January 31, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

8:45AM
3 eggs cooked in butter

12:00PM
2 beef hamburger patties with cheddar cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

8:15PM
Dreamfields angel hair pasta with natural tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese
Splenda-sweetened diet soda
Homemade low-carb cheesecake (cream cheese, eggs, raw milk, heavy cream, stevia-sweetened vanilla, sweetener, and sugar-free raspberry preserves)

NOTE: While 576 churches in Spartanburg, South Carolina closed their doors to worship services today because of the ice storm, my church did not. Attendance was way down, but the service was AMAZING! We live just one mile away and trekked on the ice to sing in the choir and hear a fantastic message on conforming to Christ. THANK YOU Pastor D.J.!

For those of you who missed my national TV debut on "Your World With Neil Cavuto" last Tuesday, I just posted the video:

January 30, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

3:45PM
3 eggs cooked with green peppers, onions, cheese, pico de gallo, bacon, sausage, and sour cream
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

8:45PM
2 pork chops cooked in butter
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

NOTE: As expected, we got pummeled by an ice storm overnight and woke up to a slick driveway the neighbor's kids had a ball skating on. This doesn't happen everyday in South Carolina, so they enjoy themselves when it does. Because I stayed up so late last night, my first meal wasn't until this afternoon. Didn't get very hungry the rest of the day, so I had those mouthwatering pork chops I love so much cooked in good saturated fat-laden butter! Yum!

January 29, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

9:30AM
3 eggs cooked in butter
Homemade low-carb cheesecake (cream cheese, eggs, raw milk, heavy cream, butter, stevia-sweetened vanilla, sweetener, and sugar-free raspberry preserves)
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

1:45PM
2 beef hamburger patties with cheddar cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

4:45PM
Homemade low-carb cheesecake (cream cheese, eggs, raw milk, heavy cream, butter, stevia-sweetened vanilla, sweetener, and sugar-free raspberry preserves)

12:00AM
Dreamfields linguini pasta with natural tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese
Splenda-sweetened diet soda
Homemade low-carb cheesecake (cream cheese, eggs, raw milk, heavy cream, butter, stevia-sweetened vanilla, sweetener, and sugar-free raspberry preserves)

NOTE: Bracing for a big ice storm that's hitting the South this weekend. Stayed up late watching TV with Christine since the youth basketball league that I referee in is probably cancelled for Saturday morning. Whipped up some of that fantastic cheesecake made with real whole foods this week and loved having it several times today. SO GOOD! :)

January 28, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

9:15AM
4 slices thick bacon
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

12:45PM
Naked steak fajita with beef steak, green peppers, onions, cheese, guacamole, and lettuce
Diet Coke with lime

5:30PM
Dreamfields linguini pasta with natural tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

7:00PM
135-minute competitive volleyball

9:45PM
Homemade low-carb cheesecake (cream cheese, eggs, raw milk, heavy cream, butter, stevia-sweetened vanilla, sweetener, and sugar-free raspberry preserves)

NOTE: Do you ever get in a "cooking" mood? I sure did today. From bacon for breakfast, fajitas without the shell for lunch, and then a wonderful real foods cheesecake made with outstanding ingredients...I just LOVE livin' la vida low-carb!

January 27, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

8:15AM
3 egg omelet with mushrooms, onions, green peppers, sausage, bacon and cheese
Diet Coke with lime

4:30PM
Artisan baked low-carb crisps
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

8:15PM
Dreamfields linguini pasta with natural tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

NOTE: By special request, here are the two local television appearances I had on Tuesday:

"COOL JOBS" on WSPA-TV in Greenville/Spartanburg, SC:


STORY on my weight loss on FOX Carolina in Greenville/Spartanburg, SC:


Still working on getting video from my national TV debut on "Your World With Neil Cavuto" posted...good stuff!

January 26, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

8:45AM
2 slices of thick bacon
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

1:00PM
Beef hamburger patty with cheddar cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

6:15PM
2 beef hamburger patties with cheddar cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

9:30PM
Cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, raw milk, cinnamon, sweetener

NOTE: Well this was one of the most exciting days I've had in a very long time! I barely had time to do anything else today and it was gloriously wonderful! :)

January 25, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

8:00AM
4 eggs cooked in butter
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

12:00PM
Beef hamburger patty with cheddar cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

5:00PM
Mini Babybel mozzarella cheese
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

7:15PM
90-minute competitive volleyball

9:45PM
Cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, raw milk, cinnamon, sweetener

NOTE: Pretty awesome Monday today! In case you haven't heard, there was a fantastic new study released out of Duke University comparing the weight loss and health benefits of consuming a ketogenic low-carb diet with the most popular diet drug out there today called orlistat, sold over-the-counter as Alli along with a low-fat diet (you have to eat low-fat because this drug blocks the absorption of fat by 30%). The result? Low-carb worked as well as even slightly better in some key health markers, including blood pressure, blood sugar and insulin control, and A1c levels. Just goes to show you that this way of eating is incredibly healthy and as potent a nutritional therapy as the #1 diet pills on the marketplace today. Compelling evidence to keep on livin' la vida low-carb!

January 24, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

8:30AM
3 eggs cooked in butter
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

12:30PM
Beef hamburger patty with American cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

3:30PM
Raw milk, heavy whipping cream, and sugar-free hot cocoa

8:45PM
2 pork chops fried in butter
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

10:15PM
Cream cheese, heavy whipping cream, raw milk, cinnamon, sweetener

NOTE: Sunday was very similar to my Saturday except for the cream cheese concoction I made that was yum-yum-yummers! Looking forward to a new week of livin' la vida low-carb. :D

January 23, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

8:30AM
3 eggs cooked in butter
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

9:00AM
3-hour youth basketball refereeing

12:30PM
Beef hamburger patty with cheddar cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

4:30PM
Raw milk, heavy whipping cream, and sugar-free hot cocoa

7:30PM
2 pork chops fried in butter
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

NOTE: Pretty typical Saturday for me today. Ate a solid low-carb breakfast, went to my church gym to referee three games of Upward youth basketball (two of the games went right down to the last seconds), came home for an excellent low-carb lunch, played a little catch-up work with e-mails and phone calls, chilled out playing some online poker, and wrote on my blog a little before finishing up my eating with some yummy pork chops for supper. Not a bad day of livin' la vida low-carb if you ask me. :D

January 22, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

12:15PM
3 egg omelet with bacon, sausage, and cheese
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cucumbers, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

9:15PM
Dreamfields linguini pasta with natural tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

NOTE: After a really crazy week, it was good to see Friday come with a sense of normalcy again. It was a typical busy day finishing up my podcast recording work and most of my blogging for the week today. Missed breakfast today because I got so caught up in "work" mode it just eluded me. I'm not married to the idea that you HAVE to eat breakfast, so it's okay every once in a while to skip it if you're not hungry. And I went nine hours between the two meals I ate today without a bit of hunger or deprivation at all.

January 21, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

9:45AM
3 eggs cooked in butter
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

1:30PM
Beef hamburger patty with cheddar cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

4:00PM
Heavy whipping cream and raw milk with sugar-free hot cocoa

10:00PM
Dreamfields angel hair pasta with natural tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese
Splenda-sweetened diet soda
Raw milk with sugar-free hot cocoa

NOTE: Today was just plain bizarre. After a work crew came to our home to jack up our falling floor due to sinking joists yesterday, one of the workers must have kicked the wires to our thermostat loose. No power to our heater and it got cold in the house quickly. We contacted the work crew who tried to "fix" the problem themselves, but they only made it worse. They agreed to have us hire an electrician to do the job, so we called one who promised to be at our house in an hour. Three hours later I called him back and he said he didn't know when he could come. Then I called about five other heating/air companies to get SOMEBODY to come out to fix our heat...meanwhile the temps were steadily falling outside and the house was like an icebox! I called back the company that jacked up our floors and said they needed to find someone to come out and deal with this ASAP. When the repairman came out, he said three wires were out of place and had us all fixed in a flash. While he was down there he saw the plumbing was leaking and so we called a plumber. He said we had a pretty major issue that would cost $1400 to fix -- this came the day after we shelled out $5000 for the floor job. UGH UGH UGH! When it rains, it pours! Weird doesn't even begin to describe this day. Tomorrow's gotta be better. :D

January 20, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

9:45AM
2 zero net carb bagels with butter, mozzarella cheese, sausage and eggs
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

5:45PM
2 pork chops cooked in butter
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

9:45PM
2 zero net carb bagels with butter and natural peanut butter with flax seed oil
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

NOTE: THANK YOU to everyone who encouraged me after yesterday's post. I am a pretty positive person overall most of the time and don't usually let things bother me too much. Life is too short to worry about things you cannot control. But with Christine's recent neck surgery and shelling out $5,000 for a company to lift the floor of our house because of falling joists, it was a stressful day that warranted me venting a bit. Of course, I wrote an entire chapter of my new book 21 Life Lessons From Livin' La Vida Low-Carb on the subject "When you put yourself out there on the Internet, people will judge you." It's a fact of life and I usually wear it as a badge of honor that I must be doing something right to bring on such negative energy from people who have no idea who I am beyond what I share on my web sites. Yes, I'm quite open about my life and I'm not ashamed of it because I try to show people that it is possible to live the low-carb life as a real live human being. And sometimes that means expressing emotion and frustration with this thing called life. It's all good, though, and I'm pumped up knowing that what I'm doing is making a difference in the lives of so many people. God bless you guys!

January 19, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

12:45PM
Beef hamburger with cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
Salad with greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime
Sugar-free chocolate pudding

6:30PM
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, sugar-free sweet relish and mayo
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

9:30PM
2 zero net carb bagels with butter and mozzarella cheese
Splenda-sweetened diet soda
Sugar-free chocolate pudding

NOTE: I've found it mildly amusing to watch all of the pontificating, finger-pointing of blame, and outright disgust of the way I choose to eat low-carb and share with the world here at my blog. Some readers have asked me what I think about all of the comments floating around out there on the Internet and I just smile and shrug my shoulders. People will always have their opinions about you no matter what you do. But all I can do is live my life as openly and honestly as I possibly can and let the chips fall where they may. I'm not gonna pretend to be somebody I'm not just to appease the illusion that blogging about health means you've got everything figured out and that you're somehow perfect. Hardly (and anyone who pretends otherwise is lying to you for their own reasons).

When I decided to start this menus blog in December 2007 as a means for showing on a day-by-day basis how I eat (an unprecedented move in the health blogging world at the time and still to this day a rarity among diet bloggers), my goal was to always keep it real, showing all the ups, downs and in-betweens of what eating a healthy low-carb lifestyle can be. Some argue I eat too many products (which they erroneously believe I am forced to eat through some contractual relationship as my sponsor--WRONG!), others say the diet sodas are my demise, still others believe I have an adverse addiction to sweet-tasting foods that are wreaking havoc on my weight and health, yadda yadda yadda. Yes, I've heard everything and do find it fascinating to hear such a wide array of opinions from mostly well-meaning people.

But I've never pretended to be a role model for how everyone should eat low-carb. This is Jimmy Moore's diet and I'm happy to live with the consequences of my choices which are light years ahead of where they once were. My health has never been so spectacular as it is right now and I think that is something that gets lost in this debate far too quickly. Despite having more weight on my body than my lowest weight following my 180-pound weight loss in 2004, I still have excellent HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL particle size, no plaque buildup in my coronary arteries, have blood sugar that doesn't go crazy high, take no prescription medications, am active on a regular basis, and so much more! I'm proud of the fact that low-carb brought my health back from the brink of destruction and on a one-way ticket to an early grave to transform me into the man I am today. I'll never ever be the same again and I wouldn't think of eating any other way -- EVER!

Are my low-carb menus 100% "perfect" all of the time? Of course not. But who eats immaculately (whatever that means) every single day, of every single month, of every single year? It's quite arrogant in my view for anyone to claim some kind of moral superiority when it comes to how to eat since we are all different with specific needs and desires to make the lifestyle change stick. Doing what works for you to be healthy is first and foremost and the pompousness it takes to attempt to tell someone else their way is wrong because it doesn't fit within their world view is easy to see right through. I for one would never tell anyone what they need to be doing with their diet because it's not of my damn business.

However, educating and letting the information be known is a must which is why I share so willingly on my blog, podcasts, YouTube videos and elsewhere about healthy low-carb living. I don't charge a single dime for anyone to access this information which has played a positive role in helping change the lives of real people over the past five years. I'm proud of that and also humbled to know that maybe I've made a difference in the life of someone who will be forever changed because of something I wrote or said. Although I've also been criticized for having sponsors who support the work I do at my various sites, these are the same people who would never make a donation to help me keep the work I do going. This is what I've chosen to do for a living and I believe the service I offer people seeking to be healthy warrants getting paid to do it. And I'm proud to partner up with some fantastic companies who believe in the mission of livin' la vida low-carb.

That said, I would like to say a huge THANK YOU to everyone who continues to read, participate, and engage in the low-carb community. It's such a honor for me to come into contact with some truly amazing people who I count as friends whether we've met in person yet or not. You are what drives me to keep doing what I'm doing despite my naysayers or those who would seek to silence the work that I do. But I'll never give up because this is something that is just too important to ever throw in the towel on. We've got serious work to do to spread the truth about healthy living in America and around the world and I stand ready on the front lines of the revolution that is coming sooner than you think! Are you ready?

January 18, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

12:45PM
3-egg omelet with bacon, sausage, mushrooms, onions, green peppers, and cheese
Tomato slices
Salad with greens, cucumbers, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

4:15PM
3-minute flourless low-carb chocolate cake with 1 Tbs natural peanut butter

7:30PM
45-minute competitive volleyball

10:00PM
1 slice of meatloaf on a zero net carb bagel with mayo
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

NOTE: It was a typical busy Monday for me. Enjoyed some delicious low-carb foods when I was hungry and felt great all day long.

January 17, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

8:45AM
2 eggs cooked in butter
2 sausage patties

1:15PM
Dreamfields Angel Hair pasta with all-natural tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

3:45PM
3-minute flourless low-carb chocolate cake

NOTE: Ate early in the day and then didn't get hungry enough to have a "supper" meal. I don't see anything wrong with missing a meal if you're just not hungry enough to eat. I had someone e-mail me just today complaining that she HAD to eat breakfast on her low-carb diet and it was making her sick to her stomach. Says who? If you don't wanna eat, why do it?

January 16, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

7:00AM
2 eggs cooked in butter
2 sausage patties

9:00AM
3-hour youth basketball refereeing

1:00PM
BBQ chicken
Green beans
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Diet Coke with lime

5:00PM
3-minute flourless low-carb chocolate cake

9:30PM
Dreamfields Rotini pasta with all-natural tomato sauce and Parmesan cheese
3-minute flourless low-carb chocolate cake
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

NOTE: Saturday!!! I enjoy my weekends and it starts off with a bang on Saturdays. After a nice low-carb meal to keep me satisfied all morning, I go referee Upward basketball games at my church gymnasium. Running up and down the court for three hours is loads of fun and don't you know I sleep well on Saturday nights. :D

I've been on a Dreamfields kick lately and I love having a low-carb alternative to pasta that actually tastes like pasta. It's a nice treat I enjoy eating when I get the opportunity. Some think you shouldn't ever have these kinds of foods, but I disagree. If this keeps me from the real thing that is LOADED with carbohydrate, then what's the harm I say? It's not making me go out and binge on the real thing or sugar or any other carbage. I had a fascinating conversation about this subject with Dr. Kurt Harris on my podcast show last Thursday.

January 15, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

7:00AM
2 eggs cooked in butter
2 sausage patties

12:30PM
Grilled Wild Alaskan Salmon steak
Broccoli with butter and mozzarella cheese
3-minute flourless low-carb chocolate cake
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

9:30PM
Dreamfields Rotini pasta with all-natural tomato sauce, beef meatballs, and Parmesan cheese
Splenda-sweetened diet soda
3-minute flourless low-carb chocolate cake

NOTE: I had forgotten about that wonderful flourless chocolate cake recipe on Linda's low-carb site and pulled it back out this week. I even add a little protein powder to it and liberal amounts of butter. SO GOOD and cooks up in the microwave in a flash. LOVE IT!

January 14, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

2:00PM
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
2 hamburger patties with cheddar cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
Diet Coke with lime

5:30PM
Olive Garden salad and breadstick
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

9:30PM
3-minute flourless low-carb chocolate cake

NOTE: After having a late lunch today, my Sunday School teacher was sweet enough to bring a meal to me and Christine from The Olive Garden. It was an unexpected pleasant surprise and I even had a breadstick with the salad. However, I wasn't hungry enough for the salmon and veggies dinner plate she got for me. Christine, on the other hand, got her favorite -- cheese ravioli! And she'll probably eat that for lunch tomorrow. We've had an outstanding show of love and support this week after Christine's neck surgery and we are grateful for the kind gestures from everyone.

January 13, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

11:00AM
Dreamfields Rotini pasta with all-natural tomato sauce, beef meatballs, and Parmesan cheese
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

5:30PM
BBQ chicken breasts
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Cantaloupe
Diet Coke with lime

NOTE: It's been a crazy week for me taking care of Christine following her neck surgery on Monday, but I'm happy she's at home doing well recovering. It's such a pleasure to have her as my wife and I will continue to look after all of her needs while she is on the mend. Changing my eating has become somewhat of a necessity this week, but I'm still eating a good low-carb lifestyle. That's all that really matters to me...and there's no other way I'd EVER eat. :)

January 12, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

11:00AM
2 hamburger patties with American cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Splenda-sweetened diet soda

5:30PM
2 hamburger patties with cheddar cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
Salad with greens, tomatoes, cheese, and Ranch dressing

NOTE: After spending the night in the hospital with Christine, we got her home today with a bandage on the back of her neck from the surgery which was very successful. Christine is armed with a handful of pain medications to help her cope with recovering, but will be well on her way to feeling better in no time. It'll probably be a one-month recovery and we're very thankful she did so well. It was quite the "hair-raising" experience for Christine, too:



That's my beautiful baby doll! It's good to have her home again and ready to move forward from here.

January 11, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

7:45AM
Starbucks latte with sugar-free cinnamon syrup and heavy whipping cream

1:30PM
2 eggs with peppers and onions, sausage, bacon, pico de gallo, and sour cream

6:30PM
Pork BBQ, 2 bites of mac & cheese, 2 bites of banana pudding
Diet Dr. Pepper

NOTE: It's been a while, but Christine and I got a new video up on YouTube:



As you heard in the video, Christine went in for neck surgery (AGAIN!) this morning to whittle down a bone spur in her neck and to decompress the nerve that was causing her pain in her arm. The surgery went well and Christine stayed in the hospital overnight tonight. My diet wasn't exactly the best today, but I'm gonna get that back on track tomorrow. Thank you to everyone who offered up prayers for Christine and she's looking forward to being healed and hopefully pain-free soon.

January 10, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

8:45AM
Mini Babybel mozzarella cheese

12:30PM
Mini Babybel mozzarella cheese

4:45PM
12 garlic Parmesan chicken wings
2 half-pound hamburger patties with Provolone cheese, pickles, tomato, and mayo

NOTE: A family in my church has had a rough past couple of months. In late November just prior to Thanksgiving, the much-beloved patriarch of the family passed away after a long bout with serious illness. Obviously this was devastating to his 65-year widow and yet she remained as strong as she could through Christmas batting Parkinson's disease herself. On Thursday, just 45 short days after losing the love of her life, she went home to be with the Lord and with her dear husband. At the funeral this afternoon, there were many tears shed for the loss of this amazing woman so soon after her life partner passed away. But I was struck listening to the stories shared by the minister by the incredible impact this couple had made on the lives of so many people they touched and it makes me wonder: Am I living my life in such a way that I am leaving a lasting mark on the people I come into contact with? That's certainly a life goal I have for myself and hope that I can live up to those expectations until the day I die.

I had food all day again today switching things up a bit from the shakes the past couple of weeks. All of the food I'm eating is very low-carb and high-fat, although I know it would have been better to spread out the food a little more throughout the day. I just had a crazy schedule today that didn't allow me to eat until I was getting ravenous this afternoon. I hate getting to that point because it's hard for me to stop eating when I get that hungry. I'll likely see a slight boost in my weight tomorrow morning, but that's okay. In the end, I'm eating well and on the right track. That's what matters most.

January 9, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

6:30AM
1/2 pound ground chuck hamburger patty with American cheese and pickle

9:00AM
3-hour youth basketball refereeing

1:15PM
Pork BBQ
Stevia-sweetened diet cherry soda

8:30PM
Pork BBQ

NOTE: My day started off earlier than usual for a Saturday and part of the issue was I was awakened by a very vivid dream about our floor falling in and the house tumbling down. I know, it's silly to think about such things when you have no control over them but it happened. I could physically feel myself breathing hard and my chest thump-thump-thumping that I had to get up.

The initial weight loss I've been able to attain on the shakes plus a meal plan over the past couple of weeks has begun to slow down substantially now, so I decided to eat an very low-carb, high-fat diet today and probably tomorrow to shift things up a bit. What I refuse to do is become complacent about how things are going and get frustrated. I can tell you I'm in ketosis pretty constantly and that's a good thing. I've got a few people who have theories about my weight struggle that are not related to diet that I'm investigating. I'll let you know what I find out from those.

In the meantime, life goes on and I started back refereeing again today at my church's Upward basketball games. Running up and down the court is really a lot of fun and excellent exercise. Especially when there is a fast break and I need to get into position to make a call, I get in those short bursts of interval workouts that are so heralded for fat loss. I'm certainly gonna get a bunch of those in over the next couple of months.

THANKS for all the well wishes for Christine's surgery on Monday! She's gonna do FANTASTIC! :)

January 8, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

8:45AM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with water, heavy whipping cream, MCT oil, and ice

11:45AM
Cream of broccoli soup
Salad with green leafy veggies, tomatoes, egg, bacon, cheese, and Ranch dressing
1/2-pound ground chuck hamburger patty with American cheese, tomato, pickle, and mayo

6:00PM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with water, coconut milk, 1 Tbs Naturally More peanut butter, and ice

NOTE: I took my wife Christine to the hospital today for her pre-op appointment regarding the neck surgery she will be having on Monday morning bright and early. As regular readers know, she had surgery on her C5 eight months ago to fuse the bones together after removing a herniated disc. This time around, she's had pain down from her neck, down her arm, to her fingertips and it's from a bulging bone spur in the area below the fusion. The neurosurgeon went through the front the last time and Christine had to wear a neck brace for two months. This surgery he will go in from the back of the neck, scrape down the bone spur, decompress the nerve giving her the excruciating pain, and will not need to wear a neck brace very much. He said a soft one would be provided for support for the muscles in the back of her neck (which will be sore for a brief time), but she'll be recovered in about a month. I'd appreciate your prayers for her as she goes through her second surgery on her neck in less than a year.

We also are dealing with the floor of our house sinking in. After contacting several companies about helping us get this fixed, we discovered that the joists holding up the house in the crawl space underneath are sinking due to lack of support. The solution is the drill 3-foot holes in the ground on both sides of the existing joists, put either steel or wood into the holes, and then hydraulically lift the house back up again. We only noticed the floor sinking from the walls within the past week or so and it seems to be happening fast throughout the house. Unfortunately, homeowner's insurance is refusing to pay for this since they say it wasn't caused by a "sudden and accidental" issue. Well, something SUDDENLY happened to make it ACCIDENTALLY fall! Don't you just love the way life is never a dull moment?

In regards to my diet today, I had a few things different for variety. Somebody asked if I ever eat soup in a previous comment and I don't usually. It's just not something I go rah-rah over like some people do. However, thinking about it and the 20-something degree temperatures we had outside today, I decided to have some cream of broccoli soup that was warm and delicious. Smooth, creamy, and even a little spicy! Gotta love that when you're shivering to the bone. And in my protein shake this evening, I decided to add a little natural peanut butter that contains flax seed and flax seed oil in it. WOW! This tee-totally changed the dynamic of the texture and taste and even added some more healthy protein and fat to the mix.

Oh, and in case you missed my blog post about my thyroid test results, check 'em out! I was stunned.

January 7, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

8:45AM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with an egg, water, heavy whipping cream, MCT oil, and ice

12:30PM
BBQ pork

5:00PM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with water, heavy whipping cream, MCT oil, and ice

7:00PM
120-minute competitive volleyball

NOTE: Another wonderful day in the life of a man who is livin' la vida low-carb. I'm loving this pattern I'm in and like the results I'm seeing so far. I feel great on it and am not deprived in the least. Some people have asked me if I had the headaches, cravings, etc. that typically come with Induction-level carb intake and the answer is no. Why? Because my menus have always been low-carb, so I'm not changing much. About the only thing that has changed for me is the volume of food I was consuming then compared to now. The protein shakes naturally lower them and I've been able to recognize where my satiety kicks in a little better. That's one bad habit from my 400-pounder days that sometimes creeps back in. I can still put away a lot of food, but I don't always need that much. This is why I tell people the low-carb lifestyle is a constant learning process that you never stop paying attention to forever and ever amen.

January 6, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

9:15AM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with an egg, water, heavy whipping cream, MCT oil, and ice

12:00PM
BBQ pork, Babybel mini-mozzarella cheese

4:30PM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with water, heavy whipping cream, MCT oil, and ice

8:30PM
1/2 pound hamburger patty with Provolone cheese, pickle, tomato, and mayo
3 garlic Parmesan cheese wings with Ranch dressing

NOTE: I ended up having two meals with my two shakes instead of one today, but that's okay. Wednesdays are busy for me because we have church choir rehearsal at 6PM that lasts for 90 minutes. After that much singing, I'm usually pretty hungry for some odd reason. Do you burn calories belting out praise songs? Probably a few.

Still sticking with my shakes and a meal plan because it has been working marvelously. I feel incredible and for the most part I haven't had issues with hunger at all. If I do get hungry, then I eat. That's only been an issue once after my volleyball workout earlier this week when I had some cheese. I'm enjoying this regimen immensely right now and it's getting me back on track again.

Today I decided to test my blood sugar at various times throughout the day with predictable results for me:

8:30AM -- 85
12:00PM -- 96
12:30PM -- 101
1:30PM -- 77
2:30PM -- 60
4:30PM -- 81
5:00PM -- 72
5:45PM -- 88

As I quoted Dr. Robert Su as saying yesterday, just because my blood sugar goes down after a meal doesn't mean anything bad is happening. I told him my numbers like the ones above and he said that's excellent blood sugars. I can't complain! :)

January 5, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

9:15AM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with an egg, water, heavy whipping cream, MCT oil, and ice

1:30PM
Salad greens with Ranch dressing
Roast beef with horseradish sauce
Green beans with hamhock and butter
Unsweetened tea with Splenda

6:00PM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with water, heavy whipping cream, MCT oil, and ice

NOTE: Still truckin' along with my renewed commitment to get this weight back down again. So far, the progress has been AMAZING and I'm confident I'm on the right track for me right now. I've been checking my ketone production using the Ketostix regularly and they've been purple on every occasion. I would assume some of that has to do with the reduction in fluid intake I've implemented over the past week or so. But who cares? I'm in ketosis, eating well, and feeling fantastic! I fit back into a button up shirt that I couldn't wear a month ago today and that was confirmation that I'm getting something under control again. Here's hoping it continues on!

One other point Dr. Robert Su brought up during my conversation with him last month was about my blood sugar dropping after a meal. He said that's okay as long as it doesn't go into severe hypoglycemia in the 40s or 50s. Mine usually has only gotten into the 60s, but I'm thinking of measuring my blood sugar again in the coming days just to see how I'm doing. Should be another interesting marker to follow in addition to my weight and I've also begun taking my body temperature in the morning. More on that coming soon!

Oh, and one more thing. Today I noticed on the right hand side of the roof of my mouth a sore. It's almost like a blister except it is hard and beneath the skin. When I touch my tongue to it, the sore area is hot meaning there is inflammation going on there. It's not an open wound and it doesn't appear to be something I would "pop" like a traditional blister. Not sure what it is, but I'll keep an eye on it. Just FYI!

January 4, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

8:45AM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with an egg, water, coconut milk, MCT oil, Truvia, and ice

12:15PM
Pork BBQ and green beans
Sugar-free caramel latte with heavy whipping cream

5:30PM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with an egg, water, coconut milk, MCT oil, and ice

7:00PM
90-minute competitive volleyball

9:30PM
1 mini-Babybel mozzarella cheese cheese

NOTE: A brand new week has begun and I can't tell you how super-excited I am about the plan I'm working right now. Whatever it is about this strategy I'm using right now, all I know is it works beautifully! And so if it ain't broke, don't fix it is my motto right now as I continue down this journey to shed the pounds and fit back into some clothes again in short order. It'll happen when it happens, but I'm confident I'm putting myself in a much better position now with what I am doing than I was before. No matter what is going on with your own weight loss efforts, you gotta stay positive and hopeful that the best is just around the corner. It's what kept me going in 2004 and what keeps me going now.

For Christmas, Christine and I got a gift certificate for Starbuck's from her brother's girlfriend since she works for them in Virginia. And this may be sacrilegious to say to some people, but I'd never stepped foot into a Starbuck's before today. EVER! Gasp! Yes, I know. Part of the reason is I'm not a big fan of coffee. But Christine is and we had $20 to spend at this place (which is good for about four cups of coffee I quickly learned).

My dear wife suggested I try a cup at least once and so I did today. I asked if they had any sugar-free options and he said there were sugar-free syrups. "Well, what about heavy whipping cream, can I get that in my coffee?" He said the default dairy is 2% milk (YUCK!), so I asked if HWC could be used instead. For a slight upcharge, he said I could do that. So I ended up getting a latte (don't know what the heck that is, but it sounded cool!) with sugar-free caramel syrup and heavy whipping cream. When it finally cooled down enough for me to take a sip, I remembered why I despise coffee so much -- EWWWW!

Oh well, at least I didn't have to pay $5 for that and Christine enjoyed her French Vanilla latte thingy-ma-bob immensely. She's been going through some pain in her neck again in the past couple of months (the same one she had surgery in last year) and will likely be going back for more surgery soon. So anything that cheers her up and gives her a moment without pain is a good one in my book. Pray for her as we go see the neurosurgeon again on Wednesday to arrange the surgery.

After my volleyball workout tonight (which I noticed I had a bit more speed than usual I would assume from the weight I'm dropping off my body right now), I was feeling hungry and thirsty enough to have a third glass of water compared with the two 20-ounce glasses I've been drinking daily for the past week. Since I had already had two shakes and a meal, I didn't want to go overboard with eating anything. That's why I chose the mozzarella cheese thinking the fat and protein would satiate my hunger. To be honest, it didn't do much at all to abate the hunger pangs in my stomach. After trying to ignore this feeling for about an hour after eating the cheese, I just decided to go to bed. Better to sleep knowing I'm not going to consume something I don't need than to stay up and falling prey to the temptation to munch when I've been doing so well. Good choice!

January 3, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

8:30AM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with an egg, water, coconut milk, MCT oil, and ice

1:00PM
Naked steak fajitas with onions, green peppers, cheese, and pico de gallo

4:30PM
6 garlic Parmesan chicken wings with Ranch dressing

9:45PM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with water, coconut milk, Truvia, and ice

NOTE: It's now officially been one week on the shakes and meal plan that worked for me last Fall and I'm feeling fantastic. Giving up the diet soda has been easier than expected, drinking less water and overall fluids than before has also been achieved (just three 20-ounce glasses today -- more than usual because that fajita was spicy hot!), and consuming a regimented number of protein shakes has helped me manage my portions and satiety. Today I even used a little coconut milk instead of heavy whipping cream and that added a brand new dynamic to the shakes that was missing from what I've been doing. I enjoy both, but will alternate between the cream and coconut milk for variety from time to time.

This is working so well for me right now that I really don't want to change anything for the foreseeable future. Two shakes along with a sensible low-carb meal is a doable plan for me and it's reaping awesome results in how I feel, the way my clothes fit me, and, of course, the scale. I won't be announcing any weight changes until I've been into this a little while longer, but suffice it to say I seem to be taking care of business on the 50-pound addition I never asked for. I'm seriously considering adding in some high-intensity interval training to help blast the stored body fat, but I'm already losing weight at a good pace now. You'll see these workouts listed on my menus if and when I decide to start doing them.

THANK YOU again for all of your encouragement and support. How are YOU doing? :)

January 2, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

9:15AM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with an egg, water, heavy whipping cream, MCT oil, and ice

4:00PM
6 garlic Parmesan chicken wings with Ranch dressing
Greens salad with tomatoes,cheese, bacon, and Ranch dressing
8-ounce sirloin steak

9:45PM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with water, heavy whipping cream, and ice

NOTE: I'm approaching the end of one week of getting my diet changed to reduce some added weight that has come on my body over the past couple of years. And I am pleased to report that I'm doing remarkably well so far. Cutting out diet sodas cold turkey this time around for some reason has been a very easy transition compared to in the past, giving up the low-carb snack products has also been a surprising thing to me, and staying on schedule with the plan that I'm using to bring about this weight loss has been incredible. My body is adjusting to this different low-carb eating plan than I have been following and I've already noticed a difference in how much food I am able to consume compared to before.

Natural satiety can be a difficult thing for a lot of people to "feel" and especially for people who have been overweight or obese for most of their lives. If you knew when you were full, then you wouldn't have gotten big to begin with. So even all these years later on my healthy low-carb lifestyle, I'm continuing to learn lessons about my own body and what I need to be paying attention to. If the pants I wore today are any indication falling off of me requiring another notch up on the belt, then I'm well on my way to getting this cumulative 50-pound gain since 2008 gone. I'm gonna keep working the plan because it is working for me.

January 1, 2010 Low-Carb Menu

9:00AM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with an egg, water, heavy whipping cream, MCT oil, and ice

3:00PM
Avocado salad with lettuce, tomato, cheese, and Ranch dressing
Naked steak fajitas with onions, green peppers, cheese, sour cream, and pico de gallo

8:30PM
Chocolate low-carb EAS protein powder with an egg, water, heavy whipping cream, and ice

NOTE: HAPPY NEW YEAR! Today was a very special day for me because it was six years ago to this very day when I weighed in at an unseemly and shocking 410 pounds, wearing 5XL shirts, size 62-inch waist pants, taking prescription medications for cholesterol, blood pressure and breathing problems, feeling hopeless about what my life had become, but seeing a small glimmer of possibility that maybe just maybe this time it was gonna be different. Boy was it ever! By the end of that year, I had lost a total of 180 pounds, dropped to XL shirts, size 40-inch waist pants, came completely off of all the drugs I was taking, felt a newfound confidence in myself that had never been there before, and knowing that something pretty spectacular had changed in me not just physically but in so many other intangible ways. Six years later, I'm still reaping the rewards!

One thing that I think helped me during my initial weight loss experience in 2004 was when I entered a local weight loss contest on an afternoon radio talk show in Greenville, South Carolina. The host Ralph Bristol, who wrote the foreword to my first book, was looking for five people who cumulatively weighed 2,000 pounds for what he dubbed "Ralph's Incredible Shrinking Ton" contest. Each of the contestants would call in regularly with updates on their progress and I was always quite enthusiastic about the results I was seeing! It turns out, three of the contestants dropped out by the summertime and the final competition for me was a man who started at 600+ pounds who was also doing the Atkins diet. On the day of the final weigh-in, he was hospitalized and could not make it. I lost around 140 pounds or so in nine months and was the winner by default, but something tells me I might have won anyway. LOL! Here's a press release from my grad school in Virginia at the time about my weight loss success story.

Thinking back on that experience, I am motivated in my efforts now to get my slight weight gain back down again. I am nowhere near the 400+ pounds I was in 2004 and can confidently say I never will be. But, as my past two years has taught me, this is a battle for a lifetime and just because you reach some self-appointed "goal weight" doesn't mean you've arrived or you're set for life. You need to constantly remain vigilant in your efforts and never let your guard down lest you fall prey to the temptations that got you big to begin with. I've found bad habits creeping back into my lifestyle that I've had to nip in the bud and I encourage you to take an examination of areas of your life where you have allowed things in that should have been locked out forever. I'm still traveling this journey myself and will always share what I learn along the way.

Oh, I gotta tell you, that avocado salad today was SENSATIONAL! OMG, I could eat this all the time! Great stuff. It was nice cool contrast to the spicy naked fajitas (no tortillas at all!). Can you believe I only had two sips of water with that meal. Overall today, I had two more 20-ounce glasses of water along with the fluids in my protein shakes. I'm doing well eating this way right now and we'll see what kind of results come from it in the coming days, weeks, and months. THANKS for reading!