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.

The more we learn about essential Omega-3 fatty acids, we realize how much our bodies are protected from the disease processes they appear to inhibit, most notably heart disease. When we examine in depth how Omega-3 fats help us since our bodies cannot make them, it appears that their main action in the body is to stimulate chemicals that reduce inflammation in the joints, connective tissues and circulatory system. Inflammation is often neglected by most medical professionals because it not as easily detected in typical tests you have conducted in the doctor’s office during routine check-ups.

Click here to learn more about Omega-3 fats, why you need more of them in your diet, and what the best sources are for getting them.

Today we celebrate our landmark 200th podcast episode…and counting!

When I was approached in October 2006 by a fellow low-carb blogger named Kevin Kennedy-Spaien about starting my own podcast show after a short stint as a contributor on a new health magazine podcast, I had no idea what I was getting myself into at the time. But here it is just over two years later and I’m STILL doing this show…and LOVING it! And today is a very special and momentous day of celebration for “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” as we celebrate our historic 200th podcast episode! I’m both humbled and honored to have been able to share in this remarkable experience–and we’re just getting started.

In Episode 200 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” I’m joined in the studio with my executive producer Kevin Kennedy-Spaien as we reflect back on the first 200 episodes of the show–from my interview with Kimkins founder Heidi Diaz to my challenging interview with low-fat diet guru Dr. Dean Ornish–and tell the story about the beginnings of the show with all the audio issues we contended with while continually striving for excellence each and every time we post a new show. Regardless of how long you’ve been listening to the show, walk down memory lane with us over the first 200 shows!

There are FOUR ways you can listen to Episode 200:

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 200 [34:59m]:

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

If you wanna make sure you NEVER miss any new episode of the next 200 installments 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 have any fond recollections about the first 200 episodes of my podcast show? What do you think about the evolution of the show from an audio version of the blog into an interview-styled podcast? Celebrate with us by leaving your comments in the show notes section of Episode 200. Learn more about the services Kevin provides his podcasting clients at DiscOfLight.com.

Before you dig into that Thanksgiving turkey on Thursday, be sure to come back on Wednesday for a special interview with Dr. Barry Sears of Zone Diet fame talking about his brand new book entitled Toxic Fat. Lest you fear what Dr. Sears is referring to, he’s talking about stored body fat as being “toxic.” If you want to understand the detrimental effects of inflammation on health, then you won’t want to miss this podcast!

Yes, you can still have the taste of egg nog during the holiday season

Every year I get lots of requests for a holiday classic that people desperately want to find a low-carb version of. It’s just one of those iconic traditions in the American culture that people like to drink between Thanksgiving and Christmas, so why not make it low-carb, too! I’m talking about egg nog!

Oh, I can remember drinking egg nog with a dusting of nutmeg on top every holiday season growing up and mom would always yell at me and Kevin for drinking it all up. Hee hee! Hey, it was good stuff and tasted just like the best milkshake you’ve ever had…only Christmasier (is that a word?). Egg nog was one of the few delicious treats we were only able to have in November and December.

But now that I’m older and living a healthy sugar-free, low-carb lifestyle, how can I have egg nog now? It’s much too high in sugar and lactose (another form of sugar from milk) to be a part of a low-carb dieter’s life. And while there were a few brands of low-carb egg nog several years back, they’re all gone now. Never fear, though, I’ve got a recipe for low-carb egg nog that will blow you away and even a bonus egg nog cheesecake recipe compliments of our friends at Low-Carb Connoisseur. The secret is the sugar-free/carb-free/calorie-free Egg Nog flavored syrup from DaVinci that adds that familiar taste that you grew up with.

Click here to see how to make these incredible recipes just in time for Thanksgiving this week and to enjoy throughout the holiday season!

New GNR CD “Chinese Democracy” is out in 2008–enjoy your FREE Dr. Pepper!

Sure, it’s probably just another publicity stunt to grab attention for a highly-anticipated music release, but that doesn’t mean we can’t take advantage of a true freebie when it’s there for the taking. Have you heard about the deal that’s happening on Sunday, November 23, 2008 to anyone who chooses to take part in it? On that day for 24 hours, you will have the chance to receive a coupon good for one FREE 20-ounce Dr. Pepper product with absolutely no strings attached. Yep, it’s true!

Beginning at 12:01AM on Sunday, all you need to do is visit DrPepper.com to get a coupon good for your FREE DP that will not expire until February 28, 2009. But you have to register on Sunday only because the promotion will end promptly at midnight on Monday morning. Don’t you know the server at DP is gonna be blazing!

What’s this all about anyway? It seems a friendly bet was placed that legendary rock band Guns ‘N’ Roses would be unable to finish the album they’ve been working on for the past 17 years called “Chinese Democracy.” The deal was if they release it before the end of 2008, then Dr. Pepper would give away a bottle of their soda to everyone who wants one in America. The CD will finally release on iTunes and in Best Buy stores nationwide on November 23.

Whether you like the kind of rock n’ roll music that GNR produces or not, at least take advantage of this opportunity to get something FREE when you can. I’m gonna use my coupon to try that new Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry Chocolate flavor that came out last year. Sure, it’s got some NASTY-tame in it, but it’s only 20 ounces. And did I mention it’s FREE?! ENJOY!

Dr. Ted Jones is convinced low-carb is a healthy way of life

You never know who is gonna be impacted by livin’ la vida low-carb, but it doesn’t take very long for the benefits of this way of eating to start to show up. Just ask Dr. Ted Jones.

Dr. Jones is a clinical psychologist in the Knoxville, Tennessee area specializing in helping people who deal with chronic pain issues at the Behavioral Medicine Institute. One area he started researching in regards to helping his patients deal with their pain and depression is diet and, more specifically, a low-carb diet. Although he wasn’t morbidly obese or anything like that, Dr. Jones did face some rather grim realities in his health when decided to begin on a low-carb regimen in October 2006.

He weighed 199 pounds in that picture to the left at the top of this column. That slightly pudgy belly sticking out wasn’t the only issue Dr. Jones was dealing with. His fasting blood glucose was an incredible 306 and his HgA1c number was a shocking 11.6–both of these indicators of severe insulin resistance and pre-diabetes (if not full-blown Type 2 diabetes!). Additionally, his lipid profile showed he had a total cholesterol of 363 (I don’t know what the HDL or LDL number breakdown is or what the particle size of the LDL showed, but it likely wasn’t very good) and triglycerides of (this is NOT a typo!) 2023!!! Yes, Dr. Jones was in pretty bad shape from a health standpoint.

Click here to find out how low-carb radically changed his life and the life of his patients forever. You’ll never believe how much his health number changed!

Konstantin Monastyrsky goes absolutely ballistic about Dr. Atkins

You can always tell about a man’s true character when they are challenged on what they believe. After posting my recent book reviews on Amazon earlier this week, one of the authors did something rather surprising–he left a 1-star review of MY book Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey From Flabby Fat to Sensationally Skinny in One Year. HUH?! My rating of his book was a 3-star, but this obviously set him off and he retaliated against me and my book as a result. The author who did this is the subject of my second interview as part of this special “Wacky Week” of podcasts.

In Episode 199 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we are graced with the presence of a Ukraine-born author named Konstantin Monastyrsky, author of a book several of my readers have told me about called Fiber Menace: The Truth About the Leading Role of Fiber in Diet Failure, Constipation, Hemorrhoids, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, Ulcerative Colitis, Crohn’s Disease, and Colon Cancer. As you listen to the interview today, it won’t take very long to learn why this guy’s just a few fries short of a Happy Meal–bashing the cream of the crop low-carb authors Dr. Richard Bernstein, the late great Dr. Robert C. Atkins, Dr. Mike Eades, Dr. Arthur Agatston, and others. Although I attempted to steer the conversation to talk about his book, Konstantin wasn’t interested in discussing why fiber is a “menace” but instead showed why HE is the real menace. You just gotta hear it to believe it–YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT COMES OUT OF HIS MOUTH!

There are FOUR ways you can listen to Episode 199:

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 199 [29:17m]:

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

If you wanna make sure you NEVER miss a new 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 do you think about this clown claiming Dr. Atkins, Dr. Bernstein, and Dr. Eades have grave “errors” in their writings? Am I being too harsh on Konstantin Monastyrsky or is he off his rocker? Respond to today’s incredibly interesting podcast interview in the show notes section of Episode 199. If you’d like to learn more about Konstantin Monastyrsky and his Fiber Menace book, then visit his official web site. Just be careful not to say ANYTHING negative about him or he may lash out at you, too!

WHEW! With “Wacky Week” behind us, we’re looking forward to next week on Monday when we celebrate our monumental 200th Episode of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore.” It’s hard to believe we have done 200 shows in the past two years, but it is a reality. I’ll be joined in the studio by my wonderful executive podcast producer Kevin Kennedy-Spaien as we reminisce on memories about the show since it began in October 2006. Then on Wednesday, before you eat up on that Thanksgiving turkey, we’ll have the great Dr. Barry Sears of Zone Diet fame talking about his brand new book entitled Toxic Fat.

The upcoming 2010 dietary recommendations will likely change very little

Despite the fact that several prominent low-carb researchers and practitioners were nominated to be on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee earlier this year, including Eric C. Westman, M.D., M.H.S from Duke University, Mary C. Vernon, M.D. from The University of Kansas, Richard D. Feinman, Ph.D. from SUNY Downstate, Stephen Phinney, M.D. from The University of California-Davis, and Jeff S. Volek, Ph.D. from The University of Connecticut, all of the low-carb nominees who were under consideration were summarily rejected for inclusion in this vitally important nutritional advisory committee. Did you get that? NOT ONE SINGLE REPRESENTATIVE FROM THE LOW-CARB RESEARCH WORLD WAS CHOSEN! What a slap in the face!

CLICK HERE to see who the 13 members of the 2010 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee are, why this does not look good for the promotion of low-carb nutritional concepts in the next nutritional recommendations update, and what we can do to try to influence the direction of dietary public policy in the coming years.

If you eat-a the meat-a, then prepare for some resistance from PETA!

When you are trying to convey a message of peace, love, care and concern as a core belief in your organization, then you would at least expect the members of that group to exhibit these traits themselves in the tactics they use to promote their philosophy. But apparently that doesn’t hold true if you are a member of the extremist animal rights, anti-meat wacko group known as PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals). They are a fringe organization that is doing everything in their power to prevent people from consuming meat for two main reasons: 1) on moral grounds for the welfare of the animals and 2) for health reasons contending that a vegetarian or vegan diet is far superior nutritionally to one that consists of meat.

I don’t personally have a problem with someone who chooses to eat a meat-free diet (although you can make your low-carb lifestyle vegetarian, I do think you are limiting yourself from some truly fabulous nutrient-rich foods that are indeed an essential part of a healthy diet), but PETA always seems to take things to the extreme to say the least: dressing up in nothing but cellophane and describing meat-eaters as “cannibals”; conducting a national letter-to-the-editor writing campaign trashing the Atkins diet using the exact same letter; creating fake public surveys to make it look like the ultra-low-fat, vegetarian diet is more mainstream than it is; PETA nutcase Jody Gorran bringing a frivolous lawsuit against Atkins Nutritionals, Inc. that ran the good Atkins name through the mud for several years before a judge finally threw it out last year; and most recently in September 2008, PETA convinced the United Nations that meat consumption was a major reason for global warming! In fact, just this week they pressured the star of the #1 movie in America Daniel Craig from the latest James Bond flick Quantum of Solace to go vegetarian for the sake of the animals and health. Oh brother!

EXTREME? I think that’s putting it nicely. But you gotta hand it to them–just when you think they can’t go any more overboard than they already have, along comes something else that is equally shocking and almost always controversial like this news out of Vermont last week. You are not gonna believe what the PETA people are wanting to do to the meat-eating citizens in the Green Mountain State!

CLICK HERE to read how PETA is trying to get health insurance companies to RAISE premium rates on people who eat meat because they are endangering their health. And don’t miss the special Thanksgiving campaign that PETA is using to convince people to consume tofurkey instead next Thursday (which reminded me of a classic “Everybody Loves Raymond” clip that is too hilarious NOT to watch!)

Most of the time I allow the health headlines to build up before I write a blog post about them since they tend to trickle out here and there. But although I just did an update a couple of weeks ago with the new health stories that have recently come out, there has been a rush of health headlines I just couldn’t avoid this week. And so I’m sharing those with you today. ENJOY!