Now My Mom, Stepdad Going On Low-Carb

After losing 180 pounds in 2004 and blogging about this truly healthy lifestyle since April 2005, I have finally convinced two very special people in my life that they need to lose weight and improve their overall health by livin' la vida low-carb--my Mom and my stepdad.

Last summer my Mom told me she had started reading my blog to keep up with what her middle child was up to. Yes, I try to call her fairly often, but she said reading my blog was like she was talking directly with her son. That's the writing style I have always used regardless of the subject matter because people relate better with it than a series of stuffy boring column.

When I went to visit my mother for Thanksgiving, I noticed that she still had a dial-up connection to the Internet using an AOL browser. The connection was painstakingly slow and was part of the reason I didn't blog a bit while I was in Florida over that holiday weekend. Talk about frustrated blogging! UGH! No thank you!

Mom sent me an e-mail today from her new non-AOL e-mail address that indicated to me that she has a faster Internet connection speed to browse the web with. COOL! So, where's one of the first places she goes to--my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog, of course! Hi Mom! I'm so glad she upgraded because it was the best thing I ever did ditching AOL after being with them for over a decade. Good riddance and welcome to the 21st Century!

In the e-mail from my mother, she said she has been scouring through just a few of the nearly 1,500 blog posts I have written over the past couple of years and has become convinced that both she and my stepdad Frank needed to start livin' la vida low-carb right away. Sweet!

"Frank and I are going to try the low-carb diet starting tomorrow. We are also going to do some walking to try to help with our health."

That's so outstanding, Mom! I'm proud of you for supporting Frank in this because I know how hard it can be to lose weight and keep it off permanently. My regular readers will recall that my mother had gastric bypass surgery one month before I started the Atkins diet three years ago and she looks fantastic now after losing over 100 pounds. But she hasn't been adhering to any strict dietary confines except for the built-in portion control that comes from her smaller stomach size.

It is pretty well-known that the optimum diet for anyone who has had weight loss surgery is low-carb, so I'm glad my Mom is going to give it a go, too. As for my stepdad, he is a part of the more than one in four Americans who are currently prediabetic, which is an impaired fasting glucose (IFG) that is a form of pre-diabetes where glucose levels are higher than normal but not considered high enough to be full-fledged diabetes yet. He has to check his blood sugar often and to his credit he does. He was pretty amazed by my outstanding blood sugar reading when he took it during our visit.

I assured Mom and Frank in a reply e-mail that they were making the right decision to start livin' la vida low-carb in light of the latest research on the positive effect that low-carb has on blood sugar and weight. Of course, if my own family needs support and encouragement (even my brother Kevin who is doing as well as he can right now considering his current state of health), I stand ready to help them just as much as the hundreds of people who e-mail me every single month. I believe it's my God-given purpose right now to do what I can to help other people find their weight loss miracle like I did and I'm happy to be there for anyone willing to make it happen for themselves.

Like every good Mom, she ended her e-mail to me with edification.

"I'm proud of you and what you have accomplished. Love, Mama"

Gee, thanks so much Mom! You taught me well about striving for being the best at whatever I do and I work very hard to maintain the highest level of excellence in all that I am doing. Anything less would be dishonoring your outstanding upbringing and I'll never let you down.

Wanna see what one of my readers e-mailed to me over the weekend? This is the kind of feedback that I usually get all the time and I NEVER get tired of reading it. Check this out:

"I have been reading your blog for some time now and listening to your podcast when I have time. I just wanted you to know that you have been a comfort and inspiration to me in the last few months. I have been really having a hard time sticking with the low-carb lifestyle and sometimes just reading your blog has been enough to make myself get back on track again.

I did lose about 20 pounds awhile back but the holidays derailed me. I am back and going strong this last week and have lost a few more pounds. Someone like you with the ability to stay the course gives all of us who are struggling a glimmer of hope. It also reassures me and provides me with the kind of determination I need that I can do it also.

I just wanted to let you know, especially after reading your blog today that there are people out here that you do help with your daily writing. Don't ever let anyone say anything to make you feel differently about what you do please."

And that right there is why I keep coming back here blogging every single day! Changing lives for the better makes it all worth it to me. See Mom, I turned out better than you and I ever thought I would growing up as a strong-willed child. Best wishes to you and Frank as you begin livin' la vida low-carb and please come back here often for education and encouragement about this healthy way of eating. I'll be here ready to help you anytime. I LOVE YOU!