Jez Luckett weighed 345 pounds when he started "The Biggest Loser" 4
We've already heard from several contestants who appeared on "The Biggest Loser" 4 in recent weeks, including the grand prize winner Bill Germanakos, final four contestant and Nashville, TN-native Isabeau Miller, Hurricane Katrina survivor Lezlye Donahue, and the oldest contestant ever Jerry Lisenby. Today we continue that series of interviews by turning to yet another member of the Black Team--JEZ LUCKETT!
Wanna see what Jez looks like now after losing 150 pounds? Check it out:
As a true fan of "The Biggest Loser" television series since the first season in 2004 (when I was losing my weight), it has been awesome to have this opportunity to provide this inside glimpse into what it was like being a contestant on this popular weight loss show. I'm excited about bringing even more interviews to you soon, including Kae Whang, Neil Tejwani, Nicole Michalik, Jim Germanakos, Hollie Self, David Griffin, Ryan Rodriguez, and "B" Andretti. Look for those in the coming weeks!
Right now, let's turn our attention to Jez and this remarkable turnaround that has happened in his life after being given this unique opportunity to appear on "The Biggest Loser." ENJOY!
1. We've got another one of the contestants from Season 4 of "The Biggest Loser" with us today and he's got quite a story to tell. Starting off his experience on the hit NBC weight loss reality show at 345 pounds, Jez Luckett was able to drop a cool 150 pounds by the grand finale--a stunning 43.38% of his starting weight! CONGRATULATIONS and welcome to the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog, Jez! Has it all started to sink in yet how much you have changed? Did you ever expect in a million years you'd be called "skinny?"
Slowly but surely it's sinking in that I really am a medium now. I still wake up sometimes and run to the mirror to see if all the weight has come back yet, but I never thought I would have followed through on my hopes of ever being skinny.
2. You had a rather unique way of applying to be on the show creating a VoteJez.com web site to try to win a spot via NBC's "The Today Show." Although you were not chosen by the viewers to be on "The Biggest Loser," that experience undoubtedly got you noticed by the casting company for the show, 3 Ball Productions. Tell us about how you felt when you were not chosen by the "Today Show" viewers and what happened next to put you in the final 18 for Season 4.
A week after I was told that I was being considered for a spot on the show, they informed me that I was going to be one of four to be featured on The Today Show. The Today Show decision had nothing to do with 3 Ball's final casting decision. I guess they just liked the goods. ;)
3. Obesity runs in your family as it does with most of us who have been through weight and health difficulties. And like my own mother, your mom also had gastric bypass surgery to help deal with her weight. How close were you to considering that as your only option for shedding the pounds off of your 5'8" body? What do you say to those people who believe weight loss surgery is the ONLY way to get their weight and health under control?
From the time I was little and first started to acknowledge that my weight was out of hand I wanted it to magically disappear. I think part of it comes from the instant gratification lifestyle we are reared under. I considered gastric bypass surgery, but knew that I had never really given it a concerted effort to lose weight on my own and needed to do that first.
After doing it on my own and finding the joy and gratification that came with overcoming an obstacle I perceived as impossible, I realize that gastric bypass would have robbed me of the satisfaction of knowing that I was strong enough and capable to battle this issue I had spent my whole life being consumed by. That's not to say that surgery isn't a good choice for some people, but for me personally, losing it on my own has given me the resolve to attack any obstacle or goal I have. I don't know if I would have felt the same had I lost the weight through surgery.
4. You had a golden opportunity to work with a top world-class personal trainer in the Black Team's Jillian Michaels. She produces results and that's all that really matters. Talk about what it was like working with Jillian. What will you always remember about your experience training with her for the rest of your life?
What I'll always take from training with Jillian is knowing that I don't need Jillian. So many times we look for a savior when it comes to our weight loss goals. Be it a pill, trainer, diet, etc. Jillian helped me realize that it was inside me all along and all I had to do was find it. She would reinforce in me constantly how strong I was. That support is key.
We can't do it on our own, but we must realize what it takes to get it done lies inside us all. It doesn't hurt though when you have someone threatening to kill you if you don't keep running. So that's what else I'll take from Jillian. Rarely will working out kill you. Her pushing me made me realize how far my body was capable of going even after my mind had said enough.
Our mind lets us off the hook a lot when it comes to what we think we can endure. Jillian called BS when we said we couldn't go further. So being able to identify in myself when I could go further is the greatest thing I'll take from Jilly Beans.
Jez and fellow contestant Neil having some fun "down time"
5. How did you feel being on a nationally televised show watched by millions of people like "The Biggest Loser?" Was it surreal in any way for you or was it everything you thought it would be? Give us some of the behind-the-scenes stuff about the show that viewers don't get to see on television.
Surreal is the only word to describe it. It was a blast. I think it may have been erroneously conveyed on television that there was less camaraderie between the teams than there was. We all got along very well. I think people don't realize how boring it is to make a reality television show interesting. So there was plenty of down time in which a lot of stuff not suitable for prime time television happened. I'll just leave it at that.
6. Of course, the game play by Neil from the Blue Team led to you being the first non-Germanakos member of the Black Team to be sent home. Did you feel betrayed by the trust you had placed in people like Neil (who you were apparently friends with off camera) when that happened? Do you feel there is any place for that kind of gamesmanship on a show about weight loss? Why or why not?
I don't want to take away from Jimmy the Greek's (Jim Germanakos) glory for being the very first Black member voted off. But definitely felt betrayed. I didn't really see it coming. The fact of the matter is if it hadn't been that week, it could have been the next for a completely valid reason. I got to leave with my integrity and honor intact.
I performed to the best of my abilities and it spring boarded me into the success I've had ever since. There's no reason to dwell on what could, should, or would have happened. At the end of the day you gotta sell advertising. Having 18 happy fat people losing weight all the way to the end however great that would be for them doesn't sell enough Extra Sugar-Free gum. So as long as there's a need to get ratings for television, poor gamesmanship certainly has a place on The Biggest Loser.
7. When you got home and started working on your own, you implored the help of Nik Herold and The Fitness Doctors to help you succeed. What did Nik do to continue the progress you made on "The Biggest Loser" Ranch and complement the work that Jillian had already started with you? Share how much cardio and resistance training you did and tell us how much of that routine that helped you shed the pounds you continue to do today. And, I have to ask, do you have a lot of loose skin following your massive weight loss or has it firmed up with exercise?
When we all got back for the finale I was lovingly voted the contestant with the "worst skin" by my fellow cast mates, so yeah, it's there. I found an amazing surgeon by the name of Dr. Todd Gerlach in Torrance, CA who will assist me in removing the dubious distinction of "worst skin" as voted by the cast of The Biggest Loser 4.
I'll always be grateful to Jillian and The Biggest Loser, but it was the time afterwards training with Nik and the Fitness Doctors that I was able to get on the road to becoming truly "healthy" mentally, emotionally, spiritually, as well as physically. I was very surprised when Nik created a program almost entirely consisting of strength conditioning and weight training.
I initially was like yeah shouldn't I be doing this AND 3 hours of cardio? Thank God the answer was no. I would do 1-2 hours of high impact cardio at the most per week and the rest of my workouts were either weights or low impact walking, bike riding, swimming, etc.
Realizing that gaining muscle was the best way to lose weight was revolutionary to me. It's also the best way to sustain weight loss and keep your metabolism high. Nik is incredibly knowledgeable as a trainer and one of the closest friends I've ever had.
8. The readers of my blog are very interested in hearing about how people are able to lose weight and get healthy. They know that I went on the Atkins low-carb diet in 2004, lost 180 pounds and have kept it off ever since. What about your dietary approach? Do you try to control your carbohydrate and sugar intake at all or is it merely fat, calorie, and portion control for you? Give us a sample day's worth of menus of what you eat.
When I first started training with Nik, it was purely green vegetables and protein. I would carb up once or twice a week with fruits or complex carbs but for the most part carbohydrates were not part of the program. I try and maintain the same regimen now.
It's a little bit harder to do this back in the Midwest as compared to living in Los Angeles. So I just increase the amount of activity I do outside of my existing workout program to make up up for the extra carbs I do take in. I haven't gained any weight yet going into two months since the grand finale for The Biggest Loser 4, which is mainly a testament to lots of extra activity and my metabolism being so much higher due to all the muscle I've gained as I previously mentioned.
9. You know you've hit it the big time when the paparazzi from TMZ. com starts following you around with a camera. What was that experience like seeing a video of yourself plastered all over the Internet like a Hollywood superstar in early December promoting the grand finale? Did it make you laugh, cry, or both?
At the end of the day I put myself in the position to be taken advantage of by TMZ. The "unedited" interview they got was a lot less intriguing. I had just left my gym's Christmas party and was allowed by my trainer to have a few drinks for the first time in 8 months. I was just talking up the grand finale at the time and playfully calling out my good friend Kae (a contestant from the Blue Team) who I knew was going to have incredible results at the finale.
But just like good sportsmanship doesn't sell Extra Sugar-Free gum, my playful, non-mean spirited interview isn't going to sell whatever TMZ's pushing. So when all is said and done it just made me sad that there's actually a market to try and expose people for just acting normal. They didn't need to take all those jabs at me being a child case manager though. How I acted says nothing about my ability to positively impact kids' lives.
10. Jez, you are a true gentleman spending a few moments with us today at the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog. THANKS for sharing your "Biggest Loser" experience with us and we wish you well as you continue your journey in life. Is there anything encouraging you'd like to say to those who are struggling with their weight loss as you once did? How can they find the hope that you did?
We may not all have a Jillian or Nik to push us the whole way, but what it takes to succeed is inside every one of us. We must have a purpose, a plan, and support though. With those three things firmly established and an understanding that our bodies are truly remarkable machines capable of enduring much more than our minds would like us to believe, nothing is impossible. Never give up, keep on trying, and just do your best.
Bravo, Jez, bravo! THANK YOU for sharing so freely about your weight loss experience and being a contestant on "The Biggest Loser." We wish you nothing but continued success in this lifelong journey to better health. You can contact Jez anytime through his My Space page and give him a shout out. Something tells me life will never be the same again for the Jezbian! :D
For the first time ever, you get to hear from my mother
What a treat I have to share with you today in Episode 99 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." I recently had the opportunity to interview the woman who brought me into this world--my mom, Judiann Crumbley. She and my stepfather met us at the beautiful "Glimpse Of Heaven" cabin in the Smoky Mountains near Pigeon Forge, Tennessee last month and we had a very relaxing week together.
Mom sat down for a conversation with me about her gastric bypass surgery experience since she had the controversial procedure done in December 2003--just one month prior to me going on the Atkins diet. You'll notice my mother is very articulate and didn't mind sharing the good and the not-so-good about her weight loss journey over these past four years.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear today's podcast and hear the voice of Jimmy Moore's mom:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 99 [17:59m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
Although my mother lost 100 pounds in a little more than a year after having the gastric bypass surgery, everything wasn't a bed of roses for her. She wasn't ready for the transition back to real food and began experiencing some rather painful realities along the way. It's a word to the wise for anyone even thinking about going through this process.
One interesting aspect of the interview is how she said the way carbohydrates impacted her in various ways. She was super-sensitive to sugar and just felt better eating less carbs and more protein. But, as has happened to many weight loss surgery people who get away from the basic tenets of their new lifestyle, you can even gain weight and my mother is no exception. Hear her talk about it and what she KNOWS she needs to do to get back on track again to lose those 10-15 pounds she has put back on.
Catch the #1 low-carb podcast show on the Internet anytime by:
Have you considered having gastric bypass or LAP-BAND surgery to help you shed the pounds? Did hearing my mother's story of struggles cause you to take pause and reconsider livin' la vida low-carb? Or perhaps you have already had the surgery and it reminded you of your own negative experiences. Give us your comments and share from what has happened to YOU.
I'm so excited about this coming up Thursday's podcast show because it is a rather unique and monumental occasion in the history of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore"--the 100th episode!!! As I previously stated, not many podcast shows last long enough to reach that milestone, but here we are on the verge of hitting the triple digits in shows! WOW, I never would have thought it would last this long. It's a testimony to YOUR FAITHFULNESS and DEDICATION to my mission--educating, encouraging, and and inspiring others to lose weight and get healthy. THANK YOU for all the support you have given me.
To reward you for all that you do, I will have a boatload of some outstanding giveaways, including LOTS of autographed low-carb books from some of your favorite authors, some exciting prizes from a few of my sponsors, and even an exclusive opportunity for some people to be the first to try my new "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar" made with dark chocolate and real raspberry flavor (coming in December!). Tune in on Thursday for details about how YOU can win during my 100th podcast!!! :D
Heather Wallace from Orato interviewed me about my weight loss
One of the fun parts about being somebody who used to be really, really fat and then lost a whole bunch of weight are all the media inquiries that come my way wanting to know how I was able to do it. I never get tired of sharing my story because I'm all for giving people hope, encouragement, and inspiration about what worked for me.
Last week while I was on vacation in the Smoky Mountains with my wife Christine (I'll be blogging about that REAL soon!), I received a telephone call from a woman named Heather Wallace from the Canadian web site Orato.com. I had never heard of this online publication, but Heather said she is the Senior Editor and wanted to interview me about my thoughts regarding gastric bypass surgery.
Um, sure!
I later found out that Orato.com takes "True Stories from REAL People" and tells it in the first person. This was a rather unique format that gives readers a more intimate feel for the stories rather than the same old drib-drab third person accounts we read in newspapers all the time.
These real people help to "put a human face on the news by showcasing vivid, first-person stories from individuals involved in current events," according to the site.
Why was the site created in the first place?
"We are journalists, designers and news junkies who want more from the media than headlines and sound-bites. We think today's news machine doesn't do justice to the issues or the people involved in them. And we love a good story. That's why we've built a home for true stories from real people."
So, building on this theme of citizen journalism, Heather took my interview with her, which lasted about 25 minutes and was very pleasant, and turned it into a story about my low-carb weight loss, what it was like being obese growing up, and how I was able to finally overcome my inner demons to lose 180 pounds and get healthy.
You can read the entire column appropriately titled "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" which includes lots of pictures of me as well as my own words from the interview. Here are a few excerpts:
"Some people tell me they just don’t think they have the willpower to stick with the Atkins diet. I wouldn’t attribute my success to willpower. Yes, I’m a strong-willed person, but it wasn’t really about willpower." ***** "It’s funny, the plan doctors get you to follow after gastric bypass is a low carb diet! The foods are high in protein, higher in fat and ones that will keep you satiated on less amounts. If people just ate that way anyway, they wouldn’t need gastric bypass surgery!" ***** "Nowadays, there doesn’t seem to be much concerted effort as a nation as a whole to educate people about it. We don’t teach parents. If parents don’t know how to eat, how can we expect kids to know how to eat?" ***** "Obesity is the last acceptable form of discrimination in America. The pain of being discriminated against just feeds the cycle. People eat away their pain. People start eating, then start feeling bad about what they’re eating, so they eat some more." ***** "I never would have thought weight loss would change my life as much as it has. Everything has opened up for me."
Please go read the entire column and then give it a rating up to 5 stars (of course, 5 stars would be GREAT!). :P Additionally, you can leave a comment about the column as well.
Special thanks to Heather Wallace for featuring my story at Orato.com. It was a privilege to share my thoughts about this important subject and I welcome the opportunity anytime.
You can show your appreciation to Heather and Orato.com for giving a voice to "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Man" by using this contact form. THANKS so much!
I was privileged to be interviewed by an online magazine this week about the sometimes controversial subject of gastric bypass surgery. While it may surprise you that I'm not totally against it for those very, very few people who have exhausted every possible solution to their obesity, I do NOT support it as a first option as it is so flippantly being used by people calling themselves medical professionals today. I'll post a link to that interview when it is published in the next week or so.
Coincidentally, this very topic came up late this week because I just happened to receive an e-mail from a 41-year old woman who weighs 310 pounds and is now considering gastric bypass surgery. Yikes! Her story is a sad one because she is at the end of her rope struggling with her weight since the age of four and even going through several bouts with eating disorders. She now feels there is nothing left for her to do but to go under the knife.
Here's what my reader wrote in her e-mail:
When I turned 25 I became bulimic. At the time I weighed 300 and my weight began coming off like crazy. I went to a size 8 and didn't stay there but always 'maintained' a low weight via hours and hours of exercise, laxatives or purging the other way.
That went on for so many years until I became a Christian. Once I got saved, I was very convicted to treat my body as a temple of God. The battle was hard, but I did stop purging. I don't need to tell you the weight flew right back on me again and I've tried so hard to eat healthy (which I realize is the low carb way of life) and in the right portions
Yet, I cannot seem to make any headway and have been to all the specialists. I have started the process for the gastric bypass surgery. This isn't a quick decision I just made yesterday...I've wanted this for the past 2 years and I've taken most of the steps required to have the surgery.
I went to counseling (because of the eating disorder history) and I know that this is not my magic bullet. I so desperately want to do this for the sake of my kids, my husband and my health. I don't want to sit at home while they go to the park anymore.
What I want is two goals--1) to ride a horse with my daughter and 2) ride a bike with my husband and son. So many have tried to talk me out of it, but my doctor and I feel that it's the only way to make the 'mountain' more manageable. I have to admit, he was against it for quite some time and worked with me for the past five years before we got to this point.
Now my dilemma is my insurance has denied the surgery. I need help! Who can help me? Do you have names of doctors that you know who would work with me financially? Are there other options to pay for the surgery? I appreciate any help you can give, I know you are busy!
Oh, this just breaks my heart. What would this poor woman do if the gastric bypass surgery option wasn't available to her? How would she eat? She already KNOWS low-carb is a healthy nutritional approach, so why even mess with getting cut on? After all, livin' la vida low-carb is the diet they'll put her on after she has the surgery, so why not do it now?
I don't want anyone who has had gastric bypass surgery and found success on it to mistake what I'm saying as ridicule or scorn against your decision. I know there are some real gastric bypass surgery success stories, most notably my friend and fellow blogger Beth Badore (aka "Melting Mama"). But people like her are the exception, not the rule.
Here was my response back to this hurting reader:
Let me encourage you with the hope that you CAN overcome your obesity problem naturally without the use of surgery. That was what I was able to do three years ago when I reached 410 pounds.
Thanks to the Atkins low-carb diet, I lost 180 pounds in one year and got healthy for the first time in my entire life. I would have never thought it was possible had it not been for this amazing dietary approach. I found what worked for me and I'm STILL doing it! YEAH!!!
God was with me throughout my weight loss and I KNOW He will give you the strength, support, and guidance that you need to succeed as well. THANK YOU again for writing and please feel free to contact me anytime with your questions or comments about livin' la vida low-carb.
I hope you reconsider your decision about having gastric bypass surgery.
While a lot of people look at that surgery as their big opportunity to lose weight for good, there are certain risks involved with it that need to be weighed. If you are comfortable with them and feel there is absolutely no other way because you have given all the other options a 100 percent chance of working, then perhaps gastric bypass surgery is for you. My own mother had the surgery done just one month before I started low-carb. She has lost 100 pounds, but it's been a tough road.
Hopefully you now realize gastric bypass surgery is NOT the answer obesity. Seek out every other natural dietary option that you can and be sure to give them a real chance to work before giving up on them. If you find a nutritional approach that you enjoy, read everything you can about that way of eating, and then keep on eating that way for the rest of you life. Do that and you'll probably be surprised by how effective it will work for you.
Don't give up hope because weight loss CAN be done...without surgery! GO FOR IT!
Valerie Liberty (left) shares her story on CBC's "The Gill Deacon Show"
I love hearing about inspirational weight loss success stories (yes, even those of us who ARE big losers ourselves like 'em, too!), but it's even more special when the people who lose the weight did it by livin' la vida low-carb. We low-carbers have to stick together and support one another because we've got enough people telling us how our "fad" diet is so "dangerous" to our health that it's gonna kill us--despite our HUGE successes! ARGH!
Bright, articulate, and drop-dead gorgeous--that's Valerie Liberty!
Such is the case with that blonde bombshell you see above named Valerie Liberty from Oakville, Ontario Canada. Believe it or not, she used to weigh at one point in her life 314 pounds. Yep, she sure did! Like so many of us who have finally found our answer in the low-carb lifestyle, Valerie ended up playing the grueling rollercoaster game with her weight going up and down and up and down throughout most of her life. That's one ride I was happy to get off of for good.
When she tipped the scales at well over 300 pounds, Valerie finally said enough was enough and decided to have what many believe is the be-all, end-all "cure" for morbid obesity (or at least that's what we're told about it)--GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY! Sure enough, the surgery worked and Valerie lost 100 pounds. But she was absolutely miserable and within five years had gotten back up over 300 pounds again.
Yikeseroo!
Through what had to be fortuitous circumstances that I know she is eternally grateful for now, Valerie was introduced to the Atkins low-carb diet in 2003 when she decided to make it her permanent lifestyle change. Not surprisingly, in just ten short months of livin' la vida low-carb, she lost an incredible 100 pounds off of her body and has been able to maintain (and even lose 30 or so pounds more!) in the 2 1/2 years since.
Why? Because she didn't just go on a diet. Valerie absorbed like a sponge all the information about the Atkins diet that she could and is now a walking, talking encylopedia of what livin' la vida low-carb is all about. Plus, she LIVES this way now rather than those former poor habits that made her morbidly obese. That's lifestyle change personified, baby!
Today, she proudly weighs a petite 167 pounds--NEARLY HALF THE WEIGHT SHE USED TO BE! WOO HOO! You go on with your bad self, Valerie. :D That's totally amazing and I am so proud of you for FINALLY finding what works for you and then doing it. You are a fine example for this way of eating and nobody can ever take this accomplishment away from you.
Because of her stunning triple-digit weight loss success, Valerie Liberty was invited to be a guest on the Tuesday, May 22, 2007 episode of the Canadian television program called "The Gill Deacon Show" to discuss what it was like to be morbidly obese and then lose 100 pounds. Most of the questions were quite typical of the mainstream interviews I have done with media types who want to know what made you finally want to lose weight and why you didn't do it sooner.
Will these people EVER understand that some of us aren't naturally wired that way and we have to be shown how to eat better? Sigh. Even still, Valerie was fantastic and got in some EXCELLENT points about livin' la vida low-carb that were RIGHT ON TARGET! I couldn't stop yelling "OH YEAH!" throughout the interview because it was THAT great!
Valerie was kind enough to post the 12-minute interview (split into two 6-minute segments) on YouTube featuring her and another lady who had lost 100 pounds on Weight Watchers. I have a comment to say about that woman in just a moment, but first watch these two video segments from the show. ENJOY!
PART 1:
PART 2:
Isn't Valerie Liberty simply amazing?! She claimed on the Active Low-Carber Forums web site on Wednesday that she was "pretty nervous," but it certainly didn't look like it to me. My favorite line by her in the interview (and there were many bright spots!) was when she made the following statement:
"There's no room in my life to go back to the way I used to eat."
RIGHT ON, girl! That's exactly how most of us low-carbers feel because we don't want to go back to the miserable way we felt on a high-carb, low-fat diet. As Valerie so accurately stated in the video, you're just not hungry on the low-carb lifestyle because your blood sugar is under control and the body will regulate itself better without all the sugars and starches.
It was a bit ironic how Valerie made the point that if Weight Watchers didn't work for you, then try something else. You'll notice the other lady who was on the show with Valerie said she chose that as her weight loss method. Wasn't it odd, though, that she had lost a lot of weight on that plan before, gained it back, then lost over 100 pounds AGAIN, but then GAINED IT BACK AGAIN prior to her appearance on the show?!
I know Valerie just wanted to reach her hand across that table and say to the woman, "Look, lady, it doesn't look like you can stick with Weight Watchers, so why not try the Atkins diet instead?" Perhaps after hearing how confident and informed Valerie was on "The Gill Deacon Show" this week, that other woman will reconsider her dietary choices and start livin' la vida low-carb, too. It would be the best thing that she could ever do for her weight and health.
CONGRATULATIONS, Valerie! You are a true superstar for the low-carb community and I'm personally happy to have you out there espousing the virtues of this incredible way of eating to the masses all across North America! You keep on shining the light of truth and never let go of what got you to where you are today. You are beautiful in so many ways and I know you will continue to make this a lifestyle change you can live with for a very long time (like forever!).
I'd love to hear from Valerie Liberty via e-mail if she finds this blog post about her. If you know Valerie, then let her know that Jimmy Moore from the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog would like to contact her about her low-carb weight loss success. My e-mail address is livinlowcarbman@charter.net. THANKS!
5-26-07 UPDATE: I got this really sweet e-mail from one of my regular readers who said she was motivated and inspired by Valerie Liberty's story because she also started gaining back weight following gastric bypass. Here's her story:
I AM WRITING TO YOU TO THANK YOU FOR INSPIRING ME AND TO THANK YOU FOR PRINTING VALERIE’S STORY. I ALSO HAD GASTRIC BYPASS SURGERY 6 YEARS AGO AND I GAINED BACK 45 0F THE 80 LBS I LOST.
AFTER READING YOUR BLOG AND TRYING TO FOLLOW YOUR ADVICE, I HAVE SO FAR LOST 20 OF THOSE POUNDS. I AM REALLY STRUGGLING, BUT I NO LONGER FEEL SO HOPELESS. THE LOSS IS SO SLOW PROBABLY BECAUSE I AM IN MY 60’S AND EACH YEAR IT JUST GETS HARDER. BUT THANKS TO YOU, I WILL KEEP TRYING. THANK YOU AGAIN!
WOW, thank you so much for sharing your success on the low-carb lifestyle. It is a day-by-day journey even after you've done it for a while. But don't give up, you are doing FANTASTIC! I'm proud of you and wish you continued excellence on your new lifestyle. YOU CAN DO IT!!!
This has been quite the month for me to try to squeeze in everything I want to blog about, but there's just so much going on I have been having some leftover topics that I REALLY want to blog about still waiting to be blogged. As a result, I have been resorting to something I recently dubbed machine gun blogging to try to catch up. Get ready, get set, because the topics are gonna come at you fast and furious along with my regular commentary. So, without further delay, let's get started!
Starting us off is this Rocky Mountain News column which had some very thought-provoking points about diet and health that you should check out for a few reasons.
First, it features one of my favorite people in the whole widey widey world--Nicki Anderson from Reality Fitness in Naperville, Illinois. If you have not heard of Nicki yet, then you need to get to know her better because she is putting out a positive message of hope for people dealing with living a healthy life (and she's FRIENDLY towards people who are livin' la vida low-carb! WOO HOO!). Visit her web site at RealityFitness.com and sign up for her "Happy Monday" newsletter in the lower left-hand corner of the page. An inspiring message arrives pronto in your e-mail inbox bright and early on Monday mornings and you WON'T be disappointed.
Second, the story features the real founding father of the modern low-carb movement--William Banting. Most people erroneously believe that the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins invented the low-carb diet, but actually it's been around for thousands of years. It was the ORIGINAL diet that most of our ancestors feasted on throughout the ages. Nevertheless, in the mid-1800s, Banting stumbled upon low-carb when his ENT doctor prescribed it for his hearing problems. He went on to lose 50 pounds by livin' la vida low-carb and wrote down the basic tenets of what many describe as the first diet book ever written entitled Letter on Corpulence. Today, Banting's principles still live on in the millions of people who are losing weight and improving their health with the low-carb lifestyle.
Third, we learn that three of the top ten diets being used in America today according to an NPD Group/Dieting Monitor survey are low-carb. They are Atkins at #6, South Beach at #8, and Sugar-Free at #9. Of course, there may even be some low-carbers in the #1 diet on the list called "my own." But the fact that most people think they know how to lose weight without the use of any specified program may explain why the latest dieting craze is weight gain!
One of my diabetic readers passed on this Diabetes In Control article about fooling your body into losing weight. Some of us have an overactive chemical imbalance in our brains that won't shut off even when we are not hungry. That's why you may get the sudden urge to nibble even after finishing your dinner. Of course, their ONLY answer to this "problem" is to prescribe a drug to control this from happening. I'm still not buying into that line of thinking because there is almost always a more natural way to lose and maintain your weight without such drastic interventions, IMHO! I'll give them some credit at the end of the column, though, when they try to provide practical tips for preventing this from happening similar to the ones Cornell University psychology professor Dr. Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating, outlined in his book. But still no mention of livin' la vida low-carb as a possible solution. :(
Last night, I had the privilege of attending an auction for two young men from my church who will be going on a mission trip overseas for a couple of weeks in February. Members of the church choir (which both Christine and I are a part of) brought items to be sold during the auction to help raise the funds for them to go. You know me, I couldn't resist making up a "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" basket full of all kinds of goodies, including an autographed copy of my Livin' La Vida Low-Carb book, Connie Bennett's fantastic new SUGAR SHOCK! book, all three of Jonny Bowden's motivational audiobook CD collection, and about 50 more items for this total package valued at around $500.
I was hoping it would garner at least $100, but they started the bidding for it at $50 and NOBODY would bid on it. It seems livin' la vida low-carb was not all that interesting to the people there. For a minute there, I thought I may have to bid $50 just to keep them from lowering the price. But finally one of my fellow choir members who is a diabetic and has been asking me LOTS of questions about low-carb lately perked up and bid $50 on it. Of course, nobody outbid him, so he won the basket. I went up to him afterwards and thanked him for getting it because I know he'll LOVE it! He said he wanted to share some of the low-carb books with his daughter who is struggling with her weight. A seed is planted and I'm happy to help water it to blossom! :)
Geting back to some articles in the media from this past week, I couldn't overlook this St. Paul, MN-based Pioneer Press story about a woman my age who was so fed up with her weight that she decided to go on Weight Watchers and their low-fat, low-calorie diet. GOOD FOR HER and I'm proud of her commitment to her new lifestyle change. But she said something about livin' la vida low-carb that I will not let slide without comment.
Here's her quote:
"I had been on the Atkins diet and lost weight. But that lifestyle just isn't maintainable. I had gained some weight back and was holding on."
Actually, livin' la vida low-carb IS maintainable if you make it a PERMANENT lifestyle change rather than just a diet. This is something that people who follow programs like Weight Watchers always fail to acknowledge. Sure, they have their little meetings, but when do you stop, hmmmm? The answer is NEVER and the same goes with the Atkins diet. It's the lifestyle change many have been looking for their entire lives. While some may not stick with the plan and start gaining the weight back (DUH!), most people who didn't fail on low-carb saw amazing long-term sustainable and maintainable weight loss success by staying on the plan. As long as you remember there is no "after" with low-carb, then there's no reason you shouldn't lose weight and keep it off forever!
Have you heard about the latest miracle weight loss food according to this United Press article? You're not going to believe this, but it's white rice. Yep, the same white rice that is absolutely a no-no when you are livin' la vida low-carb. The brilliant wonder-twins of The Serotonin Power Diet are Judith Wurtman and Nina Frusztajer Marquis. They foolishly assert that people need to eat lots and lots of carbohydrates to keep their serotonin levels high enough to control their appetite. Say what? If I nix the carbs and eat plenty of fat and protein, then something tells me I'm not gonna have to worry about hunger. This diet reminds me of another screwy high-carb diet I blogged about before called The Bread For Life Diet.
When I read this BruneiDirect.com story about giving hope to people who are obese that weight loss and improved health can indeed happen for them, I was encouraged. But that quickly diminished when I came to this part of the article:
Nora is also advising the public against resorting to the Atkins diet or the low carbohydrate eating plan to reduce weight. She said that the Atkins diet had been questioned due to its unconventional low carbohydrate but high protein diet. She noted that Dr. Robert Atkins, the pioneer of the diet, died from a heart attack.
Are these people TRYING to keep people fat? Whether they know it or not, by discouraging people from even attempting to lose weight using programs like the Atkins diet, that EXACTLY what they are doing. They turn their nose up at livin' la vida low-carb as if it's worse than obesity itself! Come on, people, get serious about this! Low-carb not only works but it keeps on working for those of us who LIVE IT day in and day out. Stop the scare tactics and give people the truth. And don't get me started on this vicious and hateful lie about Dr. Atkins dying of a heart attack again. We're just not going to entertain such ridiculous and unfounded theories over and over again after they have been clearly debunked. Next subject!
Here's another article from the Ozarks Newsstand that looked like a pretty good one on improving your body through diet and exercise...well, it was good until I got to this part:
The Atkins Diet is built around no carbohydrates. The South Beach Diet stresses cutting sugar-rich carbs such as bread, potatoes and even fruit. But which one is the right one? According to Herman, none of them. Eating healthy boils down to one thing-moderation.
"A lot are full blown on Atkins," he said of the low-carb diet made popular by Dr. Robert C. Atkins. "It does have good ideas and good points. You shouldn't overdo it on carbs. But don't restrict yourself. If you hold back, you'll go overboard. Reward yourself, but do it within reason."
Okay, I'm gonna say this LOUD AND CLEAR so nobody will misunderstand it. There is NO phase in the Atkins diet that requires you to eat NO carbohydrates. Not a single one. Even in the most restrictive phase of Induction during the first fourteen days of your low-carb plan, you still get to enjoy around 20g carbs daily. It only goes up from there eating lots of those low-glycemic foods mentioned with the South Beach diet. This idea of ZERO carbs may work for some people, the fact is most of us who are livin' la vida low-carb are STILL eating the right kind of carbs and gladly so. I like the fact that this expert admits there are good aspects to Atkins, but furthering the misinformation about this remarkable weight loss program is not cool at all. Don't they know Jimmy Moore will call their bluff by now? :D
Finally, have you heard about the controversy happening in Tennessee over the popular weight loss method known as gastric bypass surgery? This Fox News story reveals that healthcare provider BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee is now requiring (GET THIS!) an IQ TEST before overweight or obese people will be allowed to try this risky way to shed the pounds. Not surprisingly, people are up in arms about this claiming it's discrimination against fat people. But I disagree.
Before we make it so easy for people to have a surgery like this one, why don't we have them tested not just for their intelligence (which is irrelevant if you ask me), but also do a complete psychological evaluation to get at the root cause of the weight problem to begin with. A lot of people who choose to have the gastric bypass surgery have not exhausted all the natural ways to lose weight first and feel it is simply a quick fix to their weight problem. Getting to the bottom of the REAL problem may prevent many people from having regrets about their decision to be cut open and radically altering their life forever. Besides, they're gonna be eating low-carb when the surgery is done anyway, so why not start livin' la vida low-carb to begin with?
Okay, that's plenty of low-carb morsels for you to munch on for today (but there's plenty more to come!). Feel free to comment on any or all of these topics that may tickle your fancy or get your blood pressure cooking. Don't hold it in, share it with Dr. Jimmy and leave all your burdens behind you. Let's talk it over, shall we?
. Today, Banting's principles still live on in the millions of people who are losing weight and improving their health with the low-carb lifestyle.
