Buffalo Hot Wings, Low Carb Style

Buffalo hot wings are an inexpensive, tasty snack that can work very well with a low carb diet. Wings have a good percentage of fat and protein with very little carbs...and that only comes from the sauce. Your best bet is to make them from scratch. Most premade bags of wings contain brown sugar, high fructose corn syrup, or worse yet, a flour batter. (As any true wing lover will tell you, REAL buffalo wings ARE NOT BATTERED!)

Wings can either be deep fried or oven-fried in bacon fat.

So next time wings go on sale at the local super market, buy a bunch and follow the recipes below for an awesome low carb treat!

BUFFALO HOT WINGS  (Basic steps with details listed below)
1. Cook your wings
2. Mix up your sauce
3. Place sauce and wings in a bowl and toss together
4. Eat with blue cheese dressing and celery sticks.

1. Cooking Directions
Wings always sounded so easy, yet time after time I ended up with inedible slimy yuck that only slightly resembled wings until I learned the proper cooking method. The trick is to deep fry them in small batches. They should be crispy on the outside and properly done on the inside. As you finish each batch, drain them on paper towels, then place them in a warm oven while you finish cooking the rest of the wings. If you don't have a deep fat fryer, you can use a wok or large pot....pour a couple of inches of peanut oil in the bottom. If you don't have enough oil to deep fry them, follow the oven fry direction at the end of the post.

2. Sauce RecipesHubby and I like very different flavor profiles. If a sauce contains a lot of vinegar, like a traditional sauce, all I can taste is the vinegar. I came up with a sweet & spicy variation that cuts back a little on the vinegar flavor while still delivering a zing. Choose which ever option suits your fancy.

TRADITIONAL HOT WING SAUCE
(coats 1 dozen wing segments)
1/8 cup Louisiana Hot Sauce or Franks® Red Hot Sauce (or any hot sauce that contains peppers, vinegar, and spices. Watch for added sugars!)
1/8 cup melted butter

WIFEZILLA'S SWEET & SPICY HOT SAUCE
(coats 1 dozen wing segments)
1/4 cup Heinz One Carb, No Sugar Added Ketchup
2 Tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
1 tsp minced garlic
1-3 tsp cayenne pepper powder (adjust based on your personal preference)

3. Putting it all together
Simply place your sauce ingredients in a bowl along with the crispy hot wings and toss until coated.

4. Serve!
Put your coated wings on a plate, but don't forget the extras! Celery sticks with blue cheese dressing are the perfect companions for hot wings. The blue cheese can help cut the heat if you get carried away with the spices, and the celery adds a nice fresh crunch to things.

Oven Frying
Take a large non-stick baking pan with high sides and coat the entire bottom of the pan with a thick layer of bacon grease (or shortening, but bacon grease makes it taste better). Place in a 350º oven for a few minutes until the grease melts. Add wings and cook until outside starts to get crispy. Flip and continue cooking until wings are well done.

The Zilla Awards

At the end of each year, along with New Years Resolutions, there are a bunch of awards shows, "best of" lists, and retrospectives. Who am I to fight such a popular trend? So, it is with great pride that I announce the First Annual 'Zilla Awards! The categories are not what you might typically see and will change from year to year, but what did you expect from a giant award-granting mutant lizard anyway? So here are the awards for 2007.

Category: BEST BOOK BY A COMPLETE GEEK
Winner: Gary Taubes - Good Calories Bad Calories
Anyone who can take that much science and make it readable to my ADD riddled brain is aces in my book! Hell, I read the WHOLE THING...TWICE! He takes about 1000 years of dietary research and literature and makes it logical, understandable, and :gasp: Interesting! He even manages to sound like a human in person during interviews and lectures promoting his book. Gary Taubes is one chic geek!

Category: BEST VIRTUAL VIGILANTE JUSTICE
Winners: The Duck Squad (and many others!) from Low Carb Friends
When an online diet guru's story of losing 198 pounds in less than a year started to smell a little fishy, this group of people started digging. What they discovered is that "Kimmer" (Heidi Diaz), founder of the Kimkins diet was, in fact, an obese con artist. She was charging $59.95 to join her website so you could lose weight just like her, but the "after" photos she used were lifted from a Russian mail-order bride website. So were the photos of several other of her "success" stories. They became the DUCK SQUAD after a blogger named Ducky began posting information about the Kimkins con and Kimmer mentioned on her website that she was suspicious of anyone with a duck avatar. Soon duck images were popping up all over the place. As a result, Heidi "Kimmer" Diaz has had her assets frozen (which included a house purchased with CASH) and is the target of a lawsuit for her fraud as well as for health problems caused by following her plan (basically a twisted, starvation version of Atkins and Stillmans). Despite nay-sayers on diet message boards, the duck squad continues to watch the principle players in the Kimkins scam lest they individually or together try to launch another site and defraud more innocent people.

Category: BEST LIVING EXAMPLE OF THE WORD IRONY
Winner: Jane Brody
Jane Brody is a columnist for the New York Times. She isn't exactly a big fan of the low carb lifestyle and writes often about the dangers of not eating carbs. Here is what she says about her way of eating... "What do I and my slender friends eat? Mostly -- but not exclusively -- whole grain breads and cereals; lots of vegetables, salads and fresh and dried fruits; poultry, fish, meat and dried beans and peas and skim milk. But we also eat mostly white rice and pasta, potatoes, winter squash, avocados, regular cheese, eggs, cookies and ice cream and an occasional piece of cake or pie." {more}

It is no big surprise to those of us in the low carb world that she ended up with slightly elevated cholesterol numbers (I mean seriously, white rice, pasta and potatoes are basically sugar as far as your body is concerned..and sugar triggers artery damage..and cholesterol is what REPAIRS the damage caused by the SUGAR). Even though her doctor tells her not to worry, she cuts out cheese, further limits her red meat intake, eats more low-fat products, etc... and instead of having a lower cholesterol number for all her efforts, it jumps up even higher. She then goes on statins. Is that going to help? (more)

Cardiologist Mike Eades provides the answer...
"She is obviously relieved that she’s fallen into the bosom of the ever-effective statins despite the fact that the preponderance of properly done studies have shown that statins confer no health benefits to women of any age and that women over the age of 65 (she is 65) who have high cholesterol live longer than those who have normal to low cholesterol. And she missed the studies that show that both men and women over the age of 65 who take statins have an increased incidence of cancer. So, she’s volitionally taking a drug that a) has been shown to be worthless for her, b) has been shown to cause cancer, and c) has its own list of side effects, some of them fatal. An interesting choice for a supposedly smart woman to make." (more)

So keep on trashing low carb Jane and keep taking your statins. Then we can update dictionaries to include your picture next to the word IRONY, right along side a picture of Jim Fixx, the jogging guru, who dropped dead of a heart attack...while jogging.

Category: BEST BACK PEDDLING
Winner: The American Diabetes Association
After decades of warning people about the dangers of a low carb diet, the American Diabetes Association, who until now recommended ingesting NO LESS than 130g of carbohydrate EACH DAY (the equivalent of almost 1 1/2 cups of sugar), has finally decided low carb might not kill you. No, they haven't gone as far as recommending a low carb diet, which seriously restricts sugar intake for those with a blood sugar issue, but have released the following...

"The evidence is clear that both low-carbohydrate and low-fat calorie restricted diets result in similar weight loss at one year. We're not endorsing either of these weight-loss plans over any other method of losing weight. What we want health care providers to know is that it's important for patients to choose a plan that works for them, and that the health care team support their patients' weight loss efforts and provide appropriate monitoring of patients' health." (more)

I think the evidence is clear that they are having trouble ignoring the growing evidence that low carb leads to better blood sugar management, but still have no intention of admitting they were wrong all the years they told people to be sure to eat plenty of sugar. For a bunch of individuals who have dedicated themselves to eliminating diabetes, they still have no idea what they are talking about. The scariest part is this policy revision puts them MILES ahead of the American Heart Association (which around here is now called The American Heart Attack Association).

Category: BEST PISSING OFF OF AN ENTIRE COUNTRY
Winner: China
Earlier this year, pets by the score were being brought in to animal hospitals with kidney problems. The FDA investigated then announced that it identified melamine in wheat and rice gluten imported from China that had been used in pet foods. A derivative of melamine, an industrial chemical utilized in plastics manufacturing, is used in fertilizers in Asia. There was an extensive pet food recall effecting several manufacturers. Factory owners in China have admitted to routinely adding melamine to pet foods to boost their nitrogen content, which makes it appear that they contain more protein that they actually do (more). While it is impossible to judge the actual number of pets killed or injured due to the contaminated pet food, one food manufacturer is now the target of 90 class action suits. (more)

One sure way to make a bunch of Americans angry is to poison their pets, but China isn't the kind of country to do anything half way. They must have decided American's weren't mad enough about their puppies and kitties being killed, so they decided to take it one step further and taint children's toys with lead and date rape drugs (more).

Lets have a big round of applause for all of our winners. Winners, if you would like to have your plaque mailed to you, just drop me a line. China, you all have to share one.

Resolve not to get ripped off! New Year's Diet Plans

As the end of the year approaches, many start thinking about New Year's resolutions. Losing weight is a perennial favorite, and the diet industry is well aware of this. Ads for prepackaged food plans, diet pills, exercise equipment and gym memberships abound in print and on the air waves this time of year. Unfortunately, most of them will not help you lose weight, and some are an outright rip off.

Dr. Barry Groves, author of Eat Fat Get Thin and Natural Health & Weight Loss has a great understanding of the core issue. "The overweight are a ready source of income....They rely on you for a very comfortable living."

According to a CBS report in December of last year, Americans spend somewhere near $35 billion a year on weight-loss products. Yet, for all that money spent, obesity rates are not going down. Not only are people making money off of you if you are fat, they aren't doing what you paid them to do...help you get skinny.

So when you see the latest diet, the newest exercise gadget, or the hottest new weight loss pill, pause for a minute and think about those 35 billion reasons they are being pushed on you. Below are just a few examples of how an overweight person and their money can end up being parted.

Meal Programs: Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem are two well-known examples (though they are not the only ones). For a fee, they ship you prepackaged, pre-portioned foods. The good news is they will actually send you the food if you pay for it. The bad news is that you could make the same foods for yourself for much less. Those tv ads you see for these plans? Next time one pops up, look for the following words...RESULTS NOT TYPICAL. They are there on every single skinny person shown as an example of what their diets can do. What are the typical results? More like the results for diets in general, which have an abysmal failure rate of over 95%. Instead of forking over the money for a plan like this, take a cooking class instead. Or go to the book store and pick up some low carb cook books. It will cost a lot less and you will most likely actually lose some weight.

Gyms: Gyms love New Year! This is when they get the most sign-ups, but by Spring time, up to 30% of paying members are no longer around. Of course, they are still PAYING, because a gym membership can be as hard to quit as a crack habit. Long term contracts you can't get out of even if you move, get injured, or just don't use the facilities, don't sound like a good idea to me. Add the fact that exercise has been shown to have little effect on weight loss (Good Calories, Bad Calories - Gary Taubes), gym memberships are just not worth it in my book. A local community center that has a pay as you go plan, or per class charge is a much smarter option. You can also always use the local park for free. (more)

Membership Websites: There are online sites that charge you to join to get access to their diet plans, discussion forums and recipe sites. Some charge per month while others offer a lifetime membership. The problem with these sites is you can't see what the plan is until you've already ponied up the cash to join. You have no way to evaluate the quality of the information being offered, or if the dietary advice you are getting is even medically safe or sound. In one well publicized case, a woman running a diet site claimed to have lost 198 pounds in a year, and maintained her weight loss for over 5 years. Her site offered the way to lose weight just like her if you paid $59.95. After an investigation prompted by a disgruntled business partner and upset members who were denied access to the site after paying for the "lifetime" membership, it was revealed that the diet's founder was, in fact, over 300 lbs. She had not lost 198 pounds. Her "after" photo she used on her site and in an issue of Women's World magazine was lifted from a Russian Bride website. Not only was her photo faked, several other "success" stories were fictitious, their photos also coming from Russian dating sites. (more) This diet founder is now the target of a lawsuit for her fraud as well as health problems experienced by those who followed her plan.

There is really no need to pay an upfront fee for recipes, articles or forums in the first place since these are already available for FREE. Two excellent forums are Low Carb Friends and Active Low Carb Forums. Both have an extensive collection of articles, information and personal experiences, as well as fun, helpful people who are in the same boat as you. There are also forums created by individuals like Jimmy Moore, who himself lost a lot of weight and blogs extensively about low carb eating, health and weight loss. There is addition information available from blogs and websites of Doctors like Mike & Mary Eades, authors of Protein Power, and Barry Groves, author of Natural Health and Weight Loss. While they are ultimately selling books, their free information in an education all by itself. As for recipes, RecipeZaar. com, Cooks.com and more have low carb recipes, or you can stop by Linda Sue's website. She has been low carb cooking for a long time and has a fantastic collection of tried and true low carb recipes.

Exercise Gadgets: Remember the thigh master? The ab roller? The stair climber? While people who buy these gadgets start off with the best of intentions, what most commonly happens is that it gets used a few times and then hidden in the basement. Pimped on tv commercials and infomercials, they usually end up in garage sales and thrift stores after gathering dust in a basement or closet. If you really believe the thing you see on tv is YOUR ANSWER to permanent weight loss, wait 6 months. You will be able to get it for less than 1/10th of the advertised price at your local Goodwill. Plus, if you really think you can stick with a regular plan, like you need for one of these products, try a walking plan. If you can't commit to taking a walk 3 times a week for a couple of months, the odds of you using an exercise gadget consistently are slim to none anyway.

Diet Pills: From Chortislim to Liposene to Hoodia, each promises outstanding results. Many often have a "money back" guarantee. How can you lose? Easy. Shipping and handling. You don't get that portion back if you return the pills. Most use cheap ground shipping and pay a discounted rate to their shippers. You pay more like $9.95-$12.95 for the shipping and handling alone. Should you return the package, they already have been paid for all of their costs (including that of the product) and have lost nothing. And since most people never bother to return the products, they profit no matter what. Besides, the pills don't address the actual causes of obesity, and are just a neat way for pill makers to get rich.

"On January 4, 2007, the Federal Trade Commission fined the marketers of four over-the-counter, non-prescription diet pills a combined $25 million for making false advertising claims"
http://www.bestdietforme.com/DietPills.htm

The real reason for obesity is because of metabolic problems caused by the shift of our natural diet to one high in refined carbohydrates. Anything that does not address the underlying cause is just a waste of time of money. You don't need gadgets or pills to fix it, you need good, solid information. Trust me, nobody likes being fat, and the obese feel a desperation to lose weight for many reasons. Health, beauty, to fit in to society better...I know what it feels like. I have wasted my share of money on pills and plans, but the only thing that has worked has been a low carb way of eating. It's the only thing I have tried that addresses the cause, it's healthy, it works, and it doesn't cost a fortune. A few books and some helpful internet buddies were all I needed to drop 35 pounds, lower my blood pressure, and feel so much better overall. Sure I still have work to do, but I will not get it done by spending my money on crap and neither will you. It's time to resolve to get healthy, and not to give ripoff artists your hard earned money in the process.

Happy New Year!

Books to buy NOW. Seriously!
Protein Power by Mike & Mary Eades
Natural Health & Weight Loss by Barry Groves
Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes

In Defense of the Sun

The sun has taken a beating in the last century or so. Once worshiped as a deity by many cultures, most memorably by the Egyptians, it has now been relegated to the same status as cigarettes, arm pit hair and toxic waste. Women and children in particular slather sun block over every exposed piece of skin, and kids are now told to stay inside when it is too sunny out. But is this attitude justified, or even healthy for that matter?

By blocking out the sun, we are denying ourselves much needed vitamin D. Our skin creates vitamin D when exposed to ultraviolet light for 10-15 minutes a couple of times a week. Sounds simple enough, but when you intentionally cover every inch of skin with sun screen or work indoors all day, it is easy to short change yourself of this vital dietary component with disastrous results.

"Recent studies showed that, following the successful "Slip-Slop-Slap" health campaign encouraging Australians to cover up when exposed to sunlight to prevent skin cancer, an increased number of Australians and New Zealanders became vitamin D deficient.^[12] Ironically, there are indications that vitamin D deficiency may lead to skin cancer.^[23]"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vitamin_D

"Earlier studies have linked vitamin D deficiency with an increased risk for several cancers. Now comes word that it may also be a major cause of unexplained muscle and bone pain.

In a study involving 150 children and adults with unexplained muscle and bone pain, almost all were found to be vitamin D deficient; many were severely deficient with extremely low levels of vitamin D in their bodies."
http://www.webmd.com/pain-management/news/20031210/lack-of-vitamin-d-linked-to-pain

"Insufficient intake of vitamin D may lead to decreased physical strength, increased muscle weakness and increased risk of disability in older women and men, according to a new study published in the Journal of Gerontology: Medical Sciences."

http://www.transworldnews.com/NewsStory.aspx?id=30180&cat=10

"Low levels of vitamin D have been linked to autoimmune diseases like type 1 diabetes, infectious diseases and heart disease. Donald L. Trump, M.D., and CEO of Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY, says, "Vitamin D appears to have effects that are expressed in a number of tissues, nerves, muscles, the immune system, the clotting system. Many areas of health may be impaired if vitamin D deficiency exists.""

http://www.wptv.com/content/health/mb/story.aspx?content_id=008f1929-6ed0-4b1e-a9a8-95f58ea4e414

It appears that hiding from the sun is not making us healthier. But I know what you are thinking..."What about my skin?" We've been told for years that sun exposure will cause wrinkles, age spots, dry rough skin, and possibly cancer. But is that damage the sun's fault? The answer my lie in a little experiment I did over 4 years ago involving another vitamin...vitamin C.

On a skin care forum, vitamin C's effectiveness as a skin care treatment was discussed. Vitamin C is the basis for several VERY expensive skin care lotions and serums, and news stories at the time touted Vitamin C's virtues. So I did my own experiment where I applied a vitamin C mix to one side of my face only. After 2 weeks, there was a slight but noticeable difference in my skin on the treated side. I did manage to get rid of some fine lines and make deeper wrinkles a bit shallower. The Vitamin C was helping repair damage to my skin that, according to conventional wisdom, was caused by all those sun burns and the sun exposure I received as a wild, sun-loving, half-naked child. (more - http://ezinearticles.com/?Topical-Vitamin-C-and-Skin-Care&id=384764 )

So what does this have to do with vitamin D you ask? Well, it ties in with an earlier blog post I made about carbohydrates and wrinkles (here). Carbohydrates destroy your skin's collagen, leaving your face saggy and wrinkled. While the sun is usually blamed for this, I am thinking it is a combination of the carbohydrate effect on collagen and one other side effect of carbohydrate ingestion...an increased need for vitamin C.

"The vitamin C molecule is similar in configuration to glucose and other sugars in the body....glucose and vitamin C compete...like strangers trying to flag down the same taxicab simultaneously. Because glucose is greatly favored in the contest, the uptake of vitamin C by cells is "globally inhibited" when blood sugar levels are elevated." - Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes (page 325).

As far as I can tell, what this all means is that your body is made to spend time in the sun. It uses sunshine to create vitamin D. It also uses vitamin C to take care of any problems you might have if you get some extra sunlight. However, by changing our diets to rely primarily on carbohydrates, we have destroyed the body's ability to protect against sun damage, while at the same time creating an environment that promotes the growth of cancer cells (see previous blog post on cancer here). The sun may merely be a convenient scape goat in the skin cancer arena, much like saturated fat is unjustifiably blamed for heart disease.

It may take some time for actual facts on this subject to come to light. Considering the unwillingness of authorities to believe carbs might be bad for you, I wont be holding my breath waiting for the mainstream to accept sun exposure as a good thing. I, however, think I do need to get some more sun. Not only because I have the complexion of a cadaver, but because I would like to keep my health well in to old age. So if you want to talk to me further about this topic, stop by my place. I'll be in the back yard sunbathing naked (just be careful of the glare).

Horse Sense

As I search for new information about diet and the effects of starches and grains on the human body, it is amazing how many correlations there are in the animal kingdom. My own experience that a low carbohydrate diet is helpful in treating feline obesity is a good example. By removing grains from her diet, my round little furball, Xena, has lost 8 pounds in only a few of months. Cats who are diabetic are often placed on low carbohydrate diets to reduce insulin spikes and blood sugar levels. People have also found a low carbohydrate diet helpful when dealing with obesity and chronic disease. Yet I was surprised to discover that grains can also create problems for horses, including behavior problems.


"Increased amounts of grain can lead to some horses becoming hyperactive because they are able to quickly digest and absorb the starch in the grain which causes a responding “spike” in their glucose and hormone levels that cause them to become over-sensitive."

"Horses will react in two ways when they have too much energy in their diet. They will either become fat and there won’t be much difference in their attitude or behavior, or the horse will become hyperactive and burn off the extra energy through nervous behavior."
http://www.horses-and-horse-information.com/articles/0297diet.shtml

Other issues caused by excessive grains in horses include;

* Spazmotic colic - more
* Behavior problems - more
* Hyperactivity - more
* Laminitis (foot inflammation and damage) - more
* Osteochondrosis (cartilage/joint/growth plate malformations) - more

Of the three species of mammal discussed in this blog post, omnivorous human, carnivorous feline, and the ungulate horse, the one you would think that would be most capable of ingesting carbohydrates is the horse. After all, they evolved to spend their days grazing on grasses, and grains are basically grass seeds. Instead there is case after case of grains causing problems from behavioral to developmental.

The modern use of easily digestible sugars and starches has caused plenty of problems for humans as evidenced by our recent "obesity epidemic" and the rise in cases of type 2 diabetes. Children are being diagnosed with ADD and AD/HD at an alarming rate. Our pets, like my cat, are also suffering from obesity, cancer and behavior issues. Now I discover that horses have the same problems stemming from the same cause; Too many easily digestible sugars, starches and carbohydrates effecting health, causing obesity and promoting chronic diseases. In the case of humans, felines and equines, all have deviated from the diets they evolved to eat with disastrous results and grains appear to be the common factor.

Horses evolved to forage, grazing from 16-22 hours a day. They eat grasses and hay. Any starches or sugars they might ingest were infrequent and digested slowly. They weren't meant to have a quick flood glucose that you get from starches and grains. True, the ability of individuals within each species to process carbohydrates will differ. We all know that skinny friend or relative that lives of bread, pasta, and rice and doesn't gain a pound, and the same happens with our pets. While we tend to focus on weight, the behavior factor also has to be considered. I can't help but wonder if the problem people are having with their horses are the same problems some have with their kids.

If you take a kid and give them excess carbohydrates (like the recommended breakfast of juice, toast, milk and cereal), then send them off to school and make them sit still in a chair, is it a surprise that one of two things happen...they have behavioral outbursts or they get fat? How is this much different than feeding a horse carbs then keeping it locked in a stall? Is it any wonder that it would either get fat or get twitchy?

People in the equine world seem to have little difficulty figuring out that grains are a problem, yet there is still much resistance to the idea that carbohydrates are an issue for people and pets too. If the non-meat eating critter can't handle grains, what sense does it make for us to try...especially at the level recommended by the government, nutritionists and other health professionals? This disconnect really blows my tiny little mind, and instead of listening to the "experts", I guess I will just have to use some horse sense.

I Love Jennifer Love Hewitt

Actress Jennifer Love Hewitt (more), best known as the star of "Ghost Whisperer" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" has grabbed headlines lately. No, she isn't going to rehab, she didn't dangle a kid off a balcony, she wasn't arrested for drugs or a dui, nor did she shoot someone in a nightclub. She, apparently, committed the unforgivable sin of turning in to a woman.
Photo 1. Photo 2.


Once a skinny little waif, she was recently photographed in a bikini, then gossip blogs and columns decided she was fat. At a size 2. True, she no longer looks like your typical teenage starlet, but she is no longer a teenager. She is a 28 year-old WOMAN. W-O-M-A-N. Women have curves. They have thighs bigger than a broom stick handle and they have a soft, slightly rounded stomaches. They do NOT look like adolescent boys with water balloons stuffed under their shirts. And they do not have perfectly smooth skin unless they were genetically blessed or paid a lot of money to look like they were. You seriously have to wonder about people who's ideal woman looks like a sexualized child or an unfortunate famine victim.

According to IMDB, she is 5' 2½". With her clothing size and height, that makes her the same size as my friend Jo. Jo and I often shop together and we both have trouble finding clothes, but for very different reasons. Me because I am so freaking tall, and her because clothing designers think that if you are a size 2 petite, you don't have curves. While the length may be right, and the waist may fit, nothing seems to fit her womanly thighs or feminine hips. She isn't "fat" either. She is fit, toned, and has a physically demanding job. Having seen her in a swim suit, she has little bumps, wrinkles and flaws too. She is NORMAL. From the photos of Jennifer Love Hewitt posted on the web, she looks normal too. Maybe her suit did not fit her curves very well, but the girl is not fat.

I think people are so used to retouched photos they honestly have no idea what a real woman looks like anymore. These unrealistic ideals are a good indication that more people need to stop basing their lives on fashion magazine. Or maybe they need to put down the Playboys and come out of their parent's basement for a change of pace.

Unlike some, Jennifer did not check herself in to an expensive spa or begin some crazy starvation diet after receiving these unflattering comments. She fought back.

She posted on her website, "A size 2 is not fat! Nor will it ever be. And being a size 0 doesn't make you beautiful."

She goes on to say, "To all girls with butts, boobs, hips and a waist, put on a bikini -- put it on and stay strong."

Sounds good to me. As for my involvement in this, I don't know Jennifer Love Hewitt from a ham sandwich and Ghost Whisperer is a stupid show. But I did think she was damn funny in the movie "Heartbreakers". She is also cute as a button. Now I can add spunky to the list. I am liking her more everyday.

Instead of listening to idiots who can't tell the difference between real life and fantasy, I will listen to the new song by Mary J. Blige and send positive vibes to Jennifer next time I get down on myself for being a size 16.

"Let em get mad
They gonna hate anyway
Don't you get that?
Doesn't matter if you're going on with their plan
They'll never be happy
Cause they're not happy with themselves

Na na work what you got"

Saturated Fat - The Truth is Coming Out

Guest Commentary from Captain Capitalist

The truth is finally coming out on saturated fats and fats in general. For decades we've been told that fat makes you fat. This conclusion was based on incomplete, inaccurate studies and bad guesses.

In truth, the fat you eat is not the fat you store. Your body breaks down everything you eat and creates different types of fuel based on your eating habits. The fact is you'll create and store more fat if you eat a lot of carbohydrates. Carbohydrates are essential to the fat creation and storage process.

A diet with an ample portion of fat will actually make you feel fuller longer, and if you don't compliment it with lots of carbs, it wont "stick to your ribs".

So how does so much bad information stay with us for so long? It happens in every field from nutrition to rocket science. Generally, if you're new to a field and want to establish yourself as an expert, you want to meet with the approval of other, already established experts. Consequently you tend to parrot what they say and believe. Voicing agreement with generally accepted views and going along with and expanding on the explanation, however convoluted, is seen as a means of demonstrating understanding of the issue. It's a "go along to get ahead" mentality that perpetuates misinformation.

There's no substitute for objective reasoning. If you want to get to the truth, seek information, analyze it critically. How was it collected? Did the author properly connect cause and effect? Are the premises sound? If you really want to improve your quality of life you have to make healthy choices, in nutrition as well as information processing.

Fats good inside and out

We've been fed a lot of lousy advice about fats and oils. We were told they made you gain weight, clogged your arteries, gave you heart attacks, and turned you in to a newt (ok, the newt line was sarcasm, but you catch my meaning). We now know that all fats are not bad, and most of what we were told was load of hooey. Not only do fats satisfy your appetite and provide your body with essential fatty acids, healthy fats like olive oil, coconut oil, almond oil and more aid vitamin absorption, weight loss, and blood sugar stabilization. On top of that, natural, unrefined oils can help on the OUTSIDE of your body as well.

If you have ever had a cold, you know how tender and raw your nose can get after you blow it a few million times. Your skin gets chapped, it hurts, so you put lotion on it. Then the screaming starts. Commercial lotions contain chemicals that cause a nasty burning feeling. They also have emulsifiers so your lotion often contains more water than oils anyway. When you use a lotion comprised of mostly water, all you end up doing is providing very temporary relief to your skin (once you stop screaming) while chapping it more...ensuring you will need more lotion. While this makes for hefty profits if you are a lotion manufacture, it is just annoying and counterproductive if you are a consumer. Skip the chemicals, additives and PAIN. Simply use those same healthy oils you eat to actually get some relief and healing.

NOTE: Natural oils will feel and absorb differently than commercial moisturizers so you apply them a little differently. Use a small amount at first and rub gently while the oil absorbs. Afterwards, take a soft towel and gently buff off any excess.

SWEET ALMOND OIL: This is the same stuff you buy at the grocery store, but it is also used by therapists as a massage oil. The chemical composition of sweet almond oil is quite close to the natural oils in human skin. This makes it a fantastic moisturizer for kids as well as adults*. It is an excellent alternative to chemical ladened baby oil and wont clog your pores. Use on chapped skin (like your sore nose) or as an all over after-shower moisturizer. It WILL NOT sting! If you don't like how it feels on your skin, you can still use it for cooking.

VIRGIN COCONUT OIL: My favorite for chapped lips! When you take it out of the jar, it will most likely be solid (unless it is Summer or your house is really warm). Just break off a tiny piece and smooth over your sore lips. I put some in a little screw top container I picked up at the dollar store. Reapply as often as necessary...no nasty chemical taste to worry about.

OLIVE OIL: It's not just for salads! Olive oil is also a great moisturizer. It is also gentle and was used as the original base for castile soap. I have noticed it can clog facial pores slightly, but it is an excellent option for hands, rough elbows, knees and feet.

AVOCADO OIL: Very similar to olive oil, but tends to absorb better. It is, however, harder to find an usually more expensive.

PALM OIL: Even more than coconut oil, it is solid at room temperature. Works great on rough feet and elbows...when you aren't using it as shortening anyway. This is well suited for overnight foot treatment. Apply to rough, cracked feet and then put on a pair of old socks you don't mind getting oily. Your feet will love you in the morning.

When I am using oils on my skin, I try to use the same guidelines for the outside as the inside...as unrefined as possible and with little or no added chemicals. The double duty aspect of being able to use it for cooking also appeals to my practical side. Also, think about the typical price you pay for fancy lotions and creams. They are mostly water anyway! Using real oils can end up saving you money.

This is just a small sampling of what is available. There are plenty of fats and oils you can use to nourish the outside of your body as much as the inside. What you end up using is most likely going to depend on what you can find in your area for the best price. If you are ordering over the internet, be sure to educate yourself about the different types of oils available...some work great on skin, but are NOT edible, like jojoba oil. Or, in the case of shea butter, it IS edible, but is most often sold in a cosmetics grade, not a food grade.

Here are some interesting sources of information if you want to learn more.

www.oilsbynature.com
www.viablehealth.com/products/bulkoil/bulkoil.html

* Beware if you have nut allergies

O.P.C. (other people's cooties)

As the weather turns cold and people spend more time indoors, the chances of catching and/or passing along any number of germs increases. There are obvious, well-known measures you can take to try and avoid catching these nasty cooties...

* Wash your damn hands! Most colds are transmitted from touching someone or something infested with the cold virus and then touching your face. Plain soap & water is fine. Just wash them often.

* Don't touch! The thing you learned in kindergarten is correct. Other people have cooties! Don't shake hands (see above). This common practice is a sure way to get a whole office sick. (I guess you could "air kiss" and pretend you're European if social situations dictate some type of formalized greeting.)

* Clean up your mess! Be sure to wipe down counter tops, door knobs, sinks, etc... Cold germs can live on surfaces for hours just waiting for you to happen by. Be extra careful of shopping cart handles, ATM pads and other public areas.

* Be selfish! Don't share drinking glasses or utensils with family, coworkers or friends. (This is a problem at my house. Whenever I pour myself a drink, either hubby, the kids or the cats find it necessary to taste my drink in case it is something they think they need more than me! Note to self: Make fake PRUNE JUICE labels to place on all of my drink containers.)

A less well known cold and flu fighting technique is avoiding sugar. That's right. SUGAR KNOCKS OUT YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM! A can of Coke or a Twix bar does more than make you fat and rot your teeth. It can actually make you sick.

"Eating or drinking 100 grams (8 tbsp.) of sugar, the equivalent of one 12-ounce can of soda, can reduce the ability of white blood cells to kill germs by forty percent. The immune-suppressing effect of sugar starts less than thirty minutes after ingestion and may last for five hours."
http://www.elc.org.uk/pages/healthimmunesystem.htm

"...in adults, cell mediated immunity is significantly depressed after sugar ingestion (75 grams). A 100g portion of sugar can significantly reduce the capacity of white blood cells to engulf bacteria. Maximum immune suppression occurs one to two hours after ingestion and remains suppressed for up to five hours after feeding."
http://www.chronicprostatitis.com/sugar.html

Since finances make it impossible for most of us to hide on a desert island away from all the germ infested people, following these tips should help get you through. There is no guarantee you wont get sick, but you seriously do NOT need to put yourself at a disadvantage by indulging in sugar, starches or other carbohydrates. Low carb eating is a great way to take care of yourself since you are forced to expose yourself to other people's cooties. If you do run in to me during this cold and flu season, just don't get offended if I wont shake your hand, it's not personal (and no...you can't have a sip of my diet soda).

By the Numbers

After my initial quick weight loss, I have been stalling. Sure it is frustrating, but there is something that helps me keep things in perspective and stick to a low carb way of eating...my measurements. I was actually smart enough to write them down when I first decided that low carb eating might be the way for me (I have my moments). Even now, with no recent weight loss showing up on the scales, my body is changing for the better and I am losing inches.

I have posted my randomly taken measurements so you can see for yourself how a low carb eating plan can be of benefit. Keep in mind I am a 6' tall giant amazon. Your measurements will vary. The actually numbers aren't what matters so much, but the nice downward trend. :D

Death By Yam

"When you see this distinctive symbol on a product, you'll instantly know the food has been screened and proven to meet the American Heart Association's certification criteria to be low in saturated fat and cholesterol for healthy people over age 2."

This along with the American Heart Association red heart with a white check mark are prominently featured on a variety of foods. I saw this logo and statement on a can of Bruce brand Yams in an eye-level sale display as I shopped my local Albertson's. Having heard that yams are "better" than regular potatoes, I decided to check the label more closely in case it was something I could add to my "occasional, but not all the time" foods.

What I saw being recommended by the American Heart Association as "heart healthy" almost gave me a heart attack! The ingredients alone made me cringe... sweet potatoes, water, corn syrup, and sugar. Ummm...it's a SWEET POTATO! It's already sweet. IT EVEN HAS SWEET IN THE NAME! What insane person decided it also needed corn syrup AND sugar?

Anyway, the more I read, the funnier it got. It listed the carbs for a 6oz serving as 45g. Ok, technically I could eat one serving of these as long as the only other things I ate during the day were coconut oil and eggs, but whatever. Then it got sillier. That 45 carbs from the single serving is only 15% of the recommended daily carb allowance! Sure that recommendation comes from the government...but still...damn!

I guess I am lucky that as a kid I was a pretty picky eater. I thought the holiday sweet potatoes dishes my relatives made looked disgusting and wouldn't touch them. I bet they all thought I was a rude obnoxious kid. Well, I was, but it also turns out I had a healthy sense of self preservation. All that sugar on top of an already sweet item, and then what do people do with it? Cover it in brown sugar or PUT MARSHMALLOWS ON IT! AAAAACKKKK! Is there any wonder there is obesity problem? See for yourself!
http://www.brucefoods.com/recipes/Bruceyampecancasserole.html
http://www.brucefoods.com/recipes/sweetpotatoballs.html

Ironically, many decide to make this classic dish "more healthy" by leaving out the butter in favor of margarine, using low fat milk, and swapping the sugar out for honey and orange juice. So the only things in the dish that might possibly be able to signal your brain to stop eating this mess...THE FAT...is removed.

As the evidence piles up that carbohydrates and sugars are the cause and/or major contributors to obesity, type 2 diabetes, cancer, Alzheimer's and dementia ALONG WITH heart disease*, why is their logo on a pile of sugar in a can? Does it make sense to you that a major organization that, according to it's mission statement, promotes "building healthier lives, free of cardiovascular diseases and stroke" endorses the very products that are causing the problem in the first place?

In the interest of truth and honesty, maybe their logo needs a little tweaking...



*Source: "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes and "Natural Health and Weight Loss" by Barry Groves

Low Carb Coffee Treat

I have stumbled on a good low carb, sugar-free coffee that is really tasty...especially now that the temperatures are dropping and holiday temptations abound. I ran this recipe by several other low carbers at the Low Carb Friends forum and so far it is getting the thumbs up.

Real cream makes this coffee drink tasty and filling

Wifezilla's Coco Mocha
In a large coffee mug combine (leaving room for sweetener, etc...);
1/3 mug of fresh hot coffee
1/3 mug boiling water
1/3 mug cream
1-2 Tbsp cocoa (depends on your preference or the size of the mug)
a splash of pure vanilla extract
Sweetener (lately it have been using Da Vinchi sf hazelnut syrup and one equal packet)

Mine is heavy on the cream and light on the coffee. You can adjust the ratios to be lower or higher in caffeine by mixing up the coffee/hot water ratio. You can also adjust the calories by lowering or raising the amount of cream. Remember to blend your sweeteners to lower the aftertaste effect.

It might make you cringe if you are a calorie counter, but there are times that after I drink this I am not hungry until lunch. Whether or not it stalls you will depend on your individual metebolic issues. It may be worth a try if you are having a serious chocolate or sweet jones. A high-carb alternative would be much worse.

FEEDBACK:
"Wifezilla, my 18 yr old daughter is doing this diet with me. She was craving something sweet and hot and so I made the coco Mocha for her and shes like "Holy cow mom!" I bet she wont go to sleep til midnight. ha!" - SusieQue333

"I made that coffee this morning and it was really good! I enjoyed it and may even drink it with the decaf too." Determinedtolose

"...think of the money we are saving..These things at Starbucks are probably $3.XX."
"Wifezilla: I made the coco mocha..nommie, nommie, nommie..I do think it is going to be a regular thing for me." - CarolynF

The Truth is Out There!

YouTube clips from the upcoming anti-"Super Size Me" movie, FAT HEAD are up! I just saw them thanks to Dr. Mike Eades. He is the author of the book "Protein Power" and an avid blogger. His latest post features clips from the upcoming movie and they give short and sweet examples of how eating low fat/high carbohydrate came to dominate the nutritional landscape. (If you just can't seem to force yourself to read "Good Calories, Bad Calories" by Gary Taubes, you could use these as video Cliff notes!)

For those of you hiding in a cave in the Middle East for the last 4 years, SUPER SIZE ME was a documentary made by Morgan Spurlock, who ate only McDonald's food three times per day, trying every item on the menu at least once. If the order taker asked him if he wanted his meal super sized, he had to say "yes". According to the Wikipedia entry, he ate an average of 5,000 calories (the equivalent of 9.26 Big Macs) per day during the experiment.

Not surprisingly, Morgan gained weight. The implication was this was all the fault of the fast food industry. This, or course, ignored his unrealistic eating pattern, his choice to drink soda loaded with sugar and high fructose corn syrup, his rule that EVERYTHING on the menu had to be tried and his taking the super size option. Apparently, there is also a lot of bad science in this film. FAT HEAD addresses this by having the movie maker eat at the SAME restaurant and LOSING weight while improving his lipid profile.

I look forward to seeing them both...back to back...with a bunless double cheese burger in one hand and my copy of "Good Calories, Bad Calories" in the other. Hopefully I wont get too much low carb ketchup on the pages.





For more on the upcoming Tom Naughton movie...
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/2006/08/10/appearing-in-the-anti-supersize-me-movie/
http://www.proteinpower.com/drmike/2006/08/16/the-anti-supersize-me-movie-from-the-horses-mouth/

Partyin' Low Carb

The holidays are here. We just made it through Thanksgiving, but there is still Christmas and New Years to go. If your own family gatherings weren't dangerous enough for someone trying to lose weight, you have office parties, get-together with friends, and community events to attend. Each will offer temptations you would rather not face from foods you would like to pretend no longer existed. Yet we have to make it through, and here are a few thoughts that can make the process easier.

1. Your diet is your problem.
It may sound cold, but your nutritional needs and dietary restrictions are yours and yours alone to deal with. Making special demands of the hosts at events you attend is annoying and rude. So is berating other people for indulging in foods you can't eat. It's the holidays....don't be a jerk and just let them enjoy themselves. If your hosts ASK, that's different, but even then I would be tempted to tell them not to worry about it. After all, you could just...

2. Offer to bring something.
I have a Christmas party at a friend's in 2 weeks. Since I am eating low carb, I offered to bring the relish tray and an olive platter. I KNOW I can eat everything on the tray I am preparing, so even if every other single thing at the party is loaded with more sugar than an episode of the Care Bears, I will still have something to eat. Of course, I could just...

3. Eat ahead of time.
Why leave things up to chance? Make yourself a tasty low carb meal before you head out for your festivities. If your tummy is full, you are less likely to indulge in questionable eating. Besides, do you really know WHAT Aunt Erma put in that casserole? And how many times have you heard things like "Go ahead and eat it! It's good for you! Instead of sugar I used honey!"

4. Don't sweat the diet for one night.
I know this might sound like blasphemy, but slip-ups can and do happen anyway. Why not schedule yours? I had decided that on Halloween that I would allow myself some candy. I had low carbed since May and lost 30 lbs. I knew eating candy for one night wouldn't kill me, and that I could restart on low carb the next day. That mind set actually seemed to reduce my stress level and I did not even try to eat any candy until the very end of the evening. I said "try" because I actually popped 3 mini M&M's in my mouth after turning off the porch lights and blowing out the candles in the pumpkins, but had to spit them out. Low carb had changed my sense of taste so much that those little M&M's were way too sweet and I just couldn't eat them.

True, not everyone will be so lucky, but if you are prepared to deal with the consequences of stalling for a couple of days (or even gaining a few pounds), enjoy yourself. I still "cheat" and have several glasses of wine during my monthly book clubs, but stay LC legal the rest of the time. Just be careful that you don't start scheduling cheats more and more often. It CAN be a slippery slope, so please be careful.

5. Offer to host.
In the case of friends and families, you can offer to have the party at your house. This will give you a little bit more control over the menu and give you access to your handy supply of healthy low carb ingredients. DO NOT use this as an opportunity to force everyone you invite to eat ONLY low carb! Sure, it's better for them, but you're not their mom. (Even if you are, once they are over 18, it's time to ease up woman!) Have whatever traditional foods your friends and family enjoy. People enjoy their old favorite foods as much as they enjoy the company. If you are clever about it, they shouldn't even realize a lot of the foods you have offered are low carb.

6. Run away.
Got vacation time? Got some extra dough? Take a vacation and get the hell out of Dodge! If you are willing to take the flack from friends and family you will get for not spending the Holidays with them, a vacation to a remote island that has never heard of processed food might not be a bad alternative.

Poor and still want to get away? Tell your parents you are going to see a distant relative on your husband's side of the family, while he tells his parents you are going to see a distant relative on your side (you know...like you and your friends used to do when you wanted to go out drinking back in high school). Then stay home, keep the shades drawn and unplug the phones. Put on the Christmas music, cook yourself some steaks and make huge salads. Dessert can be a sugar-free cheesecake...or each other!

7. Invent a new religion.
True, a bit drastic, but think about it. By saying "no thanks, it's against my religion", you could avoid buying presents, hanging out with people you don't like, traveling to places you don't want to go and listening to music you can't stand. This idea might not be as crazy as it sounds!

No matter what tips you decide to use (or ignore), be sure to enjoy yourself.

Happy Holidays!

This veggie tray with a low carb dip is a great choice for any party!

Low Carb Thanksgiving

I am the one who traditionally cooks Thanksgiving dinner, and this year is no exception. I am cooking for a "mixed" crowd. By this I mean I am eating low carb, hubby, while not hard core, is also eating low carb, but my sons (and some of their friends) are not.

Cooking for non-low carbers and not having them notice is a challenge, but it is also a good test of your cooking skills. If you can get some sugar junkie to eat a sugarless dessert, ask for seconds, and then beg you for the recipe...that recipe obviously rocks. I only have one of those so far, but I am hoping to add to the list with my Thanksgiving edibles.

On the menu so far is Turkey, a stuffing made with sausage and Winter squash, gravy made from Campbells Chicken Mushroom soup (quite low carb) plus added spices and pan drippings, a large green salad with homemade vinegar and oil dressing, a sugar-free pumpkin cheesecake with almond meal crust, and plenty of cheese cubes, olives, pickles, pickled peppers, and fresh veggies to nibble on while watching football and playing Nintendo Wii.

I doubt my substitutions will even be noticed by the ravaging horde and the only things conspicuously missing will be crackers, rolls and mashed potatoes. I will miss the crackers, hubby will miss the rolls, and our oldest will really miss the mashed potatoes. I did take a bit of pity on my son and warned him that I would not be making potatoes this year, but he is more than welcome to bring his own.

Adaptations are possible without throwing the family in to total chaos, or the low carber falling off the wagon. Just realize that not everyone is going to be joining you on the low carb journey and get a bit creative. Try new recipes, change the quantity of bad foods vs. good foods, make sure the low carb items are easy to grab and munch on (like my cheese, olive and veggie platter). Or just let your guest use your cookware and they can make their own poison all for themselves.

New Cat Food Alternative

By happy accident I found another wet cat food without grains and fillers. I was at Safeway and remembered we were out of Fancy Feast, so I headed to the cat food isle. They wanted 60¢ a can for the girl's usual stuff. When I get it at Walmart it is only 44¢/can...even cheaper if I buy the 12 pack. As I was complaining about the price to my girlfriend, she picked up a can of Priority Total Pet Care and said "this is on sale."

We both looked at the label and I was shocked to see it contained no wheat, corn, rice or other starches. It is the Safeway store brand and was only 30¢/can on sale. Even better, the cans are almost twice the size of the Fancy Feast brand. Like Fancy Feast, not all flavors are grain free. You have to get out a magnifying glass (or bring your electron microscope) and carefully read over the ingredients. One "safe" flavor was Beef Dinner. There were two others, but silly me forgot to write them down.

I will see tomorrow morning if this will pass the kitty taste test.

As for the girls, no additional loss this week. Looks like Xena is stuck in a stall. I will be heading over to PetsMart later today to try a different brand of low carb cat food. Maybe that will help her to start losing again.

As for me, I am at 215 after some fluctuation. I have been upping my exercise a bit, and that seems to make me gain (unfortunately). By upping my fat percentage and lowering calories a bit I was able to get rid of my temporary gain. I will keep on keeping on and see how it goes.

More Evidence That Low Carb Helps Fight Cancer

From a study at the Duke University Medical Center...

"The team compared tumour growth in 75 mice that were eating either a low-carbohydrate diet, a low-fat but high-carbohydrate diet, or a Western diet, high in fat and carbohydrates.

The mice that ate a low-carbohydrate diet had the longest survival and smallest tumour size, Freedland said.

"Low-fat mice had shorter survival and larger tumours while mice on the Western diet had the worst survival and biggest tumours."

Science Daily
Hindu Times
US News

Product Review: Heinz One Carb Ketchup

Switching to a low carb way of eating means giving up certain things. I was more than happy to give up bread, pasta, and rice in favor of cheese, cream, and butter, but lately I have really missed ketchup. I have always liked ketchup, but after reading the label on the bottle of Heinz I had in the refrigerator, I knew I was going to have to learn to go without. It contained both corn syrup and high fructose corn syrup . That adds up to 30 carbs for a mere 2 tablespoons...an amount I can easily put on a bunless, lettuce-wrapped burger without even blinking. Since I am trying to stay below 60 carbs/day, that itty bit of ketchup can easily blow half of my carb allotment.

So I gave up the ketchup, resorting to jealous glaring as my son put generous amounts on his burgers, or hubby dipped his bratwurst in to a big pile of the delicious red goo. I spent many shopping trips standing in front of the ketchup isle reading labels to see if, by some slim chance, there was some obscure brand out there not loaded with sugars. Imagine my joy the other day at finding several bottles of HEINZ ONE CARB, REDUCED SUGAR KETCHUP at the local Walmart! I was tempted to grab all of them, but I settled on two 14oz bottles. I had a bit of doubt about how it would taste. Low carb AND good tasting just seemed like too much to ask for!

When I got home, I grilled up a batch of all beef burgers, salivating at the though of finally being able to eat a burger with ketchup again. I opened the bottle as the burgers cooked and gave it a sniff. It SMELLED like real ketchup. I flipped the burgers and then squeezed some ketchup on the plate. It LOOKED like real ketchup. I took the finished burgers off the grill and put one on my plate. I used my fork to break off a piece, then got ready to dip. I gave the meat a heavy ketchup coating and took a bite. YEAH! It TASTES LIKE REAL KETCHUP!!! If anything, it was a touch sweeter than I remembered, but I have been off the stuff for a while, so maybe it was just me.

I am happy to say that I no longer have to go without my favorite condiment and highly recommend this low carb ketchup version. The price was annoying, being double that of the regular ketchups, but I do think it is worth the extra expense. Check the ketchup isle at your local stores, or there are places, like Netrition.com that have it online.

Ratings (out of 5 stars)
Flavor: *****
Value: ***

Stupid Things

If you are considering a low carb diet, no doubt friends, family, and random medical professionals will be more than happy to provide you with advice. Of course this advice will most likely be unsolicited as well as grossly inaccurate. Here are some of the dumber things that the average schmuck believes and says about a low carb way of eating along with the actual truth.

"Low carb is bad for your kidneys!"
No. It isn't. If your kidneys are healthy BEFORE you begin a low carb diet, they will not be damaged by reducing your intake of sugar and carbohydrates one bit. The higher level of fat and protein you eat on a low carb diet isn't a problem either. According to Elizabeth Ward, founder and president of the British Kidney Patient Association, "If you have healthy kidneys, you can't eat enough protein to damage your kidneys."

As stated by Barry Groves, nutritionist and author of Natural Health and Weight Loss, " The long-running Nurses' Health Study, for example, showed that a high protein intake was not associated with renal function decline in women whose kidneys were healthy at the start of the study."
http://www.second-opinions.co.uk/kidney.html

A special thanks to Nancy LC at the Active Low Carb forums for inspiring this cartoon! ©2007 Wifezilla

A Low Carb Diet is Bad for Your Heart!
Wrong!
"Theoretically, the high fat content in low-carb diets could raise levels of an inflammatory marker in the blood called C-reactive protein, or CRP.

But when the researchers compared the effects of a low-carb diet with a traditional fat- and calorie-restricted diet among 78 extremely obese adults, they found that CRP levels typically fell to a greater degree with the carb-cutting diet"

http://paktribune.com/news/index.shtml?191862

"We've spent billions of our tax dollars trying to prove the diet-heart hypothesis. Yet study after study has failed to provide definitive evidence that saturated-fat intake leads to heart disease. The most recent example is the Women's Health Initiative, the government's largest and most expensive ($725 million) diet study yet. The results, published last year, show that a diet low in total fat and saturated fat had no impact in reducing heart-disease and stroke rates in some 20,000 women who had adhered to the regimen for an average of 8 years."
http://www.menshealth.com/cda/article.do?site=MensHealth&channel=health&category=heart.disease&conitem=a03ddd2eaab85110VgnVCM10000013281eac____

"Critics of low-carbohydrate diets claim that they promote heart disease, but one of the first studies to examine the long-term effects of low-carb eating suggests otherwise.

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health found no evidence of an association between low-carbohydrate diets and increased cardiovascular risk, even when these diets were high in saturated animal fats."
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/11/08/health/webmd/main2164981.shtml

"In a new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, investigators from the Harvard School of Public Health report that women who ate diets relatively low in carbohydrates (and thus relatively high in fats) experienced no increase in coronary artery disease."
http://heartdisease.about.com/od/reducingcardiacrisk/a/lowcarb3.htm

I Could Never Eat all That Meat!
Contrary to popular belief, a low carb diet doesn't necessarily mean a diet of mostly meat. Low carbohydrate vegetables like leafy greens, cucumbers, peppers, cauliflower, broccoli, jicama and more make up a good portion of a low carber's daily fare.

Low carbohydrate fruit like blueberries and strawberries are also on the menu. Once a low carber transitions from weight loss to maintenance, more fruits like kiwi and cantaloupe can be added as well.

There are even groups of vegetarian low carbers out there in cyberspace. In my case, the largest component to my diet isn't meat OR vegetables. It's fat!

A Low Carb Diet Screws Up Your Bones!
"As of May 2006, the scientists conducting the studies continue to be “surprised” by the result that more protein in the diet at the very least causes no harm, and in most studies improves bone density rather than causes bone loss"
http://lowcarbdiets.about.com/od/faq/f/lowcarbboneloss.htm

You also have to keep in mind that there are a couple of cultures that, for centuries, had thrived on a low (or NO) carbohydrate/higher protein/high fat diet. Among them are the Inuit people. Had a low carb diet caused bone damage, generation after generation of this way of eating should have left them mangled and broken. Instead, those sticking with their ancestral diet are perfectly healthy while those who have adopted a more Western style of eating with increased carbohydrate consumption are the ones who are unhealthy.

"Today, when diet books top the best-seller list and nobody seems sure of what to eat to stay healthy, it’s surprising to learn how well the Eskimo did on a high-protein, high-fat diet."
http://discovermagazine.com/2004/oct/inuit-paradox/article_view?b_start:int=0&-C=

You Need a Certain Amount of Carbohydrates Per Day!
Nope. You can live just fine without carbohydrates AT ALL! While is is true that your brain runs on glucose, and carbohydrates are a ready source for that material, if you do not ingest glucose, your brain is quite capable of running on ketone bodies.

In fact, eating glucose because your brain runs on glucose, instead of helping, actually causes more problems. "...there is a groundswell of medical evidence that documents how too much sugar can make the brain shrink, wither, atrophy and just plain work badly.

If you want to age your brain just eat the typical diet most Americans consume. That will lead to memory, attention and mood difficulties and will hasten the path to Alzheimer's"
http://www.commonvoice.com/article.asp?colid=7628

A low carbohydrate diet isn't a fad, it isn't new (having been written about and studied since the 1800's), and it isn't dangerous. The media and medical community have tried to blame a low carb diet for all kinds of ills, but the scientific evidence keeps coming up in low carb's favor. Instead of listening to sound bytes from the uninformed, do your own research. As much as the critics like to claim there is no telling what a low carb diet will do long term, there is plenty of history out there for anyone who cares to look.

In my case, low carb is the only thing that has lead to a significant weight loss. It has also lowered my blood pressure from 149/95 to 127/80. My kidneys haven't "Asploded!", my bones aren't broken, and my heart is still beating. My friends, who are following standard medical advice are gaining weight, on medication for type 2 diabetes and have high blood pressure. Unfortunately, we ALL know the long term outcome of that.

ENSURE: Ensuring cancer cell growth?

In a previous posting (here), I pointed out the connection between cancer and sugar. To quickly review, cancer cells thrive on glucose and carbohydrates and sugars turn to glucose in your body. After reading over the available information, I firmly believe that glucose and elevated insulin levels, if not THE causes, are at least major contributors to cancer tumor growth.

Believing as I do, I was shocked to find out that the nice maintenance lady where I work had been diagnosed with an aggressive thyroid cancer and she was drinking a lot of glucose. Due to the damage to her throat from the cancer and her subsequent surgery, according to a friend, the only thing she was able to ingest was ENSURE.

A quick check on the internet showed that ENSURE, while it may contain vitamins, is completely loaded with sugars. So this poor woman, recently diagnosed with cancer, in pain from surgery and not able to eat, got her last "nourishment" from a product loaded with sugar, maltodextrin and corn syrup. Your body converts these items to glucose, and glucose is what cancer cells thrive on. Needless to say, she did not survive long after her diagnosis. It was only 2 weeks from the time she found out she had cancer to the time she died. No, I am not claiming it was the ENSURE that killed her, but I certainly don't think it helped.

I didn't know her well enough to say for sure why she initially became a cancer victim, but I had seen her on one occasion smoking a cigarette. I do know that obesity was not an issue, because this woman was quite thin and very physically active. Even though she was in her 70's, she still mowed the lawn, took care of the landscaping, shoveled snow, raked leaves, cleaned up the parking lot, and kept the sidewalks at our office in great condition. I saw her quite often when I ended up pulling overtime on the weekends. She was friendly, always had a smile on her face, and seemed to actually enjoy her work.

And now she is another cancer statistic.

Hopefully by avoiding sugar and eating low carb, I will greatly reduce the possibility of getting cancer, but in case it does somehow happen, I want it on record that I do NOT want ENSURE. I think all that would do is ENSURE my cancer hung around even if I had surgery or went through chemo. I think an Atkins shake would be a much better option. True, it isn't a perfect solution, but the Atkins shake has only 4g of carbs per can (with 2g of fiber) while the ENSURE has 40 grams of carbs and NO fiber. With the established tie between cancer and glucose, ENSURE should be the last thing that doctors recommend to their patients.

Cancer patients need to keep up their strength and nourish their healthy cells while doctors try to eliminate the bad cells. I believe that recommending a product like ENSURE is a misguided attempt to keep them strong enough for treatment. Instead of giving patients sugar, there is something that will keep them strong without fueling cancer growth. It's called fat. Cancer cells cannot utilize the energy in fat, but the rest of the body sure can. If I ever get cancer, just get me a tub of coconut oil and a spoon. Better yet, get me a nice, cold quart of heavy cream and a bendy straw.


Here are the ingredients of the 2 products discussed in my post. Judge for yourself!

Ensure: Water, sugar (sucrose), corn syrup, maltodextrin (corn), calcium caseinate, high-oleic safflower oil, canola oil, soy protein isolate, whey protein concentrate, corn oil, calcium phosphate tribasic, potassium citrate, magnesium phosphate dibasic, natural and artificial flavor, soy lecithin, sodium citrate, magnesium chloride, salt (sodium chloride), carrageenan, choline chloride, potassium chloride, ascorbic acid, ferrous sulfate, alpha-tocopheryl acetate, zinc sulfate, niacinamide, calcium pantothenate, manganese sulfate, cupric sulfate, vitamin A palmitate, thiamine chloride hydrochloride, pyridoxine hydrochloride, riboflavin, folic acid, chromium chloride, biotin, sodium molybdate, sodium selenate, potassium iodide, phylloquinone, vitamin D3 and cyanocobalamin.
http://www.allegromedical.com/emergency-preparation-c5023/ensure-nutritional-supplements-8-oz-cans-p176498.html

Atkins Shake: Water, calcium caseinate, soybean oil, whey protein concentrate, cocoa (processed with alkali), cellulose gel, contains 0.5% or less of the following: potassium phosphate, cellulose gum, soy lecithin, natural and artificial flavor, carrageenan, sucralose (a non-nutritive sweetener), magnesium chloride, magnesium phosphate, tricalcium phosphate, d-biotin, d-calcium pantothenate, folic acid, niacinamide, pyridoxine hydrochloride, sodium ascorbate, thiamin mononitrate, vitamin A palmitate, vitamin B12, riboflavin, vitamin D3, vitamin E acetate, vitamin K1, chromium chloride, copper sulfate, ferrous sulfate, manganese sulfate, potassium chloride, potassium citrate, potassium iodide, sodium citrate, sodium molybdate, sodium selenite, zinc sulfate, maltodextrin.
http://www.atkins.com/products/cafe-mocha-shake

The Kitties Weigh-In

I weighed the girls again today. Xena has hit a stall, staying at 14 pounds for the second week in a row. Cookie has lost again and is down to 8 pounds. Looks like Xena is a lot like me...very resistant to weight loss. I know how she feels and not losing is very frustrating.

Unlike me, though, she isn't bitching to her girlfriends about being stuck, nor do I have to listen to her whine about her old fur not fitting, but not wanting to buy new fur until she hits goal. Xena also doesn't have to wonder if her artificial sweetner use is stalling her, or maybe she is eating too much dairy.

I have a few more variables to worry about than my furry little friend, but I am possitive that all of us are on the right path. We'll see how we are all doing next week, and maybe I will have to make some adjustments. If Xena doesn't start losing more, I will make some adjustments for her too. Most likely trying a different brand of low-carb dry food. Things might be easier for me if I only had 2 kinds of food to choose from. It would be especially easy if I could get someone to come to the house and serve it to me every day and refill my water jug while they are at it.

Low Carb can Prevent Wrinkles

People have turned to low carb diets for their weight loss benefits since the 1800's. In our modern, youth centered society, there is yet another reason to consider a low carb diet...to prevent wrinkles.

It is already known that sugar and easily digestible carbohydrates can cause weight gain, feed cancer cells, cause type 2 diabetes (as well as heart disease and possibly dementia), but now the British Journal of Dermatology has added dry, saggy, wrinkled skin to the list of sugar's evils.

What happens when you ingest sugars or carbs is that they attach to proteins in your body and form what are called AGES (Advanced Glycation End productS). The more sugar and carbs you eat, the more AGES you produce. AGES destroy your skin's collagen and elastin, which leaves your skin looking old.

AGES are also tied to other problems, including eye damage in diabetics and atherosclerosis lesions. But if destroying you on the inside isn't enough of a motivation for you to quit the sugar habit, having your face look like a prune might get you to consider a low carb lifestlye.

For more information...
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/health/2007/11/02/health.for.her.sugar.wrinkles.cnn
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21257751/
http://www.cnn.com/2007/HEALTH/diet.fitness/11/01/hfh.sugar.skin

Weigh-In

Well, I rousted the cats again and dragged them to the scale. I tried to get Xena to just stand on it by herself, but she didn't like the way it felt on her paws. So all three of us weighed in.

Xena and Cookie maintained.

Me.....I am down to 215 1/2.

After weeks of getting my butt kicked by the kitties, I finally started losing again.

Yeah me!

Breakfast Alternative

People get the impression that when someone is eating low carb, eggs are your primary breakfast option. While I do like eggs and eat them quite frequently (usually with zucchini and mushrooms sauted in butter), there are times when I want something different. Today was one of those days, so I cooked up a batch of almond ricotta pancakes.



Ingredients:
6 eggs
1 cup ricotta cheese
2 cups almond or hazelnut meal
1/2 cup cream
1/2 cup water
2 tsp almond or vanilla extract
4 packets of splenda

Mix your ingredients together and cook like regular cancer disks...ahh...I mean carb-infested pancakes and top with a sugar-free, low carb maple flavored syrup or fruit (strawberry or blueberry) puree.

These will be a bit more delicate than death circles...errr...I mean wheat pancakes, so be sure they're done on the bottom before you try to flip them. When done, the edges will appear dry.

This recipes makes about 12 medium sized cakes. 2 may look like a small amount, but that is usually all I can eat before getting full.

Kitty Weigh-In

Cookie and Xena were subjected to another weigh-in today. They were pretty cooperative and there are no claw marks on my face, though Cookie did try to sneak out of the room when she saw me weigh Xena (she's a clever old thing!).

"Hurry up and weigh me. I'm late for my nap!"

They both lost weight again, this time being fed exclusively low carb foods. Breakfast is still the grain-free variety of Fancy Feast, and their dry crunchies, Innova EVO cat & kitten food, replaced their previous bag of chicken and rice cat food.

As of this morning, Xena, formerly 22 pounds, was only 14 lbs. Cookie, who was never really fat, but definitely not skinny, has slimmed down to only 9 pounds. According to some online vet sites, the average weight for a female cat is between 8 and 12 pounds. Since both of my girls are on the smaller side, they still have room to lose...especially Xena.

While Cookie's heritage is a total unknown (we found her in a field behind our old apartment in the middle of the night...during a snow storm!), Xena is half Ragdoll Siamese. While this breed tends to be large and females are typically 10-12 pounds, Xena was the runt of the litter. She wont be "trim" until she is closer to 8 pounds.

Xena..the star of "The Biggest Loser, Feline Edition"

Cookie doesn't need to lose any more weight, and I admit, I was a bit concerned her weight is going down too. But if you look closely, her coat is shiny, her eyes are bright, and she is still spunky despite her age. She even had enough energy to sneak up on Xena last night and wack her in the back of the head. No particular reason I could see...she just walked up behind her and ::SMACK!::. Maybe Xena called her an "old fart" when we were out of the room.