Hey, can we get a little bit of fun going on up in here today? After all, it is “Fun-Filled Friday” time again at the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog where we let our hair hang down (if we had any!), get out on that dance floor and make a complete fool of ourselves. But who cares since we’re having fun, right? No, I don’t have any personal experience with this, although those of you going on the upcoming The 4th Annual Low-Carb Cruise in May (2 months, 2 days, 7 hours and 33 minutes from NOW…but who’s counting?) will get to hear me do a little karaoke–LOVE THAT! You might not, but I sure will. But enough of that since we need to get into the “Fun-Filled Friday” stuff today. Let’s go!
One of the biggest names in the weight loss world over the past ten years has got to be Bob Harper (along with his fellow fitness trainer Jillian Michaels who has a brand new health podcast that debuted this week on iTunes). His name and face have been plastered all over television on the NBC-TV hit television show The Biggest Loser for many years now and as such he’s lauded as one of America’s top fitness and health experts. He’s written books on the subject which I’ve interviewed him about on my podcast. And now he’s decided to step into the role of product pitchman. Have you seen his brand new television spot for Quaker Oatmeal that’s been running lately? Check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DWkOQhHab7Q
As I blogged about earlier this week, these major food companies don’t care a rip about your health. And yet here they have a “role model” of sorts for healthy living (that’s the perception he’s been given on television) promoting the heart healthy nature of consuming processed oatmeal. They even went so far as to have Bob Harper describe it as a “superfood.” REALLY? We’re putting highly-processed oatmeal up there with coconut oil, blueberries, and green tea? I think not. Looking at the nutritional label posted on the Quaker oatmeal web site for the plain version (and we won’t even get into all the sugary versions) is all I need to do to know I should avoid this carbage for life:
Sure, it only has 100 calories, but look at what the vast majority of those calories are–CARBOHYDRATES! And just 2 grams of fat? If I ever did eat something like this, then I’d need to load it up with butter to try to offset the 19 grams of carbs! Come on Bob Harper, you know better than this? I’m not the only one who is greatly concerned by the aggressive marketing of instant oatmeal. Even The Daily Heller chimed in this week with “Is Oatmeal Poison?” to hammer home what I’m saying even more. It’s such a shame so many people are fooled into believing they are eating “healthy” when they consume Quaker oatmeal. Even a personal trainer at my local gym was bragging about the health benefits of it while scarfing down a bowl the other morning. UGH!
Maybe it’s the sin of television watching that makes people so gullible to believing oatmeal ads:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DYfM8FqSIRs
Lest you’re wondering, no I don’t subscribe to this idea. Although I do think people who watch too much television are not helping themselves. Connecting with your family and spending time with them is much more important than sitting in front of a television for hours on end. And there are a lot of people who have cut out their TV watching altogether with great success. I’m not sure I’d call television watching a “sin” but like anything that can consume the life of someone it can lead to that. Christine and I enjoy certain shows on television and we DVR them to see exactly what we want while skipping all the annoying television ads (like Bob Harper eating oatmeal). But they’re still next to impossible to completely ignore.
So, what do you know about the moon? Charlie from the UK gives an entertaining explanation:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Jg0L5lD9bM
That kid has a future in teaching, television or maybe even the next Bill Nye “The Science Guy.” Over one million views in less than a week–that’s pretty darn impressive! Not so impressive is this raw vegan who claims that people who eat a Paleo/low-carb diet all “get fat eventually.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8L10cNeABbA
So what you think about this guy who obviously has a beef with anyone who believes in an animal-based high-fat, low-carb lifestyle? Read what Sean Croxton from “Underground Wellness” wrote about this video after he was featured in it. I think this guy was being nit picky and unfair to the people he was highlighting and the grotesque photos of various obese people eating meat and other images was only meant to hyperbolize in an effort to make his point. He didn’t prove anything with this video. Why wouldn’t he show the great Paleo/low-carb successes like Mark Sisson, Robb Wolf, Mat Lalonde, Kent Altena, Angelo Coppola, Richard Nikoley, Art De Vany and many others? Plus, get this–he’s has already threatened to “expose” me in a future video if I don’t switch to a McDougall-styled high-carb, low-fat diet of bean sprouts and bananas. Uhhhhh, I think I’ll take a pass. HAHAHAHA! Nevertheless, I’ve invited him on my podcast for an interview. Should be fun, huh?
If he wants some proof of why livin’ la vida low-carb is so powerful for health, then he needs to hear about the story of Holly Johnson (aka “The Low-Carb Shrink”) who was able to overcome her infertility thanks to the Atkins diet (hat tip to Kimberly Hartke for sharing this video with me):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PLCwRtAFNBI
Pretty awesome, huh? I first told you about Holly in August 2010 when she gave a presentation in her public speaking class on the benefits of going on a high-fat, low-carb diet. She’s an amazing woman I had the privilege of meeting when I visited Washington, DC last summer and I look forward to having her appear on an upcoming episode of my brand new podcast debuting March 11, 2011 called “Low-Carb Conversations With Jimmy Moore & Friends.” We’ll be hearing a lot more from people like Holly in the coming years as their lives continue to be changed for the better.
Have you seen the comic strip “Arlo And Janis” by Jimmy Johnson before? I’ve always enjoyed comics that have engaging characters that have a point to make. In the “Arlo and Janis” strip that ran on Wednesday, February 23, 2011, Johnson had quite a message for people about the new USDA 2010 Dietary Guidelines:
(CLICK ON THE IMAGE TO ENLARGE)
That’s awesome! See, it may seem like we’re all alone in this battle over the absurdity of things like government-indoctrinated nutrition, but even the comic strips are berating it now. Look for more of this stuff in the years to come. Johnson didn’t stop there with his social commentary on the Dietary Guidelines. Look at what he did continuing this theme yesterday ridiculing the warning against solid fats and added sugars (SOFAs) and today’s comic strip about the real motivation behind promoting processed foods. Something tells me I need to get this Jimmy Johnson guy on my podcast to talk about his viewpoints on diet and health! I sent him an e-mail about it today.
Let’s take a look at some more low-carb and health headlines that caught my attention this week:
- Earlier this week I told you about Gary Taubes appearing on the March 7, 2011 edition of The Dr. Oz Show after taping his episode on Wednesday. I’m working on following up with Gary to get the full details about how that went. He noted that Dr. Oz threw him a few oddball questions that he hopes do not end up in the final version of the show. Overall, Gary graded his appearance a B+ which means he felt he communicated the main points pretty well. It seems Gary pre-recorded a telephone interview with Dr. Oz several weeks ago for his radio show on Thursday which even Gary didn’t know was gonna air at that time. The link is to a 10-minute snippet from the radio interview…I’ve been looking for the entire interview elsewhere online, but haven’t found it yet. If you do, then please forward it to me so I can share it with my readers. By the way, did you hear what Dr. Oz said in response to a question about the Paleo diet in response to the “Ask Dr. Oz” segment? You might be surprised by what he said! WATCH FOR YOURSELF AND YOU DECIDE!
http://www.myfoxchicago.com/dpp/health/dr_oz/ask-dr-oz-post-op-season-2-twenty-one-20110218
- Most people are totally oblivious to the negative health effects of consuming a high-carb, low-fat diet can truly be. Check out this post from Brian Shilhavy at Health Impact News on a new study showing why lacking cholesterol in the body can have such a detrimental impact on the brain that it leads to early Alzheimer’s disease. Noted low-carb neurosurgeon Dr. Larry McCleary shared on my podcast previously that Alzheimer’s is simply another form of diabetes known as Type 3 diabetes directly related to consuming foods that keep blood sugar and insulin levels elevated–namely CARBOHYDRATES! This disease seems to be preventable with a quality high-fat, moderate protein, low-carb nutritional approach.
- Another recent study of monkeys highlighted in The New York Times found that feeding them carbohydrates makes them fat. Gee, ya think?
- Now that the new 2010 Dietary Guidelines from the USDA have been released, let the propaganda in support of them begin. Washington Post columnist Jennifer LaRue Huget dutifully did so in her column this week sharing how to incorporate more whole grains into your diet. Ummm, I think I’ll take a pass and enjoy more nutrient-dense foods like a delicious high-fat grass-fed steak or pastured eggs cooked in coconut oil. YUMMY!
- My friend and fellow low-carb crusader Tom Naughton did an outstanding blog post sharing the vast difference between how butter and canola oil is made that will open your eyes to just how much low-fat “health” foods are unnatural and highly-processed. Is this REALLY the way nature intended us to eat?
- Obesity isn’t going anywhere until we get serious about coming up with real-life solutions for battling it. Jill Escher at Slate came up with a brilliant column today called “The Alien Makes Them Fat” detailing how sugar/carb addiction is that “alien” that has kept us paralyzed on this issue for far too long because we haven’t treated it as seriously as we need to. As a former sugar/carb addict herself, she’s working to help eradicate this obesity epidemic once and for all through her writings. I think we’ll be hearing more from Jill on this issue in the future.
- I weighed in today at my menus blog after eight weeks of being on this new plan for success in 2011 and the results are continuing to astonish me–a total of 32.8 pounds lost–and counting! I’m well on my way to reaching my goal of 230 pounds very soon and I’ll likely continue to pursue weight/fat loss for as long as my body continues to cooperate. In addition to my intense focus on maintaining a high-fat, moderate protein, low-carb nutritional approach, engaging in intermittent fasting, and deliberate resistance and interval exercise, I’ve been doing something that I never thought I’d so every few days. I’m exercising on an empty stomach as a means of enhancing my fat loss. And it seems to be working very well with the big losses I’m seeing like the 5.2-pound weight loss this past week. I’m gonna keep doing it as long as I avoid any dizziness or fatigue doing it.
- Now here’s a story tailor-made for “Fun-Filled Friday.” It was published in the Los Angeles Times about a sushi restaurant owner getting sued by a diabetic who refused to eat his high-carb rice. It seems Type 2 diabetic David Martin wanted to take advantage of a $28 all-you-can-eat deal at the Studio City sushi restaurant when the owner Jay Oh noticed he was only eating the fish and not the accompanying rice. Oh told Martin he had to eat the rice or he couldn’t get the $28 price and Martin pleaded with the restaurant owner that he couldn’t do that because he has diabetes. The owner charged him for each of his orders individually…so now Martin is suing the Oh for $4,000 in damages. I don’t think this is really about the money as much as it is educating a restaurant owner in catering to the dietary needs of a patron. I wouldn’t eat the rice either and it’s horrendous that the owner would be so brazen as to FORCE a customer to eat something in order to get the deal. What do you think?
And finally today, I gotta leave you with something I thought was pretty hilarious that will leave a big smile on your face as you celebrate the weekend. It’s a British comedian named Paul Zerdin who does this bit called “The Human Ventriloquist” that will have you rolling in tears you’ll laugh so hard. ENJOY!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htU6qYsLsEE
That’s too funny! Hope it brightened your day today. That’s all I have for you on this “Fun-Filled Friday” but never fear–we’ll be back with more for you next Friday! THANKS for reading and watching today and have yourself a fabulous weekend everyone. SEE YA SOON!
