Eve The O.T. wants people to learn to meditate and relax more

A few months ago I started taking a yoga class at my local gym for the first time in my life. Some people think it’s all about new age voodoo, but there are some truly remarkable benefits to investing just a few moments of your time to do this. With all the stress that I’ve been personally experiencing over this past year with a failed IVF cycle, the health decline and death of my brother Kevin, and my wife Christine’s chronic pain health issues, among many other thing, I needed a way to release all that built-up tension in my body and yoga has fit the bill. Today I have an interview guest who specializes in helping people learn to relax through meditation to overcome pain and stress.

In Episode 204 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we hear from Eve Kennedy-Spaien, aka “Eve The O.T.,” who shares about the vital importance of setting aside time each day for meditation to bring the mind, body, and spirit under control from the hustle and bustle of life. In my interview with her, you’ll hear a sample track from her CD “The Beach: A Journey in the Mind’s Eye” as well as an exclusive meditation demonstration involving food for the listeners of my podcast show. If you go, go, go all the time and never slow down long enough to breathe, then perhaps you could stand to benefit from what Eve shares about meditating in today’s show.

There are FOUR ways you can listen to Episode 204:

1. Listen and comment about the show at iTunes:

2. Listen and comment about the show at the official web site:

3. Download the MP3 file of Episode 204 [31:12m]:

4. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via Podlinez

If you wanna make sure you NEVER miss a single episode of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” then be sure to Subscribing to the RSS feed or click on the “Subscribe” button at iTunes. If you need assistance about how to subscribe to the podcast, then just CLICK HERE for a video tutorial from my producer Kevin Kennedy-Spaien to show you how.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS PODCAST! Visit the iTunes page for “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” and write a review about the show. This makes a tremendous impact on who accesses the show and we’ve seen a huge influx of new listeners in recent weeks and months because of the efforts of those fans of the podcast who took just a few moments of their time to leave a brief comment at iTunes. THANKS for sharing with others about my podcast and let’s keep it on the front page at iTunes heading into 2009. You guys are truly amazing people!

Do you see benefit in this concept of meditation that Eve Kennedy-Spaien shared in this episode? Have you noticed the stress of life taking a toll on your health and wondered how to release all that tension in your body? Share your comments in the show notes section of Episode 204. Visit the Disc of Light web site for more information about Eve’s meditation work and you can order her latest CD “The Beach: A Journey in the Mind’s Eye.” Special thanks to Eve and her husband (my podcast producer) Kevin Kennedy-Spaien for sharing this information with us today.

Come back again next week where we’ll once again have THREE big podcasts to share with you as a special early Christmas present for being such faithful listeners to “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore.” On Monday we’ll experience Cathy Lang from a cutting-edge weight loss web site called Weight View that helps people visualize what they will look like after shedding the pounds; then on Wednesday freelance columnist Michelle Thompson from SheKnows LowCarb who will have some Christmas party and holiday food serving tips for us; and finally on Friday Jennifer McLagan will share with us about her brand new book entitled Fat: An Appreciation of a Misunderstood Ingredient, With Recipes where she praises the virtues of consuming fat! You gotta LOVE it! That’s all coming up next week, so THANK YOU for listening!

Facebook is fun, but watch out for crafty hackers who want to spoil it

Social networking has become almost as synonymous with the online world as blogging over the past year or so. People are reconnecting with friends from their past and staying in touch just like old times again. It really is a uniquely 21st Century phenomenon that has brought the world much closer together than ever before. While many of the kids and teenagers enjoy hanging out on MySpace, a growing contingent of people are turning to Facebook to chronicle all that is happening in their lives with their list of friends.

I have my own Facebook page and so does my wife Christine (who’s addicted to it now!). With my 20-year high school reunion coming up next year, this has been the perfect way to communicate with former classmates about what we are planning to do. The neat thing is brand new people are coming to Facebook all the time, so it’s like a reunion whenever you reconnect with people from high school, college, or who you haven’t seen in a very long time.

But with such a wonderful place comes the risk of being taken advantage of and that’s exactly what has happened this week to the 120 million active users of Facebook. A truly evil and maniacal web virus called “Koobface” disguises itself as a note from one of your Facebook “friends” with some strange messages that long-time Internet users would immediately recognize as fake. Even still, a lot of people have been victimized by this virus, including my wife Christine who was none the wiser about it when she clicked on the message from a “friend.”

Click here to learn more about this “Koobface” virus, what it will do to your computer if you are victimized by it, and how you can protect yourself from falling prey to it in the first place.

Introducing low-carb YouTube star Cameo “Spiky Haired Girl” Watkins

There are lots of diamonds in the rough within the low-carb world who are doing yeoman’s work promoting the healthy message of low-carb living. Many of these people go about doing their work faithfully and without accolades. From blogging to leaving comments on message boards, little by little they are making an enormous impact on what people think about diet and health. One place where this is happening more and more is on YouTube and one of the rising low-carb stars on there has got to be “The Spiky Haired Girl”–Cameo Watkins!

In Episode 203 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” Cameo tells us all about who she is, shares why she began the work she is doing on YouTube promoting the healthy low-carb lifestyle, provides recommendations about supplements that are good for people to take, and so much more! You can access her blog as well to learn just a little more about this sweetheart Southern low-carb belle.

There are FOUR ways you can listen to Episode 203:

1. Listen and comment about the show at iTunes:

2. Listen and comment about the show at the official web site:

3. Download the MP3 file of Episode 203 [21:00m]:

4. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via Podlinez

If you wanna make sure you NEVER miss a single episode of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” then be sure to Subscribing to the RSS feed or click on the “Subscribe” button at iTunes. If you need assistance about how to subscribe to the podcast, then just CLICK HERE for a video tutorial from my producer Kevin Kennedy-Spaien to show you how.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS PODCAST! Visit the iTunes page for “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” and write a review about the show. This makes a tremendous impact on who accesses the show and we’ve seen a huge influx of new listeners in recent weeks and months because of the efforts of those fans of the podcast who took just a few moments of their time to leave a brief comment at iTunes. THANKS for sharing with others about my podcast and let’s keep it on the front page at iTunes heading into 2009. You guys are truly amazing people!

What did you think about my friend Cameo Watkins? Have you seen her videos on YouTube before? How’s she doing sharing the message of low-carb living? Let’s talk about it in the show notes section of Episode 203. Subscribe to “The Spiky Haired Girl” YouTube videos and bookmark her companion blog, too!

There’s one more podcast to go this week coming up on Friday when we’ll have occupational therapist Eve Kennedy-Spaien help us lower the stress in our lives through conscious meditation and relaxation of the mind. She even gives an on-air demonstration for you to enjoy, so be sure to listen to this special podcast in a quiet, restful place if possible. That’s coming up on Friday! SEE YA THEN!

The National Football League doing their part to tackle obesity

If you were like me and tens of millions of other Americans on Thanksgiving last week, then your eyes were glued to the television set all day watching the Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, and all the rest of the teams playing that day entertain us from noon until night. It’s a tradition that has become so ingrained in our culture that advertisers EXPECT to have a large television audience that day. And the National Football League (NFL) which brings such joy and happiness to football fans from coast to coast know this, too, which is why they proudly rolled out a new public service announcement for their NFL PLAY 60 program.

Click here to see why this good-intentioned plan for trying to eradicate childhood obesity is sorely lacking and to learn how a good quality diet is much more effective than encouraging 60 minutes of play a day for children.

Fred Hahn says strength training is essential for childhood development

Although I don’t personally have any children of my own, most of my friends and blog readers do. One of the most popular questions I hear from these parents is this: How can I get my child to be fit and trim? It’s a GREAT question and it can be broken down into two parts–what’s a good diet for my child to be eating and what kind of exercise does my child need to be doing? Both of those questions are emphatically and thoroughly answered by one of the leading voices in the low-carb fitness community today. His name is Fred Hahn (author of the bestselling The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution with Drs. Mike and Mary Dan Eades) and his new brand new book Strong Kids, Healthy Kids is dedicated to this very subject.

In Episode 202 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” Fred Hahn explains why strength training along with a healthy low-sugar, low-carbohydrate nutritional approach is indeed the healthiest way for your children to grown into the healthy, strong adults they were intended to be. He hits on all the major points about how to make your kids happy and healthy–the low-carb way! As a passionate father and fitness professional, Fred is committed to educating people of all ages to make better choices in their diet and exercise routine. If you have kids or grandkids, then you owe it to yourself to listen to today’s interview.

There are FOUR ways you can listen to Episode 202:

1. Listen and comment about the show at iTunes:

2. Listen and comment about the show at the official web site:

3. Download the MP3 file of Episode 202 [33:27m]:

4. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via Podlinez

If you wanna make sure you NEVER miss a single episode of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” then be sure to Subscribing to the RSS feed or click on the “Subscribe” button at iTunes. If you need assistance about how to subscribe to the podcast, then just CLICK HERE for a video tutorial from my producer Kevin Kennedy-Spaien to show you how.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS PODCAST! Visit the iTunes page for “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” and write a review about the show. This makes a tremendous impact on who accesses the show and we’ve seen a huge influx of new listeners in recent weeks and months because of the efforts of those fans of the podcast who took just a few moments of their time to leave a brief comment at iTunes. THANKS for sharing with others about my podcast and let’s keep it on the front page at iTunes heading into 2009. You guys are truly amazing people!

How about what you heard from Fred Hahn in today’s interview? Are you convinced a healthy low-carb diet and “Slow Burn” strength training program will work for your child? Discuss what’s on your mind in the show notes section of Episode 202. Pick up copy of Strong Kids, Healthy Kids as well as The Slow Burn Fitness Revolution and be sure to visit Fred’s “Slow Burn” blog. Also, read my blog interview with Fred last year and these 20 effective fat-loss tips he shared in a recent post.

We’re just getting started with the podcasts this week. Come back on Wednesday when I’ll share my interview with “The Spiky Haired Girl” Cameo Watkins–a low-carb videomaking superstar on YouTube. Then on Friday we’ll share a unique and relaxing interview with Eve Kennedy-Spaien, an occupational therapist who helps people lower the stress and distractions in their day-to-day routine. THANKS so much for listening!

I was working on the raw footage of a brand new YouTube video last night before going to bed for my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube” series and had high hopes of getting it posted early this morning. No such luck! Being gone since last Wednesday with Christine’s family in Virginia backed my work up BIG TIME and I’ve been playing catch-up all day long. But quite coincidentally, I received an e-mail this afternoon from a reader today inquiring about my recent “sweet”-free challenge–the very subject of my latest YouTube video!

Here’s what she wrote:

Hi Jimmy,

Somehow I missed the results of your “sweet”-free challenge. What happened when you stayed off anything “sweet” for 30-days beginning October 27th through Thanksgiving?

THANKS for that question and you’re right–I never let you know about it here at my main blog. The readers at my menus blog know that I made it for 18 days on my original “sweet”-free challenge where I attempted to go without ANYTHING sweet-tasting on my tongue for a period of 30 days just to see how I would do. You can read my journal entry for November 13, 2008 to see that the circumstances of my transmission blowing up along with Christine’s continuing chelation therapy treatments in Hilton Head, SC drove me to drink a 20-ounce Coke Zero and my first attempt at going “sweet”-free was officially over.

But there was some good news with that first challenge despite the fact I didn’t make it for the full 30 days. I lost 10 pounds in just over two weeks to get down to 255 (the lowest weight I’ve been since January) after struggling with a pesky 30-pound weight gain since the beginning of the year when I started lifting weights. Just removing the “sweet” taste from my mouth along with the proper dosage of Metformin (500mg in the morning and at night) produced the weight loss success for me. Additionally, I have significantly reduced the amount of diet sodas I was drinking from the upwards of 8-10 cans daily. In fact, I went an entire week after “ending” the challenge without wanting a Diet Rite at all. And I haven’t had a ChocoPerfection or even my own chocolate bar at all in well over a month! Now THAT is PROGRESS!!!

In Episode 56 of “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube,” I’m back with a new challenge to go “sweet”-free yet again starting out at 253.5 pounds…and this time I’m gonna do it all the way. It officially started for me today, December 1, 2008 and I am committing to go through with it in what is arguably the hardest time of the year to go without something sweet–December! With Christmas parties, Christmas Day, and even my birthday all coming up this month, the challenge is that much harder for me. But I WILL do it this time around and I encourage you to follow my progress at my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Menus” blog as well as find support from others who are doing this with me in this forum thread at my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Discussion” forum.

I’m currently tracking my daily food intake, exercise, and calories (to make sure I’m eating ENOUGH of them) and I hope it is an encouragement to you as you contemplate joining me on this journey, too! You know your low-carb lifestyle has become a little complacent and this could be just the thing you need to get it back going again for you heading into 2009. My goal is to lose at least 10 more pounds during this challenge to get started off right for the upcoming new year!

The videos keep piling up the more we do them and I encourage you to go back and watch any of the previous YouTube videos you might have missed. While you’re there, don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel and be the first on your block to see the new episodes within moments of being uploaded to YouTube. Christine and I appreciate hearing from you and as always welcome your feedback about what we share in our videos anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. THANK YOU for watching and feel free to spread the word about our videos to your online friends!

Zone Diet creator Dr. Barry Sears has a new book called “Toxic Fat”

There are a few great thinkers in the health community who are constantly on the cutting edge of diet and weight loss. One of those people is the creator of one of the most popular lower-carb nutritional approaches of the day called The Zone Diet. His name is Dr. Barry Sears and he has a hot new book release that you’ll definitely want to check out called Toxic Fat: When Good Fat Turns Bad.

In Episode 201 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” listen to my interview with Dr. Barry Sears as he shares about why our stored body fat is so “toxic” to our health primarily because of “silent” inflammation. Dr. Sears shares how to get rid of the toxic fat and inflammation with a unique combination of diet and fish oil supplementation (and NOT the addition of cardiovascular exercise which he says in ineffective for weight loss). Inflammation is becoming more and more popular in medical circles and we have Dr. Sears to thank for leading the charge on this subject.

There are FOUR ways you can listen to Episode 201:

1. Listen and comment about the show at iTunes:

2. Listen and comment about the show at the official web site:

3. Download the MP3 file of Episode 201 [21:59m]:

4. Calling (818) 688-2763 to listen via Podlinez

If you wanna make sure you NEVER miss a single episode of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” then be sure to Subscribing to the RSS feed or click on the “Subscribe” button at iTunes. If you need assistance about how to subscribe to the podcast, then just CLICK HERE for a video tutorial from my producer Kevin Kennedy-Spaien to show you how.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT THIS PODCAST! Visit the iTunes page for “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” and write a review about the show. This makes a tremendous impact on who accesses the show and we’ve seen a huge influx of new listeners in recent weeks and months because of the efforts of those fans of the podcast who took just a few moments of their time to leave a brief comment at iTunes. THANKS for sharing with others about my podcast and let’s keep it on the front page at iTunes heading into 2009. You guys are truly amazing people!

Was there anything that you heard from Dr. Barry Sears that didn’t make sense? Or are you convinced he is 100% dead-on regarding diet and health? Share your feedback about today’s episode in the show notes section of Episode 201. Get your own copy of Toxic Fat: When Good Fat Turns Bad to educate yourself further on this subject of inflammation and toxic fat and check out Dr. Sears’ official web site for updates on the work he is doing.

Thanksgiving is over, but I’ve got a special treat for you coming up next week–THREE BIG PODCASTS! We’ll start on Monday with fitness expert Fred Hahn sharing his “slow burn” strategy for kids in his new book Strong Kids, Healthy Kids. Then on Wednesday I’ll talk with “The Spiky Haired Girl” Cameo Watkins who is making some fabulous low-carb videos on YouTube. Finally, on Friday we get a chance to relax and meditate with the wife of my podcast producer Kevin. Her name is Eve Kennedy-Spaien and she is an occupational therapist with an outstanding talent for getting people to de-stress their lives. It’s all coming up this week, so DON’T MISS IT!!!

Poor Big Bird, he’s not a turkey is he?

Christine and I will be spending time in Virginia Beach, Virginia with her family for the Thanksgiving holiday this week. Christine’s sister had a baby in September and we’ll get to see her for the first time since her birth. Plus, it’s been a year since we’ve been back home to visit with Christine’s parents, grandmother, brother and sister, so it will be a nice time away. With all that’s been happening in our life this year, it will be a great change of pace to have a few days to rest and relax.

Since I’ll be gone from Wednesday afternoon through the end of the weekend, I wanted to leave you with a small sampling of the most recent e-mails I have received from fans of my various “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” concepts. I never get tired of hearing from you, so don’t hesitate to e-mail me anytime with your comments, questions, and anything that’s on your mind. Send those e-mails to livinlowcarbman@charter.net.

Click here to read these e-mails with questions about diet and health, testimonies of low-carb success, and appreciation for the work I am doing on behalf of low-carb living. HAPPY THANKSGIVING everyone!

DiabetesMine is hosting a Holiday Survival Sweepstakes contest

I love coming up with contests and giving people a chance to win some really cool prizes. It’s one of the fun things I get to do with my own blog from time to time (especially for my annual blogiversary contest like this one in 2008 that happens every April). So when one of my fellow health bloggers decides to give away some stuff you can win, I’m all too eager to tell you all about it.

The The 2008 DiabetesMine™ Holiday Survival Sweepstakes is hosted by friend and fellow health blogger with Type 1 diabetes named Amy Tenderich who runs what is arguably one of the best diabetes blogs on the Internet. Although I took her to task in March 2007 for writing a book about diabetes without mentioning the incredible benefits of carbohydrate control, Amy has openly acknowledged that managing carbs ain’t such a bad idea after all for people with diabetes and insulin resistance. She even complimented the “enthusiasm of the low-carb community” to get the positive word out about carbohydrate restriction for health. WE TRY!

With all of her contacts in the diabetic world, Amy wanted to reward her readers with some great low-carb diabetes prizes by simply participating in a creative contest around the subject of the holidays.

“The whole idea is to share some of our best tips about surviving the holiday season with diabetes, have some fun, and share the freebie love!” Amy explains at her blog.

Each week Amy will post a new question for you to answer (like the Week 1 question “What is your killer strategy for managing your BG while at parties?”) and it’s likely something many low-carbers will be able to easily answer as well since we mostly eat like a diabetic whether we have the disease or not. There are LOADS of prizes you can win and making yourself eligible for them is simple.

Check in at the DiabetesMine web site each week through the end of December. On Tuesdays a new question will be posed (like the one for Week 2: “What’s your best comeback for any ‘diabetes police’ who bug you during a holiday meal?”) and simply submit your answer in the comments section of that particular post. You’ll have until midnight the following Sunday to submit your entries for the drawing the next week for 7-8 prizes. Each of the weekly winners will also be entered into a BIG drawing for three GRAND PRIZES to be chosen at the end of the sweepstakes.

They’re hoping to create an e-book with all the fabulous advice and wisdom from real diabetics during this contest, so don’t be bashful–ENTER THE CONTEST and share from your experiences. GOOD LUCK in the drawings and support Amy with her incredible Holiday Survival Sweepstakes contest.

Eating your turkey without the carbs is just as enjoyable on Thanksgiving

Coming up on Thursday, we will be celebrating one of the most revered holidays in American culture–Thanksgiving! Who doesn’t like having one day out of the year when you have a plentiful buffet of food followed by watching football, and giving thanks to God for another year of blessings in your life. It’s a unique time when families gather together and just enjoy being with those they love the most (remember that when your kid throws a temper tantrum while Grandma complains about not being able to find her false teeth!). Ahhhhhhhh, Thanksgiving!

When you decide to start livin’ la vida low-carb in earnest, there might be some temptation to justify going “off plan” on holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas. But let me caution you about falling into the trap of thinking this is okay. While I’m not one of those hard-nosed purists who thinks you should strictly stick to the plan and NEVER allow anything to go in your mouth that isn’t low-carb, I also realize that human nature will kick in when you give in–especially on a special occasion like Thanksgiving.

Click here to find out why allowing yourself to “splurge” on Thanksgiving may spin you out of control in your low-carb lifestyle and how you can make better choices on this special holiday for the sake of your weight and health.