Links and Updates

(Cool photo by elessar x)

Hey everyone!

It's a nasty, bleak, rainy day here in Illinois. I'd really still love to be in bed right now, but knowing me I'd toss and turn and think about all the stuff I should be getting done. So here I am working on some projects at the computer. Part of my daily routine is to read my favorite comics (and I have loads of them so it takes a few minutes) and catch up on my favorite blogs. I've found several interesting links lately I'd like to share.

First, an awesome post by one of my favorite bloggers - Tom Naughton. In his Fat Head blog, he gives us an idea of what life would be like if mechanics were nutritionists and nutritionists were mechanics. It's a hilarious, but true-to-life read that really helps drive the point home about how messed up some "health experts" are in their thinking. Check it out. And if you don't subscribe to his blog, you really should.

What If Mechanics and Nutritionists Switched Jobs


For those who do not know, my friend Dana Carpender started writing for CarbSmart early this year. Her weekly column is full of fun, advice and information. I especially like her column from last week about Halloween and traditions. Make sure you check it out, along with all her other great articles.

Have A Low Carb Halloween


And speaking of Halloween, I'll repost my examiner column link from last year when I wrote about non-sugar treat ideas.

The best Halloween treats for little goblins


Another friend, Laura Dolson, is looking for low-carb stories to share on about.com. If you'd like to tell your story - whether it be about weight loss, health benefits, or blood sugar control - be sure to check out her page here.


Now for an update: The scale dropped again this morning. That's now a total of 12.6 lbs gone since starting the Eades 6 Week Cure. I'm doing it a bit different than written, but Dr. Eades did say it was ok to stay on any of the week you like for as long as you like. I rotate between weeks 1-2 and weeks 3-4. So I have a shake week day or a meat week day, depending on what I feel like doing. I know I owe you all a review on the book, so I'll try to get that up asap.

Have a great low-carb day and I'll try to be back later with more interesting news. :)

More Photos from the Gary Taubes Talk in November

I never did get around to sharing the rest of the photos I took from the talk Gary Taubes gave in November. So here are few more for you. Enjoy. Or ignore. Your choice. :)

Gary Taubes and I



Gary and Gil Wilshire


Gary and Regina Wilshire


Dana Carpender and I


Gil is interviewed by a student while my husband John & David Nelson look on. Regina and Bill Allen talk in the background.


Bill Allen, Regina Wilshire and I





Gary talks to a group of students


Dana discusses something with Gary

Dana Carpender Cookbooks - Win one!

Everyone loves good food. I think we are all foodies at heart. With low-carb cooking you can seriously enjoy your food without guilt or worry. Does it get any better than that??? (OK, yeah.. winning the lottery might top it, but I'm talking things that actually can apply to us all.)

If you like good food, easy recipes and great health - look no further than cookbooks from my friend Dana Carpender. You will find everything you need to keep your meal plans interesting and enjoyable. Over the years Dana has given us a great collection of cookbooks to cover just about every cooking style and preference. From smoothies to barbecue to slow cookers, she has helped us with it all!

Dana has generously donated three of her cookbooks to our Great Start Giveaway and I want to tell you about them now.

First, the mother of all lc cookbooks... 500 Low-Carb Recipes: 500 Recipes from Snacks to Dessert, That the Whole Family Will Love.




When I first started low-carbing back in 2001, I knew very little about cooking anything other than low-fat meals. I had a lot to learn! I quickly picked up the basics and spent lots of time searching the Internet for recipes. In 2002 a good friend of mine bought a copy of Dana's 500 Low-Carb Recipes for me as a gift. It is one of the most used cookbooks I own! I enjoy this particular cookbook so much that I bought several and gave them out to family and friends.

The first several pages of this cookbook are dedicated to helping low-carbers understand the use of various ingredients, as well as how the carb counts are calculated in each recipe. Dana also give us helpful tips for enjoying and succeeding in our low-carb lifestyles. And then there are the recipes!


Just a few of my favorites from 500 Low-Carb recipes include:

* Heroin Wings (The name suits.. they are addicting!)
* Taco Omelet
* Country Scramble
* Turnips Au Gratin
* Spaghetti Squash Alfredo
* Shrimp Scampi
* Skillet Stroganoff
* Mexican Meatballs
* Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies
* Kathy's Peanut Butter Protein Bars
* Cocoa

Not to mention all the sauces, dressings and even condiments she teaches us how to prepare in this amazing cookbook!

If you are looking for great low-carb recipes that will satisfy the whole family, then look no further! This is the cookbook for you. No low-carb library should be without it!

Next we have her cookbook titled Dana Carpender's Every Calorie Counts Cookbook: 500 Great-Tasting, Sugar-Free, Low-Calorie Recipes that the Whole Family Will Love.




Dana caught a little heat over this title, but I can assure you this cookbook is every bit pure low-carb cooking. So how did she cut calories in this cookbook? By cutting the carbs of course! :)

From Dana's Website:

Are you counting carbs? Are you counting calories? Or are you just plain trying to eat healthy? This is the cookbook for you!

...we all need to eat food that's both healthy and delicious, that keeps us full, and makes us feel and look fabulous. And since we're all seriously busy, it sure would help if it wasn't a pain to cook!

Here you go! Five hundred recipes, from family suppers to party fare. Plenty of protein, a harvest of fruits and vegetables, the good fats you need for vibrant health. Great whole grain flavor without the high blood sugar impact. And every recipe has the carbs, calories, fiber, fat and protein counts worked out - plus a vitamin and mineral breakdown! You'll know you're getting what you need.

Try:
Chile Verde Cheese Burgers * Crab Fritters with Lemon Aioli * Skillet Buttermilk Cornbread * Grilled Asparagus with Wasabi Mayonnaise * Apple and Wild Rice Salad * Blinky's Texas Red * Tequila-Lime Chicken Skillet * Sizzling Moroccan Shrimp * Ginger-Melon Frappe * Plum Sorbet * Chocolate Velvet * Better-Than-Whole-Grain Pancakes

If those recipes don't tempt you, your dead. Wait.. even a dead person might rise from the grave for some Tequila-Lime Chicken Skillet. I would!

Last but not least, we have Dana's newest masterpiece, co-written with Dr. Rob Thompson, The Glycemic-Load Diet Cookbook: 150 Recipes to Help You Lose Weight and Reverse Insulin Resistance





While specifically written to help those following Dr. Thompsons low-carb plan, naturally this will work for any low-carber. I personally follow Atkins, but found Dr. Thompson's suggestions in this book helpful and accurate. I found myself liking Rob Thompson more and more with every word I read. I believe this is a fantastic and simple plan should anyone want to try it. Dana agrees and delivers once again with amazing recipes that are easy, delicious and healthy.

The back cover entices you with recipes such as:

Spinach Mushroom Frittata
Apple Walnut Pancakes
Oriental Chicken Salad
Oyster Bisque
Ham and Pineapple Slaw
Sesame Short Ribs
Lemon Mustard Pork Chops
Indian Lamb Skillet
Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies
Lemon Vanilla Cheesecake

I could probably live off of those 10 recipes for the rest of my life and be happy. Thanks to the genius of people like Dana, we have a huge variety of ways to keep our low-carb lifestyle from becoming ho-hum. If it were up to my creativity, we'd probably all be eating bunless hamburgers and salads for the rest of our lives. (I'm simple minded and lazy.. what can I say?)

Three of you wonderful, gorgeous, fantastic, amazing, adorable readers are going to win a copy of one of these books. Are you excited yet? Do I need to tell you once again how wonderful you are? :)

Make sure you have entered by midnight tomorrow night, Jan. 1st, for your chance to win these must-have cookbooks, or any of the other amazing prizes we have up for grabs!

Just got back..

I just spent two great days in Columbia, MO with some of the most amazing people. I had the privileged of spending time with Regina and Gil Wilshire, Gary Taubes, Dana Carpender and many others that I'd never had the honor of meeting before. It was so much fun and I absolutely enjoyed Gary's talk about the cause of obesity. I was silently cheering the whole time!

I made some new friends (Hi David!!) as well as finally got to meet some people I've known online for a good while. I'm telling you, low-carbers are some of the best people in the world. Don't let anyone tell you different.

Here's a shot of Gary Taubes and I. (I'm cracking up because he is SO much taller than me and decided to squat down so we would be on an even level.)



I may have more pictures to share later and talk more about what I've learned this week. It is fascinating stuff! Got a huge day ahead of me, so I'll try to check in when I can. Have a great weekend!

Dana Takes On Kellogg's New Ad

I just wanted to share a fantastic post by fellow blogger and low-carb cookbook goddess Dana Carpender. Today she posted about Kellogg's new Frosted Mini-Wheat ad campaign claiming their cereal improves a child's classroom focus by 20%. She's done her homework and it's a great read that you don't want to miss. Be sure to check it out!

500 Low-Carb Recipes

When people think of low-carb cookbooks, the first name that probably comes to mind is Dana Carpender. Over the years Dana has given us a great collection of cookbooks to cover just about every cooking style and preference. From smoothies to barbecue to slow cookers, Dana has covered it all!

When I first started low-carbing back in 2001, I knew very little about cooking anything other than low-fat meals. I had a lot to learn! I quickly picked up the basics and spent lots of time searching the Internet for recipes. In 2002 a good friend of mine bought a copy of Dana's 500 Low-Carb Recipes for me as a gift. (Thanks Brenda!) It is one of the most used cookbooks I own! I enjoy this particular cookbook so much that I bought several and gave them out to family and friends. And now I'm giving one of you a copy as well!

The first several pages of this cookbook are dedicated to helping low-carbers understand the use of various ingredients, as well as how the carb counts are calculated in each recipe. Dana also give us helpful tips for enjoying and succeeding in our low-carb lifestyles. And then there are the recipes!


Just a few of my favorites from 500 Low-Carb recipes include:

Heroin Wings (The name suits.. they are addicting!)

Taco Omelet

Country Scramble

Turnips Au Gratin

Spaghetti Squash Alfredo

Shrimp Scampi

Skillet Stroganoff

Mexican Meatballs

Mom's Chocolate Chip Cookies

Kathy's Peanut Butter Protein Bars

Cocoa

Not to mention all the sauces, dressings and even condiments she teaches us how to prepare in this amazing cookbook!

If you are looking for great low-carb recipes that will satisfy the whole family, then look no further! This is the cookbook for you. And you have a chance to win a copy for free right here in our Great Start Giveaway. But time is running out. You only have until Jan. 24th to enter.

I'm not in the mood for ignorance

Sorry, but willful ignorance just hacks me off. It's one thing if a person just doesn't understand something because they haven't been taught. It's another thing to look the evidence right in the eye and declare it's wrong.

I was just sorting through the articles in my inbox that relate to low-carb when I found one written by a dietitian. That should have been my first clue that this was a waste of my valuable time. But since I seem to like self-inflicted torture, I read it anyway. I was steaming out the ears by the end of the article.

It was the same old tired "There's no such thing as a bad carb, blah, blah, blah". Oh yeah? Tell that to my thighs.. they seem to have missed that in class.

Too bad this so-called expert doesn't realize that no one is listening to her hype anymore. Dietitians, doctors, and biased researchers have knowingly lead this country down a path of disease ridden obesity. Do they care? No. If they told the truth they'd lose money. A majority of this nation doesn't NEED all the drugs we are told to use. I'd love to have a dime for every prescription written daily. I'll bet I'd be loaded by the end of the month.

A healthy low-carb diet can do so much for ones health. I know it's not for everyone, but it would sure help a myriad of people get off medications, improve lipid profiles, stabilize moods, increase energy, lose weight - I'm talking about Quality Of Life! I've yet to meet anyone that gave the low-carb lifestyle a REAL try and was disappointed.

So as far as I'm concerned these "experts" can take their health advice and stick in their ear. I'm tired of being lied to, and tired of seeing others lied to as well. I thank the good Lord I know the truth. But there are so many who have no idea that other options exist. They go to the "professional" for the help they desperately need, only to be give the same old useless advice. The patient leaves feeling hopeless, helpless and abandoned.

I'm here to say there is NO reason to feel this way. Look at all the amazing success stories built from low-carb living. Here's just a small sample:

Jimmy Moore
Karen Rysavy
Dana Carpender
Kate Welch


I could list many more success stories, but you get the idea. I mean, you can even look at the success I had from 2001 to 2003!



But surely I, and a host of others like me, must be wrong. We can't function on less than 120 carbs per day. Our bodies just don't do well on less than that, or so we have been told.



They must be right. I look terribly unhappy here. Don't you think I look sickly and peckish? It's all due to that terrible low-carb diet I merely existed on.

Do you have pictures of yourself from your low-carb experience? If so, and you'd like to share them, I love to compile a low-carb picture collage and post it here for all to see.

For those who still refuse to see the truth, Mark McManus posted a great article yesterday titled How to Lose Weight and Keep it off Permanently. He summarizes the path to success in simple terms. No big words or medical jargon. Just good common sense! I'm looking forward to reading his future articles on this subject. And who can argue with Mark? Just look at his pictures and you'll see what I mean. He is a great example of fitness and health!

I'll end this rant with a saying my husband has on one of his t-shirts:

Never Underestimate The Power Of Stupid People In Large Groups!

Like I said, I'm just not in the mood.....

The proof is in the pudding!!!

OK, I really shouldn't be on here again. I have soooo much to do. But I just couldn't help but share this. I'm a regular reader of many blogs and I just found a great post on Dana Carpender's blog.

A new study by the Journal of American Medical Association is now showing that Atkins is actually the best way to lose weight. You can read about it by clicking here. Now this is no big surprise to us, but maybe, just maybe, we will finally start seeing some positives in the media about this way of life. I'm not gonna hold my breath, because I know how stubborn some people can be. But hey.. it's a start, right? This certainly isn't the first study that confirms this, but this one is getting loads of attention.

I was a participant in the CCARBS study that just finished up a couple of months ago. It was great to be a part of such a ground breaking study and I can't wait to see what the findings are.

Keep your eye out for more great studies that prove you can succeed with Healthy Low-Carb Living!