Canadian Beef Group Hosting Web Seminar Called 'The Satiating Power Of Protein'

Join the special online Nutricast™ Seminar on June 5th at noon

The Canadian-based Beef Information Centre (BIC) in association with the Heart & Stroke Foundation of Canada is presenting a web-based Nutricast™ Seminar this week entitled "The Satiating Power Of Protein" featuring the latest studies in support of protein consumption for appetite control and managing your weight.

As most of us who are livin' la vida low-carb can personally attest to, consuming foods high in protein like beef are an integral part of our weight loss and health improvements. We low-carbers uniquely realize that satiety is the secret to effective weight management and that studies have clearly shown that eating protein is indeed power food for weight loss because it controls our hunger well enough that we don't have to eat as many calories as people who consume carbohydrates in high quantities, for example.

Protein helps people on a low-carb diet maximize their results which is why we are seeing the next big marketing trend for beverages is protein-fortified products. These manufacturers have seen the demand people have for products that include more protein in them and they're seeking to fill that need (like the CiaoCarb cookies).

But the best sources of protein are still eggs and beef for people who want to lose weight and keep it off for good. That's what this Internet seminar is designed to do featuring the top experts on the most current science behind protein consumption. Protein is oftentimes the neglected macronutrient in the diet wars where fat and carbohydrates seem to hog all the limelight. But is protein the missing link in the obesity epidemic? Find out during this special presentation which will feature someone you may recognize from the low-carb world.

Dr. Eric C. Westman, MD, MHS, an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of the Lifestyle Medicine Clinic at Duke University Medical Center (and who is coming on the 2nd Annual Low-Carb Cruise with us in 2009), will be joined by Helene Charlebois, BSc, RD, a Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist from HC Nutrition Consulting & Wellness, to talk about the role of protein in weight and health management. It should be quite an informative bit of information for you to enrich your knowledge of why we eat the way we do.

The one-hour Nutricast™ Seminar is coming this Thursday, June 5, 2008 at 12:00pm EST and is available to anyone with Internet access. If you are unable to attend the event LIVE, then it will be archived and accessible for up to one year afterwards. Click here to register for this amazing event! SIGN UP TODAY!!!

Here's Your Chance, Dean Ornish: Admit A High-Fat, Low-Carb Diet Is Healthy

Is Dean Ornish prepared to admit a high-fat, low-carb diet is healthy?

I have had ample opportunities to meet and interview some of the best and brightest minds in the world of diet and health over the past couple of years and I consider it a real privilege and an honor anytime I am afforded the chance to glean from the many years of knowledge and experience that these people possess. As a simple layperson without any medical or nutritional background or education, I am merely a student trying to learn everything he can in order to make informed decisions about what is right for me and my body.

You can read my blog interviews or listen to my podcast interviews which now total well over 100 to see and hear from these amazing people and the fine work they are doing to promote good health. I honestly believe that everyone who is involved in this industry is doing it for the right reasons in their heart of hearts even if they are misguided in some areas. It's okay to have disagreements as long as you don't become disagreeable in the process.

That's sorta what I wanted to talk about today because I received a rather terse e-mail response from noted low-fat diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish (who I have interviewed TWICE in the past two years) earlier this week that accused me of making him out to be a "straw man" with the same old "stereotypes" about him that have existed for decades as the face of the low-fat diet. You'll recall I recently interviewed Dr. Ornish for a four-part podcast about his new book entitled The Spectrum where he supposedly has shifted his dietary philosophy away from a strict low-fat diet into one that allows people to make choices along a spectrum of choices. It's a nice concept on paper and I certainly applauded him for moving away from his dogmatic belief that a low-fat, high-carb diet is the ONLY way to good health.

However, during our interview and while reading through The Spectrum, I couldn't help but notice that despite the grand plans of branching out and broadening his nutritional horizons, not much has changed about what Dr. Dean Ornish actually believes. Once you get into the meat (which, by the way, you can't have according to Dr. Ornish since it is in the "least healthy" Group 5 end of the spectrum) of what he writes, everything he considers "healthy" is merely a bunch of the same old high-carb, low-fat propaganda we've always heard from Dr. Ornish. I explained my concerns about this in great detail in a post-interview blog I wrote a couple of weeks ago.

While I was critical of Dr. Ornish in the blog post (and rightfully so), I still appreciated the open dialog that he invited to discuss and debate the ideas he presented in his book. I have nothing against him personally and he's been nothing but respectful to me in all of our conversations. We just disagree about what a healthy diet looks like a lot more than he wants to admit it. And deep down inside, he knows that.

While he says we all agree and believe many of the same things, I have yet to hear Dr. Dean Ornish confirm that a low-carb nutritional approach may be needed for some people. He's just never done it despite being given several opportunities by me to state it rather explicitly. And even I am the first to admit that low-carb is not necessarily right for everyone. That's why studies have shown you need to find the diet that's right for YOU and then DO IT and I believe that with every fiber of who I am! It simply amazes me that a world-famous diet doctor like Dean Ornish can't even acknowledge this basic truth about health.

And yet after he read this blog post I wrote about Dr. Andrew Weil last weekend where he openly acknowledges the carbohydrate connection to obesity and disease and I made an analogy to how big this news was stating it was tantamount to him coming out and endorsing the Atkins diet, Dr. Ornish became very angry with me and shot off the following e-mail.

Dear Jimmy,

After having such an extended interview in which I thought I was clarifying my position about carbs--including acknowledging that Robert Atkins was right about the unhealthful properties of refined carbohydrates but disagreeing that all carbs are bad and acknowledging that fat also plays an important role in health and illness, especially in weight control--that you continue to use me as a straw man.

In your latest email (referring to my blog post), you write, "This is the equivalent of low-fat diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish coming out and saying that the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins was right and that there are some people who should be eating more fat and less carbohydrates if they need to manage their weight and health. Following my recent interview with Dr. Ornish, I sincerely doubt THAT will ever happen." But I say in my new book that there are many people who should be eating less refined carbohydrates--and more unrefined, high-fiber carbs, not necessarily more fat.

I had hoped that we could get past these stereotypes.

With best wishes,

Dean

As I sat there and read Dr. Ornish's e-mail, I pondered what he had to say. But I couldn't help but come back to the elementary questions that still linger in the back of my mind about what he thinks we all "agree" on when very clearly we have some major differences about livin' la vida low-carb that he continues to deny.

Here was my response:

Hello Dr. Ornish,

THANKS for your e-mail. With regard to your concerns about my latest blog column which discusses Dr. Andrew Weil agreeing that total carbohydrate restriction in conjunction with an increase in fat intake as outlined by Gary Taubes in GOOD CALORIES BAD CALORIES is indeed based on solid scientific evidence and experience, I don't see where we're in disagreement about this. We both agree that controlling at least some carbohydrate intake and consuming at least some fat is indeed a healthy way to keep your weight reduced and your health in order.

What we do disagree on is by how much.

I'm sorry if you feel my using you as an analogy of the magnitude of this change in perspective by Dr. Weil in favor of a more carbohydrate-restricted for weight and health management was inaccurate. But based on both what I read in your book THE SPECTRUM and heard directly from you during our 100-minute interview a few weeks back, I did not sense any agreement on your end that a moderate-to-high fat, controlled-carbohydrate ketogenic dietary approach as espoused by the late Dr. Robert C. Atkins and then brought back to the discussion by Gary Taubes is one you would even remotely consider recommending for anyone as part of your "spectrum" of choices since most of the foods that fall within this way of eating are in Group 5--what you consider the "least healthy" choices. Please tell me where I got it wrong, Dr. Ornish, because it looks like I've hit the nail on the head about what you believe based on what I've read and heard from you.

Based on that alone, it appears what I stated was not inaccurate at all. Please feel free to correct my misunderstanding if you would like because I'm sincerely interested in what you have to say about what you believe regarding a high-fat, low-carb diet. I'm happy to give you the opportunity to officially come out and state with great clarity that you believe a high-fat, low-carbohydrate diet is indeed an acceptable way for certain people to manage their weight and health.

I'd be delighted to share this great news with my enthusiastic readers that we all agree this particular nutritional approach is one you endorse just like Dr. Weil does now. Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to share that Dr. Dean Ornish agrees with so many of my readers that restricting carbohydrate intake and consuming fat can be a part of a healthy lifestyle. Keep in mind, this isn't a low-fat vs. low-carb issue either. It's simply about realizing and recognizing that there are certain ends of your "spectrum" which aren't as unhealthy as you claim. Despite that, though, we're absolutely all in agreement, right?

THANKS for sharing your concerns and I do hope to hear back from you soon with a crystal clear message of support for livin' la vida low-carb that I can share with my readers. Take care! :)

Jimmy Moore

It has been five days since I sent that e-mail to Dr. Ornish and he has yet to respond. I suppose we can deduct from his failure to provide an answer to my simple question about where he stands regarding a high-fat, low-carb diet for certain people that he still believes it is unhealthy. That's too bad since most of the health establishment is in major disagreement with him about his monopolistic low-fat, high-carb recommendations for everyone. Even Dr. Weil no longer believes that.

The floor is still open to you, Dr. Ornish. If you truly want to mend the fences you have destroyed by needlessly attacking the Atkins diet over the years, then here is the PERFECT chance for you to do it. Reach across the aisle to your low-carb counterparts and tell us where we have common ground with you since we all agree total carbohydrate restriction and increased fat intake is an essential to a healthy lifestyle. You wanted the opportunity and here it is.

How about it, Dr. Dean Ornish? Are you supporting livin' la vida low-carb as a viable nutritional approach for controlling weight and health? Admit a high-fat, low-carb diet is healthy. It's not a difficult question and we're patiently awaiting your answer.

'Low-Carb Chef' And Her Husband Have Lost A Lot Of Weight, Gained A Lot Of Health

"The Low-Carb Chef" is thankful for the miracle of low-carb

It's so much fun telling other people about how livin' la vida low-carb has changed my life for the better. People can hardly believe it when I talk about all the wonderful foods I am permitted to eat while on a "diet" and that I NEVER get hungry. There's such incredulity about the healthy low-carb lifestyle because people think if it's too good to be true, then it must not be. Well, this is the exception to that old adage!

But I'm not the only one who has been successful at losing weight and improving my health. I've highlighted several amazing low-carb transformations recently, including Manuel Uribe, Randy, Phill Novak, and Jo Heeley, just to name a few. There are many more stories out there even if the media chooses to ignore them and today I have another one to share.

It's from someone who calls herself "The Low-Carb Chef" although she admits to being neither "a chef who has any official training nor have I been a life long great cook." But what she has been is successful--VERY SUCCESSFUL!--on the low-carb lifestyle. And not just her, but her husband, too! She's lost an amazing 140 pounds while he has shed 100 pounds in response to eating low-carb to ward off pre-diabetes. Mission accomplished!

Wanting to help educate others who think this way of eating is boring, "The Low-Carb Chef" created this web site for sharing the basic principles of low-carb living, including the rules for doing low-carb, this helpful low-carb shopping list, and this sample 30-day supper menu. This is an invaluable resource for anyone looking for information about how to get started livin' la vida low-carb the right way.

She also set up this blog called "Low-Carb Miracle" to talk about the outstanding turnaround in the life of her and her husband. I just love the motto of the site: "To Eat Great And Lose Weight." That's livin' la vida low-carb in a nutshell! We see in this recent post as well as in an e-mail to me, "The Low-Carb Chef" was so excited about the changes that have happened in the health of her husband.

In early 2007, her husband weighed over 300 pounds and she weighed in at 290. A visit to the doctor gave him the grim news about his health--his cholesterol number and fasting blood sugar were through the roof! They both decided to live the low-carb lifestyle beginning in June and the health results culminated in the following letter from the doctor after his visit on February 1, 2008:

Dear George,

I'm writing about your lab work and am extremely pleased that the total cholesterol is 112 which is down from 180. The good cholesterol has increased from 39 to 44. The bad cholesterol has dropped from 111 to 58. The fasting glucose was down to 95 which is where it should be.

Needless to say, they are "jumping for joy at this good news" and celebrated by having an amazing meal with protein and veggies. YUMMY! CONGRATULATIONS "Low-Carb Chef" and George! We are proud of the weight loss and just as proud of the health improvements. Keep on shining as a bright example for the low-carb life and never stop sharing about how your life is forever changed. THANK YOU for all you are doing to spread the positive message of livin' la vida low-carb!

You can e-mail "The Low-Carb Chef" to congratulate her and her husband for sharing their incredible low-carb success story at chef@low-carbchef.com.

2-17-08 UPDATE: Well, file this one under the WHOOPS department because I made a boo-boo in telling the story about "The Low-Carb Chef" and her hubby. Here's the part I messed up:

I want to honestly confess that Jimmy got one little bit of our story ahead of itself. My weight loss goal is 140 pounds but I’ve “only” lost 80 pounds so far. George hopes to lose 100 pounds but has ”only” lost 65 pounds. We will get to our weight loss goals some day soon but we just could not wait to tell the good news about a healthy way of eating to others. I felt I had to make sure you knew the real numbers.

I guess I was trying to wish that goal on your quicker...but you're gonna get there because you happily livin' la vida low-carb! THANKS for the correction and I wish you well as you continue on in this journey. KEEP IT UP!!! :)

Lifetime's 'Queen Sized' Adds Some Depth To The Obesity Debate

"Hairspray" star Nikki Blonsky stars in "Queen Sized"

Psssst! Come in closer because I've gotta big secret I'm just dying to share with you today. It will probably make me the laughingstock of the entire male population, but I can't hold it in any longer. This is something I have been meaning to talk about for quite a few years and now I'm ready to reveal it at last to the entire world right here right now at my blog. What is it? (GULP!) I'm a HUGE fan of the movies on the cable network channel Lifetime.

Yep, you can call me a head-over-heels, super-excited metrosexual man because I absolutely adore the quality of the content found among the Lifetime network films. I think they do an amazing job bringing greater awareness to important societal issues that primarily concern women, but also have real application in the lives of men, too. Such is the case with one of the latest movies on Lifetime released in 2008 that my wife Christine and I watched on our date night last Friday night called "Queen Sized."

I was flipping through the Charter On Demand movie selection on Channel 999 and decided to take a peek at what was available from Lifetime On Demand. When I saw the title of this movie, it intrigued me immediately since it sounded like it might deal with the obesity issue. And sure enough, the preview explained that it was about an obese teenager who gets nominated to be homecoming queen at her school as she deals with teasing about her weight from her fellow classmates. I looked over at Christine and said, "We gotta watch this!" And so we did.

What a truly outstanding movie and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who is concerned about issues of weight, health, emotional distress, fear, dieting, and peer pressure. All of these and more are tackled and addressed in an incredible way through "Queen Sized." By the time the movie was finished, I got that warm fuzzy feeling that you're supposed to get after watching a Lifetime movie. It was well worth reliving some painful moments in my own life to remind me why I never want to go back there again.



Starring Nikki Blonsky, whose breakout role came when she was cast in the lead role of the movie version of the Broadway musical "Hairspray" starring John Travolta (in drag, no less!), Queen Latifah (who she calls "my sister") and Michelle Pfeiffer, and veteran actress Annie Potts (best known for her role on the television show "Designing Women" opposite Delta Burke), "Queen Sized" centers around the character of Maggie Baker (Blonsky) who is an overweight high school senior just trying to survive until graduation (sound familiar anyone?). In the midst of dealing with the agony of not being like everyone else at school and simply trying to be invisible, some of the "pretty" girls decide to nominate Maggie to be homecoming queen as a joke.



But instead of allowing it to upset her as it was supposed to, Maggie decided to turn the tables on those who wished harm to her and remained on the ballot to represent all those who rebel against the same people getting chosen year after year. This quickly endeared Maggie to many of her classmates who felt a connection to her candidacy and they decided to vote for her. I won't spoil what happens next, but "Queen Sized" pulls the curtain back on some biting issues that all overweight and obese young people (and adults too!) have to deal with if they are going to survive this thing called life.

Here are a couple of interview clips featuring Blonsky and Potts, who plays two characters--"real" mom and "imaginary" mom--as they talk about their roles in the Lifetime Movie Network film "Queen Sized":





I think the most intriguing role in this movie had to be the mother played by Potts. WOW! On the one hand, you've got the "real" mother constantly reassuring Maggie that she is beautiful and that everything in her life is gonna be okay while encouraging her to get her weight and health under control. Meanwhile, the "imaginary" mother that only Maggie sees (contrived in her mind following the sudden death of her father to diabetes complications) is rude, condescending, and discouraging at every turn. Physically seeing this image of a mean mother personifying all the negative thoughts that fat people have to deal with sent shivers down my spine because it is so true.



When you weigh a whole lot more than everyone else around you, it's funny how your brain will play tricks on you and some extremely negative and vile thoughts consume you throughout the day. These demons inside your head will mock and taunt you relentlessly telling you how worthless you are, damaging your psyche, and preventing you from becoming that person you were always meant to be. I remember those days in my own life when I weighed 400+ pounds and feeling like it was my destiny to be that way for the rest of my life. Lemme tell you, it's no fun at all. But I overcame it and now try to live my life helping others beat it in their own lives.

"Queen Sized" is one of those movies where a large person is given a lead role with a positive message and we need to see more of that kind of thing showing up on the silver screen as well as on television. I'm very proud of Nikki Blonsky for being brave enough to take on this role and lend a voice to the millions of girls (and even boys!) who feel trapped inside their bodies wanting so desperately to lose weight but are simply left hopeless and helpless to do anything about it.

If you have Charter On Demand, then this movie is currently available for free until March 2008 to watch anytime. Otherwise, you can access and download "Queen Sized" for only $3.99 on iTunes (just type in "Queen Sized" in the iTunes store search box in the upper right-hand corner and you'll easily find it). It will be well worth your time to watch this movie and share it with parents of overweight teens as well as obese kids who think nobody understands what they are going through. Who knows, this may exactly what you need to open the door of opportunity to talk about the root causes of obesity in your own family and start the healing process so everyone can choose to start living healthier. That would be an AWESOME thing!

Be sure to tell Lifetime how much you appreciated this kind of programming by filling out this feedback form about "Queen Sized." Tell them as an advocate of overweight and obese people getting the help they need, you are grateful to them for adding depth to the obesity debate by taking on the various aspects of this difficult subject directly. It's hard to do it tactfully, but they pulled it off very well.

Have you seen "Queen Sized" and want to weigh in on how it impacted you? Feel free to share your reaction to it in the comments section below. Did you love it as much as I did? Or was there anything about it that you felt was inaccurate or lacking? Share your thoughts and let's talk about it. Feel free to post your feedback with Lifetime here as well so everyone can see how much this movie has meant to you, too.

Mississippi Lawmakers Discriminate Against 'Obese' Eating At Restaurants

Fat people no longer welcome dining out in Mississippi?

As someone with a Master of Arts degree in Public Policy and Government, I've come across quite a bit of dopey legislation on the local, state, and federal government level over my years of studying and examining many different proposed bills. But Mississippi House Bill No. 282 that was drafted by two Republicans and a Democrat and submitted to the Mississippi House of Representatives today might just take the cake for the most insane obesity-fighting legislation of all-time.


The "Three Blind Mice" of Mississippi: Mayhall, Read, and Shows

In an attempt to respond to the rising obesity crisis happening in the state of Mississippi right now where they earned the dubious distinction as the first state in the U.S. to surpass 30 percent obesity rates in 2007 (30.6 percent), state House of Representatives members W. T. Mayhall, Jr. and John Read, both Republicans, and Democrat Bobby Shows thought it would be prudent to LEGISLATIVELY require restaurant owners to discriminate against fat people wanting to eat at their establishment. I kid you not, that's what the bill says and they are DEAD SERIOUS (hat tip to Regina Wilshire for telling me about this one)!

The "Three Blind Mice" of Mississippi, as I have dubbed Mayhall, Read, and Shows, go on to propose in their bill that the Mississippi Department of Health in conjunction with Mississippi's Council on Obesity would set the criteria for establishing what the weight limit will be for patrons wishing to dine at a restaurant anywhere within the state borders (ostensibly using the overused and irrelevant body mass index to determine whether someone is obese or not). Strict compliance with this law will be required of the restaurants or else the state "may revoke the permit of any food establishment that repeatedly violates the provisions of this section." EEEEEK!

Have these state lawmakers completely lost their marbles?! Besides the obvious discrimination against the obese that is explicitly written into this legislation, this would also put restaurant employees in the sticky position of trying to determine if someone is too fat to be served or not. What are they gonna do, put a scale at the front door a la "The Biggest Loser" before you can walk through the dining room area to determine if you qualify to eat there or not?! Have the "Three Blind Mice" of Mississippi thought through all of the unintended consequences that such a law would pose on restaurant owners and their employees? Can you say LAWSUIT CITY?!

Think about it for just a moment, though. What's gonna happen to obesity rates in Mississippi if fat people are not allowed to eat in public places anymore? Do the "Three Blind Mice" of Mississippi think these people will go home and eat any better? HA! Not hardly with all the high-carb junk foods so easily accessible these days. Believe me, I know because that's how I ate when I was 410 pounds--Little Debbie snack cakes, Ramen noodles, Chef-Boyardee cans, potato chips, and soda, soda, soda! We can't lay the blame for obesity on restaurants. They're just serving a need.

How about all those restaurants which seem to keep growing as fast as the grass around my septic tank? If the demand wasn't there by people wanting to spend money to eat out, then they wouldn't be in business. But now you've got local lawmakers in Los Angeles who want a moratorium on new fast food restaurant development to deal with obesity. Punishing restaurants for making fat people is like pointing the finger of blame at schools for not teaching children (where is individual choice and accountability anymore, hmmm?).

According to House Bill No. 282, this law would be in effect for any food establishment, including restaurants, bars, bowling alleys, etc., within the state of Mississippi with at least 5 seats for customers to refuse service to "any person who is obese." The definition of that will be provided by the government in the form of "written materials that describe and explain the criteria for determining whether a person is obese." The restaurant management and staff will then need to "rely on the criteria for obesity in those written materials when determining whether or not it is allowed to serve food to any person."

If somehow this bill were to be passed and signed into law by Republican Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (I sincerely doubt it, but crazier things have happened!), then it would "take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2008." And it would then set a very bad precedent for any future legislation in other states or on the national level that would turn democracy and freedom on its head in favor of Communist policies that have led to the eventual failure of nearly every other country that has ever implemented such tactics on their people. I don't say something like that lightly, but this is harmful to what we as a nation of free people believe in!

We've already seen the Food and Drug Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services attempt on the federal level to get restaurants to cut their portions and calories and cities like New York banning trans fats in the restaurants there. But people over the age of 18 are adults and can make decisions about what to do for themselves without the government stepping in to act as their "supernanny." We don't need the government telling us what we can do with our lives, where we are allowed to eat, and what we are permitted to put inside of our mouths. That's OUR personal responsibility and it is absolutely reprehensible that Reps. Mayhall, Read, and Shows are that ignorant about liberty in a nation that was founded on such principles.

What would happen to a restaurant like Two Fat Ladies Glasgow if it were located in Mississippi? Would the owners have to steer clear of their own restaurants? And how about this: what about the obese servers, cooks, busboys, and even managers who work in Mississippi restaurants? Would they be allowed to work there if they are fat or would they be denied employment based on their weight (keep in mind most restaurant employees eat the food served by the restaurant on their break)? Have the "Three Blind Mice" of Mississippi even bothered to think this through?

You know, according to BMI, I'm officially an "obese" person. Especially since I've been lifting weights, my BMI has actually gone up a little with the extra muscle mass so I would be refused service at a restaurant in Mississippi if I attempted to dine there. But anyone who looks at me wouldn't think I'm fat. And the same goes for Michael Jordan and other athletes who are "obese" according to BMI but far from it! It's precisely why legislation like this is not just ill-advised, but created by people who are just plain ignorant. With all due respect to these Mississippi lawmakers, the people who elected you demand much better than this kind of crap!

One final thought: This one act of legislation would totally obliterate the highly-competitive restaurant industry in Mississippi because you've taken away a very large (no pun intended!) portion of their customer base. Sure, leaner people and the slightly overweight will still frequent restaurants to give them people to feed, but will prices have to go up in order to make the necessary margins to remain profitable? These "Three Blind Mice" of Mississippi don't have a clue about the restaurant business and should keep their meddling little hands out of it. It's not the government's job to tell ANY business who they can and can't serve.


Can we help the "Three Blind Mice" of Mississippi see the light?

Let's let W. T. Mayhall, Jr., John Read, and Bobby Shows know what we think about their insane bill to discriminate against "obese" people eating at restaurants. And ESPECIALLY IF YOU LIVE IN THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI, you need to contact them as well as Gov. Haley Barbour to express your concerns about this well-intentioned, but poorly executed legislation. Here's how you can contact each of these men:

W. T. Mayhall--tmayhall@house.ms.gov
John Read--jread@house.ms.gov
Bobby Shows--bshows@house.ms.gov
Haley Barbour--Call toll free 1-877-405-0733

Be courteous, but firm that this kind of legislation is unacceptable in the United States of America and that you will not tolerate such trampling of the rights of citizens and businesses in a country that is the very symbol of freedom for the rest of the world. They need to hear from tens of thousands of Americans who care about what this country stands for so the message will come through loud and clear that this kind of thing does not happen in a nation of free people--fat or otherwise!

'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 103: To Lose Weight, DON'T Think About Weight Loss

Too often people who are overweight or obese put all their focus and energy on losing weight. This seems to make sense but it's DEAD WRONG! Especially for those of us who have chosen to start livin' la vida low-carb, weight loss is merely a side effect of eating healthier than we ever thought possible. Health is the primary focus of what our diet is supposed to be about!

We discuss these concepts and more in Episode 103 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore." Regardless of where you are in your health and fitness, this is a podcast to put your mind in a place where you are FINALLY ready to succeed at weight loss and getting your health back in order.

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 103 [12:50m]: LISTEN NOW | Download

It's unfortunate that too many people decide to lose weight only after their clothes start feeling tighter or they see a picture of themselves for the first time in a while. I've been there myself and it is a disappointing place to be in. Thankfully I was able to start on the Atkins diet to begin the healing process not just for my obesity, but also for a wide range of health problems I was setting myself up for had I not done something about it. And it is this constant quest for maintaining my health that keeps me livin' la vida low-carb to this very day!

Catch all the skinny on the latest in low-carb by:

1. Listening at the official web site
2. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via Podlinez
3. Subscribing to the RSS feed
4. COMING SOON: We'll be back on iTunes again! :)

Do you agree that it is more important to focus on health first and let the weight loss happen from there? Or is there merit to getting down to the nitty gritty to get that scale to move as your primary focus and you'll worry about health later? Let's talk about this important subject in the show notes section for Episode 103.

After such an overwhelming amount of feedback for my previous podcast episode last Thursday where listener Esther won THREE FREE BARS of my new raspberry, dark chocolate "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar" (now available at CarbSmart, Netrition, and Amazon), I've decided to do it again for Episode 103. WOO HOO! Share your feedback at the podcast web site and you too might win some free low-carb chocolate bars! :D

UVA Professor Gaesser Claims Sugar Consumption Is 'Linked To Lower Body Weights'

Dr. Glenn Gaesser is peddling in place with his nutritional blather

The damning evidence against a high-carb, low-fat diet keeps getting worse and worse all the time as studies continually show that particular nutritional approach is a uniquely unhealthy way to eat to live. British health expert Dr. John Briffa told me in a recent interview I conducted with him that a high-carb diet leads to a variety of negative health conditions.

"A high-carb diet can upset blood sugar and insulin balance that can lead to symptoms such as sweet cravings, fuzzy thinking, fatigue and waking in the night in the short term, and problems such as weight gain, type 2 diabetes and heart disease in the long term. Plus, high-carb diets often fail to really satisfy the appetite, making them quite unsustainable. It is just this sort of diet than can make ‘career dieters’ out of people. And these diets can be lacking in key nutrients, so that individuals can end up overweight and malnourished, all at the same time. Hardly ideal!"

Yikes! Add to everything Dr. Briffa just mentioned that fact that studies have show a high-carb diet also leads to lower HDL "good" cholesterol and much higher triglycerides, the development of esophageal cancer, a greater risk for developing Type 2 diabetes, neglible weight loss in most people, the development of Alzheimer's disease, is ineffective for weight loss among those who are insulin resistant, and is powerless against breast cancer, among many other health ailments.

Noted low-carb researcher Dr. Jeff Volek from the University of Connecticut (who recently released a book entitled the Men's Health TNT Diet co-written with Men's Health Features editor Adam Campbell) explained in my interview with him last September why it is simply futile to be eating a high-carb, low-fat diet as part of a healthy life.

"The potential problem with low fat/high carbohydrate diets is that they can exacerbate the features associated with metabolic syndrome, unless you also exercise or lose weight as part of the low fat diet. High carbohydrate diets increase triglycerides, lower HDL-cholesterol, and lead to greater fluctuations in glucose and insulin. There is also an emerging concept that carbohydrates tend to be more pro-inflammatory. To some extent the over-emphasis on carbohydrates explains why we have seen such an increase in diabetes."

With all this preponderance of the evidence AGAINST consuming a high-carb, low-carb diet for the sake of your weight and health, then obviously there can't be anyone in their right mind who would dare to RECOMMEND such a diet for people seeking to lose weight and improve their health, right?

Well, I did say "in their right mind" so that leaves the door open for people like Dr. Glenn Gaesser from the University of Virginia. He is an associate professor of exercise physiology and director of the kinesiology program in the Curry School of Education who doesn't mind telling people exactly what he thinks about livin' la vida low-carb as evidenced by this recent press release.

"That's just nonsense," Dr. Gaesser contended regarding the claim by people who eat a low-carb diet that it is the carbohydrates that made them fat.

He was responding to those of us who criticized this ridiculous study and his comments about it that released last week in the Journal Of The American Dietetic Association concluding that the high-carb, low-fat diet promoted by Dr. Dean Ornish was best among the most popular diets for heart health. Predictably, the Atkins low-carb diet was dead last (since they based the comparison on criteria that call for higher carbohydrate intake and lower fat intake, the result was not surprising!).

This Dr. Gaesser is a real piece of work, though. He claims there is nothing at all wrong with consuming sugar, white flour, processed and whole grains, and other high-glycemic (aka HIGH-CARB) foods as part of a healthy and fit lifestyle.

"There is no reason to be eating fewer carbs – they're not the enemy,” he exclaimed. "People who consume high-carb diets tend to be slimmer, and often healthier, than people who consume low-carb diets."

Oh now why did you have to go and throw in "than those who consume low-carb diets," Dr. Gaesser? Are you TRYING to pick an idealogical fight you know you can't win? Apparently so, because he contends there is NO COMPELLING EVIDENCE that points to carbohydrate restriction as a means for improving health. Um, would you care to click on any of the links I provided at the top of this blog post for all the evidence you'll need, sir?

It is quite obvious this professor has not done his homework and is simply adhering to the same old line of dietary convention that has led us to become the obese population that we are with declining health that just keeps getting worse. Because of high-carb, low-fat apologists like Dr. Gaesser, we have not moved the conversation about a healthy diet forward in this country because they refuse to give even a little credence to this way of eating that has helped so many of us manage our weight and health for the first time in our lives.

Of course, Dr. Gaesser has a vested interest in his hypothesis because he wrote a book in 2004 entitled It's The Calories, Not The Carbs as well as another book called Big Fat Lies: The Truth About Your Weight and Your Health that simply repeats his hypothesis regarding a high-carb, low-fat diet to control weight.

As if these written statements from Dr. Gaesser were not inflammatory enough, I have some audio from him to share with you so you can hear right from the horse's mouth exactly what he thinks about livin' la vida low-carb. CLICK HERE to listen to a few minutes of his argument in favor of high-carb, low-fat diets over the low-carb lifestyle.

I wrote an e-mail to Dr. Gaesser requesting an interview with him to further clarify his negative statements about low-carb, but he never responded. I was ready to give him an opportunity to state his case about why he believes what he does, but unfortunately he did not avail himself of that opportunity to speak to the low-carb community through my generous invitation.

However, leave it to one my incredibly faithful readers who took my advice at the end of this previous blog post to write an impassioned e-mail directly to Dr. Gaesser about her low-carb experience and she confronted him about his rather narrow-minded views about this healthy nutritional approach.

Here's what she wrote to him in an e-mail (this is AWESOME!):

Dear Dr. Gaesser:

I am now nearing 71 years old. For 45 years I faithfully followed the low-fat mantra of the AHA and ADA while my weight skyrocketed to 236 pounds, diabetes ran rampant, hypertension soared, my lipid profile ballooned, and I finally suffered a heart attack. Hunger and guilt plagued my efforts as I destroyed my joints from exercise abuse.

Four years ago I discovered the Atkins diet. I have lost 40 pounds effortlessly for the first time ever, my only diabetic medication is metformin, my lipid profile is now normal with no medicine, and my cardiologist says my heart keeps getting stronger. I consume far more calories than I ever did. Nearly 80% of my diet is saturated fat. At last life is good. If only I had known years ago what I know now!

Thousands of other people are finding the same fantastic results, yet you insist that a low-fat diet that failed them in the past is the answer. How do you explain my results?

Our fat-phobic society is sickly, obese, diabetic and heart-diseased because fat consumption has steadily decreased over the last 30 years. (See pages 232-233 in Gary Taubes' new book GOOD CALORIES, BAD CALORIES for verification.) Sure, a cookie or a piece of pie occasionally will do little harm, but the poison of carb addiction must be handled carefully, just like smoking and illegal drugs. I know from my own actual experience.

The statement "Most studies indicate that people who consume a lot of carbohydrates generally are thinner than those who do not" is ridiculous. Why are all those who eat mostly carbs every day and never touch fat and little protein, which is the majority, obese? Kids are perfect examples, and you know what is happening to them.

As long as the low carb success continues to spread, the more it will wipe out low fat misery. It is time to accept the inevitable and do all you can to get this nation onto the road toward health and vigor, even if it means giving up cherished, outdated beliefs.

BRAVO to this very brave and admirable reader!!! I could not have said it any better myself and I REALLY like the way she worded this. It was not just her belief about livin' la vida low-carb, but actually what SHE LIVES and that is very powerful. And that phrase "it will wipe out low fat misery" gave me chills down my spine! WOW!

But you wanna know what? It didn't end there. This Dr. Gaesser character actually had the gall to RESPOND to this impassioned e-mail from my reader with this rather terse and heartless e-mail designed to discourage her and single her out as the exception. What a real piece of work this professor is!

Here's what he had to say about my reader's e-mail to him:

I can understand your point of view if you have had success with low-carb eating. However, my comments on the news pertained to a thorough examination of literature that I had published in the October 2007 issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, on the subject of carbohydrate intake and body weight. The article went thorugh a rigorous peer-review process, and the results are unequivocal: high-carb, low-fat diets are consistently associated with lower body weights in men and women, young and old. The studies included in my analysis represent data on hundreds of thousands of study participants.

Even eating a lot of so-called "bad carbs" was not linked to higher body weights. Some large studies even showed that eating lots of so-called "bad" carbs was linked to better weight control. I should also mention that consumption of sugar (perhaps the ultimate "bad" carb) is consistently linked to lower body weights in adults. The reasons for these findings remain unclear, but may have to do with the fact that high-carb diets tend to be associated with higher consumption of dietary fiber, especially cereal fiber, and cereal fiber has been linked to better weight control and good health.

One point of clarification: Taubes' assertion that fat intake has been steadily decreasing for the past 30 years is not true. Dietary fat intake--measured in actual grams of fat consumed per day--has not changed appreciably during the past 30 years. In fact, data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys suggest that since about 1980 dietary fat intake of U.S. women has actually increased a bit. The PERCENTAGE of fat intake has decreased, but only because total calorie intake (mainly from carbs) has increased during this period. Thus the so-called "low-fat" period of the American diet is more aptly described as "high calorie"--and calories, regardless of type, do count. Taubes is clearly off base on this point.

Sincerely,

Glenn A. Gaesser, Ph.D.
Professor and Director
Kinesiology Program
University of Virginia

What a freakin' clown this guy is! I'm sorry, but he doesn't deserve to be respected with a moronic response like that one to a very reasoned and well-written comment. Can you believe someone who is supposed to be at least halfway intelligent as the professor of a major college in the United States of America would make the claim that eating SUGAR leads to LOWER body weights in adults? Say what? Has this professor completely lost his mind?! (It's just like the head of the Corn Refiner's Association attempting to tell me that high fructose corn syrup is healthy! Yeah, riiiiiiiiiggght!)

Regarding his rant against Taubes, he never claimed that fat consumption has steadily decreased. In fact, if you will watch that video I linked in this recent blog post with Gary Taubes, Dean Ornish, and Barbara Howard, then you will hear Ornish attempt to say the same thing about fat intake remaining static while Taubes defends his statement by saying it was the PERCENTAGE of fat intake that fell with carbohydrates taking up more and more of the macronutrient ratio.

When Dr. Gaesser made the statement that "Taubes is clearly off base," then it proved to me beyond a shadow of a doubt that he absolutely has no idea what he's talking about. Why do people like this feel like they have to get up on their high horse and act all sanctimonious about what they believe? Share your ideas about what you believe and do it in such a manner that people will be attracted to what you have to say based on the results. There's no need to drag down alternative choices that some of us have chosen to make for our lives.

The fact remains, Dr. Gaesser, whether you will ever acknowledge it or not, there are countless examples of people like my reader who courageously wrote to you with her story, this man typing this blog post whose life was forever changed for the better after losing nearly 200 pounds and living healthier than he ever thought possible, and many more who are quietly living their lives, watching their carbs, and never regretting their decision to eat a deliciously healthy high-fat, low-carb diet.

You may try to act like we don't exist, but the reality is clear--WE DO EXIST! And the good news is we ain't going anywhere anytime soon either, so expect us to continue to challenge people like you, Dr. Ornish, and anyone else who would dare disrespect us as human beings like you have because we have chosen a nutritional path that runs counter to what you believe.

As participants in the conversation about weight and health, wouldn't you want people to find their own customized pathway to success? That's my philosophy, Dr. Gaesser, and I challenge you to do the same for the sake of helping people beat their obesity and get healthy. It's for the greater good!

Would you like to send your own personal story to Dr. Gaesser about how livin' la vida low-carb has greatly improved your weight and health? Send him an e-mail at gag2q@virginia.edu. I'm sure he'd LOVE to hear from about a hundred enthusiastic fans of livin' la vida low-carb, don't you agree? :D

10-11-07 UPDATE: Although he refuses to respond to my request for an interview, Dr. Gaesser has been quite responsive to many of you who have written to him. Here's what one of my long-time readers wrote to him yesterday:

Dr. Gaesser,

I was amazed to read today that you are stating that junk carbs are not the cause of weight gain. These unrefined carbs are the major cause of so many health issues in not only the USA but the world and the problem for young and old alike.

There are just too many REAL medical studies showing the damage sugar is doing to our bodies to dispute. Personally, when I stopped eating the junk carbs I lost 75 pounds, kept it off for 3 years so far and my blood work looks excellent now where I was moving into serious danger in all areas.

My husband decided to drop the junk carbs and lost 60 pounds and also moved from pre-diabetic to excellent blood work also. At age 59 I've tried your so called low fat high carb way of eating and trust me, it stinks big time. I feel sorry for those people that you are influencing to continue their destructive path.

Here was Dr. Gaesser's smug response to my very successful reader:

My guess is that you and your husband must have been eating a lot of what you call junk carbs if you lost so much weight after eliminating them. And that is not inconsistent with my message. My evaluation of the science, that was published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, indicated that refined grain intake was not consistently linked to higher body weights.

In fact, carbohydrate intake was universally associated with lower body weights. In one study, published by Harvard researchers, men who who consumed the most refined grain weighed no more than men who barely consumed any refined grain. Also, sugar intake is consistently linked to lower body weights.

I am not advocating loading up on sugar and refined grain, but rather only wanted to make a point that blaming Americans' obesity problem on their consumption is not justifed. You may disagree, but these are the facts.

As a point of clarification, I do not advocate a low-fat, high-carb diet without qualifying that I also emphasize consumption of fiber-rich foods, mainly cereal fiber.

Glenn A. Gaesser, Ph.D.
Professor and Director
Kinesiology Program
University of Virginia

I agree with my reader that this message from Dr. Gaesser is still VERY unstable dietary advice for people wanting to lose weight and get healthy. What say you?

It's Celebrate Gary Taubes Week With The Release Of 'Good Calories, Bad Calories'

All eyes are on the man of the hour, Gary Taubes!

It all started on July 7, 2002 for a man by the name of Gary Taubes, a talented and highly-respected science journalist for The New York Times who, whether intentionally or not, set off one of the most controversial diet and health discussions in American history when he wrote an 8,000-word column entitled "What if It's All Been a Big Fat Lie?" Whether he even realized at the time the enormous impact he would have on our culture, who knows? But he's about to do it all over again!

Ever since that explosive article rocked the world over five years ago by lending credence to the high-fat, low-carb nutritional approach with irrefutable facts, Taubes has been busy continuing the work he started in that brilliant piece. And some of his views have changed as new revelations have come to light in his pursuit of the truth as he revealed in my recent interview with him.

When I heard about a new book that would expand upon the thesis of that original New York Times article, I attempted to contact Taubes in April 2006 to ask him when the book would be available. There were high hopes he would release it in early 2007, but some crucial changes to the title and length of the book were in order (it originally was going to be an 800-page encyclopedia, but the editors at Knopf chopped it down to size).

Finally, in July 2007 I announced the release date and final title change of the Taubes book that Veronica Atkins, Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades, Dr. Gil and Regina Wilshire, me and so many others have been been waiting for. And that time is now here.

Remember the date--September 25, 2007! That's the day when the long-awaited Gary Taubes book Good Calories, Bad Calories: Challenging The Conventional Wisdom On Diet, Weight Control and Disease released. And it's ready to shake the health and nutrition "experts" to their very core if they are willing to hear the truth and learn from it!



I have dubbed this "Gary Taubes Week" here at my blog because I believe every single low-carb supporter, dietitian, doctor, health professional, journalist, and consumer should get their hands on a copy of Good Calories, Bad Calories because it is chock full of scientific truths that you won't hear about anywhere else. Although our dogmatic views on nutrition have guided us down this path to obesity and disease, Taubes brilliantly lays all the evidence on the table and allows the reader to draw their own conclusions while simultaneously challenging those in authority over health to open their eyes to the truth.

Taubes has done the phenomenal footwork over these past five years searching and searching through literally thousands upon thousands of pages of the scientific data to give us what so many low-carb antagonists have been asking for: PROOF! Well, here it is, folks, and it's time we help spread the message in a BIG WAY!

How can we do that? By pushing Good Calories, Bad Calories to #1 on Amazon.com and the exposure that will give to this book's message. It's already cracked the Top 200 the day before the release date and, with YOUR help, it'll be #1 on Tuesday when it goes on sale.

If you haven't already picked up this amazing new book with a wealth of wisdom on the efficacy of livin' la vida low-carb, then ORDER NOW and get SEVERAL copies to hand out to your doctor, nutritionist, family, and friends. This is THE most important health book to come out this century and I cannot recommend it enough. I've had a pre-pub copy of this book for the past month or so and have been dying to tell you about it! Let's just say you'll be pleasantly surprised.

The prologue of Good Calories, Bad Calories mentions a book by a man named William Banting called Letter On Corpulence which you can get a FREE copy of for your reference by clicking here. This will be an excellent companion reference piece to set the tone for what Taubes shares in his book.

If you order now, then you should receive your copy of Good Calories, Bad Calories by the end of the week. Be sure to post a review and share what you thought about the book at Amazon and other places as soon as you can absorb it all. It's 600 pages long--200 of which are references you can check for yourself--and will take some time to absorb. But let it sink into every crevice of your mind as you realize the bill of goods we have been sold about diet, weight loss, and health has been just about as wrong as wrong can be.

Yeah, we knew that already! ;) THANK YOU GARY TAUBES!!!

9-25-07 UPDATE: Wanna know why Gary Taubes is so brilliant and knows from whence he speaks regarding diet and health? Check out this New York Magazine column entitled "The Scientist and the Stairmaster: Why most of us believe that exercise makes us thinner—and why we're wrong." Taubes zings 'em again! GO GET 'EM GARY!

9-26-07 UPDATE: I just found out that Gary Taubes will be appearing on Connie Bennett's SUGAR SHOCK! radio show on Thursday as well as WUNC's People's Pharmacy radio show with Dr. Joe Graedon on Saturday. I've requested audio for the latter interview when it become available.

9-27-07 UPDATE: Gary Taubes appeared on ABC-TV's Good Morning America this morning to talk about his new book. Check out this FREE except from Good Calories, Bad Calories.

At Long Last, My Brother Kevin Is Finally Getting Serious About His Morbid Obesity

It now appears my brother Kevin is ready to deal with his weight

It's been a little while since I gave you an update on my brother Kevin and his ongoing battle to lose weight, get healthy, and quite literally save his life.

Ever since I first blogged about Kevin, interest in him has ranged from the curious to the concerned and has even brought out a few crazies (One memorable e-mailer wrote, "Why is your brother so fat if you've figured out the cure to obesity is low-carb? It must not work too well if your own brother can't even get his weight under control.").

So I've tried to give periodic updates on his weight and health for those of you who are praying for him. I've even used his story as an example to make a point in blog posts about livin' la vida low-carb pouring out my heart and expressing the pain that comes from my brother who just doesn't seem to get it yet.

You can read some of my previous posts to see exactly what I was feeling at the time about this deep, dark pit of hopeless despair Kevin had put himself in by clicking here, here, here, here, here and here.

My emotions about this issue with my brother have run the gamut--sadness, frustration, anger, bitterness, disappointment, fear, disgust, concern--sometimes many of these all at once! Never knowing if today's the day your only full-blooded brother is going to die is no way to live.

After suffering three straight heart attacks in the span of one week in 1999 that nearly killed him, Kevin has been living on heart medications with a mere 15 percent of his heart's capacity left. He's been in and out of the hospital with chest pains and middle-of-the-night scares so much in the past few years while his weight has not come down that I thought he had given up all hope for weight loss forever.

Although his doctors have told him to lose weight or die, nothing seemed to get through to Kevin. That is, until something that happened in April this year.

When I was being interviewed for the upcoming documentary film called Inspired: The Movie a couple of weeks ago, I shared with the director my sincere concerns about how to get through to my brother who apparently doesn't care about his obesity. You can see a brief clip from the movie of me talking about Kevin by CLICKING HERE.

The filmmaker was so moved by my heartfelt cry for help on behalf of Kevin that he said he would like to travel to Florida to include him in the documentary, too. So I told the director I'd have to ask Kevin if he'd be interested first. After all, it's a touchy subject talking about being fat with a morbidly obese man--AND ON CAMERA!

But Kevin is not shy in the least (in fact, I'm the shy one between us if that tells you how outgoing my brother is!), so it wasn't surprising when I approached him with this that he was all-too-eager to do it. GREAT! We are planning on driving down to Florida in July for a taped conversation about Kevin's weight. This will hopefully be enlightening and inspiring...to me, Kevin, and anyone struggling with how to help an obese friend or relative. More about that later!

While I was talking to Kevin about the film, I could hear in his voice he had something to tell me. "Guess what, little bro?" he said to me in his own distinctive vernacular. "I'm losing weight now."

WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY?!

After I picked my jaw up off the floor, I just had to confirm what I heard Kevin say. Yep, it was true! He said he was tired of always feeling bad and going to the hospital that he started eating better (yep, that means less carbs--WOO HOO!) and getting as much exercise as his weak heart can handle. All I could say was WOW, WOW, WOW!!! Praise God for answering prayers!

I was curious what made him begin this new journey and he said it happened when our Memaw died a couple of months ago. She was the last grandparent we had and her death was partially brought on by heart disease from eating poorly (although she lived to be 77 years old).

This shook Kevin to the core and woke him up!

Just a few months earlier when I asked Kevin why he doesn't get serious about shedding the pounds, he had told me "I don't know, I'm lazy I guess." Now he had found the impetus for getting serious about his morbid obesity.

HALLELUJAH!!!

He says his weight is under 400 pounds right now, but he doesn't really know for sure since most bathroom scales only register up to about 350. But the good news is he cares, the weight is moving down at about 10 pounds a month, and he seems committed to this.

I'm not gonna assume Kevin's gonna stick with it because he never has before. Right now, though, his mind is on this goal to lose weight and I will support him the best way I know how. Love him, encourage him, and respect his courage to do what he has to do to climb this Mt. Everest in his life.

At the end of our conversation, Kevin shocked me one more time when he said "Jimmy, I'm proud of you for helping so many people with their weight loss stuff. You're doing a good job!" When he said that to me, I nearly choked up trying to hold back the tears. It was as if he said I GET IT, JIMMY, I FINALLY GET IT!

Finally, the message has sunk in. Now the real work has only just begun.

I've Lost 13 Pounds In Four Days On Kimkins

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

Read this blog post for more information.

'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show' Episode 57: Could Your Big Belly Explain Your Small Paycheck?

It's time to stir up another controversial subject in Episode 57 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" when I discuss the unique role of weight as it relates to career opportunities and advancement. You'll hear me share my personal experiences with this as well as compelling statistics that show there is indeed an indelible connection between weight and wealth. Listen NOW:

 "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 57 [13:36m]: Play in Popup | Download

You don't really hear a lot of people talk about it much, but obesity could be having a greater impact on your life besides your health. Your earning potential is significantly diminished the higher your weight goes up. I was completely oblivious to this when I allowed my weight to climb up to 410 pounds. But now it makes so much sense.

Get more of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show" anytime by:

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

Do you buy into this theory that the bigger you are the less earning potential you will have because of a societal stigma? Or is there something else that prevents overweight and obese people from breaking through the glass ceiling that has them bogged down in their career? Let me hear from you if you have firsthand experience of being denied promotions or job advancements because of your weight or if you are a successful obese person. This is a fascinating topic that I encourage all points of view to share.

On Thursday's podcast this week, I will be sharing my interview with bariatric physician Dr. Joan Temmerman from the recent American Society of Bariatric Physicians obesity conference in Nashville, Tennessee. THANK YOU for making "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" the #1 podcast show on the Internet today and one of the top new diet and health-related podcasts of 2007. You guys are AWESOME!

I'm In Nashville Talking Obesity And Low-Carb

With my wife Christine snoozing away in the other side of this darkened room, I'm sitting here in the wee hours of the morning near the airport in Nashville, Tennessee looking out the window of the Marriott hotel awaiting the sun to rise for another beautiful and exciting day. Why am I in Music City USA right now? I'm so glad you asked. :)

This week is the 2007 Eastern Regional Obesity Course and Nutrition & Metabolism Society Seminar sponsored by the American Society Of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP). Dr. Mary C. Vernon is the president of that group as they attempt to come up with answers to the ever-growing twin epidemics of obesity and diabetes. These kind of meetings are a noble attempt to get a handle on what has clearly become an out-of-control health crisis in the United States and around the world.

While not everything discussed at this conference is going to be a friendly message to livin' la vida low-carb, I am holding out for Saturday's event when the Nutrition & Metabolism Society seminar will highlight some of the latest advances in low-carb research. WOO HOO! People like Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Jeff Volek, Dr. Stephen Phinney, Dr. Richard Feinman, Dr. Jay Wortman, and others are scheduled to present their findings. This will be the most exciting part of the weekend!

That's tomorrow, though, and will be an all-day event. As soon as the final speaker is finished on Saturday, Christine and I will be hitting the road back home for the 5-hour trip to Spartanburg, South Carolina. We're excited to be here and to share with these physicians attending (whether they support low-carb or not) that livin' la vida low-carb does indeed work very well and I'm living proof. It's been fun watching their reaction when I tell them I did the Atkins diet. HA!

So, what about today? Well, I've got a series of future podcast shows with several of the obesity experts who are here. Some are affiliated with low-carb research, but others are simply providing the best possible care as they know it to their obese patients to help them overcome their lifelong struggle with poor weight and health.

Still others are providing studies that could explain why we got to be so obese in the first place. I'm looking forward to recording those interviews throughout the day today. They're certainly gonna keep me busy!

The research community is where the rubber meets the road currently for livin' la vida low-carb and I'm so excited to be in the midst of such learned and knowledgeable experts who are attempting to show the world that this way of eating is not just viable, but actually a preferred nutritional approach to combatting obesity and disease for a whole lotta people. I'm like a kid in a candy store...sugar-free, low-carb candy, that is!

I've got a busy schedule while I'm here, but I'll try to blog some updates when I can. THANKS for your ongoing support for what I am doing with my blog and podcast show. SEE YA LATER!

Bulimic Cries Out For Help At Low-Carb Blog

Life has been so super busy for me lately with so much going on that it's hard to fit everything into the day that I'd like to be doing. That's okay because being busy beats the alternative when I was morbidly obese weighing over 400 pounds! Plus the time I am investing in the things I am doing are worthwhile. One of those things is receiving and answering hundreds of e-mails a week from people about low-carb, diet, health, and weight loss.

One of the saddest e-mails I have received in a long time came this week from a woman named Frances. This young lady is going through some very difficult times in her life right now and she really doesn't know what to do. She came to me broken and looking for restoration in what she sees as a hopeless existence. I share this e-mail with you because perhaps you are feeling like a Frances, too.

Read her heartbreaking story and you'll see what I mean:

Hi Jimmy,

My name is Frances and I am 26. I am not obese, but just a little overweight. Weight has been an issue for me ever since I was a child growing up. Sometimes it even had an impact on my social and spiritual life.

I exercise alot, but I eat a lot too! For example, when I started to a eat a little and I can already feel I am very full, I would continue to binge especially on fatty foods for no reason at all. Later on, all I can do is throw it up.

And there was one time, I decided to go to my "bulimia" support session which I ended up missing because I looked all puffy and teary from throwing up, so I didn't want to see anyone or have anyone see me like that. During my fat days after some business travelings, I refused to go to church because I knew I would have received some comments about the extra weight I had gained.

What I ended up doing was hiding at home most of the time. I really missed some of my old high school friends, but I am too ashamed to see them anymore because I feel so out of place!!! I need a lot of self-control and I simply can't resist temptation. I have prayed to God and asked Him for self-control, but I am still struggling now!

I am looking for some advice from you and hope you can help....

God Bless You!

Frances

Click here to read my encouragement back to Frances and to provide her with your own positive comments, especially if you are someone who has been a bulimic and overcome it in your life. Let's flood Frances with uplifting and hopeful messages so she realizes her life is worth so much more than she believes it does now. THANKS for caring for this precious child of God.

Rhea Calls It A Day As Host Of 'Biggest Loser'

Caroline Rhea out, Alison Sweeney in as host of "The Biggest Loser"

After three seasons on the most popular weight loss television show in history, the original host has said she's had enough and wants "to pursue other interests."

Caroline Rhea, who has been the one and only host of NBC's hit reality show "The Biggest Loser" for the past three seasons, has decided to leave the show and continue her career elsewhere.

As a self-described BIG FAN of "The Biggest Loser," I've always wondered about the choice of Carolina Rhea as the host of that show. Why? Well, she ain't exactly skinny herself (that photo at the top of this post was from a few years back when she was thinner) and it seems like such a waste of talent for a comedian to play host of a show with a bunch of fat people on it. I kept waiting for Rhea to bust out with a crude joke at some point, but she was always so stoic (although the "it's time to cut the fat" line she used in the elimination room always made me cringe when I heard it).

But, she's leaving now and may feel the best days of "The Biggest Loser" have already passed. I'm not so sure about that, but she wanted to do other things. I don't think losing her is going to harm the show at all.

What about the replacement for Rhea as host of "The Biggest Loser?" Who's it gonna be? According to this St. Louis Today column, the answer to that question is daytime soap opera star Alison Sweeney. This 30-year old beauty has played Sami Brady on "Days Of Our Lives" since 1993 winning several Soap Opera Digest awards including best supporting actress in 2005. She has also appeared on such NBC prime time show as "Friends," "Las Vegas" and "Fear Factor."

"The Biggest Loser" executive producer Ben Silverman describes Sweeney as "an incredible talent" who he hopes will bring her "huge, loyal fan base" to the show.

Although she doesn't have a weight problem now, Sweeney revealed in her 2004 autobiographical book entitled All The Days Of My Life (So Far) that she has struggled with her weight.

I'm always suspicious of these Hollywood types that claim they understand a weight problem when they've never been more than 10 or 20 pounds overweight their entire life. But I sincerely hope Sweeney does understand the plight of carrying around extra weight and the physical as well as the emotional scars that come with it.

The contestants on "The Biggest Loser" could stand to feel a little empathy from the host of this show. I think Sweeney can bring that where Rhea fell short. However, I do see a challenge that Sweeney will need to somehow put to rest like Jillian Michaels and Kim Lyons have been able to master.



Because she is so beautiful, the guys may feel embarrassed to show their "man boobs" in front of this hottie while the women could be intimidated by her. Again, if she can parlay her history of dealing with being overweight and relax the contestants, then she could be a more effective host than Rhea was with an actual contribution to make.

Brand new episodes of "The Biggest Loser" Season 4 are coming up in a couple of months and are expected to air on NBC in the Fall. Sweeney will continue her role as Sami on "Days Of Our Lives" in addition to her new role as host of "The Biggest Loser."

One more suggestion for NBC: UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE on the past contestants. As the years pass by, people want to know if they have been able to keep the weight off for good. Even if it's just a quick blurb at the end of each show, I think we'd love to know how Ryan Benson, Big Mo, Matt & Suzy, and all the rest are doing in 2007. It's one thing to lose weight on national television for a pile of cash. But it's another to actually keep it off forever. How about it, NBC?!

MSG: Hidden Health & Weight Loss Killer

Whenever you hear people talk about health and weight loss, generally the discussion focuses on the kinds and amounts of food consumed, how much exercise the person does or doesn't do, mustering up the necessary willpower and determination to stay on a diet, and other such ideas you typically hear from the "experts."

While all of those things are certainly an important aspect of dealing with an obesity problem, they tend to neglect something else that very well may be one of the biggest unknown factors explaining why people gain weight and keep gaining weight in the first place.

Even those of us who have committed ourselves to livin' la vida low-carb can fall victim to this hidden health and weight loss killer. What is it? I'm referring to monosodium glutamate, aka MSG.

Have you heard about MSG before? I've known about it personally for several years because of a former co-worker of mine named Mary who was always talking about how she has to strictly avoid this ingredient at all costs because it caused all sorts of health problems for her. As a result, Mary voraciously reads food labels looking for this hidden ingredient that is becoming more and more difficult to identify (more about that in a moment!).

According to this Food & Drug Administration (FDA) Backgrounder on MSG, which acknowledges the controversy surrounding the impact it can have on people's health, it is defined as "the sodium salt of the amino acid glutamic acid and a form of glutamate."

"It is sold as a fine white crystal substance, similar in appearance to salt or sugar. It does not have a distinct taste of its own, and how it adds flavor to other foods is not fully understood. Many scientists believe that MSG stimulates glutamate receptors in the tongue to augment meat-like flavors."

People who enjoy Asian food have very likely consumed MSG at some point whether they know it or not and quite possibly could have experienced what has been referred to as "Chinese Restaurant Syndrome" where diners have such symptoms as flushing, tightness of the chest, trouble breathing, and even worse. This is why many Chinese restaurants are now advertising the fact that they are MSG-free.

MSG is often used as a food additive to enhance the flavor of primarily higher protein foods like cheese, milk, and meat, which are coincidentlly some of the more popular foods on the low-carb lifestyle. I'm not trying to alarm you, just inform you. Keep reading.

Although the FDA declared MSG "generally recognized as safe" back in 1959, the questions surrounding the health implications of this additive still remain strong in 2007 (as my story about Mary and her experience represents).

So what does this have to do with the obesity epidemic that exists in the United States and around the world today? Plenty! Imagine this--MSG is being used by food manufacturers every single day to get people addicted to their products so they will keep on buying more and more of it.

Conspiratorial, you say? Some think that's EXACTLY what is happening and nobody is sounding the alarm about it. When I interviewed low-fat diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish last year, I asked him as a sidebar question about what he thought of the theory by some that food companies were putting secret additives in foods to make them more addicting such as MSG. He said he doesn't buy into that notion since food is addictive enough without anything being added to it.

Fair enough, but how do we know it ISN'T the gobs and gobs of MSG that have been sneaked into foods without our knowledge that could have the tens of millions of Americans dealing with obesity staying that way? Even worse to think about are all the billions upon billions of dollars that have been raked in annually by the food industry giants who have resorted to putting MSG and other additives in foods just to turn a profit. If it's even remotely true, how sicko is that?!

And, think about this. If it is true, then every red-blooded American should be livid and demand better from those entrusted with providing the best quality food for our families to eat. Of course, they'll simply snub their noses at us and keep on adding not just MSG, but sugar, high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), and other such nutritional garbage into our foods without any regard for the health implications of these actions (something Michael Pollan has been railing against in recent years).

The bad thing about MSG as opposed to HFCS, though, is the fact that it is completely tasteless and undetected by the human senses when being consumed. But the intense stimulating effect it can have on the nerves and the brain when it is ingested can cause an uncontrollable reaction to happen in your mouth.

Have you ever found yourself eating something and suddenly you start taking bigger and faster bites than you were before? Does it feel like you have lost all sense of control over the amount of food you are putting in your mouth and you mindlessly keep eating and eating long after you are full? I'll admit it, I've been in that situation in the past and it feels so helpless. What is happening to me and why am I doing this? AAAAAAAACK!

Could it really be the MSG, though? That's something you need to ask yourself. It has been found to create a false sense of hunger even when the biological need for food does not exist. Some say MSG causes damage to the hypothalamus while others believe it lowers blood sugar necessitating more food consumption. Either way, we cannot overlook the negative impact that MSG is apparently causing on our weight and health as a society.

Incidentally, the warnings over MSG are not just some minority group of crazy people espousing their opinions about this. There is a wide body of research out there already showing MSG causing all sorts of health problems in otherwise healthy individuals. This includes lab rats being fed MSG becoming obese while an MSG-free control group fed the exact same diet without the MSG remain at normal weight.

What about human studies, you ask? Well, this is where it gets tricky because researchers are reluctant to expose humans to MSG because of the toxic effect it causes on the central nervous system and other essential bodily functions. In fact, neuroscientists have been known to use MSG specifically to kill nerve cells in the lab. YIKES!

My co-worker Mary used to talk about some of the side effects of MSG she had to deal with whenever she accidentally consumed it: mood swings, fatigue, feeling flush, turning as red as a beet, headaches, and various other strange, unexplained health ailments.

Oh, there is ONE study that has been conducted showing MSG is completely safe and not harmful for human consumption. However, this rather flawed research was paid for in full by a multi-billion dollar industry that has a vested interest in the existence of MSG. Hmmm, would care to take a guess who it is?

Most disturbing about MSG is the fact that the FDA completely allows food manufacturers to put this chemical in foods without ever using the word MSG on the label. That's right! They don't want you to know it's in there, but it is. You may recognize MSG in any number of euphemisms on the product packaging, such as "flavors," "natural flavors," "yeast extract," and more.

And don't think your favorite low-carb foods are immune from MSG just because they are health foods. Protein bars, protein shakes, and other such products are notorious for having this substance in them using the aforementioned terms for MSG. Doesn't this just make you sick?

Why haven't we heard the obesity and health experts out there decrying the role of MSG as the biggest health epidemic of our generation? Sure, the Standard American Diet (SAD) is indeed bad enough with such a heavy focus on sugary, processed junk foods and fast food, but is it even worse because of MSG? You can't help but think about it!

Could this be the next major class action lawsuit to come down the pipeline in the coming years? Some think it will be just as big as the tobacco liability lawsuits a few years back and will account for literally billions of dollars in damages while radically altering the practices of the food industry.

Don't be surprised if it happens sooner than you think!

If you are interested in learning more about MSG and the ramifications it could be having on the weight and health of Americans and unsuspecting people around the world, then be sure to check out the web site TruthInLabeling.org.

2-22-07 UPDATE: As is prone to happen in the wonderful world of blogging, this exact same topic is also being discussed on the great Dr. Michael Eades blog today. I agree with him that MSG in small quantities will probably not harm you. But you should try to avoid it whenever possible.