This morning I asked my wonderful wife Christine between worship services at church if she could tell me what happened on this date eight years ago that was historic. To my surprise, she pondered for what seemed like forever trying to think of what was so special about this date. I kept prodding her, “This was something pretty momentous that happened on January 1, 2004.” She clutched her chin, stiffened her lips together, and crunched up her nose with a “hmmmm” look on her face. I playfully responded, “Aww, come on, you don’t know what’s so special about today…eight years ago…it was a HUGE event?” After about a minute of thinking and coming up blank, she said, “Oh I give up, tell me. I’ll probably know once you tell me.” Well of course you will. I exclaimed, “This is the day I began my healthy low-carb lifestyle eight years ago as my New Year’s resolution.” She responded matter-of-factly, “Oh, well that was too obvious…I was thinking of something that happened historically in America or something.” Ahh, I so love that woman for keeping me humble!
Yes, today officially marks eight years of making the fateful decision to stop living my life recklessly from a nutritional/fitness perspective and to begin being deliberately mindful of the foods I ate and the exercise I engaged in for the first time in my life. The Jimmy Moore that existed on January 1, 2004 isn’t even close to resembling the one who lives in 2012. Although I lost 180 pounds that historic year I changed my life and have gained back a portion of that weight loss in the years that have followed, I’ve still kept off 130 pounds for eight years–I’d say that’s pretty good long-term low-carb success. I’ve been quite open and honest about my weight struggles over the years that go well beyond livin’ la vida low-carb as I’ve shared in posts detailing tests of my thyroid panel and most recently my diagnosis with low-testosterone which I’m now taking hormone replacement testosterone cream in an attempt to remedy some out-of-whack hormones. See, it’s not all about how many calories you consume and the amount of time you spend walking on a treadmill at the gym!
This human body is a complex machine that is incredibly resilient but can only take so much damage and still operate at optimal levels. The first 32 years of my life contributed to that deterioration and I’ve spent the last eight years attempting to fix and heal my body as much as possible. It’s quite possible I’ll never attain the “perfect body” that I’d love to have and show off, but high-fat, moderate protein, low-carb living will give me the best body and health that I’m capable of attaining. And that’s good enough for me as long as my cholesterol numbers are where they need to be (and they are!), I have a heart scan score of ZERO showing no calcium plaque build-up, and I’m more active and stronger at the age of 40 than I’ve been in my entire life. For all intents and purposes, I am a new man today thanks to the chance I took on the low-carb lifestyle eights years back. Physically, emotionally, career, my marriage…everything has changed–FOR THE BETTER!
If you would have told me ten years ago that in 2012 I’d weigh less than 300 pounds (before low-carb, I was perpetually over 300 pounds except in 1999 when I dipped below that weight temporarily doing a brief low-fat diet stint before rebelling against the perpetual hunger from eating that way gaining it all back again a few months later), have a popular diet and health blog, be among the top health podcasters on iTunes, written two books, and inspiring millions of people as my full-time occupation, I would have thought you were nuts. But by the grace of God and His blessing on my life, that’s exactly where I am now and what I am privileged to be involved with at this time in my life.
To say that low-carb changed my life is a bit of an understatement because it totally turned everything in my life upside down and shifted everything I thought I’d be doing in an entirely different direction (I have a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Political Science/English and a Master of Arts Degree in Public Policy…that I’m not using!). Not that I’m complaining because I’m living a dream job: getting to work from home, able to pay my bills, getting to do something I love, and helping people in the process. I work longer and harder at this “job” more than anything else I’ve ever done in my entire life, but it is incredibly gratifying to know I’m making a mark on this world and influencing others to make changes for the better in their diet and health.
Today I received a lovely e-mail from one of my readers who remembered what a special day this is for me because it’s the exact same day that she started living the low-carb life, too:
I just wanted to wish you well on your “Atkinsiversary”! I started low-carb the same day that you did: January 1, 2004. A few months prior, I had lost my dear grandmother to diabetes. I knew little about the disease, but enough to realize that it had something to do with insulin and insulin had to do with carbohydrates. My brother was on Atkins and loving it and looking well and healthy. So I began to wonder if maybe, just maybe, the low-fat, low-animal-products diet I had always advocated and believed in might not be the be-all, end-all of nutrition that I thought it was. I read “Life Without Bread” by Allan and Lutz and the rest, as they say, is history.
If my grandmother had accurately understood the relationship between diet and health when she was my age, she might never have developed diabetes and might still be with us to this day. So I wanted to thank you for this important work that you do, in spreading the word about low-carb living. It is, quite literally, life-saving work, and I pray that God blesses your efforts. The motivation, inspiration, and information that you provide is truly helpful to me, and to countless others I am sure. Thank you for all that you do.
How incredibly cool is that? I’ve been so honored to hear from people just like this countless times over the years and these positive stories of how my work is helping real people keeps that fire burning hot within me to never stop doing what I’m doing. Sure, I have my critics, but I constantly attempt to become better as a human being by learning from the lessons of the mistakes I have made in my life. No, I’m not a perfect man but I strive to be the best I can possibly be. I will always be who I am and let the chips fall where they may. There’s always room for improvement that I will strive for on a daily basis and I’m grateful for the love and forgiveness of those who come into contact with me. I thank God for YOU and the role you have played in my life by allowing me the chance to share my life with you as I strive to educate, encourage and inspire others to make better choices for the sake of their health.
As I have been thinking today about these past eight years of livin’ la vida low-carb, I wondered what advice the 2012 version of Jimmy Moore would give to the 2004 man who weighed 410 pounds, on three prescription medications for high cholesterol, high blood pressure and breathing, wore size 62-inch pants and 5XL shirts and was on a one-way ticket to an early grave. I’ve come up with ten basic words of wisdom about diet, exercise and health that would have been great to hear at the time and I’d like to share those with you:
1. Gaining health is better than losing weight.
2. Worrying about your cholesterol is simply unnecessary.
3. Embrace saturated fat as your optimal fuel source.
4. Cardio exercise isn’t as important as resistance training.
5. The best food quality is all that matters in your diet.
6. Test your blood sugar response to any food you question.
7. Grass-fed, pastured and organic foods are worth the expense.
8. Get eight hours of cool, dark, silent sleep every night.
9. Take key supplements like Vitamin D and fish oil.
10. Don’t become overly obsessive about your diet.
There’s so much more I could share with that really big man I used to be, but those ten things would have been a great start. In a way, I’m glad I had to do it on my own without a “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog, podcast, YouTube videos or Jimmy Moore to e-mail. It helps me appreciate where I’ve come from and just how incredibly miraculous my low-carb transformation story has been. Eight years ago today I was a fragile man looking for hope for a better tomorrow and that’s exactly what I got by the end of 2004.
If you are in a situation where you feel hopeless, helpless and ready to throw in the towel on ever doing anything positive about your weight and health, then let me tell you I know how you feel and you CAN overcome. Start right away by finding a plan that will work for you (try this one if you need somewhere to begin), follow that plan exactly as prescribed and then keep doing that plan for the rest of your life. Will it be an easy road? Honestly? No. But if you pursue it like you’ve never pursued anything else in your entire life and put forth the appropriate effort to do the right things, ask the right questions and apply the lessons you learn along the way, then you can’t help but become a success story too. YOU CAN DO IT!!!
If there’s anything I can do to assist you in your low-carb journey, then I’m always available to my wonderful readers whether you have been with me from the beginning or if you’re reading my blog for the first time today. E-mail me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net with your questions or comments for me and I’ll do my best to help you in any way that I can. THANK YOU for helping me celebrate this special eight-year anniversary of the commencement of my low-carb lifestyle change beginning in earnest. I plan on eating this way for the rest of my long and healthy life and I encourage you to give it a try for yourself, too! You’ll never regret the day you start livin’ la vida low-carb.
