Since my last post raised a hubbub and, of course, prompted more online temper-tantrums from the half-baked brains at Julian Bakery, I’m going to share a few more observations about Mr. Collins and Mr. Squealer, then get back to more important stuff.
I’m not going to link to their videos or posts, by the way. Some of you have already found them and left your own comments – at least until the open and honest Collins and Squealer stopped allowing those comments. If you want to find their garbage online, I’m sure you can. I’ll just recount some of their predictable excuses, counter-attacks, whatever you want to call them, and respond.
Here’s my favorite: Why would anyone take weight-loss advice from a comedian?
Har-dee-har-har! Comic genius. That line just never gets old. I’m sure it will be every bit as funny the next thousand times as it was the first thousand.
(Oh, and the barely-literate Mr. Collins — who “rights” his own books and who called me a coward for attacking him from behind a computer after he attacked Jimmy Moore and Diane Sanfilippo from behind a computer — also called me an idiot. Now that is comic genius. I’m still laughing.)
In the past few years, I’ve posted plenty of letters (many including dramatic before-and-after photos) from viewers expressing their eternal gratitude to the comedian. I’ve received way more of those letters than I’ve posted. Some of the letters were so sincere and expressed such heartfelt emotions, I was choked up after reading them. Those are the people who matter to me. One of those letters outweighs a thousand snarky comments from internet cowboys who think they’re either being funny or are going to wound my ego with comments like “Oh, yeah, a comedian. Some expert, huh?”
But what the heck, I’ll deal with the issue at hand, since Mr. Collins and Mr. Squealer raised it again.
Okay, boys, you got me: I don’t have a university degree in health science, or nutrition science, or whatever degree would be considered an official qualification. But that is a strange criticism indeed coming from the two of you, since you don’t either.
Mr. Collins earned degrees in criminal justice and forensic science, according to his bio. So he’s a trained cop. That’s every bit as relevant to health and nutrition as my degree in journalism.
Oh yeah, great idea, get your diet advice from a cop. Don’t they all eat donuts? Har-dee-har-har!
Now of course, Mr. Collins may know a ton about health and nutrition. But if he does, he learned it outside the university environment – just like I did, and just like a lot of other bloggers and authors did. Even the doctors who know what the hell they’re talking about when it comes to nutrition will happily tell you they didn’t learn what they know in med school.
But the real impressive credentials here belong to Mr. Squealer. Because, ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Squealer achieved his lofty position in life by having the good fortune to be born to a mommy who started Julian Bakery many years ago and then made her son the CEO.
Oh yeah, great idea — get your diet advice from a member of the lucky-sperm club whose mommy started a bread business and then turned it over to her precious little boy! Great qualifications, there, Dude! Har-dee-har-har!
Once again, Mr. Squealer may actually know a lot about nutrition. But if so, he has no official qualifications, and having your mommy make you the CEO of her company is no more relevant of a background than traveling around the country doing shows in comedy clubs.
Oh, but wait … Collins and Squealer already explained in Mr. Collins’ barely-literate post why people should listen to them and ignore people like Jimmy Moore and Diane Sanfilippo. Here’s the reason:
Just look at us. Look at our pictures! It’s obvious we know what we’re talking about, because we have abs!
Uh-huh. So does this guy:
That’s my son Zack, and he’s always had those abs. He had those abs when he was living on pizza, potato chips and Coca-Cola. (He’s since cleaned up his diet.) He had those abs when he tried and failed to gain weight by massively overeating. (He was trying to get heavier while playing power forward on his high-school basketball team.) His mother (not Chareva) had that same ridiculously-low level of body fat even when she developed the very bad habit of drinking a helluva lot of beer every day.
Some people are lucky like that. They were born to be lean. The difference is that Zack has the intelligence to realize that just because he’s cut, that doesn’t make him an expert on how to lose weight. His advice (since he has a nice, self-effacing sense of humor) would probably be something like, “It’s easy. Go out and inherit my mother’s genes.”
Oh, but wait … in Mr. Collins’ barely-literate post, Mr. Squealer assures us he found the answer to his own (ahem) weight problems, lost the weight, and has kept it off for three years. And by gosh, he’s willing to post pictures to prove it.
I included two of those pictures in my previous post:
Like I said in that post, that sure doesn’t look anything like a 33-pound weight loss to me. That looks like the difference between sucking some air into the belly in one shot, then tensing the abs and employing better lighting in the second shot.
But perhaps I was unfair. Mr. Squealer actually included three pictures. Here they are:
His body isn’t at the same angle in the middle shot, but the other two are pretty much straight-on. Since Collins and Squealer like to have fun with photos, I had some fun myself — the difference being I’m not going to tell any lies while having fun.
I took those two pictures, put them in Photoshop, and resized them until Mr. Squealer was the same size in both shots. (I matched top of the head to belly button, and also made sure his nipples were the same distance apart in both shots.) On the “fat” Mr. Squealer shot, I drew a red line just below the belly button and just touching the edges of his waist. Then I copied the red line to the “lean” shot. These lines are exactly the same width. You can download the picture and measure yourself. Here’s what we’ve got:
My, my, my, isn’t that strange? Mr. Squealer claims he was 220 pounds in the “fat” shot and 185 pounds in the “lean” shot. The guy lost 35 pounds – nearly one-sixth of his entire body mass, you understand – yet his waist doesn’t appear to have gotten any narrower as a result. Oh, but he knows all about weight loss, because he used to be fat and had to lose 35 pounds. Just ask him. Honest guy like that would never lie.
If those are before-and-after shots of a man who lost 35 pounds, then I’m the King of England. So I’ll just come out and say it this time: Heath Squier is lying about his weight loss. He’s probably just sticking out his belly a bit in the “before” shot. I’d bet you dollars to donuts (and you can keep the donuts), he’s never been fat a day in his life. If he has been fat – really and truly fat — he can post pictures to prove it.
So Mr. Squealer’s qualifications come down to being born 1) naturally lean, and 2) to a mommy who started a bakery and was willing to make him the CEO. (Given his recent behavior, that might prove to be a bad decision.)
But you wouldn’t want to take advice from a comedian … har-dee-har-har!
Oh, I’m sorry … an overweight comedian! That’s the latest topper on the hilarious joke.
You see, in addition to showing up in comments and threatening to find me at a conference someday and commit some kind of physical violence for calling him an a-hole (proving that he’s very gosh-darned proud of how he put his life on line to protect my freedom of speech while in the military – just ask him), Mr. Collins added a comment on one of his videos describing me as another low carb failure who can’t even stay below 200 pounds.
Fascinating. In a reply to one of his barely-literate comments on my previous post, I suggested to Mr. Collins that if someone calls you an adolescent, an asshole, a fraud, or whatever, it’s not a good idea to prove him right with your next response. I guess he didn’t get the concept. Because I basically called these guys liars in my previous post, and he responded by telling a lie in public.
Where on earth did he come up with the (ahem) fact that I can’t stay below 200 pounds? I’ve never said that. No one else has said that. The scale doesn’t say that. I was just at the gym today. That’s the only place I weigh myself, because we don’t have a scale at home. I was at 196. I’m pretty much always within a pound or two of that number, sometimes a little above, sometimes a little below. And I wouldn’t panic if I did weigh 200 pounds. In fact, I posted a picture of myself awhile back and noted that it was me at exactly 200 pounds. Here it is:
Good grief, what a fat comedian! Is he taking over for Louie Anderson? Har-dee-har-har!
I’m 55 years old and spent most of my life as a fat guy. Now I’m not a fat guy. I’ve gone from this …
… to this.
The towel shot, you may recall, was taken on the morning of my 55th birthday.
In other words, unlike Mr. Squealer, I actually was fat and then got considerably leaner. I didn’t have to stand in front of a mirror and suck in air and puff out my belly to produce a “before” shot where I look sort of, maybe, kind of, a little bit fat – and then lie about my weight loss. I was the real deal.
So if I’m a low-carb failure because you can’t see all my ab muscles (which weren’t visible even when I was a rail-thin 10-year-old), I’m fine with that. I’m not really concerned about the opinions of a couple of dumb-jock types who have no flippin’ idea what it’s like to actually be a fat guy struggling to lose weight.
And speaking of the dumb jocks … their explanation of the “2009” Jimmy Moore picture that was actually taken in 2013 is that it’s no big deal and was probably an honest mistake. And then, to prove once again that he’s barely literate, Mr. Collins claimed that in my post, I said the picture maybe was from 2011, or maybe from 2012, then decided it was 2013. Must’ve been tough getting through cop school without being able to comprehend plain English. I explained, in clear and unambiguous language, why the picture couldn’t possibly be from 2011 or 2012, which means it was from 2013.
But let’s analyze that “honest mistake” excuse, shall we? How was this honest mistake made, exactly? What series of errors caused Collins and Squealer to believe that picture was taken in 2009? The only place I can find that picture online is on Jimmy’s site, where it’s clearly identified as being from 2013. If you don’t actually know when a picture was taken (and you’re not a dumbass), you find a way to verify the date. When I found the picture of Diane Sanfilippo I posted, I not only made sure it appeared in a collection of pictures taken at Paleo FX 2014, I blew it up in Photoshop and checked the date on the badge.
And like I said in the post, that picture took only seconds to find. But Collins and Squealer claim it was really, really difficult to find recent pictures of Diane, ya see. Uh-huh. That explains why so many people responded by quickly finding recent pictures of her and posting them on Facebook.
So that claim was clearly a lie. Mr. Squealer’s claim that he was 35 pounds heavier in his “before” picture is clearly a lie. Mr. Collins’ recent claim that I can’t keep my weight below 200 pounds is clearly a lie. So since lying is what habitual liars do, I’m going to step out on a limb and declare that the “honest mistake” about the date on Jimmy’s picture is a lie. The dumb jocks just didn’t think anyone would bust them on it.
And speaking of Jimmy … yes, he looks heavier in his AHS 2014 picture. He’s probably gained back some weight since losing the 80 pounds. According to the dumb jocks, this means nobody should listen to him about how to lose weight.
But since the dumb jocks claim to know everything there is to know about nutrition and health and weight loss (they have abs, after all!), they should know damned good and well that if you spend decades being obese and then lose a massive amount of weight, your body will always fight to regain the weight. A person who loses 100 pounds to end up at 240 has a totally different metabolism and set-point than someone who peaked at 240. That’s why nearly everyone who loses weight on The Biggest Loser gains most of it back. That’s why in diet studies, losing just 10% of your body weight and keeping it off is labeled as “success” — and most people in diet studies fail to achieve that success.
The tendency to become obese is largely genetic. So is the tendency to be lean and cut. That’s why twins who are separated at birth and raised in different families still end up having remarkably similar physiques. That’s why my son Zack was lean and cut on a totally lousy diet and is still lean and cut on a much better diet.
Unlike Collins and Squealer, Jimmy was born into a family of very fat people. (And I’m pretty sure his mommy didn’t start a bakery she could have him run later so he could think of himself as a successful businessman and expert on nutrition, but I’ll confirm with Jimmy.) Jimmy’s mother had bariatric surgery, for pete’s sake, and still managed to become obese again after initially losing 100 pounds. That’s his genetic background.
Yes, Jimmy’s weight has gone up and down. He will be battling that genetic burden (not to mention the damage he caused himself when he was drinking 12 Cokes per day in his thirties) for the rest of his life. But battle he does. For years, he weighed more than 400 pounds. If he’d just gotten down to 360 and stayed there, he would have been a “success” by diet-study standards. But he got down to 220. Then he slowly drifted back up to over 300. Then he shifted his diet again and lost 80 pounds. Now he’s gained some of that back. I suspect he’ll lose it, but let’s suppose he doesn’t. Let’s suppose he ends up at 250 and stays there.
That would still mean he’s more than 150 pounds down from his peak weight. It would still mean he’s shed nearly 40% of his peak weight – in a world where most obese people can’t lose 10% of their peak weight and keep it off. Ask any obesity researcher how he or she would feel about a protocol that allowed people to lose 40% of their initial weight.
So if the two dumb jocks/adolescent bullies who think they know everything there is to know about weight loss (because they have abs!) are so cock-sure about their expertise, here’s how they can prove it: stop making idiotic videos that attempt to fat-shame people who dare to report that Julian Bakery bread spikes their glucose just like any other bread or is the target of an FDA action. Stop making more videos and posting more barely-literate comments to justify your adolescent-bully behavior.
Instead, take that awesome expertise of yours, go find some seriously obese people who weigh 350 pounds or more, and coach them into losing so much weight, they look like you — with abs! Show us what real expertise can accomplish. Or hell, just coach them into losing 100 pounds and keeping it off. Show us how you – not some fat comedian and certainly not Jimmy Moore – have the answer these people need.
Because based on what I’ve seen so far, if I were 100 pounds overweight and my choice of a weight-loss coach was either an empathetic, kind-hearted guy who’s actually lost more than 150 pounds and understands the struggle … or a dumb jock who engages in internet fat-shaming and has to puff out his belly to make his naturally-lean body almost look a teensy bit fat, I’m going with the nice guy who’s been where I am – even if he still weighs 250 pounds and I can’t see his abs.
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reference: “another low carb failure who can’t even stay below 200 pounds.”
I’m 6’1″, and I hope to never be below 200 pounds. I currently weigh 225, and I’m actively trying to gain weight. I have no desire to be scrawny. I’ve been scrawny, and I’ve also been skinny fat, neither is acceptable to my goals.
After watching Fat Head, I weighed 219. The least I have weighed the past couple years is 204. But at 220, people would ask me if I had lost weight (since seeing me at 204). Bodyweight is a metric, but not the goal… not mine anyway. I will take today’s 225 over my original 219 any day of the week.
(FYI, since cleaning up my diet, now eating mostly fat rather than mostly grains, I finally got the energy to pick things up and put them down… thus my desire to grow.)
Focusing on the scale can get ridiculous indeed. When I left high school, I believe I was around 155 pounds, but I had a fat belly and little muscle. (I was also only 5’8″ at the time.) I’m 40-45 pounds heavier now, but in much better shape.
My goal is to eat right to stay healthy and work out (along with work on the farm) to stay strong. The number on the scale is only mildly interesting to me, which is why I don’t own a scale.
are we allowed to post links?
If so:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M957dACQyfU
Sure. That’s a great demonstration.
That video is awesome !!
I posted this in the previous blog on Julian’s.
Also I have found that sometimes peoples bellies will look a bit bigger after a huge meal because of the amount of food in their stomach, that could also explain the “miraculous” 35 pound weight loss.
Yup, someone else posted a video showing that as one of the techniques to produce a “before” shot.
Speaking of credentials, Sean Croxton actually has a fitness/nutrition college degree. And he always talks about how he got his real education from Amazon after trying to be a personal trainer and realizing how miserably all the information he learned in college fared when applied to real people.
Of course. So much of what is taught in college health and nutrition courses is just plain wrong, the health and nutrition coaches who are actually doing some good in the world learned the useful information elsewhere.
You are very persuasive with your writing Tom. I just realized that I was almost as mad yesterday about a bread maker as I was about the IRS scandal. 🙂 I know this is easy for me to say, but I’d love to see you do more documentaries. Are there any in the works? I would buy it–any topic.
Oh, I’m still waaaay more pissed at the IRS.
Chareva and I working on a book for kids that will have a companion DVD. Not quite a documentary, but we think it will be fun.
But Tom, as a tech guy like me you know how easy it is to lose data. Just sneeze and it goes away forever. People will believe that, right? lol. Even my non-techie friends ask if they are serious.
Oh, btw the computers of all our key people who had evidence crashed. The darndest thing. They were eating low carb Julian bread at the time of the crashes too.
And apparently all of those multiple backup system failed as well.
Hmmm. I first heard of Gary on the Fat Burning Man podcast. It was interesting because he talked the entire show about frauds selling crappy supplements through their blogs and Amazon. He described how easy it was to subcon out manufacturing supplements. When I checked out his website I was shocked (not really) to find he was one of those guys selling crappy supplements on a paleo blog. I should also mention he bragged about his credentials as an investigator, but he obviously didn’t do nearly the investigation work you did about Jimmy, Tom. Great job. By the way, Fat Head is what started me on my weight loss and health journey in 2011. I went from 204 lbs with poor blood work results to 163 with blood work that blows my doctor away. Guess I’d better start eating paleo bread so I can get even more ripped! Anyway, I owe you tremendous gratitude, Tom, for sparking my own health transformation.
Wait … Gary sells products?! Well then, that’s worse than a donate button. He has no credibility at all.
As for his investigating skills … I can’t help but wonder why he didn’t look at those pictures of Mr. Squealer and and say, “Uh … Heath? My investigator’s eyes tell me this doesn’t look anything like a 35-pound difference.”
Yup, he sells books, crappy supplements, and a few other things. http://www.primalpowermethod.com/store/
But my donate button undermines my credibility. His inability to recognize when he’s being a dumbass hypocrite is truly baffling.
Watched Fat Head a few years ago. Been paleo, low carb, since reading Ray Audette’s book in 1998. Hell, I’ve fluctuated between 218 and 165 over the years. The 218 was when I started. Down to 175, up to 190, down to 160. Hell, I am 52 years old and look better than most 25-year-olds, at 169#. The 218 was when I was eating bread. Have never tried their crap, use as a sponge bread, though. Love the rant. You sound like me after a few Jim Beams. Keep it up. I would love to hear a Dennis Miller rant on this.
Forgot to mention, I lost 48# in 5 weeks just by eating real food. After several days I actually dropped 1.5# every day. I weighed every day and it was 1.5# drop (after I peed in the morning). .5# bacon and 4 eggs for breakfast, ribs for lunch, if I was hungry, steak for dinner. Not much of a rabbit. Salad is only good if I have a hankerin for bleu cheese.
For the record, there was no Jim Beam or any other liquor involved in my writing process.
Speaking of credentials, Sean Croxton actually has a fitness/nutrition college degree. And he always talks about how he got his real education from Amazon after trying to be a personal trainer and realizing how miserably all the information he learned in college fared when applied to real people.
Of course. So much of what is taught in college health and nutrition courses is just plain wrong, the health and nutrition coaches who are actually doing some good in the world learned the useful information elsewhere.
You are very persuasive with your writing Tom. I just realized that I was almost as mad yesterday about a bread maker as I was about the IRS scandal. 🙂 I know this is easy for me to say, but I’d love to see you do more documentaries. Are there any in the works? I would buy it–any topic.
Oh, I’m still waaaay more pissed at the IRS.
Chareva and I working on a book for kids that will have a companion DVD. Not quite a documentary, but we think it will be fun.
But Tom, as a tech guy like me you know how easy it is to lose data. Just sneeze and it goes away forever. People will believe that, right? lol. Even my non-techie friends ask if they are serious.
Oh, btw the computers of all our key people who had evidence crashed. The darndest thing. They were eating low carb Julian bread at the time of the crashes too.
And apparently all of those multiple backup system failed as well.
Yes. 🙂 But aren’t we all supposed to be too stupid to know that? Funny thing is I don’t know anyone that dumb. I just know that the left thinks we are.
Watched Fat Head a few years ago. Been paleo, low carb, since reading Ray Audette’s book in 1998. Hell, I’ve fluctuated between 218 and 165 over the years. The 218 was when I started. Down to 175, up to 190, down to 160. Hell, I am 52 years old and look better than most 25-year-olds, at 169#. The 218 was when I was eating bread. Have never tried their crap, use as a sponge bread, though. Love the rant. You sound like me after a few Jim Beams. Keep it up. I would love to hear a Dennis Miller rant on this.
Forgot to mention, I lost 48# in 5 weeks just by eating real food. After several days I actually dropped 1.5# every day. I weighed every day and it was 1.5# drop (after I peed in the morning). .5# bacon and 4 eggs for breakfast, ribs for lunch, if I was hungry, steak for dinner. Not much of a rabbit. Salad is only good if I have a hankerin for bleu cheese.
For the record, there was no Jim Beam or any other liquor involved in my writing process.
Thank you Tom, for putting all the hard work into explaining things so simply that any alternate explanation would seem illogical. I always admire your ability to do that. In the rare occasion that I find myself trying to defend my own nutritional beliefs, I often will accidentally bring up a “point” that is unnecessary and has holes in it. No matter how many scientific and accurate things I had said up to that point, my stance immediately becomes less convincing after something like that comes out of my mouth.
Also, about the photos that these Julian guys dug up, if you ask anybody who knows me in person whether my weight looks any different now than it did 10 years ago after my initial weight loss, they would almost definitely say “no”. However, if someone decided to scour my Facebook page trying to find a recent photo that makes me look fat, I guarantee that they will be able to. The wrong shirt, combined with the wrong lighting, combined with the wrong pose, combined with the wrong climate, etc., can make all the difference.
Sure, and the celebrity tabloids count on that. Catch some star in bad light with bad posture or whatever, and we get the “[Insert Star Name] Weight Gain Scandal!” headline.
Unequivocally the best post you’ve written on this blog. A million thank-you’s for fighting the good fight and doing so with equal parts humor and intelligence.
Thank you, Cary.
Tom,
I watched your movie when I was in my first year of graduate school majoring in public health as well as finishing up my internship to become a registered dietitian. It changed my life. I have lost 25 lb, reversed my rheumatoid arthritis, my daughter’s autism and this whole journey started with YOUR movie- none of my education helped me personally.
Thank you, Komel. That is outstanding news about your daughter.
(Too bad I’m just an overweight comedian, or I might have actually done you some good.)
Tom,
Over two years ago, I read Gary Taubes, and then happened to discover Fat Head when I was browsing videos on Amazon. Your movie is an excellent, easy to understand overview of much of what Taubes discusses.
I reduced my carb intake by reducing the amount of sugar and grains in my diet, and I increased the amount of healthy fats that I eat. It’s still a work in progress, as most things are.
I went from 213 lbs. to 183 lbs. (I’m 5’10”). My weight loss was similar to what Mr. Squealer claims. I don’t have before and after photos, but my weight loss is very obvious around my abdomen. I lost 2-3 inches from my waist, and my belly no longer hangs over my pants, as in your own before photo.
These days, I get the most useful information from your blog, Chris Kresser, and Mark Sisson. Keep up the good work, and don’t let the idiots affect your blood pressure.
Thank you, Gary. My blood pressure is steady as a rock and usually in the 110/75 range. Must be the fact that I love salt on my food.
Thank you Tom, for putting all the hard work into explaining things so simply that any alternate explanation would seem illogical. I always admire your ability to do that. In the rare occasion that I find myself trying to defend my own nutritional beliefs, I often will accidentally bring up a “point” that is unnecessary and has holes in it. No matter how many scientific and accurate things I had said up to that point, my stance immediately becomes less convincing after something like that comes out of my mouth.
Also, about the photos that these Julian guys dug up, if you ask anybody who knows me in person whether my weight looks any different now than it did 10 years ago after my initial weight loss, they would almost definitely say “no”. However, if someone decided to scour my Facebook page trying to find a recent photo that makes me look fat, I guarantee that they will be able to. The wrong shirt, combined with the wrong lighting, combined with the wrong pose, combined with the wrong climate, etc., can make all the difference.
Sure, and the celebrity tabloids count on that. Catch some star in bad light with bad posture or whatever, and we get the “[Insert Star Name] Weight Gain Scandal!” headline.
It’s a bit sad that you had to do this. You’ve already given these wankers too much attention…
Also, like many other grateful thinking adults, your movie started my own journey to health and leanness. I was long obese in 2008, then saw your movie, decided to try and replicate your “fast food diet” experiment (successfully: I lost 5 pounds effortlessly), went low-carb then paleo/primal and never looked back ever since I went back to my high-school-athlete weight (+ cured sleep apnea, cold sores, reversed onset of arthritis and eliminated GERD). All thanks to you !
You’re the kind of person people think of when they say they believe there are angels out there in this world, simply helping.
Thank you, Namu.
Yeah, but in this case, I believe the wankers deserve the attention — as in, “Hey, everybody, please take note: These are the wankers you’re supporting if you buy Julian Bakery products.”
Tom,
Is the guy claiming that eating the Julian bread enabled a 33 pound weight loss for himself? (or that a 33 pound weight loss makes him an expert, and you should buy his bread because of that reason?) I’m just trying to grasp the logic behind the claims.
Based on your 55th birthday picture, I think you could play the lead in the next Abe Lincoln movie.
Well, I have to strain my normally-logical brain into an odd shape to do this, but here’s the point the dumb jocks thought they were making (and boy, is this some marketing genius!):
“Jimmy Moore says our low-carb bread isn’t really low-carb and raises his blood sugar as high as any other bread. But as you can see from these pictures, Jimmy has gained weight since 2009, whereas we’ve gone from fat guys to super-lean guys with abs, so this proves we’re nutrition experts and Jimmy isn’t. And that proves Jimmy is wrong when he says Julian Bakery low-carb bread isn’t low-carb and spikes his blood sugar. So you should listen to us and buy Julian Bakery low-carb bread.”
I know, I know … you’re sitting there thinking “How could they POSSIBLY be so deluded as to believe anyone would look at those pictures of Jimmy and leap to the conclusion that Julian Bakery’s low-carb bread doesn’t actually spike blood sugar like Jimmy says it does? Those are two totally unrelated issues.”
Well, here’s how deluded they are: They posted this obviously fake comment on their video:
Bravo. Its about time the truth was acknowledged. Time to get myself some Julian Bakery Bread.
The truth has come out, so now I will buy your bread. And these unbelievably dense, dumbass jocks apparently believed the viewing public would buy this bulls### … as opposed to, say, concluding that we’re watching unbelievably dense, dumbass jocks pick on someone who doesn’t deserve it.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the dumbass jocks thought this was an effective PR strategy. If they haven’t realized by now that it was an incredibly stupid move, then they’re bigger idiots than I imagined — and that’s saying a lot.
OK Tom, thanks for breaking this down. I don’t eat bread much anyways and certainly would never buy this product now. I did enjoy your verbal jousting in this kerfuffle.
I don’t know if their bread tastes good or not. Even if it does, I hope a lot of people who’ve been buying it decide they won’t reward the adolescent behavior of the owner by buying it ever again.
Unequivocally the best post you’ve written on this blog. A million thank-you’s for fighting the good fight and doing so with equal parts humor and intelligence.
Thank you, Cary.
Tom,
I watched your movie when I was in my first year of graduate school majoring in public health as well as finishing up my internship to become a registered dietitian. It changed my life. I have lost 25 lb, reversed my rheumatoid arthritis, my daughter’s autism and this whole journey started with YOUR movie- none of my education helped me personally.
Thank you, Komel. That is outstanding news about your daughter.
(Too bad I’m just an overweight comedian, or I might have actually done you some good.)
Let’s see if we can engage Heath Squier and his Julian Bakery in a conversation addressing the POISONING OF DIABETICS and the lowcarb community with his SmartCarb breads from 2009 thru 2013. Heath would tell you to go see his interview with Gary Collins last year and brush his hands together and BOOM-just be finished with it. Well, it doesn’t work that way Heath. I told Heath 2½ years ago I was going to try to bring him onto the radar screen of the FDA and by dang I did it. It appears you may now be there permanently.
We also might like to know what job Heath Squier had prior to his joining The Julian Bakery in 2009. I bet that might be a “revealing” conversation.
To read the complete story of this man, his company, and the havoc they have caused please see http://low-carb-scams.com/the-bernie-madoff-of-the-low-carb-scam-artists/
If — and please note I’m saying IF, because I don’t know — but IF they knew their bread spikes glucose like any other bread and nonetheless decided to sell it as low-carb bread to diabetics, that is about as low as you can get.
I’m shuddering to think what they’ll do to their bread to prevent it from raising blood sugar so drastically.
My guess: cite their lab results and call it fixed.
Trust me, they did know. I sent the results of my lab tests to Heath and he continued defending and selling them until the FDA stepped in. In all they were producing 21 breads of which none are currently being made. My first contact with Jimmy was exactly this issue and he wrote a very long post about. http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/julian-bakery-customer-tests-low-carb-bread-claims-requests-they-immediately-cease-sales/14568
Please read my whole post and see what else Mr. Squealer has done and you will understand why I call him the Bernie Madoff of the low carb scam artists. http://low-carb-scams.com/the-bernie-madoff-of-the-low-carb-scam-artists/
Deborah
Despicable. I don’t how he looks himself in the mirror long enough to take those “fat” pictures of himself.
Tom,
Over two years ago, I read Gary Taubes, and then happened to discover Fat Head when I was browsing videos on Amazon. Your movie is an excellent, easy to understand overview of much of what Taubes discusses.
I reduced my carb intake by reducing the amount of sugar and grains in my diet, and I increased the amount of healthy fats that I eat. It’s still a work in progress, as most things are.
I went from 213 lbs. to 183 lbs. (I’m 5’10”). My weight loss was similar to what Mr. Squealer claims. I don’t have before and after photos, but my weight loss is very obvious around my abdomen. I lost 2-3 inches from my waist, and my belly no longer hangs over my pants, as in your own before photo.
These days, I get the most useful information from your blog, Chris Kresser, and Mark Sisson. Keep up the good work, and don’t let the idiots affect your blood pressure.
Thank you, Gary. My blood pressure is steady as a rock and usually in the 110/75 range. Must be the fact that I love salt on my food.
Thank you so much for shining a light on these assholes. I actually bought their product when I first went paleo and it horrible. Late and moldy. I contacted them but never got a response and I’m angry to this day that I didn’t do a chargeback. They deleted my feedback when I left comments on the Julian Bakery facebook page. I wish someone would have warned me about them before I ordered. I share my experience with anybody that will listen and cannot wait to see these guys go out of business. Thank you again and I will be hitting that donate button just as soon as I submit this comment!
Well, Mr. Collins and Mr. Squealer can attribute all the negative publicity to underhanded tactics, unfair attacks, blah-blah-blah, but I think what we’re about to see is the market and the Wisdom of Crowds working as they should — by putting these a-holes out of business.
And if my posts contribute to that outcome, I’ll be a damned proud overweight comedian.
It’s a bit sad that you had to do this. You’ve already given these wankers too much attention…
Also, like many other grateful thinking adults, your movie started my own journey to health and leanness. I was long obese in 2008, then saw your movie, decided to try and replicate your “fast food diet” experiment (successfully: I lost 5 pounds effortlessly), went low-carb then paleo/primal and never looked back ever since I went back to my high-school-athlete weight (+ cured sleep apnea, cold sores, reversed onset of arthritis and eliminated GERD). All thanks to you !
You’re the kind of person people think of when they say they believe there are angels out there in this world, simply helping.
Thank you, Namu.
Yeah, but in this case, I believe the wankers deserve the attention — as in, “Hey, everybody, please take note: These are the wankers you’re supporting if you buy Julian Bakery products.”
Tom,
Is the guy claiming that eating the Julian bread enabled a 33 pound weight loss for himself? (or that a 33 pound weight loss makes him an expert, and you should buy his bread because of that reason?) I’m just trying to grasp the logic behind the claims.
Based on your 55th birthday picture, I think you could play the lead in the next Abe Lincoln movie.
Well, I have to strain my normally-logical brain into an odd shape to do this, but here’s the point the dumb jocks thought they were making (and boy, is this some marketing genius!):
“Jimmy Moore says our low-carb bread isn’t really low-carb and raises his blood sugar as high as any other bread. But as you can see from these pictures, Jimmy has gained weight since 2009, whereas we’ve gone from fat guys to super-lean guys with abs, so this proves we’re nutrition experts and Jimmy isn’t. And that proves Jimmy is wrong when he says Julian Bakery low-carb bread isn’t low-carb and spikes his blood sugar. So you should listen to us and buy Julian Bakery low-carb bread.”
I know, I know … you’re sitting there thinking “How could they POSSIBLY be so deluded as to believe anyone would look at those pictures of Jimmy and leap to the conclusion that Julian Bakery’s low-carb bread doesn’t actually spike blood sugar like Jimmy says it does? Those are two totally unrelated issues.”
Well, here’s how deluded they are: They posted this obviously fake comment on their video:
Bravo. Its about time the truth was acknowledged. Time to get myself some Julian Bakery Bread.
The truth has come out, so now I will buy your bread. And these unbelievably dense, dumbass jocks apparently believed the viewing public would buy this bulls### … as opposed to, say, concluding that we’re watching unbelievably dense, dumbass jocks pick on someone who doesn’t deserve it.
Yes, ladies and gentlemen, the dumbass jocks thought this was an effective PR strategy. If they haven’t realized by now that it was an incredibly stupid move, then they’re bigger idiots than I imagined — and that’s saying a lot.
OK Tom, thanks for breaking this down. I don’t eat bread much anyways and certainly would never buy this product now. I did enjoy your verbal jousting in this kerfuffle.
I don’t know if their bread tastes good or not. Even if it does, I hope a lot of people who’ve been buying it decide they won’t reward the adolescent behavior of the owner by buying it ever again.
I was told by my doctor that I had very high cholesterol and that I needed to lose about 25lbs….he proceeded to give me a box set of info books about eating low fat and how to reduce my cholesterol — found out from YOUR vid by one of the doctors interviewd, that it doesn’t matter a wit about cholesterol for women – because it contributes NOTHING to heart disease for women; that the bigger problem was sugars and carbs that contributed to heart problem. I’m not obese by any stretch but based on the US guidelines I am, but since I am Canadian I guess that isn’t a factor (j/k) – anyway I became MORE concerned with my carb and sugar addiction than anything else and worked on ways to eliminate those food groups when I stumbled upon your vid….and OMG!! with your vid and with my Atkins book I have completely eliminated them from my WOE and I have never been so happy, healthy and addiction free in my life!
THANK YOU so much for your vid, your candor and my new life as a fat/protein/green veg eater – my cravings for garbage are gone and grain products no longer have anything to do with my life! ♥
Please keep spreading the word and I will continue to spread your vid and message to everyone I meet who has concerns! Cheers!!
Thank you, Lesley. Hearing from people like you makes it all worthwhile.
Thank you for being as far as I can tell the only one in the Paleo community that actually called out theses dicks and stood up for Diane and Jimmy.
The silence from the community is a little disheartening.
I don’t know; maybe a lot of them simply weren’t aware of it.
The jackass antics of Squealer and Collins pissed me off for a few reasons. One, of course, is that I consider Jimmy a dear friend. I’ve gotten to know him very well, I know how much childhood abuse he endured, I know how he’s worked to overcome it, I know what a big heart and gentle nature he has, and frankly, I am sick and tired of seeing dumbasses spew venom at him every time he gains some weight. Let one of these assholes switch genes and metabolisms with him for a year and see what awesome abs they’re able to maintain.
Another reason is that I was also a fat, weak kid, and I had to put up with jock-type bullies myself. So needless to say, bullies and fat-shamers piss me off.
Finally, they’re just @#$%ing liars. They’ve never been fat, never had to struggle with weight loss, and to pretend they have their own b.s. fat-to-lean stories is an insult to those of us who actually had to work at it.
Let’s see if we can engage Heath Squier and his Julian Bakery in a conversation addressing the POISONING OF DIABETICS and the lowcarb community with his SmartCarb breads from 2009 thru 2013. Heath would tell you to go see his interview with Gary Collins last year and brush his hands together and BOOM-just be finished with it. Well, it doesn’t work that way Heath. I told Heath 2½ years ago I was going to try to bring him onto the radar screen of the FDA and by dang I did it. It appears you may now be there permanently.
We also might like to know what job Heath Squier had prior to his joining The Julian Bakery in 2009. I bet that might be a “revealing” conversation.
To read the complete story of this man, his company, and the havoc they have caused please see http://low-carb-scams.com/the-bernie-madoff-of-the-low-carb-scam-artists/
If — and please note I’m saying IF, because I don’t know — but IF they knew their bread spikes glucose like any other bread and nonetheless decided to sell it as low-carb bread to diabetics, that is about as low as you can get.
I’m shuddering to think what they’ll do to their bread to prevent it from raising blood sugar so drastically.
My guess: cite their lab results and call it fixed.
Trust me, they did know. I sent the results of my lab tests to Heath and he continued defending and selling them until the FDA stepped in. In all they were producing 21 breads of which none are currently being made. My first contact with Jimmy was exactly this issue and he wrote a very long post about. http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/julian-bakery-customer-tests-low-carb-bread-claims-requests-they-immediately-cease-sales/14568
Please read my whole post and see what else Mr. Squealer has done and you will understand why I call him the Bernie Madoff of the low carb scam artists. http://low-carb-scams.com/the-bernie-madoff-of-the-low-carb-scam-artists/
Deborah
Despicable. I don’t how he looks himself in the mirror long enough to take those “fat” pictures of himself.
Thank you so much for shining a light on these assholes. I actually bought their product when I first went paleo and it horrible. Late and moldy. I contacted them but never got a response and I’m angry to this day that I didn’t do a chargeback. They deleted my feedback when I left comments on the Julian Bakery facebook page. I wish someone would have warned me about them before I ordered. I share my experience with anybody that will listen and cannot wait to see these guys go out of business. Thank you again and I will be hitting that donate button just as soon as I submit this comment!
Well, Mr. Collins and Mr. Squealer can attribute all the negative publicity to underhanded tactics, unfair attacks, blah-blah-blah, but I think what we’re about to see is the market and the Wisdom of Crowds working as they should — by putting these a-holes out of business.
And if my posts contribute to that outcome, I’ll be a damned proud overweight comedian.
I was told by my doctor that I had very high cholesterol and that I needed to lose about 25lbs….he proceeded to give me a box set of info books about eating low fat and how to reduce my cholesterol — found out from YOUR vid by one of the doctors interviewd, that it doesn’t matter a wit about cholesterol for women – because it contributes NOTHING to heart disease for women; that the bigger problem was sugars and carbs that contributed to heart problem. I’m not obese by any stretch but based on the US guidelines I am, but since I am Canadian I guess that isn’t a factor (j/k) – anyway I became MORE concerned with my carb and sugar addiction than anything else and worked on ways to eliminate those food groups when I stumbled upon your vid….and OMG!! with your vid and with my Atkins book I have completely eliminated them from my WOE and I have never been so happy, healthy and addiction free in my life!
THANK YOU so much for your vid, your candor and my new life as a fat/protein/green veg eater – my cravings for garbage are gone and grain products no longer have anything to do with my life! ♥
Please keep spreading the word and I will continue to spread your vid and message to everyone I meet who has concerns! Cheers!!
Thank you, Lesley. Hearing from people like you makes it all worthwhile.
Thank you for being as far as I can tell the only one in the Paleo community that actually called out theses dicks and stood up for Diane and Jimmy.
The silence from the community is a little disheartening.
I don’t know; maybe a lot of them simply weren’t aware of it.
The jackass antics of Squealer and Collins pissed me off for a few reasons. One, of course, is that I consider Jimmy a dear friend. I’ve gotten to know him very well, I know how much childhood abuse he endured, I know how he’s worked to overcome it, I know what a big heart and gentle nature he has, and frankly, I am sick and tired of seeing dumbasses spew venom at him every time he gains some weight. Let one of these assholes switch genes and metabolisms with him for a year and see what awesome abs they’re able to maintain.
Another reason is that I was also a fat, weak kid, and I had to put up with jock-type bullies myself. So needless to say, bullies and fat-shamers piss me off.
Finally, they’re just @#$%ing liars. They’ve never been fat, never had to struggle with weight loss, and to pretend they have their own b.s. fat-to-lean stories is an insult to those of us who actually had to work at it.
“Juilan Fakery” seems like a better name for their operation.
“Juilan Fakery” seems like a better name for their operation.
I just donated $20 just because in some remote way it might upset this Bakery goober.
Well, it doesn’t upset me at all. Thanks.
Wow. What a marketing plan. “insult potential customers who need your product the most” I suppose if you have abs, you should not be in the marketing business.
A bit of advice for those who are new to low carb (real food) nutrition. Forget about trying to emulate bread, or any wheat based food products. Eat really clean for a while, lose body fat and get dialed in. Wheat type foods and sweets are the very problem you (we) need to address, so don’t dick around trying to replicate them. The internet is full of recipes trying to do just that. Here’s what happens: you continue to crave the very foods you are needing to avoid. My 2 cents.
By the way, as a disclaimer: I have abs. I don’t eat wheat (2 years now), watched fat head a couple of times, and I don’t eat seed oils. Thank you Tom
Thank you for reading and contributing to the discussion.
That’s the vegan way. We won’t kill an animal because it is unethical but we will go to the ends of the earth to find some chemically enhanced soy product that tastes just like that animal we refuse to kill.
Gee, Tom, I sure wish I were as “fat” as you! Since I started at well over 200 lbs (& have the pics to prove it), my before & after pictures are fairly dramatic – but only with my clothes on! I have 20 lbs to lose to get to my goal weight, but I’m realizing the scale is not what I want to go by. Without clothes I look pregnant – which would be miraculous at my age 😀 – and that’s the part of me that really needs to go. As I’m over 60 & allergic to exercise, I think getting rid of that belly & love handles is going to be a slow job.
Being diabetic, I want to thank you for going after Julian Bakery. Selling fake low-carb products to diabetics is really, really low.
Thank you, Bonnie. If I can stay this “fat” for the rest of my life, I’ll consider that a victory. Good luck with your ongoing weight loss, and remember not to beat up on yourself if you don’t meet a particular goal. This is about health. Weight loss is a nice side benefit.
I just donated $20 just because in some remote way it might upset this Bakery goober.
Well, it doesn’t upset me at all. Thanks.
Wow. What a marketing plan. “insult potential customers who need your product the most” I suppose if you have abs, you should not be in the marketing business.
A bit of advice for those who are new to low carb (real food) nutrition. Forget about trying to emulate bread, or any wheat based food products. Eat really clean for a while, lose body fat and get dialed in. Wheat type foods and sweets are the very problem you (we) need to address, so don’t dick around trying to replicate them. The internet is full of recipes trying to do just that. Here’s what happens: you continue to crave the very foods you are needing to avoid. My 2 cents.
By the way, as a disclaimer: I have abs. I don’t eat wheat (2 years now), watched fat head a couple of times, and I don’t eat seed oils. Thank you Tom
Thank you for reading and contributing to the discussion.
That’s the vegan way. We won’t kill an animal because it is unethical but we will go to the ends of the earth to find some chemically enhanced soy product that tastes just like that animal we refuse to kill.
Let’s see if we can engage Heath Squier and his Julian Bakery in a conversation addressing the POISONING OF DIABETICS and the lowcarb community with his SmartCarb breads from 2009 thru 2013. Heath would tell you to go see his interview with Gary Collins last year and brush his hands together and BOOM-just be finished with it. Well, it doesn’t work that way Heath. I told Heath 2½ years ago I was going to try to bring him onto the radar screen of the FDA and by dang I did it. It appears he may now be there permanently.
We also might like to know what job Heath Squier had prior to his joining The Julian Bakery in 2009. I bet that might be a “revealing” conversation.
To read the complete story of this man, his company, and the havoc they have caused please see http://low-carb-scams.com/the-bernie-madoff-of-the-low-carb-scam-artists/
Tom Naughton says:
September 5, 2014 at 3:18 pm
If — and please note I’m saying IF, because I don’t know — but IF they knew their bread spikes glucose like any other bread and nonetheless decided to sell it as low-carb bread to diabetics, that is about as low as you can get.
deborahkrueger says:
September 5, 2014 at 5:32 pm
Trust me, they did know. I sent the results of my lab tests to Heath and he continued defending and selling them until the FDA stepped in. In all they were producing 21 breads of which none are currently being made. My first contact with Jimmy was exactly this issue and he wrote a very long post about. http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/julian-bakery-customer-tests-low-carb-bread-claims-requests-they-immediately-cease-sales/14568
Please read my whole post and see what else Mr. Squealer has done and you will understand why I call him the Bernie Madoff of the low carb scam artists. http://low-carb-scams.com/the-bernie-madoff-of-the-low-carb-scam-artists/
Deborah
Gee, Tom, I sure wish I were as “fat” as you! Since I started at well over 200 lbs (& have the pics to prove it), my before & after pictures are fairly dramatic – but only with my clothes on! I have 20 lbs to lose to get to my goal weight, but I’m realizing the scale is not what I want to go by. Without clothes I look pregnant – which would be miraculous at my age 😀 – and that’s the part of me that really needs to go. As I’m over 60 & allergic to exercise, I think getting rid of that belly & love handles is going to be a slow job.
Being diabetic, I want to thank you for going after Julian Bakery. Selling fake low-carb products to diabetics is really, really low.
Thank you, Bonnie. If I can stay this “fat” for the rest of my life, I’ll consider that a victory. Good luck with your ongoing weight loss, and remember not to beat up on yourself if you don’t meet a particular goal. This is about health. Weight loss is a nice side benefit.
Let’s see if we can engage Heath Squier and his Julian Bakery in a conversation addressing the POISONING OF DIABETICS and the lowcarb community with his SmartCarb breads from 2009 thru 2013. Heath would tell you to go see his interview with Gary Collins last year and brush his hands together and BOOM-just be finished with it. Well, it doesn’t work that way Heath. I told Heath 2½ years ago I was going to try to bring him onto the radar screen of the FDA and by dang I did it. It appears he may now be there permanently.
We also might like to know what job Heath Squier had prior to his joining The Julian Bakery in 2009. I bet that might be a “revealing” conversation.
To read the complete story of this man, his company, and the havoc they have caused please see http://low-carb-scams.com/the-bernie-madoff-of-the-low-carb-scam-artists/
Tom Naughton says:
September 5, 2014 at 3:18 pm
If — and please note I’m saying IF, because I don’t know — but IF they knew their bread spikes glucose like any other bread and nonetheless decided to sell it as low-carb bread to diabetics, that is about as low as you can get.
deborahkrueger says:
September 5, 2014 at 5:32 pm
Trust me, they did know. I sent the results of my lab tests to Heath and he continued defending and selling them until the FDA stepped in. In all they were producing 21 breads of which none are currently being made. My first contact with Jimmy was exactly this issue and he wrote a very long post about. http://livinlavidalowcarb.com/blog/julian-bakery-customer-tests-low-carb-bread-claims-requests-they-immediately-cease-sales/14568
Please read my whole post and see what else Mr. Squealer has done and you will understand why I call him the Bernie Madoff of the low carb scam artists. http://low-carb-scams.com/the-bernie-madoff-of-the-low-carb-scam-artists/
Deborah
The thing that nobody has mentioned, and likely because it’s obvious (and sort of a “duh” thing), is that through EVERYTHING Jimmy has done, he’s done so in the public eye. He doesn’t blog sporadically. He doesn’t leave and come back. He’s there. ALL. THE. TIME.
I have great admiration for anybody who does what he does and makes it so public. He’s stumbled, he’s fallen, he’s gotten back up, and tried something new. Who do you know in the public eye that does that? Very few people.
Now, lest you think I’m a huge Jimmy Moore fan, I’m not. I admire the guy and think he’s very dedicated to what he’s doing but I’m not a fangirl for him. I rarely read his blog. I don’t generally keep up with him but I know that when I do it’s going to be 100% real and honest. Because that’s who he is. He represents himself in the most honest and true way a person can. He bares his soul (and bod) for the public and has no shame about anything. I love that about him. I love that he keeps on trying and he hasn’t given up. It’s so very easy to give up when you are obese. It’s so easy to become discouraged and angry. But he keeps going.
For that, I will forever be grateful to him for being that motivation to those who struggle.
Having lost 150 pounds and kept it off for 5 years, I know how hard it is. I had a form of bariatric surgery which, please do not say is the “easy way” or I will find your house and beat you. It’s not easy. It is something I use to keep the weight off but all the work? That’s done by ME. It’s done by my efforts, my research, my tests and experiments. It’s all me.
I digress.
Thank you for posting all this Tom, it’s been eye-opening.
Well said, Tracy.
The thing that nobody has mentioned, and likely because it’s obvious (and sort of a “duh” thing), is that through EVERYTHING Jimmy has done, he’s done so in the public eye. He doesn’t blog sporadically. He doesn’t leave and come back. He’s there. ALL. THE. TIME.
I have great admiration for anybody who does what he does and makes it so public. He’s stumbled, he’s fallen, he’s gotten back up, and tried something new. Who do you know in the public eye that does that? Very few people.
Now, lest you think I’m a huge Jimmy Moore fan, I’m not. I admire the guy and think he’s very dedicated to what he’s doing but I’m not a fangirl for him. I rarely read his blog. I don’t generally keep up with him but I know that when I do it’s going to be 100% real and honest. Because that’s who he is. He represents himself in the most honest and true way a person can. He bares his soul (and bod) for the public and has no shame about anything. I love that about him. I love that he keeps on trying and he hasn’t given up. It’s so very easy to give up when you are obese. It’s so easy to become discouraged and angry. But he keeps going.
For that, I will forever be grateful to him for being that motivation to those who struggle.
Having lost 150 pounds and kept it off for 5 years, I know how hard it is. I had a form of bariatric surgery which, please do not say is the “easy way” or I will find your house and beat you. It’s not easy. It is something I use to keep the weight off but all the work? That’s done by ME. It’s done by my efforts, my research, my tests and experiments. It’s all me.
I digress.
Thank you for posting all this Tom, it’s been eye-opening.
Well said, Tracy.
Sorry, I had to come down here and post this! Hoop house chicken tractor! You are a wonderful fellow!
Sorry, I had to come down here and post this! Hoop house chicken tractor! You are a wonderful fellow!