Low-Carb Diet As a Treatment for Cancer?

Time and CNN have a really interesting article found here:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1662484,00.html

It is entitled "Can a High-Fat Diet Beat Cancer?"

In the article scientists are speculating that a high-fat ketogenic diet can help folks with cancer! A German doctor named Otto Warburg (a winner of Alfred Nobel's Prize for Physiology or Medicine in 1931) studied cellular metabolism and respiration of cancer cells.

Based on his research and discoveries, scientists are wondering if switching a body from a carbohydrate rich diet to a ketogenic diet would be beneficial for folks suffering from certain cancers. Doctor Warburg discovered that cancer cells can live even in the absence of oxygen and that the cancers fueled themselves exclusively by a process called glycolysis - creating energy through the fermentation of sugars in the cytoplasm.

You can read about him here:
http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/medicine/laureates/1931/warburg-bio.html

You can read about his ideas here:

The Prime Cause and Prevention of Cancer, Otto Warburg
http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/Loxygen2.htm

"Cancer, above all other diseases, has countless secondary causes. Almost anything can cause cancer. But, even for cancer, there is only one prime cause.

The prime cause of cancer is the replacement of the respiration of oxygen (oxidation of sugar) in normal body cells by fermentation of sugar.

All normal body cells meet their energy needs by respiration of oxygen, whereas cancer cells meet their energy needs in great part by fermentation. All normal body cells are thus obligate aerobes, whereas all cancer cells are partial anaerobes.

From the standpoint of the physics and chemistry of life this difference between normal and cancer cells is so great that one can scarcely picture a greater difference. Oxygen gas, the donor of energy in plants and animals, is dethroned in the cancer cells and replaced by the energy yielding reaction of the lowest living forms, namely the fermentation of sugar.

In every case, during the cancer development, the oxygen respiration always falls, fermentation appears, and the highly differentiated cells are transformed into fermenting anaerobes, which have lost all their body functions and retain only the now useless property of growth and replication. Thus, when respiration disappears, life does not disappear, but the meaning of life disappears, and what remains are growing machines that destroy the body in which they grow."
The Prime Cause and Prevention of Cancer, Dr. Otto Warburg, June 30, 1966

Reading all this and trying (in my own way and at my own level) to understand it - let's face it I am not a scientist and don't even play one on TV) it sure makes me think that the low carb folks who say "SUGAR IS POISON", might be on to something. Kudos to those who took their education to a level where they can actually contemplate the cellular chemistry, metabolism, and biological activities described by Doctor Warburg and in related papers and understand it and apply that in meaningful ways.

Carbohydrates and sugars in all their various forms are certainly ready fuel for the body, but maybe it wasn't intended to be consumed at the tremendously high level we do it (here in the the present day United States) without serious negative consequences to your health - think diabetes, various digestive conditions, high blood sugars, etc.

And reading things like Nancy Appleton's list of "147 Reasons Why Sugar is Ruining Your Health" (found here: http://www.nancyappleton.com/ ) and frequent research found on Jimmy Moore's Livin Lavida Low Carb Site (http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com/) it seems to add up in study after study to be shown to cause or be related to numerous health problems. I read the article at Time/CNN with great interest and will be very interested in watching and learning from this study as it progresses.

Your two cents of input is appreciated! What say you?

An Awesome Quote from one of My Low Carb Heros!

"One foot in front of the other, dissassociating food from emotions, my weight from my self-worth and my progress from my results. Associating success with making good decisions regardless of the short-term outcome, controlling what I can control and leaving the rest to the whims of the great magnet (to quote Hunter Thompson). Worrying about chipping away on the rock in front of me instead of the mountain behind it."

This from Jake (aka J13) one of my low carb heros! He is the same fellow who has espoused online really tremendous thoughts such as:

"Own Your Decisions!"

With this statement Jake has fought against the excuses people make and the ways that they undermine themselves. Many times people blame their problems or situation on everything and everyone else - but not on themselves and the decisions they have made. They fail to take ownership of their own decisions and the consequences. Jake maintains, I believe, that there is no "cheating", but only conscious decisions one makes with consequences that come from them.

-- and --

"Character is that force that enables an individual to carry out a resolution once the mood in which that resolution was born has died."

That's all about character and commitment to stay motivated and on-track to be a long-term success. Not a 90-day weight loss wonder that loses and gains it all back and then some, living life and eating on yo-yo diets and unsuccessful eating habits.

Jake has lost an enormous amount of weight on low carb living and is a constant source of encouragement to me and to others. He sets his own bar high and helps others keep things in-check as well. One thing that is wonderful about Jake is that he doesn't allow himself or others to live in a land of excuses, negative self talk, living with bad habits, or failing to live consistently and on-track all the time.

You can find Jake in the Low Carb Support Forum and TDC (Triple Digits Club) linked on the right hand side of my blog!

This is essentially what I was talking about in my last blog post. How important successful thinking, successful self-talk, positive mental attitude, commitment, focus, and developing good new habits are to your continued success.

I urge any of you on the low carb lifestyle to pause and take stock of yourselves and your thinking and your daily habits.

Look to others who are successes and who have made great strides and been successful in the long run!

What are they doing right? What habits and thinking can you borrow from these successful people? How can you change things and adapt new ways of eating, thinking, measuring, excercising, tracking, and visualizing to help you achieve your goals long term? How can you get more motivated? How can you change things for yourself? What can you do more consistently - day in and day out? Are you defeating yourself with negative self talk? With bad habits? With allowing yourself too much wiggle room and too much slack? Are you cheating?

I find that learning and sharing with others, and having the right mindset helps me. I hope that if you stop and think about you life right now, and make the right changes in your life by taking a moment to consider these things - it will help you too!

To quote a verse and an idea from the Bible:

"Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap." Galatians 6:7

This principle is a spiritual priniciple but is also broadly applicable in all aspects of one's life. If you are not reaping the results you want today, what did you sow yesterday and the days before? And what kind of tomorrow are you sowing for today?

And I don't know about the "Great Magnet" in the quote tho. The only "Great Magnet" in life I know is Jesus.

"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” John 12:32

May I Direct Your Attention....

Regina Wilshire of the Weight of the Evidence blog (http://weightoftheevidence.blogspot.com/) is taking on an awesome challenge - One I am not sure I am even capable of.

She is feeding her family low carb, satieting, nutrient dense meals on only $3.00 per person per day. It is something of a challenge some congressmen dreamed up to see what a person who lives on food stamps is challenged to live like.

For those complaining about the high cost of low carb diets - it is worth following and checking out!!

Kewl-Ness of Weight Loss!

Well, I am almost down about 80 lbs. Not yet, but almost! I have been on-plan (or mostly always on-plan) since November 1st, 2006. No significant cheats or carb binges, or falling off the wagon as of yet. A couple minor indulgences here and there, but nothing really out-of-bounds so far.

We went out to eat tonight as a family. For YEARS, I have always asked restaurant staff for a "Table and Chairs, ...Not a Booth". Fear of booths has been a constant thing for me since I have had to jam my too big body into someplace way too tiny, and try to look like I am eating comfortably. What a scene I must have made....

Anyhow, that is one phobic tick about me that is seemingly going away with the weight loss, as I progress further and further towards a more normal weight for my bod. It used to be that my wife would ask (in recent weeks) "Are you SURE you want to sit in a booth?", and lately I have been bravely trying to see if I could make it work. And lately, more and more of the time it is no big deal. I fit comfortably, and can eat well, and enjoy my meal.

Tonight was the first night my wife didn't ask, "Are you SURE...??"!

So here's to smallish victories and improvements in the quality of my life!! I now fit into most booths, without a problem! That probably doesn't mean much to you if you have never had the problem I have had over the past years. It means alot to me, and it is a significant landmark on my journey to eat healthier and get healthier on a low carb life!

My drawing at the top is a tribute to the award winning graphics featured on the "Lovin Low Carb Life:By Sparky's Girl'" lowcarb blog... if she can draw pictures of herself there, well ...then I can too!!! [smile!] :)

Sure these are low-budget graphics no-doubt, but hopefully you get the point of the picture... It can be a tight fit when you get too out-of-whack with your bod and sometimes have to fit into smallerish places like the typical restaurant booth!

This is your BRAIN on Atkins!

Livin-Lavida-Broke-Carb... Yadda Yadda Yadda

Well..., it can be a cold and lonely low carb world out there! I have taken it on the chin a few times lately mostly from those who love you best (supposedly). They are getting great mileage out of the name of the "LivinLavidaLowCarb" blog (Jimmy Moore's excellent & encouraging blogspace on the low carb life) that they have heard me talking about. It is a catchy name - I guess if it was some ol' boring name they might not get so much mileage out of it.

One of my brothers in-law recently sung his own rendition of the popular Ricky Martin song "Livin' La Vida Loca" in front of the rest of the family that was basically a giant put-down at my expense. He was pretty proud of himself. He had spent a while writing it and couldn't wait to see if I had seen the lyrics he had written. I hadn't. Anyhow all I remember of it was it was some kind of visions of blubber in spandex. Really snazzy high-class fellow. Made a big impression on me.

Recently my wife has taken to calling the low carb diet I am on "LivinLavidaBROKEcarb" due to the high cost of meat - compared to our rice, pasta, bread, and otherwise carb-rich diet I ate before.

Which brings me to my topic of the moment. I have been looking at ideas on how to save money on our meat purchases. I have explored various ideas with fellas at work. One was telling how at the wholesale Mega-grocer he could purchase really large portions of meat and have it cut to order at great savings. He reminded me of a wonderful man at our old church that would take his trailer and would buy a hog or cow and take them to a local rendering facility, where they would cut the meat up into whatever you wanted. Steaks, tenderloins, ribs, beef tips, hamburger, sausage, etc. He said that it netted out to .50/lb plus the actual rendering costs. That sounds like a great idea to me, and is something I suppose we will try.

When I was a kid my family used to buy Blue Ribbon meats, and my folks would get a half-cow at a time. Our family of nine would eat on that for months and months. Now they have a guy coming to their house every couple of months named "Mike the Meat Man". Mike sells restaurant quality meats (beef, pork, fish, shrimp, etc) in bulk by the box. Same basic principle. Save money - really high quality meat, loads of meat in the freezer to last a long time.

So anyhow..., it may take me a while to work out the details, but short of going full blown country or Amish and living off the land myself, it seems like the next best thing. Fresh meat, as cheap as you can get it. Pick the healthy cow yourself (or better - let someone who understands how to do it, do it), and cut out all the middle men.

Looking at the meats in the Allmart giganto-store the other day. So many meats are chock full of SODIUM (my kryptonite). Only the more expense fresh cuts of meat are not processed in some form, and have no sodium, it seems like. Even shrink wrapped steaks are in a bath of 15% solution and high sodium. ARGH!

So as they say... Necessity is the mother of invention.

I would appreciate any comments on this post with great ideas on how you have invented your way into savings on a low carb, meat-heavy diet.

Could Sugar be Ruining Your Health???

I recently visited the website of Nancy Appleton, Ph.D., at http://www.nancyappleton.com and I read with interest her list of "146 Reasons Why Sugar is Ruining Your Health".

It was so interesting that I asked her if she would be so kind as to allow me to post the list here for the benefit of my few family, friends, and Internet-connected folks who stop by here from time to time - and she gladly consented. Thanks Nancy!! Nancy is the author of a book called "Lick the Sugar Habit", and others, and has done a wonderful job of compiling this list and providing detailed references for each assertion.

I have been wondering for a long while why there is so much sugar everywhere in everything I (used to) eat and drink. Since I have made a commitment to eat low carb, I am trying to eliminate uneccesary sugars from my daily foods and drinks, and I am now more aware than ever of even foods that provoke an insulin response and rapidly turn to sugar-energy within the body (carbohydrates like enriched breads, pasta, rice, etc). I am not just concerned with raw sugar, or treats like powdered sugar and chocolate covered donuts anymore - but with many other things as well.

White cane sugar (we all know from the little sugar packets, sugar cubes, sugar used for baking, or for sprinkling on cereal) is what immediately comes to mind, and it's many cousins.

There are sugars everywhere in our diets today in measures that grossly exceed what a person would eat at any time in the past. Prepackaged drinks, snacks, foods, candy, cookies, pasta sauces, ketchup, and other products are simply loaded with sugar, High Fructose Corn Syrup, and/or other similar sweetners. As a matter of fact, I wonder if we ever stop to think about how much sugar we are packing into our mouths and those of our children? Especially with the onslaught of problems such as diabetes (Type I & II), and other problems that might be a result of excessive consumption of sugar-laden products.

Please take a moment and examine this list and see for yourself some of the potential problems sugar might cause you (especially ingesting excessive quantities as we do in America every day).

------------------------------------------------

146 Reasons Why Sugar Is Ruining Your Health
By Nancy Appleton, Ph.D.
Author of LICK THE SUGAR HABIT and LICK THE SUGAR HABIT SUGAR COUNTER.
www.nancyappleton.com

1. Sugar can suppress the immune system.
2. Sugar upsets the mineral relationships in the body.
3. Sugar can cause hyperactivity, anxiety, difficulty concentrating, and crankiness in children.
4. Sugar can produce a significant rise in triglycerides.
5. Sugar contributes to the reduction in defense against bacterial infection (infectious diseases).
6. Sugar causes a loss of tissue elasticity and function, the more sugar you eat the more elasticity and function you loose.
7. Sugar reduces high density lipoproteins.
8. Sugar leads to chromium deficiency.
9. Sugar leads to cancer of the ovaries.
10. Sugar can increase fasting levels of glucose.
11. Sugar causes copper deficiency.
12. Sugar interferes with absorption of calcium and magnesium.
13. Sugar can weaken eyesight.
14. Sugar raises the level of a neurotransmitters: dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine.
15. Sugar can cause hypoglycemia.
16. Sugar can produce an acidic digestive tract.
17. Sugar can cause a rapid rise of adrenaline levels in children.
18. Sugar malabsorption is frequent in patients with functional bowel disease.
19. Sugar can cause premature aging.
20. Sugar can lead to alcoholism.
21. Sugar can cause tooth decay.
22. Sugar contributes to obesity
23. High intake of sugar increases the risk of Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis.
24. Sugar can cause changes frequently found in person with gastric or duodenal ulcers.
25. Sugar can cause arthritis.
26. Sugar can cause asthma.
27. Sugar greatly assists the uncontrolled growth of Candida Albicans (yeast infections).
28. Sugar can cause gallstones.
29. Sugar can cause heart disease.
30. Sugar can cause appendicitis.
31. Sugar can cause multiple sclerosis.
32. Sugar can cause hemorrhoids.
33. Sugar can cause varicose veins.
34. Sugar can elevate glucose and insulin responses in oral contraceptive users.
35. Sugar can lead to periodontal disease.
36. Sugar can contribute to osteoporosis.
37. Sugar contributes to saliva acidity.
38. Sugar can cause a decrease in insulin sensitivity.
39. Sugar can lower the amount of Vitamin E (alpha-Tocopherol in the blood.
40. Sugar can decrease growth hormone.
41. Sugar can increase cholesterol.
42. Sugar can increase the systolic blood pressure.
43. Sugar can cause drowsiness and decreased activity in children.
44. High sugar intake increases advanced glycation end products (AGEs)(Sugar bound non-enzymatically to protein)
45. Sugar can interfere with the absorption of protein.
46. Sugar causes food allergies.
47. Sugar can contribute to diabetes.
48. Sugar can cause toxemia during pregnancy.
49. Sugar can contribute to eczema in children.
50. Sugar can cause cardiovascular disease.
51. Sugar can impair the structure of DNA
52. Sugar can change the structure of protein.
53. Sugar can make our skin age by changing the structure of collagen.
54. Sugar can cause cataracts.
55. Sugar can cause emphysema.
56. Sugar can cause atherosclerosis.
57. Sugar can promote an elevation of low density lipoproteins (LDL).
58. High sugar intake can impair the physiological homeostasis of many systems in the body.
59. Sugar lowers the enzymes ability to function.
60. Sugar intake is higher in people with Parkinson’s disease.
61. Sugar can cause a permanent altering the way the proteins act in the body.
62. Sugar can increase the size of the liver by making the liver cells divide.
63. Sugar can increase the amount of liver fat.
64. Sugar can increase kidney size and produce pathological changes in the kidney.
65. Sugar can damage the pancreas.
66. Sugar can increase the body's fluid retention.
67. Sugar is enemy #1 of the bowel movement.
68. Sugar can cause myopia (nearsightedness).
69. Sugar can compromise the lining of the capillaries.
70. Sugar can make the tendons more brittle.
71. Sugar can cause headaches, including migraine.
72. Sugar plays a role in pancreatic cancer in women.
73. Sugar can adversely affect school children's grades and cause learning disorders..
74. Sugar can cause an increase in delta, alpha, and theta brain waves.
75. Sugar can cause depression.
76. Sugar increases the risk of gastric cancer.
77. Sugar and cause dyspepsia (indigestion).
78. Sugar can increase your risk of getting gout.
79. Sugar can increase the levels of glucose in an oral glucose tolerance test over the ingestion of complex carbohydrates.
80. Sugar can increase the insulin responses in humans consuming high-sugar diets compared to low sugar diets.
81 High refined sugar diet reduces learning capacity.
82. Sugar can cause less effective functioning of two blood proteins, albumin, and lipoproteins, which may reduce the body’s ability to handle fat and cholesterol.
83. Sugar can contribute to Alzheimer’s disease.
84. Sugar can cause platelet adhesiveness.
85. Sugar can cause hormonal imbalance; some hormones become underactive and others become overactive.
86. Sugar can lead to the formation of kidney stones.
87. Sugar can lead to the hypothalamus to become highly sensitive to a large variety of stimuli.
88. Sugar can lead to dizziness.
89. Diets high in sugar can cause free radicals and oxidative stress.
90. High sucrose diets of subjects with peripheral vascular disease significantly increases platelet adhesion.
91. High sugar diet can lead to biliary tract cancer.
92. Sugar feeds cancer.
93. High sugar consumption of pregnant adolescents is associated with a twofold increased risk for delivering a small-for-gestational-age (SGA) infant.
94. High sugar consumption can lead to substantial decrease in gestation duration among adolescents.
95. Sugar slows food's travel time through the gastrointestinal tract.
96. Sugar increases the concentration of bile acids in stools and bacterial enzymes in the colon. This can modify bile to produce cancer-causing compounds and colon cancer.
97. Sugar increases estradiol (the most potent form of naturally occurring estrogen) in men.
98. Sugar combines and destroys phosphatase, an enzyme, which makes the process of digestion more difficult.
99. Sugar can be a risk factor of gallbladder cancer.
100. Sugar is an addictive substance.
101. Sugar can be intoxicating, similar to alcohol.
102. Sugar can exacerbate PMS.
103. Sugar given to premature babies can affect the amount of carbon dioxide they produce.
104. Decrease in sugar intake can increase emotional stability.
105. The body changes sugar into 2 to 5 times more fat in the bloodstream than it does starch.
106. The rapid absorption of sugar promotes excessive food intake in obese subjects.
107. Sugar can worsen the symptoms of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
108. Sugar adversely affects urinary electrolyte composition.
109. Sugar can slow down the ability of the adrenal glands to function.
110. Sugar has the potential of inducing abnormal metabolic processes in a normal healthy individual and to promote chronic degenerative diseases.
111.. I.Vs (intravenous feedings) of sugar water can cut off oxygen to the brain.
112. High sucrose intake could be an important risk factor in lung cancer.
113. Sugar increases the risk of polio.
114. High sugar intake can cause epileptic seizures.
115. Sugar causes high blood pressure in obese people.
116. In Intensive Care Units, limiting sugar saves lives.
117. Sugar may induce cell death.
118. Sugar can increase the amount of food that you eat.
119. In juvenile rehabilitation camps, when children were put on a low sugar diet, there was a 44% drop in antisocial behavior.
120. Sugar can lead to prostate cancer.
121. Sugar dehydrates newborns.
122. Sugar increases the estradiol in young men.
123. Sugar can cause low birth weight babies.
124. Greater consumption of refined sugar is associated with a worse outcome of schizophrenia
125. Sugar can raise homocysteine levels in the blood stream.
126. Sweet food items increase the risk of breast cancer.
127. Sugar is a risk factor in cancer of the small intestine.
128. Sugar may cause laryngeal cancer.
129. Sugar induces salt and water retention.
130. Sugar may contribute to mild memory loss.
131. As sugar increases in the diet of 10 years olds, there is a linear decrease in the intake of many essential nutrients.
132. Sugar can increase the total amount of food consumed.
133. Exposing a newborn to sugar results in a heightened preference for sucrose relative to water at 6 months and 2 years of age.
134. Sugar causes constipation.
135. Sugar causes varicous veins.
136. Sugar can cause brain decay in prediabetic and diabetic women.
137. Sugar can increase the risk of stomach cancer.
138. Sugar can cause metabolic syndrome.
139. Sugar ingestion by pregnant women increases neural tube defects in embryos.
140. Sugar can be a factor in asthma.
141. The higher the sugar consumption the more chances of getting irritable bowel syndrome.
142. Sugar could affect central reward systems.
143. Sugar can cause cancer of the rectum.
144. Sugar can cause endometrial cancer.
145. Sugar can cause renal (kidney) cell carcinoma.
146. Sugar can cause liver tumors.

Sources:
Nancy has numerous sources for these assertions (from medical studies, and other similar publications). They are too many to comfortably list here, as this is a very long post already.

The sources appear (without any tremendous in-depth research, chasing down each source document and individually fact-checking the veracity on my part) to be very well documented.

I encourage you to visit her site to see what information is available there on this subject.

The Inuit Paradox: Discover Magazine

The article linked below asks the question:

"How can people who gorge on fat and rarely see a vegetable be healthier than we are?"

Follow the below link to an extremely interesting article about the Inuit Paradox - a study of a group of people who habitually ate a very high protien and low carb/no carb diet, yet had only a small fraction of the health problems associated with our lifestyle and way of eating (heart disease, diabetes, etc).

Click this link (below) to go to the article:
http://www.discover.com/issues/oct-04/features/inuit-paradox/?page=1

Random Thoughts & Reflections

It is funny. I have been talking about going on a diet ever since I met my wife (over 8 years ago). I have no idea how much I weighed when I married her, but it is a safe bet that I weighed much less than I do now. I was never really ready to pull the trigger, because having gone through this kinda thing once before (lost >100 lbs and kept it off over 2 years) I am aware of how much effort and commitment this really takes. I told her that I knew I could do this, and that I would do this, but I never really got around to it. I guess I was afraid that starting without the level of laser-like focus, drive, concentration, and motivation would mean failure.

After all these years of bloating on up to higher and higher weights, I finally felt I had to do something and make a change. It wasn't some major crisis in my life that made me do it. It wasn't any ultimatum from my wife or others. I just knew I had to do something. I was getting large (OK, Gargantuan) and was having more and more health problems related to my weight and health. And the thought of wanting to be here for my kids in the long run (like over the next 10-20 years or more) was an impetus, and if not, to at least be able to secure some life insurance for the wife and kids at some point.

While I believe that God sets our span on earth, and that this is regardless of what we want or do to a large degree (I never believed in all these anti-aging and preservation programs people are after, wanting to extend their lives or in some cases live forever on this earth), I do believe though that God does also do things in conjunction with immutable laws he has set up - things like you will "Reap what you sow".

So, I finally figured it was time to stop sowing donuts and Cokes and sweets and all my beloved pastas and breads and all, reaping piles of fat and weight gain and health problems, and change my life. My lifestyle. My eating style. Whatever. And I have embraced the low carb lifestyle. Atkins style eating is pretty much what I am doing. I am probably moderating my life somewhere between the induction phase and the OWL (Ongoing Weight Loss) phase, trying to mostly keep my carb count to 20 or less, and I figure if I am overdoing it ever, I am pretty sure of being at 40 or less carbs each day.

The Atkins Low Carbohydrate Way of Eating

It is pretty simple. Meat (hamburger, beef hot dogs, bacon, ham, turkey, fish, sausage, chicken, etc). Some Cheese (within limits and with moderation). Some nuts (low salt, not peanuts and cashews so much, but almonds, macadamias, etc). Low glycemic veggies (green beans, broccoli, pickles, olives, salads with oil and vinegar, etc) in regular and deliberate inclusion in the daily diet, with moderation. Plus some vitamins and nutrititional supplements.

I have eaten 4500 calories in a day and lost weight. Probably because I am so large this is working for me, but I am full and hardly ever hungry on this diet (Way of Eating) and am steadily losing weight (over 40 lbs down at this point, and working on being 50 lbs down) and I am feeling better each day.

Friends & the Support You Get and Don't Get

It's funny who in your life will support you when you do these things, who believes you are bound to fail (or will reserve comment or support or interest until you get so far into this), and who it is who will mock you and poke fun at you and be basically a big giant negative force in your life.

I have been reading personal stories of interaction with these types of folks online in the TDC (Triple Digits Club) support forum at the forums.lowcarber.ca site lately and have had a couple of personal experiences with real jerky people lately myself. I guess that isn't a unique phenomemon. I guess the premise for these folks is, "make yourself feel good by making someone else feel bad". Wow. What a concept. I suppose we have all done that to others at some time ourselves (or many times, if we were 100% honest with ourselves). Still it pretty much stinks to feel tarred and feathered and mocked and laughed at by others. Some people are fairly cruel and low-life. I still remember the kids who did this kind of thing to me at times when I was young in school. It really sticks with you, for the rest of your life - even if you couldn't care less about the people doing it. It's funny why their opinion should matter to you or why it should affect you, but it does just the same.

It takes all kinds in this world, and my life is pretty much surrounded by all of them. Sure, most people are pretty indifferent, and I wouldn't expect it to be necessarily a big deal for them - if they didn't much care about you. It just depends on how much someone likes you, is rooting for you, and hoping for the best for you. But it is also pretty interesting to have folks reveal their hearts to you in how they act and speak towards you, and to take note of that.

Here's to the Nice People!

I am extremely glad for a few Christian friends, a couple good folks at work, my wife, my parents, my father in-law and mother in-law, and my kids and all the love and support they give me.

Thanks too for those who drop in here to support me in my own personal quest.

It matters so much to me! Thank You!!!

Getting all Evangelistic about Low Carb: Drinking the Kool-Aid

I am also a bit perplexed as to how I should behave on this personal program of weight loss, healthy eating, and self improvement. I have watched so many people lose weight over and over again. Yo-yo dieters. My wife would say, "Look at so and so, they've lost so much weight on LA Weight Loss" or some other program. I would always say, "Give it some time, and watch and wait. They'll gain it all back and THEN SOME". And I was always always right about this. Yeah, I probably haven't been the most supportive person myself in the past either. These folks would be dancing around celebrating their weight loss for a little bit, then back to the donuts and BLOOOP! They would explode back up past where they started. I kept seeing this and didn't want this for myself.

It is hard to fight your body, as God made it just so - to preserve your life in difficult times, and to adapt to changing circumstances. All the little regulators in your brain, glands, DNA or whatever are always trying to help you live. If you starve it, the body (brain or whatever) slows the metabolism and adjusts - so that when you go back to eating like always you shoot right back to where you started (and then some).

This is one of the reasons I think I waited to get on the stick so long myself (fear of bloating back on up above where I started, and what that would mean to me). I never wanted to be one of those people that has to have the fire department come and get them out of their house to the hospital or something (as they are so heavy). And fear of starting when I wasn't 100% committed to this, as I know from my own past efforts that it can be really really hard to lose weight and maintain it long term.

Well, once I met folks that had lost the weight and kept it off with this way of eating for ten years or more, and once I heard my own brother lost weight (~80 lbs) in a few months time, I was ready. And guess what?

It isn't really all that hard this time!! I am not starving. I am not having irresistable cravings. I don't feel washed out, light headed, deprived, etc. In fact, I feel great, am eating, am comfortable and feel full all day, and my health has improved dramatically (especially my blood sugar issues, frequent stomach acid problems, acid reflux, etc).

One thing I have always hated about many DIETERS is the way they seem to turn into CULT-LIKE fanatical people about their diet. It always made me uncomfortable, and I always watched so many of them yo-yo back on up later.

I sorta feel like I am becoming one of those people, all excited about this way of eating and I can't help but feel great about it and to express myself about it. I am trying to not make others feel bad about themselves or overdo it. But I can't help but tell my wife and a couple others how great they might feel if they did this - not even to lose weight, but even just to get control of their blood sugar issues and health issues they are going through.

I hope that if you are reading this you won't count me into the camp of annoying cult-like fanatical people about my way of eating. No doubt about it, I am excited about this and I do want to share this with others! Still there is something about selling flowers on the streetcorners and at airports... (smile) that I am not so comfortable with.

I started this blog just as an excercise of focus and an outlet for me while I am doing this for myself. I am glad if you read this and benefit from this in any way. I sure feel great about how I feel, and how this way of eating is working out for me. I appreciate your support and interest in reading this. If you are kicking around the idea about doing this, I hope you would read about it, learn all you can about it and jump in and try it. The water is fine! And what have you got to lose anyhow by trying it?

And if this way of eating isn't for you - That's OK too. I know that not everybody has my body type, my problems with health issues and with weight gain, and most are probably doing "just fine" on their own. I can live with that.

These are a few of my favorite things...

Can't you just hear Julie Andrews singing that song from the Sound of Music? Well, listen harder, then!

Actually, I thought it might be good to mention some of the beverages that keep me going. I think it is important to continue to have flavor in your life and to both eat and drink good stuff!

I've always been "big on beverages". I would often get a coffee, milk, and orange juice with breakfast (in my pre-low carb days), for example. And I think I have been drinking lots for a long time, perhaps since I went on the low calorie diet in my thirties and just got used to drinking so much water, tea, etc.

When I got off that diet (years ago) I went right back to sugary Cokes and major amounts of High Fructose Corn Syrup in all it's many flavors and packagings, along with lots of milk and other stuff to drink. And I was always about drinking the XXL sized drinks - probably how I ended up an XXXXL in the end, huh? Yeah, no kiddin!

Now that I am LCing it, I am trying to cut back on the coffee some, drink more tea and water, and find good things to drink. The thing is, I think most of the diet drinks that are sweetened with aspertame taste like they have formaldahyde in them. I mean they are flat-nasty drinks. Sure I will drink one now and then, but I am trying to go for healthy drinks that I can drink that are permitted under the rules, and then also drinks that are satisfying my need for flavor and all.

So here's what I have been drinking lately:

Lipton Diet Green Tea


It tastes great, and might even be good for you. They say that green and black teas are a great source of antioxidants and so they may even help prevent cancer or other problems (with free radicals and all that stuff I won't even pretend to understand). It is definitely low carb and satisfies pretty well - both from a thirst quenching and a flavor point of view.





Sobe Green Tea

Sobe make some great tasting beverages and I also like their version of diet green tea. No aspertame, zero sugar, Carbs=1g, not too shabby. And it's earned the South Beach seal of approval evidently.

All kinds of free radical fighting antioxidents must be cram-packed into these bottles in some way that my mind could not even understand. They fill these babies with "Goodness Machines", and cap em' off when they are just cram-packed with all kinds of excellence & goodness!

Well, I kinda like em' pretty good anyhow. :)






Pepsi One Diet Cola

Pepsi Cola has come out with a type of diet soda that omits for some reason all the High Fructose Corn Syrup, and even the aspertame. Instead they use sucralose, better known as Splenda (the trademarked name of a productized version of sucralose I suppose).

The main thing about Pepsi One. It just tastes great!

And it is refreshing! For a Cola and soda fiend like myself it is nice to have something to drink that doesn't taste like I am being punished ("NO SWEETNESS & GOODNESS FOR YOU! BANISH HIM TO THE LAND OF FORMALDAHYDE TASTING NASTY DRINKS!"). I try not to overdo it and to just try to find more good and healthy options to drink. But it is nice to have a frosty cold cola over ice once innawhile.

There are more things that I am drinking, but this single post is probably going on long enough. But Why did I want to comment on what I am drinking? Well so many starting out on the LC life are worried about never having anything GOOD to taste anymore, and envision I suppose sucking cold greasy lard and fatty bits from meat, smiling and saying "Hmmmm, this tastes GOOOOD!"

Well - there actually ARE GREAT TASTING food and beverages out there, and you don't have to be locked into that kind of thinking - that you have forever given up on all good tasting food and beverages. You need to realize that there are many food and beverages that are actually good for you and satisfy!!!

Hang in there and look for low carb products that are both good for you and satisfy! Don't give up! Search for the wonderful LC recipes out there, and look for the permitted products that are full of taste and flavor. YOU CAN DO THIS!!! You can fill your world with good tasting, satisfying food and drink, and never miss a thing. Lose weight or maintain weight loss, be healthy, and feel great. And don't miss out on a thing!!!

The Atkins Low Carb Diet Must Be Good For Your Eyes!

I am thinking that the Atkins low carbohydrate diet (Way of Eating) is really wonderful on the eyes! In fact, to prove it I have created this eye chart, just to test. It is wonderful, as I have found that I am actually able to read lines lower and lower each day, thus PROVING beyond any disputable fact or reasonable doubt, that the Atkins low carb diet is great for the eyes!!!

Of course, my eye chart starts at 400 lbs, and although I am not a trained medical professional, and as such my opinions on this matter are purely my own and of no real significance to anyone else, I would believe that some folks might actually require another model of the eye chart. In fact, I hope that one day I myself may have my own vision improve to the point that I will need a new chart as well!!!

This morning I weighed myself and I found that I was back down to 361.4 lbs! It seems like whatever hump I hit I am over. At least I hope so. I have found that lately I am feeling like I have more energy or am a little lighter on my feet. I was told this would happen at some point, but I really haven't felt that till now. Hopefully this good feeling will continue and I will continue reading my eye chart at lower and lower lines. I have been hovering over 360 now for a little bit, and I am so anxious to get below that. It's like an invisible barrier I keep bouncing off like it has some kind of Star Trek force shield or something. Well, hopefully we will puch through even this in the next few days (maybe tomorrow), and be on to new places.

Like they might have said in Trek (no I'm not really a trekky) if perhaps Capt. Kirk, "Bones" the doctor, and Scotty got together and wanted to live healthier on a low carb lifestyle:

"Low Carb... The final frontier... These are the voyages of the Low Carber. Our continuing mission: To explore strange new worlds... To seek out a new life; Perhaps even new civilisations... To boldly go where we have never gone before!"

It is an adventure! And you certainly take yourself to wonderful new places! And you might even find yourself boldly going where you have never gone before (even lower on the new Atkins diet eye chart).

Stumbling to Bethlehem: Carbohydrate Addict

Another excellent low carber blog worth following - that is a wonderful story of one persons daily "Epic Journey" on the low carb lifestyle is found here on the "Stumbling to Bethlehem" Blogspot blog entitled "Carbohydrate Addict" - by a very nice lady with the dual pseudonyms of "Lady Atkins" and "newbirth". "Lady Atkins" has lost 60 lbs on the low carb lifestyle and is making this more than just a diet, but a continual way of life!

I accidently wandered across her blog after reading about other low carbers mentioning this blog on their own journals.

She has a well written blog that chronicles her low carb life, fitness, past history, faith, etc.. She tells of her past, daily low carb living, measuring and tracking blood sugars, daily diet and excercise, and information about great low carb books, web links, etc.

On her blog I also learned about "walker tracker" a site where you can track the number of steps walked, and there is a great link for "Low Carb for Newbies" on her blog! It got me to thinking about measuring my own steps in a days time, and maybe tracking it at some point to get a handle on a really easy and healthy activity. You don't have to be an Olympic athlete to walk, and no special equipment is really required.

Ok, maybe some good shoes, and an accurate pedometer! :) Still it less involved than a costly gym membership or expensive excercise equipment. I heard of folks spending thousands on Bowflex's and treadmills, and other gym equipment. Nothing beats getting out and walking!

I have read too about all the little and simple things you can do - like parking farther away from the office, to make yourself walk just a little farther each day & add that much more activity into your life. Measuring it (your walking) and tracking it to help push yourself to reach new goals sounds great to me!! Gotta love the metrics!!

Go on and visit: http://stumblingtobethlehem.blogspot.com