What I Eat and What I Don't

A lot of people have asked me this question, especially in the last month or so because, finally, you can really see the belly disappearing and now it's a lot more real to a lot more people.

I do get a little tired of repeating myself but the short answer to "What do you eat?" is simply meats and vegetables and nothing else.

Well, that means different things to different people, so here is what I eat in a typical week (and there is *slightly* more to it than "meats and vegetables":

Meats:

Chicken (about twice a week)

• Boneless, skinless chicken breast
• Wings (not battered or breaded... deep fried is OK)
• Self-prepared roasted chicken
• Pre-prepared rotisserie chicken from BJs Wholesale

Beef (about twice a week)

• Burgers
• Meatballs
• Meat Loaf
• Sirloin steak
• London Broil
• Round, Chuck or Sirloin roast
• Polska Kielbasa (once a month)

Fish (about once a week)

• Pan-grilled tilapia
• Grilled, baked or broiled salmon

Pork (usually once a week)

• Boneless pork loin (roast or cutlets)
• Pork Belly (slow-cooked for pulled pork, about once a month)
• Bacon (once a week max)
• Italian sausage (maybe twice a month)

Lamb

• Lamb leg or roast on occasion (due to cost - I would be eating this at least once a week otherwise)

Vegetables

• Asparagus
• Fresh spinach
• Brussels sprouts
• Broccoli
• Zucchini
• Butternut squash
• Spaghetti Squash
• Carrots
• Celery
• White and yellow onion
• Green bell pepper
• turnips
• chives
• lettuce
• Cucumbers
• mushrooms
• Assorted fresh herbs

Fruits and Grains

• Whole Kernel Corn
• Tomatoes
• Lemons and limes (for flavoring drinks)

Prepared Foods (used sparingly)

• Banquet breakfast sausage (I've discovered these have a lot of soy so I've backed off on them a bit - but they don't impede my progress so I give myself a pass on them - soy is NOT good for weight loss so use at your discretion)
• Rotisserie chicken from BJs - condiments are allowed so seasoned chicken should be OK. It's also cheaper than buying raw. Go figure.
• Frozen organic broccoli florets
• Frozen organic whole kernel corn
• Dill pickles (on rare occasion)

Condiments

• Jack Daniels Barbecue Sauce (the least carbs of any brand I've found)
• Hunts Ketchup
• Yellow and spicy brown mustard
• Whole, real mayonnaise
• Worcestershire sauce
• Steak sauce
• Kosher salt
• black pepper
• assorted spices and seasonings
• Grated parmesan cheese (sparingly)
• Salted Butter
• Olive Oil
• Red wine vinegar
• White vinegar
• Balsamic Vinegar

Drinks

• Coffee
• Tea
• Water
• Seltzer
• 1% Milk
• Vodka (occasionally)

What I DON'T Eat

This should be pretty obvious but just for clarification (becuase I know *some* of it might seem strange)

Nothing sweet - That means no fruit, no desserts, no candy, no nothing flavored with sugar or artificial sweeteners with the exception of a couple condiments like ketchup.

No bread, pastry, or pasta

No sweetened drinks - Seltzer with lime is the only diet soda I will every drink again

No beer, wine or other alcohol except Vodka. Ask Julie Kibe why Vodka is OK and nothing else is. I haven't a clue. I'm not a fan of vodka so I just plain don't drink right now. Actually, the answer for beer is pretty simple since it's basically liquid bread and most liquor is VERY fattening but so is Vodka so... I dunno...

That is just about everything I eat (and don't eat) on a regular basis and I'm losing a LOT of weight sticking to those foods. How much of each should you be eating? That's up to you. Use your condiments with discretion, eat all the protein you want, eat veggies and proteins at the same time or eat the veggies last, don't eat more veggies than protein. No, it's not easy, but it is VERY simple.

I Agree With Augie

So, who else saw the movie, Role Models?

There are so many great scenes in that movie I could watch it over and over and still laugh my ass off.

The scene in the beginning with Danny at the fake Starbucks is classic.

"Venti is a large coffee."
"No, venti is twenty. Large is large. Tall is large. Grande is Spanish for large. Venti is the only one that doesn't mean large. It's also the only one that's Italian. Congratulations. You're stupid in three languages."

There were all kinds of moments like that in that movie, but one that I started thinking about yesterday was a line by Augie (played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse who also played McLovin in Superbad and Red Mist/The Motherfucker in the Kick-Ass movies).

Danny asks Augie if he likes Coca Cola. His reply: "I like the idea of it more than I actually like it."

It occurred to me yesterday that I've developed the same kind of affection for fast food.

I miss it, but I don't. I have no desire to eat it, yet I feel drawn to it.

I think there are two reasons for this:

First, it was a part of my life for a loooooong time. It was comforting and it tasted good. Of course I'm going to miss it to a degree.

The second, and much bigger reason, I believe to be purely cultural.

Having to shun these places and their food equates to a partial removal from popular culture.

Think about it: 60% of all breakfasts in America that are eaten outside the home are eaten at McDonald's.

Nearly everyone in the United States visits a McDonald's at least once a month. Over 80% eat there once a week.

If you want to get technical, I still count toward that figure because I do buy an unsweetened iced tea to drink while my son eats his FrankenNuggets.

But watching people eating Big Macs or going to Subway or KFC does make me a bit jealous.

I flat out don't want that food anymore. I don't crave it, I don't brood over watching my son eat it, I don't argue with myself over snagging a fry anymore. It's a non-issue.

And yet I miss it.

Because it connects me to my culture and right now I feel very disconnected.

You know what else I feel, though? I feel comfortable sitting in any booth in any restaurant, including McDonald's.

I feel light.

I feel awake.

I feel GOOD for the first time in years.

There are other ways to connect with my culture.

Movies, TV, music, even sit-down restaurants that offer reasonable choices like roasted chicken, broiled fish or steak.

All of these things present opportunities to stay connected.

I've definitely met people who don't like McDonald's and NEVER eat there.

Ditto Subway, KFC, BK and Taco Hell.

So if they don't need to eat that crap to maintain a sense of cultural identity, why would I?

And why would you?

The answer is simple: I don't and you don't. What we need is to be well.

BTW, it was Role Models that taught me that a Starbucks Venti is so named because it's 20 ounces. "Venti! TWENTY!" Thanks, Beth!

Have I Mentioned How Much I LOVE Huffington Post? *RECIPE ALERT*

Here's yet another reason why.

Just to give you the Reader's Digest version, the article goes into the reasons why we love foods that are horrible for us. Some of these things are obvious, some will really make you think.

When I think about all these things, I have to admit that I was already cognizant of a LOT of these reasons, even if they weren't all MY reasons.

Also, check out the slideshow beneath the article. It's all about the Fake Food we know and love.

Oh, and I've decided to stop buying spaghetti sauce after reading this. Time to start making my own again, and now that crockpot season is upon us, it should be easy to make home-made sauce for my home-made meatballs.

My friends from Key Hypnosis will likely wonder why because Julie has, during sessions, actually condoned using prepared spaghetti sauce, but why take in more sugar than we need to when making sauce is as simple as this? Here's all you need to do:

Single-serving (for up to 1 lb of meatballs or about 6-8 sausages)

1 large can Hunts crushed tomatoes
1 can Hunts tomato paste
1 T olive oil
1 cup chopped onion, caramelized w/ the olive oil
4 cloves garlic, chopped or pressed and carmelized
Fresh basil, parsley and oregano to taste

Crock pot on low for 8-10 hours will do ya.

If you like a sweeter sauce, don't add sugar. Add two whole carrots and remove them when the sauce is cooked (or use a hand mixer and blend them in for an extra-sweet sauce).

If the sauce is too acidic, don't sugar it for that either. Add 1/2 teaspoon to a teaspoon of baking soda to neutralize it. That way you taste the tomato, not acidy sugar.

BTW, acid won't be a problem if you use Hunts tomatoes since they are naturally steamed and are just plain superior quality to virtually any other brand out there.

Oh, hell, here's the meatball recipe, too. Note that I DO add a little breadcrumb and cheese since those things AND ONLY THOSE THINGS are considered allowable fillers on the Key program. Eggs count as a protein so adding them only fortifies the dish.

For each pound of ground beef, add:

1 T breadcrumb,
1 t grated parmesan cheese
1 egg
Salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion salt and italian herbs to taste

Cook them in the oven for half an hour at 350, then add them to the sauce to slow cook.

That Awkward Moment

I'm not sure why this happens or what triggers it...

But sometimes I just crave things.

It's not an overwhelming, driving need like before, but these thoughts just leap in there.

My son brought home cornbread from Boston Market the other night. It's still sitting on the kitchen table.

A few minutes ago I saw a stick of butter sitting on the counter and all I wanted to do in that moment was slather some onto that cornbread and...

For heaven's sake, it's been FIVE MONTHS.

These thoughts exit as fast as they enter but sometimes I just have to wonder... IF the timing were right and I was at a particular point of vulnerability, would I do it?

I've been able to say no to all that stuff for five months, even when no one is looking.

But those awkward moments when the cravings kick in can be torture.

Julie Kibe teaches about slapping away the cravings, and it works...

...when you've been hypnotized to do it.

But what about those who haven't been?

What about those who are completely on their own?

Okay, here's my response to that...

Simply put, how hard have you been working to take off the weight?

What have you accomplished?

How do you feel?

That cornbread (not so much the butter, strangely enough) represents failure.

It represents illness.

It represents a short and uncomfortable life.

Worst of all, it represents failure...

...IF I eat it.

If I walk past it and say, "No!" it represents the polar opposites of those things.

It represents wellness.

It represents good health.

It represents victory.

You know, I've had my fill of failure.

I've had my fill of carrying around a refrigerator on my back.

I've had enough of being too tired to walk around a theme park with my kid.

So why, in the name of all that is decent and holy, would I give in to a piece of cornbread?

Cornbread? Please...

But, really, apply anything you want to that logic: ice cream, pastry, pasta, candy...

Speaking of theme parks...

This Saturday I will once again find myself in the land of funnel cakes and soft serve and I will say, "No!" to all of it again. Why? Because I want to be well.

How badly do YOU want to be well?

More to the point, do you want to be well more than you want to succumb to a craving?

Some people don't.

Most don't.

Those who do can figure out a way to slap away the cravings.

Saying, "No!" is easier than you might think.

Just for today, commit to it.

Tomorrow, you'll have to make that decision again, and yes, it sucks.

The good news is that you get to feel that rush of victory every single day when you make it.

And every day it feels better.

Every day you feel better.

And it gets easier.

It's never easy...

...but it gets easier the more times you do it.

The "Fake Food" Trap

As part of my weight loss journey, Julie Kibe has stressed the importance of not consuming what she calls "fake food."

It's not difficult to gauge what this entails.

If you are low-carb dieting and are congratulating yourself on your superior sense of restraint and yet don't seem to be losing weight as fast as you could or feel you should, let me ask you a few questions.

1. How many meals per week do you prepare from scratch? The simple fact of the matter is that if you know what's going into what you're eating, chances are you will have a better gauge of how much protein-to-carb content there is in your food.

2. How often do you eat at restaurants? The best way to combat issues with fake food is to select an entree that you can use to identify the protein source. A strip steak is usually a good bet. Chopped steak? It all depends on how much actual beef is in it. Roasted chicken is usually a better bet than chicken breast filet. Ask if it's fresh or pre-packaged and pre-portioned. The latter means fillers and preservatives. It should look like it came off a chicken, not a conveyor.

3. Seriously, do you even KNOW what you're putting in your mouth half the time? Most people are aware that prepared ground beef or pork products like meat loaf, meat balls, pre-formed sausages (not in natural casing), etc. all incorporate soy as a filler. The soy mimics the texture of the meat so well that it is virtually undetectable.

Now, some programs (like mine) discourage reading labels. However, if you haven't been hypnotized and programmed to eat certain foods a certain way it might not be a bad idea to know what's in your food before you eat it.

And, sorry Julie, I still read labels.

The reason for this is simple: my diet calls for meat and vegetables. Period. Not meat, soy fillers, high percentages of bread, cheese and preservatives like you find in most italian-style formed meat products like meatloaf and meatballs. And while I've been told not to read labels, I've also been told not to eat soy or "fake food."

So how do I follow both of these rules?

The answer is simple: I can't. No one can.

That's where it becomes necessary to err on the side of greatest benefit as opposed to that of greatest convenience.

I would rather be informed and thin than be blissfully unaware and fat. It's just that simple.

So, until someone can show me an effective way to keep both rules, I have to break one of them in order to adhere to the other.

So I choose to know what I'm eating.

Now for a few ways you can do things right and keep the pounds disappearing.

(and just so you can be convinced that I know what I'm doing, I've lost seven inches off my waist in under five months, I've gone down two full casual shirt sizes, THREE dress shirt sizes, and everything from my feet to my fingers to my face is shrinking AND IT ISN'T STOPPING... I estimate my weight loss at this point to be somewhere between 85 and 110 pounds, give or take)

1. Eat carbs correctly. Wait, what? Eat carbs? Well, yes. Just understand that there is a right way and a wrong way to incorporate them. Bread and starch that is incorporated into a protein will pass much easier than say... battered fish. Fish good, batter bad. And don't think you can just remove the batter and be done with it That slick, gluten-laced, carb-saturated layer that remains will do every bit as much damage as the batter itself. Don't give it a chance to get absorbed. Hide it (in SMALL AMOUNTS) in your protein - not WITH it, IN it. This leads nicely into my next point...

2. It's called LOW carb, not NO carb. It isn't always a bad idea to incorporate a little breadcrumb into meatloaf or meatballs. In fact, Julie recommends doing so in small amounts. Don't think you can't have steak sauce or ketchup or mayo. Just use them responsibly. Ditto with the dairy. Yes, there are carbs in milk. There is also calcium and vitamin D and other things your body needs so use it responsibly as well. Put a little cheese in your chili, but just a LITTLE. If they forget to leave the cheese off your burger at Dead Robin, give yourself a treat and watch the fat for the rest of the day.

3. Enjoy yourself. If you obsess too much over what you can't have you could trick yourself into a plateau or even start gaining. Be happy with your diet. Enjoy what you eat. Pumpkin everything will return next year right on schedule. Do you want to enjoy it then? Then do what you have to now and do it with the right attitude.

And, by the way, you can have pumpkin right now. You just can't sweeten it. You know what works as a great substitute, too? Butternut squash. It's going to be my side of choice at Thanksgiving this year. Hold the brown sugar and add a little butter and salt. It's sweet and delicious and it won't keep you fat OR send you diving off the wagon if you've successfully kicked the sugar.

Menu ideas and recipes for the holidays are coming soon so keep your eyes peeled (along with your turnips, eggplants and squashes).

Dear Mr. Judgmental

Dear Sir,

I couldn't help but notice just how fixated you were on me at Popeye's today.

I couldn't help noticing the "tsk, tsk" and the ever so slight head-shake you gave me as I gave my order.

I know what you were thinking: "Poor guy. He's just determined to be fat. It's such a shame."

I'll bet you didn't even know I saw.

Hell, I'll bet you didn't even know you were doing it.

Because, for people like you, that sort of thinking is so ingrained that it shows itself on your face automatically.

But before you judge me too harshly, maybe you should take a few things into account.

One, you don't know me. You don't know what my issues are and you do not know what has placed me in line at this grease pit at this moment in my life.

Two, you had to notice that there were two of us standing there: myself and my son. You should have also noticed that only one meal was ordered. You should have also noticed that I sat there watching while my son had is lunch.

Maybe you think I'm an irresponsible parent for feeding my kid that junk.

Well, maybe you're right.

My bad habits did rub off on him and I'm working to fix that.

But have you ever tried changing an Autistic person's routine overnight?

It just doesn't work.

So I have to exercise a little give and take with my son. He simply doesn't eat this well at home.

And here are a few more things you don't know but should:

First, It's been nearly five months since I've eaten anything fried, breaded or sweet.

That means that there is nothing on this menu I could eat if I even wanted to.

I would LOVE to see you go that long.

I would love to see how you deal with the holidays this year when so many of our traditions revolve around food; so many reminders of people that aren't with us anymore are marked by things we set on the table.

How would YOU deal with not being allowed to have ANY of them?

Because that's me this year. I've made the choice to be well and that means saying, "no" to a lot of things.

Second, I fully acknowledge that this body you see before you is indicative of a problem.

I've gotten help for that problem and now it is going away. Slowly. Most problems don't vanish overnight.

Finally, as you continue to peek up from your fried mess of a meal to gawk at me, you should know that just a month or so ago I didn't fit in this booth but now I do.

So, before you point fingers at someone and judge them for what you think you're seeing happening, you might want to step back for a moment.

Because, kind sir, you are eating here too, and it is no more a healthy option for you than it is for anyone else. Look at me. I've ten years on you if I have a day. I may well represent your future.

Reflections From a Booth at McDonald's

I'm Sitting here at McDonald's working while my car is in the shop.

I need a break from writing other people's copy at the moment so I'm writing to you.

You who are struggling with your weight.

You who want to change and feel better.

You who can't see the way to steer clear of that fucking drive-thru.

Believe me, I get it.

The night I started this diet I literally broke down and CRIED because I just didn't know how I would live without Big Macs and fries.

I couldn't imagine a life without the occasional Payday bar and Ring Ding chaser.

I couldn't bear the thought of watching a movie without downing half a bucket of popcorn and sucking on Sour Patch Kids.

It scared me. I felt like I was breaking up with a lover. And honestly, I was. I was having an affair with food that was KILLING my relationships, not the least of which was the one with my wife.

Can I be completely transparent for a moment?

My affair with food made sex less than wonderful for me. It made it unbearable (quite literally) for my wife.

I had gotten so huge that it was just impossible for either of us to enjoy it.

And yet, that first night, I wept for the loss of that lover - the one who got between us and soured what we had together. I wept for the loss of THAT.

So when you feel that compulsion to steer into the drive-thru, believe me, I get it. I sacrificed a LOT to perpetuate that affair.

So, back to today...

The smell of the burgers they're making right now (it's the switch between breakfast and lunch) is like the stink of death.

I am seriously sitting here harboring resentment for just how badly this stuff once hurt me.

I can't even LOOK at McDonald's food anymore without disgust.

I do take a lot of the responsibility for what happened to me because, well, I have free will and never once "had to" steer into that drive-thru.

But I don't think anyone will argue that this food does have a certain draw. The carbs and sugar do create an addictive feeling.

I pray for the day when my son stops wanting to eat here because he's being served such great food at home but I know that I walked him through that door the first time. I gave him that taste for this poison and the addiction is hard to break.

Whenever I start feeling like I miss Big Macs and fries I simply remind myself that the last time I had one I couldn't fit in the booth I'm sitting in now, I was angry, I felt awful all the time and I wasn't getting laid...

...and it all falls right back into proper perspective.

And, just to make sure you know there's a happy ending to the above story, I have managed to not only turn back the clock on my weight, but also on my marriage.

Issues and problems that existed there five months ago simply don't anymore.

I am thankful and I am blessed.

And I'm also out of this death pit now - the car is done and so is this post. Time to go get some REAL FOOD!!! :-)

When it Feels Like Nothing is Happening

I have a confession to make to all the folks who have asked for yet another picture of my progress in the last few days.

I haven't taken any more because I just don't look that much different. Things are kind of at a stand-still.

At least outwardly.

This goes along with my last post about how looks can be deceiving. It's true, because I'm still losing weight and I know it.

The problem is that when I see myself in mirrors and the image doesn't appear to be changing anymore, I have no motivation to keep snapping pictures.

the reality of it, though, is that I still do see changes. I FEEL changes. They're happening, just not in ways I can put on display.

Yeah, things have slowed down considerably, but that doesn't mean they've come to a halt.

I'm at the point where I'm probably going to have to fight a little harder and do a little more to keep things moving faster.

This weekend in Maine will be good for that.

So that's my confession: I haven't shared any more pictures because there's really not much to see and I don't want anyone put in a position where they feel they need to be "polite" and comment on the emperor's new clothes.

But please remain encouraged. I am. I know that I'm losing, I know where and I know how.

It is still happening.

Looks Can Be Deceiving

So lately I've been struggling.

Yes, I hate to burst your bubble but this isn't all wine and roses.

In fact, I'm not allowed to drink wine.

I discovered early on in this journey that my body was going to lose the weight how and where it wants to.

This is small consolation when: a) it doesn't feel like anything is happening anymore,  b) you're not losing it where you want to and c) you're not allowed on a fucking scale to gauge your progress.

I find a few things to be a bit ridiculous about the program I'm on but I follow them because either you're all in on this or you're out, mentally and emotionally speaking.

I know I'm still losing. It's obvious. It's just more subtle than it was three months ago.

I'm just not losing where I WANT TO and I'm not losing evenly.

The gut is still huge.

Huge enough to keep me off the roller coasters.

And yet I have a 40 waist.

Which I haven't had since college.

I could ride roller coasters when I was in college.

But here's the thing: I also don't have to request tables at restaurants anymore for not being able to fit in a booth.

I can eat in a restaurant comfortably, but no roller coasters.

And it's all about the damned belly.

I look great otherwise.

This, however, is going to take its sweet time.

So what's the message here?

This road is not always going to be easy.

It requires a level of patience most don't possess.

So what it boils down to is: am I willing to wait for it?

More to the point, am I more willing to wait for it than I am willing to throw my hands up in the air and say, "Oh well! I tried!"

The simple answer is that the belly will go eventually.

And it will be a momentous event.

It's just not going to be today.

So... just for today, I choose to stay the course.

Just for today, I choose to eat right.

Just for today, I choose to be satisfied with my progress thus far.

Just for today, I'm not going to quit.

I'll get up tomorrow and make all those decisions again.

But I'll worry about making them then.

It Can Happen

I posted this picture on a friend's blog the other day:

Pay no attention to the "start date."

It's a full month, to the day, BEFORE I started on my low-carb diet.

Needless to say, things are happening rapidly, but the weight loss IS slowing down.

It was bound to happen.

Losing 3 pounds a day indefinitely would simply not be healthy.

The less weight you have to lose, the slower it is going to come off.

Here's the thing:

Part of this program is not getting on a scale. I honestly do not know how much I weigh right now.

I'm reasonably certain I've broken the 300 barrier but that's all I know.

Yet I can gauge by clothes and other factors (mostly involving my wife...'nuff said) about how much I'm losing and how quickly.

At the moment I think a safe estimate is that I'm losing 2-3 pounds per week.

It may not seem like much but think about it:

Let's meet in the middle and call it 2.5 pounds.

In 10 weeks that's 25 pounds.

In 20 weeks that's 50 pounds.

20 weeks is only 5 months.

Not even.

So even if I have 100 more pounds to lose (and I would guess it's more like 60-80 at this point, not 100), that's only another 10 months at this rate.

I totally expect it to slow down more.

This is why I still maintain that it will take a year.

If you have ever tried a diet like this and you've hit a plateau, let me ask you about some of your eating habits.

Actually, let me add a disclaimer:

Plateaus are part of the process. Your body will sometimes need to take some time to repair itself and get ready to drop more weight. This is normal.

Endless plateaus that go on for months or recur frequently generally are not. Odds are you're plateauing frequently because you start cutting corners. Go ahead and admit it. I've done it many times (just not on this program, thankfully).

If' you're doing any of these things, you might want to consider not.

1. Are you eating bacon more than once a week?

2. Are you eating any lunch meat at all that you cannot use to identify the single, actual protein source?

3. Are you eating anything with nitrates? How much sausage would you say you consume? That includes hot dogs, brats, pepperoni, salami, liverwurst, etc. All of these things have nitrates and all of them impede processing fat. They're also fatty as hell and some have fillers that sneak a LOT of carbs in under the radar.

4. Are you eating fast food EVER? Even telling them to hold the bread on your burger will not help you if you're eating at McDonald's. There's no food in that food.

If you're eating a breakfast sandwich and you don't see them crack the egg onto the griddle, you are loading up on preservatives and fillers that will NOT act the same way the raw product will.

 Boil some eggs and have them on hand if you're always on the go. It would also help if you dropped at least one yolk for every three eggs. Two is better.

Nah, I don't usually do it either... but I'm still losing weight. If I ever stop you can bet I will.

I assure you that if you're doing these things, that's at least part of why you can't shake off the plateau. "Meat" in and of itself is not a go-to food. Real meat from identifiable SINGLE sources is.

I think the only exception I ever make to this rule is with ground beef and I only eat that because it has yet to prove any ill effects on the diet.

But you'll never catch me eating a McDonald's burger again. No way in hell.

Try changing a few of these bad habits and see if it doesn't boost your low-carb dieting efforts into overdrive. If it does, I want to hear about it.

90 Days and a Few Sizes Later...

I know, I know... I pretty much abandoned you for a while.

I've been low-carb dieting for 90 days now.

It's been a busy month (or so). We took several little trips and one week-long one up to Bar Harbor, Maine, where we stay every summer.

I want to share with you a story about this trip.

Last year, when we went up there, I had an ankle that was riddled with arthritis.

I was 365 pounds.

I couldn't walk without agony.

I couldn't walk for long at all without getting exhausted.

I couldn't climb over the rocks and hills to get the kinds of spectacular photos everyone else was getting.

I did more sitting than exploring.

I was miserable but I kept telling myself that miserable in Maine is better than miserable at home.

That's true enough - the scenery up there in Acadia is GORGEOUS.

The place where we stay has a gorgeous pebble beach and you can literally sit on a bench two feet from the water at high tide.

I used to spend countless hours on that beach.

Last year I ventured down there twice during the entire week.

Why? Because there's also a huge hill involved in getting there and I could not even bear the thought of climbing it multiple times.

I was just too huge.

I had no energy.

But what did I have? I had the fried clams. Several times. I had ice cream. I had fudge. I drank a lot of the local root beer.

I had all those things, but I had a lousy vacation.

When we arrived in Bar Harbor this year, I was probably close to 80 pounds lighter.

I had a good brace keeping the arthritis at bay.

I was climbing over rocks and scaling hills all over the place.

And I got some great pictures.

I'll share a couple of them in a few minutes.

Here's what I didn't do:

I didn't eat any fried clams.

I didn't eat any ice cream.

I didn't drink any root beer.

I didn't have any blueberry pie.

I didn't cheat on the diet. Not even once. Not even when no one was looking.

I took my son to play miniture golf and for the first time in three years I didn't need to rely on him to retrieve my ball because I was too huge to bend over and get it.

We played 64 total holes of adventure golf that week. I bent over to get my ball 64 times.

I wasn't drenched in sweat in 75 degree weather.

I never lost my breath climbing the hill after visiting the shore.

I had enough energy to get up at 4:00 AM to catch sunrise at Cadillac mountain.

My SON asked to sit down and rest more often than I did.

I walked all over Bar Harbor, up and down steep hills, through dozens of shops and didn't feel the need to sit down very often at all.

I EXPERIENCED this trip. I didn't just live through it.

And here's the best part: I'm only about halfway to my goal.

I have a lot of weight left to lose.

I can't even imagine what I'll be doing next year.

I've considered learning how to kayak.

And my wife might be joining me now that she's starting the diet too in a couple weeks. :-)

P.S. I bought my first 2X t-shirt in about 5 or 6 years and it fits. All my size 42 pants fit and they're all roomy.

And here are the pictures I promised...

"Healthy" Cereal?

Well, it's nice to see that people are still reading even when I go away for a few days. Good for you!

And thanks to any newcomers that might be milling about, lurking in the shadows. Yes, I know you're watching. :-)

One of the things that my wife is really thrilled about with the advent of my low-carb diet is that I've stopped eating breakfast cereal.

Did you know that 60% of Americans eat breakfast cereal every. single. day.?

It's supposed to be healthy.

For a long time I thought it was.

One of my earlier weight loss journeys happened during the summer between my sophomore and junior years in college. I had ballooned up to about 260 pounds and I needed to get some of that weight off.

Starting in Mid-May and going through the end of August, my diet consisted of cereal for breakfast, a Slimfast shake for lunch and then whatever I wanted for dinner.

I didn't even worry if it was a "sensible" dinner. I might have had pizza or gone to Mama Mia's for all-you-can-eat pasta night.

I lost about 30 pounds.

I was also 20 years old.

But that experience formed the basis for my belief that cereal is good for you. The reality of it is that it just plain isn't.

My wife has been telling me this for years now.

Anyway, my friends at Huffington Post are at it again.

They've showcased what is apparently going to be a whole video series and it looks like it's going to be pretty decent, too.

The first one is about breakfast cereal.

Go ahead and have a look. 

In all fairness I've always wondered why the calorie count in Frosted Flakes was so close to regular corn flakes... ditto on the frosted mini-wheats. The sugar count is close too.

And we wonder why so many people are sugar-addicted.

Unreal.

I wish I still believed in Hell.

If I did, I would be convinced that there's an entire wing there waiting for food company executives.

But I don't and there isn't.

It doesn't justify their nefarious actions.

I don't think I could comment better on this subject so just watch the video and we'll pick this up tomorrow.

HuffPost Gets it Right AGAIN.

Have I mentioned how much I LOVE Huffington Post?

One of the things that Julie Kibe teaches in her Hypnosis sessions (yes, she lectures while she does her voodoo so you don't know you're being programmed) is to stop eating "fake food." 

This isn't as much an article as a slideshow but if you read the blurb for each slide you will learn some very interesting things about so-called diet foods that will likely surprise you.

For once I'm bashing something besides sugar.

Here's the thing, though... anything that we attempt to do to trick our bodies into behaving a certain way will ultimately fail. 

Our bodies know what real food is and they know what fake food is. 

The reason low-carb dieting works so well is because it breaks things down into the simplest of categories: meat and vegetables. 

These things are real foods that our bodies have known how to use since the dawn of time. 

Our bodies don't know how to use Aspartame.

Our bodies don't know how to use Stevia.

Our bodies prepare for certain nutrients based on taste. 

It's not just sugar - it's fat, salt, protein, you name it. 

So go ahead and have a look at the slide show and quit buying processed low-fat everything. It's not helping you.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to go fry some asparagus in butter and crack a couple eggs to go with it.   

It's the Little Victories

I'm about to prove to you how effective a low-carb diet can be even if you're not All In.

I posted this story on another blog this morning but I know the rest of the world needs to have the opportunity to read it.


I remember the day my wife came home from the doctor in 2002 sobbing because they'd found sugar in her urine.

34 years old and she had Diabetes. It was inevitable. All her female relatives had it.

But getting it at 34 is just ridiculous.

I have always been a bit concerned with how she manages it and there have been a couple blood sugar scares along the way.

It's 11 years later now and things are starting to catch up to both of us now that we're in our 40s.

Once I started on the Program, I simply stopped putting things on the table I couldn't eat. I still make mac 'n cheese for my son. He's Autistic and only eats certain foods.

He gets a pass.

I've been serving nothing but meat and vegetables at dinner for the past two months now (I do 90% of the cooking at home). My wife continues to hit the drive-thru and continues drinking diet soda.

She says she's slowed down but I see the empty bags in her car.

I know how she defines "slowing down."

Here's an idea of just how well this program works.

She's eating like I eat for one meal a day.

She HAS actually been slowing down more than I expected on the fast food. I'll give her props for that. It's still a thing, but it's a smaller thing.

Following the diet one meal a day, she went to our doctor today and I got this text from her afterward:

"In just over 3 months, my blood sugar A1C has gone from a 10 to 7.5. Goal is below 7."

She's been following my lead at dinner and that's what has happened. I can only imagine what's going to happen when she's All In.

That'll happen when she goes for hypnotherapy, which I hope will be soon. 

Word is Getting Around...

Yet another article on why diet soda is a sham. It looks like it could be a re-write of the last one but it's still worth the time to read it since it comes from Huffington Post. 

Here are a few highlights:

"The researchers found that just like with regular soda, the consumption of artificially sweetened beverages like diet soda is also associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes, metabolic syndrome and cardiovascular disease. Drinking just one can of diet soda per day is "enough to significantly increase the risk for health problems," according to the media release."

"Artificial sweeteners are hundreds to thousands of times sweeter than regular sugar, activating our genetically-programmed preference for sweet taste more than any other substance."

"They trick your metabolism into thinking sugar is on its way. This causes your body to pump out insulin, the fat storage hormone, which lays down more belly fat."

(Gee... where have I heard THAT before??)

Anyway, you can read the whole article here. 

This subject really boils my blood. 

Soda in any form is bad for you. Diet soda is exponentially worse and more and more people are learning this. 

The only healthy soda is seltzer water with no sodium. Add a squirt of lime. It'll be bubbly and it will taste good... 

...and it won't make you diabetic. 

Or you could just drink some regular water. Millions of years of evolution have proved that still works.

Oh, BTW, here's another "Before and During Pic" for you. I can't believe I EVER allowed myself to get that huge. Less than three months on a low-carb diet and this is what's happening.  

You might be interested to know what I had for breakfast today. I eat a late breakfast, around 11:00 AM most days so I have two main meals with a couple small ones in between. This was today's brunch:

2 eggs + 1 egg white, scrambled and fried in butter (because cooking spray is also terrible for you)

5 natural casing sausage links

6 pencil-thin asparagus spears and 2 large whitecap mushrooms, sautéed in olive oil 

about a tablespoon of ketchup (I don't actually measure)

Not exactly going hungry, am I?

About 60 Pounds Or So in Seven Weeks

Earlier this week I took the picture below.

I've mentioned that on this program I can't get on a scale so I don't *know* how much I weigh right now.

I do know that this is one of the last milestones that I will be able to accurately guesstimate. The only one after is about 265.

How am I doing it? Simple. I'm trying on old clothes.

So here's the scenario:

My grandmother died in 2010. At that time I didn't have suitable clothes for her funeral so I went to Men's Wearhouse and bought a suit, a shirt, suspenders and a tie.

The shirt is my gauge.

When I bought the shirt I was creeping up in weight after a successful period of weight loss. I was at 315 then, up from about 265 six months earlier.

It had been a stressful year already and Nana dying didn't help. Over the next six months I gained another 50 pounds. It was bad. In a year and a half I went from 265 to 365 and most of that was due to stress eating.

So, anyway, at 315 pounds I got fitted for  a shirt which I still own.

The last time I wore it it was stretching at the buttons. That was at about 330 pounds.

I tried it on earlier in the week and it was at least one size too big, more like two.

So here's how I know I've lost at least 60 pounds (and probably more like 70)...

I started the low carb diet at 365 pounds seven weeks previous.

I tried on the shirt I bought at 315 and it was too big by 1-2 sizes.

That leads me to believe that my weight right now is between 295 and 305 for a net loss of 60-70 pounds.

In less than eight weeks.

Eating animal protein and vegetables in balanced amounts.

Not eating ANYTHING sweet, especially nothing with artificial sweeteners.

Not eating nuts or any kind of vegetable protein.

Eating all the meat I want with an equal or lesser amount of vegetables.

That's it. I still don't go to the gym regularly. My ankle won't let me exercise on traditional equipment yet.

I keep the diet and I never EVER cheat.

And I'm losing over a pound of fat a day.

Here's proof:

Enjoy your Sunday! Talk to you soon....

See? SEE? SEEEE????

Stop what you're doing and read this.

I'll get you off that gol-dern diet soda if it's the last thing I do.

Here's a teaser:

"Are diet sodas worse for you than regular sodas? I think that's the wrong question," said Swithers, who is also a member of Purdue's Ingestive Behavior Research Center. "It's, 'What good are sodas for you in the first place?' "

I think I'm going to need to start blogging about all the wonderful things aspartame does to you. 

And Splenda. 

And Stevia. 

And everything else that flies in the face of our natural body chemistry,

It's not nice to fool Mother Nature. In fact, it could be deadly. 

Goodbye, Saccharin!

"I'm Hungry" Vs. "I Want to Eat"

When I started the hypnotherapy, one of the things that Julie told us was that there's no snacking on this diet.

(which leaves me perplexed as to why there are snack recipes on her website...)

She repeated over and over, "Eat when you're hungry, not when you're not."

So I started not shoving food in my face first thing in the morning if I didn't wake up hungry. I really never do wake up immediately hungry.

I started doing what Julie said - I ate when I was hungry, whenever that happened to be.

For the first few days I was going long stretches without being hungry but after a while I found I was getting hungrier more often.

I generally eat 3-4 times a day: a decent breakfast, a small lunch, a small lunch again about 2 hours later, then dinner around 8:00.

By 9:30 or 10:00 I always feel like I'm ready to eat again.

But I discovered something very important about that...

There is a qualitative difference between being hungry and just wanting to eat.

I want to eat because that was all I ever did.

It was my hobby.

It was my replacement for a lot of things that I felt were missing in my life.

Food was my friend. It was my lover. It understood me and comforted me.

I had to break up with it if I wanted to get well.

Of course, at night, when things are quieter and things slow to certain pace, you have a lot of time to think.

So I think a lot about food.

And I get "hungry."

Here's the thing: I've discovered that in those moments I'm not really hungry. I just want to eat.

Big difference.

I don't want more chicken and peas. I want popcorn. I want PB&J and I want it loaded on thick. On toasted rye.

Hey, it's MY food fantasy - get your own.

I want a Tastykake Chocolate Junior and a Coconut Junior smacked together and a big glass of milk to wash it down.

I'm not hungry. I just want to eat.

So early on I would indulge that feeling to the extent that I WOULD just eat some more chicken and peas at 10:30 at night.

20 minutes later I felt hungry again.

It took a couple weeks but I wised up to what was happening.

See, this is how you're supposed to feel when your body is processing food properly.

That little buzz in your stomach - that's not hunger. That's your metabolism expending energy.

And when you expend energy your brain will ALWAYS ask for fuel.

That doesn't mean it needs any right that instant.

So I started just focusing my attention elsewhere.

I stopped giving in to the urge to eat when I knew I'd eaten enough.

I'm starting to teach my body when enough is enough. It's a foreign concept to it because I've been indulging it for four decades now.

But it's learning... and so am I. And so will you.

"Eat when you're hungry, not when you're not."

And learn the difference between being hungry and wanting to eat. It's one of the best lessons you can learn from this low-carb diet experience.

It's All RIght, It's All right, It's All Right... Cane!

Cane sugar is one atom away from cocaine.

Don't believe me?

Here's the chemical formula for cane sugar (AKA Sucrose):  C12H22O11

Here's the chemical formula for Cocaine: C17H21NO4

Granted there are molecular differences but the makeup of chemical elements is identical except for Nitrogen.

Is it any wonder why this stuff is so addictive?

Now, Im not going to sit here and plagiarize an entire article. I'll just let you read it. 

What you learn there should shock you.

If it doesn't, you're not ready to do what you need to do to become well.

You saw what has happened to me over just seven weeks.

No I don't know how many pounds I've lost - that's part of the hypnosis. I can't get on a scale unless it's medically necessary.

I do know this, though: the notion of needing sugar for energy is a complete crock.

I do know that I can now stand from a sitting position without using something to push myself up.

I do know that I can get off my couch now just lifting with my legs.

I do know that I can mow my entire lawn, front and back yards, without a break in 95 degree heat.

I do know that I can walk further and I no longer have back pain when I walk more than 500 feet.

I do know that I'm getting stronger.

I do know that I'm more alert.

And I do know that it's because I'm eating drastically less food that converts to either sugar or carbohydrate.

Sugar IS addictive.

Sugar IS a drug. I don't care what any clinician has to say or what the law says or what your cousin Marty says...

It's a drug.

That's why fast food is so popular.

There is no such thing as a low carb meal at a fast food restaurant, not even if you only eat salads with grilled chicken. The chicken has sugar in it. So does the salad dressing.So does the preservative in the salad.

Even a salad at McDonald's has sugar in it That blows my mind.

Did you know that there are only three items on the entire McDonald's menu that don't have sugar? Those items are coffee, unsweetened iced tea and sausage patties. It's four if you count bottled water.

And let's be real, you're gonna slather that sausage patty in syrup before you eat it.

Yeah, you are...

Either that or you're going to eat it with an egg that has sugar added to it on a muffin, bagel or biscuit that has sugar added to it (and will convert to sugar anyway when you digest it).

Seriously, what's it going to take for you to decide that you've had enough?

Fast food keeps you addicted by using sugar and artificially produced smells.

That hot off the grill smell your Quarter Pounder has didn't come from a cow. It didn't come from a marinade.

It came from a lab in New Jersey.

There is no lower quality of beef than what you get at McDonald's. It has no flavor on its own and it smells like cinderblock when it's cooked.

It still has precious little flavor after cooking but the SMELL of it tricks you into thinking it tastes good. What actually tastes good is the sugar in the bun - that nice yeasty smell coupled with sweet.

That yeasty smell also comes from Jersey, not the bread.

And that's not just alarmist bullshit. That's documented, verifiable fact. 

I'll leave you to chew on that for a while... pun definitely intended.

After 7 Weeks of No Carbs and No Sugar

This is how far I got after just 7 weeks on a low-carb, low sugar diet. 

It's a start...

I can't wait until the picture on the right is the new "before" pic. Next year when we go back to Knoebels I'm going to don this same shirt and take a picture in front of the same sign. If that doesn't make the point crystal clear, nothing will.

 

"That Guy"

I've turned into That Guy.

I'm the guy who can't just order off the menu. No... I have to make the chef work to accommodate my dietary needs.

This was uncomfortable for me at first.

Now I'm more concerned about being well than I am with some dude being comfortable in his white jacket.

I'm the guy who had the kitchen make him a plate of steamed vegetables to go with his breakfast TWICE because my diet dictates that I eat meat and vegetables at every meal.

Even with a buffet full of food I made those people work to accommodate me.

Because this is my life we're talking about. They'll get over being inconvenienced. I couldn't get over being dead.

So Sunday night, we arrive at Cove Haven – a cute, admittedly run-down, gaudy little couples resort in the Poconos that has my affection if not my undying admiration. It has memories attached to it and I love going there with my honey.

After making good use of the Champagne Tower suite for a couple hours (wink-wink) we headed off to dinner.

Sunday night's meal offering: The Grand Buffet.

It's a cruel setup.

Not the kind of thing you want to encounter on a low-carb diet.

It was very intimidating.

The first thing you pass by is the desert table. Cheesecake, black forest cake, peanut butter pie, ice cream, whipped cream, you name it. Then you see the main buffet.

Making it from one end of the buffet to the other would earn you a First Down.

There were at least four kinds of pasta.

In fact, the pasta was a full quarter of the buffet.

Next to that you had fried squid, fried chicken tenders in a gloppy, carb-laden gravy and enough fried food to warrant having paramedics standing by.

In the midst of all this were the scant few things I could eat and keep with my diet. So here's what I had for dinner:

A couple pieces of chicken, a couple pieces of Tilapia, a piece of roast beef with horseradish and steamed vegetables.

Does it sound like I left hungry?

I had an awesome dinner.

I ate every bite I wanted to eat.

I watched my wife eat bread.

I watched her eat cheesecake.

I didn't care.

I'm getting well.

I won't lie and say I didn't want it because I did.

I just want to live more than I want pasta.

And when you reach that point, you'll be successful.

When you're ready to say NO to sugar, you'll be equipped to kick the carbs too.

It all starts with a decision and that decision will steer you away from the cheesecake.

That decision will add years to your life and it will add quality to those years.

It will also turn you into That Guy (or Girl) and so be it.

I inconvenienced a couple servers.

I made them take the bread off the table.

I made them make me broccoli for breakfast (OK – with breakfast).

And I'm so glad I did.

Because every time I left that dining room and I didn't eat any carbs and I didn't have anything sweet, I won. And I literally stopped and took the time to congratulate myself.

I may not be beautiful yet but when I look in the mirror now, I see a winner.

I see someone worthy of my pride.

I see someone who inspires me.

And I see the pounds disappearing.

More tomorrow...

It Can Be Done

So the Mrs. and I went away for a few days to the resort where we spent our honeymoon 20 years and one month ago. I did not cheat on my diet AT ALL.

It can be done.

I did it.

And I make no apologies for my self-congratulatory attitude. I fucking rule. It's just that simple.

So let's shift gears a little...

I think I need to let you in on a little more of my story.

I started my low carb diet on May 20 and it was a jarring experience.

The journey for me began with hypnotherapy.

Now, I don't want you reading that and instantly deciding that you can't do what I'm doing or have the same results because you have no one to hypnotize you.

You have free will.

You have a brain that can think rationally.

That being the case, you need to understand that I'm losing weight because I decided it was time. I did what I needed to do to get started. You may or may not need similar motivations.

My relationship with food was abusive and ending that relationship was a long time in coming.

I couldn't do that part by myself. Someone needed to come in and guide me.

You may have an easier time of things. I don't know - I don't know YOU. I just know me.

If you live within 100 miles of my hypnotist, I implore you to call her if you're really struggling to make changes.

For everybody else, the best first step is to get off the sugar. For some it's all the intervention they will ever need.

Because it's the sweets and the heavy carbs that your body converts to sugar that keep most people shackled to the wrong kinds of foods and keeps them fat.

I'm not overweight. I'm not obese. I'm fucking fat. It's a horrible adjective, but letting this happen to my body is a horrible thing.

I let this happen. I'm responsible for it. I ALMOST let myself die for my love of food.

Now I'm getting well and dropping a LOT of weight in a very short amount of time. I think that earns me some bragging rights.

Because I'm not quitting. I will have this thing beat in about a year.

So let's talk about sugar some more. It's such a sweet topic.

The very first thing I learned in hypnosis was that anything sweet will set you back. And it's very, very true.

For those of you who have nothing standing in your way besides liking chocolate cake too much - you need to get over it and stop being fat.

Sorry if that offended you.

Actually, I hope it did.

I hope that sentence follows you to bed tonight. Why?

Because if you are capable of doing this without outside intervention and you're still allowing your body to DIE for your love of sweets, I can empathize, but I'll never sympathize.

You look horrible and your body is most assuredly dying. As was mine. I'm still not gorgeous but I'm getting there and so can you.

James Gandolfini was 51. Remember when 51 seemed old?

Not when you're 41 it doesn't. I intend to stick around for more than another decade, thanks.

How about you? Do you love cake more than life? When we die our sweet tooth gets buried with us - just an observation.

Tomorrow I'll tell you how I managed to get a great low-carb meal out of a buffet with a yard of pasta, fried everything and six kinds of bread.

Basically, I've turned into "that guy" and I won't apologize for that either. I'll explain later.

The Psychology of Sugar Science Part 2

Like I said, perception is everything.

Our brains rely on various stimuli to perform certain functions.

The taste of anything sweet tells the brain that it's time to start processing sugar.

The smell of meat on the grill tells our brain to prepare to process protein. It just assumes that if we smell food cooking, we're going to eat it.

This goes way back to the caveman days.

The average troglodyte didn't drive past two McDonald's, a Carl's Jr. and an Outback Steakhouse on his way home from work.

If he smelled food, it was because he killed it and was going to eat it.

All of these things are in our DNA.

The information stores that have accumulated over time are incredible.

Smells trigger a physical response.

This response can be gastral, endocrine, respiratory (you take deep breaths of air that smells good, right?) they can even be pulmonary or sexual - just ask any guy who ever smelled Chanel No. 5 on the nape of a pretty girl's neck.

Taste also triggers a physical response.

Did you know that different parts of the tongue register different flavors?

Did you also know that these parts are pretty tiny and that most of your tongue can't taste anything at all?

Why is our perception of sweet concentrated into such a tiny space?

Well, if you've ever had a second hunk of chocolate cake you should know the answer to that question.

Imagine what kind of insatiable drive we would have to eat and eat and eat if our entire tongue reacted to everything we tasted.

(I'm going to get into a little of my spiritual beliefs here and I hope you will take the information as my opinion and maintain your own)

I don't think that we're like this by accident. I truly believe that the one great force in this universe from which everything on this planet and in the cosmos springs designed us this way for a reason.

It knew that with our superior intelligence we would not approach things like other mammals do.

We would approach sleep differently.

We would approach shelter differently.

We would approach sex differently.

We would approach food differently.

And these bodies would react favorably to positives and unfavorably to negatives.

And these bodies would then drag our emotions along for the ride.

Ever notice how "comfort food" is some of the worst stuff you could possibly eat?

Mac and cheese.

Pizza.

Pasta.

All things sweet and made from flour.

Bread and butter.

And over time, if we aren't careful, we develop a RELATIONSHIP with the food.

Because we're all about relationships.

These bodies know how small they are in this universe so they look for things to not only identify with, but also BOND with.

So we bond with sugar because it's comforting. It makes us feel good for a moment at a time.

There are better things to bond with.

Try another person.

Try a hobby.

Try something that isn't going to turn around and kill you because the relationship is just one-sided.

Try something better. 

You are capable. You are powerful. Your free will is your most effective weapon.

More on that tomorrow...

The Psychology of Sugar Science Part 1

Scientifically speaking, the stuff I'm talking about shouldn't work, but it does.

I happened upon this article just a few minutes ago.

The things that companies do to lure you in and get you addicted to their garbage is DASTARDLY.

Ever read Fast Food Nation?

Most of what you taste in junk food originates in a lab in New Jersey.

New Jersey.

(not that I have anything against Jersey or anything... it's just.... yeah... come on now)

Read the book, by the way. Don't watch the movie. The movie is ridiculous.

Now, I've known for ages that companies have been enhancing the flavors of their products in VERY unnatural ways for a long time, but even I will admit that i didn't know corn flakes were one of them.

Corn flakes are a decent source of grain, but they're also carb central and on a low carb diet you'd best steer clear. If you need a better reason, try this:

"Even if something doesn't taste "sweet," it can still be packed with chemicals that your body will immediately turn into sugar. And taking that junk out makes everything taste [horrible] to us, because our taste buds have been numbed with salt and sugar our entire lives. One journalist described the taste of sugar- and salt-free Kellogg's cornflakes as like trying to eat his own fillings -- and that's cornflakes, the kind of food that seems like it has barely any sugar to begin with."

Now, if you didn't read the entire article yet, please do. I'm going to pick out a few tidbits but you really should read it all.

"While nobody ever binges on boiled carrots and Brussels sprouts, potato chips are described as the perfect addictive food -- essentially the nutritional equivalent of a speedball. Why? Because they were deliberately designed that way.

When you first pop a chip into your mouth, the coating of salt and fat light up the brain's pleasure centers like a Christmas tree. The starch in the potato causes the same glucose spike as sugar, but is absorbed into the bloodstream much more quickly. That spike then immediately dips, making you want another potato chip. You can just keep eating them, and because there's no real substance to them, your stomach never gets full."

Well now, isn't THAT interesting! 

They know what they're doing.

They know it's making us sick. 

They know that all they're doing is pumping more SUGAR into us by filling us up with carbs. 

They know they're causing Diabetes, a dozen different heart conditions and obesity.

when do we stop telling these companies that it's OK to kill us? 

When do we tell them to STOP killing our children?

It begins with a choice: a choice to put aside the fatty, greasy sludge that's killing us and start eating REAL FOOD. 

And the first step is a good detox program. 

Why do I harp on this so much? 

Because "Eighty percent of food sold in America has processed sugar, and processed sugar has 56 different names."

It's a losing battle without the proper defensive strategy. Ditch the sugar and you ditch 80% of what is holding you back from a successful low carb diet. It's that simple. 

More tomorrow...