Delicious Satiatrim wards off hunger by increasing CCK in the body
Although a healthy low-carb lifestyle is an excellent way to naturally reduce hunger and increase the satisfaction you have with the foods you consume while losing weight, Satiatrim is a 50-calorie beverage that will help those of you who deal with getting hungry or have the propensity for overeating. If that's you, then listen up and find out more about this amazing new low-carb appetite-suppressing drink.
In Episode 31 of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube," the all-new and improved video series (check out the snazzy updated opening to the video along with a change in the format of the video itself--ENJOY!) focuses in on this product called Satiatrim and the impact it has on your body. There's an important hormone in your body called cholecystokinin, aka CCK (that's easier to say anyway!), that regulates how full you feel as you are eating and afterwards. Satiatrim greatly stimulates the production of this hormone.
Learn more about how Satiatrim can help you in today's video:
The good people at Satiatrim have an incredible offer for the readers of the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog. In addition to getting 20% off and FREE SHIPPING with any order, they also want to provide another $5 off of your order just by using the coupon code "JIMMY!" As Christine says in the video, my name is actually useful for something now. HA HA! Gee, THANKS honey!
If you could suppress your appetite before meals for around a dollar, then why wouldn't you do it? Try some Satiatrim and become a believer in it yourself, too! It's low-carb and comes in three yummy flavors--Chocolate, Vanilla, and Mixed Berry (our favorite!). Plus, if you're not completely satisfied, Satiatrim offers a 30-day money-back guarantee. But you're gonna fall in love with this stuff as much as we have!
Are you constantly thinking of food on your low-carb diet?
One of the reasons why so many of us got to be overweight or obese in the first place is we were always anticipating our next meal and making it the focal point of our lives. It may not have been a conscientious thought process, but it was there whether we admit it or not. Food, and specifically sugary and starchy high-carb food, was our reason for living because we had a deep, deep hunger.
But when you start livin' la vida low-carb, those feelings of hunger and dwelling on what you are gonna eat next go away, right? Well, not exactly if you don't follow your low-carb plan EXACTLY as prescribed by the author of that program. That's what I talk about in Episode 104 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" to help you pinpoint why you may be feeling hungry on your low-carb diet. It ain't normal, so tune in to today's podcast to find out why and how you can remedy this.
Click on the "LISTEN NOW" link below or download it to your iPod to hear today's podcast:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 104 [12:38m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
I'm not sure where people got the notion that they should suffer in their weight loss, but that's precisely what most people think. Being hungry and craving food are just a part of what it takes to shed the pounds (so they think!). But when you are livin' la vida low-carb, all that conventional wisdom is thrown out the window and you discover a way of eating that is both delicious and nutritious that helps you burn body fat and feel better than you ever have in your entire life!
Never get hungry for low-carb news and info again by:
Have you experienced hunger on your low-carb lifestyle? If so, then what did you do to remedy it? Eat more fat? Eat low-carb meals more often? Or are you STILL suffering from hunger? Tell us your experience in the show notes section for Episode 104.
Whew, what a day this was for me! After more than two years of praying, saving up money, and a rather fortuitous miracle of the right set of circumstances, today I was able to get my roof worked on to try to stop the many leaks coming through the ceiling of my house. We didn't get finished with the job before sunset and there is a big thunderstorm coming on Sunday, but we should have it completed by Monday afternoon! WOO HOO!
Right now, though, my body aches so much from hauling about a bazillion shingles today that I can barely type this post without some sort of pain radiating throughout my entire body. Nevertheless, it's been worth every minute of sacrifice of blogging and energy today to make it happen. YEAH! Can you tell I'm happy? :)
Anyways, I've been meaning to blog about a recurring topic that keeps coming up from time to time among many of my readers. In fact, it shows up in my Statcounter keywords that people use to find my blog via Google and other search engines virtually every single day.
What is it? Here's an e-mail illustration to explain it:
"Hello there. Congrats on your weight loss success. I have a question for you. I am doing the high protein diet but I am ALWAYS hungry and eat all the time. I eat all protein and A LOT of it. Was it the same for you? How can I fix this? I feel like at this rate I will gain weight not lose it."
Sound familiar anyone? It simply amazes me how people can claim to be livin' la vida low-carb and be in CONSTANT hunger. This is one of the major reasons why low-fat and low-calorie diets fail, not the low-carb ones people. The key difference between those failed diet plans and livin' la vida low-carb is the satiety factor. Satiety equals NO HUNGER!
In fact, studies have shown satiety, or the ability to be satisfied after eating, to be the secret to low-carb diets and why they work so well for so many people. I was absolutely miserable in 1999 when I was on my low-fat diet and I could not keep it up despite losing a lot of weight. Why? H-U-N-G-E-R!!!
But what's with this hungry thing on low-carb, hmm? I have to be honest with you and say that just totally baffles me because it has not been my experience on low-fat. Ask my wife Christine, I do NOT like feeling hungry. It's one reason I started livin' la vida low-carb in the first place. Actually, I previously blogged about how waiting for hunger is awful and it's so true!
Being the ever-so-curious (okay, I'm nosy!) person that I am, I just had to ask my hungry, protein-eating dieting reader to share with me what she eats on her "high-protein diet." The answers she provide were quite illuminating.
Check out this list of foods she typically eats:
- Boiled chicken breast with tobasco sauce - Turkey - 4 oz cheese - Egg whites with tobasco sauce - Turkey bacon - 2-3 cups lettuce with vinegar - High-protein puddings - Cheese-flavored bars - Soy jerky
EWWWW! Can you see why this person is "ALWAYS hungry" on her low-carb, high-protein plan? It's pretty obvious to anyone who has been livin' la vida low-carb for any length of time and been successful at it--she's doing low-carb the wrong way which is the best one-way ticket to becoming a crash and burn weight loss failure.
This is PRECISELY what happens when you don't read a reputable low-carb book before attempting to start livin' la vida low-carb. I feel like a broken record saying this because I repeat this message so often until I get blue in the face. But apparently the message is not getting through and I'm happy to KEEP repeating it until it finally sinks in.
I've seen it happen a million times before from many well-meaning people, but it totally breaks my heart when I see it happening again and again. Even when people sit down long enough to read a popular low-carb plan like Atkins, Protein Power, or South Beach, they always seem to think they know how to make it healthier themselves by cutting the fat, too! UGH! Why do people do that to themselves?!
When you do that, you simply negate the positive benefits that fat can have in your body when carbohydrates are significantly reduced. In a high-carb diet, fat is destructive to your body and will lead straight to obesity and other health ailments. But with a low-carb diet, fat (even saturated fat!) is your friend and you NEED it to provide your body with energy as well as fighting hunger!
Yep, that's right! While protein is certainly an important element in keeping your full and satisfied throughout the day, fat also prevents the body from becoming ravenously hungry as well. This is one of the major elements that my reader has lacking in her current diet. Just about everything she eats is much lower in fat than it needs to be (boiled chicken, turkey bacon, and soy jerky?).
Here are a few suggestions I have for her to improve her diet:
- Add non-starchy veggies like cauliflower, broccoli, and green beans - Include more salad greens (spinach) with tomatoes and cucumbers - Avoid the processed cheese bars that aren't real cheese - Start eating the egg yolk because that's the healthiest part - Enjoy the naturally healthy low-carb foods God created
There are many more suggestions about improving her diet, but these are an excellent start. The bottom line is there is absolutely NO reason why anyone should EVER be hungry when they are livin' la vida low-carb. That's one of the major benefits of this permanent lifestyle change that helps people get on it and stay on it! It's worked for me for over three years and counting now.
Have you experienced hunger at some point on your low-carb lifestyle and figured out ways to avoid it? Please feel free to share your insights and wisdom with us in the comments section below. When people who are on low-carb tell me they're hungry, my response to them is, "Then go eat something!" Make it low-carb, of course! :)
There's a brand new low-carb blog I'd like to introduce you to that literally just came online this week. But I already like the positive attitude of the anonymous author of the blog who goes by the name "OnlineChristian." The blog is called "Low Carb Lollygagging."
If you've ever used that word "lollygagging" before, then you wouldn't think of it being associated with the structured discipline and order that is needed to be livin' la vida low-carb. But for "OnlineChristian," it works for him (or her!) to describe a philosophy about life that I wish more people would embrace.
"I am serious about my low carb living, but I want to have fun and live a little and laugh a little while doing it," OnlineChristian writes at his blog. "Life can't be all serious anyhow, can it??!!"
You've gotta love somebody that can laugh at themselves and at life, even if that life has not necessarily turned out the way you wanted it to--especially if you are morbidly obese. That's exactly where "OnlineChristian" finds himself at this point in time once weighing in at over 400 pounds. But he's doing something about it now losing nearly 40 pounds on the Atkins diet since mid-October 2006 and "just loving it!!!" His goal is to reach the same weight he was in high school.
"Somewhere around there where I feel good, am healthy, and living life well," he admitted.
While all the so-called health experts out there are telling people they need to eat 1200-calories-a-day along with disgusting low-fat foods in miniscule portions, "OnlineChristian" thumbs his nose up at these suggestions and reveals the shocking truth about the calories he is eating on his low-carb plan.
"I am losing weight while sometimes eating 4000 and 4500 calories, though truth be told many days I am eating more like 2000 - 3500."
HA! Did you hear that loud sucking sound?! It was the collective gasp of dietitians and nutritionists reading my blog RIGHT NOW as they stare at the screen trying to pick their jaw up off the floor after reading how many calories "OnlineChristian" eats in a day.
Yep, he said he's eating between 2000-4500 calories daily AND STILL LOSING WEIGHT!!! He doesn't mention anything about exercise, so the whole "calorie deficit" mumbo jumbo we always hear bantered about is not the reason. It's the miracle of livin' la vida low-carb, baby!
Like me, "OnlineChristian" wanted to find a way to not only lose weight, but to ward off hunger while doing it. Too much "burning intense hunger" while on a low-calorie diet for two years in a row before Atkins left a mark on him that he won't soon forget. But this isn't the first time weight loss has been attempted.
"When I was in my thirties I lost 100 lbs and kept it off for over two years. I lost the first 50 lbs on a NutriSystem prepackaged food program, and lost the second 50 lbs doing pretty much the same thing but eating MAJOR RABBIT FOOD (salads from McDonalds and Burger King, etc) and low calorie TV dinners like those from Healthy Choice and similar," he explained.
But he was still too hungry and didn't lose any weight without "running 3-8 miles each day and weight training as well for an hour to two hours each day." That honest to goodness pain he felt from the hunger on a low-calorie diet left "OnlineChristian" dizzy, sick, and disheartened about living this way for the rest of his life. There's a reason why low-calorie diets aren't necessarily healthy.
"I toughed it out to lose the weight and meet my goals," he stated.
That sounds like me back in 1999 when I was doing the whole low-fat, low-calorie, portion control diet thing. I lost a total of 170 pounds in 10 months that year primarily on the sheer inner determination I had to succeed. But the gig was up and all those months of STARVING caught up to me which led to a HUGE weight gain in only a few months.
Something similar happened to "OnlineChristian" as he grew weary of the low-calorie diet, too. Pretty soon, every bit of weight he had lost was right back on his body and 400 pounds was his reality...AGAIN!
That's when the Atkins diet swooped in to save the day providing healthy foods that keep his hunger at bay while knocking down any cravings and ditching all the "rules" of calorie watching. His blood sugar was in very bad shape before livin' la vida low-carb "fluctuating up and down and getting shaky and jittery when I needed a sugar fix and tired and kinda sleepy headed when I ate." But today it is "rock steady" with a fasting blood glucose reading of 90.
"This is probably the most important benefit I am deriving from this way of eating," OnlineChristian declared.
Acknowledging his surprise at how well livin' la vida low-carb is working for him, "OnlineChristian" is just so THRILLED to have found something that FINALLY works for him.
"Low carb is really impressing me as a wonderful way of life," he wrote. "I am losing weight, my blood sugar problems have all disapeared, and I am not having acid problems at all, I am never hungry (I get to eat, be full and comfortable) and I am feeling great!!! I hope that more than a diet, I can maintain this as an ongoing way of eating and way of life."
With that kind of attitude about it, there's no doubt in my mind that you WILL succeed! GO FOR IT!!! Just don't ever give up on it and you can't help but triumph over your obesity!
"OnlineChristian" invites people to provide him feedback at this e-mail address.
I was honored to see a blog post from "OnlineChristian" about me called "The Ever Enthusiastic Jimmy Moore!" which included some very flattering remarks about the work I am doing to promote the low-carb lifestyle to the masses.
"Jimmy strikes me as a 'regular guy' (which is very refreshing) who has found this wonderful secret to weight loss and living and can hardly contain himself as he finds one new and exciting thing after another to share with his readers and listeners."
Yes, I am just your average, everyday fella who just happened to lose a bunch of weight. If I can help people with what I write about at my blog, then I'm gonna do it. And "OnlineChristian" understands clearly my mission for doing what I am doing at my blogs and podcast show.
"His positive attitude is absolutely contagious and he will help you get motivated to learn about and try this low carb lifestyle."
Gee, thanks so much, "OnlineChristian." What an interesting person you are and I look forward to reading many more outstanding posts at the "Low Carb Lollygagging" blog. You WILL be succesful at not just losing weight, but also keeping it off for good this time because the hunger issue is NOT a problem for you anymore. Stable blood sugar and your desire to reach the weight you were in high school will propel you to GREAT weight loss success!
YOU CAN DO IT! Please let me know if I can ever help you!
You gotta love these student journalists who write cutesy little op-ed pieces about livin' la vida low-carb for their college newspapers.
"Look mom, I'm a real writer now and I'm using that power to spread the most bizarre ideas about what the low-carb lifestyle is so I can show just how ignorant I really am!"
Ahhhhh, the joys of being so young and yet so clueless.
We've seen it a few times before at universities across America:
Today another college student steps up to the plate to talk about low-carb and gives a rather mixed bag in his column "Low carb separates men from boys. It was written by University of Georgia columnist Daniel Hanna for The Red And Black independent student newspaper.
Hanna states in his column that he started livin' la vida low-carb earlier this week, but it only "lasted two days." LOL! Two WHOLE days! Hee hee! Daniel, my friend, you hardly got started on your low-carb diet, dude. Anyone who has ever started on low-carb KNOWS it takes a MINIMUM of two weeks to get your body into ketosis during the Induction phase, so two days eating this way does not a diet make.
"My entire eating routine had been slashed, replaced by a monotonous array of milk, eggs and cold cuts."
Milk? On the low-carb lifestyle? That's not low-carb, Daniel boy. Sure, eggs and cold cuts are, but that's not all you get to eat. Where are your vegetables, nuts, steaks, cheese, etc.? There's so much more to this lifestyle change if you simply pick up a book and read about it rather than mindlessly criticize it sight unseen.
Hanna then moves to the subject of eggs and turkey.
"After Day One, I was tired of eggs, which gave me a solid 10-minute window of fullness. Not to mention the cholesterol (I mean, you have to watch your cholesterol). Meanwhile, the stacks of plain turkey breast failed to satisfy my hunger, while the no-carb protein shakes left a milky film on my tongue."
If you are only feeling full from eggs for ten minutes after eating them, Daniel, then you are not eating enough eggs. If you microwave several eggs in the morning for breakfast and put a little cheese on top, then you will find you will not get hungry for hours. Studies have shown that eggs fill you up and you actually consume less calories the rest of the day which leads to weight loss.
And good grief, stop worrying about cholesterol consumption because that does not make your cholesterol go up! Read this amazing book my friend and you'll learn all about it.
If you are eating turkey breast and you're still hungry, then you need to eat a little more until you are. And for goodness sake, don't get the lean or "fat-free" turkey breast slices, go for the full-fat version to get the fat your body needs to remain satisfied. Research just this week has shown eating more protein can actually lead to the production of a hormone in your body to suppress your appetite. So EAT, Daniel, EAT! If you are keeping your portions and calories too low, OF COURSE you're gonna be hungry!
Oh, and that "milky film" on your tongue. It has nothing to do with those protein shakes you are drinking (and they are not "no-carb" by the way!). That's the excess ketones that are released when you begin to reduce your carbohydrate intake and go on a ketogenic diet, which means your carbs are below 50g daily.
Not surprisingly, our friend Daniel gave up on his "low-carb diet" (again, two days is hardly being on the low-carb lifestyle), but an article in FLEX magazine at least gets him to acknowledge that this way of eating may not be as bad for people as he portrayed it.
Hanna said the article he read in FLEX magazine revealed that a low-carb diet can help provide the protein your body needs to bulk up and grow muscle mass while reducing body fat.
While Hanna said this news about low-carb and high-protein diets is intriguing, there is still concern over the "negative effects of carbohydrate depletion on the body’s muscle mass." But he again points to the FLEX magazine column that said that is bogus information. And actually, this study demonstrated that common theory is invalid.
Hanna said the FLEX magazine article said livin' la vida low-carb is mainly for bodybuilders and not necessarily for people involved in cardiovascular physical activities such as running and sports. Oh really! Try telling that to this low-carber who runs marathons. My own daily workouts are NEVER fueled by carbohydrates, but rather by the fat and protein I consume both before and after the workout. I wouldn't think of eating any other way for my exercise.
Towards the end of his column, Hanna explained that there are so many different version of low-carb out there for people to try that there is bound to be one that will work for you. Unfortunately, though, he chose to highlight one of the worst low-carb diets on the market today--"The Carbohydrate Addict's Diet!"
Here's how Hanna enthusiastically described this plan:
"One example is the 'carb-cycling' program, a stepsister of the low-carb diet that allows you to have your carbohydrate fix while simultaneously shredding away fat. Specifically, a carb-cycling program may call for two days of no-carb dieting followed by one day of carb-loading. The three-day sequence keeps your metabolism guessing, which equates to more fat burned. Moreover, the carb-loading day will satisfy any lingering pasta cravings, preparing you for the 48-hour stretch ahead."
Do I need to tell you why this is a bad idea? Your body needs to get out of the rollercoaster ride that eating too many carbohydrates puts your blood sugar on. DON'T DO IT! My recommendations for a legitimate low-carb plan include the Atkins diet, Protein Power, South Beach, and The Zone, just to name a few of the better ones.
Finally, at the end of his column, Hanna makes an excellent point:
"Pick the diet that works for you, and complement it with the right kind of exercise. As the Austrian Oak once wrote, the 'basic principles of nutrition are as valuable to a bodybuilder as the basic principles of training.' Bodybuilder or not, exercise and nutrition are complements, and powerful tools. If you can use them correctly."
Okay Daniel, you redeemed yourself with that last paragraph, my friend. Perhaps there is hope for you yet. But the next time you decide to go on a low-carb diet, try reading about it first, committing to it for at least 30 days, doing it with all your might, and refusing to give up just because it hurts. Sure it does at first. We've all been there before. But, for me, it was well worth it to lose 180 pounds in one year!
NOW THAT'S RESULTS, don't ya think, Daniel?
Send your feedback to Daniel Hanna regarding his op-ed piece by e-mailing his editor.
9-9-06 UPDATE: Daniel Hanna responds to my blog post.
"Mr. Moore, I respect your wealth of knowledge on the subject of the low-carb diet, but I believe you misunderstood my article. I admit, if my intention was to portray the intricacies of 'livin' la vida low-carb,' the article was a miserable failure.
However, that was not my intention; my purpose was to right a column that would serve as an abstract of sorts on a low-carb article written by a nutritionist expert (Dr. Tabatha Elliott). The introduction, which depicts my tried-but-failed approach to the low-carb diet, was intended to be 'cutesy' and in no-way taken seriously.
In fact, I hoped the anecdote would reach out to students who shared a similar story--who may have tried an on-the-spot low-carb plan and failed out of frustration (and lack of information). Hopefully, those students would be inspired to research the truths about 'livin' la vida low carb,' and formulate a nutrition plan which meets their own needs.
Thank you for the feedback. Stay healthy, and best of luck. Sincerely, Daniel Hanna "
THANKS for writing, Daniel, and I appreciate the explanation. But if you go back to the top of this blog post and click on any of the other college links I provided to the student journalists who portray low-carb as this awful way to eat, then you will know why I had to respond to you. Even if you were just trying to relate to your fellow college students, that was not the way to do it.
Wanna be bold, Daniel? How about sharing with your classmates there at the University of Georgia about what livin' la vida low-carb REALLY is?! From start to finish in a column, no holds barred, THE TRUTH about low-carb living. I'd be happy to help you with this as well as the tens of thousands of visitors to my blog. Are you up to it, Daniel? It's your move now.
9-10-06 UPDATE: On a whim, I decided to give my feedback to the editor of The Red And Black. They decided to post my response at the bottom of the column. Here's what I wrote:
Why is it that student journalists almost always seem to portray the low-carb lifestyle as an awful way to eat? Sure, if you read most media accounts of what low-carb is, then I suppose you would come to the conclusion that eating "meat, eggs, and cheese" is decidedly unhealthy.
But take it from someone who has lost over 180 pounds on low-carb and kept it off for two years, it's so much more than that.
Daniel Hanna very likely meant no harm with his article sharing his experience on a low-carb diet, but he has done a disservice to all of us who did it the right way.
Wanna be a bold and daring student journalist, Daniel? Then how about sharing with your classmates there at the University of Georgia about what livin' la vida low-carb is REALLY all about?!
From start to finish in a column, no holds barred, sharing THE TRUTH and nothing but the truth about low-carb living.
I'd be happy to help you with this as well as the tens of thousands of visitors I receive at my blog.
Are you up to it, Daniel? Do you dare share the wisdom and knowledge of others who have gone before and been success on low-carb?
It's your move now.
Jimmy Moore, author of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" livinlowcarbman@charter.net LivinLaVidaLowCarb.com Spartanburg, SC
You can share your feedback on this column, too, by clicking here.
I was alerted to something quite disturbing today to say the least by my calorie-restriction friend April who told me about a California-based youth "fat farm" called Academy of the Sierras where overweight and obese children are being subject to an extreme low-fat diet consisting of nearly single-digit fat intake daily! April blogged about this here initially, then here, and finally here.
What is most incredible is the diet they have these kids eating is robbing them of some of the essential nutrients their bodies need for them to continue to grow into the healthy adults they are becoming. While they are getting 70g protein and 20g fiber, they are ONLY being fed a measly 10g fat. JUST TEN GRAMS! That's all they get daily. Yikes! They get to eat all the soups, salads, fat-free (and HIGH sugar, by the way) yogurt, fruits and vegetables as part of this wonder diet plan. The leaders of this program claim the kids won't get hungry eating this way.
Well, I guess they don't get as hungry with all of that protein they are eating. But what about the healthy fats these kids NEED for a healthy body and improved overall health? Even the American Heart Association FINALLY admitted this year that proper fat intake is important. Studies have shown eating fat improves mental health. Are these people at the Academy of the Sierras even concerned about the damage they are causing to the developing brains of these children they have been given control over? Helllllloooo?
You would think with the results of a landmark 8-year study on low-fat diets earlier this year showing them to be the big fat lie that people who are livin' la vida low-carb knew them to be would end this madness about being afraid of eating fat as part of a healthy weight loss program. This all-too-obvious fact has apparently left the good folks at the Academy of the Sierras as they continue to live in the past with their dietary recommendations centered around the archaic teachings of Dr. Dean Ornish!
But isn't it borderline child abuse what the leaders of this program are doing to these poor kids? With new research PROVING the theories they are using to induce weight loss in these children -- namely an extreme low-fat diet -- is false, then why would they still insist on using these tactics when there are much better ways to bring about the same results in a healthier manner? They wouldn't need to change their program radically to make it just as effective for weight loss AND be more nutrient-dense.
They could still have the kids eat 70g protein and 20g fiber, but have them instead begin to limit the carbohydrates to 20g daily while allowing 30-40g fat MINIMUM daily and having them avoid sugar, white flour, starchy veggies and processed foods. Why wouldn't this work better for the kids and give them a more palatable menu to eat from?
Wanna see just a sampling of what these kids have to eat now:
low-fat pizza very lean ground turkey tacos (EWWWW!) fat free bean burritos veggie egg white omelettes (where are the yolks?!) oil-free Asian stir fries innovative pastas (what the heck is that?!) spice apple raisin pancakes bagels with fat-free cream cheese Berries (the best item on this menu!) melon wedges fat-free yogurt Boca burgers (mmm, mmm Boca--NOT!) sandwich bar with very lean ham and turkey Mexican pizza fat-free soups fruit salad (can you say sugar?!) honey chicken veggie stir-fry “spinach baked” potatoes (say who what is THAT?!) frozen yogurt salad bar with fat-free dressings carrot sticks fat-free potato chips with salsa (yucky poo!) oatmeal raisin bars
Can you tell me what most of those foods contains gobs and gobs of? That's right, CARBOHYDRATES!!! Jeepers creepers people, let's just send the blood sugar of these kids into overdrive now with what we're feeding them. Sheeeeez! I remember eating an obsessively low-fat diet before and it's not fun at all. If my experience is any indication of what is going to happen to these kids when they get back home, then it would not surprise me to hear that most if not all of them rebel at their new way of eating and gain back every single pound they worked so hard to lose. I don't wish that on them, but it is almost inevitable with a low-fat diet as extreme as this one is.
You can express your concerns about this dangerous and abusive weight loss program for these adolescents by e-mailing them directly. You can address your e-mail to Phil Obbard who is the Executive Director for the Academy of the Sierras. Ask him to specifically answer your concerns about the lack of good fats in the diets these kids are being put on and let me know if you hear back from him or another representative. This blatant abuse by the Academy of the Sierra MUST be stopped immediately!
My 180-pound weight loss success story on Atkins has gotten a lot of attention from people from around the world (I just an e-mail from South Africa this morning!) who have been inspired by the various articles I have written on the Internet. I never cease to be amazed by the enthusiasm people still have for this way of life despite the constant negativity we are bombarded with on virtually a daily basis about livin' la vida low-carb.
But despite my best efforts at clearly explaining what low-carb is all about, there are still some people who choose to do it on their own and make up the rules as they go along about doing this lifestyle.
I became extremely concerned on Saturday when I received an AOL Instant Message from a woman who admittedly has a lot of weight to lose and had been on Atkins for two weeks now. When I asked her how she is doing, she said she lost 11 pounds the first week (VERY GOOD!), but was shocked she had GAINED 1 1/2 pounds in her second week, allegedly on the Induction phase of Atkins.
My first question to her was, "Did you read the Atkins New Diet Revolution book?"
Her immediate response was, "Yeah, but I took it with a grain of salt because I know I have to portion control my food as well as restrict my calories and fat intake if I'm going to lose weight." RED FLAG, RED FLAG!!!
ARGHH!!! If you are just starting out on low-carb, let me give you a quick word of advice. DON'T COUNT CALORIES OR FAT GRAMS OR EVEN PORTION CONTROL! You just don't have to do any of that anymore, especially when you are first stating out trying to get your body into ketosis. There isn't a low-carb program out there that requires you to portion control and eat low-fat/low-calorie during the first two weeks. It just doesn't exist!
This poor woman was complaining to me that low-carb just wasn't working because she was gaining weight and constantly hungry. Despite her slight weight gain, she had still lost nearly 10 pounds in two weeks. If that's a plan that's "not working," then I don't know what a "working" weight loss plan would be like!
My solution to her was simple and direct -- "EAT MORE FOOD and keep it under 20 carbs per day." This isn't rocket science people. Restricting your food intake is only required by the failed low-fat/low-calorie approach to losing weight. That's why they're so scared of the low-carb lifestyle. It flies in the face of everything they've been taught and proselytizing for generations.
HINT HINT: If you are even the slightest bit hungry on low-carb, then you probably aren't eating enough food. The fat in the low-carb foods you eat satisfies you so you won't get hungry. Furthermore, you don't even have to notice that you may be eating as many as 3000 calories in a day because it just doesn't matter when you are first starting your low-carb lifestyle. Can we get that message in our heads?! It's extremely important you look only at your carb intake during those first two weeks and not worry about anything else.
Thankfully, the woman I was speaking to eventually got it (after our 20 minutes chat) and she understood why she was doing low-carb completely wrong. I recommended she pick up Jonny Bowden's book "Living The Low-Carb Life" (which I reviewed on this blog the other day) to find out more about low-carb and to do the plan correctly.
This is something that frustrates me more than anything in my attempts to help people who are doing low-carb. Many of them will say, "I'm doing Atkins," but they've never read his book. Others will say they're doing a "modified low-carb" approach, which is fine as long as you know what you are doing. But most of us don't and we need the guidance of those nutritionists and doctors who have done the research on low-carb already. Then all we have to do is follow what they have said and stick with that plan.
I got an AOL Instant Message from that same woman again on Sunday and she told me she went out and bought Jonny's book to read so she could educate herself further about low-carb. Now we're talking. I have said it many times, but education is the key when you are doing low-carb. People are going to challenge you about HOW you lost your weight and you must be armed with the answers why. Or, you could do like I did and tell them it really didn't work for me because I "only" lost 180 pounds! Hee hee!
So, if you ever get stuck and wonder why the scale is not moving, there are a lot of books available that can be invaluable resources for helping you do low-carb the right way. My upcoming book will detail my own experience livin' la vida low-carb. Whatever you do, though, don't try to do this on your own! You will fail miserably every single time!
