the metabolic science behind low-carb living, we have seen Dr. Feinman challenge the status quo and now he's at it again on the popular diabetes and health web site called dLife.

In a guest column called "What if Saturated Fat is Not the Problem?" he shares about some of the latest research behind saturated fat to reveal it's not the public health menace we've all been led to believe. He notes this study from University of Connecticut researcher Dr. Jeff Volek that found a diet low in saturated fat actually increases saturated fat in the blood compared to a diet high in saturated fat. Counterintuitive? You betcha, but that's what the data shows.

Here's a taste of classic Feinman at his best:

"Carbohydrate, through its effect on insulin, is the key player. Insulin not only sweeps up glucose from the blood but it also plays air traffic controller, making the call as to whether that glucose is turned into fat or is used for energy. Most importantly, insulin determines what happens to dietary fat — whether it gets stored or oxidized for fuel. In fact, insulin has so much control over how dietary fat is metabolized that when levels of fat are measured in the blood, they are not strongly associated with a person's diet. In other words, one person who has a high intake of saturated fat may turn out to have a similar ratio of saturated to unsaturated fat in the blood as someone who consumes very little saturated fat."

There's plenty more nuggets of truth to chew on in Dr. Feinman's column, so read the entire thing, print it out, and give it to your doctor and anyone else whose health you care about. This is a subject that we've only just begun to scratch the surface on and will be at the center of debate in the months and years to come.

3800 CALORIES A DAY FOR A MONTH AND NO WEIGHT GAIN?

We often hear from all those so-called "experts" who tell us we need to create a calorie deficit in order to manage our weight. But those of us who consume a high-fat, low-carb diet with no regard for calories have always believed that theory was bogus--but we didn't really have any way to back it up other than our own personal experiences.

Allow me to introduce you to a Wisconsin man named Jeff. Over the course of 30 days during the entire month of December, he has conducted an experiment on his own body a la what Morgan Spurlock did in his Super Size Me movie. Jeff attempted to eat as many calories as he possibly could on his 169-pound frame to prove you can maintain your weight as long as you keep your carbohydrates reduced.

Check out his daily log of calories consumed and a list of the foods he ate to average a whopping 3822 calories for thirty days in a row! His high day was on Day 5 when he hit 4620 calories and his low day was on Day 30 when he only got to 2998--three-fourths of which was FAT! WOW! You go Jeff!!!

Conventional wisdom regarding calories would say that Jeff should have gained close to 14 pounds on this diet of his. But guess what? He didn't gain 14 pounds. He didn't even gain 10 pounds or even 5 pounds. The shocking result--HE MAINTAINED HIS WEIGHT!!! Incredible! I'd love to interview Jeff about his little experiment if someone who knows him will have him e-mail me. THANKS!

DR. WALTER WILLETT ACKNOWLEDGES LOW-CARB DIETS

A friend of mine pointed me to a rather fascinating interview with Dr. Walter Willett, a nutrition expert from the Harvard School of Public Health. While I've both praised and been critical of Dr. Willett at my blog, I'm pleased to share this interview conducted by PBS and their "Frontline" program with you because it has some good information from this leading American health expert on a variety of subjects.

Yes, he still subscribes to the Ancel Keys theory regarding fat causing obesity among other things, there are moments during the interview that Dr. Willett comes to the defense of fat consumption and livin' la vida low-carb. Here are some of my favorite parts:

"The reality is that during this campaign for fat-free and reduced-fat products, actual fat consumption did go down, but Americans got much fatter during this period of time. Now of course lots of things were going on at the same period in time, but I think it's highly likely this focus only on fat calories to the neglect of carbohydrate calories has contributed to this epidemic of obesity."
**********
"The evidence that we accrued really suggested not only that the type of advice that people were getting was not useful, but it actually could be dangerous, because some people were eliminating the very healthy types of fat that actually reduce heart disease rates."
**********
"The thinking in nutrition about carbohydrates really had broken them down into two classes: sugars and so-called complex carbohydrates, which are mostly starches. The idea has been pushed that all forms of so-called complex carbohydrates are really the poster child of nutrients, and we should be eating them in large amounts. That's what the pyramid tells us to do. But in fact, these kinds of starches -- white bread, white rice, potatoes -- are starches that are very rapidly converted to glucose, really pure sugar, and almost instantly absorbed into the bloodstream. And these are the kinds of carbohydrates that we really should be minimizing in our diets."
**********
"Actually, careful studies have shown, demonstrated that you get a bigger rise in blood sugar after eating potatoes, a baked potato, say, than you do from eating pure table sugar. Really."
**********
"First of all, when the blood sugar goes skyrocketing up, the body wants to bring it back down. So our pancreas pumps out a big blast of insulin, and as a result, the blood sugar comes crashing down rapidly. In fact, in many people, after three and four hours, it overshoots and actually become a little hypoglycemic, and that rapid crashing down of blood glucose and insulin stimulates hunger. That would be no problem, except that it's often all too easy to go in the refrigerator or find a snack, and if we do that frequently throughout the day, that can add up to too many calories over weeks and months and years, and contribute to obesity.

Second, these high rises in blood glucose and insulin have a bad metabolic effect on the blood cholesterol fractions. Specifically the HDL, the good cholesterol, is driven down, and triglycerides, another type of fat in the blood that leads to heart attacks, goes up.

Third, after many years of demand for high amounts of insulin, the pancreas tends to give out. And at that point in time, we've got type 2 diabetes."
**********
"Interestingly, in traditional Asian societies, people were very lean, very active, and therefore had low insulin resistance. They could eat large amounts of rice, even white rice, in the diet and have low heart attack rates and have low rates of type 2 diabetes. But if you take that same person, and they [now] may be living in Beijing and driving a car and watching a television, and they put on a few pounds, they're going to have much more insulin resistance. So if you take that same diet, high in carbohydrate and white rice, they will have a much worse metabolic response and much higher rates of type 2 diabetes."
**********
"If you're overweight and living in the United States, and you go to a hospital and see a dietician, almost for sure, you're going to be put on a low-fat, high-carbohydrate diet."
**********
"Dr. Atkins was saying as much as 30 years ago, that if we reduce our carbohydrate intake to quite low levels, that will make it easier to control our caloric intake and thus promote weight loss. As it turns out, there is a strong element of truth in that. A number of studies in the last year have looked in a very careful way, comparing low-fat, high-carbohydrate diets with reduced-carbohydrate diets, and in general people have done better on the reduced-carbohydrate diets in terms of their weight."

This was one incredible interview and I hope you take the time to read it all for yourself! While Dr. Willett is certainly no low-carb champion, he at least understands the mechanism behind why it works for those of us who choose it to manage our weight and health. This is something more health experts should get in the habit of doing.

Got some low-carb news you wanna share with me? I'm always happy to hear from my readers, so don't hesitate to e-mail me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.

'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 88: Calorie Restriction Is The Biggest Diet Lie Ever

The Calorie Restriction Society promotes lower and lower calories

Is it an ongoing debate within health circles--should you be eating a low-calorie diet for health and weight loss? Some groups like the Calorie Restriction Society believe the lower the better. Your weight and health can be managed and improved as well as lengthen life itself, they claim. They even have a study to back them up.

We take a closer look at this study in Episode 88 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." Does it have merit or is it just blowing wind up the skirts of those who want to believe restricting their calories and portions is the ONLY way to go?

Click on the "Listen NOW" link below or download it to your iPod:

 "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 88 [12:27m]: Listen NOW! | Download

There are a lot of voices out there touting the so-called benefits of low-calorie dieting. But are they legit? In my personal experience, those diets are nothing more than STARVATION and are not sustainable over the long-term for most people. That's why low-fat, low-calorie diets fail and low-carb succeeds.

Fill up on the low-carboliciousness of this podcast anytime by:

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

Are you eating a low-calorie diet and think it's the best thing you've ever done for your personal health? I'd LOVE to hear from YOU if you think counting calories is the way to go to lose weight and get healthy. Or perhaps you are livin' la vida low-carb and don't worry about pushing calories lower and lower. What do you think about this issue?

Let's talk about it so we can learn from each other. Keep on listening to "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" and THANK YOU for your support of the #1 low-carb podcast on the Internet today!

'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 82: Are Calories Consumed Really Indiscriminate?

Just when you think there's no hope for the next generation to understand important nutritional concepts, along comes a refreshing, information-hungry young student to challenge the status quo regarding calories. Check out this very perceptive question asked by a 6th-grader in a local newspaper in the Binghamton, New York area:

“Why do people get fat by not eating too much but by eating junk all day?”

Basically, the kid wants to know, “Why do people who eat MORE food and calories more often lose weight while some people who eat LESS food and calories in meals all at one time gain weight?” It goes to the very heart of the calories in, calories out myth we have long been told is absolutely, unequivocally true.

WRONG!

In Episode 82 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore," we actually hear an intelligent and well-informed response to this child's question from a graduate school student named Lina Begdache who is earning her PhD in Biological Sciences next year from Binghamton University in New York. Hear what she had to say by clicking on the "Play In Popup" link below or download it to your iPod to listen to today's podcast show:

 "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 82 [14:07m]: Play in Popup | Download

Most medical and research students are being taught that there must be a caloric equalibrium established with the calories consumed versus calories expended in order to maintain and manage body weight. Burning more than consuming results in weight loss while burning less than consuming results in weight gain. Right?

Well, maybe not and the soon-to-be Dr. Begdache was brilliant in explaining why this oft-repeated "calories in, calories out" premise is dead wrong. She also provides some thought-provoking evidence that low-calorie diets are actually harmful to your health--which again flies in the face of conventional wisdom. You're gonna LOVE her answers!

Your 411 for all things L-O-W C-A-R-B is found by:

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

What's your take on Begdache's opinions about calories? Are calories consumed really indiscriminate as we have been led to believe? Or does the quality of the carbs and the frequency they are consumed count for something? Is it really all about "calories in, calories out?"

Discuss these questions and more in the show notes section of Episode 82 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." What say you about these questions and do you agree that Lina Begdache did an outstanding job?

Speaking of the topic of calories, I can't wait for you to get your hands on a copy of the upcoming Knopf release by Gary Taubes called Good Calories, Bad Calories because he methodically deals with the traditional calorie theory and blows it completely out of the water. Click here to read my interview with him earlier this month and I'm working on doing a podcast show with Taubes after his book hits stores on September 25, 2007.

'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 71: Kimmer Shares What She Eats On Kimkins Diet

After an overwhelming response to Part 1 of my interview with Kimmer from the Kimkins diet last Thursday, many of you have been anxiously awaiting today's Part 2 of my world exclusive five-part series in today's Episode 71 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." You can listen to it RIGHT NOW:

 "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 71 [17:11m]: Play in Popup | Download

In today's podcast, Kimmer talks about specifically what foods she eats along with the calorie counts (even I was surprised by how she responded!). Additionally, she discusses who should NEVER do Kimkins (just like any low-carb plan, you need to find the one that is right for you) and responds to the criticism that she recommends a very-low-calorie nutritional approach. Read all of my questions for Kimmer for all five segments of my interview with her.

"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" can be heard by:

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

What's your reaction to Part 2 of my Kimmer interview? Feel free to share your feedback and tell us what you think!

Incidentally, here is the broadcast schedule for the three remaining interview segments:

Part 3--Thursday, July 26, 2007
Part 4--Monday, July 30, 2007
Part 5--Thursday, August 2, 2007

If you miss an episode, then you can listen in the archives section at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com. THANKS for all the comments about my exclusive interview with Kimmer. It has certainly garnered the attention of so many of you both positive and negative! ENJOY!

'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 70: Kimmer, Kimkins Diet On Full Display In Exclusive Interview

Getting it all out in the open, Kimkins defended by founder Kimmer

Okay, it's here! Episode 70 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" brings you Part 1 of a special 5-part series featuring my exclusive interview with the much-maligned Kimkins diet founder Kimmer. I was surprised by how forthright she was in the interview with some especially difficult questions I asked her.

This is the first and only interview I have ever seen Kimmer do and I was appreciative she agreed to let me share her answers to these burning questions from friend and foe alike. If you're curious at all about the real Kimmer and this diet she calls Kimkins, then you won't want to miss this interview.

Click on the PLAY button below to LISTEN NOW:

 "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 70 [19:33m]: Play in Popup | Download

In Part 1, Kimmer discussed her philosophy on calories, which has been the subject of some controversy among low-carbers, and talks about her days as a member of the Low-Carb Friends Forum in 2001-2002. She admitted to me how difficult it was to endure the criticism of some members who didn't like her approach to low-carb living and the aftermath of getting booted from that site. She was honest in sharing how upset that made her which precipitated the formation of her own web site in 2006.

You can get podcast availability anytime by:

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

What do you think so far? Kimmer seems to be a very intelligent woman who has an obvious heart for helping people who desire weight loss. Do you believe her more or less now that you've heard her voice for the first time? Tell us what you thought about Kimmer and her explanations about the Kimkins diet so far.

We're just getting started with this interview, though, so be sure to listen to "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" again on Monday for Episode 71 and Part 2 of my exclusive interview with Kimmer from the Kimkins diet!

'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 67: Oh No, Not The Intermittent Fast Again!

Dr. Michael Eades encourages skipping meals to naturally cut calories

I've been getting a lot of traffic coming to my blog as well as e-mails from people lately regarding the concept known as "intermittent fasting." We first heard about this nutritional concept from low-carb expert and Protein Power co-author Dr. Mike Eades last Fall.

That's why I dedicated Episode 67 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" to this subject and recalled my own personal experience trying this "intermittent fast" for myself. The results of this experiment for me were quite captivating in ways I couldn't have imagined at the time--to say the least! Hear all about it in today's podcast:

 "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 67 [16:52m]: Play in Popup | Download

I'm all for people finding new and exciting ways to help them reduce their weight and get their health in order. When I weighed 410 pounds in 2004, the Atkins diet was my chosen method for getting there. Over time, as your body adjusts to your new weight, something like an intermittent fast to help naturally reduce calories may be needed for weight management. Dr. Eades recognizes that which is why he supports this idea.

Lovin' this low-carb podcast? Get even more of it by:

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

What do you think about Dr. Eades' "intermittent fasting" and skip-a-meal recommendation for naturally reducing calories? Have you implemented such a strategy into your own diet? If so, how did it work for you? Good? Bad? Ugly? :D

Tell us all about it and let's hear what happened to you. It wasn't a pretty picture for me, but perhaps it's EXACTLY what YOU need to help kickstart your low-carb lifestyle into high gear. I look forward to your responses.

Plus, I'm happy to announce a special contest being conducted with our new sponsor Atkins Nutritionals. Go to the show notes section of Episode 67 to find out how YOU can win a cool prize to the first ten people compliments of Atkins.

Despite Brouhaha, Kimkins Diet Generates 25-Pound Weight Loss In First Three Weeks

The post that appeared here has been removed for not promoting the low-carb community in the professional manner I have come to expect from myself. THANK YOU!

Read this blog post for more information.

65-Year Old Atkins Dieter Says He Must Always Confront His Addiction To Carbs

Whenever I receive an e-mail from someone who talks about their long-term success on the low-carb lifestyle, I am beaming with pride. From a decade-long Atkins dieter to these two prime examples of livin' la vida low-carb, the truth is clear whether you hear about it from the media or not--lots of people are losing weight and getting healthy eating a low-carb diet.

And it ain't just temporary either! Why?

Well, this study explains that when you decide to begin implementing a long-term lifestyle change over at least an 18-month period rather than simply beginning a diet (which means you'll "die" to a "t"!), you are more likely to succeed at weight loss.

It's like I always say--find a plan that works for you, follow that plan until you reach your weight loss goal, and then keep doing that plan FOREVER! It really works if you make it work for you. Weight management is not easy, but it IS possible.

Take it from a 65-year old reader of the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog who has been on the Atkins diet since 1998. This gentleman had tried the highly-recommended low-calorie diets and they just didn't work for him.

"The reason reduced calories wasn't even an option for me is that even when my calorie intake was far too high, I was still starving," he explained. "There was no way that I would be able to reduce my calories for any length of time."

He added: "I tried many times and failed badly!"

Man, is he ever right?! One of the things that attracted me to the Atkins diet is the fact that you don't have to count calories like those food-obsessed low-fatties would have you believe! Calories do count, but you don't have to count them if you are eating proper amounts of protein and fat when you are livin' la vida low-carb.

This doesn't mean low-carbers are gorging themselves on these macronutrients, but rather consuming enough protein and fat to satiate their hunger and provide them with the energy to live their life. And if you look up the definition of "diet," then this will close resemble what that word REALLY means.

My reader was spot-on when he commented how utterly clueless most people are about helping someone overcome their addition to carbs.

"The reason well-meaning people will never help anyone regain control of their eating over the long-term is that they know absolutely nothing about addictions," he contended. "I'm not being disrespectful when saying this, but simply stating the obvious!"

It's so obvious to those of us who are living it, that's for sure. I can't tell you how many people just assume I'm keeping my weight off easily now that it's been a few years since I shed 180 pounds in one year. Not hardly. I tell them it is still a daily battle to keep myself focused on eating healthy.

My reader says these people need to walk a mile in our shoes which they cannot do unless they've been obese and then beat it.

"They do not understand the mind of an overeater and I will prove it," he said. "Unless they can personally relate to the following story, they are NOT qualified (even a little) in the area of eating disorders."

Here's his story:

"We had a birthday party recently and were served pizza. Under normal circumstances I would never eat a grain product of any kind. Grains, whether fully processed or not, set off my eating disorder just as badly!

But my lovely wife assured me that after being on Atkins for almost eight years at the time, I should now have complete control over my eating addiction. She suggested that I have two large slices and walk away.

Well, guess what? Ten slices of pizza later (and they were very large pieces, too, I might add!), I walked away from that party even hungrier than before I even started eating!"

Whoa! Now that is one powerful example of the strong grip that food can have even on those of us who have been low-carbing for a while. If somebody can't relate to that experience even in the slightest, then they DEFINITELY don't know how to help someone who is fighting food addiction.

Sadly, my reader concluded, most of the so-called "experts" and even semi-educated lay people would say to him that he need "more willpower" to stop at two slices. But...

"This would be the exact same thing as telling an alcoholic to walk away after only six drinks," he contended. "And Dr. Atkins understood this!"

Yes he did which is why people like me and you have been able to confront our addiction to carbs directly and win that battle. If more people could just realize that effective weight control is about eating low-carb, then perhaps obesity could become a thing of the past.

I've said it before that there is no "after" with low-carb living, this way of eating is not just a temporary "crash" diet, and that maintaining once you lose the weight is the real key to long-term success.

That's what has made my weight loss success long-term because it is my permanent solution to obesity. Never again will I have to worry about my weight.

Why? Because I'm livin' la vida low-carb, baby! :)

Kimkins Diet Opposition Needs A Dose Of Reality

The post that appeared here has been removed for not promoting the low-carb community in the professional manner I have come to expect from myself. THANK YOU!

Read this blog post for more information.

Study Suggests Find The Diet Right For You

Dr. Susan Roberts studied low-carb and low-fat diets for weight loss

What's the secret to losing weight and keeping it off over the long-term?

I've probably revealed the simple answer to that question a million times before at my blog--find the diet that's right for you, learn all you can about that particular plan to do it correctly, and then keep doing it for the rest of your life. Yes, I lost nearly 200 pounds on the Atkins low-carb diet and have been blogging about it for over two years, but I realize this way of eating is not for everyone.

Now this WebMD story highlights a new study that confirms this notion of discovering the customized plan that works for the individual. However, there are some aspects of this research I didn't think were fair to livin' la vida low-carb. I'll discuss my objections in just a moment.

Lead researcher Dr. Susan B. Roberts, Senior Scientist and Director of the Energy Metabolism Laboratory in the Jean Mayer USDA HNRCA at the Boston, MA-based Tufts University, and her fellow researchers wanted to try to settle the age-old question of which diet makeup is best for weight loss and weight maintenance.

The researchers observed 34 healthy, but overweight men and women who were placed on a calorie-restricted diet where their total caloric intake was cut by 30 percent. However, the study participants were split into one of two groups:

LOW-GLYCEMIC LOAD LOWER-CARB DIET (LG) or
HIGH-GLYCEMIC LOAD LOW-FAT DIET (HG)

The LG group avoided foods with sugar and starch, but still ate 40 percent of their calories as carbohydrates. The macronutrient breakdown of the fat and protein were 30 percent each. Interestingly, they call this a "low-carb" diet, but it's not low enough for most of us who are livin' la vida low-carb. This more closely resembles The Zone diet.

The HG group, on the other hand, ate 60 percent of their calories as carbohydrates while limiting their fat and protein to 20 percent each. This is what many would describe as the Standard American Diet (SAD). The researchers took great pains to try to match the foods in this group with the taste, appearance, and calorie counts of the LG group (yeah, good luck with that!).

Weekly shopping and cooking classes for each of the groups were provided with a dietitian (HOO BOY!) and the exact foods needed to do each diet were distributed to the study participants for the first six months of the study. Yet, after that they left them to their own devices to eat on their own for the second six months of the study. Uh-oh!

Over the one-year study, the study participants kept a food diary with the amount of calories and food that were consumed. The reseachers noticed that all of them "cheated" at some point in their plan. Furthermore, both the LG and HG groups lost statistically the same amount of weight and body fat regardless of the program they were following.

Of course, the opponents of low-carb use this as an excuse that people shouldn't do this diet since it's no better for weight loss after one year. But I see it differently.

Since both the low-fat and low-carb diet are shown to be equally effective after one year in this study, what that means is people have a choice about what is right for them. In other words, let's see both plans promoted alongside each other as options rather than just the low-fat diet.

But why can't these studies look at a truly ketogenic low-carb diet rather than this 40 percent carbs diet? That's way too many carbs for my blood. While it is certainly LOWER carb, it's not "low-carb" like many of us low-carbers would define it. I'd LOVE to see this same study conducted putting a third group of study participants in a VLG (very low-glycemic) group on a diet with even 20 percent carbs--HALF the amount in this study.

For Atkins dieters, it could even go as low as 10 percent or less carbohydrate daily along with upwards of 60 percent fat and THEN let's see what the weight loss difference between this REAL low-carb plan and the high-carb, low-fat diet. There would be no comparison in my eyes because the genuine low-carb diet would blow the competition out the water. Why would you want to squelch this kind of result from taking place, Dr. Roberts? Are you too afraid of what you KNOW will happen?

The fact is you DO get to enjoy delicious and nutritious foods when you are livin' la vida low-carb compared with a high-carb, low-fat diet. Nobody is gonna argue this point and nor should they. It's true and the low-fatties just need to get over it already.

I think they're jealous of us low-carb dieters because we eat good and lose weight, too. Sorry, but that's just a fact they're gonna have to live with. Say it with me now--that's just the way it is.

If you had to choose between the low-carb lifestyle or the high-carb, low-fat diet since both have been shown to bring about similar weight loss after one year, then it's a no-brainer which one most people would choose. Livin' la vida low-carb, of course!

The reseachers stated that people should find the diet right for them.

"The present results suggest that a broad range of healthy diets can successfully promote weight loss," they concluded.

Well, then what the heck are we waiting on?! Let's make it happen already and stop all the bashing of low-carb in the media and by the so-called health "experts." If the studies are showing low-carb and low-fat are equals, then the dietary recommendations should be immediately amended to include low-carb options alongside the low-fat ones.

This study was funded by the National Institute on Aging and the results appear in the April 2007 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.

Just like they did following the release of the Stanford study published in JAMA in March 2007 showing the Atkins diet is best for weight loss after one year, the researchers were skeptical of the results and tried to explain away the positive impact of low-carb in the study. Look at this quote from one of them.

"However, we did detect a greater tendency for weight and body-fat regain among low-glycemic-diet participants," the researcher remarked. "This finding suggests that reduced caloric intake may be harder to sustain on low-glycemic diets over time."

Sigh. Eating LESS calories is "harder to sustain" for people who are livin' la vida low-carb, eh? Did it ever occur to the researchers that many of us aren't paying any attention to calories anyway?

When you are eating a low-carb diet, you don't need to worry about calories, fat grams, and all those other things that the "diet" mentality make you obsess over. You simply live your life and let your weight manage itself. That's what I've been doing for the past 3 1/2 years and will keep doing for the rest of my long, happy, and healthy life.

I've now successfully maintained my weight since 2004 eating this way and I'm not micromanaging my calories or worrying about eating too much fat. That's the old way of thinking that frustrated me into getting obese to begin with. Why do we put these strict instructions on what people should be doing to maintain their weight loss that only makes the problem harder and harder to deal with? It boggles my mind!

There's no greater freedom than knowing I can eat yummy low-carb foods and STILL keep my weight in line. If I want a high-fat, high-protein steak to eat, then I can do it and keep my weight in check. How about a delicious spinach salad with salmon, sugar-free pickle relish, and fatty mayonnaise topped with cheese and full-fat Ranch dressing? Mmmm, now that's what I call living healthy baby! And my weight and health are NOT adversely impacted.

The point is this study confirms my belief that people can find what works for them and do it confidently knowing they can not just lose weight but keep it off forever. Whether it is low-fat or low-carb, I'll never squabble with anyone who can find the permanent solution to a lifelong problem. That's what livin' la vida low-carb has been for me and it can be your nutritional solace as well. GO FOR IT!!!

You can e-mail Dr. Susan Roberts about her study at susan.roberts@tufts.edu.

Try The Cool And Convenient Cal-Carb Clicker

The Cal-Carb Clicker helps you track your calories, carbs, and water

Making the transition to a healthy low-carb lifestyle should not be a burden on your normal everyday routine. I'm all in favor of finding ways for people to make the process of livin' la vida low-carb as smooth and easy as possible.

When I was losing 180 pounds on the Atkins diet back in 2004, I kept a paper journal with the number of carbs I ate, the amount of water I drank, and the minutes I exercised. This weight loss journal was an important aspect of my eventual success, but it was comical trying to keep up with all of those things using little sticky notes and pieces of paper that I could find to keep track of all it all.

Wouldn't it be easier in this technologically-advanced world of ours to have a handy dandy little electronic device you can carry around in your pocket to keep close tabs on your diet for you without the use of pen and paper? Sure it would!

That's why I'm happy to introduce to you a brand new product that does exactly that--it's The Cal-Carb Clicker and I LOVE THIS THING!

Designed by a pair of sisters named Lindee Lee Bingham and Sandy Martucci, this simple little product has been a long time in the making. For people who are counting their calories, carbs, points, blocks, fat grams (NOT!), and water intake, this little clicker is going to make your life easier--a WHOLE LOT easier!

The Cal-Carb Clicker has a window for calories, carbs, and water which is perfect for people who are livin' la vida low-carb. I don't personally count calories, but the top window lets you click off the calories in increments of 50 for the people who do.

Looking at the middle window, this will be one that every low-carber will use to count down your carbs for the day. Just set the number on your allotted carb allowance at the beginning of the day and then start clicking away until you run out of your budgeted carbs.

Finally, the bottom window is for your water intake (notated by the water drop) and is the only one that counts upward. If you are counting 8-ounce glasses, then click, click, click away for each glass. However, I keep track of my water in increments of 1.5 liter bottles, so you can track that with this as well. Remember, each click ticks up on the water intake.

There's a convenient lighted display which comes in handy if you are using your Cal-Carb Clicker at night or in the dark. The numbers are digital, so you'll find them easy to see and this gadget is so super-easy to use, too!

If you're counting something on your weight loss plan, then the Cal-Carb Clicker will help you do it. You won't get caught forgetting how many calories, carbs, and water you have consumed because it'll all be right there for you to see at a glance. It easily clips on your belt buckle, purse, keychain for instant accessibility.

Is this Cal-Carb Clicker just for weight loss? Heck no! Maintaining your weight takes just as much (or even MORE!) dedication to keeping track of your food and water intake, so it will be an integral part of your ongoing weight loss and maintenance for many years to come.


A handy carb-counting reference chart for your refrigerator

People who are new to livin' la vida low-carb (and there's a bunch of you trying it for the first time in 2007 based on my overflowing e-mail box!) may need some help knowing how to count the carbs in the foods you eat. That's where the Quick Clicks For Carbs laminated magnetic carb click guide will assist you. Post this in a conspicuous place and you'll never have to guess the carb count in anything that crosses your lips again!

Additionally, there is an alphabetical Cal-Carb Food Index included in the instructions with your Cal-Carb Clicker, too! Isn't this such a neat product?! I was quite impressed with it and I think you will be, too. They even have a 90-day product replacement warranty if something goes wrong with it. I'm so glad I found it and I only wish it was around when I was losing weight. Oh well, better late than never! :)

Learn more about the Cal-Carb Clicker by visiting their web site at CalCarbClicker.com.

4-11-07 UPDATE: Some people have asked whether there is a discount for multiple purchases of the Cal-Carb Clicker. Actually, there is! :)

If you would like to order 6 units of the Cal-Carb Clicker, then you can do so for a special discounted price of $65 (which includes the shipping charges). That's LESS THAN HALF OFF the regular price and provides you some extras to give away as gifts.

To take advantage of this, send your check to:

Les Fox
JC Product Design
Cal-Carb Clicker Offer
P.O. Box 36
Midland Park, NJ 07432

If you are interested in ordering less than 6 Cal-Carb Clickers, then you can call Les Fox at 201-891-7170 or e-mail him at lesfox@optonline.net. Also, you may want to check with your local Curves fitness center since some locations have carried the Cal-Carb Clicker.

Let Les Fox know you heard about the Cal-Carb Clicker at "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb." :)