The Livin La Vida Low-Carb Show

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Greetings and welcome to Episode 43 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore!” It’s the most popular low-carb podcast on the Internet and we come to you TWICE each week! Be sure to subscribe to our RSS feed for regular podcast updates.

In today’s show, Jimmy will be looking at “splurging” or what some may describe as “cheating” while trying to maintain a healthy low-carb lifestyle. What does Mr. Moore have to say on the subject? You may be surprised! Click on the play button above to find out!

Also, today we would like to invite you to check out CarbSmart Magazine for feature articles from a variety of voices about low-carb living, including our very own Jimmy Moore.

LINKS MENTIONED IN EPISODE 43:
- CarbSmart Magazine
- Related blog post: “Your Cheat Leads To Weight Loss Defeat”
- Related blog post: “Controlled-Cheating While Low-Carb Living”
- Related blog post: “Controversial Planned Splurge Strategy Needs Clarification”
- Related blog post: “Just Got Back From One Of My Splurge Meals”
- Related blog post: “Who Says You Can’t Splurge On Low-Carb?”

Did you miss anything Jimmy said this week? Have no fear, transcripts are back and you can find this week’s by clicking below!

TRANSCRIPT:

This is Episode 43 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore” and I’ve got quite a podcast to share with you today about the subject of “cheating” or “splurging” to your hearts content while low-carbing. What? Really? Yep! This may come as a complete shock to some people listening to the podcast right now, but I am in strong favor of people cheating on their low-carb diet. I’m not joking and I’ll explain more about what I mean by that in just a moment. You won’t want to miss it!

First, I’d like to introduce you to a brand new columnist writing for CarbSmart Magazine named Joan O’Connell Hedman. She is the author of the “Make It Low Carb” column which has appeared in syndication in various places since 2004. Joan is dedicated to helping you succeed in your low carb lifestyle with her own unique perspective on sprucing up your menu options. Whether you’re looking for low carb products or a way to revamp a favorite recipe to fit your new nutritional requirements, she is set to bring you the very best information two times every month at CarbSmart.com. Just click on the CarbSmart Magazine link under the “Other Store Links” section on the left-hand side of the page. Make smart choices for your low carb lifestyle at CarbSmart.com.

With the exponential growth at my LivinLaVidaLowCarb.com blog and with this podcast show, I have a lot of new readers and listeners who are just beginning this journey I like to call livin’ la vida low-carb. I think it’s so exciting to see people choosing this healthy nutritional approach for themselves in 2007 despite all the constant negativity and downright malicious lies being spread about the Atkins low-carb diet. It just goes to show you the desperate attempts by the antagonists to discredit low-carb living are failing miserably and are now falling on deaf ears as so many people are discovering perhaps for the first time that livin’ la vida low-carb can and will help them lose weight, get healthy, and radically change their life for the better naturally without the use of risky surgery, diet pills, or unhealthy weight loss programs that deprive your body of what it needs. With low-carb, you get a nutrient-dense way of eating that is delicious, nutritious, and will be the way you eat for the rest of your life. Nothing feels better than the assurance in the back of your mind that you are doing something good for your body rather than destroying it. That’s what the low-carb life has meant for me and the same can happen for you, too. Just never, ever give up hope that you will be able to look in the mirror at a happier, healthier, and smaller you in the not-too-distant future. Low-carb will change your life forever!

With that said, I’d like to share a question I received from one of my blog readers about a subject that I’m sure you have thought about within the context of livin’ la vida low-carb because I’ve been asked about it at great length many times over the past few years since I lost over 180 pounds on low-carb. Here’s what the reader wrote to me:

“This will sound like a silly question perhaps, but I have to ask it to get a straight answer and I don’t want to hear what Dr. Atkins wrote. How bad is it to cheat on the low-carb diet with one meal on occasion (i.e. birthday, holiday or even an upcoming wedding with my new fiance)? When I say cheat, I don’t mean fall off the wagon completely and eat every carb under the sun for a week and then get back on the plan. I mean, with self-control, enjoy one meal (or dessert) every once in a while and then resume the low-carb lifestyle directly after as if nothing ever changed.”

The reader went on to say how every diet book he’s ever read has said “don’t ever cheat,” but he believes that’s too idealistic and that it is bound to happen. Actually, I agree with this strategy and even addressed it directly in my book “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey From Flabby Fat To Sensationally Skinny In One Year.” Believe it or not, I highly endorse something that I like to describe as a “planned splurge.” Although a lot of my fellow low-carbers disagree with this idea, a “planned splurge” can be extremely effective during your weight loss on a low-carb diet. Most dieters don’t ever plan their “splurge,” they just go all out when temptation hits them and eat to their heart’s content. That’s not what I’m referring to. Instead, I’m talking about having a predetermined date circled on your calendar when you are allowing yourself to enjoy whatever you want to eat for one meal. Just ONE meal is all this is good for! Whether it is pizza, Mexican, Italian or whatever floats your boat, you can eat all you want of whatever you are craving the most until you get your craving fulfilled. But then you get right back on the program immediately and no further “splurges” until the next “planned splurge” meal comes up about 6-8 weeks later.

This strategy, especially in the early stages of livin’ la vida low-carb, is what kept me going when temptation would be at its strongest because I could look at the calendar and see I had a meal coming up for me to enjoy the foods I couldn’t have on my new diet. It diffused that flimsy excuse that I was “depriving myself.” Even now that I am simply maintaining my weight, I have a “planned splurge” every once in a while, although not nearly as much as I used to. The allure of it has waned the longer I’ve been livin’ la vida low-carb and I have learned to find greater pleasure in my new way of eating than I ever did with the old habits that got me to weigh 410 pounds to begin with. You have to realize up front, though, that these “planned splurge” meals WILL DEFINITELY kick you out of ketosis for at least several days and your weight may not go down very quickly after you have this one meal. However, I was fortunate enough to be able to lose any extra weight that I put on during my “planned splurge” meal within less than a week of doing it every time during my weight loss in 2004.

I will say this: if you don’t need to have a “planned splurge” meal, then don’t do it. But when you are making the transition from your unhealthy eating habits to the healthy low-carb lifestyle, it’s nice to know you can pull out this method from time to time to satisfy your cravings. Keep in mind that this “planned splurge” meal may not be ideal for everyone because eating carbohydrates can trigger binge eating in some people where they just can’t stop. If that’s you, then I would advise against trying it. But the fact is it worked for me. You may not need to do this and be thankful if that is you. But this could be the key ingredient that some of you have been looking for to help you be successful as you are livin’ la vida low-carb. But please be careful not to rationalize this method when you see a box of doughnuts at work and tell yourself that THIS will be your “planned splurge” meal. It doesn’t work that way. Plan it well in advance, look forward to it to avoid any spontaneous temptation, do it and enjoy every single bite, and then get right back on your low-carb plan as soon as possible.

When I first announced my “planned splurge” idea at my LivinLaVidaLowCarb.com blog a couple of years back, one of my fellow bloggers boasted that I was “on my way back to fatland” because this strategy proved “deep down [I] still don’t have the degree of mental control over [my] food intake that [I’m] going to need to stay slim into the future.” He added that “food appears to be featured all too prominently in [my] life.” Apparently that wasn’t true because I’ve not only kept my weight off, but I’ve been able to even bring an end to my “planned splurges” altogether now. I am in COMPLETE control of what I put in my mouth and the number of carbohydrates I am allowing myself to eat. There’s freedom in that and nobody will ever be able to take that away from me. If food appears to be a big part of my life, then it is simply for my enjoyment as I continue down this lifelong journey to remain healthy. I still weigh myself daily and keep a very close eye on any abnormal increases so I can take immediate action. It has worked for the past three years since I lost my 180 pounds and I expect it to continue to work for the rest of my life. I have also had fellow bloggers who have said my “planned splurge” strategy has helped them stay on the straight and narrow.

I don’t pretend to be an expert on the best way to lose and maintain weight loss. But I will gladly share what worked for me and the “planned splurge” was a major part of my 180-pound low-carb weight loss success. If it can help somebody else finally get over the hump and lose the weight to overcome their obesity problem, then it is worth offering it up as an option for them to try. You have to remember that so many people are desperate out there and feel like there is no hope for them to lose weight. I know better and will be here to help them when they ask what worked for me. Whether you call it a “planned splurge” or “controlled-cheating,” I think it can help alleviate some of the objections people may have towards livin’ la vida low-carb. If they know there is a meal coming up every 6-8 weeks where they can eat whatever they want and desire for just that one meal, then it could give them the kickstart they need to be committed to the hundreds of other meals in between those times! To me, that’s a more intelligent strategy than telling somebody “don’t ever cheat.” My reader who sent me that e-mail question is EXACTLY RIGHT about the fallacy of that statement and I am glad he asked the question. Whatever you do, if you try the “planned splurge” and you make it last for more than one meal or more often than every couple of months, then don’t come crying back to me about how it didn’t help you. You’re on your own if you do it the wrong way and self-destruct. But using a common sense approach, you can enjoy all the healthy benefits of low-carb living and eat your cake, too, if you want it!

That’s it for Episode 43 of “The Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb Show with Jimmy Moore.” Do you have any questions or comments about the “planned splurge” strategy? Then I’d love to hear them and respond directly to what you have to say. Share your comments in the show notes section at TheLivinLowCarbShow.com or you can call the listener comment line at area code 206-203-4192. Have you used the “planned splurge” strategy with great success? I especially want to hear from you this week if it worked for you. Thanks for listening to today’s podcast and I personally invite you back to listen again on Thursday as we jump into another exciting topic about diet, health, and low-carb living. So, until next time, keep on livin’ la vida low-carb!

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