Jimmy Moore's '30-In-30' Challenge

It's a new year and a fresh perspective on weight loss right now as we conclude Week 23 of the "30-In-30" Low-Carb Weight Loss Challenge. Before I talk about how my week went with my weight loss efforts, let me share with you something I did on Monday. I joined something called "Shrinkdown" sponsored by my local YMCA in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

Last week I blogged about a man who lost 128 pounds last year after beginning his weight loss journey with the "Shrinkdown" challenge, an effort taking place all across the state of South Carolina over the next eight weeks.

As I was standing in the line of hundreds of people waiting to sign up for this, I couldn't help but notice it was primarily women and most had at least 50 pounds they needed to lose. In other words, the overweight or obese. What a beautiful sight it was to see so many people wanting to do something about their weight!

When the line that wrapped around outside the building finally made it inside, we registered our name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, etc. for the volunteers to know who was participating and they handed each person a "Healthy Living Guide" three-ring binder and a T-shirt. Participants will be able to track their progress at the Spartanburg "Shrinkdown" web site.

Once you got past the sign-in table, you entered this big room with three different color-coded lines. All of them were exactly the same to help facilitate moving people through as quickly as possible. After waiting in one of the three lines, you got weighed first, then had your body fat percentage calculated, followed by your BMI, blood pressure, and finally your flexibility.

It took a little more than an hour to get through all of this and I had the opportunity to speak with many of the people waiting in line. Several had lost weight before only to gain it back while others were desperate to know what to do about their weight.

When I encouraged them to find a plan that works for them and stick with it which is what I did, they asked how much weight I had lost. When I told them nearly 200 pounds, their eyes all bugged out! How'd you do it, have you kept the weight off, what's the secret? Hmmm, should I tell 'em it was livin' la vida low-carb? YEP!

To my surprise, there was not a single snide comment about my way of eating from any of them. Not a one. I explained that I wanted to join the "Shrinkdown" to lose that last 20 or so pounds. While I didn't say this to them, I also wanted to see what this program is recommending people do to lose weight.

Flipping through the materials they handed out, it should come as NO surprise to anyone that this plan is focused on increasing physical activity (a VERY good thing since exercise goes hand-in-hand with low-carb living) and good nutrition. What does that mean? You know--low-fat, low-calorie, portion control! UGH!

Using the Mayo Clinic Healthy Weight Pyramid which is basically the same as the government-indoctrinated one, they recommend eating lots of fruits, veggies and whole grain carbohydrates (ARGH!) while reducing your intake of protein, fats, and sweets. Well, at least they got the sweets part right!

Browsing the sample menus and recipes included in this "Healthy Living Guide," I was stunned by the massive amount of carbs all of these meals had. A white bean with couscous recipe had 43g; chicken fajitas with zucchini and black bean salad had 55g; blueberry buttermilk pancakes with fresh strawberries had 50g. And they call this "healthy?" Come on people! That term has become so subjective and senile, hasn't it?

I just had to keep shaking my head in disapproval as I read that carbohydrates "provide your body with energy" and are "beneficial to your health." Regarding healthy fats, they should be used "in moderation." Protein sources should be "lean" and dairy sources like cheese are "high in saturated fat so use it sparingly or use lower fat versions." Oh yummy! NOT!

The specific plans were either 1200, 1600, 2000 calories per day consisting of more than half of your calories from carbs depending on your weight and exercise level. While I can appreciate that they list all the health ailments that come from being overweight or obese, including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, cancer, back pain, and more, the method they use for getting people to lose weight is so one-sided.

Why can't organized weight loss programs like "Shrinkdown" EVER acknowledge the low-carb lifestyle as an equally healthy and beneficial plan for losing weight and keeping it off forever, hmmm? Who died and made the low-fat diet the ONLY way to lose weight and improve health?

If we are EVER going to move forward with REAL progress in the obesity epidemic, then this monopolistic treatment of obesity must END IMMEDIATELY! Share low-carb principles alongside low-fat ones and let people decide which one they want to do. Is that really too much to ask for?

It broke my heart to think how many people at that "Shrinkdown" sign-up yesterday will lose a few pounds in the next couple of months eating foods like the apples, fruit bars, and water they provided at this event only to get frustrated by the disgusting choice of foods and from being hungry so much eating this way. That was my experience on a low-fat diet in 1999 and it wasn't pretty.

The more I got to thinking about this "Healthy Living Guide" and contemplated for a moment what it would be like to begin this kind of program to lose that last few pounds, I quickly came to my senses KNOWING that transitioning from a low-carb lifestyle to a low-fat one would make be balloon up when I reintroduced all of those carbohydrates into my diet again!

My body burns fat for fuel, not carbs (your body doesn't NEED that many carbs!), so it makes no sense to go back to that again. But, anyone who is on a low-fat diet can EASILY move to a low-carb plan because it's a natural progression to better health. Allow a few days of Induction-level low-carbing to put your body into ketosis after burning off those last few carbs in your system and then you can start burning fat for fuel and lose weight, too.

It's an amazing process that unfortunately is NOT being taught in mainstream programs like "Shrinkdown" which will only further frustrate those who are desperate and hungry (sometimes literally!) to find a weight loss plan that will really work. That's why I keep blogging about the low-carb lifestyle because it IS that plan for so many of us. I'd rather people learn about it sooner rather than later.

Sorry to be so long-winded, but I had to share my story about "Shrinkdown." Let's hope they learn they need to change and then will be able to find what works for them over the long-term...before it's too late.

Here's my latest weight loss progress chart:



There was no change in my weight last week with only seven weeks left in the challenge. I suppose at this point getting to my original goal of 210, which would be 30 pounds lost in 30 weeks, is more feasible than my 199 goal. But I'm still shooting for 199 by the end of the year as one of my five health goals for 2007. I WILL do it!

So, can I lose that last 9 1/2 pounds in the next seven weeks? That's only a little more than a pound a week. I'm sure I have room to lose some more, so we'll give it all the effort in the world to make it happen. But I'm not gonna fret if I don't do it there since the best part is I'm KEEPING the 180+ pounds off I lost three years ago! YEAH!

How's it going for you this week? I haven't heard from many of you in a while, so share what's happening for you. We're counting down to the final weeks of this first phase of "30-In-30" and I am seriously contemplating beginning another 30 weeks starting in March! Let me know what you think about this idea and share with others that they can start anew in their weight loss efforts with this. Have them e-mail me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net if they want to participate. The need for weight loss NEVER ends, it just goes through different phases for people at different times.

Week 23 updates anyone? :)

Labels: 30-in-30, challenge, Jimmy Moore, low-calorie, low-carb, low-fat, obese, overweight, portion control, Shrinkdown, South Carolina, weight loss, YMCA