I guess you gotta take Jimmy for what he is- a very enthusiastic guy who types before he thinks, really. He leads with his emotions, and sometimes... well, the results are a bit messy.

Once he took one of my comments, changed the wording, and attributed the revised business to me. He didnt see much wrong with that, he was just modifying my words to his interpretation of what I meant. Nevermind it wasn't what I meant... (after I complained, he did modify it again, but still added his twist. And he never apologized.)

anyway, if you are looking for carefully considered, scientifically grounded blog posts, go to the protein power site, or weightoftheevidence.com. If you're looking for provocative, entertaining, and sometimes over the top noise, look to Jimmy!

Actually, Jimmie Moore went from 410 lbs to 230 and was maintaining there until recently letting himself go up to 248. So that's an 18 lb gain which isn't cool but NOT 50 lbs as some are assuming. His new goal is a 50 lb loss bringing him below 200. I'm sure not watching calories at his reduced weight and eating way too many franken foods helped the gain. While I'm not a huge Jimmie fan (his ego is way out of control and his "thinking man" picture at his blog makes me gag) I think he's still going to help bring LC living to the attention of a lot of people and that's a good thing.

Have both of them bookmarked!

Sam, you make a good point about the minimum levels of protein that our body needs; however, I don't understand why the same rationale isn't applied to calories. Isn't there also a threshold of how low you calories can go too?

And I'm sorry, but her formula does not make sense because you are eliminating the two main sources of energy for the body: glucose and fat. Since we are LCers, we fully understand why we want our body to run off of fat for fuel; I guess this is why I'm so surprised that so many LCers are eating low-fat. Talking about throwing out the baby with the bath water . . .

That is not what I've read about his journey. I read, and I could be wrong...that he did get below 200 at one point and then settled around 215..... if he had stayed at 215-220...that would be a good maintenance for him ...but he did not and suddenly found himself at 248.

Being aware of where we are with our weight is part of a successful maintenance. Its what keeps us from having to go back on another diet. Its what is keeping me off the diet yo-yo.

This is a very good point. Eating less while you are on a low carb diet is not the same as eating less on a high carb one even if you end eating the same amount of calories. The reason is that on a low carb diet your body is forced to use your body fat, while on a high carb diet, your body has the choice and it prefers not to. Here is more detailed explanation:

When you eat 800 calories of food, you are not giving your body less than it needs since your body has enough supply of body fat which it can tab into and get any number of calories it wants. So what is your body's execuse for not giving you all the energy you need and feeling you the same as if you have been eating normally?

My explanation is that your body can get all the energy it needs from your body fat except that it decides not to. It assumes that your body fat is a precious energy reserve which it must conserve. So it gets only the amount necessary for supplying you with your basic needs of energy leaving you with hunger and dizziness.

In the context of a low carb diet, things go differently. Your body cannot afford keeping your brain without fuel for even a second. So, your body checks your blood glucose level all the time, if it finds that it's getting down dangerously, it switches to the next fastest fuel which is ketones obtained from your body fat. The more you reduce your carb intake, the more the body fat consumed.

If you allow yourself to eat until you're full on a low carb diet, you'll be getting all the energy which you need so you feel great. This will happen despite that the amount of calories you eat may end to be also as low as 800 calories.

It was Moore himself who said he carb creeped himself up 50 pounds.

I doubt his attitude will do much to make LC attractive to more people. The guy comes across as a pompous self-righteous ass. From what I understand, he's also a fundamentalist Xtian.

I don't believe he ever said that his weight creeped up 50 pounds-that's a lot of creep! His lowest was around 220 something, it crept up to 248. He wants to lose 50 pounds, to clock in under 200, for the first time since he was a kid.

Good luck doing that while still eating frankenfoods. Sweet treats tend to stall people. I agree with the poster above that Jimmy is a pompous ass. While I admire his adherence to the low-carb lifestyle and losing all that weight, he seemsa bit over the top with his smarminess and self-righteousness.

has he always seemed this way to you?

maybe i just completely missed it before...but i've been surprised to see this recent behavior the last week or so.

I agree Cutie. While he's always seemed opinionated, I think all the negativity around his decision to try Kimkins has made him a little prickly.
Also, as I previously noted. Jimmie is not at this time 50 lbs over a low weight of under 200 lbs. He maintained 230 for a long time, dropped to about 220 and regained to 248. Any statements made that he admitted to regaining 50 lbs must have been misunderstood.

I criticized Jimmy Moore for 2 things:

a) posting that photo of himself on his blog with chocolate drooling from his mouth which I personally found disgusting

and

b) his vicious, over-the-top, response to a reader about the reader's questions and comments about the Kimkins Diet.

However, while I don't condone eating "franken foods," because I know they stall me, I can understand Jimmy's struggle with his weight. He suffers from the same problem I do--foodaholism. While certain medical conditions I have may exacerbate my addiction to overeating, they did not cause it. I overate even when I was extremely thin as a teenager and young adult. Also, I think Jimmy has never fully embraced low carbing no matter what he says, because he admits to eating when he is full and eating rolls when he is in a restaurant. Jimmy (and I) are like dry alcoholics. We can white knuckle it for awhile, but still feel we are denying ourselves when we don't eat our favorite foods (which still include carbs). The reason I know Jimmy feels this way is because he said he grabbed 2 rolls at a restaurant because he felt he "deserved" them. So, no matter how much he spouts low carb slogans, he still craves carbs. He may do this for the rest of his life, I don't know. I think the reason he lashed out at people so much is because he may be scared that he was losing his battle with again. The reason he probably eats so much franken food is because he is still clinging to the past and the way he used to eat and rather than completely change his mindset, he tried to replace all the desserts he loves with low carb versions. If a person can do that and lose, OK, but if they stall they should get rid of those foods instead of simply trying one diet after another. I know, because I have done the same thing.

Reading Jimmy's blog from 1/31/07 was very enlightening on this subject:

http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com/

(look up previous blogs--Jan. 31, 07)

IMHO...people overeat and are food addicts becaused they use food as a drug to numb themsleves...this is my experience. I spent 2 years in 12 step recovery to learn about my compulsive overeating....and how to deal with this aspect of myself. Am I cured...no!! I am in a constant state of recovery and always alert to its ugly head rearing itself up.

Until those who white knuckle it...actually face and deal with their issues...they will always be white knuckling it and going up and down the scale. Find out what those feelings are that they do not want to acknowledge and keep pushing them down with food.

I'm sorry if this offends anyone but it is how I see this whole issue.

I agree with most of what you say, but part of my problem is that I just LOVE food--all types of food. I am not saying I don't eat emotionally I do or at least did (maybe still do). My parents divorced. my 4 half-brothers and sisters went back to live with their mother, my dog was stolen and my house burned down all in the same year when I was six years old. I lived with my grandmother whom I didn't get along with until my mother re-married. My step-father beat me. My husband was a career military man who was away most of the 20 years he was in the service, leaving me to raise our 4 children almost singlehandedly. And the little my husband was at home he was distant and quiet most of the time. I have certainly used food a lot to numb my feelings. Am I an emotional eater? Well that is certainly how it started, but now that my life is relatively problem-free I think my overeating has evolved into just a bad habit. Whatever the case, I have a hard time not overeating and eating the wrong foods. I still feel carbs are my "soft pillow" as Dr. Phil says. They are my comfort food. Meat just doesn't do that for me. I don't know why. As you know, I have tried one diet after another and I realize that hopping from one diet to another is not going to solve anything. I wish I could afford a counselor, but I can't. While I can relate to Jimmy Moore's problem, I can't read his blog without seeing the same eating patterns in him that I have experienced myself, only I don't think he realizes he has a problem. Thanks for always being frank with me in the past Judy. I appreciate it.

OA meetings do not cost anything.