Wondering why or if you should kick sweets and refined carbs? This Kick-Sugar Success Story feature is one in a continuing series of inspiring Q & A’s with former sugar addicts, who’ve achieved remarkable transformations just by stomping out their sugar habit. This periodic feature is designed to give you honest, motivating, real-life tales of “Sugar Kickers.”
Please note: Kicking sweets can yield many wonderful results — not just weight loss. Just removing “those culprit carbs” may help you to concentate better and feel more focused; get more energy; minimize your PMS or menopause symptoms; look younger; clear up your skin; manage or minimize your insulin resistance, hypoglycemia, or diabetes; or even boost your sagging libido.
Read on to learn about the incredibly inspiring story from fellow blogger Jimmy Moore, who has an uncanny ability to motivate people so they can lead more happy, health lives. I even had the pleasure of interviewing Jimmy for one of my Fast-Track, KickSugar Countdown Program preview tele-seminars earlier this year. You can access a replay of our inspiring call (and several others) for free here.
Kick-Sugar Success Story: Jimmy Moore, Spartanburg, South Carolina
Occupation: Customer Service Specialist, Low-Carb Blogger, and Author, Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb
Blog: Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb
Hobbies: Blogging, watching movies with my wife, working out at the gym
Age: 34; Height: 6’3″
Weight Now: 229; Goal Weight: 210
Summary of Benefits From Kicking Sweets & Refined Carbs: Lost 180 pounds, no more cravings, blood sugar stabilized, thinking clearly, more energy, more energetic and longer-lasting sex, no more body aches and pains, etc.
Before
Now 
Connie: Jimmy, I know that people are incredibly reluctant and resistant to give up or cut back on sugar and refined carbs for a number of reasons. So, right off the bat, tell us immediately the biggest benefits you gained from taking control of your habit of eating all those sweets and quickie carbs. In other words, please tell readers, “What’s in it for me?!”
Jimmy: For me, it means 180 pounds are gone off of my body—FOREVER! Yep, I lost a whole person in weight because I chose to give up sugar and excessive carbohydrates from my diet. Some people marvel at my weight loss success, but I tell them it’s all about making the right choices. Many health problems are gone now [Note from Connie: We discuss them shortly], but my overall health has been enhanced tremendously.
Connie: Can you be specific? What are a few fringe benefits from kicking sugar?
Jimmy: Well, Connie, let me rattle off a few.
1) I’ve stablized blood sugar so I don’t crave sugar and refined carbs.
2) I’m no longer burning sugar carbs for energy, which caused a rollercoaster ride in my body.
3) I’m thinking clearer than I have in my entire life.
4) Sex with my wife has become more energetic and long-lasting.
5) I have no more body aches and little pains in my body–THEY’RE GONE!
The list of benefits could go on and on! Connie, let me speak to your readers now. Folks, you to know that there’s no reason why you shouldn’t make today the beginning of your sugar-free lifestyle, too! This is the healthiest I have EVER been in my entire life. I only wish I had done this 10 years ago. Oh well, better late than never! You can succeed!
Connie: Wow, Jimmy, those are some amazing benefits. Now, let’s go back in time to what drove you to kick sugar. What was your rock-bottom moment before you decided you needed to change your diet?
Jimmy: Connie, when the scale read 410 pounds in January 2004, it doesn’t get any more “rock bottom” than that! People always ask me how I could allow myself to get that big and my response was that I must have let all inhibitions go because I didn’t realize my weight had become such a major problem.
Connie: Just how bad were you feeling? What ailments did you have? Please be specific.
Jimmy: I experienced health issues such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and breathing problems, as well as the constant visual reminder of how big I was every single time I looked in the mirror. The constant ripped pants, trouble getting in and out of the car, and other day-to-day tasks were becoming very problematic. I was fallling apart and didn’t even know it. So change was not just an option, it was ABSOLUTELY necessary as soon as possible.
Connie: Describe any pivotal moments in a doctor’s office, an embarrassing event that made you decide to tackle your sugar habit, etc.
Jimmy: There was one memorable moment just a couple of months prior to starting my weight loss program that has stuck with me to this day. I was substitute teaching at a local middle school and was writing the instructions for the day on the chalkboard. Then, all of a sudden I hear this pudgy little 6th grade boy exclaim, “Mr. Moore is FFFFFFFAT!!!” Of course, the class burst into rip-roaring laughter and so did I. But I was only laughing to keep from crying at that point because that 12-year- old child was right. I was fat, and it was high time that I did something about it (although I’d love to see that little punk kid today and tell ’em that he needs to lose some weight, too! LOL!).
Connie: I remember on our tele-seminar, you talked about another embarrassing incident that made you realize you needed to lose weight and deal with your sugar issues. Can you tell us about that?
Jimmy:
I was at a Fall Festival at my church just a few months before I started on my low-carb lifestyle and saw all these men climbing up the rock wall. It looked easy enough, my 400+ pound body notwithstanding. So I gave it a try. On the first step, my foot slipped off and so I tried again. The second time, I stepped on the bottom rock again and my foot wouldn’t hold. I turned around and was completely embarrassed by the hundreds of onlookers who saw me struggling to take just one measly step up this rock wall. Finally, I tried a third time, but unfortunately when my foot slipped this time, I twisted my ankle and failed at this task. It was a vivid moment in my life when I realized just how far I had sunk in my health allowing my weight to get THAT big.
Connie: What made you finally decide to eliminate sugar and refined carbs to help with your health issues?
Jimmy: Well, when I started Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution on January 1, 2004, one of the first things he said to do was get rid of sugar from your diet. I made the decision to do that when I FINALLY realized that the sugar I was consuming in soft drinks, doughnuts, snack cakes, cookies, ice cream and candy bars was the source of how I became morbidly obese. Many people would say that common sense would tell you those things are not healthy for you, but when you reach a certain point with your weight, you don’t feel like there’s any chance of ever turning it around again. So you eat since it’s inevitable you’ll be fat forever. But this time, I was going to buck the odds and give it my all to prove that theory wrong.
Connie: What did you used to eat before you began curtailing the culprit carbs?
Jimmy: You don’t have enough room to print all that I used to eat. But here’s just a small sample of what I REGULARLY ate and drank in a single day: 16 Coca-Colas, a whole box of Little Debbie oatmeal cookies, a whole box of Little Debbie swiss rolls…need I go on? I think you get the picture. I was a hog, and what is most sad is I DON’T KNOW WHY I ATE THAT WAY!
Connie: What do you think most people don’t know about processed carbs that they need to know?
Jimmy: That it can negatively impact their blood sugar and cause them to become insulin resistant, which is a precursor to diabetes. If I had continued on my same course, with my terrible eating habits, there’s no doubt in my mind that I would be diabetic today.
tc.Connie: How did you first learn about the dangers of sugars and refined carbs?
Jimmy: Well, when I started reading Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution on January 1, 2004, one of the first things he said to do to lose weight was to get rid of sugar from your diet. I never thought about sugar or carbohydrates as being harmful to your body until I read that book. The more I started reading about the low-carb lifestyle and how it helps to stabilize your blood sugar levels, the more I realized exactly what was behind my weight and health problems. As we know, he was harshly ridiculed in his lifetime for the ideas he supported, but Dr. Robert C. Atkins is already being vindicated — a wealth of scientific research is currently proving he was right after all. The medical establishment and media owe the family of this great man a sincere apology for egregiously maligning him personally for so long.
Connie: Did you find a doctor or other health professional (acupuncturist, nutritionist, etc.) who understood all about how eating sugar triggers drastic blood sugar swings, etc. Tell us about him or her.
Jimmy: Actually, I did not see any doctor regarding my diet change or sugar addiction, because frankly most of the medical professionals I know believe that the low-fat diet as the way to optimize health. Sugar is not a big concern to them which is quite disturbing to me as someone who has benefitted from removing this substance from my life forever. This, to me, is why obesity is still such a major problem in the United States and around the world. Until it is viewed as the major threat to health that it is, we will never be able to move forward with solutions to obesity.
Connie: What have been your biggest challenges to kick sugar and refined carbs? Can you help prepare others for any potential pitfalls ahead?
Jimmy: If you can get past those intial few weeks and months of not consuming sugar, then you can make it for a lifetime. Friends and co-workers always brag about my willpower to say no to sugary foods now, and I tell them that it has nothing to do with willpower. Instead, it’s my choice to not allow anything inside of my body that will cause harm to me. Sure, that chocolate cake might taste good in the here and now, but if you realize the consequences of eating it — it will lead to obesity, diabetes or even an early death — it sorta puts it all in perspective for you. The biggest thing is to not give in to the temptation even when you think you can’t do it. YES YOU CAN and you MUST! Keep at it, and you will reap the sweet rewards of success in the end.
Connie: Do you have any favorite websites, blogs, books, organizations or support groups that have helped you to lick your habit?
Jimmy: Well, I didn’t really use any online sources while I was kicking sugar, but I think what you are doing at your SUGAR SHOCK! blog Connie is fantastic, because you are hitting this subject from every angle. Other favorite websites about not eating sugar or refined carbohydrates include Weight of the Evidence by Regina Wilshire and Sugar Free Sheila.
Connie: And, or course, you’re big on blogging yourself now. Other than your blog, to what other sites do you contribute?
Jimmy: My work is also featured on CarbWire.com, Low Carb Newsline, and Health Hack Podcast.
Connie: So, Jimmy, what are your best 3 tips and tactics to help other people kick sweets and quickie carbs?
Jimmy: (1) Treat sugar like it is rat poison and you’ll never eat a bite of it again (2) Refuse to give in to the “just this once” lie that often tempts you after you’ve resisted sugar for a while. (3) Find sugar-free, low-carb foods to replace the sugary snacks you enjoy now.
Connie: Those are great, Jimmy. Let me just clarify for my readers — I’m not a fan of artificially sweetened foods and beverages, but there are many sugar-free, low-carb foods out there which do not contain chemically created concoctions. One last question, Jimmy. Please share some final words of wisdom, inspiration or motivation to others who are thinking of cutting out sugar and simple carbs.
Jimmy: It is NOT impossible if you commit yourself 100% to do this. Sure it will be difficult at first, but believe me when I say it will be all worth it when you no longer are enslaved to the sugar god anymore. Take back control of your life by beginning your sugarless journey ASAP!
Note from Connie: “Kick-Sugar Success Story” is a periodic feature designed to give you honest, motivating, real-life tales of “Sugar Kickers,” who experienced remarkable benefits just by stomping out kicking their sugar habit.
Want to be interviewed for a Kick-Sugar Success Story? To qualify, you should have either totally cut out or heavily cut back on your sugar and quickie-carb consumption and achieved wonderful results for at least three months. Also, you must agree to let me use your real name and photo. (It will be published on this blog and other websites.) No anonymous interviews, sorry. To be considered for inclusion in this column, write to me. You may reproduce this column, provided you credit Connie Bennett and the www.SugarShockBlog.com and notify us of this.