What does Jimmy Moore do in a typical day? Find out in today’s YouTube video!

Ever since I started working full-time as a low-carb health blogger in October 2006, many of my readers have wondered what in the world I do all day. From research and writing columns for a variety of web sites, interviewing guests for my podcast show, making YouTube videos, running a low-carb forum, reading and reviewing the latest diet and nutrition books, going to the gym to workout, taking time to play with my cats…(GASPING FOR AIR!)…and so much more! It keeps me quite busy, to say the least, and I wouldn’t trade this experience of helping people from all over the world for NOTHING! I consider it the highest privilege and honor to be able to do what I do on a daily basis.

In Episode 55 of “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb On YouTube,” I give you a brief glimpse into what a day in the life of Jimmy Moore looks like. The idea for this video came from my fellow low-carb weight loss buddy/blogger Kent Altena who recorded his own “day in the life” video recently on YouTube. So, using my handy-dandy little FLIP camera, I open the door into my life so you can see my routine. Although I could have shared MUCH more than I did in these 10 minutes, this will let you know what my life is like (if you are curious at all).

Have you missed any of our previous YouTube videos? Never miss another one by subscribing to our YouTube videos and you’ll be one of the first to know about them once they are uploaded to YouTube. Christine and I are always open to suggestions for show ideas and welcome your e-mail about the videos anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. THANK YOU for watching and sharing our videos with others.

Cartoon characterization compliments of CoxAndForkum.com

The new low-carb blogs and YouTube video makers just keep on coming. I’ve featured many of them before in posts here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Now I’ve got 36 new low-carb blogs that have caught my eye here in November 2008 along with a couple of low-carb YouTubers. Let me know what you think!

Delight your family and friends with this delicious low-carb pumpkin pie

Most people tend to enjoy the holiday season for reasons that go far beyond the presents, the family, the parties, and the jovial atmosphere. For many, it’s all about THE FOOD, baby! Thanksgiving and Christmas certainly offer plenty of opportunities for you to eat, eat, and eat some more and it can drive a low-carber straight up the wall since most of that food is decidedly high in sugars and excessive carbohydrates. It can seem discouraging for someone new to low-carb when they feel they must deprive themselves of all these seemingly wonderful aspects of this time of year.

But those of us who have been doing this for a few years already know the secret to surviving the holidays–find adequate substitutions! While there aren’t always perfect solutions to your low-carb wish list of foods, the fact is there are plenty of ways to stick to your low-carb lifestyle and gladly so for holiday gatherings. If you need some inspiration in this area, then I highly suggest you pick up Judy Barnes Baker’s CARB WARS: Sugar Is The New Fat cookbook (with a scrumptious pecan pie right there on the front cover) or just about ANY of the nearly dozen low-carb cookbooks written by the great Dana Carpender.

In the meantime, I do have a fabulous Low Carb Holiday Pumpkin Pie recipe to get your low-carb holidays off to a great start thanks to our friends at Low-Carb Connoisseur. This is a classic holiday dessert dish that people who are livin’ la vida low-carb shouldn’t have to do without just because they’re watching their carb intake. Bake this proudly and enjoy the intense aroma that will permeate throughout your house warming you inside and out as the leaves fall and the cold winds begin to blow. ENJOY!

LOW-CARB HOLIDAY PUMPKIN PIE
1 Jell-O Sugar Free Singles Pudding Mix Creamy Vanilla
15 ounces of pumpkin (fresh or canned)
1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 1/2 cups cool water
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice or DaVinci Gingerbread syrup
1 Dixie Carb Counters Home Made Press n’ Bake Pie Crust Mix

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Prepare pie crust mix according to package directions (do not bake) and place into 9″ or 10″ pie shell (note: placing thin strips of foil over edges of pie crust prevents over browning).

In medium sized bowl, combine pudding mix and cool water–whisk until smooth and creamy. Add cream, pumpkin, eggs and spice.

Whisk for 1 or 2 minutes until well blended. Spoon onto unbaked pie crust shell and bake for 1 hour. Cool and serve. Refrigerate leftover pie.

Makes 7 servings with 4 net carbs per serving.

Every year since I first started writing about low-carb back in 2005, I have made it an annual tradition to identify ten of the most influential, news-making, momentum changers in the world of low-carb living. With the proverbial snowball already starting to grow and grow with more and more research and interest in the health and weight benefits of livin’ la vida low-carb, I’m pleased to announce the top 10 low-carb movers and shakers of 2008 (see who got named in 2007, 2006 and 2005).

Click here to see who was named the Top 10 Low-Carb Movers & Shakers of 2008.

Many diet and food industry experts are declaring the low-carb diet craze over.

bq. A study by NPD Group, an independent marketing information company, found that the percentage of American adults on any low-carb diet in 2004 peaked at 9.1 percent in February and dropped to 4.9 percent by early November.

Further, it said only one of four people surveyed was significantly cutting carbs and “virtually none” were reducing carbs as much as the diets recommended. That means many companies that rode the low-carb wave are either out of business or refocusing their strategies.

The future isn’t looking too bright for makers of packaged foods aimed at low-carb dieters as more U.S. consumers are abandoning the lifestyle. According to new research, the percentage of Americans following low-carb diets such as Atkins and South Beach dropped to 4.6 percent in September from 9 percent in January. Dollar sales of such foods rose just 6.1 percent during the 13 weeks ended September 25, down from double and triple-digit gains in the previous six periods.

Meanwhile, sales of “The South Beach Diet” book slowed to about 20,000 copies a week in early October, down from around 70,000 a week during what some experts said was the peak of the low-carb diet craze in early March. “The bloom is off the rose,” said Bob Goldin, executive vice president of food industry consulting firm Technomic. “It doesn’t look like the market has any staying power.”

According to two new studies, low-carb dieting shows no signs of disappearing. Opinion Dynamics Corporation (ODC), a market research firm that specializes in the food service industry, reports that the number of Americans on a low-carb diet has remained stable at 11% of the U.S. adult population (24 million adults).

While the number of current low-carb dieters has remained stable, however, the percentage of people who say they are merely making an effort to restrict their carbs has dropped substantially in the past few months, according to the ODC study. This group, called low-carb lifestyle consumers, has decreased from 32% in April to 29% in the current study.

Read more…

The Washington Post reports that sales of low-carb products have fallen sharply at independent and health food stores, and some in the industry say a shakeout has begun.

“I do think now we’re on the downside of the roller coaster–and there will be ups again, but not as high,” said Dean Rotbart, editor of LowCarbiz.

Some food manufacturers say they see low-carb becoming part of the broad market for weight-loss products.

“It’s kind of exploded, it’s a trend, and then it becomes, really, a niche,” said Michael Diegel, a spokesman for the Grocery Manufacturers of America Inc. “That’s where it looks like it’s going at this point.”