[podcast]http://www.thelivinlowcarbshow.com/shownotes/wp-content/uploads/llvlcep9.mp3[/podcast]
Greetings low-carbers and Merry Christmas to you and yours! Welcome back for the all-encompassing ninth episode of “The Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Show With Jimmy Moore” as we look back on the year that was 2006.
This week Jimmy takes a look at the year’s biggest stories in the wonderful world of low-carb living as covered by his wildly popular “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog. If you are a regular reader of his blog, then you’ll not want to miss this special final episode of the year.
We will not have a podcast show for you next week in celebration of the Christmas holidays, but be sure to come back again on January 1, 2007 for a WEEKLONG DAILY EDITION of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” to help all those people starting New Year’s resolutions to get started off the right way on the low-carb lifestyle.
While you are surfing around the Internet shopping and reading, then be sure to check out our kind sponsors, ChocoPerfection and CarbSmart!
LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE 9:
– Low-fat on the way out in 2006
– Vegans have a cow over book review
– What do we call “low-carb” now?
– Gary Taubes provides prelude of his new book
– Low-carb magazine demise
– What do I do with loose, excess, hanging skin?
– Ruby Tuesday turns their back on low-carbers
– Shirataki mania sweeps the U.S.
– My interview with low-carb researcher Dr. Jeff Volek
– Jimmy Moore interviews Dr. Dean Ornish
Did you miss something Jimmy said during his special year-end podcast show? Not a problem! Just listen again (LOL!) or you can click on the link below to read the full transcript of Episode 9! ENJOY!
Transcript:
Episode 9 comes just in time with a little bit of rhyme…okay, enough of that already. Hey there, you’re listening to “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” and as I promised you in last week’s episode, today we will be looking back at some of the most memorable moments of 2006 at my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog. So many of you are dedicated readers at LivinLaVidaLowCarb.com and I appreciate the faithfulness you have shown me by visiting my blog on a daily basis. What started off in April 2005 as an outlet for sharing my beliefs about how the low-carb lifestyle changed my life forever is now the destination point for tens of thousands of visitors per month and I’m overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and support that has been shown to me through my blog and now here at my podcast as well. People who advocate the low-carb way of life have certainly banded together in a common cause to share the lifechanging experience that livin’ la vida low-carb has given them and I am privileged to be a part of that.
New Year’s resolution time is almost here and perhaps the Christmas holiday season has been a little more rough on your low-carb lifestyle than you expected it to be. Not to worry, though, because our sponsor CarbSmart is already geared up with a special “Induction-Friendly Low-Carb Foods” link on their web site right now to help you gear up for your post-holiday low-carb weight loss. Go to CarbSmart.com and click on the link located on the left-hand side of the page to start stocking up on those low-carb foods that will get you back on track come January.
While you are online, you might want to check out our other sponsor this week ChocoPerfection. When you visit ChocoPerfection.com, click on their “Being Thin Articles” link which will educate you with research detailing how eating delicious sugar-free, low-carb chocolate bars like ChocoPerfection will allow you to indulge in chocolate without worrying about your waistline. Sweet! Visit ChocoPerfection.com and start livin’ la vida low-carb in luxury!
Looking back now on the year 2006, I have many fond memories of news and events that happened in the world of low-carb. From the big low-carb research conference that took place in Brooklyn, New York in January all the way to the dismissal of the frivolous lawsuit filed by Jody Gorran against Atkins Nutritionals last week, it has been quite a year. And 2007 looks to be even better!
Spend a few moments with me down memory lane as I recall some of my favorite moments from the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog in 2006:
– Low-fat, high-carb diets not as effective as once thought
Published in the January 4, 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association was a 7-year study of 48,000 women conducted by Dr. Barbara V. Howard that revealed the startling truth about the low-fat, high-carb diets we have been forced to endure as the “healthy” option for decades–they do not provide a significant weight loss over the long-term. The cherished low-fat diets have continued to be propped up despite clear scientific evidence that they are NOT working to curb the obesity epidemic. At the same time, low-carb is vilified at every turn by all sorts of critics. If we truly care about people losing weight, then why wouldn’t we want all of the options for doing so on the table? This study was the beginning of the end for low-fat diets in 2006.
– Vegans have a cow over critical book review
February was fun after I wrote my review of a new pro-vegan book entitled “Skinny Bitch” where the authors said “you are a total moron if you think the Atkins Diet will make you thin.” When I challenged this bombastic premise by the anti-low-carb chicks who wrote the book, you would have thought I ran over somebody’s grandma with the reaction I received from all these nut case vegan supporters out there. Veganism is not immune to scrutiny from the perspective of one who had tried everything to lose weight and nothing worked before low-carb! I’m not “arguing against a vegan lifestyle” so much as I am expressing my concerns with the misinformation that vegans and others are spreading about the low-carb lifestyle. Nobody will disagree with me that a concerted effort has been ongoing from organized radical groups like PETA to weaken and destroy anything and everything that the Atkins diet and low-carb lifestyle represents. It is so transparent to anyone with eyes! The feedback from those posts I wrote about veganism was eye-opening with all the hate mail and even one man who threatened to sue me. Can you believe to this day I STILL get e-mails about that book review I wrote? I suppose that means I must have said something right.
– The debate over what should we call “low-carb” now
In March, a silent movement was underway within respected low-carb circles to for some odd reason stop using the term “low-carb” to describe this way of eating that has helped so many of us lose weight and get healthy. It seemed as if everyone who used to champion anything and everything related to low-carb had jumped ship from using that term anymore, including low-carb superstars like Jonny Bowden and Dana Carpender as well as some popular low-carb product companies. While replacement names for low-carb such as “low-glycemic,” “controlled-carb” and “nutrient-dense” have been suggested, I contend that there was and still is NO reason to change the term at all. I lost my weight on “low-carb” and I have actively embraced it with every ounce of resolve within me because it is the plan that made me skinny for the first time in my life and it is what will keep me fit and trim for the rest of my life. Why would I call it something different now? If using the term “low-carb” is supposedly no longer viable, then please explain to me why my blog which prominently uses the phrase “low-carb” in it continues to attract so much attention? The exponential growth in my blog’s readership in 2006 alone leads me to believe there’s more to “low-carb” than these well-meaning people want to admit. I believe it’s a bit too premature for us to be abandoning and sidestepping “low-carb” just because we think its use has run its course. People are still looking for information about “low-carb” and I’m all too happy to give it to them.
– Gary Taubes gives a sneak peek at his landmark new book
With 2007 coming, there’s one name that I want you to think about right now because it will be on the lips of just about every talk show host, newscaster, and anyone else who debates health in America in the new year. The name is Gary Taubes. In April, I had the privilege of corresponding with him about the book he has been working on that continues the firestorm of controversy that he ignited in July 2002 with his infamous New York Times op-ed masterpiece entitled “What If It’s All Been A Big Fat Lie?” In that brilliant 8,000-word essay, Taubes laid the groundwork for dispelling the myth that fat is bad for your health and articulated sound reasoning in support of the low-carb lifestyle. Nearly five years later, all of the research Taubes has conducted is encompassed in a brand new book coming out entitled “A Big Fat Lie?: What If Fat Doesn’t Make You Fat” that will blow the lid off the low-fat deception. But Taubes told me this has been a “massive undertaking” with close to 2,000 references and meticulous proofreading so nobody can discredit the work he has done. This book is set to send shock waves through the health establishment and I for one can’t wait to see it! Taubes has even agreed to let me interview him once the book has been released. Stay tuned!
– My once-promising magazine writing career is short-lived
The article I have written about low-carb living at my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog were first noticed by a magazine called “Low-Carb Energy” when they named my blog one of the top three low-carb blogs of 2005. In January, they changed their name to “SheKnows LowCarb” and asked me to start writing for them beginning in the Summer 2006 issue. Little did I know that my first column for the magazine would also be my last one as they decided to close the doors for good on the final low-carb magazine that survived the fallout. Nevertheless, in May I had a two-page spread on my low-carb weight loss success story which was really neat to see. They did a great job with the layout of the column I wrote and I only wish they had kept at it for a few more issues as I believe the “low-carb” movement is coming back bigger and better than ever in 2007. Perhaps the editors behind “SheKnows LowCarb” can already sense that happening because they recently brought the magazine back as an online-only edition for brand new issues to test the waters again. Is this the beginning of a rebirth of low-carb in the new year. We’ll just have to wait and see.
– I’ve lost nearly 200 pounds, now what do I do about the loose skin?
In June I brought up a rather sensitive issue that has sadly scared away many would-be dieters from even trying. It’s the issue of loose skin following weight loss. Shedding over 180 pounds off of my 410-pound body was arguably the greatest achievement of my entire life, but the more I look at that squishy-squashy hanging blob of excess skin in the mirror each day, the more frustrated I become that I have not been able to get it taken care of as the finishing touch on this amazing miracle that I have been given. Sure, I am VERY thankful for my weight loss, but how in the world am I supposed to walk on the beach in public with my bathing suit and no shirt on with my belly skin scaring people half to death?! An abdominoplasty surgery costs a hefty $12,000 for all the related expenses as well as a couple months off from work. This has been a HUGE mental test for me and one that I will continue to go through until that fateful day when I will FINALLY be able to get it taken care of. You can’t underestimate how discouraging this can be on someone who has worked so hard to get to this point. I could see someone with less emotional strength collapsing under the pressure of disappointment. Even more frustrating is that insurance companies won’t even help pay for this procedure as a reward to those who have accomplished an incredible amount of weight loss. I suppose their belief that this is simply a “cosmetic procedure” only is somewhat true, although the benefits of having this done can have a direct impact on other areas of health to improve them immensely. We shall see if 2007 is the year I’ll finally be able to have a tummy tuck done.
– Ruby Tuesday and other restaurants turn their backs on low-carb consumers
In July, I blogged about the once-great restaurant for low-carbers Ruby Tuesday deciding to make changes to appeal to a “wider customer base” by removing the low-carb items from their menu including their famous low-carb cheesecake. The Atkins menu at Ruby Tuesday was incredible for people on low-carb and it will be sorely missed because it truly reflected a “low-carb” menu that people following a low-carb plan actually wanted to order from, especially that outstanding cheesecake I used to love to get during my weight loss and can’t get anymore. BOO HOO! This leaves the door wide open for another restaurant chain or two to step it up and cater to the growing obese and diabetic population. If you make the menu attractive enough to people and still keep the items healthy, then it very well could work. Applebee’s recently released a new menu item from The Food Network chef Tyler Florence called the Crispy Brick Chicken that is a phenomenal entree for someone who is livin’ la vida low-carb. But nobody has stepped up with a replacement sugar-free, low-carb dessert yet that can match the taste and quality of that amazing Ruby Tuesday low-carb cheesecake. When I contacted the manufacturer directly about how to get it, they told me they had to discontinue it because Ruby Tuesday dropped their account. What a crying shame!
– Low-Carb Japanese wonder noodles take America by storm
Before 2006, I would venture to say that nobody had even heard of the word shirataki, much less thought about a pasta substitute that has little to no carbs in it at all. Well, all of that changed in August when a feature story on shirataki noodles appeared in the “First For Women” magazine. I had already blogged extensively about shirataki earlier in the year and even had a successful shirataki noodle recipe contest that garnered a lot of interest from my readers. The shirataki mania just exploded in August pushing the traffic at my blog to record levels. I posted a link to my shirataki articles, including information, recipes, where to buy them, and more at my blog and you can access this link in the show notes section at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com.
– Interviewing a low-carb researcher with a bright future
The people who work behind the scenes researching why livin’ la vida low-carb is so effective for weight loss and improved health are the real heroes in my book. One of the superstar researchers that you will want to keep an eye on in 2007 and beyond is Dr. Jeff Volek from the University of Connecticut. His research team was awarded a very generous $450,000 gift from Veronica Atkins and her Atkins Foundation to help promote the work that her husband Dr. Robert C. Atkins had started on low-carbohydrate diets and their impact on obesity and health. In an exclusive interview with my blog in September, Dr. Volek revealed some “very important paradigm shifting findings” that are forthcoming and that the research will show that saturated fat is not as bad for you as was once thought when combined with a low-carbohydrate food intake. There’s a lot of interesting stuff in the pipeline from this research leader. You also will want to keep an eye on another young low-carb researcher out of Duke University named Dr. Eric Westman. These men and others will be on the frontlines of the science that will bring respect back to low-carb living in the coming years.
– One-on-one with who many consider the enemy of livin’ la vida low-carb
It took months to make it happen, but I was privileged to have the opportunity to interview Mr. Low-Fat Diet himself Dr. Dean Ornish in October about his philosophy on diet and nutrition. Some people were shocked that I would agree to do such an interview with someone who seemingly had nothing beneficial to say about the low-carb lifestyle. But I think most people agreed that there was a small sense of consensus following that interview between the strongest low-carb advocate and the biggest low-fat diet supporter. If you missed my four-part interview with Dr. Ornish, then please be sure to click on the link in the show notes section at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com to check it out. It was a memorable moment from the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog in 2006 and I certainly wouldn’t mind doing another interview with him again in 2007. He seemed very sincere in his desire to start working together more with low-carb advocates like me to share with people where we have common ground on diet and nutrition. And that’s a good start.
You know, I really could keep going on and on with my memories from 2006 at my blog, but I need to stop now as I’ve run out of time for this episode of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore.” This is our final show of the year as we will be taking off the week of Christmas to spend time with our families during the holidays. On behalf of the team here at GNMHealth.com and Grasshopper New Media, may your days be merry and filled with the love of the season and family during this joyous time of the year. THANK YOU for your support for “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” and we look forward to bringing you more of the best low-carb news and commentary in 2007.
We’ll be back in the saddle in January with a special surprise weeklong edition of the podcast show to arm you with useful information to get back on the low-carb bandwagon again or to even start it for the very first time. Tell your friends and family wanting to go on a low-carb diet about these spectacular new shows that will run Monday through Friday during the first week of January. I promise you they will all be encouraging, educational and entertaining podcasts as I share with others how low-carb can change their lives forever just like it did for me. So, until we meet again on January 1, 2007, have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and, as always, keep on livin’ la vida low-carb!