Here I thought LC was supposed to make you feel younger?!

I have to pipe up and vent a little here folks.  Because as I approach 50, I realize that I'm far from an old person ... and I'm getting increasingly annoyed by those in their late 30's/early 40's talking as if they've already got one foot in the grave.  One in particular, who just turned 40 and has brought that fact up repeatedly on his blog, podcasts, interviews, etc. etc.  Yep, I'm talking about one Jimmy Moore.  Really, you'd think the man was 80 the way he talks sometimes about his hopelessly damaged metabolism and such.   But what do you think when you read defeatist comments from a 40 year old?  I hear excuses, mostly.  Barring some major complicating circumstances, so should you.  It's funny, Jimmy is lamenting how the paleo crowd tend to be young and fit so they just can't relate.  Actually, I remember being young and fit, and if anything, back in my 20's, I would have bought into the excuses because back then 40 sounded SOOOOOO old (heck, 30 sounded pretty ancient) and I didn't know too many very active people of that age.  Certainly it seems (and it could be perception but I think it's mostly true) that more people are aging more gracefully, remaining active and youthful looking longer, etc.  You used to hear how 40 is the new 30 ... well now 50 is the new 30 and such.  Most of our friends and cousins are already 50 and they're not running around complaining about their broken metabolisms and such.  


But what's with the bellyaching at all.  I thought Jimmy was brimming with good health eating his high fat, moderate protein, low carb healthy lifestyle.  Is that just really all an act?  It must be, because this guy has been drastically restricting his carbs for 8 years now, which puts his transformation beginning in his early 30's.  Jimmy was about 230 lbs on his 33rd birthday -- and eating all his healthy foods for a year by then -- and therefore spent the majority of his 30's eating what he promotes as a super healthful diet.   My own body endured over a decade more abuse than Jimmy's before I took control of my diet.   So on the one hand, Jimmy regales his readers with how much healthier he is than before.  He'll remind you of his triple digit weight loss and his grand success in 2004.   But what does his bellyaching at 40 ultimately say?   He'll brag about his newfound athleticism and how now at 40 he's pumping iron (I guess either he's losing his memory or he expects his readers have because this isn't the first time he's lifted weights) ... but his metabolism is just not cooperating.  There's an inconsistency here.  IF his diet is healthy and providing his body with all the nutrition it needs and all that, then he should feel young and fit and all that.  Or is his diet falling short?  Because if someone on the SAD, or a vegetarian, or a WW person complains of this and that, you can be sure Jimmy would be encouraging that person to go LC.  Remember how that's all Tara Parker-Pope need do to conquer her weight problems?  

Let's look at it this way.  If eight years of low carbing can't at least help a person forestall some of the aging of one's thirties, is it really this holy grail after all?  It seems not.  And I'm one who is going to call foul on this whole damaged metabolism excuse.  Diana Moon who comments here has lost over 20 lbs going off low carb in her mid 50's.  I eat more carbs these days -- now up to a good 100g starch -- and feel just as good or better than I did eating VLC.  Now I never ate quite as much as Jimmy, and I never was quite as obese either, but I have done damage.   I do know that I'll put my formerly damaged metabolism up against Jimmy's and I'm hear to tell you that to cry over this is the biggest load of bull that's come down the pike.  There are many MANY more cases out there.  Can one damage their metabolism?  Certainly.  Is that permanent?  In most cases it appears not.  

I'm going to address Jimmy's bellyaching over perceived antagonism against LC these days and such at a future date.   But what does it say for low carbing, that someone who has low carbed their 30's away is complaining so frequently about his age and hopelessly damaged body.  Meanwhile, he's never giving up!  Oh yeah ... never giving up waiting for the answer to some supposed mystery to unfold.

Comments

Chris said…
Good comment. I was just about to post a photo of my 44 yr old 6 pack but the camera let me down.

I am always conflicted about Jimmy. A nice guy, but there is a 295lb elephant in the room. LC is not working for him, yet it is his livelihood.
I'm 52, and I assume I'd be quite the youthful looking dish if I hadn't damaged my body with more than 2 decades of ill health and obesity, eating crap, getting morbidly obese, not exercising, etc. At 52, I'm finally feeling better in many ways from eating better, moving consistently, buildilng some muscle, destressing, working on optimism.:) But dang, I might have been pretty hot! Damn me for messing up!

Anyway, yeah, when I see folks who eat carbs looking vibrantly healthy, I cannot say it's just the carbs. It's junk carbs or too many carbs (for those who are metabolically not suited for them) or not enough exercise or not enough rest or whatever. But I'm at 125 to 140 carbs these days . I lose better at 80-100, but, eh, I added more starch in. Experimenting.

I have seen a lot of pasty and unhealthful looking folks watching carbs, and some vibrant looking folks watching carbs..and it may come down to which conditions they have, which carbs, what other lifestyle factors. Or maybe being VLC is just not conducive to glowing complexions?
Andrew C said…
After Jimmy went Paleo Low Carb last year, he probably thought he was eating amazingly healthy so it wouldn't be a big deal if he just ate a little more at times...

And after adding the testosterone cream, well, he was just doing SO well each day with a healthy diet and fixing a newly discovered hormonal problem, if he felt hungrier, it wouldn't be a big deal to just eat a little more... the paleo diet and the testosterone cream combined would help him lose weight.

Basically, he's likely been eating more than ever but rationalizing it.

So now, just months later, he shouldn't be surprised about the "mystery" of pushing 300 lbs.
Lerner said…
I'd guess the language of "lots of healthy fats" means that you'll eat more and more of it to get healthier and healthier.

Btw, once upon a time I'd stumbled on the little blog of a 20-something Paleo woman. She was experiencing amenorrhea and insomnia. Other Paleos were dutifully advising her that she must not have been strict Paleo enough. Instead, she introduced a daily potato or so and her problems straightened out.

Of course, it had to be a yam/sweet-potato :)
CarbSane said…
Aww you tease you! We want abs! Harry shows back after all ;-)

If he hadn't tried so hard to take me down, I'd have more compassion for Jimmy. The only reason LC even seems to be working for him is that he's so dialed in that he has for the past few years (since I've "known" him) gone on extreme weight loss excursions. But for the 30 lbs in a month or 15 lbs in a week here or there crash diets ... followed by a few weeks or months of slow grudging regains, he'd be over 350 by now. Ad libitum low carb fails him for weight control, and his weight is such that this means health too.
Lerner said…
"...well now 50 is the new 30 and such."

Remember "Hot for teacher" by Van Halen? It was never quite a favorite of mine, but here is the model at 60:
http://www.lillianmuller.com/

nature + nurture
foodteacher said…
Today at work we said goodbye to a wonderful woman of 70+. sharp, obviously healthy and full of life. Always a shock to remember that she is in her 70s. She defo doesn't fit my personal stereotype. The woman who babysits my kids is 70 and studying at university. Again, you wouldn't know she's 70 + and she BAKES cakes and is thin and wonderful. I also attended a union meeting today talking about retirement and the fact that we are going to be expected to work longer and longer. 40 isn't old and I don't know how to end this but to say we need to try to be as healthy as possible to keep going and LC is not necessarily the answer.
Sanjeev said…
> testosterone cream

Is this a real medical product, or some homeopathy thing?

if it's not in something like a DMSO carrier to take it past the skin how effective is it ... does test penetrate skin naturally?
Nigel Kinbrum said…
"does test penetrate skin naturally?"
Yes. I use Testogel due to pituitary dysfunction (LH < 0.03) and it raises my serum testosterone level to normal.
Lerner said…
the only thing I know about "> testosterone cream" is this blast from the past, Christina Ferrare ex-wife of fraudster DeLorean, from when she went on talk shows way back:
http://www.amazon.com/Okay-Dont-Have-Headache-menopause--/dp/031226366X
Sanjeev said…
Thanks guys ...
various web sites note testo/androgel contain "transdermal carrier"
Lerner said…
Sanjeev, you probably remember as I do about DMSO as the forbidden transdermal carrier and also blood-flow promoter. It did burn my skin, a little. It was about the same time as the peach pit arsenic thing, I don't quite remember.

Eh, hot peppers worked better for tendinopathy... for me.
Tonus said…
"Is this a real medical product, or some homeopathy thing?"

Victor Conte, who ran BALCO labs (which illegally provided PEDs to numerous sports stars, most famously Marion Jones and Barry Bonds) provided a steroid cream that was rubbed on the skin. Being the sort to keep things simple, he called it "The Cream." Bonds, in his grand jury testimony, claimed he thought it was flaxseed oil.
Lesley Scott said…
OMG, I'll have what she's having! wow. she looks amazing.
Karoliina said…
When reading this, the current season of Biggest Loser immediately came to my mind - it's theme is "No Excuses". I would really like to see Jimmy and his damaged metabolism on the show. :P
Miki said…
"now up to a good 100g starch --". Can we get the full story? Not more than 15-20% protein I guess so what makes up the (1000 or so calories) difference? fat by any chance?
Layla said…
I am 26, touching 27, so I really have no business discussing age&wellbeing.
I will say though, as someone who tried 'pumping iron' on a low carb diet: WTF is he doing to himself?!
Seriously,3I could barely hold up my pinky for 5 seconds, so to speak. Obviously, something wasn't right here...

So, after a year and a half of very strict Atkins, I switched to a carbload diet, with lots of protein and a minimum of fat. Aaaand... tada! I can blast through an hour of weight training and get in better shape than ever before in my fat little life.

I still lost the bulk of my weight on LC, but for heaven's sake Jimmy... I don't know how much training he actually does (can't be a whole lot), but it will only pay off with good ol' carbs and LF.
CarbSane said…
I eat approximately 1500 cal/day though I don't count. I'm probably eating 150-200g carb/day these days if I were to count all those veg carbs as I eat quite a lot of veggies, put lemon juice in my tea, and such and eat fruit these days too. I usually eat at least 100g protein per day. The rest is fat. Your point? I never said I was against eating fat.
CarbSane said…
Welcome Karoliina! While not a fan of the show, one thing it has shown me is that a lot of people are capable of a LOT more than they think they are!
CarbSane said…
He's eating more carbs these days to fuel his training sessions. I tweeted one pic of his pre-workout meal. Looked gross ... pureed sweet potatoes with almond butter and honey. Eeeeew.