This year I had the pleasure of setting sail on the 6th Annual Low Carb Cruise. Before we set sail, we had a Pre-Cruise dinner, which featured a low carb menu and a Roast of all of the speakers by Tom Naughton. Tom’s Roast was hilarious and if you haven’t seen the movie Fat Head you should definitely check it out. The cruise was aboard the Carnival Magic for 7-nights with stops in Mahogancy Bay, Isla Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. In addition to these beautiful stops, we also had the pleasure of hearing from some of the top low carb/paleo advocates. On the “sea days,” when we weren’t making any stops, the fabulous Low Carb Cruise Committee put together a low carb conference full of presentations from a full line up of speakers.
The cruise featured presentations by the following:
- Jimmy Moore of Livin’ La Vida Low Carb Blog
- Diane Sanfilippo of Balanced Bites and her book Practical Paleo
- Dr. Jay Wortman of the documentary My Big Fat Diet
- Dietitian Cassie spoke being a low carb Registered Dietitian in a non-low carb world
- Dr. Dwight Lundell is the world renown heart surgeon that spoke out on what really causes heart disease
- Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt (aka The Diet Doctor) and LCHF Friends from Sweden
- Jackie Eberstein with a tribute to Dr. Robert C. Atkins
- Dr. Jayson and Mira Calton of Calton Nutrition and the book Rich Food Poor Food
- Dave Asprey of The Bulletproof Executive and the Bulletproof Coffee that you’ve heard so much about
- Jonathan Bailor of The Smarter Science of Slim
Jimmy Moore discussed his results during Year 1 of his N= 1 ketosis experiment and the amazing amount of weight he lost during the last year. Diane Sanfilippo talked about who is the best candidate for a low carb paleo diet. Dr. Jay Wortman discussed his documentary My Big Fat Diet and his experiences with the First Nations of Canada. Dietitian Cassie spoke about what it is like to be a Registered Dietitian that believes in a low carb diet when conventional wisdom pushes the low fat and whole grain approach to being healthy. Dr. Dwight Lundell discussed his views on what really causes heart disease. Dr. Andreas Eenfeldt and the LCHF Friends from Sweden discussed how the Low Carb High Fat movement is sweeping through Sweden. Jackie Eberstein spoke about her time working with Dr. Atkins and paid tribute to him with a look back at his wonderful work. Dr. Jayson and Mira Calton spoke about the importance of micro-nutrients and their new book Rich Food Poor Food. If you are starting to get confused by all the labels in the grocery store, I definitely recommend picking up Rich Food Poor Food. It lays out all you need to know for choosing the best quality ingredients at the store. Dave Asprey gave “16 Reasons A High-Fat, Low-Carb Diet Will Make You Rock” and also gave us a demonstration on how to make a batch of Bulletproof Coffee. And Jonathan Bailor talked about the calories in/calories out diet math that is usually given as advice for loosing weight and how that is completely inaccurate.
All of the presentations were very interesting! One of the common themes throughout most of presentations was making sure you eat enough quality fat (i.e. from coconut oil or grass feed butter/ghee). I always thought I was eating enough fat until I went on the cruise and saw people bring their own Kerrygold Grass Fed Butter with them and loaded EVERY meal with extra butter. Some people even eat butter by the spoonful to make sure they get in enough fat. I don’t think I will ever just take a spoonful of butter, but it definitely adds more flavor to veggies. A win, win! I was surprised to learn in both Dave Aspery’s presentation as well as the Calton’s presentation about how much food quality is important and how poor quality food can really impact your health. I also didn’t realize mold can be found in so many foods….thanks Dave!
Overall I had a blast on the cruise! I got to learn lots of great information, meet new friends, and go cave tubing! The plan is to go again next year, but the details haven’t been announced yet. We must all wait patiently for the details. I hope you can join us next year! I will leave you with a few pictures from the trip.
Enjoy!
~Karen
Our first stop, Mahogany Bay in Roatan
The view of Roatan from the ship
The view of Belize from the tender ship
The view of the ship from the dock in Cozumel
Me and Jimmy Moore
Me and Judy Barnes Baker (a fellow Low Carbing Among Friends author)
A picture of dinner (yes we still had to remove the potatoes and other high carb sides, but there were lots of great low carb options)
Another picture of dinner
Towel art—I’m pretty sure it is a monkey
New friends at the Cocktail Party our last day
