April 30, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

9:00AM
Lo-Carb Monster Energy drink



10:15AM
Beef steak burger patty with Colby Jack Cheese and mayo
2 Italian sausages with mustard
Diet Rite

5:15PM
Prime rib steak cutlets with eggs, green peppers, onions, pico de gallo, sour cream, and cheese along with some mixed veggies (squash, red peppers, broccoli, and green beans) with butter
Diet Coke with lime

8:45PM
2 slices Julian Bakery Smart Carb bread
Cinnamon and Truvia
2 Tbs Naturally More peanut butter with flax seeds and oil
Whipped cream

NOTE: I've been happily eating a healthy low-carb diet for the past month and I'm thrilled to report that despite what some would say, it is working beautifully to help me maintain my weight. One month ago, my waist size at my belly button was 46 inches and I weighed in at 243 pounds. Today, my waist size is still 46 and my weight is 246. Statistically, that's no change at all. I wanted to go one month where I ate to maintain my weight where it is currently at to gauge my carbohydrate tolerance level. Now that I've seen what I can do to keep my weight stable, I'm ready to work intently on weight loss and fat-burning in May.

You'll recall I was challenged to get my waist to half of my height (half of 75 inches is 37.5) or get down to 200 pounds and I'm actively pursuing this goal in 2009. I'm reporting in my waist size and weight once a month for people to track my progress. There is certainly no reason for me to do this since my health is absolutely spectacular, I live a very active lifestyle, and I've maintained 5+ years of triple-digit weight loss success. But I'm always up for a good healthy challenge and this is one I'm choosing to pursue at the moment.

So, what changes will I make in my diet starting in May to start losing pounds and fat? I'll probably back off on the carbohydrates slightly from what I have been eating. Specifically, some of the low-carb bread, peanut butter, and even a few of the veggies. I'll still eat lots of high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb foods like delicious meats, cheeses, and more. The greatest part of livin' la vida low-carb is you can eat like a king and you won't gain gobs and gobs of weight like you do on the high-carb diets that everyone wants you to go on. I LOVE eating this way and will for the rest of my long and healthy life.

April 29, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

9:00AM
Lo-Carb Monster Energy drink

12:00PM
Beef steak burger patty with Colby Jack Cheese and mayo
2 Italian sausages with mustard
Diet Rite

8:15PM
Eggs with sausage, American cheese, avocado
Mixed veggies (broccoli, red peppers, squash, green beans) with butter
Diet Coke with lime

NOTE: The beauty of eating high-fat, low-carb is your appetite virtually disappears. That lunch I had at noon today kept my hunger away for over 8 hours. This is pretty typical for most people who are livin' la vida low-carb once the carbohydrate cravings have been diminished and you are burning fat for fuel. While it may seem counterintuitive to eat fat to maintain proper weight and health, the evidence from the scientific data shows us that in the absence of large amounts of carbohydrates in the diet, fat is passive. In other words, all those hyperbolic warnings about eating fat clogging up your arteries and killing you at an early age are pure fantasy. Keep your carbs limited to non-starchy veggie sources primarily and you'll reap the benefits of eating a high-fat (as a percentage of total calories consumed) diet. Bon appétit!

April 28, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

9:00AM
Lo-Carb Monster Energy drink

10:30AM
4 local farm eggs cooked in butter with Colby Jack cheese
Diet Rite

3:30PM
Pepperoni, sausage, bacon, hamburger meat, cheese, a little spaghetti sauce
Cinnamon/pecan baked pastry dessert (not low-carb)
Diet Coke with lemon

5:30PM
60-minute spin class

10:00PM
2 slices Julian Bakery Smart Carb bread
Cinnamon and Truvia
2 Tbs Naturally More peanut butter with flax seeds and oil
Whipped cream

NOTE: It has been a while since I darkened the doors of my gym. While I don't believe in beating yourself up for hours walking on a treadmill or riding on an elliptical machine every single day, I do see the benefit in short bursts of intense activity, resistance training, and proper rest. Here's a video from Methuselah at the "Pay Now Live Later" blog:



While I'm not specifically on a "Paleo" diet, I think the same principles of exercise still apply. That's why it was fun getting back into a spin class this evening (partly from the guilt of eating that dessert and the fact that I haven't done a class in a long time). You'll recall I injured my left knee in a non-exercise way in November 2008 pushing my car out of the road and jumping back in the car, so it's just now healed enough for me to resume my exercise routine again.

My volleyball playing has given me a good head start on getting these short bursts of activity that I'm aiming for and tonight's spin class did as well. If you've never done a spin class before, I HIGHLY recommend you try it. No, you don't just ride on a flat surface at a leisurely speed for an hour. Actually, you're simulating mountains and hills and speed as if you were on the Tour de France. You jump up out of your seat for climbs when the resistance is increased and you race down the hills seated while your legs go 100 miles per hour! It's a wonderfully sweaty workout that I LOVE!

It was good to get back in the saddle again and I'm going to try to incorporate some interval sprints into my workout routine. Surprisingly, I wasn't winded (too much) after the spin class and it felt great getting in an awesome workout.

April 27, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

9:45AM
Lo-Carb Monster Energy drink



11:00AM
Tilapia fish with tartar sauce, pico de gallo and avocado along with some mixed veggies (squash, red peppers, broccoli, and green beans) with butter
Diet Coke with lime

5:00PM
1 KFC Grilled Chicken breast
2 Lo-Carb Monster Energy drinks

7:30PM
90-minute recreational volleyball

9:30PM
2 slices Julian Bakery Smart Carb bread
Cinnamon and Truvia
2 Tbs Naturally More peanut butter with flax seeds and oil
Whipped cream

NOTE: Today the popular fried chicken restaurant chain KFC did a special sample promotion of their new Kentucky Grilled Chicken for customers to try it out for themselves. Christine and I were curious about whether this would be appropriate for people who are livin' la vida low-carb and did a fun YouTube video sharing our thoughts about this new menu item at KFC:



Oh, for lunch today I had some tilapia fish which I absolutely adore! Next to Wild Alaskan Salmon, this is my favorite fish to eat and it cooks up quickly. Add some avocado and pico de gallo along with a bit of tartar sauce and it is DELICIOUS! I'm not a big fish fan for everyday, but when I'm in the mood for it there's nothing better.

After my volleyball workout tonight, I made some of my Julian Bakery/PB power food creations and added some cinnamon and the stevia-based Truvia to it for a little something extra. Cinnamon is an outstanding spice for lowering blood pressure and stabilizing blood sugars, so I like to add it to my diet from time to time. It was a busy Monday for me and I look forward to seeing what the rest of the week holds in store.

April 26, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

8:45AM
Lo-Carb Monster Energy drink

1:15PM
Prime rib steak cutlets with eggs, green peppers, onions, pico de gallo, sour cream, and avocado along with some mixed veggies (squash, red peppers, broccoli, and green beans) with butter
Diet Coke with lime

5:30PM
Lo-Carb Monster Energy drink

6:30PM
2 slices Julian Bakery Smart Carb bread
2 Tbs Naturally More peanut butter with flax seeds and oil
Whipped cream

NOTE: I love my weekends because I'm so focused during the week on getting work done on my blog, recording podcast interviews, writing on my new book, and everything else that goes into keeping the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" machine running that I hardly have time to rest and relax.

But I've taken on the philosophy that the weekend is when I should take it easy and enjoy slowing the pace down a bit to recharge for the new week. In fact, sometimes I get home from church on Sundays, eat lunch, and then go to do a little work and end up crashing on the couch. If I need rest, then I rest. My body knows best what it needs since I'm taking good care of it with my healthy low-carb lifestyle.

When you are livin' la vida low-carb, then don't forget to trust what your body is telling you about what it needs. Be it rest, more fat, more protein, less carbs, more exercise, or whatever. When you're eating optimally like this, you can feel confident about the signals your body gives you to put your health in the best position possible. Don't you love it when you're eating this good and enjoying GREAT health, too? :D

April 25, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

8:30AM
4 local farm eggs fried in butter
Diet Rite

9:00AM
4-hour youth soccer refereeing
Lo-Carb Monster Energy drink



1:45PM
Prime rib steak cutlets with eggs, green peppers, onions, pico de gallo, sour cream, and avocado along with some mixed veggies (squash, red peppers, broccoli, and green beans) with butter
Diet Coke with lime

8:15PM
Pepperoni, sausage, bacon, hamburger meat, cheese, a little spaghetti sauce

NOTE: The youth soccer league at my church started back today and I was happy to volunteer my services to help referee the games for the kids. I usually do it in the Fall for football and in the winter for basketball since they have a tough time finding referees. This year we had so many sign up to play soccer that we ended up moving the games down to one of the larger middle schools in the area. It's quite a site to see literally hundreds of boys and girls all coming out on the field throughout the morning as part of the Upward ministry.

Anyway, knowing I'd be out on that field for four hours, I ate my breakfast accordingly with those eggs. Great fuel for all the running, jumping to avoid the players and the ball, starts and stops, and everything else that goes into refereeing a soccer game. I forgot how much running was involved in this, but I loved it. The only bad part was it was so incredibly hot (got up to 93 degrees outside) that I scorched my face, arms, and legs...but at least I got plenty of Vitamin D today!

Needless to say, after spending several hours of intense exercise and being drained by the sun with my Upward referee experience today, I was pooped! In fact, after I ate that hearty lunch to refuel my body and took a good COLD shower to clean up and cool off, I fully intended to lie down for a nap. But I didn't need it after all. The food and shower did the trick and I felt well enough to get through most of the rest of the day. It's funny how the body is so resilient no matter what circumstances we are going through. I know I'm glad to be livin' la vida low-carb to keep this machine God created in the tip-top condition that it is.

April 24, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

10:00AM
Lo-Carb Monster Energy drink



2:00PM
13-ounce T-bone steak, grilled shrimp, avocado
Mixed veggies (squash, red peppers, broccoli, and green beans) with butter
Diet Coke with lime



8:30PM
Beef meatballs with Colby Jack cheese and mayo
Diet Rite
2 slices Cinnamon Almond Raisin Julian Bakery Smart Carb bread
2 Tbs Naturally More peanut butter with flax seeds and oil
Whipped cream

NOTE: A lot of people mistakenly think that steak is only high in protein, but there is as much fat in steak as there is protein. This is a fact that is lost on a lot of the so-called health "experts" who say you are causing damage to your body from eating "all that protein." Of course, since when do we believe ANYTHING that comes out of the mouths of conventional diet and health gurus since they think all we should be eating is high-carb, low-fat nutritionally-bankrupt and tasteless foods all the time. I'll take my high-fat, high-protein T-bone steak over whatever it is those low-fatties eat (some weird steak-flavored tofu concoction no doubt!).

Yes, I even had avocado...again! I'm REALLY trying to make that stuff work for me, but the taste is still rough. Maybe it'll grow on me one of these days. It's good to know I'm getting healthy omega-3 fats from them as well as the flax-laden peanut butter I use. Ever since I found the Naturally More a couple of years ago on my grocery store shelf, I've LOVED it. By the way, I genuinely enjoy the product and have not been paid to promote it in any way. The same goes for the Lo-Carb Monster Energy drink...there are some excellent products for your healthy low-carb lifestyle out there and I'm happy to share my favorites with you.

April 23, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

6:15AM
1 can of Monster Energy Drink

8:45AM
4 eggs cooked in butter
1 can of Lo-Carb Monster Energy Drink



12:45PM
Prime rib steak cutlets with mushrooms, onions, Swish cheese, mayo, avocado
Mixed veggies (squash, red peppers, broccoli, and green beans) with butter
Diet Coke with lime



6:15PM
3 beef steak burgers with Colby Jack cheese and mayo on 2 La Tortilla Factory low-carb wraps
Diet Rite



9:00PM
2 slices Cinnamon Almond Raisin Julian Bakery Smart Carb bread
2 Tbs Naturally More peanut butter with flax seeds and oil
Whipped cream

NOTE: Uhh-ohhhh! Today I did something I haven't done in nearly five years. After hearing about this fabulous low-carb energy drink from my brother Nathan a couple of weeks ago and tasting it for myself, I decided to pick up a case from my local Sam's Club. If you've never seen the Monster Energy drinks, they come it a tall 16-ounce can and are usually several dollars per can. But at Sam's a case of 24 was about $28. I quickly added it to my cart and took it home on Wednesday to enjoy a nice cold one come this morning.

I was up pretty early for me and decided to let it help me wake up and start my day. As I was drinking it, I didn't notice anything different about this until I got to the very end of it and turned the nutritional label around--I GOT THE ONE WITH SUGAR IN IT! EEEEEK!!! Yep, rather than the LO-CARB Monster Energy drink I got the sugary one. UGH! There are 27g of sugar per serving and TWO servings in this can. So I had just ingested a whopping 54g of sucrose and glucose that is in this stuff. Shoot shoot shoot! This was reminiscent of my 2004 faux pas during my original weight loss experience when I accidentally got a Pepsi Vanilla rather than the DIET Pepsi Vanilla and I vowed at the time it would never happen again. OOPS! Thankfully, Sam's let me exchange the rest of the case for the Lo-Carb version and I enjoyed one of those later in the morning.

Curiously, I was pretty hungry an hour after drinking the sugary stuff--DUH! All that sugar no doubt spike my insulin and sent my body hunger signals like crazy. My goal the rest of the day was to eat as much protein and fat as I could during my meals. I think I accomplished that pretty good (I even had avocado again! Aren't you proud of me?). And that Julian Bakery bread is VERY high in protein and fiber along with the addition of the omega-3 fat-rich natural peanut butter with flax. That gave me plenty of satisfying food to end the day a lot better than it started. I'm running a recipe contest with this fabulous low-carb bread right now over at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog and you can learn more about the Julian Bakery low-carb breads in this fun YouTube video Christine and I did this week:

April 22, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

10:30AM
4 eggs cooked in butter and a slice of Julian Bakery Smart Carb bread



3:00PM
1 slice of Julian Bakery Smart Carb bread with pastrami and mayo
Steamed broccoli and cauliflower with butter



8:15PM
Eggs with bacon, cheese, and avocado
Mixed veggies (broccoli, squash, red peppers, green beans) with butter

NOTE: One of the many lessons I learned at that low-carb conference this past weekend was the importance of pacing your protein intake throughout the day. Dr. Donald Layman said that breakfast was the most difficult meal to get enough protein in, but that's never been my experience eating a low-carb diet for over five years. In fact, breakfast seems to be the EASIEST meal to get adequate protein since you can have protein-rich foods like eggs, sausage, bacon, steak, and even that high-protein bread I ate today.

It's lunch where I generally have issues getting my protein levels up. I suppose it's all about what choices you make for food, but it is vitally important to do your best to equalize the protein at every meal to at least 30g each. That will differ from person to person based on individualized needs, but it's a good rule of thumb for most people who tend to only get 13% of their total caloric intake from protein a day. That level should ideally be at a more moderate level of 20-25% of calories consumed by actively seeking to add it to your diet. Eggs, bacon, cheese, yogurt, Kefir, whey powder, steak, non-starchy veggies, and more are just a few of the ways to get that protein level elevated in your diet.

I'm not a big fan personally of avocados. There's certainly nothing wrong with their nutritional content...I just don't like the taste and texture they have (and guacamole is baby diaper poop!). That said, I decided to have some with my eggs for dinner. It wasn't the greatest thing I ever ate, but I didn't think it tasted too shabby with other food. This is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids for your healthy low-carb lifestyle, so I'm gonna try to do my best to eat avocados whenever possible. Tomorrow I'll share more about this low-carb bread I'm eating so you can learn more about it.

April 21, 2008 Low-Carb Menu

9:15AM
4 eggs cooked in butter with mixed veggies (squash, zucchini, asparagus, onions, red peppers and carrots)

3:30PM
Pepperoni, sausage, bacon, hamburger meat, cheese, a little spaghetti sauce

7:00PM
90-minute recreational volleyball

10:00PM
Chocolate Delight Control Bar

NOTE: I have one more video to share from the Charleston, SC low-carb science conference Christine and I attended over the weekend:



Today's menu was cool--I decided to mix in some veggies with my eggs this morning and it was AWESOME! I'm not usually a big fan of anything but onions and green peppers with my eggs, but I wanted to try something different. LOVED IT! For lunch I made up some of my non-crust pizza with my favorite ingredients. This is so good, too, and you never miss the crust. After my volleyball tonight, I wasn't really that hungry until around 10:00PM when I decided to just get a little something to satisfy my hunger which is where that Control bar came in. Just 1g net carbs...DONE DEAL!

Someone asked in the comments section when I would be posting my weight and I told him that I'll be doing that on a monthly basis at the beginning of each new month along with my waist size. The good news is I'm still VERY healthy and active because of the miracle of low-carb living. Be encouraged that if you are eating this way, then you'll be reaping the benefits of livin' la vida low-carb, too! KEEP IT UP!!!

April 20, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

1:30PM
Egg stir fry, chicken on a stick, barbecue chicken, meatballs and pineapple
Diet Pepsi with lemon

7:30PM
90-minute recreational volleyball



10:15PM
Beef steak burger patty with cheddar cheese and bacon with mayo
Diet Rite

NOTE: It was back to the normal routine again today after an outstanding experience over the weekend in Charleston, SC at the low-carb conference. Christine and I reflected on some of the take-home messages from the event on YouTube:



By the way, Christine is going to try to eat more low-carb than she has been. I think hearing all the research and negative ramifications of carb consumption really made it sink in for her than this is so much more than about weight loss. Of course, she thinks she's fat, too, so that could be a motivating factor (obviously, she's NOT fat).

We went out to a Chinese buffet restaurant and it was good to find a delicious mix of protein-rich foods at our fingertips. The only disappointment was there weren't a lot of beef or fatty meat choices on the buffet. Lots of chicken dishes and a couple of pork ones that didn't have any breading or other carb sources--but NONE that contained good old fashioned fatty beef in them. It was still good, but I would have preferred more fat in my lunch meal.

Of course, I made up for it at my late supper meal with that burger/cheese/bacon/mayo creation. After getting back from volleyball and giving Christine a shower (since she's still recovering beautifully from her neck surgery, but still can't turn her head yet), I was pretty hungry. The lunch stayed with me a long time, but I needed to eat something. I don't normally like eating so late at night, but I didn't have a choice. Not that there's anything wrong with eating late as long as you aren't gorging yourself on carbohydrates. Nope, not me!

April 19, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

9:00AM
Scrambled eggs, bacon, and sausage links



12:30PM
Angus beef hamburger patty with cheddar cheese, lettuce, and tomato slices with mayo, asparagus and green beans with butter



7:30PM
Prime rib steak, scrambled eggs with pico de gallo and cheddar cheese, grilled onions and green peppers, mixed veggies (broccoli, squash, red peppers, and green beans) with butter, CarbSmart vanilla ice cream with whipped cream

NOTE: It was the final day of the Nutrition & Metabolism Society conference in Charleston, SC today and I woke up late. The only bad thing about these events is they are mentally exhausting. Hearing hours upon hours of research presented, especially for a layperson like myself, takes a lot more out of you than you'd think. Of course, I understand a lot more about it now than I did back in 2006 at my first one of these events in Brooklyn where my head was spinning. Now it just percolates when I listen to lectures about the mechanism behind livin' la vida low-carb.

After the conference was over at around noon, a group of us met together for one last meal together and it was such a great experience. These weekends are NEVER enough which is why I enjoy our annual low-carb cruises because there's more time to just hang out and chat. Oh, and speaking of that, I told Laura Dolson from About.com Low-Carb Diets, Dr. Mary C. Vernon, and Fred Hahn from Slow Burn about the 3rd Annual Low-Carb Cruise to the Bahamas in 2010 and they all confirmed they will be coming! WOO HOO!

Here are some more pics from the people we saw this weekend:

DR. MARY C. VERNON


DR. ERIC WESTMAN and DR. DOUGLASS PADDON-JONES


DR. RICHARD FEINMAN


FRED HAHN


DR. DONALD LAYMAN


LAURA DOLSON


Christine and I will be doing a YouTube video about the conference VERY soon when we recuperate from the breakneck schedule this weekend. The menus over the weekend were AWESOME! I could eat that way ALL THE TIME. :)

April 18, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

7:00AM
Omelette with eggs, bacon, sausage, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, and cheddar cheese
Diet Rite



12:30PM
Greens salad with Ranch dressing
Filet mignon
Mixed veggies (broccoli, squash, zucchini)
2 Tbs butter
Berries (blueberries, blackberries, strawberries) with whipped cream
Diet Rite


8:00PM
Mozzarella cheese and pastrami
Prime rib appetizer (only ate the meat)
2 small filet mignon
2 crab cakes
Asparagus with Hollandaise sauce (did NOT eat that greens salad--too much vinegar!)
Fresh strawberries with whipped cream
Diet Coke with Lime

NOTE: Being away at this low-carb science conference this weekend has been an exhausting, but extremely exciting experience. I've eaten stuff this weekend that I don't normally get a chance to consume as part of my regular menus and it has been AWESOME! And getting to enjoy it while rubbing elbows with the low-carb giants is just the icing on the proverbial cake. I enjoyed sharing updates on Twitter all day today as well as Facebook and YouTube. We get to do it for half the day on Sunday before it's all over. So much to share when I get back, I hardly know where to start! SEE YA SOON!

April 17, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

1:00PM
2 Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers with lettuce, tomato, and no bun from Wendy's
Cherry Coke Zero

5:00PM
Atkins Smores Bar


8:30PM
Tomato and mozzarella appetizer
26-ounce bone-in prime rib steak with au jous and horseradish sauce
Green beans, asparagus, and grilled mushroom
Diet Coke with Lime
Russell Stover Sugar-Free Chocolate Truffles

NOTE: We hit the road for Charleston, SC late this morning and hadn't eaten anything. So while on the three-hour drive there, we decided to stop at a Wendy's on the way since Christine's neurosurgeon said we needed to stop every hour for Christine to stretch and move around with her neck brace on. This was the perfect opportunity since I had to go to the bathroom and we both were hungry. Slim pickins for eating, but two 99 cent Jr. Bacon Cheeseburgers without the bun did the trick. Delicious too!

When we got to the conference, I met up with Dr. Mary Vernon who said a group of us would be going out to dinner around 8:00PM. That's cool, but dang if I didn't get hungry around 5:00PM. That's okay because in the bag we received for the conference, there was an Atkins bar with Jimmy Moore's name written all over it. This was plenty for me to keep me satisfied until dinner. Then Christine and I got to hang out with the low-carb superstars right there at the dinner table, including Laura Dolson from About.com Low-Carb diets site, Jackie Eberstein, Gary Taubes, Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Mary C. Vernon, and Fred Hahn. Here are some photos I shot for my Facebook page:



And that meal...OH MY GOODNESS! When I saw the 26-ounce bone-in prime rib on the menu, I didn't think I'd have any chance of finishing that bad boy. But when you removed the bone and some excess fat, it really was only about 18 ounces of meat--STILL a big steak! And I ate it all, including those yummy veggies and a deliciously refreshing appetizer of tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Ahhhhhh, this is livin' la vida low-carb at its finest! Tomorrow is gonna be a great day with the low-carb portion of the conference getting underway with talks from Taubes, Vernon, Westman, and many more! I'm gonna try to YouTube a lot of it and I'm actively Twittering and Facebooking this weekend. CHECK IT OUT!

April 16, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

11:00AM
6 ounces prime rib
2 eggs
Grilled onions and green peppers
1 ounce cheese
2 Tbs sour cream
6 ounces mixed veggies (broccoli, squash, green beans, red peppers)
2 Tbs butter
Diet Coke with lime

2:30PM
Vanilla Carbsmart Ice Cream with mixed berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries) and whipped cream

7:30PM
2 Italian sausages with mustard
2 steak burger patties with mayo
Diet Rite
Vanilla Carbsmart Ice Cream with macadamia nuts, sliced almonds, goji berries, and rolled oats with whipped cream

NOTE: I was working diligently today to get everything caught up with my work before leaving for Charleston, South Carolina on Friday to go to the Metabolism Society conference where the latest low-carb nutritional science will be presented. It's gonna be an amazing time seeing people like Gary Taubes, Dr. Richard Feinman, Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Mary C. Vernon, Jackie Eberstein, Dr. Jeff Volek, Cassandra Forsythe-Pribanic, and so many more! I'm bringing my Flip camera to record some YouTube video footage this weekend.

My menus today were pretty standard for what I like to eat...meat with a few veggies, a little cheese, some condiments, and a nice low-carb sweet treat. That's the way I roll and it keeps me happy and healthy as I have been for the past five plus years. I wouldn't think of eating any other way now and that's the power of livin' la vida low-carb!

April 15, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

1:00PM
4 Italian sausages with mustard
Diet Rite
Vanilla Carbsmart Ice Cream with macadamia nuts, sliced almonds, goji berries, and rolled oats with whipped cream

8:15PM
6-ounce sirloin steak
2 eggs
8 ounces mixed veggies (squash, red peppers, broccoli, green beans)
2 Tbs butter
Vanilla Carbsmart Ice Cream with mixed berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries) and whipped cream

NOTE: Christine and I managed to get a new YouTube video update up today:



Those Italian sausages today were so incredible! Juicy, fatty, and delicious beyond anything I've eaten in a while. And it kept me quite satisfied for hours before my meal after church choir practice. It's nice to throw something in different like that every once in a while, especially when it is as amazing as those sausages were!

April 14, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

11:15AM
3-egg omelette with sausage, bacon, green peppers, mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and cheddar cheese
8 ounces mixed veggies (broccoli, green beans, squash, and red peppers)
2 Tbs butter
Diet Coke with lime



3:15PM
Vanilla Carbsmart Ice Cream with mixed berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries) and whipped cream

9:15PM
5 eggs cooked in butter
Diet Rite
Vanilla Carbsmart Ice Cream with macadamia nuts, sliced almonds, goji berries, and rolled oats with whipped cream

NOTE: In my opinion, nothing beats a good omelette for breakfast. What's better than stuffing eggs with all kinds of delicious low-carb foods like sausage, bacon and your favorite veggies and then topping it off with some ooey gooey cheese? Ooo la la! I love to eat eggs and an omelette is just another way to get them in my diet. Today, a friend of mine from church on Facebook asked what he could eat for breakfast besides eggs all the time and I encouraged him to try different ways of making eggs and even have a non-traditional "breakfast" food like a steak or hamburger patty with cheese from time to time. If you need variety, then make it happen. Livin' la vida low-carb only gets boring because YOU allow it to. I like the comfort of familiarity in my menu choices, but I do change things up a little from time to time like I did today.

April 13, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

11:00AM
4 eggs cooked in butter
Diet Rite



3:30PM
Lo-Carb Monster Energy Drink
3 steak burgers with mayo
Grace Island Parmesan & Italian Herb cheese crisps
Diet Rite

7:30PM
90-minute recreational volleyball

9:45PM
Vanilla Carbsmart Ice Cream with mixed berries (raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, and blackberries) and whipped cream

NOTE: I know a lot of people who say they despise eating eggs, but I don't get it. If you hadn't noticed before, I LOVE LOVE LOVE eating eggs and they are arguably one of the most nutritious low-carb foods you could possibly eat. And not just the egg whites like the low-fatties expect you to believe. That yolk contains a power-packed punch of good stuff, too, so don't fear it. And if you're worried about the fat and cholesterol in them, you really shouldn't be. Dietary fat and cholesterol do NOT raise your blood cholesterol levels as Dr. Steve Phinney and others have shown time and again. Keep your carbohydrates reduced and your fat intake increased to see the best positive results in your lipid panel. This is revolutionary and most people haven't got a clue about why livin' la vida low-carb is so extraordinary. Aren't you glad YOU do?!

April 12, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

7:15AM
4 eggs cooked in butter



12:30PM
13-ounce T-bone steak
5 grilled shrimp
8 ounces mixed veggies (broccoli, squash, green beans, red peppers)
2 Tbs butter
Diet Coke with lime
Vanilla Carbsmart Ice Cream with macadamia nuts, sliced almonds, goji berries, and rolled oats with whipped cream

8:15PM
3 steak burgers with American cheese and mayo
Vanilla Carbsmart Ice Cream with macadamia nuts, sliced almonds, goji berries, and rolled oats with whipped cream

NOTE: Easter Sunday started out early as the choir was asked to sing in all three morning worship services today. That wouldn't have been so bad had I slept well the night before, but I tossed and turned quite a bit and had to get on the computer until 2:00am before being able to fall asleep. It's not normal for me to sleep just fine, but this does happen from time to time. Needless to say when that alarm went off at 6:45am, I could have used a few more hours of sleep. Knowing it would be a long morning in front of me, I had some eggs before heading out the door.

The services were amazing and I was ready for a delicious and healthy high-fat, low-carb meal for lunch like I had. I guess I'm on a steak kick lately and that's not such a bad thing. They're one of the best parts about livin' la vida low-carb chock full of healthy fat and protein with virtually no carbs at all. My carbohydrates come from nutritious non-starchy veggies dipped in butter and an outstanding sweet treat that satisfies my desire for something like that. This is the ONLY way to live in my book and I am grateful to the late, great Dr. Robert C. Atkins for his direct inspiration in my life to be who I am today.

April 11, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

12:30PM
16 ounces sirloin steak cooked in butter
Diet Rite
Vanilla Carbsmart Ice Cream with macadamia nuts, sliced almonds, goji berries, and rolled oats with whipped cream

7:30PM
8 ounces prime rib
2 eggs
Grilled onions and green peppers
1 ounce cheese
2 Tbs sour cream
4 ounces mixed veggies (broccoli, squash, green beans, red peppers)
1 Tbs butter
Diet Coke with lime

NOTE: Some days I'm just in the mood for steak. It's so incredibly healthy for you because it is chock full of fantastic satiating saturated fat and protein to keep you from being hungry for a very long time. I went seven hours between meals today thanks to those two 8-ounce sirloin steaks cooked in deliciously nutritious real butter. For supper, I had a mixture of some cut up prime rib steak and eggs with some grilled and non-starchy veggies that are some of my favorites. What a way to eat healthy and managing your weight effectively! I wouldn't have it any other way.

April 10, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

11:15AM
4 eggs fried in butter
Diet Dr. Pepper

2:30PM
Vanilla Carbsmart Ice Cream with sugar-free chocolate wafers



9:15PM
2 steak burger patties with mayo
Mixed veggies (zucchini, squash, carrots, asparagus, onions) with garlic and butter
Sugar-free apple butter with whipped cream and cinnamon
Diet Rite

NOTE: Earlier this week at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog, I announced my 4th Annual LLVLC Blogiversary Giveaway Contest in celebration of four years of blogging about low-carb living. The response has been heavy as expected and I'm happy to share some really neat prizes with the readers who have made my blog the success that it is. I asked a question about what people liked best about the work that I do and surprisingly many have said they enjoyed reading my daily menus blog. I suppose it's the curiosity factor about what a real low-carber eats day in and day out that attracts people to see what food I'm putting in my body each day that draws people here which is one of the reasons why I decided to create this menus blog in December 2007.

Over the past year there have been many attempts by people who have their own personal beliefs about what a healthy diet should look like to tell me what I need to do to "improve" my menus. I've enjoyed entertaining these comments because I think we all should find a way to eat better than we ever have in our entire lives. When I was eating the truly unhealthy way I was prior to my Atkins diet in 2004, people said I just needed to eat less food, less fat, and a whole lot less calories while exercising my butt off if I ever expected to lose weight. I proved them wrong by eating healthy high-fat, low-carb foods that dropped 180 pounds off my body while my appetite and food intake naturally modified themselves and the added energy this gave me provided ample reason to release it through fun recreational activity that I wanted to do. Even now after eating low-carb for over five years, there is always going to be criticism.

From the people at my church who often ask if I'm still on that "crazy" low-carb diet to the narrow-minded meat-only crowd who thinks everybody should be consuming zero carbohydrates for the rest of their lives, I just choose to live my low-carb lifestyle the way that works for me and let the chips fall where they may. No matter how well you do on your low-carb journey, there will always be those who think they know how to do it better. My response to those people is simple: do what works for you and I'll do what works for me. Everyone has their theory about what is the best way to be livin' la vida low-carb, but this is a pathway that people have to determine for themselves.

Sometimes we can become so legalistic in mandating adherence to exact diet rules and regulations every moment of every day that people just throw up their hands in disgust thinking they can't possibly be that perfect all the time. This is why I encourage people to follow a low-carb plan EXACTLY while you are getting used to making this a permanent way of eating and then tailor it to your specific needs. That's what I've done over the past five plus years and I will never go back to eating any other way again for the rest of my long and healthy life. My health has never been better than what is has been since I made the wise decision to begin low-carbing.

Yes, I've recently been challenged and accepted the quest to shed a few more pounds and inches off my waist. But I'm doing it MY way and documenting that experience here. I'll be providing regular updates on both my weight and waist size at the beginning of each month so you can see my progress. The people who frequent my menus blog actually want to see what I'm eating for meal ideas, low-carb foods they can add to their personal plan, and encouragement that you CAN eat this way as part of a normal, everyday nutritional approach. However, if you don't like what I'm eating, then nobody is forcing you to read my menus blog. I welcome your presence here, but smug arrogance towards me or about what I eat will not be tolerated. I provide this blog as a public service, not for the purposes of flogging or disparaging me personally. Don't even bother.

To everyone who has been following my menus blog and finding benefit in it, I just encourage you to keep up the fantastic work you are doing and never let anyone ever tell you that your diet's not good enough. You are doing an AMAZING job and I'm so proud of you! Keep up the great work and let me know if there is anything I can do to help you as you continue livin' la vida low-carb!

April 9, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

11:15AM
4 eggs fried in butter

1:15PM
Atkins Caramel Nut Chew bar

7:30PM
8 ounces prime rib
Grilled onions and green peppers
1 ounce cheese
Bacon crumbles
2 Tbs sour cream
4 ounces mixed veggies (broccoli, squash, green beans, red peppers)
1 Tbs butter
Diet Coke with lime
Atkins peanut butter cup

NOTE: The day started waking up to a loud beeping noise from an empty IV fluid at 4:00am in the hospital room where Christine was staying overnight following her neck surgery. The doctor came in at 8:00am to let us know we were going home and by 10:00am we were headed home for Christine to rest and recuperate. THANKS for all the well wishes everyone!

I allowed some latitude in my diet today because of how stressful the past few days have been. Keep in mind I still stayed low-carb, but I wanted some diet soda and sugar-free, low-carb treats today. Some will argue that you shouldn't ever eat or drinks foods like this if you are truly committed to the low-carb lifestyle. And yet that seems so detached from real-world living, I sometimes wonder if we're living in the midst of a bunch of freakin' robots or something.

The fact of the matter is a lot of people who are reading my menus blog struggle about what and how they eat during times of stress and strife. Rather than turn to low-carb foods like I ate today that may not be appropriate for every day of your diet, they instead look to binge on chocolate cake, a big plate of spaghetti, mashed potatoes, macaroni & cheese--CARBY COMFORT FOODS! But I show that you can still eat low-carb when facing these tough times.

Be encouraged everyone that no matter what you're going through, you CAN stick to your healthy low-carb lifestyle. It won't be perfect all the time, but it will be EXACTLY what you need to stay on the right path. THANK YOU again for thinking of and praying for Christine and I this week. We sincerely appreciate it!

April 8, 2009 Low-Carb Menu

6:30AM
2 eggs
2 bacon slices
2 sausage links
Lettuce salad with Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

12:45PM
13-ounce T-bone steak
5 grilled shrimp
4 tomato slices
8 ounces mixed veggies (broccoli, squash, green beans, red peppers)
2 Tbs butter
Diet Coke with lime

NOTE: Christine and I had a 4:30AM wake-up call this morning to take her to the hospital to remove that painful herniated disc from her neck. While she was getting prepped for the pre-op and the surgery itself, I came back home to eat a quick bite before heading back to be with her when she was awake. Neither one of us got much sleep last night, so I'm sure we'll be sleeping good tonight. After her surgery was a success this morning, the doctors offered her morphine for pain, but she said Loritab would suffice since she wasn't hurting too much. She'll get rest this afternoon, they'll have her walk around this evening, and then Christine will be discharged in the morning with a big neck brace. Here's a photo I took of her by request and she asked me to share it with you guys so you could see she was doing well after the surgery:



Because of my sleep-deprived state today, I decided to allow the diet sodas with caffeine in them into my menus today. If that's the worst thing I put in my body right now, then I can live with that. Some people use stressful times in their lives like a surgery on a family member to use food as a pain reliever, but I don't think that's necessary. You know what you are allowed to have and you should stick with that no matter what the circumstances. And don't let anyone ever guilt-trip you into thinking otherwise--especially over having some low-carb, sugar-free chocolate or diet soda. If that gets you through it and you're remaining committed to livin' la vida low-carb, then FANTASTIC!