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Monday, April 17, 2006

'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb' Anniversary Memories - April 2005-July 2005

This is the first in a four-part series looking back at the highlights of the first year of this blog. This post looks at the blog posts from April 2005-July 2005.

This Friday will be ONE YEAR since I decided to become a blogger for the first time. I was already writing regular columns at a web site called CommonVoice.com, but I needed to find a more personal way to communicate with people who needed to be encouraged and educated in the low-carb lifestyle.

I had hardly been exposed to very many blogs until a friend of mine in Greenville, SC named Mike Green created this blog about this time last year. As you can see, he hasn't kept it very current, but he made it look so easy to blog. That's when I went to Blogger and registered for my blog.

Originally, I wanted to get the URL http://livinlavidalowcarb.blogspot.com, but it wouldn't allow me to take it. I didn't see that blog name taken, so I tried it again...same result, no can do! Oh well, that's when I decided on http://livinlavidalocarb.blogspot.com instead and this was my very first blog post on April 21, 2005. I was so excited to now be a part of the great Internet blogosphere!

Although I had already written many low-carb columns before I started my blog, it was going to be a challenge to see if people would come to my blog to read. I posted my before and after photos to show people that I really did lose 180 pounds and began searching for information to write about the low-carb lifestyle.

It didn't take long.

This obesity doctor was the first to feel the wrath of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" Man with his misinformation about low-carb. A style was born designed to take on the lies from journalists like this, an ignorant college student, and even bestselling diet guru Jorge Cruise that still continues to this day.

While the primary focus at my blog is on the low-carb lifestyle, I don't mind sharing some of the strange stuff that's out there in the world of dieting, food, and nutrition. When the hit Bravo television show "Queer Eye For The Straight Guy" was looking for an Atkins success story, they turned to my blog to help them get the word out. And who could forget the world-record breaking 19-pound hamburger that happened right here in South Carolina?! Strange stuff indeed!

But what consumed me most was combatting those who seemed to purposely deceive people about the healthy benefits of low-carb living. I even brought out this low-fat supporter who threw a hissy fit about my support for low-carb. There were more college students who didn't get it either so we had to set 'em straight.

Along the way, I was able to write articles educating people about how sugar, not fat was contributing to the obesity problem, that you have to choose for yourself to lose weight, and that there are certain foods you probably should avoid entirely like this.

With all the wealth of scientific evidence coming out in support of a low-carb nutritional approach, I also thought it was vital to get this information out to my readers so they can know that livin' la vida low-carb is more than just a theory -- it really works! There was an Australian study that virtually guaranteed weight loss by following a low-carb diet. And this doctor said heart disease isn't caused by high cholesterol, but rather high blood sugar. These are radical ideas but they are backed by research!

From a business standpoint, I challenged the company Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating for claiming their home-delivered meals were good for people when they were nothing more than low-fat/low-calorie/portion controlled meals that were chock full of carbohydrates. This official response from the national headquarters for Seattle Sutton showed me that I had made my point and caused one company to stop and think about their negative criticism of low-carb living.

Then, who could forget the first time anti-Atkins, lawsuit-happy opportunity Jody Gorran came popping on my blog. He was so giddy and full of himself, I was frankly surprised the man showed his face. But I didn't back down and still don't back down from Gorran or any of the other radical vegan idiots who hate the low-carb lifestyle because I love to eat meat. GET OVER IT ALREADY! :)

Other popular topics that I wrote about in those first few months include diabetes, low-carb foods, and obesity.

When I started my blog, I was also in the midst of writing my debut book, "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb." I blogged about almost losing the manuscript to my book when my computer went haywire on me! Thankfully, everything was fine. I eventually got to the end of the writing process.

As my readership began to grow to over 10,000 pageviews monthly by June 2005, some people began openly challenging me about what right I had to talk about low-carb. Of course, I had every right to talk about whatever I wanted to since it was my blog. And my blog is about what I think. Sooooo, that was pretty much a non-issue to me. But I still get a few of those kind of comments to this day.

Sometimes I supported products that helped me in my low-carb lifestyle, such as diet soda, so I stood up for it when insane studies like this one came out. Popular television shows like "The Biggest Loser" also inspired me to write this blog post about the winner of Seaon One Ryan Benson who maintains his weight loss with low-carb.

When the President of the Corn Refiners Association criticized me for my comments about high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), I had to put her in her place to expose just how wrong she was!

Not everyone has agreed with some of the concepts I have written about. Take my infamous planned splurge strategy. Some people LOVED the idea of having one meal every 6-8 weeks to eat whatever you want while others blasted it as heresy against low-carb living. But it got people to talking and thinking about what would work for THEM! And that was good. I can help but laught when I even got the so-called "Diet Detective" Charles Platkin to go absolutely berserk!

We looked at how people following a low-carb lifestyle were causing bread companies to rethink their business strategy or continue to lose market share and how people were actually strengthening their bone health using this amazing way of eating.

Sugar became the focus of several blog posts when the Sugar Association stepped up their attacks against Splenda. I posted this timeline of events that exposed what the sugar lobby was doing behind-the-scenes to destroy Splenda. The battle lines had been drawn and I was happy to share with you what was happening.

Of course, there are times when people just wanted to pour out their heart and soul with their frustrations about dealing with weight problems. This college student shared a gut-wrenching tale of how hard life has been for him being obese and it reminded me that there are millions more just like him out there looking for answers. It made me realize that the work I was doing at my blog was for people like him if for no other reason. This one from another person struggling with weight was so well-written and honest I nearly cried after reading it myself.

In late July 2005, I joined the National Weight Control Registry as one of a very select few low-carbers in the group. Although the registry is very much against low-carb living, I hope to help change that perspective as I continue to keep my weight off for many years to come.

Finally, we looked at the health of President George W. Bush and how he is setting the example for others to follow when it comes to fitness and good lifestyle habits.

All in all, I'd say the first three months online were quite adventurous, but things were only going to get more exciting in the months to come. Come back tomorrow to read about August 2005-October 2005.

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4 Comments:

Blogger Unknown said...

The "This official response" link is wrong.

Other than that, looks really good. Thanks for the links!

4/17/2006 10:17 PM  
Blogger Lowcarb_dave said...

Congratulations on coming up to one year blogging!

Thank you for your blog entries, that I check daily!

It has really helped me as when I started atkins last July and I have managed to lose 115 pounds!

Your blog was a constant source of inspiration!

Cheers from Down Under!

4/18/2006 4:03 AM  
Blogger Jimmy Moore said...

THANKS, Newbirth. This was a tedious post and getting all the links perfect was probably next to impossible. I fixed that one you noted and welcome any more feedback on ones you find in this or any post anytime. Take care!

4/18/2006 8:12 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

My first official blog post was March 11, 2003. That was back when I set up a very basic blog on my own site. See the bottom of this page:
http://home.earthlink.net/~vicsblog/blog053003.html

I moved to Blogspot the end of April 2005 because having a blog that could only be updated from one computer with the templates and proper ftp access meant that entries were short and sporadic. Blogspot allows me to post from anywhere, even by e-mail.

Oh hey, just for fun...you need to check this out:
http://stumblingtobethlehem.blogspot.com/2006/03/how-much-is-your-blog-worth.html

Your blog is worth A LOT! Mine was only $2,800.

4/18/2006 7:52 PM  

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