People assume you've got "willpower" if you lose weight
A fiery conversation has ensued over at Regina Wilshire's "Weight Of The Evidence" blog over a topic dealing with a very important aspect of livin' la vida low-carb that I think warrants your attention. Her blog post entitled "What if Willpower Matters Little in the Long-Term for Weight?" has the comments coming in by the droves and I highly encourage you to leave yours as well.
The main point of the discussion is not over how to best bring about weight loss success, but rather how do you KEEP that weight off once it's gone. The subject of willpower that individuals possess within themselves has been theorized as a reason for those few who are able to keep the weight off. But my opinion is it has nothing to do with willpower at all. More about that in a moment.
Regina says too often we focus on weight loss while practically ignoring the more important aspect of maintaining weight loss.
"Weight loss isn't the problem - keeping the weight off afterward is the really critical issue that we continue to fail to address in a meaningful way to actually see long-term results."
Absolutely, this is the critical aspect of a weight management program that most people who are overweight or obese NEVER think about. Unless you are prepared to know how you will live AFTER the weight loss has subsided, then you cannot possibly be ready when the times comes to start maintaining. So choosing a plan that will not just work for weight loss, but also one that has proven to keep the weight off is ESSENTIAL to this diet debate.
This is why you will often hear me talk about finding a proven healthy plan that will work for you, follow that plan exactly as prescribed by the author, and then KEEP doing that plan for the rest of your life. This kind of perserverance pays BIG dividends over the long-term and explains how I've been able to maintain my 180-pound weight loss over the LONG-TERM! And we'll be doing it for many more years to come by sticking with livin' la vida low-carb for life!
Here was my comment at Regina's blog about her post:
Outstanding topic, Regina! As someone who has lost 170 pounds and gained it back in four months and several years later lost 180 pounds and kept it off for three years plus, I'm happy to weigh in on this issue. And I certainly agree that weight loss is NOT the problem with obesity in the United States. Instead, it's weight maintenance and how to help people better manage their weight once it comes off that should be the focus.
For me, the process of figuring out this thing for myself began back in 1999 when I lost 170 pounds on a low-fat (nearly ZERO fat), high-carb diet. Sure, I lost a ton of weight in about 9 months and looked fabulous. There was only one problem--I was HUNGRY, IRRITABLE and DOWNRIGHT NASTY to be around. It should have come as no surprise to anyone that I rebelled against feeling that way and started eating like gangbusters again--and the weight poured back on.
So when I was ready to give weight loss another try in 2004, I knew ahead of time that I needed to implore a different strategy for dealing with my morbid obesity which had me at 410 pounds. If I was going to successfully lose weight, then I needed to find a plan that would work for me once the weight loss ended. Low-fat diets had already proven they were not sustainable long-term for me, so those were off the table right away. After searching and searching for what to do, I decided to read Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution.
Reading the book from cover to cover, I embarked on what I would hope to be a permanent and healthy lifestyle change beginning on January 1, 2004. It was scary at first since the nutritional advice shared by Dr. Atkins went against everything I ever knew about diet and health, but I trusted this cardiologist knew what he was talking about.
It didn't take long for me to experience phenomenal results--30 pounds lost in month one, 40 more in month two, and 100 pounds lost in the first ten weeks! WOW! Screw what anyone says about this diet--IT WORKS and VERY VERY WELL!
And the rest is history...I went on to lose 180 pounds that year, dropped over 20 inches from my waist, went from 5XL shirts to XL, and came completely off my prescriptions for high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and breathing problems. I was thin and healthy for the first time in my life, but I knew the REAL test had only just begun. Could I KEEP the weight off now by continuing to eat this way?
Well, here it is 2008--four years since I began this journey to better health and the weight has STAYED OFF! WOO HOO! People always automatically assume that I have some great willpower or something and I just have to laugh at this. My mantra back to them is this--weight loss doesn't take willpower, but a steadfast resolve to make better choices.
That's the bottom line for me when it comes to long-term success. If you had enough willpower to resist food during your weight loss, then how the heck did you get to become overweight or obese to begin with? Where was your willpower then, hmmm? No, it doesn't take willpower to resist temptation, but rather a constant, conscious effort to always try to choose wisely for the sake of your health. Doing that will put you in a better position to maintain weight loss for many years to come. Or at least it has for me.
I recently did an entire podcast show on this topic about why diets fail most people and what can be done to make you more likely to be successful than not. I think this is a topic well worth pursuing further and I'm happy to see the great Regina Wilshire being the one to bring it up. FANTASTIC WORK as always, Regina! KEEP IT UP!!!
Please leave your comments at Regina's blog post too and get in on a very active discussion. Share your thoughts about what it takes to bring about long-term weight loss success. Does diet have ANYTHING to do with it or is it simply behavioral and about some inner strength called willpower? Of the people you know who have lost weight and kept it off, what's their secret? This is a topic that low-fat, low-carb, vegetarians, and everyone else purporting to be about resolving obesity should be interested in discussing.
Regardless of where you are in your low-carb journey, I think you'll agree with me that one of the keys to your success is by remaining alert and focused on your diet and health. Letting your low-carb guard down is when you become susceptible to the dreaded weight creep and all the guilty feelings that come along with that and the weight loss game roars on. UGH!
In Episode 102 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore", we take a look at this important issue for people who get in a rut on their low-carb lifestyle. When your weight goes up, there isn't always an obvious cause. But sometimes there is because we have fooled ourselves into believing we've been doing everything right (the reality is likely just the opposite). Keep things real and never lose the proper perspective.
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 102 [18:05m]: LISTEN NOW | Download
One of the primary reasons why a "diet" fails people is they forget all the lessons they learned during their weight loss phase. It's funny how we get amnesia about what we need to do once we enter the weight maintenance phase? But allowing your weight to keep going up and up after weight loss is no laughing matter. Getting back on track when you "slip up" is the sign of someone who is committed to this journey for life.
Get healthy and fit in 2008 anytime 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! :)
We've got a contest for you in today's podcast that will give you a chance to win THREE FREE BARS of my new raspberry, dark chocolate "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Bar" (now available at CarbSmart, Netrition, and Amazon) Listen to Episode 102 and leave your comments at the podcast web site for your chance to win. THANK YOU for listening and making "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" start the new year off with a bang!
We all experience them and they're pretty much inevitable regardless of the weight loss plan you have chosen. It always amuses me when people try to avoid having them when they are as much a regular part of a successful weight management routine as anything. And yet these are directly responsible for why many people decide to just throw in the towel and give up on their pursuit of smaller sizes and healthier bodies.
I'm referring to the dreaded stalls.
Let's face it people, stalls are the reality that most of us face when we attempt to lose weight. Accepting that fact up front will save you a lot of heartache and pain later on when it actually happens. And thankfully that's exactly what I did prior to beginning the Atkins diet in January 2004. Nothing, and I mean absolutely NOTHING, was gonna stand in the way of my success this time--not even a stall!
In Episode 12 of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube" today I talk about why a stall can be a GOOD thing (YEPPERS!) and the horrendous stall that I endured during my 180-pound weight loss in 2004. While I probably would have given up on my weight loss pursuit entirely in the past when this stall hit me, it was different this time since I was livin' la vida low-carb. And persevering through that experience was my breakthrough and a major reason why I went on to become a long-term low-carb weight loss success!
See for yourself in our YouTube video today about stalls:
I've blogged several times about this issue of weight loss stalls:
Anyone who has gone through a stall and triumphed over it will tell you it is a major turning point in their weight management plan. I had lost 100 pounds prior to my BIG TIME stall, but then shed another 80 pounds after getting through it. The point is to just NEVER GIVE UP because you KNOW low-carb works! Leave your feedback for Episode 12 at YouTube and share what you did or do to get through your stalls.
A special CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who left a comment in Episode 11 of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube" prior to November 8, 2007. Each of them won a FREE True Lemon gift package just for watching our video and leaving a comment. This surprise announcement was made during today's video and could happen again at any time, so be sure to post your comments to our videos to be eligible to win some incredible prizes. This week you can enter my 100th podcast contest for a bunch of outstanding low-carb goodies. :D
Are you new to our YouTube videos? It's time to catch up and watch them all:
- Promo video--A half-minute promotion of the new video series - Episode 1--Introduction of Jimmy & Christine Moore - Episode 2--What kind of fruits can you have on a low-carb diet? - Episode 3--What kind of veggies can you have on a low-carb diet? - Episode 4--What does a low-carber do for something sweet? - Episode 5--Why is fat so healthy for you on the low-carb lifestyle? - Episode 6--Which restaurants can you go to on the low-carb lifestyle? - Episode 7--What are the best new low-carb books you need to read? - Episode 8--Why should you be eating a lot more eggs? - Episode 9--If you're gonna do Atkins, do it by the book - Episode 10--What supplements should you take while low-carbing? - Episode 11--What are some of the foods you eat on your low-carb diet?
You'll notice we had a new theme song beginning in today's show as well as a few other production changes. I hope you enjoyed the funky beat to go along with our quirky fun! If you haven't already, make sure you go and subscribe to our videos. And be sure to tell everyone you know about "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube." So many of you have asked us to do more than one per week, but if you only knew how hard it is just to do the ONE...let's just say we'd love to be doing more, but time doesn't allow it. Maybe we can get our own TV show someday--that'd be cool! :)
As always, your comments and suggestions for improvement are welcomed and appreciated. Please write to me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net anytime and we may use your topic on a future video. THANK YOU as always for watching "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube." Spread the word!!!
Dr. Michael Miller puts his personal low-carb bias ahead of science
Despite being called out by Gary Taubes in his book Good Calories, Bad Calories, the use of sensationalism by the active players in modern health research and journalism hasn't changed a bit! Want an example of this? Just look at today's headline from Reuters to see what I mean:
Most people will simply read that headline and say to themselves, "Oh my God, why in the world would I ever go on the Atkins diet?" Then from there, people will infer that they shouldn't go on ANY low-carb diet at all because we all KNOW how unhealthy it is, don't we? This is the kind of sloppy science and reporting that has prevented the healthy low-carb lifestyle from ever gaining any favor in the public eye. And that's such a crying shame.
Lead researcher Dr. Michael Miller, director of preventive cardiology at the Baltimore, MD-based University of Maryland Medical Center, and his colleagues wanted to see what effect a maintenance diet has on blood fat levels, cholesterol, and other markers for inflammation. They observed 18 people over a ONE-MONTH period following one of three diets:
ATKINS--50 percent of calories from fat SOUTH BEACH--30 percent of calories from fat ORNISH--10 percent of calories from fat
The researchers made sure that NONE of the study participants lost weight so the results would not be skewed by weight improvements since it was about weight control and not weight loss. Each of them had their blood tested for all of the health markers checked out for the study.
What was the result?
The ATKINS group allegedly saw an increase in their cholesterol levels and inflammation which the researchers concluded would cause "long-term damage to blood vessels" and could very likely lead to heart and artery disease. On the other hand, the SOUTH BEACH and ORNISH groups saw their cholesterol levels come down and artery function was improved.
Using an ultrasound machine to measure flexibility and dilation of the blood vessels as well as proteins in the blood, the researchers found major inflammation in the ATKINS group.
"Some markers of inflammation were increased by as much as 30 to 40 percent during the Atkins phase, whereas during the South Beach and Ornish phases, the markers either were stable or went down, some by as much as 15 to 20 percent," Dr. Miller remarked.
Oh my God, oh my God, what am I gonna do now?! Oh my God, somebody hurry and call 911 for me or something because this "study" says I'm gonna blow a blood vessel or something, oh my God, oh my God! EEEEK!!! What a freakin' crock of horse manure if you ask me! I've been livin' la vida low-carb for MUCH longer than one month (nearly four years and counting!) and I have not been harmed by my high-fat Atkins diet.
What's most interesting about this grand conclusion about how dangerous the Atkins diet is for people to be on is that it is merely based on the results of SIX PEOPLE! Yep, the millions of us who are enjoying our low-carb lifestyle must now put up with a very small-scale study reported on by an overzealous anti-Atkins researcher and his willing accomplices in the press reporting on it as the gospel truth. And that's the worst part of a study like this one.
So, was this "study" actually published in some prestigious medical or science journal? Nope! Instead, it was presented as a paper at the Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association help in Orlando, Florida this week. No peer review. No long-term observations. No real proof of anything except a sloppy way to compare the supposed impact of diet on blood vessels. The lack of substance in this study along with some rather suspicious and shady implications about what the Atkins diet is should have made anyone with a brain at this conference stand up and question the validity of such research.
Did it happen? Yeah right!
Was anyone else struck by the almost-exclusive focus on the dietary fat content of these diets? What was the ratio of the other two macronutrients--protein and carbohydrate? If that "Atkins" diet with 50 percent fat was matched up with say 30-40 percent carbs, then it is NOT the Atkins diet. If that's the case, then no wonder their LDL cholesterol went up. Fat consumption is only healthy when carbohydrate intake is kept to a minimum.
Most of us who are doing the Atkins plan as outlined in Dr. Atkins' New Diet Revolution (the only Atkins diet that REALLY counts since it is BY THE BOOK!) even in maintenance are consuming less than 10 percent of our calories in the form of carbohydrates. My personal diet ratio of fat/protein/carbohydrate is close to 60/30/10.
Obviously, Dr. Miller was no fan of the Atkins diet from the beginning.
"It really is the Atkins diet that is the worst," he told Reuters. "The Atkins diet caused the LDL levels to go up by about 7 percent, whereas in the Ornish and South Beach diets ... they went down 7 to 10 percent."
Yeah, so what? What happened to the HDL "good" cholesterol in the ATKINS group, Dr. Miller? How about the triglycerides? I would be willing to bet that there was a SIGNIFICANT difference in the increased levels of HDL and decreased triglycerides for them compared to the other two low-fat groups. Why wouldn't you talk about that data since these are tell-tale signs of health improvements on low-carb, Dr. Miller?
Describing the Atkins diet as "the worst" is merely your opinion, sir. This "study" of yours shows nothing but what happens when you fail to provide honest and trustworthy research to a world who unfortunately trusts everything people like yourself have to say about your research. They rely on you to provide quality, accurate information about health, not some sensationalist, headline-grabbing ruse of a research scam. These kind of shabby conclusions are what drives people away from listening to anything you have to say because they get tired of hearing you cry wolf when there isn't one anywhere close.
While the diets used in this study were supposed to simulate what would happen when you begin a maintenance plan on the various plans, there is something to be said for those of us who DID actually lose weight on these methods and then continued to follow them long-term after the weight has come off. When I weighed 410 pounds in 2004, my weight was bad, but my health was getting much worse. Without the Atkins diet, I never would have regained my health and become the energetic man I am today.
And my lipid profile did improve and has continued to do so four years later. But Dr. Miller believes any positive impact of livin' la vida low-carb will only reach a certain level before your health declines.
"When you lose weight everything looks good but after a while you plateau and you hit a maintenance stage," Dr. Miller contended.
That's right, you do, Dr. Miller. But that's what happens on ANY lifestyle change when you begin as an overweight or obese person and DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Whether you choose low-fat, moderate-fat, or low-carb, the end result is still the same--lasting and permanent weight and health control. If one option doesn't work, then another one should be tried. That has always been my motto in trying to help people in their own journey to better health. Low-carb is definitely one of those permanent weight loss solution options that people should consider.
Sadly, you have people like Dr. Miller who insist on pushing the low-fat lie that is at the root cause of why obesity and disease still exists in America and around the world today. Pushing vegetables has forced people into choosing potatoes and other starchy choices (according to statistics from the American Diabetes Association) while shunning healthy meat selections has made the high-carb beans, tofu, and whole grains the protein source for many people to the detriment of their health. But, no, we can't be having people on that low-carb Atkins diet, Dr. Miller says.
"We don't recommend the Atkins diet," Dr. Miller concluded. "Why not start out with a diet that will be healthier for you in the long run after weight loss?"
And what kind of diet would that be, hmmmm? We have such varying definitions of what constitutes a "healthy" diet these days, Dr. Miller, that you can't possibly expect people to know what that looks like. So please tell us. I'm sincerely interested in hearing what you have to say.
But don't spout off sound bytes like a "balanced" diet with lots of fruits, vegetables, and whole grains (that's nothing but a big fat copout if you ask me!) because that doesn't mean a thing to most people. Give us sample menus of the foods you would recommend on your "healthy" diet and let's see how it stacks up with how real low-carbers like me eat now. I would not be surprised to find that my diet is as healthy or even healthier than what you come up with, sir. So why pigeonhole people into following YOUR definition of that kind of diet?
Drawing broad-based conclusions about a healthy nutritional approach like the Atkins diet, which was created by a world-renowned cardiologist who clearly understood the science behind eating a controlled-carbohydrate diet, looking at a very short-term study with a small sample size and trying to extrapolate long-term consequences from such limited data is both irresponsible and repugnant. Isn't the very point of research to help people BETTER understand what may happen to their health in a given circumstance?
So then why would you try to purposely manipulate the results of that research just to suit your own personal agenda? That's just plain shameful, Dr. Miller, and I cannot believe you would put your professional integrity and character on the line just to follow the template of your own biased belief system. Tsk tsk!
The general population of laymen like myself who simply want the science to speak for itself deserve better than this--MUCH BETTER! Weight loss, healthy living, and solid nutrition are too important to just be playing games. What we need and quite frankly DESERVE are researchers who can get back to doing what they were meant to do. And that's looking at problems objectively, following research protocol precisely, and then letting the results show what they show. It's the right thing to do and anything else is merely garbled and twisted chatter among ideological zealots like yourself!
The Atkins low-carb diet is absolutely sound nutrition, pure and simple. For the past three decades, we have seen excellent independent research validating every single point that the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins wrote about in his books as well as real people like Jimmy Moore who lost nearly half of his body weight and now kept it off for close to three years. Is that not long-term enough for you, Dr. Miller?
It's this kind of validation of the low-carb lifestyle that should have researchers excited about looking into this program (and there is "strong interest" behind-the-scenes) rather than seeking to annihilate and destroy it at every opportunity just because you don't like it personally. The history books will look back someday on all this vile hatred for the Atkins diet and livin' la vida low-carb as a sad time in the history of health in the world with so many people clueless to the benefits of low-carb living while people getting fatter and sicker than ever!
Want more helpful insights about Dr. Miller's ridiculous Atkins diet blood vessel study? Check out what the always-entertaining Dr. Mike Eades wrote about it at his blog today. ENJOY!
11-7-07 UPDATE: Here is the official response to Dr. Miller's study today from Atkins Nutritionals, Inc.:
A presentation at the recent meeting of the American Heart Association in Orlando, Florida, comparing the maintenance stages of three diet regimens, Atkins, South Beach and Ornish, has relied on faulty research and a misunderstanding of Atkins protocols to suggest the Atkins diet may not be heart healthy.
Dr. Michael Miller, who made the presentation, apparently ignored more than 30 years of clinical experience and independent research on low carbohydrate diets, and now four years of trials looking specifically at the Atkins protocols, which have consistently demonstrated the effectiveness and safety of the Atkins diet.
Colette Heimowitz, M.Sc., Vice President of Nutrition & Education at Atkins Nutritionals, commenting on Dr. Miller’s presentation, referenced several peer reviewed studies which report opposite findings. Among the most prominent was a year-long weight loss and health study conducted by Stanford University researchers and published in the Journal of the American Medical Association which showed no increased risk of cardiovascular markers in more than 300 overweight subjects.
In summarizing his study, Dr. Miller acknowledged that researchers considering the effects of low carbohydrate diets have reached very different conclusions depending on sample size, research protocol and any number of other uncontrolled variables. Unfortunately, Dr. Miller's research cannot be fully evaluated since his study has not been peer reviewed or published. But, given the short duration of his study, the very small sample size, and the weak correlations, drawing conclusions about possible long term health risks tied to fat consumption in the maintenance phase of any weight control program is not good science.
According to media reports, the subjects in Dr. Miller’s study were put on what’s described as the maintenance phase of Atkins with 50% of their calories coming from fat. However, this is not the Atkins maintenance phase protocol, nor is it part of the Atkins diet protocols. The lipid response Dr. Miller reported is what one might expect from a combination of rich carbohydrates and fat, but it’s not Atkins.
When it comes to nutrition and weight control, the public deserves science based conclusions. Time and again independent research has shown the benefits of a low-carbohydrate nutritional approach to safe and healthy weight loss and weight maintenance. And that's Atkins!
Does 'Erratic' Weight Management Negate Previous Triple-Digit Success?
My weight decline: 410 in 2004, 230 in 2005, and 229 in 2007
When you put yourself out there front and center as a pretty major low-carb weight loss success story, the reaction that people give you about your progress is as varied as there are people in the world. Most people applaud your accomplishments and stand in awe of your continued success. Others doubt you can keep the weight off and stay healthy over the long-term.
But sometimes you receive a "different" kind of response. Before I get into what someone had to say about my weight loss progress over the past four years, I received a related e-mail from a reader who is a bit disappointed about her own low-carb journey that is rather illustrative of what can happen on any diet program when you fail to make it a permanent lifestyle change. This will become relevant to the topic of this blog post as you will see in just a moment.
Here's is that e-mail from my concerned reader:
Hi Jimmy!
Today I'm writing because I find myself in a situation I'm pretty unhappy about and could use some advice. Quick background: I quit smoking about 10 years ago after losing Mom to cancer. At that time, I weighed about 150-155 (I'm 6 ft tall). Instead, I just let myself eat whatever I wanted, and over the next 5 years or so gained a LOT of weight, ending up over 210 lbs and feeling really crappy about it. About 3 years ago, my sister got tired of my whining and convinced me to try Atkins, and I figured why not. The result was that I lost about 60 lbs and got down to the 150s area, wearing size 12 like I had been 10 years earlier. Woohoo!
Okay, so over the past year, I fell prey somewhat to carb-creep, allowing occasional slices of whole wheat/low-carb bread back into my diet, occasionally even splurging on a local restaurant's breaded/fried mozz stixs. However, when I realized my weight was climbing as a result back in June, I cut back again and upped my exercise. That should have worked.
But it hasn't.
Instead, my belt keeps feeling tighter and tighter every day and I'm just thoroughly miserable. My friend who hung with me through the original weight loss months is one of those lucky ones who can eat an entire pan of sweet rolls with no obvious weight ramifications (I used to be like that in my 20s - not anymore!), so she's sympathetic, but she really doesn't understand how upset I am over a few pounds. Her reply is to just undo my top pants button or go elastic. Don't wanna do that again! Don't wanna be fat again!
So I'm trying to figure out what's going on. Is this just my body's way of saying "Sorry, you're 48 now and the pounds are going to settle around your waist no matter what you eat or how much you exercise?" Or am I eating more carbs than I think I am?
A rundown of recent days meals:
I'm one of those can't-eat-breakfast types. It makes me sick and always has. So I have a cup of coffee with cream first thing, then I take 4 1-oz low-fat mozzarella sticks with me to work, eat 2 at about 9am and 2 more at 10:30am.
Lunch: big "baby lettuces" salad with a can or pouch of drained tuna, a handful of shredded cheddar, 4 grape tomatoes and 3 T ranch dressing (2g carbs per 2T)
Snack: a handful of roasted almonds or 2-3 T of I.M. Healthy soy nut butter (1g carbs per 2T)
Dinner: grilled chicken breast or grilled pork tenderloin or hamburger w/cheese, side of steamed broccoli w/butter or sauteed zucchini or blanched/sauteed rappini (always using olive oil for the sautee). Usually with the cheeseburger, I put it on half a low-carb tortilla (so 2.5 g carbs there) and grill a quarter of a vidallia onion and a few crimini mushrooms to go with plus a few more grape tomatoes.
Sometimes before bed I have 2 squares of ChocoPerfection dark chocolate (more than that makes me positively zeppelin-gaseous from the fiber :) ).
My beverage choices for the day are the cup of coffee with cream, decaf Diet Coke, Lipton's diet White Tea w/Raspberry (0 cal/0 carb), or water. I also always mix 2T of Fibersure into my drink with dinner each night.
I've increased my exercise to walking to and from work every day (4-5 blocks), jumping jacks and other like exercises in the backyard while I toss the Frisbee for my dog every afternoon, crunches and similar exercises in the evening while watching TV, etc. I don't go to a gym so I fit it all in where/when I can, take the stairs at work each day, always park far from a store and walk, etc.
I honestly thought once I lost all that weight a few years ago that if I just continued to never again eat all the things I had stuffed my face with for years -- donuts, Cadbury chocolate bars, sweet rolls, potatoes, pasta, cookies, etc. -- that I'd basically be okay. Now I'm finding that even low carb w/moderate exercise isn't enough to keep the weight at bay, and I'm truly depressed about the whole situation.
Any ideas? I vowed once that I'd never start buying larger sizes of clothes again, but now I'm faced with that scenario as I sit here being almost bisected by the waistband of my size 12 pants :)
It isn't pretty and I'm discouraged (can you tell?). As my husband says almost every day (he's 55), getting old sucks. I do, however, love the side benefits of eating low-carb overall -- the acid reflux is completely gone, my blood work is stellar, etc. I will definitely keep eating this way, I'm just feeling a little let down by it right now, I guess.
Thanks in advance for any thoughts you might have!
Pretty grim, huh? And frankly it's not all that uncommon either. Weight loss stalls and even weight gains can happen eventually even when you're doing everything right. After all, weight gain is the latest dieting craze over the past few years! We are all different and have varying levels of tolerance for carbohydrate. It is possible like this reader to allow that extra bread and splurge to make an impact on your weight and it happens to the best of us.
That's why I tell people livin' la vida low-carb is always a work in progress and you never fully arrive. When you think you have, then you are setting yourself up for disaster. People think the fact I have maintained my weight since 2004 means I don't struggle anymore, but nothing could be further from the truth. But the difference is I know how to respond when difficulty comes.
I shared with my reader that she might want to try adding more fat to her diet and pay very close attention to the kinds of carbs she is consuming, including that soy nut butter (EWWWW!), as well as any hidden carbs. It could be her carb counts are perfect, but she's not eating enough fat. She wrote me back and said she will begin adding more fat in the form of butter, full-fat cheese, nuts, cream and other sources. Fat is good for you as long as carbohydrates are reduced.
Okay, so what about this guy who was critical of my weight loss progress? This "different" response was actually very well thought out and documented by a reader on Amazon.com who read the thread I started in August 2006 called "What Are Your Criticisms Of The Low-Carb Lifestyle?" You'll recall I've blogged about some rather heated, but always educational posts there a couple of times before here and here.
The Amazon username for the person who questioned me about my weight loss progress is 2bluesky2 and I was quite impressed by the background he did at my blog prior to writing his comments at Amazon. I do believe he was being very sincere in asking these questions in his post and I'm happy to address them today.
Wanna see what he wrote? Here it is:
Jimmy, I want to ask you about your own weight odyssey, which you discuss frequently on your blog. In looking over your blog, I found frequent references you made to your weight. You also frequently say that your goal weight is 199 lbs. Here is a table compiled from your blog showing your weight over several years:
1999. Lost 170 lbs on lowfat diet, regained it in 4-6 months 01-01-2004. 410 lbs. Started Atkins diet 01-01-2005. 230 lbs. Lost 180 lbs in 2004 on Atkins diet. 11-27-2005. 225 08-14-2006. 240 11-21-2006. 215 12-12-2006. 215-217 12-31-2006. 220 01-31-2007. 229 02-08-2007. 220 06-05-2007. 248 06-08-2007. 235 06-12-2007. 229 06-25-2007. 223 06-26-2007. 222 07-02-2007. 219 07-05-2007. 219 07-06-2007. 218 07-19-2007. 216 07-20-2007. 212 10-04-2007. 220-225 10-09-2007. 223
The table shows your amazing 180 pound weight loss during 2004 for which you can justifiably be proud.
But the table also shows that from November 2005 to August 2006, you gained 15 pounds going from 225 to 240. By November of 2006, you had lost 25 pounds and weighed 215. But by June 2007, you regained 33 pounds and were up to 248. By late July 2007, you had lost another 36 pounds, but since then you regained another 10 pounds or so. I didn't find any listings of your weight after October 9, 2007. On your September 17, 2007 podcast, you mentioned that your weight had topped out at 253, but you didn't' mention whether that occurred in 2006 or 2007.
Achieving major weight loss, as you did in 2004, is a major accomplishment. Thereafter, consistently maintaining weight loss presents different challenges. Your 2004 weight loss is truly remarkable. But your up and down pattern since November of 2005 seems dubious. In the past 2 years you have gained 15 pounds; then lost it and more; then regained 33 pounds; then lost it and more; then regained another 10 pounds or so. Now you are about where you were in November 2005 when you started your up and down pattern. During all of that time, you still never reached your goal weight of 199. As you know, at 6 foot 3 inches your current BMI is in the "overweight" category (and will be until you reach your goal weight of 199). As you have recently pointed out, BMI might not fairly categorize people like yourself who have a significant sagging-skin problem after major weight loss. Still, the 199 target was your own choice, and you haven't achieved it yet.
Your huge weight loss in 2004 was an inspiring accomplishment. But most people are not facing the challenge you were looking at on January 1, 2004. I think most people face the challenge you faced in November of 2005: maintain current weight, but also hopefully lose another 20 or more pounds. Your 4-year record is awesome. But your last 2 years are erratic. Those who have a major weight problem like you had in 2004 should consider doing what you did. It accomplished a lot for you. But should your recent track record inspire those who have a much smaller weight problem? Your program just doesn't seem to be working as well for you as you deal with long-term maintenance and losing those last few pounds.
I am not a health professional or expert, but I think an effective weight management program should do three things for a person in your situation. First, within a reasonable amount of time it must get you out of the obese weight range and within, say, 10% or so of your target weight. Low-carb did that for you. Second, within a reasonable amount of time thereafter, it should get you to your target weight. Ignoring your unwanted volatility, you have been basically stuck at around 220 for the past two years. Maybe you should just redefine your target as 220, maybe not. I don't know. That's for you to decide. But if 199 is a realistic target, then low-carb is not getting you there anymore. Third, once target weight is reached, the program should enable you to maintain a stable weight with low fluctuations of, say, 2% or so over some extended period (ideally: permanently). Even if you redefine your target weight as 220, low-carb has not enabled you to achieve a stable weight over the past 2 years. You fluctuate too much. Your weight increases of 15 pounds in 2006 and 33 pounds in 2007 are alarming. Those recent gains may seem trivial in view of your major weight loss in 2004, but you are in a different league now. You are not a fat guy anymore. Your 2006 and 2007 fluctuations are very inappropriate for your present size and weight.
My quick-view evaluation: Major weight loss? Yes! Achieve goal weight? Not really, unless you fudge the goal. Maintain stable weight? Nope, no way. Needs improvement.
So where does all this discussion lead? Well, you have to decide that. I think that your program needs some tinkering, and maybe some strategic rethinking. If I were to make a single simple suggestion to you it would be this: start posting your actual and goal weight on your website on a regular basis. Your readers and fans will alert you if/when you need a kick in the behind. That may be all the motivation you need to keep "weight creep" from getting out of control again. I think you will agree that your fluctuations over the past 2 years are not in your best interest. They also do not reflect well on your advocacy of a low-carb program for long-term maintenance.
In this forum you have asked for comments on low-carb. I have had my say. You may not like hearing it all, but I think my observations and comments are within the scope of what you asked for. What do you say? I look forward to your always interesting comments!
See, I told you this guy put a LOT of time and thought into that post. And I can appreciate all of the comments that were shared. It's gratifying to know that when you blog there are real people who are watching you to see how you are doing. This Amazon comment is a gentle reminder of that reality and I am grateful for it. Accountability in my weight loss is one of the reasons I started blogging to begin with.
Let me begin my response by saying I do not consider this criticism by 2bluesky2 to be malicious or purposefully negative in any way. He raises questions that I'm sure others have thought about and never vocalized. From the outside looking in, he seems to make some points that ring true. But since he doesn't have the advantage of knowing what I am thinking (and that would be a good thing for him! LOL!), the reality is he doesn't have the full picture in mind.
It is true I have often talked about my weight fluctuations here at my blog and gladly so. I think it is beneficial for people to realize that once you hit your weight loss goal, the journey isn't over. In fact, it really just begins. After losing 180 pounds in 2004 to get down to 230 pounds, my goal in 2005 was DON'T GAIN IT BACK! The longest I had ever kept weight off after losing over 100 pounds was about two months before I started gaining weight. I was bound and determined not to let that happen this time.
Of course, unlike my 170-pound low-fat weight loss experience in 1999 that he mentioned, I was not miserable and tired of my low-carb lifestyle even after eating that way for a full year. Yes, the diet had become so routine to me that I didn't think of ever going off of it again. That's a lesson that will serve anyone well who expects to keep their weight off long-term. And today I'm happily livin' la vida low-carb.
But as you can see from the graphic that was shared about my weight ups and downs over the past three years, the "success" of my efforts seems pretty dismal or "erratic" as he puts it. In fact, he missed the date when I mentioned my high weight of 253 pounds from earlier this year which precipitated me to try that infamous diet plan we all love to hate now that will remain unnamed.
What should be most interesting about those numbers is the fact that when they went up even slightly, I did what I needed to do to bring them back down again. In the past and with many other people who lose weight, when they see the "creep" begin to happen they just throw their hands up in the air and concede defeat. Predictably, all the weight comes pouring back on them and then some.
But that hasn't happened with Jimmy Moore.
And there's a good reason for this. Am I somehow immune to the inevitable weight gain that can overtake even the person with the strongest willpower? Heck no! I'm like most people who have battled obesity their entire lives and deal with the same temptations, frustrations, and aggravations that come with weight control. It ain't easy and anyone who tells you it is can't possibly understand. But I do have a steadfast resolve to make smarter choices now than I ever have before.
That said, let me address the past two years which is the premise of 2bluesky2's comments. When I began this journey at 410 pounds, I never would have thought in a million years that I could get my weight down to 230 and keep it there for the next three years. My track record for weight management in the past was dismal at best, so the hope of keeping weight off didn't look very good.
By the end of 2004, I was at my goal weight at the time of 230 pounds. It felt good being at a "normal" size and I wanted to stay there. Unlike my low-fat weight loss experience, low-carb made me feel good while I enjoyed the way I ate. That was the major switch that made this "diet" work for me this time. So I kept eating this way to maintain. As it stands today in 2007, my weight is STILL maintaining at 229 pounds. Regardless of what it has done over the past few years, I would say that is doing a pretty good job of keeping the weight off, wouldn't you?
Yes, my weight has fluctuated from 215-253, but that is a normal part of maintaining. Granted, you shouldn't have major fluctuations all at one time, but they can add up. Five pounds up, three down, then eight up, two down, then four up, and two down is quickly a 10-pound weight GAIN! This happens when you allow extra carbs in your diet for those who are carbohydrate sensitive like me. Taking your eye off the ball can lead your weight to slowly rise which is why I originally started my "30-In-30" Low-Carb Weight Loss Challenge.
The continued journey to maintain my 180-pound weight loss success from 2004 requires that I stay challenged. It is what drove me to lose the weight in the first place and it is what drives me now. If I have a goal to pursue, regardless of how long it takes me to get there, then I am always in pursuit. But once that is removed, there is little incentive to keep that fire burning within. That's why I have a goal of hitting 199 pounds.
Does that mean I need to hit that goal anytime soon? Heck no! It's a very long-term goal for me that could be met when I finally get that long-awaited tummy tuck surgery done to remove all the excess loose skin in my abdomen which weighs about 15-20 pounds. For me, the low-carb lifestyle is more about eating healthy and getting my overall health under control as much as it is about my weight. When I allow foods into my body that aren't as healthy sometimes, my health and weight can suffer. It's all about finding what my body can tolerate and realizing my limits. That's a learning process you never stop doing.
Yes, I realize at my current weight that I am considered by the body mass index to be obese which I can live with perfectly fine for the rest of my life. I feel GREAT at my current weight and anywhere between 220-230 pounds. When I get below 220, though, my body just doesn't feel right. I've been lightheaded, dizzy and even blacked out when I've forced myself to try to lose weight beyond 220. I don't like that feeling and wouldn't wish it on anyone.
So the pursuit of 199 on paper is more about keeping my weight in check than it is to actually reach that goal as soon as possible. I know I'm eating healthy right now--healthier than I ever thought possible! The Atkins diet was indeed a godsend for me and I'll never regret one moment of my decision to begin eating this way. For the first time in my life, I feel like I am in control of my weight and health. And I am despite my minor ups and downs.
The difference now between my 10-15 pound weight swings and before is I know what I need to do to get my weight managed. Previously, I'd lose 100 pounds, but then gain back 125. I'm not playing that game anymore because there's too much heartache and pain involved. Instead, livin' la vida low-carb helps keep me on the straight and narrow for now and in the future. It's the best thing I have ever done for my health.
Regardless of the concerns by 2bluesky2, I think anyone who reads my blog can be inspired in their own weight loss efforts to begin this lifestyle because the track record speaks for itself--180 pounds lost in one year and maintained for the next three years. I challenge anyone to tell me that accomplishment is unworthy of admiration because I've worked my butt off to make it happen.
Again, I appreciate the conversation starter that 2bluesky2 brought up at Amazon and I welcome your feedback. Do you see anything wrong with how I have managed my weight since losing 180 pounds in 2004? Does "erratic" weight management negate my previous triple-digit success? Tell me what YOU think and be honest about how you feel.
Some people think the worst thing that could happen to you after you lose a significant amount of weight is to g-g-g-gain some or all of it back. While you wouldn't want to put ALL of it back on (NOPE, not gonna be 400+ pounds ever again!), I do think it's okay to be challenged by a 10-15 pound weight creep to see what your lifestyle change is made of and I talk about it in Episode 87 of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore."
Click on the "Play In Popup" link below or download it to your iPod:
"The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" Episode 87 [13:24m]: Play in Popup | Download
Although much of the focus when you are livin' la vida low-carb is placed on the weight loss phase of the diet, I contend that is the relatively easy part of this amazing journey. The REAL work begins when you attempt to maintain that weight loss for the rest of your life. Think about it...you take a few months, a year, or even two years to lose weight. But then you've got decades left to live and KEEP that weight off forever. It's much more daunting than people realize!
I've dealt with the struggles that we all face of seeing my weight climb back up again ever-so-slowly even when I've been faithful to my low-carb lifestyle. It's an adjustment our body makes which causes us to adjust, too. Unless you recognize this is happening, then you may find yourself wearing tighter and tighter clothes wondering what the heck happened.
Wherever you are, get low-carb encouragement anytime by:
What has been your experience attempting to maintain your low-carb weight loss? Do you have any proven strategies to share about how you KEEP your weight off over the long-term? Is there anything that you would recommend people NOT do when they find themselves gaining weight again after significant weight loss? Bestow your wisdom on us all and tell us what has worked for you.
THANKS to YOU, "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore" has become the most popular low-carb podcast show on the Internet today! I am grateful that you listen and are encouraged by the positive and healthy message I present about the low-carb lifestyle in these podcasts. If there's anything you'd like for me to address in a future episode, then please don't hesitate to send those suggestions to me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.
Dr. Dennis Gage says dieters need to find what works for them
1. I am pleased to welcome to the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog today an internist named Dr. Dennis Gage. Dr. Gage is one of the world's leaders in educating and empowering people to live healthier lifestyles by helping them lose weight through workable long-term solutions. Thank you for joining us today, Dr. Gage! Share with my readers a little bit about who you are and how you got interested in the subject of obesity in the first place.
It is interesting how I got into the field of obesity. Originally I went into Endocrinology because of an interest in thyroid disease but after training at St. Luke's-Roosevelt Hospital, I did research on obesity subjects and was involved with a vast number of patients in a research grant. Then I became intensely interested in Insulin Resistance Diabetes and Obesity.
2. You have been actively involved in several research projects involving coming up with treatment options for people battling obesity over the years. Tell us about your involvement in those and how you have been able to practically apply what you have learned in real people struggling with their weight.
I have seen literally hundreds of patients over the last twenty five years in clinical practice. I have found that most patients are able to lose weight by restricting calories and increasing physical activity. The problem that occurs is most of these patients have "yo-yo'ed" back up in weight. I see the most difficult subject in obesity as "closing the back door," that is, preventing people from regaining their weight.
Most people are very enthusiastic on diets and are successful, however as the struggle increases and the amount and intensity of work remains high, most people fatigue out and start to return to their old habits. It is "closing this back door" and having these patients being able to sound a "Red Alert" that differentiates success in the long run. My philosophy is to support my patients in their weight loss endeavors and I have created a web site that offers newsletters and information to readers to help them feel empowered.
3. You have written a book and created a program around a concept you call the The Thinderella Syndrome (TLC). The motto of this plan is "don't just do a diet, live a diet." That is certainly something I discuss quite often here at my blog. What are the basic principles of "Thinderella" and how has it worked for your patients willing to give it a go?
The Thinderella principles are explained in my book. Most patients are successful in their initial weight loss phase. We call this the "motivator phase" because we use a structured diet that is relatively low in carbohydrates, high in protein, and structured--we call this the "water wings of weight loss."
When patients start their diets using "Dr. Gage's Motivator medical food," they are much more able to succeed and therefore they get positive feedback right away. Patients then go through a behavioral program called The Thinderella Lifestyle Change Program for approximately fifteen weeks where they are taught eating techniques and behavior modification. Finally all patients are assigned a "Red Alert Number," a weight gain number that indicates the patient must return to my office for re-motivation.
4. We are a nation of "yo-yo dieters" as the obesity statistics seems to keep getting worse and worse. Most statistics show that people who lose a significant amount of weight will gain it all back within 1-3 years. But that's where your plan comes into play with the unique "defensive eating style" techniques. Can you share a little bit about how this works with us?
My "Defensive Eating Style" techniques are discussed in my book. Patients are asked to sound their Red Alert if they hit a specific number which is approximately three to five percent above their final successful maintenance weight. We call the weight in between their successful weight and the Red Alert number, the "Buffer Zone" just like in battle. If you are in the buffer zone, you are still safe. If you cross the demilitarized zone which is the Red Alert Number, all Hell breaks loose. That is why all patients are required to come immediately back to the office if they hit their Red Alert Number.
5. Weight loss isn't the issue for most people, it's keeping the weight off permanently that is the hard part. This is something you are almost a lonely voice of reason about because you don't hear too many people discussing weight maintenance. What I have found after losing nearly 200 pounds in 2004 is this becomes more of a mental battle rather than a physical one. How do you help people build up their emotional toughness to ward off the "Red Alert?"
The reason my TLC Program works is because patients are successful in sounding a Red Alert when they have only gained several pounds in weight and therefore if they come back to my office, it is not too difficult to restructure their patterns of eating, re-motivate them, and get them back on track. There is no doubt that people who have maintained their weight are working much harder and intensely to keep their weight off.
Dr. Rena Wing has studied many patients in the National Weight Control Registry and has found that most patients who are maintaining their weight off for greater than two years and not regaining have been successful. Being someone who has lost forty pounds myself, I always keep track of my weight and make sure that I don't hit my Red Alert Number. Sometimes the continuous exercise seems to be a drag, but most of the time I enjoy it and since I have learned how to sound a Red Alert and know how to get back on my Motivator diet if I do hit it, I feel pretty comfortable with this.
6. You are a big believer in people taking the right kinds of supplements and to avoid the mistake of misusing vitamins. What supplementation do you recommend people following a healthy lifestyle to take for optimum health?
Supplementation for patients on diets is critical. Many patients go on their own diets and may be lacking minerals, vitamins, and fiber. In my office, we have "Dr. Gage's Motivator" medical food which is a healthy diet low in carbohydrates and it is nutritionally sound.
When patients go on other types of diets, for example, their own diets that are basically not going to necessarily have all nutritional supplements, we give patients a specific number of multivitamins specifically high in B Complex and we also supplement them with other substances that help with fat burning capacity.
Ultra CLA and Hydroxycitrate certainly stand out as possible items and can be used but in general we make sure that the patients are covered with all the nutritional requirements. Fiber is a big one because it is required for healthy intestinal function and is usually lacking in the diet.
7. Exercise is another key component in your plan to help people with their weight and health. Is there a certain amount of cardio and/or resistance training that you recommend for people to strive for?
Exercise is certainly a critical component in weight loss but is a much more of a major component for weight maintenance. In most studies exercise has only had a moderate effect for weight loss. But what has been shown is that patients who have lost weight successfully require a fair amount of moderate exercise approximately one hour a day to help maintain weight off. This is where the exercise has its payoff.
8. You're the first person I've ever met who calls himself an "expert diabetologist," but I like that title! We need more people committed to this subject since it has become a twin epidemic in conjunction with obesity. What do you think about all of the research that has been published over the past year from researchers like Dr. Mary C. Vernon and Dr. Eric Westman on the low-carb treatment options for diabetics? Have you seen greater improvements in your diabetic patients placed on a low-carb diet as opposed to a low-fat diet?
Diabetology is an interesting field. Since 95% of our diabetics are Type 2 diabetics and are generally significantly overweight, there has been an epidemic of diabetes and obesity which have grown together. There is no doubt in my mind that the low-carbohydrate diets are optimal for these patients.
Patients who are on low-carb diets statistically not only lose weight but have a dramatic improvement in their Insulin index, their blood sugars, and their sense of well-being. Diabetics have clearly done much better on these kind of diets and this has been documented in our practice for more than twelve years.
9. You are also heavily involved in a brand new venture I recently blogged about called "Project PCOS." This is another condition that the low-carb lifestyle has been shown to help improve in those suffering from it. What role are you playing with this web site and what are you hoping to accomplish with it?
I am the medical advisor for this new campaign for women/girls with PCOS at ProjectPCOS.org. I am helping to advise women about the intensity of work needed to overcome a condition called Polycystic Ovary Syndrome.
Unfortunately these women seem to have an added amount of Insulin Resistance and the intensity of low carbohydrate diet, exercise, and work involved to overcome this without using medications is pretty high. There seems to be an inability to shut off Insulin stimulation and of course these women are going to be craving carbs and having a little more difficulty in staying on low carbohydrate diets and high protein diets but what we have done is to start a website to help women and girls address the issues of PCOS and understand that it is not in their mind but is actually a real syndrome.
As the syndrome develops, we realize that the intensity of Insulin Resistance seems to be very high in these women and indeed the abnormal menstrual cycles, hair growth, and other features seem to all be linked. I have had many patients who have successfully lost weight on extraordinarily low carbohydrate diets and have improved their entire metabolic situation including their Testosterone level.
10. THANK YOU again for sharing a few moments with me and my readers today, Dr. Gage. I am thrilled to know there are people like you out there attempting to help overweight and obese people not just lose weight, but get healthy once and for all. Do you have any encouraging comments for those who may be reading this interview right now and feel like they don't have any hope they will ever be "normal" again.
I think most people set up unrealistic goals for themselves and of course if they don't meet these goals in weight loss, they immediately give up. I will be coming out with a paper in May in a major medical journal where I discuss the issue of failure spirals and setting yourself up for failure. I think one of the most important things to ask yourself when you are living a diet is, can I live the patterns that I have set up for myself (not so much, can I do a diet) but can I live a diet and can I accept certain basic patterns.
For example, strict avoidance techniques during the day, such as eating things like protein bars or Atkins bars or perhaps a salad and fruit and not getting the typical American sandwich which is loaded with carbs, salt, and sugar. If you set up realistic goals and you are willing to work hard to maintain your weight off and understand that this is not automatic, then I think you are going to be much more successful.
Building on the theme of last week's "30-In-30" column, I'd like to discuss that joyous day that everyone who has ever gone on a weight loss plan continually strives for--REACHING YOUR GOAL! WOW, what a feeling it is to reach the pinnacle of your journey and say emphatically that you DID IT! WOO HOO!
But in the weeks, months, and years following that whoosh and emotional high that comes from losing weight, especially a SIGNIFICANT amount of weight like I did, something rather odd starts to happen: temptation to overeat still exists, old habits find their way back into your routine, you let your guard down by allowing one too many "indulgences" in your life as a reward for your success, so forth and so on.
While there's certainly nothing wrong with having one or two bites of something in a week's time that aren't necessarily low-carb friendly, when you make them a habit during your maintenance program they can consume you to the point that you'll notice your weight start to creep back on again.
That's why I prefer to stay solid "on plan" and put my planned splurges on the calendar rather than having them be spontaneous. Some people call it controlled cheating. I don't like that phrase because "cheating" implies there is something wrong with it. If done every once in a while, then it's not going to be harmful to you and may very well keep you on your low-carb program much better than 100% strict all the time--both during weight loss and weight maintenance.
To that end, weight loss is just the beginning. It's the maintenance phase where the rubber meets the road because you will need to find that happy medium between being super strict versus loosy goosy. There is a proper balance for YOU that may take some frequent changes to stay at your new weight.
Click here to read more about how to attain long-term weight maintenance success and why this is even more important than the weight loss.
It's always funny to hear how people who watched me lose weight two years ago question me about what I am doing now to keep my weight off. While some of them realize I am still livin' la vida low-carb and will be for the rest of my life, there are others who wonder what I am doing now "after" being on the low-carb diet to keep it off.
For the life of me, I can't seem to grasp why I would ever abandon this way of eating that has produced such incredible weight loss results just because the weight loss phase is completed. If it helped me lose those 180 pounds, then surely the Atkins diet can help me KEEP IT OFF for good, right? Why wouldn't I keep eating this way forever?
Oh, but the supposed dangers of long-term low-carb dieting is the great mystery of our generation and I suppose you'll have to consider me and the millions of others who have decided to eat this way permanently to control our weight the first generation guinea pigs to prove the safety and effectiveness of livin' la vida low-carb. I'm proud to be a pioneer on the frontline of this debate because the very future of civilization could rest upon it!
The old saying "if it ain't broke, then don't fix it" certainly applies to livin' la vida low-carb for me. Before I started eating this way, I didn't have a clue what eating healthy was about. All I knew was the low-fat diet was heavily pushed as the best way to lose weight, but I don't know anyone who can stand to eat that way for the rest of their lives! That's why it is so amazing when I began the low-carb lifestyle how free I felt to eat with such pleasure and yet still doing my body a lot of good.
Once the weight loss was over, I didn't even think about the "after" part of low-carb because I quickly realized there's no "after" with low-carb living! If I'm not supposed to eat low-carb for the rest of my life to keep my weight off, then how the heck am I supposed to eat? AND DON'T YOU DARE SAY LOW-FAT, LOW-CALORIE, OR PORTION-CONTROL DIETS!
If you don't mind, I think I'll stick with livin' la vida low-carb forever and ever amen. It's worked for me so far and it'll keep on working for me for the rest of my life. What should you do "after" low-carb? JUST KEEP ON LIVIN' LA VIDA LOW-CARB, BABY!
7-14-06 UPDATE: Fellow low-carb blogger and huge weight loss success Kent Altena blogged about this issue today during a recent visit his wife had to her doctor. Can anyone legitimately explain why I should ever get off my low-carb lifestyle...EVER?!
