New York Times journalist asks Americans to begin “Rethinking Thin”

We all want it so badly, crave it deeper than even a big slice of the most decadent dessert you could ever imagine, and millions would quite literally do anything to attain it. After all, there’s a steady streamline of positive images associated with this thrown in front of us day after day after day that it has become a national obsession.

What is it? The insatiable and desirable quest to be thin.

Just take a quick look at all the magazine ads, television commercials, and billboards used in marketing nowadays. Have you ever noticed how nearly ALL of them are unreasonably, even abnormally thin? When did our society make this the model for what bodily perfection looks like? Have we artificially raised the expectations of what is healthy, beautiful, and normal?

These are just a few of the questions that New York Times science reporter Gina Kolata sought to answer in her book entitled Rethinking Thin: The New Science of Weight Loss–and the Myths and Realities of Dieting. With our culture seemingly mesmerized by the latest diet fads and weight loss gimmicks that keep coming out, Kolata wanted to bring a touch of reality and common sense to this issue that encompasses so many physical and emotional ties to the lives of overweight and obese people.

As a former 400-pounder who was able to overcome morbid obesity through the use of the Atkins low-carb diet, I was personally excited about reading this book that charges people to begin Rethinking Thin. There are so many good overall themes that Kolata makes in this book, but there were also some recurrent and glaring omissions that made me just shake my head in disgust because people who read the book will not get the whole picture.

Click here to read the rest of my review of Gina Kolata’s Rethinking Thin and why I believe this book is sending a dangerous message to the overweight and obese.

Wanna lean body? Lee Labrada says he can get you there in 3 months!

We’ve all heard the saying that if you commit to doing something long enough, then it will very quickly become a habit and a regular part of your routine. And that is the secret behind former Mr. Universe Lee Labrada’s book entitled The Lean Body Promise: Burn Away Fat and Release the Leaner, Stronger Body Inside You.

I think I love this guy (in a brotherly kind of way, of course!) because he just makes sense. And he should know what he’s talking about since he has appeared on magazine covers, on television shows, and headed up an anti-obesity campaign in Houston, Texas. As a world-class bodybuilder, Labrada has seen all the good and the bad when it comes to health and he shares it in this engaging book.

With a natural wit and ability to connect with his reader, Labrada goes through step-by-step what YOU need to do to overcome the mental obstacles that stand in the way of your eventual success, provides examples of people who have been successful to serve as inspiration for your new journey, arm you with ample motivation for getting the job done, providing specifics about the kind of diet you should be eating to attain optimal results, and, of course, give you specific direction about how to workout your body to look and feel better than you ever imagined.

Sounds awesome, doesn’t it?

Click here to read the rest of my review of The Lean Body Promise by Lee Labrada.

Dr. Richard Bernstein doesn’t just teach, but lives the low-carb way

Diabetes is a disease that used to only afflict young children when Type 1 was so dominant. But now it’s the 21st Century and Type 2 diabetes hasn’t just risen, but exploded into a full-fledged epidemic as one of the biggest health threats of our day. What’s really scary is the fact that the problem is expected to get that much worse over the next few decades. Yikes!

In 1997, Dr. Richard K. Bernstein first introduced what would become the pinnacle diabetes bible to the world when he published the first edition of The Diabetes Solution: The Complete Guide to Achieving Normal Blood Sugars. Controversial, against the grain, but extremely effective, the low-carbohydrate dietary approach to treating diabetes has never been more clearly explained.

Now, Dr. Bernstein has revised and expanded his classic bestselling book to make it even better than it was when it released a decade ago. As a man who has lived with Type 1 diabetes since childhood, he knows from whence he speaks and now wants to help others find the “solution” that he discovered a long time ago.

Read the rest of my review of Dr. Bernstein’s revised and updated version of The Diabetes Solution by clicking here.

Dr. Don Colbert applies his Biblical worldview to health

While God most certainly played a role in my nearly 200-pound weight loss on the Atkins diet in 2004, you are not necessarily required to be a Christian in order for the diet (or ANY diet!) to work. I’ve been asked questions like “Do you have to be religious to do your diet?” by well-meaning members of the secular media when I bring up the role of my faith in my journey towards better health.

The short answer is “no,” but it certainly helps to have the power of the Almighty Creator on your side for those times when you need His divine strength to carry you through the valleys that most certainly come when you try to lose weight. If you’ve ever gone through a weight loss experience without support, then you know exactly how hard it can be. You need a friend that sticks closer than a brother to be there for you when you need Him the most.

What if you could invest a mere 10-15 minutes a day for less than two months of you life and learn practical Biblical advice about improving your health? Would you be interested in learning more about it? If you are a Christian or desire to do something positive and productive about your weight and health, then of course you would.

That’s precisely why prolific Christian author Dr. Don Colbert wrote his bestselling book entitled The Seven Pillars Of Health: The Natural Way To Better Health For Life. This 50-day all-inclusive health manual will empower you with tons of information that can be absorbed and immediately applied into your life to bring about big changes in a short period of time. This could be the miracle you have been praying for.

Read the rest of my review of Don Colbert’s The Seven Pillars Of Health by clicking here.

The wonderful, popular website, DietChannel.com — which bills itself as “An Authoritative Resource for Diet and Fitness Information” — is now running a review of my book SUGAR SHOCK! from nutritionist Allison Stevens, R.D.

(Allison — a charming dietitian who I admire and respect — interviewed me recently for a Q & A that the site is running with me soon in this interviews section. In fact, we had a fun time talking.)

Anyhow, while her review on DietChannel.com is positive in totality — Allison does ultimately recommend that you buy the book — she made some remarks that I find at least partly unfair, if not inaccurate. But I welcome her criticisms and comments even if I disagree with some of her thoughts and conclusions.

See for yourself if you agree with this review by clicking here.

For the past five years, while working on my book SUGAR SHOCK!, I had the pleasure of interviewing some of the most cutting edge health experts out there.

One M.D. I interviewed is Dr. Mark Hyman, who not only is a much-acclaimed physician, but one who’s quite savvy about nutrition (unlike most doctors). Not only that, but he’s hip to the dangers of sugars and refined carbs. (You can find some quotes from him about this in SUGAR SHOCK!)

Stay tuned, because Dr. Hyman will be offering a teleseminar for my audience. (Details to come shortly.)

Anyhow, Dr. Hyman — a two-time New York Times bestselling author — has written a revolutionary book, UltraMetabolism — The Simple Plan for Automatic Weight Loss, which contains some crucial information about YOUR health that you are JUST NOT hearing about… In fact, Dr. Hyman’s book contains information that could not only help you finally fix your chronic health problems, but also help you feel better, look better and give you an energy boost as a bonus.

You can find out more info here about this book, which is the same book that’s been featured in a public television special airing nationwide, as well as on Good Morning America, The Early Show, The View and AOL’s home page every couple of months.

I bring good news. Dr. Hyman, who I greatly admired, has agreed to offer you three gifts:

1. A sneak peek of the book;
2. A metabolism-boosting 7-step online course; and
3. A 60-minute video that will show you how you may generate automatic health and weight loss.

Learn more about Dr. Hyman’s revolutionary book here.

I don’t know about you, but there’s no way in the world I could ever go completely without chocolate in this world. Say what you want about this food, it is one of God’s greatest gifts to the human race. And there are even studies showing chocolate has health benefits. So, to all you anti-chocolate antagonists out there, go stick it where the sun don’t shine!

Of course, one of the problems with most chocolate bars has to do with one of the primary ingredients in it–SUGAR! UGH! Some people justify eating chocolate for health benefits but neglect the gobs of unhealthy carbohydrate-infested sugar they put in it. That’s why I’m very critical of the well-meaning but not-so-good-for-you CocoaVia chocolate bars.

In fact, I recently learned that according to the government standards in Europe, you can’t call something chocolate if it DOESN’T have sugar in it! WHAT?! How ridiculous is it to think you MUST have sugar in chocolate for it to be chocolate.

Here in America we know there are PLENTY of great sugar-free, low-carb options for chocolate, not the least of which is my absolutely FAVORITE chocolate bar on the planet…(you probably know, but CLICK HERE to find out if you don’t!).

Also, fellow blogger and HUGE weight loss champion Beth Badore–aka Melting Mama–has been doing a series of video reviews lately of various health food products and now she’s positively reviewed this same brand of chocolate bars I love so much.

Check out her video review of this chocolate bar for yourself:

Find out more about Melting Mama’s review and see some special recipes with this chocolate brand that is tops in the world bar none by clicking here.

“Dr. Manny” arms you with informed health information you can use

A 37-year old businessman has to leave work early to pass a kidney stone. A 62-year old grandmother keeps turning the television up louder and louder to hear it while her grandkids cover their ears. A sad and despondent teenager thinks she is too fat and begins throwing up to help her lose weight. An expectant mother-to-be has high blood pressure and wonders how that will impact the health of her baby.

If there was a way to prevent these everyday moments in life from happening, would you want to know about it? If somehow you inherently knew what was about to happen to your health in the next 5, 10, even 50 years, then how would that change the way you live your life? What if there was some sort of manual to provide guidance and direction about how to stay ahead of the curve and actually prevent the most common ailments from afflicting you before they happen?

Well, that’s exactly what the new book by Dr. Manny Alvarez entitled The Checklist: What You And Your Family Need To Know To Prevent Disease And Live A Long And Healthy Life has set out to do! Whether you are 3 months, 3 years, 33 or even 93, this book tells you exactly what you can expect in terms of your health based on the decade of life you are currently living in.

Most people know “Dr. Manny” from his fantastic work as a health correspondent on the FOX News Channel. Seeing a void in the health market for a book explaining what happens to the typical person at various stages of their life, Dr. Manny decided to write this book so that people won’t be caught off guard when calamity hits.

Of course, he is not so presumptuous to think that people can only be stricken with certain diseases and health complications during a given decade. We all know that we are susceptible to just about anything given the circumstances, so this book is merely a guide of what COULD happen in the future or maybe even sooner. That’s why it’s probably an excellent idea for you to go ahead and skip to the chapters ahead of your current age so you can prepare yourself and even ward off what for many is the inevitable.

Click here to read the rest of my review of The Checklist by Dr. Manny Alvarez.

A book about avoiding flour and sugar–a low-carber’s dream!

I live my life by the KISS motto–keep it simple stupid!

That’s because simplicity is the most effective way to make something as complicated as something like a healthy diet as understandable as possible to everyone who hears it. People are already confused enough from the health “experts” about how many calories they need to be eating, what kinds of foods they should be consuming, trying to figure out the proper ratio of carbohydrates, fat and protein they should be eating–somebody please make the madness of it all go away! AAAAACK!

Well, that is exactly what syndicated health columnist Dr. Peter H. Gott (”Ask Dr. Gott”) has attempted to do with his very simple, yet incredibly effective four-word diet plan and here it is: NO FLOUR, NO SUGAR! That’s it! Nothing more, nothing less. Just avoid the white flour and eliminate all forms of sugar from your diet and you will lose and maintain your weight forever and ever, amen. Sounds easy enough, doesn’t it?

It’s this kind of bare minimum advice that is winning Dr. Gott’s No Flour, No Sugar Diet enthusiastic fans the world over. For those of us who are livin’ la vida low-carb, we already know how important it is to remove flour and sugar from our diet because these are the kind of carbohydrates that are making Americans fat and unhealthy at a record pace. However, there can also be a case made for avoiding other high-carb foods like potatoes, rice, pasta, processed foods, and junk foods, too. But this is at least a good start.

If the issue of obesity were simply a matter of cosmetics, then it wouldn’t be such a crisis right now. But the sad fact that Dr. Gott points out very clearly in his book is that the resulting health problems that have come from the existence and prevalence of obesity alone is unnecessarily having an adverse impact on the quality of life of tens of millions of Americans. In fact, it is leading to hundreds of thousands of deaths annually and nobody seems to care!

As a diet and weight loss advocate myself, I was pleased to see Dr. Gott talk so openly about important elements of living healthy such as keeping a food journal, carefully reading nutritional labels, finding support from people who will help you lose weight, exercising regularly, adequately planning for your new lifestyle change, avoiding the real fad diets, staying focused on the plan, and making your new habits stick for proper weight maintenance for many years to come.

All of this is excellent advice, but…

Unfortunately, Dr. Gott doesn’t embrace livin’ la vida low-carb as a viable means for permanently losing weight and keeping it off forever because he thinks it is “potentially harmful” to eat the high amounts of protein and saturated fat from animal sources while allegedly decreasing the amount of fiber as well as fruits and veggies consumed with such an “extreme” plan like the Atkins diet. He sounds the warning bell that all of this will lead to an even bigger risk of heart disease, obesity, and maybe even cancer over the long-term.

Click here to read more of my review of Dr. Gott’s No Flour, No Sugar Diet including my response to his absolutely ridiculous claims against low-carb diets.

Dr. Richard Jackson and Amy Tenderich give diabetics a useful tool

Lose 30 pounds. Get your blood pressure down. Lower your LDL cholesterol and triglycerides and get that HDL cholesterol up. Keep an eye on your blood sugar and have it checked often.

Does any of this sound familiar? Sure it does and you may have even heard it from your own doctor regarding your flailing health because of you are overweight or obese. It’s the dreaded lecture that comes from physicians when they see certain health indicators come back as irregular.

But what if what you are dealing with is something even more life-threatening than just a bout with obesity, hypertension, or a poor lipid profile? What if it