Is Jimmy still eating eggs for every meal in order to lose weight?

Dr. Davis, How true is this statement?
"before resorting to muscle tissue, the body will burn fat. If you have no body fat, (or even very little of it), then eating carbohydrates is a good idea. If there is fat to burn, it will be burned first. Our entire body runs on sugar, but you can turn fat into sugar and sugar into fat, depending on the current needs of the body"

No - he is off the eggs, but somewhere up around 282lbs.  Jimmy is indeed a great connector and does well with podcasts and interviews but his own diet - and as a consequence his weight - remains a problem.  He remains obese and as such is not a great advert for low carb.

THANKS for the plug for my new "Fan Club" associated with my podcast, Dr. Davis.  I certainly hope to indeed connect fans of "The Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Show" with more of the behind-the-scenes happenings to get them involved in the interview process, share transcripts of past episodes, and even let them hear sneak peak audio of not-yet-aired podcasts.  I'm excited to make this little something extra available to those who want more.

As for the the anonymous criticism about my weight, yes I weigh more than I would like to at this moment.  This is not a secret and I've been quite candid about this publicly because there are many who face the same frustrations of doing everything right and yet seeing very little progress on the scale.  While I'm seeking to rectify those issues by lowering my calories to 1800/daily and engaging in regular exercise, the fact remains my health is immaculate.

High HDL, low triglycerides, low percentage of Small LDL particles, stable blood sugar, normal blood pressure, a heart scan score of ZERO, abundant energy and so much more.  While the focus tends to be on weight as the key measurement in someone being healthy, I think that's as shortsighted as telling someone a low-fat, high-carb diet is the only way to lose weight and be healthy.  Again, I'd like to weigh less than I do now but it's difficult to argue that the way I'm eating isn't making me healthier than when I weighed 400+ pounds in 2004 on three prescription medications.

Re: Jimmy's weight - it's Jimmy's business!  The guy does a massive amount of work, as highlighted by Dr Davis' post, promoting the many and varied strains of low carb eating, and he does so because he has first-hand experience of the benefits of doing so.  Sure HE might not want to be where HE wants to be with HIS weight, but it isn't like he is ht eonly guy pushing the low carb mantra and peddling snack oil is it?

Jimmy, I'd have no doubt you could get to where you wanted to be (or closer to it at least), if you gave up on the stuff that you do.  But the rest of us would be poorer for it.  A run a very small and very much part-time blog in this field and if I put in the amount of time Jimmy does with all his work, I doubt I would be able to maintain the other aspects of my life that I enjoy so much.  It is a sacrifice Jimmy makes.

One last thing, and Jimmy may disagree with me on this... At one point in time, Jimmy's lifestyle lead him down the obesity pathway.  One aspect of this, and one that I try to promote in my line of work, is if you go down that road, there is no guarantee you can come back out of it.  Things like the consumption of industrial seed oils can lead to fat cell hypertrophy & hyperplasia... size AND number of fat cells increase.  Stay in this state long enough, and there is high chance you will never fully undo the damage done.  You can certainly imporve your health biomarkers as Jimmy has obviously done.  But you might not necessarily be able to return to an ultrathin body, no matter how much you desire it.  There is a degree of ingorance from people who just automatically assume that because one is eating low carb, they should look like a Crossfitter all the time and failure to do so means that low carbing is a failure also.

Well said Jamie!  I totally agree.

Nothing measures up when compared to perfection. It's better to compare real-life choices and their likely consequences whenever possible.

If someone was 400+ pounds and on medications on their old diet, and 120 pounds lighter, energetic and off the medications on a different diet, the different diet must have some benefits. I prefer to think in terms of progress, not perfection.

Jimmy, Jamie and Lori


AMEN !!!!


Sue

I know Jimmy personally and he is a sincere, hard-working nice guy.

We are all learning new lessons in nutrition and how to manage diet, navigating all the landmines in the commercial food that we are sold.

Jimmy's unquestioned role in this has been to facilitate the discussion, bringing differing viewpoints from interesting people like Gary Taubes and Jeff Volek.

Personally, I am grateful that we have someone like Jimmy Moore who acts as amiable host to our discussions.

i love Jimmy's podcasts. In fact i subscribe via itunes. He never fails to have intelligent guests. Especially in the last year or two he has had many paleo people which is great. I like to see the focus on good-health-all-around entering into his lowcarb world, rather than the sole goal of weightloss that i feel many atkinsers etc have. Anyway, he's doing a great job. and he has been for quite some time now. His weight? Who cares. Jimmy, dont sweat it! you've lost all that, your health numbers look great and you are leading a life that benefits many. I think you can be satisfied.

Train wreck/drama queen. Needs to lift free weights or join a cross fit gym…quit making excuses..

"Train wreck/drama queen...quit making excuses..."

You got that right!

Thank you so much Jimmy for the help you provide to all of us.
I am an uruguayan and follow your podcast from Uruguay LA.
Thanks again.
Jose.

If not for Jimmy Moore I would never have heard of Dr Davis, Mark Sisson, Stephan Guyenet, Robb Wolf, Dr Briffa, Fred Hahn and so many others.  I would never in a million years have thought to include strength training in my lifestyle.  I wouldn't have learned about the impact of sleep on health and mood.  Without the information Jimmy Moore brought into my life, I'd still be Vitamin D deficient, undermuscled, underslept and unhealthy.  Instead I've grown strength and muscle, ditched lifelong allergies and have had only one cold in the last three years.  (I work in healthcare and get coughed/sneezed upon constantly, so this is no insignificant fact.)

Jimmy is humble, funny, candid and generous.  Sure, we'd all like to include "stunning physique" in our list of personal qualities, but some of us just have to be satisfied with excellent health and an ongoing commitment to pursue optimal body composition.

For me, Jimmy Moore is a treasure.

Kudos to Jimmy for all his good work. I completely agree with Jamie above.

Anonymous trolls, just go away, or at least show a little spine and put your name.

Tony K

I stopped eating wheat when I read Gary Taubes's book Good Calories, Bad Calories.  However, I haven't noticed any changes.  My blood sugar is still a little high, and my weight is about the same.  Could you cite a study that shows that blood sugar and weight often go down when you stop eating wheat.

Yes, yes!  Great post!  However, I think there is a huge mssing link here, and that is the source of wheat.  Sure, wheat (or gluten in many cases) causes problems.  I totally agree.  But my theory is that people who drop weight and improve their health by eliminating wheat were not eating the ocassional slice of home-made sourdough.  Nope.  I'd be willing to bet that most of the "wheat" elimination that leads to a better lipid profile and decreased body fat is from the elimination of packaged and processed foods like cereals, bars, crackers, store breads and buns, and other snack foods.

Avoiding wheat due to a sensitivity or allergy is one thing.  But gorging oneself on processed foods and so-called healthy whole grain products only to later marvel at the results of a "wheat" elimination diet is a bit ridiculous.

Eat from the earth.  And if for you that means no wheat, then great!  Just don't go eating all that "gluten free" stuff.  One can still eat a ton of junk without eating wheat.

I love that you're pursuing this matter.   It's not just wheat, though.  It's all the gluten grains related to wheat: barley, rye, spelt, kamut, etc.  In those of us sensitive to gluten, even the tiny bits of gluten in most processed foods cause problems.  So do oats, even gluten-free oats, in some Celiacs.

Keep up the anti-wheat campaign, but please add the other gluten grains to your target.

Dr. Davis,
I started the gluten-free diet 2 months ago after reading all your blogs. The one thing I did not think it would influence is thyroid. You stated so confidently that it influences Hashimotos, I wondered how you came to that knowledge---articles, research, personal observation?
For 8 years my TPO antibodies have been very high in 700-800 range even with meds and good T4, T3 numbers. All tests came back negative for celiac although with high IGA. I have never been able to get Hashimotos numbers down, so would love to know how/where you heard about this. I will report back if after being wheat free my IGA and TPO numbers go down.
Warmly,  Catherine

Fantastic post.


I have been looking into a lower wheat (or gluten?) diet for a bit now, and recently purchased The Paleo Diet for Athletes. As soon as a finish In Defense of Food, that is next on my list.

A quick question if you have a second. Maybe you can simply directly me to a page with the answer, as I have not been able to clearly find it.

Is the key avoiding grains as a group, or would eating gluten free products be partially sufficient?

Do you have any references you could post for those claims?

In answer to several questions to clarify what I mean by "wheat":

1) For celiac disease or marked wheat sensitivity, including "wheat addiction," all grains that immunologically cross-react with wheat should be eliminated--barley, spelt, oats.

2) For those with extreme carbohydrate sensitivity--meaning diabetics, pre-diabetics, or marked small LDL, then even spelt, bulghur, sorghum, quinoa, barley, etc. can present excessive carbohydrate loads.

For everyone else, I believe that these whole grains can play a role.

Re: references. Just go to Pubmed.gov and enter your relevant search terms. It's quite easy.

It's hard for me to separate out the effects of wheat, gluten, flour, grains, carbs.  

Probably, nobody really knows yet., which is what it's like in 2009: lots of clues but nothing definitve.

My wife has hashimoto's thyroiditis, and cutting out the gluten has led to tremendous improvements. Her T3 and T4 levels are back to normal, and her anti-thyroid antibodies dropped significantly, to nearly undetectable. And she feels normal, not cold and lethargic.

I am not convinced that all people with Hashimoto's benefit from cutting out gluten - some studies showed only about 30% to 50% of the group improved (but many people show amazing improvement). A change of diet should be the first thing tried IMO. It was not something the endocrinologist discussed. When my wife asked if there were any dietary or lifestyle changes that might help, she was told there were none.

Hi, Jonathan--

Yes, wheat exposure probably requires years to trigger the Hashimoto's reaction. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, the precise trigger and "dose" or duration required is not well sorted out.

I find the statement “don’t go eating all that ‘gluten free’ stuff” rather silly – the implication being that it’s full of junk.  Most of the gluten free food I’ve found is wonderfully free of the usual high-fructose corn syrup and the like.  It’s a real blessing, to be quite frank.  And by the way, all my food comes from Earth.

Dr. D, correct me if I am wrong but quinoa is not a grain (it's a seed) and should not be grouped with wheat, spelt, barley, etc.

My understanding is that its impact on the body is significantly more positive compared to grains.

I have both gluten sensitivity and insulin resistance. Gluten free means I avoid wheat(includes spelt, kamut and other related grains), barley and rye. Oats are available that are certified gluten free. Removing gluten eliminated my GERD, gas and bloating, improved my neuropathy, lifted my depression, stopped my joint pain and the list goes on.

When I discovered my blood sugar issues, I dropped all the gluten free grains that caused spikes in blood glucose. OK, I have not found a grain that does not spike my blood sugar so I am now grain free. The only problem I noticed when eating the GF grains was the blood sugar effect.

Gluten/wheat and carbs/sugar are two separate issues for me.

Is it full of soy?  That's junk.

Peter, you probably have to reduce your carbs to see improvement in your blood sugar levels.

To clarify: My point was that most products tha are labeled as "gluten free" are processed, and largely a part of the food industry's marketing tactics.  They are not there for your health, but rather to make profits.

You can buy gluten free cookies, cereal, and other snack foods.  These foods are far from being close to the earth, and IMHO, not to be a regular part of a healthful diet.

The sentiment is valuable, but I worry about hyperbole.  If an individual cuts out 1000 calories a day of wheat-related foods (a generous estimate), and doesn't replace those calories with any other foods, then they would lose about 2 pounds a weeks, not 10 or 15.

I agree with Anon., who on the 15th wrote it's about reducing calories.

1lb fat = 3,500 cals; hence 2lbs/week is practical weight loss. Getting fat does not happen overnight, or a week for that matter so why would anyone expect to loose weight magically within a week.

If by not eating wheat you get there, I say go for it. For me, I feel much better since doing mega-dose K2/D3/B3/C which I learned here on the Heatscanblog and I will be forever grateful for those who aid Dr Davis in sharing their knowledge such as Ted Hutchinson who takes the time to post links to scientific papers supporting the cause of improved heart health.

Question - how about rice? Is it just as bad?

I take wheat grass tablets from Pines.  I have stopped eating wheat and reduced all grain consumption dramatically.  However, I still take the wheat grass tablets.  Is wheat grass a problem, like wheat?

Well I acquiesce in but I contemplate the list inform should have more info then it has.

Again a gentle post. Thanks your also pen-friend

I think there is a huge missing link here, and that is the source of wheat.

I just bookmarked your blog and will come back in the future. Keep up your great job, I hope you have a nice day!

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I study carried out in China proved conclusively that wheat was the major cause of heart attacks. I am quite sad to read these reports because I love bread. The question is that do I love it to death?

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Education

I'm new here but looking for answers on systemic inflammation.
Can eliminating wheat or gluten reduce the inflammation in my system?

Hey Dr. Williams,
My mom stumbled across this article a year ago in attempt to help me explain some unusal blood work and severe contipation issues that the gastro doc called IBS after a negative celiac test. At the time my c-reactive protein was elevated, my T4 was elevated, I was chronically tired, cold intolerant, constant constipation, stabbing pain in my abdomen (hurt to touch my toes and put shoes on),had eczema, and mood swings. More then ten years ago I had thought I was a celiac and had gone wheat free, went to a gastro doc but was told it was just IBS and now looking back my symptoms were worse after I began to eat wheat again.
So, I have now been wheat free for a year now because of your article!.... my constipation has been reduced dramatically (no more miralax everyday) and my eczema only flares when I have accidently eaten something with wheat in it!
Here's my delima now.. I thought that being wheat free for a year would change the unusal blood work, but I just got results back and my c-reactive protein has elevated slightly more, my T4 has elevated more, but the strange thing is my TSH is on the higher end too. Hashimoto's usually has high T4 and low TSH, plus all my symptoms are that of someone with a hypothyroid.  I'm still chronically tired, cold, and getting more moody. Any ideas?