Yes, I Really Do Read And Answer All Of My E-mail

If you e-mail me, then you'll hear back from me with a response

People always ask me if I really read every single e-mail that comes to my e-mail box. I guess that's a fair question considering the daily traffic at my blog is nearing five digits and the e-mails I receive are in the hundreds a day. But, to answer that question, YES I DO! And not only that, I try to make it a point to RESPOND to all of those e-mails with all the courtesy and respect that you deserve as a faithful reader of my blog. I wouldn't have a reason to be here without YOU, so THANK YOU for motivating and inspiring me with your presence!

You don't know how much it means to me when I hear from a reader who has been positively impacted by the work I am doing at "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb." Whether it's through my blog, my podcast show, my YouTube videos, or my book, the extremely kind words that you share with me put a spring in my step, light a fire from within me, and keeps me going even when I don't really feel like going on sometimes. YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!!

It's become somewhat of a tradition to post some of the e-mails that I receive for the benefit of others who may be new or have a similar story to share. Don't worry, I make sure you remain 100% anonymous (unless you're somebody famous I can name drop! LOL!) and remove any information about you that would expose your identity. Otherwise, your correspondence is printed virtually verbatim.

You can see an example of some of the e-mails that have come my way by clicking here, here, here, and here. It's always fun to see what people think, so don't hesitate to e-mail me YOUR comments, suggestions, and questions anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net.

Here are the latest e-mails I have to share with you:

Hello!

Not sure if you check these emails or not but I thought I would write anyway. Can I tell you my quick story?

So about 6 years ago I weighed about 135 (I am 5'4") and decided I wanted to lose a few pounds. I did low-carb, but ate probably only about 10 carbs or so per day in the form of veggies. I dropped weight FAST and got down to 115. That was crazy!

Then shortly after that me and my husband decided to become pregnant. I gained 55 pounds because I stopped eating low-carb. Then after I had her and got my body healed, I wanted to lose the weight so I tried low-carb again, but no deal this time. So I exercised like crazy and did drop back down to about 145.

Then about a year and a half ago my husband was sent to Iraq (he is in the US Marines). While he was gone I spent almost every night up till about 3:00am waiting for him to call or get online and I spent that time eating things like pizzas and drank lots of beer. So I got up to about 200 pounds. I know, that's awful.

But then my doctor discovered I had hypothyroidism (runs in the family) and it was causing an irregular heart rhythm. So I was put on Synthroid and then Toporal for my heart, which totally stopped my metabolism from working. I exercised like hell again, but the weight would NOT budge at all.

In February I became pregnant again (not planned...lol). At that time they took me off of the Toporal for the safety of the baby and thankfully the irregular heartbeat was not too bad. Coming off the meds, I lost about 10 pounds in the first month of my pregnancy. During my pregnancy I swam a lot and walked and stayed pretty active. I just had my daughter in mid-October. I now weigh about 216.

I need to do something. It's not a matter of "I could drop some weight" as I always thought before. Now I HAVE to for my health and that scares me. I have NEVER been overweight like this in my life and I have to fix it. So I know the only thing that worked for me before, at least once, was low-carb. Plus I liked it since I never was hungry because I was "given permission" to eat. Other diets don't let you do that.

So, that's my story. I have to do this, so I hope that I can be successful. I wanna be healthy for my kids and husband. I just have a hard time with temptation. But I'm not totally weak.

I've heard similar stories like this one over the years and I appreciate anyone who has been through so many physical obstacles willing to still think about livin' la vida low-carb. I'm sure if she went to her doctor, he'd say to eat a high-carb, low-fat diet. But low-carb works and she knows it! Hang in there and you WILL be successful. Get back to the basics of your favorite low-carb plan and DO IT! You've got your children depending on you.

Hey Jimmy & Christine,

I recently came upon your YouTube videos and blog. I was following Dr. Bernstein's diet which is basically low-carb and had great success. I lost like 40 pounds in a 3-month period. Then I stalled, got depressed and went back to eating carbs. Since September I gained 15 whopping pounds back. Ha! I'm on my 3rd day of low-carb and the cravings are almost gone. Yeah!

I'm wondering about the Induction phase. I recently picked up the Atkins book and got to that chapter. I lost a bunch a weight before without doing an Induction. I don't think I can live without my 2 tablespoons of Ranch dressing on my salad.

So, do you think I am doing myself a disservice by not trying the Atkins approach and just doing Dr. Bernstein's way? His is basically 6, 12, 12--6g carbs at breakfast, 12g carbs for lunch, and 12g carbs for dinner--or less with snacks. I'm also on Metformin, thyroid supplements, chromium, and vitamin B. I have a hard time staying on my meds too.

Anywayyyys...what ya think? THANKS! By the way, your chocolate bars look amazing!

Induction is important to get your body prepared to burn stored fat for fuel rather than dietary carbohydrate. Reducing your carbs to 20g or less daily will almost assuredly help you burn off the rest of the carbs in your body and begin that beautiful process called gluconeogenesis where the body will make its own carbs for fuel. So, to answer your question, it may not be necessary for you to do Induction if you want to lose weight and get healthy, but I would HIGHLY recommend that you do to give yourself the best possibility for success. YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Good Morning Jimmy,

First, please may I extend my gratitude to you for such an inspiring book. I am a 56-year old woman who tried low-carb once before, but to my own detriment didn't really read as much as I could have about the diet, and so failed. Miserably! The weight wasn't really coming off, and I kept decreasing the carbs until I was starving myself. Now I have read and read trying to understand what I didn't before, so that I can start again, and this time become successful.

Your book has to be the most inspiring book I have read. I couldn't put it down. You have made me believe that I will be successful. There will be no failure here! I have never been moved enough before to write to an author, but in your case, I had no choice. Your journey was amazing, and I am looking to follow in your footsteps. Thank you so much.

If you don't mind, I do have a question. I read about your taking potassium and calcium supplements. I went to a store yesterday to purchase them but only found a calcium supplement that should 5g of carbohydrates and 5g of sugar. I don't know, but that doesn't sound like something I should be taking (especially on induction), and wondered if you might be able to tell me what brand of calcium you take. I thank you in advance for your reply.

Again, may God continue to bless your ministry of service to others.

When I wrote my first book, the primary focus was on telling my story and showing people that they can experience the same kind of success I did. THANK YOU for your humbling comments and I am grateful you have been blessed by what I wrote. As for your question about calcium supplements, it sounds like you got your hands on some of that sugary Viactiv calcium supplements which I DO NOT RECOMMEND at all! Why are they putting sugar in calcium? UGH! No, I use a calcium capsule or gelcap supplement from Sam's Club and take up to 1200mg a day. Make sure there is ample Vitamin D for maximum absorption to protect your bones against osteoporosis.

Hello Jimmy,

I am a huge fan of your web site. I am emailing you to introduce myself. I currently weigh 501 pounds. The advise you give on your web site as well as the many posts from others has inspired me to get up off my couch and do something to live for low-carb. I am 34 years old and married to a beautiful woman. We currently have no children, although that is the ultimate goal, after getting the weigh off and continuing to live a healthier low-carb lifestyle.

At 501 and at 5'9", I have a BMI of 73. I am currently on 10 different health related medications and have to take over 17 pills a day. I was diagnosed with severe sleep apnea. The test result showed I had 51.07 Apnea's per hour. Yes. Bad. I am very optimistic that we can turn this around.

When I get e-mails like this one, they cut right through me because that's exactly where I was before the Atkins diet saved my life. And I'm just grateful to possibly make a difference in the lives of people like this man who so desperately needs to lose weight for the sake of his health. It's not impossible, but it will take a lot of hard work and determination on his part to see this through to the end. My prayer is that he will keep learning and applying that knowledge often to save his life before it's too late.

Well, Jimmy, I knew enough to monitor my blood sugar myself. I did NOT inform my doctor I was diabetic until 2 months later. By then I had been without insulin, statins and cortison for 2 months and feeling like heaven. I quite believe that a lot of doctors would advise against low-carb as they see their fees drying up.

We have another health system in Sweden. Medical care is principally free. No matter if the doctor has a private practice you only pay a very small fee for a consultation. Never more than $120 per year and for medicine never more than $240 a year. All diabetic medicines are totally free.

There are several doctors in favor of low-carb in our country who give advice. Some of them engage personally and send personal correspondence to anyone who writes them. It is a growing movement in Sweden and the discussions among doctors are increasing rapidly. Quite a few doctors have their own blogs.

Unfortunately they are all in Swedish. But LCHF as low-carb, high-fat diets are referred to in Sweden is growing fast. I read your blog every day as you are always very fast with news. Keep it up.

It's always super to hear from my international friends from around the world, including the UK, Australia, China, Singapore, and Sweden, among many others. And what I've found is that livin' la vida low-carb is much more accepted in those countries that it is here in the United States. I don't know if it's just a cultural thing or what, but there's not such an antagonism against Atkins low-carb elsewhere like there is here. And this e-mail is indicative of this fact.

THANKS again for all the great feedback and keep it coming!