I finally finished Jimmy Moore’s newest book this week. I say “finally” because it’s 500 pages long and I made a Thanksgiving trip to Illinois in the middle of reading it. (I always take a book with me on trips home, but rarely get a chance to read more than a few pages.)

As you probably know already, Jimmy’s book is titled 21 LIFE LESSONS FROM LIVIN’ LA VIDA LOW-CARB. The easiest way to describe it is that it’s a lot like reading Jimmy’s blog (which you should, if you don’t already). The book is a mix of his personal experiences, correspondence with readers as well as the many authors and researchers he’s befriended, and (of course) summaries of scientific research on health and nutrition, all neatly packaged into 21 topics.

Since I only delved into the science of health and weight loss a few years ago, when I started researching Fat Head, I enjoyed those chapters the most — and I believe Jimmy did as well, since they make up the bulk of the book. In several chapters, he takes the usual warnings about low-carb, high-fat diets (”You’ll die from a heart attack! You’ll ruin your kidneys! You’ll turn stupid!”), sets them up like bowling pins, then knocks them down with my favorite bowling ball — facts. Yes, I enjoy hearing about his personal experiences — that’s partly why I read his blog — but it’s easy for the anti-fat hysterics to write those off as anecdotal evidence. It’s a bit tougher to dismiss controlled clinical research.

In fact, while reading the book I began to fully appreciate just how many studies Jimmy has read over the years, and how scientifically literate he is. (I wish more media reporters could be described that way.)  He not only quotes a lot of excellent research; he knows how to recognize and shred the bad research and bad reporting on research as well. One of the chapters, LESSON #19: You can’t always trust or believe the negative studies on low-carb, should be required reading for health reporters. For example, he mentions a study that was reported in the media as evidence that sweets are good for your mood. After picking apart those conclusions on his blog, he received this email:

I am writing in response to your blog concerning the press reports on our work on sugar and stress. I am the principal investigator on the project. I want to note that, as is often the case, the press reports missed the point of our study. Our work indicates that eating sweets may be a form of ’self-medication’ against stress; we feel that this is a physiologically maladaptive response to stress that is a likely contributor to our current ‘obesity epidemic’… In no way do we advocate carbs, sweets, etc. as a therapy for stress. I hope this clarifies the issue you raised.

I guess you’re doing something right when the principal investigator on a study feels compelled to reply.

Another chapter, however, recounts an episode in which Jimmy freely admits to being fooled: the Kimkins affair. As you may recall “Kimkins” was a woman who claimed she’d achieved astounding weight loss with her own modification of the Atkins diet — which she would teach others to follow for a membership fee. Believing her story and her before and after pictures, Jimmy helped introduce Kimkins to the world. Several major media outlets — with far more investigative resources at their disposal — bought her story as well. Later, she was revealed to be a fraud. The “after” picture was of a Russian model; the real Kimkins was an obese woman.

Other chapters describe the hate mail and love mail Jimmy has received since putting himself and his work out there for public consumption. Believe me, I relate. If you want to receive some serious hate mail, try telling the world Morgan Spurlock is a fraud whose math doesn’t add up. But of course, the letters of gratitude more than make up for the potshots. Jimmy has received more “thank you for changing my life” emails than he can count. The first time I received one of those — from a woman who was able to give up some nasty prescription drugs after Fat Head inspired her to drop her grain-based, lowfat diet — I knew the effort was worth it.

The most personal chapter is the last, LESSON #21: The early death of a brother or loved one may not be prevented. As you probably know, Jimmy’s brother Kevin died of heart disease at age 41, after years of being sick and morbidly obese, despite Jimmy’s efforts to encourage him to change his diet. What you may not know is that Jimmy and Kevin had a terrible childhood. Their mother and father were married and divorced three times each. Jimmy was dumped on his father at age 14, during what he thought was a visit. Over the next few years, he was often beaten and told he was worthless.

I didn’t know any of this either, until Jimmy and Christine spent a weekend with us a couple of months ago. Jimmy told me the stories as we watched a football game. I was stunned … not because I’m unaware awful parents exist, but because being around Jimmy, seeing him laugh and play and interact with kids, you’d never suspect his own childhood was traumatic. He’s an affable, caring, optimistic guy.

He’s also a guy who has educated and inspired thousands of people with his daily blog posts, his YouTube series, and his podcasts. I hope they all order a copy of his book … partly to enjoy reading it, and partly to say thanks for all the effort.

NOTE:  I’m heading back up to Illinois this week for a standup gig.  I’ll be performing in front of family, friends of family, high-school classmates, and even a few people who knew me in sixth grade.  I’ll check comments, but I won’t have time for another post this week.

Okay, so maybe you’ve tried to get your loved ones to read Good Calories, Bad Calories, only to watch them experience brain-lock the first time they see the words lipoprotein lipase. 

Hey, it happens.  I was a pretty good student, but I was out of school for many years before I could read a chemical name without experiencing unsettling classroom flashbacks — in my case, visions of a stern nun who responded to questions such as “Could you please explain that again?” by shaking her head and staring at the ceiling as if to plead, “Dear Lord, why are you punishing me by enrolling dolts in my class?”

Gary Taubes is working on a more consumer-friendly version of his ground-breaking treatise, which I’m looking forward to reading.  But in the meantime, there are some good books out there that offer scientifically sound advice for losing weight and improving your health, minus the heavy-duty science. 

I read one this week.  Actually, I read it in an afternoon, which is what makes the book worthwhile: it’s a nice little summary of what works and what doesn’t.  If your Aunt Martha isn’t willing to read this one, it’s time to just give up.

The book is titled S.P.E.E.D., which is an acronym for Sleep, Psychology, Exercise, Environment and Diet.  I’m pretty sure the particular arrangement of the chapters was done on purpose … I mean, they could’ve called it D.E.E.P.S., or P.E.E.D.S., or P.E.D.E.S., but S.P.E.E.D. is easier to remember and more eye-grabbing.  And as the authors point out, each chapter stands alone.  You could read them in reverse order without losing any comprehension.

The book was written by Jeff Thiboutot and Matt Schoeneberger, personal trainers who between them hold several degrees in fields like nutrition, psychology and exercise science.  (See their web site here.)  Normally, when I see Bachelor of Science in Nutrition after an author’s name, I start to worry … here comes the brain-dead parroting about the evils of saturated fat and all that.  I’m pleased to say, however, that these two have actually done their research.  Pretty much everything they state in the book is followed by a string of citations from scientific journals — so if you do enjoy jumping head-first into the science, you can look it up.

And if you don’t, you can still learn what works and what doesn’t when it comes to losing weight.  Here are some highlights:

• A lack of sufficient sleep screws up your blood sugar, promotes insulin resistance, and increases your appetite.  (As someone who deals with occasional bouts of insomnia, I can attest to the appetite problem.)
• Achieving any goal, including weight loss, requires defining a vision and a specific action plan, then sticking to the plan.  The plan should focus on what you can do, not on pre-defined results.  (There’s some good advice in this chapter on avoiding negative mental patterns that undermine your success.)
• Exercise alone rarely produces any meaningful weight loss — but the right kind of exercise combined with the right diet does work, and exercise is important for your overall health, fitness and mood.
• A whole-food diet with a minimum of sugar and starch is best for supporting both health and weight loss.  Yes, you’ll need to create a calorie deficit to lose weight, but keeping insulin in check by restricting carbohydrates makes the process much easier.

The scientific evidence presented in each chapter is neatly summarized, straightforward, and easy to digest.  You’re not going to learn intricate details about biochemistry or metabolic pathways from this book — but again, that’s the point.  (Remember Aunt Martha.)  You can think of it as a case of “We did the heavy lifting, so you don’t have to.”

And it’s clear that Thiboutot and Schoeneberger know how to separate the good science from the bad.  One of my favorite sections of the book is actually an appendix that gives an overview of the Scientific Method and explains the differences among various levels of scientific evidence — or what the authors call The Great, The Good, The Bad and The Absolutely Worthless. 

Much of the nutrition reporting that appears the media is based on studies (and I use the term loosely) that fall into the last two categories.  More than a few health and nutrition reporters need to read this book … or at least be smacked over the head with it. 

But don’t smack Aunt Martha.  Just put the book in her hands and hope she reads it.

Interesting results this week.  I stuck to the diet (no demonstration of the causes of fatty liver disease this time) except during Saturday night’s cast party, when I took a few slices of cheese from the food table.  Pretty much everything else was carb-heavy except the shrimp cocktail, and I thought it might annoy the other guests if I loaded my plate with most of the shrimp.

This morning my waist around the belly-button was 37.5 inches, which is down a full inch from last week.  I’ve also had to cinch my belt another notch tighter.  But when I stepped on the scale at the gym, I was still at 200.  A full inch gone, no movement on the scale.  I’m still making good progress in my workouts — nearing the bottom of the stack on a couple more machines — which probably has something to do with it.

So in four weeks, I’ve lost 3.5 inches around the belly and five pounds.

Yesterday I completed my third week of the 6-Week Cure For The Middle-Aged Middle — the first all-meat (nearly) week.  This morning I weighed 200 lbs. on the gym scale, and my waist measured 38.5 inches around the biggest area.  I started at 205 lbs., 41 inches.

That’s only one pound lost in the previous week, but there are some likely explanations:

• I’m lifting an extra 20 or 30 pounds on several weight machines since starting the diet, which means I’ve probably added some muscle.
• I was already on a low-carb diet, so an all-meat (nearly) diet isn’t a dramatic change.
• I cheated on the diet.

Friday was my wife’s birthday, but I maintained good discipline at the restaurant where we celebrated.  I had a 10-oz. prime rib, a small Caesar salad without croutons, creamed spinach, and one glass of red wine.  The wine was my second serving of alcohol for the week, which means it was also supposed to be my last.

But on Saturday, I met my best friend of nearly 40 years (egads, I’m old!) at a local pub.  As often happens when lifelong chums get together to enjoy themselves, the conversation soon turned to the causes of fatty liver disease.  I’m a big believer in the power of visual aids, so I had the waitress bring a succession of Yuengling beers and deep-fried snacks to our table in order to emphasize my points.

After finishing off my third pint of Yuengling and some mozzarella sticks, I tapped my empty glass and said, “You see?  This is how people put fat in their livers.  Bad idea.”  My friend agreed and likewise finished off his third pint to demonstrate his comprehension of the science.

The waitress doubted that either of us actually has a fatty liver, but as far as I could tell, she has very little medical training.  Also, I think she was angling for a sizable tip.

When I got home from the pub, I confirmed that beer and other carbohydrates make you hungry by consuming a big bowl of almonds and cashews without feeling particularly full.  So my three weeks on the cure haven’t exactly been three weeks on the cure.

Anyway, I’ll happily take the one-pound loss for the week.  Back to the meat.

I weighed myself at the gym yesterday, which was the morning of my 14th day on the 6-Week Cure.  I started at 205; yesterday I weighed 201. This morning, I measured my girth at the biggest part, around the love handles and belly button.  That’s gone from 41 inches to 39, which pleases me more than the weight loss.  I’ve also had to start cinching my belt a notch tighter, which means I’ve lost some fat below the belly as well. (Since I’m not over 65 yet, I’m still allowed to wear my belt below my belly button.)

As I’ve said many times, I don’t give a hoot about weight and BMI.  When I’m diligent about working out, I add muscle and get heavier.  My current BMI is 28.  Tim Tebow of the Florida Gators has a BMI of 30.6  — he’s 6′3″ and weighs 245, which makes him technically obese.  Guess which one of us is fatter?

I’d say the most pleasant surprise so far has been the effect of drinking whey protein shakes, which seem to be helping my strength.  I was stuck for awhile on a couple of weight machines — couldn’t squeeze out that one more rep, despite huffing and puffing and blowing the house down — but during the two weeks of drinking the shakes, I went up on every machine except the leg press and leg curl.  I can’t go up on those, because I’ve reached the bottom of the weight stack.

Today I begin week #3 - bring on the meat!

This is another in a series of recipes by Jason Sandeman, the Well Done Chef. Enjoy.

There is a KFC in my neighborhood that always has a line up to the block. I have even frequented the joint a few times myself. Nothing tastes better than the secret 11 herbs and spices, and let me tell you, that’s the way they like it.

Let’s put that aside for now.  To feed your family, it costs a hefty $35-45$, and you also get all the “extras” that come with your “meal.” You know, the pureed cabbage and onion coleslaw is a real treat too!

The above picture is what I bought with a small trek to a grocery store and a farmer’s kiosk. The total cost was $18.00 CDN. The largest cost came from the chicken, which is free range. (That means it will actually taste like chicken when you eat it.)

All PETA protests aside, you need to ask yourself what is going into your chicken. There are rumors about four-winged chickens at the Colonel’s hut. You have no control over what they serve you, except to opt out. 

There has been a lot of speculation on what goes into that famous recipe. If you ask an employee, they will tell you everything comes in a mix and a powder. I had a friend who worked at the Colonel’s who can vouch for that.

The following recipe will take a bit of time. It is not something you can just whip up when you get home. You might want to save it for a day when you are all relaxed. (If that even happens now.) I find Sunday is great.

In my neighborhood, the wait at KFC can sometimes be an hour. This dish will take slightly longer, and save your hard earned dollars. Who wants to work extra so you can fill the Colonel’s pockets?

You might miss the interaction with the pimply faced teenager who takes your order with a bored look on his face. If that is the case, invite him over for dinner. You might even make a revolution for his taste buds, and that is always a good thing.

Make sure you have your family near the kitchen when this comes out, so you look like a hero. Their mouths will be watering when the chicken comes out of the oven.  They will probably not even want to wait for the chicken to rest. Slap their hands away and make them wait!

So, let’s start on a picture adventure, and the recipe will follow.

Here we combine the juice and zest of 2 lemons, 2 sprigs of rosemary, 2 cloves of garlic minced, and a 1/4 cup of extra-virgin olive oil. This is the base of the juicy goodness for the outside of the chicken.

Stuff the chicken with the leftover lemon halves, and a couple of carrots. Tie the chicken up nicely. We put the lemon and carrots inside for two reasons: 1) The inside of the chicken will baste in their goodness, and 2) the liquid that escapes will flavor the broth. This will be important later on.

Place the chicken in your roasting pan with the breasts facing up. Don’t worry about the empty space around the bird; we will be filling that later.

This is a lovely acorn squash. It is in season right now, and it looks like it will be nice to eat with this chicken. Don’t let this vegetable intimidate you, though. Cut it in half, and scoop out the seeds.

Cut the squash into wedges. I do this so that we keep the nice shape that nature intended for us. Leave the peel on; all the goodness is there.

Here is an action shot! Place your cut new potatoes, acorn squash, chopped onions, carrots and a cup of water into the pan with the chicken. Place it into a 400°F oven in the middle rack. You will have to cook it for an hour to and hour and a half. Make sure you maintain the water level in the roasting pan by adding water as necessary.

People always ask me, “How long to cook the bird?” My answer is always until it is done. You want the bird to reach 180°F before you take it out of the oven. Here we still have a way to go.

Once your masterpiece has reached the right temperature, pull it out of the roasting pan, place it on your cutting board and cover it with foil. You want to leave it about 15 minutes so the chicken can relax, and the juices can redistribute throughout the chicken. That way it won’t taste like your Aunt’s chicken. (You know, where you all have to pretend the chicken is really nice, although it tastes like sawdust.)

Here is the final plate. I cut up the chicken, and served it with the roasted vegetables from the pan. The little cup holds the broth for dipping with the chicken. If you want, you could slightly thicken the broth, but I feel it is better to leave it in its natural state. Sure beats the Colonel’s pasty gravy!

That’s the recipe in pictures; here is the recipe for you left-brained folk:

Lemon Rosemary Chicken
Servings: 4

• 1 chicken, whole (about 1.5 kg, or 3 lbs)
• 2 lemons, zest and juice
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 60 mL (1/4 cup) extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• to taste kosher salt
• to taste black pepper freshly ground
• 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled and sliced thickly
• 1 acorn squash, seeded and cut into wedges
• 10 baby new potatoes, scrubbed 

1. Combine lemon zest, juice, rosemary, salt, pepper, and olive oil together in a large bowl.
2. Stuff chicken with lemon halves,  carrots, onions, rosemary sprigs.
   Truss chicken and coat with lemon rosemary mixture.
3. Place chicken in a roasting pan, with the breasts facing upward.
   Toss vegetables in remaining mixture; place around chicken in roasting pan.
4. Add 250 mL (1 cup) water to the roasting pan, place into 375°F oven.
   Roast for at least 1 hour, replacing water as necessary to maintain a constant level of broth.
5. When chicken is done (a thermometer would read 180°F) pull the chicken out of the oven and place on cutting board.
6. Cover with aluminum foil and allow the chicken to rest for 15 minutes. (This will relax the chicken, allowing the juices to redistribute, and make sure the chicken is tender when you serve it.)
7. Carve up the chicken and serve.
8. The broth can be thickened slightly if you like, or it can be served as is.
9. The carcass can be used for chicken stock — recipe here.