'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 112: YOU Choose If Your Diet Is Healthy Or Not

We all make choices each and every day that impact our lives for good or bad. Some of those decisions may seem insignificant, but they can add up over time. Think about your diet, for example. How many people just mindlessly eat whatever they can afford to buy or just want to eat as part of their daily menu? And how much of that food is nothing but high-carb junk foods that do nothing but destroy your health and increase your weight?

In Episode 112 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" we take a look at a study from the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in the UK that found poor dietary choices are not limited to the low-income segment of the population--it also extends into the wealthy class despite the popular stereotypes. Their conclusion--individuals CHOOSE to eat healthy or unhealthy regardless of their financial means. Hmmmm...

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 112 [10:36m]: LISTEN NOW | Download

Yes, we've been constantly inundated with story after story claiming that if only people with modest income were able to afford to buy the more expensive "healthy" foods like fruits and vegetables, then we would have an obesity epidemic. Of course, this premise assumes that if you are rich and can buy anything you want that you will only buy the foods that are best for your health. WRONG!

This study clearly shows there is no connection between obesity and wealth as so many people want to believe. Despite the conventional wisdom about this subject, being in poverty does NOT promote obesity and can actually strike anyone at anytime regardless of their means. STOP THE PRESSES!

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Are you buying this study that says obesity is merely the personal choice and responsibility of the individual? Does your income play a role in how healthy or unhealthy you eat on a daily basis? Do you feel if you had more money that your healthy lifestyle change would be easier to implement? Tell us what you think in the show notes section of Episode 112 and add your voice to the conversation. You KNOW you've got an opinion, so why not share it with us? :)

Don't forget, you can win a FREE E-BOOK COPY of my book Livin' La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey From Flabby Fat To Sensationally Skinny In One Year just for leaving a comment in the show notes section at Episode 112. I have THREE of these to give away on our next show (airing on Tuesday next week instead of Monday because of the President's Day holiday), so be sure to get your comment in before the end of this weekend.

We've got some exciting interviews with some surprise guests coming up over the next few weeks, so be sure to keep listening to "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." Drop me a line anytime with your comments, questions, and suggestions for the show at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.

UK Health Agency Uncovers Startling Dietary Truth

I came across a brand new study this week from the preeminent UK government health authority that concluded something I really never thought much about: whether it's a healthy or an unhealthy lifestyle change--it's YOUR choice.

Hmm...

Looking at this idea of a weight and wealth connection from an objective position is the Food Standards Agency (FSA) in Great Britain--the British equivalent of the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States.

The FSA researchers have been closely observing the specific foods consumed by the members of the lowest 15 percent income bracket since early 2006 to determine what if any differences there are between this group and their wealthier counterparts.

When all was said and done, the FSA noticed that the wealthy and the unwealthy all consumed an excessive amount of sugary sodas, fat, and sugar.

Their conclusion: People are making the conscious CHOICE to eat unhealthy.

Click here for more about this remarkable study and what ramifications it could have on dietary recommendations in Great Britain and quite possibly in the United States.

Try The $21 Low-Carb Diet Experiment

Low-carb is just too expensive for me. Eating this way is not reasonable for the average person on a budget, so I don't think it's a very feasible solution to my weight problem. Eating healthy will hit you in your wallet!

Have you ever felt this way? I know a few of you have because I've read your e-mails and comments at my blog about it. It's quite logical to believe that being poor can promote pudginess since most of the cheapest foods available in supermarkets today are high-carb, process junk products that don't belong in anyone's mouth. And yet they do.

Somebody recently told me that they have learned how to keep their weight and health under control by doing one thing: when they grocery shop, DON'T BUY WHAT FAT PEOPLE PUT IN THEIR CART! While that's funny, it's also a fact.

But obesity is not necessarily something that just impacts poor people--there are plenty of overweight rich people as well. In fact, the sign of a successful businessman in the past was a big belly.

The connection between weight and wealth is something that continues to interest the media as my fellow low-carb blogger Regina Wilshire points out in her latest post at her "Weight Of The Evidence" blog.

In the column she cited from the Los Angeles Times, the reporter cites a statistic where one million Americans have at their disposal a mere $21 per person for an entire week's worth of groceries. TWENTY-ONE BUCKS! That's it!

Of course, the journalist whined about how impossible it was for her to eat her vegetarian diet on just three dollars a day--the pro-rated daily percentage of the $155/month food stamps per person for somebody on welfare--unless she compromised and ate something she really shouldn't.

A few member of Congress joined in this effort, but Regina wanted to invite people who are livin' la vida low-carb to give it a try, too. Are you willing to try the $21 low-carb diet experiment with you and your family?

"What would be more important - satiety or nutrient-density; could I manage both?" Regina asked on her blog.

Making herself and her family a self-appointed guinea pig with this, Regina has decided to undertake this task of eating on just $3 a day for the next week to see how well she can feed herself, her husband, and that adorable little boy of hers.

"What compromises would I make in my diet to assure his diet was healthy?" she inquired.

Excited about the challenge, Regina has already bought her $63 worth of groceries--that's $21 per person in her family--and is rationing it all out this week to see if she can maintain her low-carb lifestyle on this super-skimpy budget. Remember, this is EXACTLY the amount of money one million Americans have at their disposal for food day in and day out.

Committing to do this for one week, Regina said she is going through this experience "to learn even more about nutrition and provide my readers with insights about how possible it is to maintain a controlled-carb diet while on a tight budget."

Do you think YOU are up to the challenge? If so, then Regina wants to hear from you. E-mail her with any photos or descriptions of how you plan to do this $21 low-carb diet experiment and she will include your struggles and victories in her blog post next week. You can also leave your comments in the post about this challenge throughout the week.

Unfortunately, my wife Christine (who recently started livin' la vida low-carb and is doing FANTASTIC!) and I will not be able to participate in this unique opportunity this week because we are going on vacation in the Smoky Mountains beginning on Tuesday through Saturday with prior plans for meals. However, we have both committed to eating on $42 worth of groceries for the week we get back...hoo boy, we can't wait! :D

If you dare try this, here are Regina's 7 simple rules:

1. The budget for food, all food, is limited to just $3.00 per person in our households each day ($21 per week, per person), so if you're single, you have $21....a couple has $42....each child adds $21. One major caveat - we cannot use anything during the week we already have in the house unless we deduct the cost of it from our budget - so if you're using chopped garlic in a jar already in your refrigerator, deduct the price from your budget for the week! Same goes for spices, cooking oils, and such since it's unlikely we'd have a stocked pantry if we were living life routinely on $21 a week per person!

2. We can shop for, prepare and cook whatever we want to eat, but cannot eat free food at business functions, meetings, work, or other places; but we can sample from tasting stations in grocery stores, and eat at parties we attend, hosted by friends or family (but not business functions!)

3. If you have a child in school, buying school lunch, the cost of the lunch is part of your budget....or you can pack their lunch for the week to buy more groceries. Or you can opt not to include your child in the budget and only do this yourself (and/or with your spouse).

4. We can eat out, but any cost to eat out must come from our $21 a week per person, so if we plan to eat out, we need to plan the cost and keep it within that amount when we do eat out. Friends and family cannot pay for us to eat out during the week, nor can the business expense account pick up the meal.

5. The budget does not include paper products, cleaning products, or non-food items available at grocery stores (lightbulbs, batteries, etc.); the budget does include alcohol, so shop wisely if you want a drink with dinner or use wine in cooking!

6. The budget does include condiments, spices, supplements, and anything you'd consume as part of your "diet," but does not include over-the-counter medications or prescription medications.

7. The challenge includes preparing and eating what you are able to purchase throughout the coming week, and any meals eaten out, since it's one thing to have to shop with a limited budget and another to live with it for a week.

So how about it? Anyone gonna do this? I'm anxious to see how it works for Regina and others who are brave enough to hop on the bandwagon and give it a go. When I return, you can bet I'll post the food I bought for $42 betwen the two of us along with meticulous details of how it went. Can it be done? A $21 low-carb diet?

We shall see, won't we?

Obesity: A Product Of Affluence Or Poverty?

I've got a rather philosophical debate for you today that I have noticed lately in various columns I have read recently about the economic reasons for why obesity exists in the world today. It seems like everyone is TALKING about obesity getting so much worse with very little action being taken to actually DO something about it. Nevertheless, the point I want to make today about the economic causes of obesity warrants further discussion and feedback from you.

Here's the one simple question I have:

Is obesity caused by affluence or poverty?

Think about it for a moment. Especially in countries like the United States of America, widely known as the land of fruit and plenty, our affluence avails us the opportunity to have instant access to just about any kind of food we could possibly want. We don't have to walk for miles to get to our food (although we should to burn off some calories!) or wait in line for hours to purchase our food like people in other countries do. No, we can hop in our cozy cars, drive down one mile to our local grocery or conveniece store, go to the self-checkout, ring ourselves up, swipe a card and be on our merry way with food in hand within minutes. How convenient is that?

Is this kind of easy access to food making us fat?

On the flip side, you've got people who claim that since the poor can't afford to purchase the right kinds of foods because they are allegedly too expensive for them to buy, they make alternate food choices instead. So, what do they end up buying? Usually it's the cheap, high-carb, high-sugar foods with virtually zero nutrtional value whatsoever. UGH! Not surprisingly, a steady diet of this junk food will lead to a rapid increase in weight and health problems down the road. Not good.

Is the inability to afford healthy food making us fat?

I suppose it is possible to have both of these dynamics working simultaneously which is double trouble when it comes to tackling obesity as a societal problem. Government and health leaders need to be aware that it may not be one or the other but quite possibly BOTH. But neither one of these reasons is inescapable because there are ways to prevent obesity from afflicting the rich or the poor.

If the rich are buying food in abundance, then they need to be taught what kinds of foods they NEED to be eating so they can maintain their weight and health. It's definitely not an issue of resources for them, but rather making the right choices about what is needed to live a healthy lifestyle. Most people would envy the position of those with no monetary restrictions, but it does make you wonder what kinds of foods YOU would purchase if money was not an issue.

As for the poor only buying the foods they think they can afford, I can certainly relate to this problem myself as a former 400-pounder in the lower middle class who rationalized buying cheaper foods. Purchasing foods like meats, organic eggs, vegetables, and all those other healthy foods you can and should be enjoying while livin' la vida low-carb can put a real strain on your pocketbook.

However, considering I'm no longer wasting money on fast food, prescription drugs to treat obesity-related health problems, doctor visits, new clothes from the big & tall store because you either ripped the old ones or have become too big for them--NEED I GO ON?!--it's amazing how much more affordable these foods suddenly become as these dollars become available to me to get the good stuff.

We can blame affluence on our obesity and we can point fingers at poverty for increasing our waistlines. But when it comes down to it, the only thing we can blame for ever becoming overweight or obese is ourselves. That's right, it's nobody's fault but your own. You may not want to hear that and probably think that is harsh for someone to say to you, but I say it as someone who has been in the position of being morbidly obese feeling like I didn't have any hope in the world that I would ever be able to climb out of the deep, dark hole I had dug myself.

But I did. And today I am a healthier man because of it.

Right now, put aside the excuses for not living a healthy lifestyle. There's no reason good enough for why you should have to keep on living inside the body of a fat person. YOU SHOULDN'T! Remaining fat is NOT healthier than weight loss, so start eating the way you know you should eat, begin adding physical activity to your daily life where it has probably be nonexistent before, and begin your exciting new journey towards making your life exactly what you have wanted it to be for a very long time. Nothing--and I mean ABSOLUTELY nohting--is standing in your way of becoming the success you deserve to be today!

My new motto and the one I want to encourage you to take up is to "aspire to inspire before you expire." You never know who may be watching you as you take those first few steps towards a healthier lifestyle. A child? A sibling? A co-worker?

Before it's too late and the good Lord takes you home in His perfect timing, vow right now to DO SOMETHING positive for your own health so that others can see that it CAN be done. Be that example for others to follow. It is a privilege that comes with the responsibility to keep doing those things that must be done to keep your weight and health under control. That's why I'm still livin' la vida low-carb two years after losing 180 pounds. And I'll keep doing it for the rest of my life.

Obesity is NOT inevitable and weight loss is NOT unattainable if you put forth the effort to make it happen in your own life. Stop waiting for the government to come up with a plan to lose weight for you. End this crazy madness of expecting a new scientific discovery to create a "magic" weight loss potion to dissolve the flab from your body. You KNOW what you need to do and now it's time to DO IT!

Don't hold back one ounce of energy in this effort and commit yourself fully to doing it. If you start to struggle, then lean on those who love you the most. And if you ever need someone to talk to about anything related to the low-carb lifestyle or losing weight, I'm always just a mouse click away at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. No more TALK about why obesity exists. Rich or poor, if you need to lose weight then consider this your wake-up call. YOU CAN DO IT!