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The last time I blogged about Rush Limbaugh's incredible 2007 weight loss last month, several people who disagree with the #1 conservative talk show host's politics about took my head off with their complaints that I would even dare mention this man's name at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog. Some even threatened to stop reading me because of it. Get a life people!
Today I'm gonna blog about Limbaugh and his weight loss success--AGAIN!--for several reasons.
First, like him or not, Rush Limbaugh is an influential personality with millions of daily listeners to his popular midday radio show. Whether it's politics, cigars, or even weight loss, there are people who will listen to what this man has to say about just about anything and trust him. That's not always a good thing, but it is what it is and Limbaugh knows it.
Second, since I was guessing he is losing his weight on a low-carb plan, I was surprised to find out the details of Limbaugh's exact plan when he talked about the specifics of it on his April 20th broadcast. More about that in a moment.
Finally, because Limbaugh has struggled with his weight time and time again and he has now found something that he says can become his permanent lifestyle change, then I deem that blogworthy for what I write about here at my blog.
If you can't handle that, then that's YOUR problem, not mine.
For the rest of you, here's what Limbaugh said about his weight loss:
A caller spoke with Rush Limbaugh during his show on Friday and asked the rapidly shrinking radio host, "How the heck are you getting that weight off?" Yes, inquiring minds want to know.
While Limbaugh has been coy about it when he's been asked before, he did reveal a little more about his secret diet plan and even gave some spot-on commentary about livin' la vida low-carb.
Check this out:
"I'm just restricting what I eat. You know, one thing I've learned is I've done every diet there is, and they all work, and what they all end up doing, if they work, if you do it right, is they force you to end up eating less. Like the Atkins diet. I did that, too. The Atkins diet is the low-carb diet, the high protein, high fat diet. What actually happens is you go into a state of ketosis in that diet, and that kills your appetite. So you actually end up eating less," Limbaugh explained.
WOW, that's pretty good analysis, although I disagree that it is the ketosis that "kills your appetite." My contention is that the fat and protein leave you so satisfied and full that you are not hungry. That's how you are able to eat less because you just don't have hunger pangs like you do when you eat a high-carb, low-fat diet. If you are hungry on a low-carb diet, then something is wrong.
So, how many calories is Rush Limbaugh eating in a day?
"I'm just doing 1200 to 1400 calories a day, some days 800 if I'm not hungry at dinner," he admitted.
WHOA! Did he just say his caloric intake could be as low as 800 in a DAY? EEEK! That is DEFINITELY borderline unhealthy. I know the calorie restriction advocates are very high on limiting calories to below 1,000, but 1,200-1,400 daily calories is really a bare minimum. Even the caller responded with a surprised, "Wow."
Limbaugh says he's watching his fat grams and "not counting the carbs." But he did say he's avoiding fried foods, salty snacks, and other such junk foods. At the same time, he added that he's not eating starchy foods like potatoes either. So which is it, Rush? Are you watching your carbs or your fat? Maybe both? Sounds a lot like Kimkins if you ask me!
Then there's the subject of alcoholic beverages. He explains why it is important to avoid it when you are trying to lose weight.
"You cannot consume adult beverages and lose weight, because what happens with that is the alcohol gets metabolized as pure sugar and then that triggers insulin, and the long and short of that is that insulin is bad for anybody who wants to lose weight because insulin is actually one of the first processes necessary to gain weight. So you can't consume adult beverages," Limbaugh revealed.
Another salient point regarding weight loss that Limbaugh makes is on the issue of attitude towards making your new way of eating into a permanent, healthy lifestyle change. It's something I harp on often here at my blog and he explains this as well as anyone else who's ever said anything about it.
"You have to have the attitude. You're not going to be able to do it 'til you want to. You're not going to be able to accomplish anything until you want to. Desire is 80% of achievement, and until you get to that point, it isn't going to happen, and there will be something...that will trigger it. You'll get up one day feeling like garbage or your pants won't fit and you're going to be miserable. Something will trigger it, and then you'll get the commitment," he stated.
He is EXACTLY right! Until you make up your mind ahead of time that this is what you want to do (which this British study clearly showed), then it doesn't matter what plan you choose to lose weight. You are destined for failure unless you have prepared yourself for success. Those of us who have tried and failed countless times and then FINALLY succeeded with weight loss know exactly what Limbaugh is referring to. And that trigger really does happen.
"It could be something inside your head attitudinally that has nothing to do with how you feel that triggers it. It could be a visit to the doctor; you never know. Something will trigger it. Not until you want to, are you actually going to be able to start it and stick with it," Limbaugh said.
Boy is he right! My "trigger" of sorts was that little 6th grade boy who boldly announced to the class when I was substitute teaching his class months before I started livin' la vida low-carb that "Mr. Moore is fffffffaaaaat!!!" You can read all about it in this Spartanburg Journal newspaper story.
Yep, that was a BIG "trigger" for me that started my weight loss and I've never forgotten it to this day. Without a trigger to get you going, though, people can get themselves into a self-pity party when they don't see immediate results on their "diet."
"You need to be on [your weight loss plan] a week or ten days to show results--and the worst part of a diet is the first week, getting started, because you don't see any results. 'Oh, woe is me. This isn't working.' It's easy to say, 'I'll get off this, and I'll try it in a week or two,' and it's self-defeating. So, as a veteran of ten or 12 diets, I know what has to happen, and I don't try one when I'm not motivated," Limbaugh confessed.
Motivation is not everything, but it certainly helps especially in the early days of your weight loss experience. If you're deflated from the start, then you might as well not even begin this journey. When you psyche yourself up to get serious about this, find the plan that's gonna work for you, learn all you can about that plan, and then DO IT, there's absolutely no reason at all why you can't be just as successful as me, Limbaugh, or anyone else who has lost weight.
He warned his caller about eating and drinking too many calories because "calories are calories."
"It doesn't matter whether they're liquid. They're just as hard to lose when you put 'em on. It doesn't matter," Limbaugh concluded.
For Limbaugh, it's been all about the speed ("I want to get this over with as quickly as possible") at which he is losing his weight. He didn't announce his total weight loss during this segment of his show on Friday, but Limbaugh did say he added another 8-pound weight loss on top of his 40-pound weight loss in the previous two months on his show on Monday.
Well, I lost 30 pounds on my first month of Atkins in January 2004 followed by another 40 pounds int he second month. That was 70 pounds in 60 days. Of course, I weighed 410 pounds and had a LOT to lose, but still.
Although the weight loss has been fast for Limbaugh, he made one final comment that makes me think this will be the last time he'll ever go on a "diet" again in his life.
"Something's happening to me on this diet that's never happened before, and that is I'm thinking of staying on this the rest of my life because I am not hungry. I don't miss the food. I had a big bash last weekend. I went off the diet, and I thought, 'All right, this is going to be cool,' and it wasn't that big a deal. I even lost a pound over that weekend. I didn't have all that much, but what I did taste, it did not have the sense of nirvana to it that I thought it would. I haven't felt this well in a long time, so why change it?"
When it's your lifestyle change, why indeed. Rush Limbaugh has found what works for him and now he's doing it. How about YOU? Have you decided that you are ready to get serious about your weight and health and want to start livin' la vida low-carb? If so, then GREAT! It's time to get serious about this and to MAKE IT HAPPEN! There's no time like the present to get it started. Now GO FOR IT!
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Thanks again,Barbara