Thanks For Changing My Life, Ralph Bristol

Radio talk show host Ralph Bristol instrumental in my low-carb success

While most of the readers of my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog are aware of my 180-pound weight loss on the Atkins diet in 2004, you may not realize there were other ingredients involved in that experience that helped push me to the great success that I was able to accomplish. One of those was a rather unique opportunity to be a part of a weight loss contest conducted by a local afternoon radio talk show host named Ralph Bristol.

I had been a regular listener of "The Ralph Bristol Show" on 1330/950AM Newsradio WORD in Greenville/Spartanburg, SC for several years before 2004 when Ralph announced a brand new contest he was calling "Ralph's Incredible Shrinking Ton" which would pit five contestants weighing a cumulative 2,000 pounds against each other to see who could lose the most weight as a percentage of their starting weight. You can read my CommonVoice.com column entitled "382 1/2!" to get more of the details of the weigh-in day.

If you have read the Introduction of my book Livin' La Vida Low-Carb: My Journey From Flabby Fat To Sensationally Skinny In One Year, then you already know the story. If not, then you can read that chapter for FREE and see exactly what happened during the contest. I will tell you this--I won the contest but in the most peculiar way. You'll just have to read it to believe it! CLICK HERE to view my before and after photos from "Ralph's Incredible Shrinking Ton" contest.

After months of arm-twisting and begging him to write the foreword to my book, Ralph agreed and did a fantastic job encapsulating exactly what I was attempting to convey with the book. I will forever be indebted to him for being willing to do that and even bringing me back on his show for a LIVE one-hour interview about the Atkins diet in August 2005. You can read the entire transcript of that interview I did with him by clicking here.

Of course, Ralph is an equal opportunity radio talk show host and once challenged a local restaurant to come up with the world's largest hamburger when gigantic burgers were all over the news. He pulled it off with this amazing 19-pound hamburger that set a new world record! Gotta love that Ralphie!

One thing Ralph will always be remembered for is his ability to be original in a very unoriginal world. I say "remembered" because he is leaving the Upstate of South Carolina where he has grown fans from towns like Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, and more with his golden voice and firm stands on the issues. He's gonna be moving up in the world to the Nashville, Tennessee market to become a morning show host.

CONGRATULATIONS to Ralph Bristol and I wish him all the best in his new career path. The Nashville market won't know what hit 'em until they get a load of Ralph, so get ready Tennessee! Bristolmania is about to ensue! :D

If I could just say one thing to this man, it would a warm and hearty THANK YOU! You quite literally were a part of the reason I am alive and healthy today. Had it not been for your contest, I don't know if I could have made it to the end of 2004 nearly half of my original weight. It was and will always be my greatest accomplishment and I have YOU to thank for it, Ralph!

So, I guess what I'm saying is thanks for changing my life, Ralph Bristol. I found a diet plan that works for me and I'm still sticking to it some three years later. No matter what happens to you when you get to Nashville, you will ALWAYS have this badge of honor from your days here in South Carolina. Jimmy Moore may not be the "Slim Jim" he is today without your contest.

Goodbye Ralph and THANK YOU for giving me my life back! God bless you!