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What Are Your Criticisms Of The Low-Carb Lifestyle? - weight loss Discussion Forum

People who know me from my popular weight loss blog LivinLaVidaLowCarb.com will tell you that I am arguably one of the strongest supporters of the low-carb lifestyle that you will ever meet.

And I should be after losing over 180 pounds on it in 2004.

My life was forever altered for the better! What I want to know from the Amazon.com "Diet & Weight Loss forum" participants is the answer to just one question: what are your criticisms of the low-carb lifestyle? While I agree there are many ways for people to lose weight, it has been my personal experience that livin' la vida low-carb is an extremely EFFECTIVE and PERMANENT way to lose weight, get healthy, and defeat obesity once and for all.

That's exactly what has happened to me. What say you?

Hit me with your best shot!

[Deleted by the author on Nov 6, 2007 11:36 AM PST]

Hey Jeremy, THANKS for commenting and CONGRATULATIONS on your weight loss success by what looks like a vegetarian diet.

Kudos, my friend! It's funny you say that I should consider more weight loss because on August 1st I began a new commitment to lose more weight in my "30-In-30" Low-Carb Weight Loss Challenge (read more about it at http://30-in-30.blogspot.com) where I hope and fully expect to lose 30 MORE pounds over 30 weeks.

This will put me down to 210 pounds which will be plenty for me. As for my cholesterol and digestive system, I am not at all concerned, Jeremy.

My friend Anthony Colpo has written an excellent magnum opus on the subject of cholesterol available right here on Amazon.com called "The Great Cholesterol Con" which explains why what we have always been told about saturated fat and cholesterol is bogus.

Check it out! One of the things I do at my LivinLaVidaLowCarb.com blog is talk about the issues that people who struggle with weight problems inevitably have to deal with.

While low-carb is NOT for everyone, it certainly can be a good start for those who need to get their weight and health under control. THANKS again for sharing, Jeremy.

Does anyone else want to take a stab at sharing your criticisms of livin' la vida low-carb?

I'd LOVE to hear from you!

Hi - I'm writing to you from Johannesburg in South Africa.

I have only 45% function in my pituitary gland which leads to a VEEERY slow metabolism.

I used to do Protein Power and Carbohydrate Addicts, but that was written so long ago that I'm sure there is more knowledge out there now than there was then.

If you had to compare the Sonoma Diet with the Wine Country Diet, which would get your money?

I must choose between the two because shipping and taxes makes importing books frightfully expensive.

I'd be much obliged for this information

Hey A. Conway, THANKS for writing!

I'm familiar with the Sonoma Diet, but I've never heard of the Wine Country Diet.

But the answer to your weight problem may not necessarily have anything to do with the latest new diet to hit the market. Protein Power is an EXCELLENT book to not only help you lose weight, but to be healthy for life.

I personally have met Dr.

Michael and Mary Dan Eades and there are not two more passionate and real people who care about the health and well-being of people than them. Go back and re-read Protein Power again (avoid Carbohydrate Addicts because it is awful, IMHO!) and then do it exactly as it is written.

Then NEVER stop doing it for the rest of your life to see maximum results and feel better in the process. Come by and visit me at my blog whenever you need some encouragement and to stay on top of the latest news and information in the world of healthy living.

THANKS again for writing! Jimmy Moore, author of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" LivinLaVidaLowCarb.com livinlowcarbman@charter.net

Thanks Jimmy. Will do.

And read your book too!

Didn't realise you were the author. Annie in Johannesburg

Ah ha! Read the intro in amazon reader.

Now what I want to know is how your wife coped with this!!??

Hehehe

My wife Christine was my BIGGEST support system!

:D I'd love to know what you think about it when you've finished! Take care! Jimmy

Well, I did Atkins 2x and easily lost 40 lbs both times.

The first time was before getting pregnant with my first child (and i believe it cured my PCOS and helped me _get_ pregnant), then after I weaned him (at 15 months).

During breastfeeding I took metformin, as the weight loss was too fast for breastfeeding.

With my second child, I tried a _very_ moderate version of lo carb but it was still too fast and my milk all but dried up.

I eventually got it back and now she is 13 months and i am starting to wean her.

My metabolism has completely stalled and I have been unable to take off _any_ of my pre-pregnancy weight.

I started pregnancy at 150 both times (a good , healthy weight for me) and am now a little above 170.

That's better than it was with my son (193!

God help us!) but much harder to take off this time around. My 2 biggest complaints about low carb are that you cannot do it while breastfeeding, and that for my current lifestyle with 2 kids I am finding it almost impossible to focus on what i'm eating.

It's a diet that takes--not a whole lot of willpower for me at all, but--a lot of money (i don't buy l.c.

Products, but eat only whole foods, clean, lean protein and lots and lots of veggies) and a lot of time. I hope that once she is weaned and i do a cleanse, i will be able to start low carbing it again.

It's truly the way i love to eat most, but it is a commitment i have to psych myself up for again.

Hello Jimmy, I enjoy the respectful and kind way that you discuss your and other peoples' diet success.

I also hope to encourage people to more consciously make diet choices,i.e., make personalized choices and stick with a diet that works and is healthy. That is why I have described the 4 energy types in my book Feed Your Tiger - Dragons, Bears, Tigers, and Cranes.

They can engage imagination and commitment to lasting health.

I think kids and parents have lost contact with eachother over diet and lifestyle.

Maybe cooking and eating for their animal type can get them to talk to each other again. The high protein diet that you recommend can work as long as you include plenty of fruits, vegetables, and nutrient-rich, metabolism stimulating foods such as seaweeds, mushrooms such as nori, kelp, and dulse,(sources of great protein)and fat-reducing teas. The problems that I have heard about the high protein diet from my clients, students and readers include: bad breath, body odor, skin blemishes, boredom with diet, and yoyo dieting. A respected diet researcher from Columbia University obesity Clinic in NYC, said that he thought the high protein approach worked well for a short while "but for the wrong reasons." He said that people pay attention to the foods they eat but can not stand to eat that much meat after a short while.

So they gain back their pounds. I think it takes more than white-knuckles and nerves of steel to stay on a good diet.

It has to taste good.

First, I agree that this is the way to lose weight, and keep it off, however: 1) How many ways can you cook chicken?

I don't happen to like fish (with the exception of Tuna) and beef is not of great quality these days.

Too much salt in bacon.

None of these are condusive to a quick meal if you haven't already cooked it previously. 2)I'm running from one place to another constantly, with children in tow.

There are not many thing available that travel well in a hot car that are high protein, and I get tired of the same thing over and over and over.Quickest way to get off any food lifestyle. 3)You have to plan meals and snacks in advance.

That does not work for the working person who gets up at 6:00 AM, goes to work until 3:00PM (no lunch break, but can eat at the desk) so she can go pick up her kids from school at 3:30, take them to soccer or whatever, get them home to do their homework, feed them a non-low carb meal (but well balanced), make sure they are bathed and put to bed, do laundry, clean the kitchen and clean one room of the house before falling into bed at midnight and starting all over again. 4)Low carb doesn't stick with you like carbs do.

When you are out hiking and have only eaten low carb, you are famished after the first mile.

We travel with jerky and nuts, but again, awfully salty or in the case of unstalted nuts, really unsatisfying. The main reason is the lack of convenience.

Sad, but true. Protein drinks just don't do it for everyone.

[Deleted by the author on Dec 1, 2006 9:42 AM PST]

Amen... I weighed close to 300 lbs in my early 20's and now I am 49 and an hourglass size 10 with a small waist, weigh between 140-150, with good cholestrol, no diabetes, no heart problems, good BMI, no reason to lose weight as I have no health problems associated with obesity.

I have learned through years of Atkins, fasting, 500 calories, all kinds of various diets that the only one that works is to make a diet plan of food good for you that you like.

Get a food book describing calories and fat and with a highlighter mark those foods you'd like to include in your diet and any foods you've been normally eating that are high in fat that you don't want to include in your X number of calories a day (for me that was 1800 calories....don't go too low or you ruin your metabolism...due to years of working at it I now have a high metabolic rate, 10 lbs of extra lean muscle mass than the average woman my height and am considered 1 in 1000 or more as I lost the weight and kept it off for so many years as most who lost the weight...95 to 98%,,.gain the weight or even more....after they go off the diet....

The other thing after I lost the weight is now I would say I am true to my standard diet plan way of eating 10 to 30% of the year....I am not perfect nor do I chastise myself if I am not.

When I've gone out to eat or to a party or something, I just immediately go back to my standard low-fat, high-carb, including white rice, shredded wheat, cream of wheat, vegies and fruit, lots of non and low fat dairy dairy.

In the past, if I had overeaten I would have used it as an excuse to have eaten and eaten and eaten and eaten for meal after meal after meal for a day, days, week, etc.

Now it is one meal and then back to my usual.

The other important thing is to find something you enjoy you do physically for me that is ballroom dancing.

I work at it very hard and use a heart rate monitor so know that I definitely get my heart rate up.

Find something you love to do physically.

If you absolutelly can't, then use the "distraction method" of buying exercise equipment and putting it in front of the TV and exercising there.

Good luck

You should read Cyndy Finnigan's (my wife) new book - The Ten Basic Rules of Eating.

This book provides simple, easy-to-follow principles for eating, without requiring one to follow any kind of punitive diet regimes, which are not sustainable in the long run.

(In response to fauxfyr's Dec 1 post) First, I don't disagree with you that this can take up a lot of your time if you let it!

But there are ways around that, and you really have to be creative sometimes! 1) I bet you could eat chicken every day for months and never prepare it the same way twice.

I'd be happy to share some of my favorite recipes with you if you're interested, or just do some research online for chicken recipes.

If they're not low-carb, they can often be modified.

And then there are things like beans, legumes, and tofu, which are full of protein.

If you're interested in beef, pay a little more for some quality beef, and use it in Eastern-style recipes (Asian, Indian, etc.) where the meat is used as an ingredient in the meal, rather than as a large portion of your plate. 2) Invest in a quality thermos, reusable icepacks, and a thermal lunchbag or lunchbox.

When you cook dinner, make extras to freeze and/or eat as lunchtime leftovers.

If you cook chicken, set some aside and use it to top a salad the next day.

Make a hearty soup (this can be done low-carb!) and fill the thermos. 3) Yes, it's true.

It's time-consuming to plan meals.

But with just a little discipline, it can be done, and once done, can make your life so much easier!

Plan a few meals for the week, as well as your lunches and snacks.

See how they fit together to serve in re-using for different meals.

Every Sunday, I sit down with the new grocery sale flyer and try to plan a weekly menu around the items on sale, and then make a shopping list.

It's actually really nice to have some idea of what's for dinner each night! My slowcooker has been indispensable in helping with cooking on a busy schedule. 4) This is where I disagree.

Protein will always keep you full longer than carbs.

Try celery with peanut butter, or raw veggies with hummus, something that takes some time to chew and eat.

Drink lots of water, all during the day.

Try to make sure you eat SOMETHING every 3 hours or so, so you'll need to have a snack 3 hours after breakfast, then lunch 3 hours after that.

If you're doing something strenuous like hiking, give yourself a little more snack than on days when you're not. Good luck!

It CAN be done, and it's SO WORTH IT!

Hey B. Stamper, I appreciate your concerns, but low-carbing doesn't HAVE to be expensive if you keep the right perspective. Eggs are pretty cheap and and EXCELLENT way to get the protein your body needs and even bagged frozen chicken isn't all that overpriced. But think about this: how many visits to the doctor will you avoid because you started livin' la vida low-carb?

Those can get quite expensive along with prescription drugs for breathing, cholesterol and high blood pressure. You don't need these anymore when you start low-carb, so think of all the money you'll be SAVING in the end. YOU CAN DO IT and there NO EXCUSES!

THANKS for your comments!

THANKS, Letha! Tasting good is EXACTLY why I chose livin' la vida low-carb.

It's the best-tasting, most effective way to lose weight I have EVER found...and believe me, I've tried them all.

Now I'm 190 pounds thinner and feeling better than ever!

Hey Fauxfyr, THANKS for sharing your concerns with me about livin' la vida low-carb.

I'm happy to address them. This lifestyle change is about finding what YOU like and it looks like you've pegged yourself to eat chicken and turkey since beef, bacon, and fish are out for you.

But there's still pork as well as other meats.

Don't be afraid to try something new.

And YES, you need to plan your meals ahead and stop relying on the convenience foods so much. Regarding the hustle and bustle argument, I can see where you might get discouraged.

That's why I love shopping at CarbSmart.com because they offer some very healthy low-carb products for people like you on the go like bars and other such snacks that are not overloaded with carbohydrates.

My favorites are the GoLower bars, Just the Cheese snacks, and Flax Z Snax.

Perfect on the run! I understand you are quite busy, but making time for your weight and health is VERY important.

You schedule for yourself what YOU deem is vital, so cooking right for you and your family should be at or near the top of your priorities as well.

Nobody said it was going to be easy, but it is possible if you stop the excuses.

JUST DO IT! :) Finally, on the issue of energy, if you are pooped out eating low-carb, then it means you haven't eaten enough fat and protein.

Again, find foods that you enjoy since nuts and jerky aren't doing it for you.

There are PLENTY of options out there, but YOU need to decide what you like best.

Again, NO EXCUSES.

If you are serious about wanting to do this, then you will make it happen no matter what. If you're inconvenienced by livin' la vida low-carb, then all I can tell you is it beats the alternative--sick, hospitalized, or even dead!

I know that would have been my fate had I said to myself that low-carb was a "lack of convenience." We all rationalize in our minds why we do or don't do certain things.

But if you seriously take a hard look at your own life, do you really want to stay stuck where you are until something bad happens? THANKS again for your comments!

YOU GO GIRL, Blondielou!

I'm so proud of you!

Jimmy, So how do you come up with your cholesterol score from reading someone else's writings?

Are you afraid of what the numbers will actually prove?

I'm not trying to be argumentive.

High cholesterol/heart diease is nothing to mess with.

I lost my own father several years ago from hc/ad.

He had been heavy but had lost weight years before his health crashed.

I'm sure for some people that hc is hereditary, but my dad actually bucked the family trend of living healthfully and long.

I still miss him, and am trying to avoid subjecting my own family to a similiar experience.

For me, that means no fad diets, I just eat a healthy diet and exersize regularly.

No to yo-yo dieting and yes to regular health screenings.

I'm not gonna trust my health to just one health guru.

(I do applaud your desire to help America "skinny up".

We need it!)

Jimmy Moore, congratulations on your impressive 180 pound weight loss in 2004 and I hope things are continuing to go well for you!

Your post about your desire to lose even more weight raises a lot of questions for me: What is your height and weight now? What was your weight when you started your low-carb diet? What is your target weight goal? What prescription medications and/or supplements are you taking now? Even though I realize you don't think it is important, what are your cholesterol numbers? What exercise, if any, do you do as part of your weight loss program? Hope you don't consider the questions as too nosy, but you did invite them!

Hey Oregongirl, THANKS for your comment and question!

I DO know my cholesterol readings and my HDL and triglycerides are as healthy as they can possibly be--HDL is 72 and triglycerides are 43.

But since my total cholesterol is over 200, my doctor says, "Oh, you need to go on a statin drug!" UGH!

NO THANK YOU! I encourage you to read up on the latest studies that have come out about cholesterol.

We have been sold a bill of goods all to the benefit of pharmaceutical companies who manufacture these dangerous drugs to artificially lower our cholesterol.

How do we REALLY know that lowering cholesterol will improve our heart health?

I just published a Duke University paper that says having too LOW-cholesterol is much more dangerous than high-cholesterol. I'm sorry to hear about your father, but I am confident that livin' la vida low-carb is the best way for humans to be eating to manage their weight and health.

It is the quintessential "healthy diet." THANKS again for your comments and please visit my blog at LivinLaVidaLowCarb.com for more information about the low-carb lifestyle!

I am 6'3" tall and currently weigh 220 pounds.

Before I started livin' la vida low-carb, I weighed 410 pounds.

My target weight for the moment is 199 (I just wanna weigh in the 100s again for the first time since the 5th grade!). I don't take any prescriptions (ANYMORE!), but I take many vitamins and supplements, including a liquid multivitamin, a brick multivitamin without iron, calcium, Co-Q-10, fiber, Vitamin B, fish oil, chromium picolinate, and L-Carnitine.

My total cholesterol is 278 (HDL-72, LDL-198, VLDL-8).

My exercise routine currently is 30-45 minutes of cardio on the elliptical or treadmill daily, but I am about to start an aggressive resistance training schedule soon (I have hired a personal trainer to assist me with this). I'd love to hear your feedback!

THANKS for writing!

Thank you Jimmy, for your candor.

You got me to thinking so I will check out the website and study this further.

You did a good deed, so give yourself a 100 points or whatever. Cheers! Oregongirl

Jimmy, I am still a little puzzled about your weight loss history.

Your 180 pound reduction in 2004 brought you near to, but not entirely down to what you want to achieve.

What happened in 2005 and 2006 that slowed your progress?

What changes, other than the resistence training, are you planning to make now to overcome whatever slowed you down in 2005 and 2006? Would you please tell us something about the history of your blood pressure from 2004 to now?

I forgot to ask about that before, but I think it would help me understand more about how things are going for you. I like your no-meds attitude!

But I do find your supplement list to be a little daunting.

Your cardio routine looks great.

What kind of time commitment do you expect your resistence training to require?

How confident are you that you will be able to stick with it? Thanks so much for your spirited and prompt replies!




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