Still On Cloud Nine After ASBP/Nutrition & Metabolism Low-Carb Conference

The 2008 ASBP scientific meeting in Phoenix, AZ was amazing!

Sitting in a room full of bariatric physicians with lecturers who sometimes sound like they're speaking a foreign language with all the science and medical jargon they spout off isn't exactly the most ideal way to spend a few days away from home. But when all of the top low-carb researchers and practitioners from North America gather in one place to share their latest findings in the world of livin' la vida low-carb, you can't help but get super-excited about what is to come in the future of diet and health as the evidence in favor of low-carb diets continues to mount. What a weekend it was!



Sponsored by the American Society of Bariatric Physicians, the 2008 Nutrition & Metabolism Society Seminar held in Phoenix, Arizona presented the science supporting the low-carb lifestyle from the biggest names in the world of low-carb research--Phinney, Westman, Vernon, Volek, Feinman, Wortman, Tarino, and German. This year's conference included two half-day sessions on Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning that was in my opinion even better than the one in Nashville, TN last year.



My only regret is that I didn't have a chance to interview more people at the conference than I did. However, I did get in a few outstanding ones in my limited time--Dr. Richard Feinman, director of The Nutrition & Metabolism Society and co-Editor-In-Chief of the Open Access online journal Nutrition & Metabolism, Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades from Protein Power (see Dr. Mike's blog post about the conference by clicking here), the producer of the hit CBC-Newsworld documentary film My Big Fat Diet (which we were able to watch on Sunday morning) about a group of First Nations people who returned to their native high-fat, low-carb diet named Mary Bissell, and a 45-minute chat with the author of Good Calories, Bad Calories Gary Taubes. These and MANY more interviews for my podcast show will be coming in the next few months from various people who attended the conference, so get ready.



Speaking of Gary Taubes, it was such a pleasure meeting him in person. He's taller than I thought (he said the same thing about me) and could literally talk for hours about this unique role of carbohydrate in the obesity epidemic. You could really sense all the years he has invested in this subject has shaped his thinking about this so acutely that he is now a man on a mission. And he said it on several occasions throughout the weekend that he plans on pursuing this for as long as he has the energy and desire to do it. We need people like Gary Taubes who are unwilling to back down just because the message goes against conventional wisdom. He is certainly on the forefront of a revolution that could very well see a breaking point very soon.

I was happy to see many of my fellow low-carb friends and champions of this cause at the 2008 ASBP/Nutrition & Metabolism conference in Phoenix:


JACKIE EBERSTEIN, who worked with Dr. Atkins for three decades and is one of the most knowledgeable Atkins diet experts in the world today.


DR. JONNY BOWDEN, author of Living The Low-Carb Life and various other books on nutritional health. It was a genuine surprise to see him there and he didn't even recognize me at first when I was speaking with Dr. Jeff Volek. Jonny greeted Jeff and started to walk away when I said, "Hey Jonny, it's Jimmy Moore!" The look back on his face was priceless! :) THANKS Jonny!


CASSANDRA FORSYTHE, who described herself as "Jeff Volek's slave" (she works with him at the University of Connecticut) was there as well and we got a few minutes to chat about the future of low-carb (read her blog post about the weekend by clicking here). She is certainly one of the rising stars in low-carb research and a name you will be hearing a lot more from in the coming years long after the old-timers have since passed on. She was a lot shorter than I expected, but I'm sure she could still kick my butt! :P



It was a real pleasure meeting Melanie Vogan from Atlanta Teleproductions, Inc. who was filming various interviews with people behind the scenes in the world of low-carb and I was honored to be a part of that. Melanie and her husband snagged a whole bunch of footage from everyone to piece together a documentary about the healthy low-carb lifestyle. I'm excited about this chance to share low-carb living in such a positive manner and Melanie is just the person to do it. She's fully committed to using her talents in the video broadcasting realm to make it happen. We'll be hearing more from her in the future and I'll let you know when the documentary will be available.



The days went kinda like this: wake up, go to breakfast (they weren't the best in the world considering this was an OBESITY conference), listen to a few lectures, take a break, listen to a few lectures, a time for questions and answers, go to lunch (which weren't any better than the breakfast!), listen to a few lectures, take a break, listen to a few more lectures, ask more questions from the speakers, and then go on your own for supper where most of us hung out at the Lantana restaurant each night just to chit-chat about whatever (the supper menus were the best--check out what I ate during this trip at my menus blog). Sounds riveting, doesn't it? Actually, YES IT WAS!!! When you get to come face-to-face with all these people you blog about, this is a VERY big deal. I liken it to being at the Super Bowl (which ironically was in Phoenix this year!) for fans of livin' la vida low-carb.



It was kinda cool sitting across from Dr. Eric Westman and Dr. Mary Vernon while sitting next to Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades for supper (in fact, Dr. Mary Dan couldn't finish her steak, so I happily obliged!). Rubbing elbows and listening in to the conversations that went on was absolutely priceless. I can't wait to share some of the findings that were presented at this conference as well as my interviews because it was a fabulous time for Christine and I to get away despite the hacker who brought down my forum just before I left.



Although I didn't get to hang out with her as much, I was happy to see my friend and fellow blogger Laura Dolson from the About.com Low-Carb Diets site (you can read her comments about the Phoenix event by clicking here). We had a chance to talk briefly on Saturday night, but I would have loved to been able to talk some more. There just wasn't enough time in the weekend to fit it all in!

The weather was certainly a shock to my system going from a cool, humid climate here in South Carolina to the hot, dry climate in Arizona. On day two when I was planning on several interviews with people, I totally lost my voice. My nasal passages were like the Sahara desert and my groggy voice was only soothed after several hot lemon tea sips and constant water helped lubricate the voice box again. Whew, I hated that feeling and would never make it living in Phoenix, Arizona. But it was a fun place to visit and meet several of my readers who live there.



Dave and Kelly Damron (author of the book Tiny Toes and the blog Twin Peas) were very kind to pick us up from the airport and take us back on Sunday. I've had my nightmare experiences with cabs in New York City, so Kelly helped prevent that from happening in Phoenix. We enjoyed meeting up with them for dinner on Saturday night and talking about our failed IVF cycle experience in December. This is what Kelly dedicates herself to like I do low-carb, so it was kinda cool having someone who has been through it and survived despite great odds. Dave and Kelly both commented how well Christine and I have handled our situation and I told them it has only made us stronger as a couple. THANK YOU Kelly for all you are doing and I wish you and Dave all the best raising those little twin female munchkins. :) Hope to see you again someday.



One of my longtime blog readers Jeri Sessler met with us on Friday and we had a blast just chatting it up over lunch. Jeri is such a sweetheart and I'm glad we got to meet her and spend a few minutes enjoying each other's company. What a delightful lady! We also met a relatively new fan of the livin' la vida low-carb concept who makes her own YouTube video series called the Monkaboo Project. Monyka is a real trip! I appreciate her engaging personality and it really shines through in person just like it does in her videos. We agreed to do a little segment for her latest video that I think you'll enjoy. That was a lot of fun! ;)

All in all, it was a superb few days in Phoenix and I'd like to personally thank The American Society of Bariatric Physicians for extending an invitation to me and Christine to attend. We appreciate the privilege of coming to events like this despite having no background in medicine or nutrition. Anyone who is interested in the subject of weight loss, diet, and health needs to know about the fabulous work of ASBP as well as the Nutrition & Metabolism Society. Dr. Vernon was commenting about how the Nutrition & Metabolism portion of the week tripled from what it was in Nashville last year. This is real progress and I expect the numbers will continue to rise each year as the evidence keeps building and building in favor of low-carb dieting for weight and health management (and diabetes was a HUGE focus of many of the researchers as they see this as the primary front for legitimizing low-carb once again to the general public).

Here's my take-home message from this conference--get involved, take the passion you have for what you believe in, and make a real difference in the world. I'll be blogging more about some specific things you can do to put some grassroots feet to spread the word. Let's just say it's time to turn up the heat on Congressmen in Washington, the American Diabetes Association, the American Heart Association, and anyone else who needs to listen to the low-carb message in a clear, unbiased manner. I have been inspired to begin working on a major project to help facilitate this. Stay tuned for many amazing things to come on this front!

Now it's time to get caught up on e-mails, bringing my forum back online again, and, oh yeah, SLEEP! :)

Sound Science Supporting Saturated Fat Featured In Phoenix This Week

The city of Phoenix, Arizona is about to heat up this week and it's not just because summer is on the way. The American Society of Bariatric Physicians is conducting their 2008 Western Regional Obesity Course and Nutrition & Metabolism Society Symposium beginning on Tuesday, April 8 through Sunday April 13, 2008. Christine and I attended the 2007 ASBP meeting in Nashville, Tennessee last year as well as the 2006 Nutrition & Metabolism scientific sessions that took place in Brooklyn, New York. These are truly amazing conferences to attend and I am honored to be a part of them despite being just a layperson with no medical or nutritional training or background.

This particular conference in Phoenix beginning on Tuesday is where all of the nation's top bariatrics physicians come together to talk about and exchange ideas about how to deal with the ever-increasing problem of obesity and to find out what is working and what is not. Yes, many bariatric physicians seem to get a bad rap for their seeming quick embracing of weight loss surgery, but a lot of the ones I interviewed for my podcast show last year looked at natural dietary ways of dealing with it first before even contemplating going under the knife with their patients. Most of these doctors are fully dedicated to helping their patients find the proven and effective plan that works best for them and they come to conferences like these to hear seminars from other experts in the field to learn how to be even better at what they do.

As an added bonus set of sessions presented by the Nutrition & Metabolism Society, the weekend part of the conference is almost entirely dedicated to the truth from the research community about saturated fat, carbohydrate restrictions, and heart disease. The very latest cutting edge evidence will be presented, including examining whether there is a real connection between saturated fat and heart disease, seeking to understand what role carbohydrates play in cardiovascular risks, and comparing whether carbohydrate restriction or saturated fat restriction is preferred when attempting to prevent and treat heart disease. What a fascinating set of topics that correlates perfectly with what I do here on a daily basis and one I will be taking copious notes, I can assure you.

The highlight of the conference taking place at the Pointe Hilton Squaw Peak Resort in Phoenix is hearing from bestselling author of Good Calories, Bad Calories Gary Taubes as he presents two lectures--"The Real Cause Of Obesity" on Saturday and "History of Dietary Saturated Fat-Restriction Recommendations" on Sunday. I'll be right there listening in to what he has to say as well as conducting my own interview with Taubes who has generously agreed to appear on my podcast show, too. WOO HOO!

Other notables presenting information at this event who I am hoping to meet and interview while I am there include Dr. Eric Westman from Duke University, Dr. Richard Feinman from SUNY Downstate, Dr. Jeff Volek from the University of Connecticut, Dr. J. Bruce German and Dr. Steven Phinney (who I've been trying to interview for the past three years) from the University of California-Davis, Dr. Mary C. Vernon from the University of Kansas, Dr. Donald Layman from from The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and Dr. Jay Wortman who constructed the diet used by the First Nations people on the hit CBC-TV documentary "My Big Fat Diet."

It will be a true honor being in the midst of these true greats who are working tirelessly behind the scenes researching the validity of the low-carbohydrate dietary approach. I consider these men and women the REAL heroes of this way of eating because they have sometimes put their own personal careers and reputations on the line in an effort to share the truth that the data shows them about livin' la vida low-carb. We all owe them a great debt of gratitude for the work they are doing to educate the public about the healthy low-carb lifestyle.

I'm also excited about meeting some other wonderful people in the world of low-carb living who will be in attendance at this conference, including Protein Power authors Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades, Jackie Eberstein from Controlled Carbohydrate Nutrition (and who worked with Dr. Robert C. Atkins for three decades), University of Connecticut researcher Cassandra Forsythe, About.com Low-Carb Diets blogger Laura Dolson, Colette Heimowitz from Atkins Nutritionals, and many more! Christine and I can't wait to get on that plane on Thursday and spend a few days in the "valley of the sun" to get educated, encouraged and inspired anew about the healthy low-carb lifestyle. When I get back, hopefully I'll have TONS of podcasts, blog post ideas and even a YouTube video or two to share with you about this incredible conference.

If you have any questions you would like for me to ask any of the people I mentioned in this blog post during my interviews, then please e-mail those to me no later than Tuesday, April 8, 2008. I will do my best to ask the experts about what's on your mind and get the answer directly from the horse's mouth. :) THANKS for supporting the work I am doing here at the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog. I appreciate you guys!

By the way, if you live in the Phoenix, AZ area, then we'd love to meet you while we are there. E-mail me and maybe we can meet at the hotel to chat or have dinner with you. It would be such a privilege to come face-to-face with the people who enthusiastically support me in the work I am doing. THANK YOU!

What A Day For Tons Of Low-Carb Research

After a long weekend full of activities in Nashville, Tennessee for the 2007 Eastern Regional Obesity Course and Nutrition & Metabolism Society Seminar presented by the American Society Of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP), I am finally back at home sweet home in Spartanburg, South Carolina. Ahhhhhh, it feels good to be back although I was privileged to speak with and learn from so many bariatric physicians and low-carb research experts.

Although I conducted eight interviews with various people on Friday, I was only able to do one more today because the schedule was so jam-packed with presentations on the latest low-carb research from people like Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Mary Vernon, Dr. Jeff Volek, Dr. Stephen Phinney, and Dr. Richard Feinman. We had to cut out a little early to make it home at a reasonable hour.

I was thrilled to see several other people of interest these past few days: Jackie Eberstein who worked with Dr. Robert C. Atkins for three decades, Laura Dolson from About.com's Low-Carb Diets page, and Collette Heimowitz from Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.

As I was listening to the various presentations about the veracity of livin' la vida low-carb today, the future blog post ideas were popping into my head so fast that I could barely write them all down. But I will attempt to take these and project to you what I have learned based on the knowledge shared in these fantastic seminars from today. If you are a proponent of the low-carb nutritional approach, then take heart...the science is there for all the world to see.

Special thanks to Dr. Mary C. Vernon and Sharon Cooper for coordinating many of the interviews for my podcast show. I look forward to sharing these with you over the next few months likely as a regular feature on Thursdays. There were a wide variety of voices that I'm sure you'll enjoy hearing from, so be sure to check 'em out!

Since I was in Nashville, I decided to look up my high school friend Laura Creekmore who has that fantastic blog called Fixin' Supper. We went out to a nice BBQ place off of Hermitage Road in Nashville and enjoyed catching up on lost time. My wife Christine and I were enamored by Laura's two adorable kids and were glad to be able to see her while we were in town.

Also, I recently blogged about one of my weight loss inspirations being a radio talk show host who held a weight loss contest three years ago named Ralph Bristol. Well, Ralph recently moved from South Carolina to Nashville, Tennessee to become the featured morning host of "Nashville's Morning News" on SuperTalk 99.7FM WWTN. His show is a lot different from the one he did here, but it was neat to hear him on the radio again. I even called up and gave my opinion about something he was talking about on Friday morning.

It's time to hit the sack now (that's going to bed for those of you who don't read Southern!) because I'm just plain TARD! No, not ritard, although Christine has been known to call me that from time to time. The body is slowly getting delirious, so I had better stop typing before I go off saying something REALLY weird. Goodnight John boy! We'll be low-carb blogging again in no time. SEE YA!