Personal Experience

Happy New Year, 2002. It's a palindrome, you know, 2002. A palindrome is a word that reads the same backwards and forwards, like mom or dad or gag. The last time we had a palindromic year was 1991, and the one before that was clear back in 1881. And, there won't be another one for 110 years, not until the year 2112. These are rare years, indeed! It's a gas to be living in one.

Have you ever tried to refold a roadmap? I have. It's not pretty. Two hundred miles from home, toddler yelling, and dear husband giving me the look. What made me think that a road trip across country with a 2-year-old was a good idea? My inability to refold this innocuous little piece of paper seemed to be the straw to my camel. I pushed it to the floor, determined to deal with it later.

Welcome to Delilah's Mirror! I've used the low carb life to shed nearly 150 pounds, and while I'm not at goal, I'd like to share my story. I have discovered in my online low carb travels and in talking to people who are overweight, that my story is quite the norm and not even close to an exception.

Adele from Ohio is 50 years old. She follows a self-designed, low carb program that incorporates both the carbohydrate guidelines and anti-yeasting version of the Atkins program and the paleo style of eating outlined in NeanderThin by Ray Audette. Adele found what combination of low carbohydrate principles work for her "by long trial and error, mostly error!" she says.

Maui Mike is from Minnesota. Mike got his name because he lived on the island of Maui in Hawaii for a period of time. "I also have a blend of coffee named after me called "Maui Mike's Blend," he laughed.

Jess from Wisconsin is 18 years old and follows the Atkins program. Jess is 5' 5" tall and has gone from 225 pounds to 145 pounds! Jess' goal weight is 120. (Please note that her after picture above was taken when Jess weighed 158 pounds; Jess has lost an additional 13 pounds since that picture was taken!)

The holidays are nearly upon us, my friends, and that means it's time to gather with your loved ones and eat high-carb meals while visions of non-Atkins-friendly sugarplums dance in our heads. Okay, let's face it, the holidays are the most difficult part of choosing a low carb lifestyle.

Ron Moshier is from Minnesota and winters in Texas. Ron is 6' tall, and follows the Atkins program. He has used low carbing to lose from his top weight of 260 pounds down to a trim 180 pounds. Ron's waist size has shrunk from a 44 to a 34!

Vonnie from Australia is 34 years old and has gone from 245 pounds to 154 pounds, just 9 pounds short of her goal weight of 145. She has dropped from a size 22 to a size 10 on her way to her goal size of 8.

I am a food addict. I am addicted to wheat and corn, potatoes and sugar. Low-carb eating, of course, treats these addictions very successfully. But even on low carb I have to admit I show every sign of addictions to cheese and diet drinks. So it's no surprise that I am actually a happier person, healthier and thinner when I am off all of those.

So there I am, in the pig pen, with little piglets running to and fro under my feet, squealing. I'm lurching back and forth, holding a roasting pan upside-down over my head, swooping down with it at intervals, and all the while seriously wondering why I ever agreed to this scheme in the first place!