Other Low-Carb Blogs

It’s time again for the annual Low-Carb Cruise and this year is super-exciting (how can you NOT be excited about a cruise though?). On Saturday night at the hotel in Houston, Texas, the amazingly witty and hilarious Tom Naughton will be doing a very special roasting of the guest speakers on the 2012 cruise. I have no doubt in my mind this is going to be a rip-roaring good time and I’m going to try to have this videotaped so that you can see it when we return home in a couple of weeks. And then the cruise itself is set to leave our of Galveston port on Sunday, May 6, 2012 and headed to Grand Caymans, Jamaica and Cozumel before heading back to harbor on Sunday, May 13, 2012. Our all-time record for attendance on this cruise is 110 which happened last year, but this year we have a whopping 275+ enthusiastic low-carb, Paleo and real food enthusiasts ready to have some fun in the sun and learn a few things from the low-carb conference we’ll be having on the ship during the three days at sea. The Low-Carb Cruise Committee has done an absolutely sensational job of organizing everything well and we keep getting better and better at it every year. I can’t wait to share about the good times I know we’re sure to have and sharing how YOU can be a part of it all in 2013 when we leave out of New Orleans, Louisiana for the 6th Annual Low-Carb Cruise. Details coming in June 2012.

Christine and I decided we’d drive down to Texas from our home in South Carolina and make it a road trip of sorts swinging by Pensacola, Florida to see my mom and sister Beverly. We’re heading out on Wednesday morning driving the 8 1/2 hour to get there and will spend all day on Thursday seeing part of my family for the first time in quite a while. After my brother Kevin died in 2008 at the age of 41 from morbid obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, it’s been difficult going “home” to where I grew up. But I’m always anxious to see my mom and sis every chance I can (which isn’t often with my busy schedule). Then we’ll head out on Friday morning for Houston, TX from Pensacola which is about an 8 hour drive. After the cruise, we’ll take a couple of days getting back home again before chilling out for a couple of more weeks during the month of May.

After the huge outpouring of love (and financial support–THANK YOU!) from so many of you to my recent blog post about dealing with ugly personal attacks, I realized the importance of taking care of my own health and that perhaps that kind of daily negativity is grinding away taking its toll on me physically. Isn’t it ironic that in the midst of trying to help others live a healthy lifestyle that perhaps I’m partially destroying my own in the process? Maybe I’ll blog some here and there when I return from the cruise. But it could be quite regenerating to just let it all go for the month of May and come back strong in June. I dunno what I’ll do just yet (I can’t imagine NOT blogging at least a little), but I will DEFINITELY be back full force come June 4, 2012 with my podcast schedule. I’m so very grateful for the amazingly kind and encouraging comments that so many of you who I consider dear friends have left for me to keep doing what I do. Oh I will–you can be assured of that. God bless you all!

Since I’ll be away for a long while, I’ve got 47 new Paleo, low-carb and health blogs for you to check out. You have plenty of time to take a look at all of these, so please visit them over the next month, leave them a comment, write them an e-mail, and bookmark their page if you like what you see there. In case you missed any of my previous blog listings, take a look-see at all of them here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Here are 47 new Paleo, low-carb and health blogs for May 2012:

1. LOW CARBOHYDRATE REVIEW
2. N=1: A JOURNEY TO HEALTH
3. CHUNKY TO CHA-CHA
4. IT’S THE SATIETY
5. AGAINST THE GRAIN
6. BACON & SKINNY JEANS
7. 30 BANANAS A DAY…SUCKS!
8. A CHANGE OF LIFE
9. KOKOPALEO
10. GOOD FOR YOU GOODIES
11. PEACE, LOVE, AND LOW CARB
12. PALEO FOR WOMEN
13. TRAIN TO WIN, EAT TO LOSE
14. KARA NANCE MD
15. SWEDISH DIET
16. BOOKBODY
17. THE FOODIE AND THE FAMILY
18. YOUR HEALTH IS ON YOUR PLATE
19. SARA GOTTFRIED MD
20. MRS. PALEO
21. A WEIGHT WATCHING ANGEL
22. MY LIFE IN A PYRAMID
23. CONFESSIONS OF A CROSSFIT COACH
24. LOW-CARB LIFESTYLE: THE THEORY & PRACTICE
25. SARAH GETS STRONG: A CROSSFIT/PALEO LOVE AFFAIR
26. MAKE IT FUN & IT WILL GET DONE
27. EATHROPOLOGY
28. THE THINKER
29. THE UNREFINED KITCHEN
30. THE CAFE WELLNESS
31. AUTISM BUSTER
32. PALEO STYLE
33. PRINCIPLE INTO PRACTICE
34. PRIMAL PASTURES
35. CLAUDIO RIVERA
36. THE DAWN OF PALEO
37. YOGI WELLNESS JOURNEY
38. DR. DEBORAH’S BLOG
39. FIT TWIN CITIES
40. THE WILDERNESS CHILDE
41. HOME WITH PURPOSE
42. LITTLE DOG LOST
43. THE REAL NUTRITIONIST
44. TOM’S UNDERGROUND FITNESS
45. DIETINGLADY
46. DIETA LOW-CARB E PALEOLITICA (Portuguese)
47. SYLPH GOURMAND (Serbian)

If you or someone you know has a low-carb, Paleo or health blog or web site that you’d like to see featured in a future blog post here at “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb,” then I’d love to know about it. E-mail me the name of the blog and the URL to livinlowcarbman@charter.net so I can add it to my next big blog update. If you’ve been successful in your weight and health goals by eating a healthy Paleo or low-carb diet, then you should DEFINITELY consider blogging too. You are already influencing others where you realize it or not, so why not take your inspiring self online and impact the lives of so many more? When you’re ready to make a difference in the world with all you know about low-carb living, then drop me a line to let me know. I’ll hook you up with lots of eyeballs for your brand new blog dedicated to Paleo, low-carb and health. I look forward to being away for the next couple of weeks on the Low-Carb Cruise and over the next month on my podcasts…but I’ll likely blog a little when I return home so I’m not a total slacker in May. Or maybe I won’t. See ya soon!

GET BEN GREENFIELD’S ‘LOW-CARB DIET FOR TRIATHLETES’:

NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE: http://cmp.ly/3

In Episode 576 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” it’s my pleasure to share with you for the second time an outstanding Paleo nutritional health expert named Nell Stephenson. I first interviewed Nell in Episode 399 sharing about what she is doing for the Paleo community in September 2010. Since that time she’s been very busy working on spreading the message to a much wider audience by rebranding the Paleo message that many like to hearken back to Paleolithic times and give it a modern-day makeover.

After collaborating with Professor Loren Cordain and Lorrie Cordain on The Paleo Diet Cookbook: More than 150 recipes for Paleo Breakfasts, Lunches, Dinners, Snacks, and Beverages in 2011, Nell is back in 2012 with a fabulous new book of her own imploring her philosophy of living Paleo in a modern world entitled Paleoista: Gain Energy, Get Lean, and Feel Fabulous With the Diet You Were Born to Eat. Nell says that far too many people, women especially, can be turned off by the whole “caveman” aspect of the Paleo diet. While she says that approach is perfectly fine as a way to attract some people (mostly men) to the lifestyle, she has a different take on Paleo that is more suited to modern-day living. That’s why she created this fun new term Paleoista to mash together Paleo and fashionista in a different twist on eating this way. Listen in as Nell shares about how to respect the traditional diet of our ancestors while living in the 21st Century!

Listen to Nell Stephenson share about how to become a “Paleoista”:

Now that I’m beginning my eighth consecutive year of low-carb blogging, I wanted to address an important and often contentious issue that perhaps many of you my readers have no idea is happening. It’s not usually anything you see out in the open if you’re just a casual online reader who is simply trying to stay on top of what’s happening with the latest diet, fitness and nutritional health information on the Internet hopping around from blog to blog. But for those of us who are deep in the trenches and put ourselves out there on a daily basis for the world to see and interact with us, there’s much more going on behind-the-scenes than you may even realize. Some people have caught on to it and have been writing me e-mails with increasing frequency basically asking me this simple question: “Aren’t you going to respond to the negative attacks against you?”

I actually wrote about this particular subject in LESSON #14 of my 2009 book 21 Life Lessons From Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb: How The Healthy Low-Carb Lifestyle Changed Everything I Thought I Knew in a chapter titled “If you put yourself out there on the Internet, people will judge you.” The original title was actually going to be “If you put yourself out there on the Internet, people will hate you” but my editor said using the word “hate” was rather strong and decided “judge” was more appropriate. But in reality, hate is probably putting it nicely. Over the years I have seen seen some of the ugliest, most vile, crude personal attacks against me, my wife and many of my fellow low-carb blogging friends in the comments section of my blog and podcasts, on my YouTube videos, on the social networking sites, at my forum and even direct e-mails. In fact, entire blogs have been created to “expose” me as a big fat fraud, outright liar, money-grubbing shyster who is only looking for fame and fortune by fooling people into embracing low-carb living. They’ve resorted to posting some really horrible comments about me all over the Internet in an effort to reveal to others that I am not who I say I am. What’s interesting is that it’s not all vegans and vegetarians either–some of these comments are from people who eat low-carb and Paleo themselves! What’s up with that?

Anybody who knows me in real life realizes how incredibly silly those characterizations are because I try to live my life as authentically and honestly as I possibly can with unprecedented transparency for a blog about weight loss and health. And lemme tell you, there are a lot better ways I could go about to get fame and fortune than what I’m currently doing if that was my primary goal for doing what I do. What really motivates me to keep doing all that I do is the opportunity to encourage others in their own health journey, to provide inspiration to them in the midst of their struggles, and to offer up valuable information that could positively impact their pursuit of a healthy lifestyle. I work upwards of 70-80 hours a week with all that I do and I personally respond to 400+ e-mails daily without ever asking for a single dime of money in return. In fact, all of the information I provide (except for what is in my books) is available to the public 100% absolutely FREE. It doesn’t cost you a single penny because it deserves to be out there as my way of paying it forward to those who desperately need the life-changing message that livin’ la vida low-carb has to offer them! I consider all of this a labor of love.

Sometimes people will be critical of the fact that I make a living blogging, podcasting and working online. Perhaps it stems from jealousy from those who haven’t been able to do this as a full-time career and they’re mad that I’ve been able to figure it out. And while I have some really fantastic companies who advertise products and services on my web sites to help me keep this thing going, I’m by no means getting rich doing this nor do I really care to be. But here’s some interesting food for thought:

If a mere 10 percent of the people who read my blog, listen to my podcasts, watch my YouTube videos, frequent my forum and all the other places where I post information online would just donate $1 to me through PayPal per year, then I’d NEVER have to look for sponsors to support my work.

Pretty amazing, huh? Seriously, that small amount of donations would give me the necessary income to sustain what I do, pay my bills and still have enough money to take care of everything else I need. The stark reality is that 99.99% of those who have been exposed to my work have never contributed a single red cent to help me continue to bring the kind of quality information to you every week. I understand some people have financial challenges that prevent them from giving even a dollar and I totally understand that–but others could. I’m grateful to everyone who sows a financial seed into the work of “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” and your generosity does not go unnoticed by me. THANK YOU!

Whether you realize it or not, I work some pretty insane hours pumping out the material that is provided here on a daily basis. From the time I get up in the morning sometimes as early as 5:00AM until as late as 8:00PM I am scouring the Internet for the latest health information, checking hundreds of e-mails and personally responding directly to them all, lining up brand new guests for my podcast, interviewing and recording audio for my various shows, talking to fellow bloggers and potential bloggers offering up my advice to them, updating Facebook, Twitter and other social media with fresh content, preparing material for brand new books…and so much more! It’s a busy day and I’m the first to say how much I LOVE IT! These past few years have been so gratifying to me because I’m able to enjoy my “job” because it doesn’t feel a bit in the world like work. It’s just what I do now and I have no plans to ever stop doing it no matter how much hateful criticism I receive.

Wanna see a representative sample of what I’m talking about? Some of this may be shocking to those of you who don’t have a blog or haven’t been exposed to a large audience. If you start receiving this kind of response, then congratulations–you’ve arrived! Check this out (I’ll give you a few moments to pick your jaw up off the floor):

And even as I was writing this blog post, this came in on Twitter:

I guess these people have an expectation that if they write a comment like this on my blog, Facebook wall or Twitter page, at a YouTube video, on my forum or elsewhere online that I have a duty to publish it. I do not. I tend to agree with the famous blogger Tim Ferriss from “The Four-Hour Workweek” blog and his doctrine of it being okay to disagree with the ideas I share on my blog. But once you cross the line into personal attacks against me or others, there is no expectation that your comment will ever see the light of day. DELETE! I’m more than happy to entertain lively debate and discussion of the topics I blog about (that’s what a blog is for, right?). But if you decide to write some of the kind of stuff I shared above, it’s a guaranteed way your comments will never be approved. I have no problem blocking these kind of unproductive, demeaning comments from ever seeing the light of day. If you can’t be positive or at the very least show common decency in a public forum, then you don’t deserve to be heard. It’s pretty easy to disagree without being disagreeable and at the same time be encouraging even in the midst of criticism. Some people have yet to master this fine art of comment decorum.

These sample comments I shared above are only a few of the ones I’ve received just over the past week. The fact of the matter is I pretty much get stuff like this on a daily basis now and have been for much of the past year or so. Beginning a couple of years after I started blogging I was receiving this kind of feedback about once a month, then every few weeks, then once a week, and lately every single day. Although it was a bit startling at first to hear such negativity about me personally from people I’ve never even met, I soon found these to be incredibly funny. The depth of passionate disgust put on full display from faceless, nameless people who wouldn’t have a clue about what my life is all about is rather comical when you stop and think about it. They’re all up in arms over someone who’s blogging…about food…and his diet…these people must not have a life if I am the bane of their entire existence!

And it’s not like I’ve hidden from my struggles over the years. Regular readers of this blog will be the first to tell you I’ve been very open and honest about my weight gain that has me currently at 300 pounds (sharing most recently about it in this blog post). It seems I’m in a knockdown, drag out battle with my body from the over three decades of poor high-carb eating I put it through that even the past 8 years of healthy low-carb living can’t undo some of the damage that’s been done. I’m thankful that low-carb has helped me preserve my health as well as it has and prevented me from following my brother Kevin to an early grave at the age of 41 four years ago (I’m 40 now, so this hits close to home). I’m by no means giving up, but getting these hormonal/metabolic issues under control is going to take a lot more than just simply cutting carbs (improving my sleep, lowering stress, normalizing hormone levels, exercising properly, and more are all key parts of the equation).

All of this is a part of my journey to better health and I’ll continue to share what I learn along the way. My readers understand I’m not perfect nor do I think many of you expect me to be a muscular, thin man. It’s probably not in the cards for me no matter how hard I work at it. And quite frankly I’m just not interested in forcing weight loss to happen at the cost of my incredible health markers, including high HDL, low triglycerides and a heart scan score of zero. I will figure out what’s right for me by continuing to pursue it daily! Nobody is forcing anyone to read this blog. If there’s nothing here that interests you, then feel free to move on to other blogs that do (I’ve never understood why anyone feels compelled to keep reading something they think is of poor quality or irrelevant). There’s plenty of them out there featuring writers who have six-pack abs, a size 28-inch waist, muscles popping out of every area of their body and more! If that’s what you’re looking for, then my blog is not for you.

I’ve been pondering this issue with the negative attacks a lot over the past few months and then it dawned on me–people who resort to these kind of negative attacks are probably people who are hurting themselves in some form or fashion. They’re likely experiencing their own feelings of doubt, insecurity and pain from something that happened in their past that causes them to project those feelings of anger, resentment and heartache on the closest target they can find. Since my life is pretty much an open book here at my blog and on my podcasts where I share all the ups, downs and in-betweens of my personal low-carb journey, I suppose people see me as an easy target for hurling insults in an effort to make themselves feel better about their own situation.

I’ve done this long enough now that I rarely take anything that’s said about me online seriously because most of the time that anger has very little at all to do with me and more to do with what’s going on with that person. There was a great book I read several years ago on this called HURT PEOPLE HURT PEOPLE: Getting a Grip on Anger by Chester W. Wood who used his experience in law enforcement and as a youth pastor to develop Biblical strategies for helping people work through their anger issues. It’s a powerful resource explaining much of what oftentimes happens online when there is no accountability for what is said about others. Knowing that God can heal the hurts in those who criticize, I regularly pray for them to find peace, love and joy in their own lives to conquer the negativity that pervades everything they do.

So, the answer to the question I used as the title of this blog post is a resounding no. I’d much rather spend my time educating, encouraging and inspiring the majority of those who do love and appreciate the work I do than to be drug down, beaten and discouraged my a minuscule minority who have made it their mission in life to be a perpetual thorn in my flesh. The haters will always be with us…but that doesn’t mean we have to put up with their antics. If you can’t spread a positive and encouraging message in your online communications, then I really don’t have any interest in engaging or promoting you in any way. People are already hurting enough in their day-to-day interactions at work and home and don’t deserve to be exposed to this kind of foolish nonsense on the Internet. My tactic is to ignore this stuff and shine a light on those who are doing good. In the end, the world is a much better place if we all tune out the naysayers and thus lessen their impact.

LOW-CARB, GLUTEN-FREE CONDIMENTS MADE WITH STEVIVA

NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE: http://cmp.ly/3

In Episode 575 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we are pleased to have a Toronto, Ontario-based nutrition and fitness extraordinaire named Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon from “Precision Nutrition” with us to talk about her perspective on what diet, exercise and healthy living is all about. After I met Krista at the PaleoFX event in Austin, Texas in March 2012 (I moderated a panel she was a part of that week), there was no question in my mind that I had to invite her to be on as a special interview guest on my podcast. This PhD in Women’s Studies has a genuine heart for reaching that busy woman who thinks she doesn’t have time in her schedule for eating right and exercising. She’s really quite the character as you can see first-hand at her wildly-popular women’s fitness and health web site Stumptuous.com. In fact, you may notice at the top of her web site two words that look tee-totally out of place and I dare you to click on it to see what it’s all about (although it might catch you off guard at first, I think you might be pleasantly surprised by the overall message she’s conveying!). Listen in as I speaks with Krista directly about this two-word shocker, get her thoughts on where low-carb and Paleo diets get it wrong (and right!) and how to engage women especially into making fitness a regular part of their healthy lifestyle change. This was a fun one that I hope you enjoy listening to as much as I did recording it!

Listen to Dr. Krista Scott-Dixon give you the skinny on health:

What a fun time we have had all month long in my 7-Year Blogiversary Giveaway Contest celebrating my seven amazing years of low-carb blogging. Sometimes it seems like yesterday when I started blogging and other times I can hardly remember what life was like before becoming a blogger. This blogiversary contest was a special one with a record-breaking number of entries from hundreds of people all around the world. And the feedback that so many of you shared about how “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” has changed your life in some way warmed my heart and encouraged me to keep doing what I’m doing. Although it can seem bleak at times about the prospects for the future regarding nutrition, hopefully you have found that my blog and podcasts is a place of solace and reassurance that better days are coming soon. I am so appreciative for all of you giving me a purpose in life to educate, encourage and inspire about healthy low-carb living on a daily basis through the health blogosphere. THANK YOU for all of your steadfast love and support that keeps me excited about sharing with you on a daily basis.

Your answers to the survey questions were phenomenal and I can’t wait to start tabulating your answers after the Low-Carb Cruise. There’s a lot of data there that will be useful in giving you the current pulse of the low-carb/Paleo community. If you haven’t seen the survey results from previous years, be sure to check out 2009, 2010 and 2011. I hope to have the 2012 survey results blog post completed by June. Stay tuned!

But enough about all of that, you wanna know who won, right? This year we had OVER 90 PRIZES for you to win, including not just one but TWO excellent GRAND PRIZES: the brand new 2012 iPad (third generation) and a $600 voucher to attend the 2013 Low-Carb Cruise leaving out of New Orleans, Louisiana in May 2013. WOO HOO! Plus, there were some other pretty incredible exclusive prizes like the very last ticket to the upcoming Ancestral Health Symposium in Boston that’s totally sold out, an opportunity to co-host with me my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” podcast with the guest of your choice, and so much more! Just in case you missed any of the prize package posts, here they are again: Prize Package Post #1, Prize Package Post #2, Prize Package Post #3, Prize Package Post #4, Prize Package Post #5 and Prize Package Post #6.

Enough waiting, let’s share who the big WINNERS were in the contest:

Low-Carbing Among Friends prize: Lori G. from Pennsylvania

Paleo Plan prize: Amy P. from Georgia

Farewell Club Perma-Chub book: Alissa F. from California
Farewell Club Perma-Chub book: Bevin B. from California
Farewell Club Perma-Chub book: Brian H. from Pennsylvania
Farewell Club Perma-Chub book: Chana G. from New York
Farewell Club Perma-Chub book: John A. from Illinois

Primal Fuel prize: Christina T. from Ohio

Nourished e-book by Judy Barnes Baker: Jill C. from Arkansas
Nourished e-book by Judy Barnes Baker: Clare F. from Iowas
Nourished e-book by Judy Barnes Baker: Wendy M. from Indiana

OraWellness Brushing Blend: Beau T. from Louisiana
OraWellness Brushing Blend: Jodi H. from Iowa
OraWellness Brushing Blend: Katie L. from New Mexico

Grassfed Jerky Chews prize: Daniela M. from Illinois

The ONE Diet book: Anne L. from Arkansas
The ONE Diet book: Ashley N. from Maine
The ONE Diet book: Bobbi K. from Indiana
The ONE Diet book: June K. from Maryland
The ONE Diet book: Tracy L. from California

Practical Paleo/21-Day Sugar Detox: Dawn P. from California
Practical Paleo/21-Day Sugar Detox: Holly J. from Virginia
Practical Paleo/21-Day Sugar Detox: Jason M. from Indianapolis

Health And Vitality Truths book: Carol P. from California
Health And Vitality Truths book: Claudio R. from Minnesota
Health And Vitality Truths book: Debbie H. from Arizona
Health And Vitality Truths book: Jon-Paul from Wisconsin
Health And Vitality Truths book: Mary M. from California

Wise Traditions London 2011 Conference DVD: Amelia D. from Maryland
Wise Traditions London 2011 Conference DVD: Ken R. from California

Trinity Hill Farms gift pack: Allison R. from Texas
$25 gift card for Trinity Hill Farms: Amanda P. from Pennsylvania
$25 gift card for Trinity Hill Farms: Christina R. from Texas
$25 gift card for Trinity Hill Farms: Darrin S. from Connecticut
$25 gift card for Trinity Hill Farms: Ely N. from New Jersey

5-pack of Paleo Diet books: Drew I. from Colorado
5-pack of Paleo Diet books: Linda H. from South Carolina
5-pack of Paleo Diet books: Michelle B. from North Carolina

Sugar Nation book: Alan A. from Florida
Sugar Nation book: Gina M. from Nevada
Sugar Nation book: Naomi M. from Texas
Sugar Nation book: Rikard J. from New Jersey
Sugar Nation book: Wendy M. from California

Leaner Living Protein Powder/Glycosolve: Maryann H. from Tennessee
Leaner Living Protein Powder/Glycosolve: Perry K. from New Jersey
Leaner Living Protein Powder/Glycosolve: Robin B. from Maryland

The Smarter Science Of Slim book: Holly T. from Indiana
The Smarter Science Of Slim book: Judy P. from Washington
The Smarter Science Of Slim book: Krissy H. from Ohio

Ticket to 2012 Ancestral Health Symposium: Jan A. from California

Why We Get Fat paperback book: Amelia P. from Alabama
Why We Get Fat paperback book: Christina E. from Arizona
Why We Get Fat paperback book: David V. from Ohio
Why We Get Fat paperback book: Debbie D. from Wisconsin
Why We Get Fat paperback book: Jeanine M. from California

$50 Gift Card to PaleoPax.com: Allison H. from Utah
$10 Gift Cards to PaleoPax.com: Brandon L. from Texas
$10 Gift Cards to PaleoPax.com: Ike M. from Kansas
$10 Gift Cards to PaleoPax.com: Charles F. from Quebec
$10 Gift Cards to PaleoPax.com: Cris C. from Ohio
$10 Gift Cards to PaleoPax.com: Derian L. from Texas
3 months PaleoPax subscription boxes: Donald E. from South Carolina
3 months PaleoPax subscription boxes: Fritz C. from New Jersey
3 months PaleoPax subscription boxes: Jennifer K. from Arizona

Dan’s Plan prize: JonMarc G. from Ohio

Naked Calories book: Mark L. from Massachusetts
Naked Calories book: Linda R. from Arizona
Naked Calories book: Amy D. from Illinois

Dr. Stephen Phinney/Dr. Jeff Volek prize: Patti B. from Massachusetts

10 Minute Trainer by Tony Horton: Mary F. from Florida

Paleoista book and 1-hour Skype consultation: Lisa P. from Minnesota

Rollergirl and Well Fed books: Kimberly C. from Pennsylvania

LC Homestyles Beef and Chicken Chili: Teresa B. from Missouri
LC Homestyles Beef and Chicken Chili: Kim E. from Missouri

Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution book: Kelly S. from Oregon
Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution book: Marina B. from New Jersey
Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution book: Mary H. from Massachusetts

Beyond Broccoli book: Melinda O. from Mississippi
Beyond Broccoli book: Michelle B. from Washington
Beyond Broccoli book: Shellie H. from Idaho

PALEO Magazine 1-year digital subscription: Anne T. from Texas
PALEO Magazine 1-year digital subscription: Lisa C. from Texas
PALEO Magazine 1-year digital subscription: Matt B. from Pennsylvania

Upgraded Coffee/Whey: Steve P. from Missouri

GAPS book & DVD: Badier V. from California
GAPS book & DVD: Sheri F. from California

Immunitrition Organic Cultured Vegetables: Peggy H. from Nebraska

Copies of both Jimmy Moore e-books: Bev N. from British Columbia
Copies of both Jimmy Moore e-books: Cara Z. from Maryland
Copies of both Jimmy Moore e-books: Mark S. from Maryland
Copies of both Jimmy Moore e-books: Frankyne M. from California
Copies of both Jimmy Moore e-books: Tammy C. from Missouri

Co-host Episode 600 of The LLVLC Show: Art K. from California

THE FIRST GRAND PRIZE WINNER IS….
$600 2013 Low-Carb Cruise Voucher: Andrea W. from Indiana

AND THE SECOND GRAND PRIZE WINNER IS….
2012 third generation iPad: Julia S. from Virginia

A BIG CONGRATULATIONS to everyone who won a prize and sincerest gratitude to everyone who entered to win. You make this giveaway contest bigger and better every single year and without you my readers I wouldn’t be blessed to do what I do here. What a ride this “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” journey has been over the past seven years and I look forward to continuing it with you for many more years to come. If you won a prize, then please allow 6-8 weeks for it to be delivered to you. Please feel free to e-mail me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net if you do not receive your prize by August 1, 2012. If I haven’t said it to you enough, let me say it again: THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! I am grateful beyond all measure for each and every one of you for enriching my life through your kind e-mails and comments about the work I do.

LOW-CARB, GLUTEN-FREE CONDIMENTS MADE WITH STEVIVA

NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE: http://cmp.ly/3

In Episode 15 of “Jimmy Moore Presents: Ask The Low-Carb Experts,” we have an amazing bona fide low-carb expert for you in Duke University researcher and health practitioner Dr. Eric Westman. He is a lifestyle medicine physician/bariatrician who specializes in disease prevention of his patients primarily through the use of low-carbohydrate nutritional approaches that often improve conditions such as Type 2 diabetes, obesity, PCOS, metabolic syndrome, sleep apnea, fatty liver disease and more. Dr. Westman is the co-author with Dr. Stephen Phinney and Dr. Jeff Volek on the New York Times bestselling book The New Atkins For A New You (listen to my interview with him about this book in Episode 338 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show”) and he has performed some of the most influential scientific research on low-carb diets in the world over the past decade. He regularly teaches his patients in Durham, North Carolina about low-carb diets and has heard virtually every objection about it over the years. That’s why we were privileged to have him here with us dispelling the myths people still believe about low-carb living. I’m pleased to have brought you a highly-qualified expert like Dr. Eric Westman today joining us on ATLCX answering listener questions about the plethora of low-carb myths in EPISODE 15 on April 26, 2012.

Listen to Dr. Eric Westman “Exploding The Low-Carb Myths”:

Today is your LAST CHANCE to enter my 7-Year Blogiversary Giveaway Contest which officially ends at 11:59PM ET tonight. Hundreds of you have entered for your chance to win any number of prizes like one of the two GRAND PRIZES: the brand new 2012 iPad (third generation) and a $600 voucher to attend the 2013 Low-Carb Cruise leaving out of New Orleans, Louisiana in May 2013 (more details coming soon!) PLUS all of the prizes I’ve previously shared in Prize Package Post #1, Prize Package Post #2, Prize Package Post #3, Prize Package Post #4 and Prize Package Post #5. If you’re wanting to have a chance at getting your hands on one of these prizes and haven’t entered the contest yet, then you only have a few more hours to make that happen. E-mail me your answers to the following questions to become eligible for a prize in my 7-Year Blogiversary Giveaway Contest. Be sure to put in the subject line “BLOGIVERSARY CONTEST”:

1. Your first and last name, mailing address (no P.O. boxes please), and telephone number.
2. What is your current eating plan and how long have you been eating this way?
3. Where does your diet fall in the definition of low-carb as published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism in 2009? LCKD, LCD, MCD or HCD?
4. Who are the top 5 trusted resources you turn to for quality information about health?
5. Do you consume “safe starches” like sweet potatoes, white potatoes and white rice as part of your nutritional plan? Why or why not? If so, what specific starchy foods do you consume?
6. What do you do for exercise? How often do you workout? How long have you been doing this routine?
7. How long have you been reading the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog? How did you find it?
8. In 2012, are/have you attending/attended any of the three major low-carb/Paleo conferences (PaleoFX in March, Low-Carb Cruise in May or Ancestral Health Symposium in August)? Which ones did/will you attend and why? If you did/will not attend, why not?
9. Have you listened to my brand new podcast “Ask The Low-Carb Experts” yet? If not, why not? If so, what do you think so far? Are there any suggested topics you’d like me to bring up?
10. How many more years do you think it will take before high-fat, low-carb nutrition is accepted and embraced as a healthy lifestyle in the United States? What needs to happen to bring about that paradigm shift in thinking?

The final group of prizes available are here in Prize Package Post #6:

BULLETPROOF EXECUTIVE PRIZE PACKAGE (1)
One bag each of Upgraded Coffee and Upgraded Whey

By now everyone in the Paleo/low-carb community has heard of Dave Asprey from “The Bulletproof Executive” who is the guy behind the infamous Bulletproof Coffee (made with Kerrygold butter) craze that’s happening right now. I interviewed Dave about this and more of his work in Episode 569 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show.” In that interview, Dave explained how most coffees tend to be loaded with toxins that do not promote health which is why he created Upgraded Coffee to resolve this issue. One lucky reader will receive a bag of the Upgraded Coffee as well as Upgraded Whey. And I’ll announce it here exclusively–Dave Asprey has officially confirmed he will be a guest speaker on the 2013 Low-Carb Cruise leaving out of New Orleans, Louisiana (full details coming in June 2012)!

GAPS DIET PRIZE PACKAGE (2)
GAPS book and Cooking with GAPS DVD

A lot people in the low-carb and Paleo communities have a great deal of respect for the work of Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride, a neurosurgeon who created the Gut and Psychology Syndrome (GAPS) protocol for treating neurological issues such as autism, ADD, ADHD, depression, schizophrenia and more. She recognizes that in order to heal the brain you must first heal the gut by feeding it the foods and supplements that it so desperately craves and desires. Listen to my interview with Dr. Campbell-McBride about this further in Episode 557 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” and two lucky readers will receive a copy of her famous book as well as a special Cooking with GAPS 2-DVD set featuring recipes inspired by the GAPS Diet.

VALERIE BERKOWITZ PRIZE PACKAGE (3)
The Stubborn Fat Fix book and a personalized nutrition consultation

Valerie Berkowitz is a licensed registered dietitian, certified diabetes educator and certified lifestyle counselor practicing for 13 years. She is the Director of Nutrition at the Center for Balanced Health and previously worked as a nutritionist at The Atkins Center for Complementary Medicine with the late, great Dr. Robert C. Atkins. Along with her husband Dr. Keith Berkowitz, MD, she wrote a book entitled The Stubborn Fat Fix: Eat Right to Lose Weight and Cure Metabolic Burnout without Hunger or Exercise which I discussed with Valerie about in Episode 251 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show.” Three lucky readers will each receive a copy of this book PLUS a special personalized nutrition consultation from Valerie. Learn more about the work of Valerie Berkowitz at her awesome “Valerie’s Voice: For The Health Of It” blog.

IMMUNITRITION PRIZE PACKAGE (1)
Trio pack of Immunitrition Organic Cultured Vegetables

Consuming Immunitrition organic raw veggies (green cabbage, cucumbers, red bell peppers, carrots, etc.) that have been cultured and free from chemicals is a fantastic addition to your healthy low-carb lifestyle. These nutrient-dense foods are combined with L. Plantarum probiotic and then allowed to work their magic in tightly-sealed, quart-size mason jars where they ferment for five to seven days and then refrigerated. One lucky reader will receive the SALT-FREE Immunitrition Organic Cultured Veggie Taste Tester which includes one 8-ounce jar each of the Garden, Sea, and Sunshine flavors PLUS a two-ounce bottle of Roasted Pumpkin Seed Oil, a packet of finely ground Celtic Sea Salt, a portion/recipe/serving suggestion and information sheet. Enjoy what they like to call “the healthiest snack on Earth!”

JIMMY MOORE PRIZE PACKAGE (5)
Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb and 21 Life Lessons From Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb e-books

When I first started blogging in April 2005, I knew I would want to express myself outside the bounds of the blogosphere. In October 2005 I released my first book Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey From Flabby Fat To Sensationally Skinny In One Year where I shared about my weight loss experience in 2004 while it was still fresh on my mind. But as the years progressed, my focus shifted away from focusing on simple weight loss into sharing more about living a healthier lifestyle. That’s what I put in my November 2009 release 21 Life Lessons From Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb: How The Healthy Low-Carb Lifestyle Changed Everything I Thought I Knew discussing many of the lessons I have learned along the way in this wild and crazy low-carb journey. Five lucky readers will receive both of the e-book versions of my books. And coming later this year I’ll be writing a “State Of Low-Carb” chapter in the 2nd edition of the Low-Carbing Among Friends book series and then contributing 60 yummy low-carb recipes to the 3rd edition. Plus, I just signed a contract last week to write a new book that they predict could be a New York Times bestseller coming in 2013. Exciting stuff and more details about that when I can share more!

THE LLVLC SHOW PRIZE PACKAGE (1)
Co-host Episode 600 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” podcast and interview the guest of your choice (subject to availability)

I’ve got one last prize to share with you and I hope this is a really special one for one lucky reader. As you know I’ve been quite fortunate to interview many of the best and brightest people in the world of diet, health, fitness and nutrition. From researchers to physicians, low-fat raw vegans to zero-carb carnivores, and everything in between, it’s been quite a ride these past few years. I truly love interviewing and have grown to love it more and more the longer I have done it. In just a few months I’ll be hitting a milestone on my flagship podcast “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show”–600 EPISODES! In the past I’ve celebrated every 100th show by doing something set aside from the normal programming and this time is no different. Since there are so many talented people who read my blog and listen to my three podcasts that now air five times weekly, I wanted to give one of you an opportunity to co-host “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” podcast with me (don’t worry, all you have to do is show up via telephone or Skype and I’ll take care of all the technical stuff) interviewing the guest of YOUR choosing. That’s right, I’m giving you the chance to not only be the host of the show but to name who you want to talk to in that special Episode 600 airing in August. Of course, we have to confirm that the guest can appear on the show (and I’ll let you know right now, don’t ask for Jillian Michaels, Dr. Oz, Oprah, Michelle Obama or Angelina Jolie–I’ve tried for years and not a peep from any of them!). I’ve never opened up my show to guest hosts, so the winner of this prize gets a rare chance to be a part of something very near and dear to me.

This is it guys, only a precious few hours left to enter my 7-Year Blogiversary Giveaway Contest. It all ends tonight, April 27, 2012 at 11:59PM ET, so don’t delay. Christine and I will be compiling all the entries and drawing names at random over the weekend (we’ll pour through all the survey answers after returning from the Low-Carb Cruise in mid-May and share a full report from that collected data). A full list of winners will be shared coming up in a big blog post on Monday, April 30, 2012–come back then to see if you won a prize. Winners will receive their prize within 6-8 weeks after the contest. GOOD LUCK to you all and THANK YOU again for helping me celebrate 7 years of glorious low-carb blogging. YOU ARE AWESOME!

LOW-CARB, GLUTEN-FREE CONDIMENTS MADE WITH STEVIVA

NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE: http://cmp.ly/3

In Episode 47 of “Low-Carb Conversations With Jimmy Moore & Friends,” we have an awesome line-up for you today with two more fabulous friends. It’s a pleasure to welcome a couple of amazing weight loss success stories in chiropractor Dr. Joe Leonardi from “Fat Then Fit Now” (listen to my interview with him in Episode 252 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show”) and stay-at-home-mom Tara Grant from the “Primal Girl” blog! I enjoyed being away at the Nutrition & Metabolism Society Symposium in Denver last week, but wanted to sneak one more episode into the schedule before taking off the month of May for the Low-Carb Cruise and just some time off (five days a week of podcasting since the beginning of the year is relentless). And we’re still missing our co-host Mindy Noxon Iannotti who should be better by the time we come back with brand new episodes beginning in June. But we’ve got a great show to share with you today featuring commentary from Joe and Tara on whether high-fructose corn syrup is really bad for you or not (this isn’t a trick question), what role sugary soda plays in the obesity epidemic, an honest discussion of the disconnect between medical care and common chronic diseases, and a surprising call for cutting carbs in school lunches happening in Australia. It’s a fantastic episode with some yummy recipes (including a Cauliflower Pizza Crust from Tara) at the end. So pull up a chair, grab a cup of coffee and let’s talk.

Listen to Dr. Joe Leonardi and Tara Grant share with us today:

For those of us who are privileged to live in the United States of America, one of the hallmarks of our nation’s 236-year existence has been our basic freedoms of speech, religion and the press. But what if these tenets of our liberty were somehow infringed upon by one set of American citizens over another? That’s precisely what is happening right now with a Paleo low-carb blogger who has Type 2 diabetes from North Carolina named Steve Cooksey from the “Diabetes Warrior” blog. Many of you have pointed me to the various news stories about what is happening to Steve, but here’s the basic gist of what’s happening to him:

In January 2012 he attended a nutrition seminar at a church in Charlotte where the director of diabetes services for a local hospital there was giving a talk about how diabetics should be eating a low-fat, high-carb, grain-heavy diet and take their insulin in order to control their disease. Cooksey spoke up and handed out business cards with his web site URL on it and encouraged people to take a look. The director of the NC Board of Dietitians called him a few days later explaining that Cooksey is not allowed to disseminate nutritional advice without a license. They informed him that they would be conducting an investigation into his web site and offered up their suggestions for bringing his site into full compliance. They’ve threatened to shut down his web site under Chapter 90, Article 25 of the North Carolina General Statutes which makes it a misdemeanor to “practice dietetics or nutrition” without a license. Cooksey says his First Amendment rights are being violated and maintains his innocence as a blogger simply trying to educate the public about how he has controlled his diabetes eating a high-fat, low-carb Paleo-styled diet without the need for insulin or drugs.

You can read more about this story in this week’s news/blog headlines:

Of course, this story may sound vaguely familiar to fans of “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” because I’ve been covering it since it first came to my attention in January 2012 after reading about it on Steve Cooksey’s Facebook page where he detailed what was happening. I immediately wrote to him and asked to interview him for Episode 539 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show.” I posted a video of that 9-minute interview with Cooksey on YouTube:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3a_TtJ1_Rso

You can read Steve’s direct response to these charges against him by the North Carolina Board of Dietitians here as well as this follow-up. Additionally, my buddy Richard Nikoley at the “Free The Animal” blog was also on this like white on rice starting back in January here, here and here. Plus, my Facebook friend Dr. O blogged eloquently about this saga in his post “Diabetes Warriors, Steve Cooksey, and the future of low-carb diets.” Finally, we talked about this story with Ray Dorman and Jamie Van Eaton in Episode 44 of “Low-Carb Conversations with Jimmy Moore & Friends” last month. The implications of what transpires from this case could impact all of us who blog about Paleo, low-carb–virtually ANY health blogger without RD credentials for that matter!

Let this case with Steve Cooksey serve as a wake-up call to what could happen to any and all of us who have decided to blog about living a healthy lifestyle. Obviously the kind of information we share about bucks the conventional wisdom of the day and will ruffle the feathers of those who have a vested interest in the status quo. But what has that gotten us? More obesity, more diabetes, more heart disease and worse. People like Steve are living, breathing examples of why the alternative health blogosphere is so sorely needed. The ADA has failed us. The dietitians and nutritionists who are going after Steve have miserably let us down. Most of the medical establishment is still baffled by how to manage diabetes.

And yet here’s a guy who figured it out on his own, decided to write a blog about what he’s learned and is now being threatened with legal action? Is this still the United States? I for one don’t see how the NC Board of Dietitians have any leg to stand on regarding this issue because that pesky U.S. Constitution prevents them from trampling all over Steve’s freedom of speech and press (read attorney John Whitehead’s brilliant HuffPo piece “Criminalizing Free Speech: Is This What Democracy Looks Like?”). We’ll be watching this intently as it continues to unfold! There’s even an online petition that’s been created for people who are standing with Steve in this battle. Incidentally, they tried pulling this legislatively in Colorado through HB1060 a few months back, but was given a firm smackdown when the legislation was voted down saving people like my fellow low-carb blogger and healthy living friend Jamie Van Eaton from suffering the wrath of possibly shutting down her very popular (and sorely needed!) blog. We must stand against this attempt to silence the voice of the people.

What do YOU think about what’s happening to my fellow Paleo low-carb blogger Steve Cooksey? Do you think the dietitians have a right to monopolize information provided to the public on diet and health? Or can average citizens blog openly about what they’ve learned along the way in their own personal journey so long as they have a disclaimer explaining they are not licensed to practice medicine or dietetics (as Steve has done here and I have done here)? I await your enthusiastic feedback about this extremely important topic in the comments section below!

4-27-12 UPDATE: It appears that the North Carolina Board of Dietetics/Nutrition (NCBDN) has closed their complaint against Steve Cooksey after he had “come into substantial compliance with the requirements of the law.” A blog called “Gimme The Facts” posted a copy of the letter here which one of my blog commenters shared, but I wanted to see if Steve Cooksey himself could chime in about this. Here’s his take about how all of this went down in a blog post entitled “I Received a Letter from the NC Board of Nutrition and Dietitians” where he details how he has been threatened into silence and “altering how I express my opinions.” He describes this as “a violation of my (First Amendment) rights” and says they have told him they will “keep monitoring” his online activities. Steve notes that he has “absolutely no intention of complying” with the NCBDN and vowed that “this isn’t the end of the fight, this is not over.” STAY TUNED!

GET BEN GREENFIELD’S ‘LOW-CARB DIET FOR TRIATHLETES’:

NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE: http://cmp.ly/3

In Episode 574 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we welcome an online wellness and technology guru named Dan Pardi who I was privileged to meet in person at the PaleoFX conference in Austin, Texas in March. He is the CEO and co-founder of Dan’s Plan, a free online database tracker of your progress towards meeting your health goals. This web site is set up so that it “helps you achieve optimal health in the modern world” by empowering you with ways to overcome the many forces at work in this day and age to keep us fat, unhealthy and unproductive.

Dan realizes overcoming these barriers can be extraordinarily challenging, but they can indeed be defeated with his three-pronged philosophy emphasizing food, movement and his special area of expertise, sleep. The goal of “Dan’s Plan” is to provide a sustainable lifestyle program to get healthy and stay healthy. Listen in as I speak with Dan about this sorely-needed resource for making that happen that is free-of-charge for anyone who desires to restore their health!

Listen to Dan Pardi talk about the development of “Dan’s Plan”:

One of the things that excites me about what I get to do here at “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” is to see living, breathing examples of people discovering the principles of healthy low-carb living for themselves. Some people are convinced by some amazing weight loss success stories, others because of the breadth of scientific evidence and still others because something just “clicked” for them after years of trying to figure it out. I recently received an e-mail from a man in New Zealand who had what he describes as a “low-carb epiphany” that suddenly took the idea of carbohydrate-restriction to the next level for him on an intellectual basis. Although he lives on a farm run by his father-in-law, he himself is a software engineer. But it was a brilliant realization that pushed the idea that low-carb is how we as humans are supposed to eat in order to maximize our opportunity to be at our optimally healthy weight because of what happens to the animals when they are being “fattened up” before being processed into meat. Check out this incredible e-mail detailing this epiphany about low-carb living from my reader in New Zealand. ENJOY!

Hi Jimmy,

My wife and I live in rural New Zealand. We have 10 acres and farm our own sheep, pigs and goats. We have a house cow, a milking plant that we use for the goats and hopefully in 9 months the cow as well. We have our own free-range chickens and ducks that provide us with eggs.

We have a son with Type 1 diabetes and a daughter with Celiac disease, so purging our house of anything processed and wheat-based as well as going largely low-carb Paleo has been our response. Almost as an afterthought, my wife and I have been losing weight whilst eating our fill of these foods–no surprises there. From a Paleo perspective, I suppose we’re luckier than most.

However, all that is just setting the scene for an extraordinary discovery I wanted to share with you today.

We have three giant white pigs in addition to our Kune Kune pigs. The giant white pigs are a commercial breed. They grow rapidly and have an appetite to match–so much so that we’ve decided that we need to slaughter them because they’re costing too much to feed them. Now I’m not a farmer but my father-in-law is. In order to get the giant whites fattened for slaughter he arranged for delivery of a large amount of wheat mash to be feed to the giant whites in the amount of 3kg per pig per day.

And now the epiphany…

It dawned on me (and I may just be dim) that with pigs and with other animals as well, whenever you want to fatten them you feed the animal what in a human diet would be considered “healthy”–i.e. whole grains. In the case of our pigs, if you want them to put on weight in the form of body fat, then you feed them a high-carbohydrate, grain based diet.

Now I’m no biologist or nutritionist. I am but a simple Software Engineer. But I understand pigs in particular share many dietary and therefore also physiological similarities with humans. We can quite successfully use their insulin and thyroid in our bodies, for example. Pigs are omnivores and so are we. Our pigs survive quite well on our food scraps which includes meat, fat, vegetable matter and fruit–and now to fatten them for slaughter it takes feeding them wheat?!

So if fat in the diet equals fat on the body (as all the nutritionists and health experts like to say), then why when we farm animals like pigs and wish to get them fat for slaughter do we not feed them fat? I think the answer become pretty obvious very quickly. Farmers like my father-in-law know empirically that to fatten animals you put them on whole grains like wheat which is in effect a high-carb diet.

Doesn’t it stand to reason that this same diet used to fatten up pigs would also fatten up humans? How did we ever seriously come up with the idea that we are somehow so different to other omnivores and respond well to a high-carb diet when our giant white piggies are doing the same thing and putting on fat?

Like I said, it was a forehead slapping low-carb epiphany for me. My wife will no doubt call me a “townie” for not seeing that one sooner.

Keep up the good work–we love the podcasts and interviews.

Cheers.

And that e-mail speaks for itself! It’s great to sense the enthusiasm oozing in this low-carb lifestyle change happening in this family in New Zealand. Have you had any similar epiphanies in your journey to livin’ la vida low-carb? Feel free to share them below!

ENTER TO WIN PRIZES IN MY 7-YEAR BLOGIVERSARY GIVEAWAY:

In Episode 573 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we have a special treat in store for you today with professional writer and published author Nancy Kennedy. Several years ago, I received an e-mail from Nancy asking me about my Atkins diet weight loss success story and she explained that she was writing a book about how people have lost weight. She found my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog and thought I’d be the perfect example of what she was wanting to include in this book she wanted to write called How We Did it: Weight Loss Choices That Will Work For You. Since you well know my basic nutritional health philosophy is all about people finding what works for them to attain the best health possible, I was obviously excited to be a part of the project. Nancy conducted about an hour-long interview with me asking about all aspects of the process of being morbidly obese to all the miraculous changes that took place for me physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. While the project had to be shelved for a little while, the book is NOW AVAILABLE and we’re happy to share more about this inspiring book of success stories with you today!

Listen to Nancy Kennedy share about success story book:

LOW-CARB, GLUTEN-FREE CONDIMENTS MADE WITH STEVIVA

NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE: http://cmp.ly/3

In Episode 572 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we travel across the Atlantic Ocean to touch base with a Norwegian Paleo low-carb nutritional health expert named Dr. Dag Viljen Poleszynski (this is a Google Translate of his bio on Wikipedia). He truly is a fascinating individual in both the low-carb and Paleo communities although most people in the United States and probably around the world outside of the Scandinavian countries may not be aware of who he is. But Dr. Poleszynski is making waves promoting the science supporting evolutionary/primal/Paleo/ancestral/low-carb nutrition and is closely examining the incredible improvements in health that people can experience implementing these traditional diet changes into our modern 21st Century society. He is the Editor-in-chief of a popular Norwegian publication called “Science & Reason Magazine” (again, this is a Google Translate into English from Norwegian) which takes a closer look at issues that tend to get overlooked in science by the mainstream press, especially regarding nutritional health. What a delightful conversation I had with Dr. Poleszynski which you will hear in today’s exciting episode!

Listen to Dr. Dag Viljen Poleszynski talk about Paleo in Norway:

Time is running out to enter my 7-Year Blogiversary Giveaway Contest and I just celebrated the momentous day that I started the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog on Friday, April 20, 2012. It’s funny because I was in Denver that day and we had a big Paleo/low-carb meeting up at a Brazilian BBQ place there with 50+ people in attendance (WOW!) and they asked me to give a few words–the anniversary totally slipped my mind. Oh well, I guess I’m getting old. But we’re having a grand time celebrating with all of you who have e-mailed me your answers to my 10-question survey for a chance to win one of the two GRAND PRIZES: the brand new 2012 iPad (third generation) and a $600 voucher to attend the 2013 Low-Carb Cruise leaving out of New Orleans, Louisiana in May 2013 (more details coming soon!) plus lots of other prizes I’ve already shared in Prize Package Post #1, Prize Package Post #2, Prize Package Post #3, Prize Package Post #4. If you have not entered the contest yet, then be sure to enter to win no later than 11:59PM EST this Friday, April 27, 2012. E-mail me your answers to the following questions to become eligible for a prize in my 7-Year Blogiversary Giveaway Contest. Be sure to put in the subject line “BLOGIVERSARY CONTEST”:

1. Your first and last name, mailing address (no P.O. boxes please), and telephone number.
2. What is your current eating plan and how long have you been eating this way?
3. Where does your diet fall in the definition of low-carb as published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism in 2009? LCKD, LCD, MCD or HCD?
4. Who are the top 5 trusted resources you turn to for quality information about health?
5. Do you consume “safe starches” like sweet potatoes, white potatoes and white rice as part of your nutritional plan? Why or why not? If so, what specific starchy foods do you consume?
6. What do you do for exercise? How often do you workout? How long have you been doing this routine?
7. How long have you been reading the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog? How did you find it?
8. In 2012, are/have you attending/attended any of the three major low-carb/Paleo conferences (PaleoFX in March, Low-Carb Cruise in May or Ancestral Health Symposium in August)? Which ones did/will you attend and why? If you did/will not attend, why not?
9. Have you listened to my brand new podcast “Ask The Low-Carb Experts” yet? If not, why not? If so, what do you think so far? Are there any suggested topics you’d like me to bring up?
10. How many more years do you think it will take before high-fat, low-carb nutrition is accepted and embraced as a healthy lifestyle in the United States? What needs to happen to bring about that paradigm shift in thinking?

Now, let’s take a look at what else I have for you in Prize Package Post #5:

NELL STEPHENSON PRIZE PACKAGE (1)
Paleoista book and 1-hour Skype consultation

Somebody who is doing an outstanding job of educating others about Paleo living is Nell Stephenson. She was a guest on my podcast in Episode 399 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” and she’ll be coming on the show again on May 1, 2012 on the day of her brand new book releasing called Paleoista: Gain Energy, Get Lean, and Feel Fabulous With the Diet You Were Born to Eat. She regularly offers nutritional counseling via Skype for clients who want to Paleo-ize their lives and one lucky reader will receive a complimentary one-hour Skype consultation as well as a copy of her brand new book! Learn more about Nell’s work at Paleoista.com.

MELISSA JOULWAN PRIZE PACKAGE (1)
Rollergirl and Well Fed books

Melissa “Melicious” Joulwan from “The Clothes Make The Girl” blog is such a neat lady with quite an eclectic background in her life. She’s been a roller derby girl and all that is entailed with that and now she’s writing Paleo recipes to help people who desire to live optimally healthy. You can hear all about Melissa’s amazing life adventures in my interview with her in Episode 554 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” and one lucky reader will receive a copy of her books Rollergirl and Well Fed as her FREE GIFT to you. Check out Melissa on Twitter and Facebook.

LC HOMESTYLES CHILI PRIZE PACKAGE (2)
Sample case of LC Homestyles Beef and Chicken Chili

One of the difficult things to find to eat when you are on a healthy low-carb lifestyle is chili. The beans can be loaded with carbohydrates which can derail your best efforts. Enter the LC Homestyles chili which I have tried for myself. Wow, these taste really amazing, contain just 250 calories, 11g fat, 6g fiber, 26g protein and just 4g net carbohydrates. The flavor is robust and two lucky readers will receive a sample case of LC Homestyles Beef and Chicken Chili to try for yourself. Enjoy some excellent chili without all the carbs!

DR. RICHARD BERNSTEIN PRIZE PACKAGE (3)
Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution

It’s highly unlikely that there’s been anyone more influential in the treatment of diabetic patients than Dr. Richard Bernstein. This 60+ year Type 1 diabetic learned a lot about treating his disease when conventional medicine failed him and look it on as his personal crusade to revolutionize the art of blood sugar control for diabetics who have been left floundering on low-fat, high-carb diets and shooting up tons of insulin daily. You can hear Dr. Berstein’s triumphant story in Episode 264 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” and three lucky readers will receive a copy of his newly-updated edition of his classic book Dr. Bernstein’s Diabetes Solution.

BEYOND BROCCOLI PRIZE PACKAGE (3)
Beyond Broccoli by Susan Schenck

The vegetarian/vegan movement is fledgling as more and more of them come to realize just how incredibly challenging it can be to maintain optimal health subsisting on just plant-based foods. And Susan Schenck knows about that all too well as a former raw vegan who shifted to an animal-based diet after educating herself about why it was necessary. If you missed hearing her story in Episode 514 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” then don’t miss it! And three lucky readers will receive a copy of her fabulous book Beyond Broccoli: Creating a Biologically Balanced Diet When a Vegetarian Diet Doesn’t Work.

PALEO MAGAZINE PRIZE PACKAGE (3)
One-year digital subscription to PALEO Magazine

Have you checked out the new PALEO Magazine yet? This very high-quality publication is literally the ONLY magazine on the market today catering to the Paleo low-carb communities with excellent articles from some of the top names, including Sean Croxton, Sarah Fragoso, Erwan LeCorre and Clifton Harski from MovNat, Amy Kubal, Diana Rodgers, Diane Sanfilippo and Liz Wolfe, just to name a few! They just reached their one-year anniversary of being a magazine and have continued to grow by leaps and bounds. The photos in PALEO Magazine as well as the professional-quality glossy paper of this publication make it so well worth the money! And they’ve even made a digital subscription so you can read it on your tablet or smartphone. Three lucky readers will snag themselves a FREE one-year digital subscription so you can start enjoying the information provided too!

These are the final days of my 7-Year Blogiversary Giveaway Contest. Please don’t forget the deadline to enter is coming up THIS FRIDAY, April 27, 2012 and I want everyone to have an opportunity to win a prize. A full list of winners will be shared next Monday, April 30, 2012 in a big blog post. You can’t have your name show up on that list if you don’t enter. DO IT TODAY!

LOW-CARB, GLUTEN-FREE CONDIMENTS MADE WITH STEVIVA

NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE: http://cmp.ly/3

In Episode 14 of “Jimmy Moore Presents: Ask The Low-Carb Experts,” we welcome a respected and reputable children’s neurosurgeon named Dr. Larry McCleary who is the retired Acting Chief of Neurosurgery at Denver Children’s Hospital. His latest book Feed Your Brain Lose Your Belly examines the close interconnection between the role of gut health, nutrition and the health of your brain (listen to my interview with Dr. McCleary about this book in Episode 463 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show”). His specific areas of expertise involve the neurological system and metabolic medicine which makes him very highly-qualified to address the role that diet plays on mental health ailments such as ADHD, Autism and Alzheimer’s. Can these be prevented or even reversed through the use of nutrition? That’s what we explored in greater detail in this podcast with Dr. McCleary where he reveals some simple nutritional changes as well as the addition of some key healthy fat sources can make all the difference in the world from people suffering from any of “the three A’s.” It was such a pleasure and an honor to have an amazing expert like Dr. Larry McCleary joining us on ATLCX answering listener questions about diet and the impact it can have on ADHD, autism and Alzheimer’s disease in EPISODE 14 on April 19, 2012.

Listen to Dr. Larry McCleary take questions on “ADHD, Autism and Alzheimer’s”:

The second leg of my four-event nutritional health conference blitz in 2012 is set to take place this weekend in Denver, Colorado. I attended PaleoFX last month in Austin, TX and then the Low-Carb Cruise is leaving out of Galveston, TX port on May 6-13 as well as the Ancestral Health Symposium (AHS12) happening August 9-11 in Boston, MA. I’m excited about coming to Denver since I’ve NEVER been there before. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to meet some really awesome people at a special Paleo/low-carb meet-up on Friday night at the Fogo de Chao Churrascaria at 7PM (if you live in the area, then YOU ARE INVITED! CLICK HERE for more info and to RSVP ASAP).

Plus the speaker line-up for the American Society Of Bariatric Physicians (ASBP)/Nutrition & Metabolism Society (NMS) Sympsosium this year is stellar with research and practitioner giants in support of carbohydrate-restricted and ancestral diets such as Dr. Eric Westman, Dr. Mary Vernon, Dr. Loren Cordain, Dr. Christopher Gardner, Dr. Stephen Phinney, Jacqueline Eberstein, Dr. Richard Feinman and more! I’ve attended this conference annually since 2006 and it’s always fun sharing what’s happening there. Last year I LIVE tweeted the event which went over VERY well. So go sign up to follow me at Twitter and I’ll be sharing tweets from the lectures LIVE on Saturday, April 21, 2012 from 3:00PM-7:00PM ET and again on Sunday, April 22, 2012 from 10:00AM-2:00PM ET. I’ll be using the hashtag #NMSDenver and/or #obesitymedicine. If you have questions you want me to ask during the Q&A session, then be sure to follow along in real time and submit them to me via Twitter. The panelists enjoyed receiving Twitter questions from the lay public last year in Baltimore.

You know by now that when I leave for a few days from my blog I share some new blogs that have caught my eye. Today I have a list of 48 Paleo, low-carb and health blogs that I think you’ll enjoy checking out in the next few days. I encourage you to visit as many of them as you can, leave them a comment, write them an e-mail, and bookmark their page if you like what you see there. In case you missed any of my previous blog listings, take a look-see at all of them here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here.

Here are 48 new Paleo, low-carb and health blogs for April 2012:

1. PRACTICAL PALEOLITHIC
2. MOSESFACE
3. DIETITIAN CASSIE
4. PALEO STYLE
5. CHUNKY TO CHA-CHA
6. KNEELESS MEGAFAUNA
7. LUCY’S BLOG
8. JUST EAT REAL FOOD
9. PALEO ON A BUDGET
10. EAT PLAY LIVE
11. EAT LIVE GROW PALEO
12. GOOFY CAN COOK
13. AGAINST THE GRAIN NUTRITION
14. PALEONONPALEO
15. PUSHUPS AND CARROTS
16. THE PALEO PAIR
17. THE LIFE AND ADVENTURES OF CATEEPOO
18. A HEALTHY JOURNEY
19. ALTER-EGO MARGO
20. DAMSEL OUT OF DISTRESS
21. ZENBELLY
22. THE FOOD HERETIC
23. FULL PHOEBES
24. THE DAILY AVOCADO
25. ROSE ENCHANTED
26. THE BEAR’S DEN
27. FEED THE DUD
28. PRECISION NUTRITION BLOG
29. ADVENTURES IN THE PALEOLITHIC
30. FOREFOOTED
31. IRISH PALEO
32. FANATIC COOK
33. NAIVENUTRITION
34. FIT WIT: EAT FIT
35. MAKE IT FUN & IT WILL GET DONE
36. PRACTICAL PALEO LIVING
37. JOURNEY TO SIMPLICITY
38. JILLFIT
39. PAIN DATABASE
40. ULTRAJUMPER
41. EDIBLE
42. LIL B IN THE BIG C
43. THEFREERANGEHUMAN
44. GROKETTE’S PRIMAL MUSINGS
45. FOOD NEWS WATCH
46. JUST IN HEALTH
47. LOW-CARB MEXA (Spanish)
48. PALEO WITH DESSERT (Swedish)

If you or someone you know has a low-carb, Paleo or health blog or web site that you’d like to see featured in a future blog post here at “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb,” then I’d love to know about it. E-mail me the name of the blog and the URL to livinlowcarbman@charter.net so I can add it to my next big blog update. If you’ve been successful in your weight and health goals by eating a healthy Paleo or low-carb diet, then you should DEFINITELY consider blogging too. You are already influencing others where you realize it or not, so why not take your inspiring self online and impact the lives of so many more? When you’re ready to make a difference in the world with all you know about low-carb living, then drop me a line to let me know. I’ll hook you up with lots of eyeballs for your brand new blog dedicated to Paleo, low-carb and health.

If you’re new to my blog, then you may not know about a feature I regularly have here I like to call “Pictures Worth More Than A Thousand Words.” When your perspective changes about nutrition and health after beginning a healthy low-carb lifestyle, the world looks different. And those things that you may have overlooked before suddenly stick out like a sore thumb when you see them. I’m always finding examples of this in my mail, on Facebook or other places online, and even while driving around in my car. It’s almost impossible not to find something that will capture your attention to either make you smile from ear to ear or shake your head it utter disgust. That’s what this post is all about. In case you haven’t seen my other posts in this series, go take a look here: June 2011, August 2011, September 2011, October 2011, November 2011, December 2011, January 2012 and March 2012. Here’s the latest edition for April 2012:

Driving home from running errands the other day, I saw this sign about a weight loss scheme that promises you will “lose 7-15 pounds” in a week. This obsession over weight loss while ignoring health is just plain nauseating:

Then we see products like this DEcarb carbohydrate blocker (read my blog posts about these carb blocker-type products here and here) that I saw at Sam’s Club that makes people think they can still eat carbs without consequences if they use this. Hey, how about NOT eating the carbs to begin with dude:

Don’t you wish we’d go back to making sauerkraut (and food in general) like they did in the good old days:

Unfortunately, what passes for “food” in modern times isn’t even close to being a healthy way to nourish our bodies. I saw this page in a book called The Economics Of Food that shows the world’s human food consumption as of 2003. Rice makes up 19% of calories, wheat is 18%, a whopping 46% for all cereals/grains and omega-6 heavy vegetable oils land at 10%–and we wonder why we’re so unhealthy:

Speaking of vegetable oils, check out how this popular corn oil brand is being promoted as “cholesterol-blocking”–UGH:

As for cereals, Shredded Wheat boasts that it is “providing the whole grains and natural fiber needed to help you stay healthy.” I wonder if they’ve even read what Dr. William Davis wrote about this in his book Wheat Belly:

You know the end-times are near when they start making a Cinnabon-flavored Cream Of Wheat product and promote it as “wholesome”:

And Fiber One brags about their cereal being “a delicious way to help manage your weight” with 80 calories, 40% RDA of fiber, and a “sweet honey taste.” How much you wanna bet there’s more sugar in this than honey–how exactly do you “manage your weight” eating this stuff:

I love a lot about what Chick-Fil-A stands for, but this new Kid’s Meal offering featuring low-fat milk and applesauce (carbs and carbs) with grilled chicken is simply abhorrent:

If you think that’s bad, check out what one of my readers shared with me about a sticker used on a package of angel food cake at their local grocery story. Are you kidding me–”For Your Health”:

Of course, the reality for many Americans is regular visits to fast food restaurants–but I think this might be taking it a bit too far:

I saw this picture of an overweight Zumba instructor ordering food at McDonald’s on Facebook–and people were making fun of her. What’s the deal with that people? Perhaps she’s stuck trying to lose weight and is following what she thinks is the “right” way to eat. Or she may be eating perfectly well and she has a hormonal issue that is making fat loss more difficult. I’m having a lot more compassion for people who struggle these days than I ever have before:

Talk about truth in advertising in the naming of your restaurant–HA:

Oh, but if you consume this Jamba smoothies mix you can have “zero guilt” because it has “1 full serving of real fruit”–ummm, why not just eat the one serving of fruit instead:

My buddy Fred Hahn‘s sign in front of his New York City gym gives “Fat Loss Tips” including ditching grains, eating fat, limiting carbs, embracing protein at every meal, avoiding starchy foods, and get good sleep:

Sometimes I wish we could hearken back to the diet advice of a half century ago when they promoted real foods like butter, eggs, meat and dairy as healthy:

This infographic clearly explains why bacon and eggs are much more preferred to bagel and cream cheese for a great breakfast:

And I couldn’t agree more with this:

How many kids could you get to eat more eggs if they were prepared like this:

Speaking of eggs, check out the color difference in two of my pastured eggs–can you tell by the yolk which shell was blue:

If people think accommodating a Paleo low-carber is difficult, how would they feed “the worst dinner guest ever”:

And if you think those carbs won’t make you crash, tell that to this kitty:

At least kitty didn’t have to deal with what this dog had to endure from an owner that takes things just a wee bit too literally:

A reader shared with me this “Life Extension” health magazine story that blames many real low-carb foods for increasing cancer–SERIOUSLY:

Since I’m dealing with this issue personally, I sincerely enjoyed reading this flow chart from PaleoFitMD for diagnosing and treating low testosterone:

And I know where I want to go if I can ever make it to Berlin, Germany–Biorestaurant Sauvage Paleo restaurant where they only serve “Caveman Cookin’”–I predict this will become a destination point for Paleo low-carbers around the world:

If you see a picture that you think fits perfectly within the scope of this “Pictures Worth More Than A Thousand Words” series, then e-mail the link or the photo itself to me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. These posts are so illustrative (all pun intended!) of the reality of living healthy in modern day society. THANKS for your feedback on these pictures and feel free to leave your comments about which ones impressed you the most.

GET BEN GREENFIELD’S ‘LOW-CARB DIET FOR TRIATHLETES’:

NOTICE OF DISCLOSURE: http://cmp.ly/3

In Episode 571 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we welcome back a cardiovascular and thoracic surgeon who bucks conventional wisdom regarding heart health named Dr. Dwight Lundell who wrote a book about it that we discussed in Episode 280 in August 2009 called The Cure For Heart Disease. In March 2012, a column was published online at a web site called Signs Of The Times entitled “Heart Surgeon Speaks Out On What Really Causes Heart Disease” that totally took Dr. Lundell by surprise. It was based on a newsletter he had sent out and someone at Signs Of The Times decided to publish it under his name and put it out there on the Internet. I probably received the link to this essay by Dr. Lundell from literally hundreds of people through my e-mail, Facebook page and on Twitter. In fact, several people asked me if I would interview him on my podcast–I already had in 2009! But now Dr. Lundell is back for another visit to talk about this newfound fame that got him noticed quite prominently in the media, including Rush Limbaugh reading Dr. Lundell’s column on the air to his millions of nationwide listeners. Listen in as I speak with Dr. Lundell about how all of this transpired literally out of nowhere to help put the message that saturated fat and cholesterol aren’t the causes of heart disease–but rather carbohydrates are. ENJOY!

Listen to Dr. Dwight Lundell react to recent publicity about his work:

ENTER TO WIN PRIZES IN MY 7-YEAR BLOGIVERSARY GIVEAWAY:

In Episode 570 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore,” we are pleased to have a health and fitness researcher named Jonathan Bailor joining us to discuss nutritional science and the application of the lessons we’ve learned from quality research. Think about this: What would happen if someone decided to immerse themselves completely into the scientific research that has been conducted on diet, nutrition and health in an effort to glean the most relevant facts about fat loss without the marketing hype that tends to dominate conventional thinking in our culture? Well, that’s exactly what Jonathan did looking at over 10,000 pages research studies over many years where he discovered some rather unconventional truths that make up the contents of his brand new book on the subject entitled The Smarter Science Of Slim: What the Actual Experts Have Proven About Weight Loss, Dieting, & Exercise, Plus, The Harvard Medical School Endorsed Program To Burn Fat Permanently. Listen in as I discuss with Jonathan about his decade long journey through mountains of paper to learn that what is being taught as “healthy” in modern-day society is probably far from it. This book is turning the heads of prominent medical professionals, athletes and health researchers alike and we’re happy to bring Jonathan’s work to you today!

Listen to Jonathan Bailor share what the science showed him:

We’re rolling right along with my 7-Year Blogiversary Giveaway Contest this month and it’s been so much fun hearing from new and old readers alike who have been impacted and inspired in some way by my work at “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb.” Hundreds of entries have flooded my email box since I announced my contest featuring a 10-question survey and a special GRAND PRIZE of the brand new 2012 iPad (third generation) plus lots of other prizes I’ve already shared in Prize Package Post #1, Prize Package Post #2 and Prize Package Post #3. I’ve been teasing you with it for the past week, but I have a special second GRAND PRIZE valued at $600 that I’ll be sharing about in this post today. If you’ve already entered my contest, I appreciate your participation and wish you well in winning a prize. For those of you who have not entered the contest yet, be sure to enter to win no later than 11:59PM EST on Friday, April 27, 2012 (which will be here before you know it!). E-mail me your answers to the following questions to become eligible for a prize in my 7-Year Blogiversary Giveaway Contest. Be sure to put in the subject line “BLOGIVERSARY CONTEST”:

1. Your first and last name, mailing address (no P.O. boxes please), and telephone number.
2. What is your current eating plan and how long have you been eating this way?
3. Where does your diet fall in the definition of low-carb as published in the journal Nutrition and Metabolism in 2009? LCKD, LCD, MCD or HCD?
4. Who are the top 5 trusted resources you turn to for quality information about health?
5. Do you consume “safe starches” like sweet potatoes, white potatoes and white rice as part of your nutritional plan? Why or why not? If so, what specific starchy foods do you consume?
6. What do you do for exercise? How often do you workout? How long have you been doing this routine?
7. How long have you been reading the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog? How did you find it?
8. In 2012, are/have you attending/attended any of the three major low-carb/Paleo conferences (PaleoFX in March, Low-Carb Cruise in May or Ancestral Health Symposium in August)? Which ones did/will you attend and why? If you did/will not attend, why not?
9. Have you listened to my brand new podcast “Ask The Low-Carb Experts” yet? If not, why not? If so, what do you think so far? Are there any suggested topics you’d like me to bring up?
10. How many more years do you think it will take before high-fat, low-carb nutrition is accepted and embraced as a healthy lifestyle in the United States? What needs to happen to bring about that paradigm shift in thinking?

Alrighty, enough with holding back on announcing the second GRAND PRIZE in my 7-Year Blogiversary Giveaway Contest…here it is:

$600 VOUCHER TO USE ON THE 6TH ANNUAL LOW-CARB CRUISE IN 2013

As we approach the sail date for this year’s Low-Carb Cruise leaving out of Galveston, Texas on May 6-13, 2012, we’re already looking ahead to next year when we will be sailing out of New Orleans, Louisiana tentatively set for a sail date beginning on May 5, 2013. One lucky reader will receive a $600 voucher to use on this cruise that is always one of the highlights of the year in the low-carb/Paleo community. We already have Robb Wolf confirmed to be a guest speaker for this cruise and I’m in the midst of booking many other fantastic guest speakers for the 7-day cruise. This prize will not be transferable and no cash value will be awarded in lieu of the prize. GOOD LUCK!

Now, let’s take a look at what else I have for you in Prize Package Post #4:

WHY WE GET FAT PRIZE PACKAGE (5)
Why We Get Fat paperback book by Gary Taubes

Gary Taubes is for all intents and purposes the most recognizable name in the low-carbohydrate movement today. This New York Times science journalist been a champion for the message that carbohydrates raise insulin which leads to obesity and chronic disease for a very long time. His 2007 scholarly book release Good Calories Bad Calories is often cited as one of the most enlightening books on nutritional health and history that’s ever been written. Why We Get Fat released in 2010 as a more user-friendly, layman’s version to explain these concepts to the general public. In late 2011, Gary released this paperback version of the book and five lucky readers will receive a copy of this important book that is changing the lives of real people every single day. Read my review of this book as well as Gary’s appearance in Episode 401 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” discussing this book!

PALEOPAX PRIZE PACKAGE (9)
1 $50 Gift Card to PaleoPax.com, 5 $10 Gift Cards to PaleoPax.com, 3 free months of PaleoPax subscription boxes

If you on a low-carb Paleo diet, one of the most frustrating things to find are good snack ideas that fit within this lifestyle. Especially for people who are traveling or live a busy lifestyle with very little time to cook fresh real food, what do you do? Enter PaleoPax! This company does a fantastic job of searching out all the best Paleo snacks and putting them in one place for people to live and enjoy. And they have this neat monthly subscription deal where they hand-select five awesome foods and automatically ship it directly to your home. Cool! One lucky reader will receive a $50 Gift Card to PaleoPax.com, five more lucky readers will receive a $10 Gift Card to PaleoPax.com and three of you will get THREE FREE MONTHS of the PaleoPax subscription service to try for yourself. And if you’re excited about this new service and would like to try it for yourself, PaleoPax is offering a special $2 off coupon to “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” readers who use the code “vidalowcarb” at the checkout! ENJOY!

DAN’S PLAN PRIZE PACKAGE (1)
Withings Wi-Fi Body Scale & Fitbit Wireless Activity + Sleep Tracker

One of the neatest guys I’ve met in the Paleo community over the past year is Dan Pardi from “Dan’s Plan” who appeared in Episode 37 of “Low-Carb Conversations with Jimmy Moore & Friends” and will be in Episode 574 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” on April 25, 2012 discussing his FREE health tracking web site. He’s giving away to one lucky reader a package containing two awesome health devices: the Fitbit Wireless Activity + Sleep Tracker and the Withings Wi-Fi Body Scale. The data from both of these devices can wirelessly transmit to automatically update your Dan’s Plan Dashboard. Sign up for YOUR free Dan’s Plan membership by clicking here.

NAKED CALORIES PRIZE PACKAGE (3)
Naked Calories book

Two wonderful people I’ve had the privilege of meeting over the past couple of years is Dr. Jayson and Mira Calton from Calton Nutrition. They’ll be joining us on the upcoming Low-Carb Cruise in May 2012 and I look forward to getting to know them even more. While most people dedicated to diet and health put the emphasis on macronutrients, the Caltons are committed to shining a light on the lack of micronutrients in the diet of most Americans. They were my interview guests in Episode 530 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” discussing their book Naked Calories: How Micronutrients Can Maximize Weight Loss, Prevent Disease and Enhance Your Life. And three lucky readers will receive a complimentary copy of this outstanding resource for your health library!

DR. STEPHEN PHINNEY/DR. JEFF VOLEK PRIZE PACKAGE (1)
Dr. Jeff Volek’s Men’s Health TNT Diet, Dr. Volek and Dr. Stephen Phinney’s 2011 smash The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Living, the brand new release with Dr. Volek and Dr. Phinney called The Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance and Dr. Phinney’s 2012 Sci-Fi novel Above Evil

Two of the key researchers of carbohydrate-restriction over the past few decades is Dr. Stephen Phinney and Dr. Jeff Volek. Between these two mental giants doing the research into low-carb diets, we have a cornucopia of knowledge and experience helping to advance the cause as more and more people come to an understanding about this way of eating. In fact, in 2011 their Art And Science Of Low Carbohydrate Living book was the bestseller among my Amazon.com affiliate links. Through their generosity, one lucky winner will receive a fantastic collection of books, including two past bestsellers as well as the brand new Art and Science of Low Carbohydrate Performance that just released and Dr. Phinney’s thrilling fiction project (which Christine is devouring right now as a sci-fi fan!). Check out my interview with Dr. Phinney in Episode 479 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show” and Dr. Volek’s recent appearance in Episode 11 of “Ask The Low-Carb Experts” discussing saturated fat. Visit ArtAndScienceOfLowCarb.com for more information on the work these guys are doing!

TONY HORTON PRIZE PACKAGE (1)
10 Minute Trainer by Tony Horton

And finally today we offer up the 10 Minute Trainer by Tony Horton. You might recall Tony is the guy who created the uber-popular P90X program and now he’s back with this new shortened workout plan designed for your busy lifestyle. You can squeeze in a workout in as short as 10 minutes or push it up to 50 minutes in length. There are five 10-minute workouts, including Yoga Flex, Cardio Workout, Total Body Workout, Lower Body Workout and Abs Routine. You choose the ones that fit your time and desired impact the best for any given day. One lucky reader will receive this 2-DVD package to start training at home!

We’re heading for the home stretch in sharing new prizes in my 7-Year Blogiversary Giveaway Contest. With the addiction of the special second GRAND PRIZE of a $600 voucher for next year’s Low-Carb Cruise plus all of these other prizes I shared today, you better get in while you can. Don’t forget the deadline to enter is April 27, 2012 and I want everyone who wants a chance to win to have that chance. Get your survey answers back to me today and look for your name to appear among the prize winners (HOPEFULLY!) in a post on Monday, April 30, 2012.