Low Carb Freedom

New South Beach Kraft Products

The New Kraft South Beach products have arrived in stores in full force. I was able to try the Southwestern Chicken Wrap product that was packed with a small no sugar gelatin product. It  wasn't bad, think of the line as as more healthy "Lunchable" products, although they use the much more descriptive but bland name of "refrigerated wrap kits."

I took a look at the new cereals and almost keeled over at the over 50 something grams of carbs. I would NEVER let these into my house. The cereal bars are now out. We have tried the new chocolate version. My son LOVES it; my daughter prefers the peanut butter. Still haven't seen the frozen entrees or pizzas or cookies. I'm not holding my breath on these other products because I think the carb counts are going to be WAY too high for me.  As long as I can give my kids the cereal bars, I'll be happy.

If you have tried some of these. let me know your thoughts.

After gastric bypass, what to do about clothes?

Folks, this is a good problem to have, clothes sizes getting smaller way too quickly....

With the recommendation that weight loss surgeries take place in large centers that do lots of operations, this program should be emulated:

This is a clothing swap for bariatric patients sponsored by bariatric patients. There is no money exchanged,” said Billie Terrill, office liaison for the institute, who also was a gastric bypass patient. “This is a great way for people to get nice clothes when they’re transitioning so quickly.”

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Terrill said an average patient will drop a size every six weeks. With clothing costs high, many of the patients shop at the Goodwill Store. But the monthly support group came up with the idea to swap clothing among themselves. Members volunteered to sort and arrange the clothes, and orchestrate the morning’s swap.

Read the  whole thing here.

       

Low Carb Diet PROVEN Effective

OK, it is short term, but they actually kept people in the hospital, watched every morsel they ate and tracked their energy expenditures. Low Carb works for diabetics -- dramatically!  Pounds lost weren't attributed to water loss or metabolism change, but a change in hunger. Carbohydrates made people hungry! I am going to directly quote this part, because so many people fail to hear this part of the story.

In addition to the calorie reduction and weight loss, subjects experienced markedly improved glucose levels and insulin sensitivity, as well as lower triglycerides and cholesterol.

Not everyone responds this way, which is why you have to be monitored, but if it works for you, then it is healthy!

THIS is why low carb foods will not go away long term.

THIS is why the large manufacturing companies can't be allowed to get away with this 1/2 sugar myth or the current food pyramid.

THIS is why the American Diabetic Association and, by golly, even the nutritionists, will eventually come around.

For a good percentage of the population, carbs are extremely destructive.

This one size fits all diet has to stop; this "banning" of low carb diets as unhealthy has to stop. It is killing people.

Low Carb Freedom Press Release

I did a low carb press release, which you can read about by clicking the link. (Thanks, Karen, for allowing me to quote you!) So far I have been interviewed by one reporter. Haven't seen it picked up anywhere yet though.

If you see something, please let me know!

Great Low Carb Recipes on Blaine's Low Carb Kitchen on FitTV

When I was looking for the Protein Power shows on PBS through my Tivo, I discovered a new show on FitTV, Blaine's Low Carb Kitchen. I really like it! I've seen three episodes so far and I've learned a lot about cooking.

Blaine weighed over 300 lbs. and he is trying to get it off by eating low carb. Each week he weighs in after making some delicious food. Of course, you cheer him on as he progresses.

If you can't see the show, FitTV does post all of the low carb recipes here. When I try one of the recipes, I'll post a review. So far I have seen episodes 15, 21, and 22.

If you try a recipe, please let me know how it worked for you.

BTW, they have a great deal right now on Tivos, an 80-hour Tivo for $99 with rebates. If you order one, put in my email, lowcarbfreedom@comcast.net! Maybe I can get some Tivo points! (Love my Tivo!)

Physician's Guide to Pharmalogical (Drug) and Surgery for Obesity Patients

The Annals of Internal Medicine has come out with new guidelines, or, rather, codified guidelines, for the treatment of obesity. Diet and Exercise is the number one method, but it isn't covered extensively, at least in this paper. There are five recommendations:

Recommendation 1: Clinicians should counsel all obese patients (defined as those with a BMI 30 kg/m ² ) on lifestyle and behavioral modifications such as appropriate diet and exercise, and the patient's goals for weight loss should be individually determined (these goals may encompass not only weight loss but also other parameters, such as decreasing blood pressure or fasting blood glucose levels).

Recommendation 2: Pharmacologic therapy can be offered to obese patients who have failed to achieve their weight loss goals through diet and exercise alone. However, there needs to be a doctor–patient discussion of the drugs' side effects, the lack of long-term safety data, and the temporary nature of the weight loss achieved with medications before initiating therapy.

Recommendation 3: For obese patients who choose to use adjunctive drug therapy, options include sibutramine, orlistat, phentermine, diethylpropion, fluoxetine, and bupropion. The choice of agent will depend on the side effects profile of each drug and the patient's tolerance of those side effects.

Recommendation 4: Surgery should be considered as a treatment option for patients with a BMI of 40 kg/m ² or greater who instituted but failed an adequate exercise and diet program (with or without adjunctive drug therapy) and who present with obesity-related comorbid conditions, such as hypertension, impaired glucose tolerance, diabetes mellitus, hyperlipidemia, and obstructive sleep apnea. A doctor–patient discussion of surgical options should include the long-term side effects, such as possible need for reoperation, gall bladder disease, and malabsorption.

Recommendation 5: Patients should be referred to high-volume centers with surgeons experienced in bariatric surgery.

Basically, there is a loop that always leads back to diet and exercise as you go down the choices. If, step 1, diet and exercise don't work, then, in step 2, offer weight loss drug therapy, but tell everyone the side effects and temporary nature of the weight loss. Step 3 talks about specific weight loss drugs.

If weight loss drugs don't work, then move to step 4, and offer them weight loss surgery, with all the precautions and potential problems. If weight loss surgery is the solution, then, in step 5, help them choose a high volume surgery center.

Seems like common sense. Further in the recommendation is this paragraph:

Lifestyle modification through diet and exercise should always be recommended for all obese patients. In addition, patients need to be continuously educated regarding diet and exercise, and it should be clear that after a surgical procedure patients cannot resume their previous eating habits. There is no evidence at present to answer the question of whether one procedure is better than another. In addition, weight loss through surgery has not been shown to reduce cardiovascular morbidity or mortality. (emphasis mine)

Basically, after weight loss surgery, you have to go on a low carb diet. So, for those who are thinking about weight loss surgery, why not try it out on a voluntary basis first before going through the surgery. As I have said before, there is a great blog, Living After WLS , that talks about many of the side effects.

South Beach Carbwell Cereal Bars are Coming

I checked with my local Market Basket about the Carbwell Cereal bars since the shelves were empty. The grocery manager even let me look at the grocery order book. Listed were 5 varieties of the new South Beach Carbwell bars. He said that the listings usually go in the grocery book a few weeks before they make it to the store.

Of course, I begged to know when they were coming in. He called me today and said that they might be in by this Thursday.... so, if you don't have a Costco around and are eagerly awaiting their arrival to try the new flavors, check your store this week. Please let me know if they have come into your local store! State, city, and chain name appreciated!

Taking The Low Sugar Cereal Myth One Step Further

As I talked about earlier, the low sugar cereals are no better for you than the high sugar cereals -- and even the nutritionists admit this. I think this is a major thrust of all of the major food companies, try to "fool" the public by reducing the sugar but just keepting the low cost (ie, refined carbohydrates) as one of the main ingredients. Low carb raw ingredients just cost more.

Well, Jennifer Hardee is taking this one step further by filing a law suit against the food companies. I usually abhor lawsuits, but this suit makes clear to anyone reading the story that low sugar does not necessarily mean more healthy, and with the US Food Pyramid a travesty and compromised by politics, anything that gets this message out is good.

Jennifer Hardee of California filed the suit Thursday in the Superior Court of California in San Diego County. She said that the low-sugar cereals falsely represent "that they offer a nutritional advantage over defendants' full-sugar breakfast cereal products, when in fact, the removed sugar is replaced by other carbohydrates, thus offering no significant nutritional advantage."

The complaint, which seeks class-action status, lists the reduced-sugar versions of Post's Fruity Pebbles from Kraft, General Mills' Cocoa Puffs and Trix, and Kellogg's Frosted Flakes.

The food industry in general is coming under increasing pressure from food lobby groups and some parents, to “clean up its act” and offer healthier alternatives to help combat the obesity epidemic facing America. Sugary cereals are frequently cited by these groups as guilty culprits, encouraging children to eat empty calories instead of nutritional whole foods.

If you remember the much maligned lawsuit against Oreos (which I was ambivalent about) was extremely effective in getting trans fat out of the food supply, which everyone on any side of the food debate recognizes is a good thing.

Read the article about the cereal lawsuit.

Why Some Discontinued Low Carb Products Have Gone Missing

Seems a lot of the Atkins overstock/discontinued products haven't shown up at Big Lots or other clearance outlets; the low carb products have been donated to a food bank in the Appalachians!

Unsold crates of low-carbohydrate energy bars, shakes and breakfast mixes have been pouring into the Christian Appalachian Project to be distributed in mountain communities. For people who otherwise might go hungry, diet food beats no food at all.