An Open Letter to Christian Stella

QUOTE:

[The "so famous"] CHRISTIAN STELLA [Of StellaStyle.com] IS WRITING A
BOOK.
It's about his life and how he lost 160 pounds, over half of his
then-300 pound 15 year-old body weight. He has posted excerpts. It is
very, very good.

CHRISTIAN NEEDS YOUR HELP.

Christian would like to finish it in the next month or so -- he's about
half way done -- and needs our help.

$200 IS THE GOAL.

Christian thinks he needs about $200 or so to get to the finish line.
He's asked readers/Forum members to consider donating to help him.


"300 READERS/2 DONATIONS?

About 300 people have downloaded his samples and two people have
pledged a total of $40. (As a Forum member I find this embarrassing.)

READ IT, SEE WHAT YOU THINK.

In my opinion, Christian is a very talented and important writer, and I
want to support him. There are over 600 people registered on this site.
I'd like to encourage you to help, also.

MY PLEDGE.

Beginning right now, this moment, I will match the first 10 pledges of
$20 posted on this site and funded through PayPal for Christian. This
offer expires midnight, Tuesday, March 15."


From Christian Stella:
Thursday, March 10, 2005
I've posted some of my weight loss book online here (link removed).
Kind of an experiment I am running because I am flat broke and am tired
of mooching off of my father and everyone else I know.

End QUOTE

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Cyberbegging is just so tacky. And soliciting cyber-sycophants are
just more than I can take. I never would have thought that's what the
StellaStyle.com web community was all about. As far as I am concerned,
there is no reason why a healthy, able-bodied 20 year old man with a
loving family and a home needs to panhandle $400 from strangers on the
web. His reason "because I am flat broke and am tired of mooching off
of my father and everyone else I know."

So now he's finds it necessary to move on to strangers...?

I've maintained a FREE web site full of free recipes, information, and
resources for over 8 years. I never would consider cyber begging and I
don't ask my guests to read ads & spam so I can "cover the costs of
maintaining the website" like so many of my peers do these days. I give
_freely_ back to this community because I got so much from this
community and because every once in a while I get a "thank you" in my
email box from someone who appreciated the recipes & information and
was changing their life. Man, I know how tough that is for them to do.
My reward is being a part of their change. I am grateful to have been
able to help any one of them. I didn't stick a paypal link on my web
site and say- "hey if you really are thankful you'll give me money". I
leave that kind of parasitical lifestyle to leeches and TV Evangelists.

wrote in message roups.com...
QUOTE:

[The "so famous"] CHRISTIAN STELLA [Of StellaStyle.com] IS WRITING A
BOOK.
It's about his life and how he lost 160 pounds, over half of his
then-300 pound 15 year-old body weight. He has posted excerpts. It is
very, very good.

CHRISTIAN NEEDS YOUR HELP.

Christian would like to finish it in the next month or so -- he's about
half way done -- and needs our help.

$200 IS THE GOAL.

What a scam. Why the hell do you need money to finish a book? If he's
halfway, he must already have a paper and pen, or a computer, so what
the hell does he need?

Christian thinks he needs about $200 or so to get to the finish line.
He's asked readers/Forum members to consider donating to help him.

"300 READERS/2 DONATIONS?

About 300 people have downloaded his samples and two people have
pledged a total of $40. (As a Forum member I find this embarrassing.)

I'd say that's stupid. The book will probably only cost $5. Also what
do you get for this donation? For example, if I donated $50, I'd
expect 25% of his gross profits. Am I buying a share in his book or
what? Where is the money going? Why would I pay for someone else's
profiteering? I could understand if it was for a good cause, but
paying for someone to write a book? Thousands of people write books
all the time and they don't need donations, this entire message has
'SCAM' written all over it.

MY PLEDGE.

Beginning right now, this moment, I will match the first 10 pledges of
$20 posted on this site and funded through PayPal for Christian. This
offer expires midnight, Tuesday, March 15."

So in other words you'd pay another $200 after the first $200 is
raised. I thought you only needed $200?

From Christian Stella:
Thursday, March 10, 2005
I've posted some of my weight loss book online here (link removed).

Link removed? How are we supposed to read these exceprts then?

Here's the url to the "book"

http://www.lowcarbchefs.com/ribcage/book.htm

What's with the "The Skin I'm In or why I want to grab fat kids by
their heads and shake them" chapter? Wow! Apparently the kid has a lot
of anger down inside and I certainly don't think it's a healthy
response for someone who has lost a lot of weight.

On the low carb side, I'm glad that it's getting recognition like a low
carb show but George Stella's show is virtually unwatchable and he
definatily fudges the carb counts, makes things 10 servings 8 carbs
each serving. That is way to high and unnecessary. 10 servings? Who the
hell writes recipes for 10 servings in a diet book?

The Voice of Reason wrote:

From Christian Stella:
Thursday, March 10, 2005
I've posted some of my weight loss book online here (link removed).

Link removed? How are we supposed to read these exceprts then?

I left the Stella website when I saw the donation site go up. I'm not
interested in taking on George Stella's children to raise.

Voice of Reason writes:
What a scam. Why the hell do you need money to finish a book? If he's
halfway, he must already have a paper and pen, or a computer, so what
the hell does he need? end

Food, cigarettes, playboys, beer, zit cream and rent money so he
doesn't have to earn a living.

Christian Stella better hurry and write that book while he still knows
it all, lol. Typical child.

What I find the most entertaining about Christian's book is that he
confesses he's never even read Atkins, or any other book about low carb
or nutrition. He isn't a medical doctor or dietician either but he
wants to write a book to cash in on the low carb craze like daddy. I
laugh when he tries to impress with his pseudo-sophomoric knowledge of
low carb physiology. Believe me when I tell you there's no new
knowledge or insights to be gained reading the book from what I've seen
of it .
In fact, Christian Stella didn't even lose all his weight Low Carb nor
is he currently living a LC WOL. He'll tell you that himself. He said
he had a several month stall on low carb after losing 70 lbs or so.
He lost the last 80 lbs on low-calorie/low fat diet of 1500 cals and
limited fats. His maintanence continues to focus on low fat foods and
he eats mostly a vegetarian diet now or so he posted on his daddy's
website. I applaud his accomplishment. His weight loss is awesome! He
has his life ahead of him now as a thin human being! How wonderous and
beautiful I am truly happy for him but I'm not going to pay for his dog
and pony show.

Have a great Low Carb Day!

LOL The kid got it honest! His dad'll say anything if it gets a few
bucks in his pocket. Which story about georgy is real?

http://atkins.com/Archive/2002/4/15-552624.html

George: I jumped in headfirst. For 18 months, I stuck to Induction
and lost 200 pounds. Today, I am on Lifetime Maintenance, eating fewer
than 100 grams of carbohydrates a day, but usually limiting myself to
30 grams.
(snip). And soon, the story of our family=92s miraculous road to good
health via the Atkins Nutritional ApproachTM will be broadcast to the
nation.

Or
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/pro...7/ref=3Ddp_pr=
oddesc_0/103-0699907-2321441?%5Fencoding=3DUTF8&n=3D283155

Copyright =A9 2005 by George Stella, Inc.
Product Description:
George lost weight with Stella Style: "eating fresh foods, using
low-carb ingredients to reinvent your old favorites, developing better
eating habits, and, most of all -- eating food you love!" And he wasn't
the only one: The entire Stella family shed more than 560 pounds.

Once we started eating Stella Style we never looked back. As the pounds
melted away, we decided to spread the word.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So which one is the truth? While Atkins was paying him he did it
Atkins style, lol all of a sudden he writes a book and they decide
they did it Stella Style!

And I am sorry but Stella's irresponsible approach to low carb is
frightening! Listen to this advice:

"Once you start eating low-carb, you'll quickly find out what works
best for you. Everyone's different. My point is that you don't need to
get all caught up with numbers when you eat Stella Style. In fact, when
you eat low-carb Stella Style, you don't need to count carbs. Ever. If
you follow the guidelines in this book and learn to make these recipes,
you'll eat until you feel satisfied, without ever having to worry about
how much food is on your plate."

(Excerpts from George Stella's book are for Critique and Educational
purposes only).

Here is a man that has absolutely no regard for a sane scientific
approach to weight loss. It's no wonder his son had to lose more than
half his weight on a low calorie/low fat diet. Stella Style couldn't
possibly work! I counted the carbs in one of his recipes- 80 carbs
for 10 servings of vegetables literally swimmin in sugar-filled
Balsamic Vinegar. No way could I eat that till I was full on expect not
to gain weight eating Stella Style!


Reference Balsamic Grilled Vegetables:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/food/reci...6_26950,00.ht=
ml

He can't even give an accurate carb count. Balsamic vinegar has like
3x the carbs of regular vinegar. He must have used regular vinegar carb
counts. Don't believe me? Do the count yourself! I swear this recipe
is about 80 net carbs total! George says 60 net. And he has you cook up
10 servings at one time....?

:shakes her head:

These people are the most sleezy thing that ever happened to Low Carb!

"He can't even give an accurate carb count. Balsamic vinegar has like
3x the carbs of regular vinegar. He must have used regular vinegar carb

counts. Don't believe me? Do the count yourself! I swear this recipe
is about 80 net carbs total! George says 60 net. And he has you cook up

10 servings at one time....? "

It might be a little low, but to be fair, for a serving, his count is
6g, yours is 8g,
which isn't a huge difference. I did a count myself, using the USDA
database
to check, and came up with 79g net. It's also not possible to do
exactly, as
every database has somewhat different numbers and there is no std
definition
of what a med zucchini or an eggplant is.

As for the balsamic vinegar, about half of it is used as a marinade.
Only a small
portion of that will be absorbed in the vegs or not drip off during the
grilling. Then
he tosses the other half on the vegs before serving. A lot of that
will flow to the
bottom of the pan and unless you drink it, never be consumed. Balsamic
vinegar
isn't in the USDA database, so I used the label on a bottle I had,
which is 3g per
tablespoon and seems typical. To come up with the 79g carb count, I
included
a full 1/2 cup, which came to 24g. If even half of that doesn't get
consumed, then
his count is correct.

So, I don't think the recipe is too far from accurate to be used as an
example of a
bad recipe. As for cooking 10 servings, that doesn't seem too
unreasonable, after all he has a family
of four and you can save half for leftovers and anyone can adjust it
easily for whatever
amount they want to make.

..

I did a count myself, using the USDA
database
to check, and came up with 79g net.

I came up with 80 net carbs but george claims 60 net carbs.
Some of it is a marinade but eggplant absorbs liquid like a sponge.
For me, there's a large difference between 6 carb veggie and 8 carb
veggie- especially if I plan to have 2 servings.

Also, if you are eating 20 carbs a day and on induction for 18 months
as Stella claimed- you can't be eating 2 servings of 8 carb veggies.
That is nearly your whole days worth of carbs! (plus a blueberry muffin
in the morn and a piece of cheesecake after dinner)


If you want to see people stalled and gaining on a low carb diet-
visit StellaStyle.com.

One guy said he gained 20 lbs in a month eating "Stella Style".

wrote:
:: .
::
:: I did a count myself, using the USDA
::: database
::: to check, and came up with 79g net.
::
:: I came up with 80 net carbs but george claims 60 net carbs.
:: Some of it is a marinade but eggplant absorbs liquid like a sponge.
:: For me, there's a large difference between 6 carb veggie and 8 carb
:: veggie- especially if I plan to have 2 servings.
::
:: Also, if you are eating 20 carbs a day and on induction for 18 months
:: as Stella claimed- you can't be eating 2 servings of 8 carb veggies.
:: That is nearly your whole days worth of carbs! (plus a blueberry
:: muffin in the morn and a piece of cheesecake after dinner)
::
::
:: If you want to see people stalled and gaining on a low carb diet-
:: visit StellaStyle.com.
::
:: One guy said he gained 20 lbs in a month eating "Stella Style".

That must have been pre-stella weight loss.

Seriously, if you tune into a TV show and come away with the notion that LC
is all about eating certain foods, rather than eating less overall, you'll
certainly stall or gain.

Barbtail is exactly right. George Stella purposefully tells you that
you don't need to worry about counting carbs and portion control. Eat
till your full, all his recipes are "low-carb" so no need to count. So
I'm hungry and eat 4 servings of his "low carb" recipe, next thing you
know I'm out of ketosis because I've sucked down 50g carbs doing it
$tella $tyle.

What a friggin' joke.


wrote:

Also, if you are eating 20 carbs a day and on induction for 18 months
as Stella claimed- you can't be eating 2 servings of 8 carb veggies.
That is nearly your whole days worth of carbs! (plus a blueberry
muffin
in the morn and a piece of cheesecake after dinner)


If you want to see people stalled and gaining on a low carb diet-
visit StellaStyle.com.

One guy said he gained 20 lbs in a month eating "Stella Style".

Telling people to until til they're full is folly. It means different things
to different people.

wrote:
:: Barbtail is exactly right. George Stella purposefully tells you that
:: you don't need to worry about counting carbs and portion control. Eat
:: till your full, all his recipes are "low-carb" so no need to count.
:: So I'm hungry and eat 4 servings of his "low carb" recipe, next
:: thing you know I'm out of ketosis because I've sucked down 50g carbs
:: doing it $tella $tyle.
::
:: What a friggin' joke.
::
::
:: wrote:
:::
::: Also, if you are eating 20 carbs a day and on induction for 18
::: months as Stella claimed- you can't be eating 2 servings of 8 carb
::: veggies. That is nearly your whole days worth of carbs! (plus a
::: blueberry muffin in the morn and a piece of cheesecake after dinner)
:::
:::
::: If you want to see people stalled and gaining on a low carb diet-
::: visit StellaStyle.com.
:::
::: One guy said he gained 20 lbs in a month eating "Stella Style".