While I’m taking a week off (mostly) and enjoying having Jimmy and Christine Moore as guests, I thought I’d post more letters from viewers.
Tom,
I know your movie has been out for quite some time but my husband and I just watched it and LOVE IT!
Over the past few months we’ve been following the paleo lifestyle. We are in our early 40s are recognize that carbs are not our friends. We realized this as we did research to help our daughter combat ADHD without meds. We have cut out most sugar (she can have cake at school etc and a cheat night each week at home) and dyes, most carbs, etc. After changing her food consumption she’s been as good as gold. I think her diagnosis has saved the entire family.
As I was eating lunch at work today (beef patty, cauliflower rice made with onions and olive oil) and a pile of sauteed vege’s (made with coconut oil) I was struck at what my co-workers eating….progresso low everything soup. I was so glad to have a huge meal with saturated fat. I won’t be hungry for hours. I was reading your blog about Fatty Patty and how she craves carbs to keep her account up. That resonates with me. I was a weight watchers member for 12 HUNGRY years. I did get to goal but under an extreme amount of stress, lack of sleep and starvation. Did I mention I was up to running 20-25 miles per week to maintain? I feel so good today. I walk as much as I can and play.
Thanks for continuing to inspire.
Becky
Thank you, Becky. These letters keep me inspired too.
Tom,
I don’t know if you recall this exchange from 2 years ago or not but I wanted to give you an update either way. 3 years ago I barely knew what a marathon was except that it involved something I never thought I’d even try, running. Well, a little more than a month ago on May 5th, 2013, my wife and I finished our first marathon hand-in-hand in 5:04:38!! Figured I’d attach a picture too!
The one on the left is from, I believe, September of 2010 at my peak weight of 265# and the right is at the finish of the 2013 Pittsburgh marathon at around 170#!! I settle at around 185 I think but obviously weight isn’t the best judge either way!
Thanks again for the inspiration!!
Alex
Nearly 100 pounds lighter and running marathons? You’re in the inspiration here, Alex. Congratulations to you and your wife.
Tom,
Thank you sooo much for your movie. It literally changed my life. I was on the verge of trying to become a vegetarian (again) after seeing so many documentaries about the evils of meat. Like you, I tried a lot of diets that didn’t work. The only one I believed in was Atkins, which is too hardcore for me but definitely enlightened me about carbs. Atkins works!!! But after seeing documentaries like “The Gershon Miracle” and “Forks Over Knives,” I was confused. There’s so much misinformation out there. Thank God I decided to check out your movie before delving back into the depressing, strict and almost impossible vegetarian lifestyle.
Thanks to you and your documentary, I now look forward to eating. My mood has improved, my depression is gone, the weight is flying off, and I’m much, much more happy and content. I eat salads, yes. But I also eat chicken, steak, eggs … you name it. I almost never eat sweets. I probably consume under 39 carbs a day. I no longer skip meals, starving myself for no reason. Food is no longer the enemy.
There’s much more I could write, but since I’m on my iPhone and texting a long email isn’t fun, let me just say again… thank you. You’ve improved my life immeasurably.
Yours,
Vince
You hit the nail on the head, Vince: Food is no longer the enemy. I remember all those years of feeling guilty pretty much every time I ate a meal I really enjoyed. That’s the great thing about a diet that allows you to eat foods you like and lose weight without having to endure being hungry all the time.
Hi Tom!
I loved your movie! I’ve watched it twice already and will probably watch it again with my family as I unapologetically stuff my face with saturated fats!
Your movie gave me permission to eat the things I know my body wants to eat but have always felt guilty eating. For the past few years everywhere I turn I’ve been bashed over the head with some self-righteous vegan judging me and my cheeseburger with ‘facts’ about health. I even tried to go green myself when the noise got too loud. I now realize that the times where I have been most depressed (standing on a balcony ledge kind of depressed) are the ones where I was living off of soy, white flour, and sugar.
I can now see that when I eat red meat and dairy, I feel happier, more satisfied after a meal, and I don’t crave carbs or sugar! Thanks so much for the PERMISSION to eat, and for the permission to flip the bird to passing vegans. (I won’t really do that, I’ll just tell them to watch your movie as I smugly eat my steak!)
Thanks again for this amazing film!
Jasmin
Heh-heh-heh. I don’t encourage people to flip the bird to vegans, but if they get in your face, well …
Hi Tom,
I just wanted to be yet another person to thank you for your Fat Head movie. I first watched it about a year and a half ago. My wife was out of town, so I was home alone and decided to search Netflix for an interesting documentary to watch. I came across your movie with the description that it was a rebuttal to “Super Size Me”. I thought it might be kind of entertaining, so I decided to watch it.
Since I was a bachelor for the weekend, as I watched the movie, I ate a bag of caramel candies and a bag of chips with some cream cheese dip (the cream cheese was probably the healthiest thing I was eating, and I shudder to think that I actually used to eat like that). By the time I got to the end of the movie, my thought was, “Oh man, he’s just pushing that Atkins crap!” … but something stuck with me…the more I thought about the movie and the points you made, the more I kept thinking about how much sense it made.
A few months later, my wife was out of town again, and I once again decided to watch Fat Head so I could re-absorb all the info. This time I decided, “What the heck? Nothing else has worked. I may as well give it a shot.” I texted my wife to pick up a couple of dozen eggs on the way home, which she thought was kind of odd, but did it anyway.
I then started on my lower-carb diet. I still had my honey-nut cheerios in the morning, but I was having less of them, and I was having them with half-and-half instead of milk. I also had a side of eggs. My lunch consisted of more meat and fatty foods, but I was still having my sandwiches. So even though I was switching to a lower-carb diet, I still hadn’t switched completely to a low-carb diet (I calculated I was down to about 70-80 grams a day, which was still a considerable improvement).
I was surprised to find that when I left work, I was no longer hungry, and I used to ALWAYS be hungry leaving work and couldn’t wait to get home to have dinner. I was also finding that the sandwich in my lunch, which used to be the most satisfying, was now the least satisfying.
My wife was not quite on the low-carb bandwagon yet, and she thought I was maybe being a little bit obsessive by reading everything I could find online and watching every youtube video relating to low-carb. Eventually, I bought the Atkins book, which has led to the diet I eat today. My wife did eventually come on board, and I had even asked her once if she wanted to watch Fat Head. She said, “No. Just tell me what to eat” … LOL
What has surprised me the most about this experience has been my sweet tooth – it’s gone! And I loooooooooooved sweets. Which just goes to show how much your appetite can change when you start feeding your body what it really needs.
I can’t thank you enough, and my life (and many others’) have been changed forever because of your movie.
Dallas
I never thought of Fat Head as the kind of movie men watch when their wives are out of town, but I’m glad you watched it and were inspired to give up the sweets.
Hi, Tom
I emailed you back in February after watching Fat Head, and you were gracious enough to give me dietary advice and pointed me to a couple different resources.
Nearly five months later, I just wanted to respond back with my eternal gratitude. At 5’6, 230lbs, I was never able to get my weight and health under control no matter what diet I went on. Today, I am hovering in the 150s and love it! I’ve also had significant health improvements. My cholesterol levels are normalized, blood pressure went down, severe allergies that I’ve dealt with my entire life have vanished, and my migraine headaches I would continually get are gone! Thanks so much for the time and effort you spent making Fat Head and are still spending today by continuing to point people ahead on the road of health! Bless you!
Warmest regards,
Chris
In a follow-up email, Chris also told me this:
I even managed to convert my doctor, so I’m pretty happy about the whole thing!
Anyone who can convert a doctor deserves three cheers. So three cheers for you, Chris.
If you enjoy my posts, please consider a small donation to the Fat Head Kids GoFundMe campaign.
I love the success stories!
Thank you for sharing these letters during your week off. They served as much needed inspiration to me today.
I remember the first time I was exposed to Fat Head. I went to bed early to be refreshed for an important meeting the next day. My precious sleep was constantly interrupted by my husband and teenage daughter laughing hysterically while watching your movie in the next room. At that moment you were NOT my favorite person.
Since then I’ve read Gary Taubes’ books and I watch Fat Head whenever I need a little reminder of why I’m doing this. By the time my mother was my age (mid-40’s) she had two cardiac events requiring an angioplasty and then a bypass. I had developed her same health habits to an even greater extreme and terrified of similar outcomes.
I’ve since quit smoking and thanks to the work of you and others to inform, my eating patterns are now geared toward health and vitality. I’m not as healthy as I would like to be yet, but I’m getting closer.
Sorry to interrupt your sleep, but I’m glad you were inspired to change your habits.
Tom:
It’s easy to become distracted by the peanut gallery. “That can’t possibly work because eating less and moving more is all that matters/we ‘adjusted’ the Nurses Health Study data again/genetic knockout mouse studies prove it/we found one vegan MD willing to state otherwise.”
Fortunately, observed reality tells us otherwise.
JS
Indeed.
“I never thought of Fat Head as the kind of movie men watch when their wives are out of town…”
Perhaps he was initially looking for a different parody of “Super Size Me!” — perhaps with a rating between “W” and “Y”?
That’s what I was thinking. Although when my wife left town, I watched movies she’d consider stupid … which usually meant something starring Stallone or Schwarzenegger.
I think I was just looking for a documentary, any documentary, to watch at the time. I really don’t recall how I came across “Fathead,” but I’m glad I did 🙂
I’m glad you did too.
Serendipity!!
I love the success stories!
Thank you for sharing these letters during your week off. They served as much needed inspiration to me today.
I remember the first time I was exposed to Fat Head. I went to bed early to be refreshed for an important meeting the next day. My precious sleep was constantly interrupted by my husband and teenage daughter laughing hysterically while watching your movie in the next room. At that moment you were NOT my favorite person.
Since then I’ve read Gary Taubes’ books and I watch Fat Head whenever I need a little reminder of why I’m doing this. By the time my mother was my age (mid-40’s) she had two cardiac events requiring an angioplasty and then a bypass. I had developed her same health habits to an even greater extreme and terrified of similar outcomes.
I’ve since quit smoking and thanks to the work of you and others to inform, my eating patterns are now geared toward health and vitality. I’m not as healthy as I would like to be yet, but I’m getting closer.
Sorry to interrupt your sleep, but I’m glad you were inspired to change your habits.
Thank you, Tom, for the film and this blog. I’m 100 pounds thinner, and the shape of my body has improved dramatically. Now, I’m shaped like a human female (sexy hourglass), where before I was shaped like a graceful manatee or perhaps a cute sea lion. After decades of being taken by the diet industry and vegetarianism, living well (i.e. healthy and happy) is the best revenge! 🙂
It certainly is, especially when you’re living well by eating well.
Tom:
It’s easy to become distracted by the peanut gallery. “That can’t possibly work because eating less and moving more is all that matters/we ‘adjusted’ the Nurses Health Study data again/genetic knockout mouse studies prove it/we found one vegan MD willing to state otherwise.”
Fortunately, observed reality tells us otherwise.
JS
Indeed.
Im not sure you realise how many people you have influenced for the better Tom.
They say a man can change the world – Im not sure about that but in my immediate circle, 7 people have changed from watching Fat Head. Judging from all the comments you get and the fact the movie is referenced all over the WWW suggestions you have helped 1000’s.
BTW thanks for enlightening me so I am now 40 pounds lighter, and on the road for another 20. My hubby appreciates it a lot 😉
Tell hubby if I’m ever in New Zealand, he can buy me a drink.
These letters make me feel warm and fuzzy! “Food is no longer the enemy” – powerful stuff. Widespread misinformation has made people scared to eat real food – but food is one of life’s greatest pleasures! It shouldn’t be so terrifying.
“I never thought of Fat Head as the kind of movie men watch when their wives are out of town…”
Perhaps he was initially looking for a different parody of “Super Size Me!” — perhaps with a rating between “W” and “Y”?
That’s what I was thinking. Although when my wife left town, I watched movies she’d consider stupid … which usually meant something starring Stallone or Schwarzenegger.
I think I was just looking for a documentary, any documentary, to watch at the time. I really don’t recall how I came across “Fathead,” but I’m glad I did 🙂
I’m glad you did too.
Serendipity!!
Thank you, Tom, for the film and this blog. I’m 100 pounds thinner, and the shape of my body has improved dramatically. Now, I’m shaped like a human female (sexy hourglass), where before I was shaped like a graceful manatee or perhaps a cute sea lion. After decades of being taken by the diet industry and vegetarianism, living well (i.e. healthy and happy) is the best revenge! 🙂
It certainly is, especially when you’re living well by eating well.
Im not sure you realise how many people you have influenced for the better Tom.
They say a man can change the world – Im not sure about that but in my immediate circle, 7 people have changed from watching Fat Head. Judging from all the comments you get and the fact the movie is referenced all over the WWW suggestions you have helped 1000’s.
BTW thanks for enlightening me so I am now 40 pounds lighter, and on the road for another 20. My hubby appreciates it a lot 😉
Tell hubby if I’m ever in New Zealand, he can buy me a drink.
These letters make me feel warm and fuzzy! “Food is no longer the enemy” – powerful stuff. Widespread misinformation has made people scared to eat real food – but food is one of life’s greatest pleasures! It shouldn’t be so terrifying.
Off topic, but these success stories prompt me to share a low-carb recipe variation I tried last night. You know how dry and tasteless pork roasts can be: I rubbed salt, pepper and my homemade dried onions on a smallish roast, then wrapped it with bacon strips and put it in the crockpot. The roast was still somewhat frozen, so I set the crockpot on high and let it cook for 4-5 hours. It turned out tasty and moist. My husband raved about the flavor — I thought it was good too, and I’m not a huge fan of pork roast. We’re looking forward to the leftovers for lunch today.
Proof that almost all foods are better with bacon.
Pork wrapped in pork…love it.
I’ve been avoiding pork roasts (the loins, right?) b/c they were too dry and lacked flavor. Can’t believe I didn’t think to just wrap them in bacon. I will be trying this. Did the bacon hold up on its own, or did you use toothpicks to keep it on the meat?
I just made this tonight. I used a 2.5 lbs pork roast wrapped in a bacon web (maybe 10 strips in all, I didn’t count). I cooked it on low in the slow cooker for 8 hours, and then let it sit on warm for another hour. The bacon held up just fine, no toothpicks needed. After 8 hours, that roast was sitting half submerged in a pool of bacon grease, with the bacon still in tact.
I still found it a bit dry and tasteless, but not as bad as a normal pork roast. I rubbed it with garlic salt and pepper, with no onion. When I do it again (yes, I’ll try it again), I will use onion, more bacon (so it is submerged in bacon grease), and I may use some fresh rosemary. If you don’t have a problem with eating vinegar (not really paleo), then I also think using a bit of East Carolina barbecue sauce is a nice touch.
I’m sure the vegans will flip the bird right back at you…one made of tofu.
These are great stories! I have noticed that many people often associate the dietary changes to the Atkins diet. I think that diet is great as far as it does work for an efficient weight loss leading to lifestyle minus some of the foods it allowed (low carb junk foods, vegetarian options, and artificial sweeteners), but as long as they are given the points as to why a lifestyle similar to Atkins is good, then they understand why he was right to begin with as opposed to being the doctor who approved “unlimited fatty meats and cheese” and “license to gorge.”
Unfortunately, quite a few people assumed they knew what Atkins recommended without actually reading his books.
Oh believe me…I know. Sometimes I say I consider many of the methods with a mix of paleo and primal blueprint to avoid “know-it-alls”. My pet peeve is when some people see me eat a little fruit, I have been asked “I thought fruit wasn’t allowed on Atkins?” Of course that is only the first 2 weeks it isn’t.
Yup. I think most critics of the Atkins diet don’t even know what it is.
Off topic, but these success stories prompt me to share a low-carb recipe variation I tried last night. You know how dry and tasteless pork roasts can be: I rubbed salt, pepper and my homemade dried onions on a smallish roast, then wrapped it with bacon strips and put it in the crockpot. The roast was still somewhat frozen, so I set the crockpot on high and let it cook for 4-5 hours. It turned out tasty and moist. My husband raved about the flavor — I thought it was good too, and I’m not a huge fan of pork roast. We’re looking forward to the leftovers for lunch today.
Proof that almost all foods are better with bacon.
Pork wrapped in pork…love it.
I’ve been avoiding pork roasts (the loins, right?) b/c they were too dry and lacked flavor. Can’t believe I didn’t think to just wrap them in bacon. I will be trying this. Did the bacon hold up on its own, or did you use toothpicks to keep it on the meat?
I just made this tonight. I used a 2.5 lbs pork roast wrapped in a bacon web (maybe 10 strips in all, I didn’t count). I cooked it on low in the slow cooker for 8 hours, and then let it sit on warm for another hour. The bacon held up just fine, no toothpicks needed. After 8 hours, that roast was sitting half submerged in a pool of bacon grease, with the bacon still in tact.
I still found it a bit dry and tasteless, but not as bad as a normal pork roast. I rubbed it with garlic salt and pepper, with no onion. When I do it again (yes, I’ll try it again), I will use onion, more bacon (so it is submerged in bacon grease), and I may use some fresh rosemary. If you don’t have a problem with eating vinegar (not really paleo), then I also think using a bit of East Carolina barbecue sauce is a nice touch.
I’m sure the vegans will flip the bird right back at you…one made of tofu.
These are great stories! I have noticed that many people often associate the dietary changes to the Atkins diet. I think that diet is great as far as it does work for an efficient weight loss leading to lifestyle minus some of the foods it allowed (low carb junk foods, vegetarian options, and artificial sweeteners), but as long as they are given the points as to why a lifestyle similar to Atkins is good, then they understand why he was right to begin with as opposed to being the doctor who approved “unlimited fatty meats and cheese” and “license to gorge.”
Unfortunately, quite a few people assumed they knew what Atkins recommended without actually reading his books.
Oh believe me…I know. Sometimes I say I consider many of the methods with a mix of paleo and primal blueprint to avoid “know-it-alls”. My pet peeve is when some people see me eat a little fruit, I have been asked “I thought fruit wasn’t allowed on Atkins?” Of course that is only the first 2 weeks it isn’t.
Yup. I think most critics of the Atkins diet don’t even know what it is.
To vegans:
How many field mice are exterminated for soy, wheat, etc….?
Are tigers, lions, sharks, bears and wolves “immoral” for eating meat?
Why do we have canine teach?
🙂
http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2013/07/kitten-fed-strict-vegan-diet-by-owners-nearly-dies.html
Vegan kitten nearly dies and doctors rescue it with meat. Unreal. Now kittens are also omnivores like us , aren’t they?:p
People who claim to love animals and then stick a cat on vegan diet are nuts.
Hear that, Ellen DeGeneres?
To vegans:
How many field mice are exterminated for soy, wheat, etc….?
Are tigers, lions, sharks, bears and wolves “immoral” for eating meat?
Why do we have canine teach?
🙂
http://www.realclearscience.com/blog/2013/07/kitten-fed-strict-vegan-diet-by-owners-nearly-dies.html
Vegan kitten nearly dies and doctors rescue it with meat. Unreal. Now kittens are also omnivores like us , aren’t they?:p
People who claim to love animals and then stick a cat on vegan diet are nuts.
Hear that, Ellen DeGeneres?
“I never thought of Fat Head as the kind of movie men watch when their wives are out of town”
I loaned my (well … loaner copy {wink}) of Fat Head to a friend — and she reported back that her 14-yr-old son was “bored” and thought Fat Head would be like … I dunno… “Dumb and Dumber”?! So HE put it on and began watching it… I don’t remember if HE finished it, but she sure did! Another success in your column , Tom!
Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford Jim Carrey’s asking price.
“I never thought of Fat Head as the kind of movie men watch when their wives are out of town”
I loaned my (well … loaner copy {wink}) of Fat Head to a friend — and she reported back that her 14-yr-old son was “bored” and thought Fat Head would be like … I dunno… “Dumb and Dumber”?! So HE put it on and began watching it… I don’t remember if HE finished it, but she sure did! Another success in your column , Tom!
Unfortunately, I couldn’t afford Jim Carrey’s asking price.
Awesome letters! I can relate to the movie watching by myself since the wife doesn’t like this stuff either. It’s been almost 2 yrs and I can’t believe I use to eat SAD.
On a down side (for tv), I sleep much better and don’t have time to browse Netflix late at night 🙂
Sounds like a worthwhile trade.
Austin, if I remember correctly, a famous early low-carber also reported sleeping better than before:
http://www.lowcarb.ca/corpulence/
Awesome letters! I can relate to the movie watching by myself since the wife doesn’t like this stuff either. It’s been almost 2 yrs and I can’t believe I use to eat SAD.
On a down side (for tv), I sleep much better and don’t have time to browse Netflix late at night 🙂
Sounds like a worthwhile trade.
Austin, if I remember correctly, a famous early low-carber also reported sleeping better than before:
http://www.lowcarb.ca/corpulence/
Tom,
Props to you for standing up to the loud and judgmental voices out there preaching what we all should be eating!
Thank you.
Tom,
Props to you for standing up to the loud and judgmental voices out there preaching what we all should be eating!
Thank you.
Like many others I too love the success stories. Well done to all of you! Tom, it must be incredibly gratifying to know you have aided in such a fundamental transformation for the better of so many lives. When you were putting in the hard yards making FH I wonder if you ever thought you would get to this point. Well done to you too!
I never anticipated receiving “you changed my life” emails. It’s gratifying and humbling.
Today I talked to my friend. Who over the last 5 years has gained at least 100 pounds. She used to control her weight through the usual means: eating plenty of fruits, soy products, avoiding dairy and reducing fat and meat. Of course her weight increased steadily. She was never really able to stick to a plan and the amount of sport / walking she felt was necessary was never accomodatable with her busy life style. She always thought veganism is the solution, but has never had any disciplined approach to sticking with it.
Today, she finally talked about the real problem: carbs. Yay.
So, I hope she has the discipline to make a change, but I directed her to your (and some other) sites to gather inspiration and support.
I wish her well.
Like many others I too love the success stories. Well done to all of you! Tom, it must be incredibly gratifying to know you have aided in such a fundamental transformation for the better of so many lives. When you were putting in the hard yards making FH I wonder if you ever thought you would get to this point. Well done to you too!
I never anticipated receiving “you changed my life” emails. It’s gratifying and humbling.
Today I talked to my friend. Who over the last 5 years has gained at least 100 pounds. She used to control her weight through the usual means: eating plenty of fruits, soy products, avoiding dairy and reducing fat and meat. Of course her weight increased steadily. She was never really able to stick to a plan and the amount of sport / walking she felt was necessary was never accomodatable with her busy life style. She always thought veganism is the solution, but has never had any disciplined approach to sticking with it.
Today, she finally talked about the real problem: carbs. Yay.
So, I hope she has the discipline to make a change, but I directed her to your (and some other) sites to gather inspiration and support.
I wish her well.