185,369 Hits For 'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb' Blog In July 2007

If low-carb was supposed to be deader than a doorknob by now as the media would have us to believe, then somebody must have forgot to tell that to the thousands of visitors who come to the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog. The year 2007 has been one incredible ride so far with brand new all-time traffic records set in January, March, April, and June.

Now we can add July 2007 to that illustrious list.

After setting the new mark at 172,244 in June, I was not expecting to surpass that mark for a while. But July was one for the record books--AGAIN!--with another traffic increase:

185,369!!!

That's 13,000 MORE visitors than the previous record with nearly 6,000 daily visitors who are coming to my blog now. WOW!

This is all so exciting because it means real people are being reached with the message that livin' la vida low-carb is an effective way to manage your weight and improve your health. I am grateful to have the opportunity to share from my own personal experiences and research.

To provide some perspective on this new traffic record, let's look at July numbers over the past two years:

JULY 2005--7,335
JULY 2006--61,103

So basically the traffic has TRIPLED in this past year and nearly THIRTY-FOLD in two years. This gets me very excited about what July 2008 will be like. Again, it's all about reaching out to our culture and giving them the TRUTH about low-carb living!

My goal of hitting 2 million pageviews less than 9 months after reaching one million pageviews as of March 2007 is now very likely to happen by September since the total overall traffic now stands at 1.75 million pageviews since the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog began in April 2005. Something tells me we're on the verge of a HUGE breakthrough very soon (especially if a national media appearance happens...LOOK OUT!).

My mission from the very beginning here has always been about educating, encouraging and inspiring those who visit on a daily basis. Regardless of how many people are reading, that will always be why I keep doing what I do here. Did I mention I LOVE IT?! :D

As always, I'm available for questions or comments at livinlowcarbman@charter.net, so don't be afraid to contact me anytime. THANKS so much for your dedication and faithfulness to the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog in July. Hope to see you around for many years to come!

Stay tuned for an announcement about an important new project I am working on to help spread the positive message of low-carb community...

Low-Carb More Popular Than American Idol

I'd like to thank one of my devoted readers for pointing a news story out to me that had an unbelievable statistic regarding low-carb that you may not know much about since the media has once again failed in its duty to properly inform the public.

This New York state-based Journal News article published last Saturday on the rising cost of livin' la vida low-carb revealed a statistic that I had not seen regarding the popularity of this lifestyle in 2005. In fact, if you do a Google News search of "Opinion Dynamics Corp", this is the only news story you will find with this startling information.

With all the recent headlines about the "fad" of the "low-carb diet craze" coming to an end, along comes this bombshell statistic that literally blows that notion completely out of the sky.

The article reveals: "The number of people on some form of a low-carbohydrate diet is at the highest rate ever — 15 percent for the first few months of 2005 — according to a survey done by Opinion Dynamics Corp."

WOWsers! Did you know about this? All I've heard from the media over the past year is how much interest in the low-carb lifestyle has been on the decline. But here is actual proof that shows this has been a lie (so what else is new from the media)!

FIFTEEN PERCENT!!!

Do you realize how many people that is? Well, since there are roughly 300 million people living in the United States, that means (if I'm doing my math correctly!) there are currently 45,000,000 doing the low-carb lifestyle in this country.

45 MILLION!!! Yeah, sure sounds like it's dying to me! NOT! But let's put this statistic in perspective, shall we?

Can you tell me what the #1 show on television is right now? Of course, it's American Idol, right? This music talent competition has been heralded by people in the television industry as the hottest thing in programming today. Do you know how many people tune in to watch this show every week? According to Nielsen ratings, there are about 30 million fans (myself included), or 10% of the American population, who tune in to see who messes up and who moves on. It's a real cultural phenomenon.

So why hasn't the same superstar designation been given to low-carb? After all, it has 50% more participants than American Idol viewers and yet the media gives nary a mention of the tremendous impact it has had on our society. The hypocrisy is all too obvious to anyone with even an inkling of sense in them.

Makes you think, doesn't it? What is the agenda of the media to purposely suppress information from the public that what would otherwise make national headlines day after day after day if it was ANYTHING else with similar statistics?

We may never know the answer to that question, but I'm not afraid to keep asking it until I'm given an explanation. Even if that means I have to do it for the next 50 years!

Is Low-Carb Dead Or Not? Part II

On the same day we read a news story about a major supermarket chain losing money in sweet baked goods sales due to popularity of "the low-carb craze," along comes this story from CattleNetwork.com where the beef industry is now blaming "fading low-carb interest" in the decline of their sales.

The headline blares: "Beef Downturn Attributed To Fading Low-Carb Interest"

You know, I'm starting to feel like an observer in a tennis match turning my head back and forth, back and forth at these news stories about various food companies in essense blaming the low-carb lifestyle for why their products aren't selling as well as they used to. Even more amazing is that these food companies are on exact opposite ends of the low-carb food spectrum, with sweet baked goods full of carbs from the sugar and white flour and beef with no carbs at all.

So, which is it? Is low-carb dead as a doornail (causing the decline in beef sales) or staying alive in 2005 (responsible for the drop in sweet baked goods sales)?

This latest article states: "The downturn has been largely attributed to fading interesting in low-carb dieting."

Okay, as former U.S. Sen. Ernest "Fritz" Hollings from South Carolina used to say, "There's a whole lotta assuming going on out there!" I know, he used the word "consuming," but it still makes my point because there are a lot of assumptions being made about low-carb.

For example, why do people automatically ASSUME that people who are livin' la vida low-carb are primarily eating meat. This is probably the biggest misconception that people have about the low-carb lifestyle. While meat is certainly acceptable for people doing low-carb, it is not the ONLY thing we can or even want to eat.

HEY MEDIA! Repeat after me: Low-carb doesn't mean "all meat."

Repeat this phrase again and again until you finally start to believe it!

A Wall Street Journal article from October 19, 2004 might explain the real reason why beef sales are down when it states "beef…has benefited the most from the low-carbohydrate, high-protein diet" but there has been a "a decline in beef consumption after a sharp increase in beef prices."

Oh, so it's economics and not "fading interest" in low-carb responsible for the decline in beef sales. Don't you wish the media would be honest with its headlines? While it proclaimed low-carb as the culprit for slow beef sales, it's actually the higher prices causing people to stay away.

It makes sense to buy chicken, pork or other less expensive meats to enjoy on your low-carb lifestyle if beef costs too much. That's what people have to do when prices get too high on certain products. While we don't have much choice regarding gasoline for our cars, we certainly have lots of options when it comes to meat selection.

So, it's not really "fading low-carb interest" after all that beef is down. These dishonest headlines have got to stop or at the very least pointed out for their lack of integrity. That's what I'm here for and will shout it from the mountaintops every chance I can get!

Tens Of Millions On Low-Carb Despite Reports Of Doom

Another day, another story about how the low-carb "fad" is over now and it's time to move on to a more "balanced" diet. If I had a dollar every time I heard that phrase, I would be a very rich man!

This story which appeared in the Ohio-based Dayton Business Journal and was reprinted on MSNBC claims that restaurants are beginning to remove their low-carb entrees from the menu now that demand has supposedly dropped.

That's not my experience. There are many low-carb options still available at such national restaurant chains as Ruby Tuesdays, Denny's, Hardee's, Subway, just to name a few. There are still millions upon millions of people who have lost weight and are keeping it off, in the midst of losing weight or looking for a great way to lose weight by choosing a low-carb lifestyle. While the media wants to declare the end to this way of eating, try telling that to the countless number of people who will still be doing low-carb years after it was supposed to be over.

"We just feel the low-carb craze is over, and people are realizing they need to eat a more balanced diet," said one of the restaurant owners who decided against expanding his low-carb menu.

"Balanced." Don't you just love that word? It's as if people think eating low-carb is not a healthy and balanced alternative to low-fat. I have tried eating "balanced" meals my whole life sucking down disgusting and unsatisfying low-fat foods to lose and maintain weight loss. If you can do that, then more power to you. But it didn't work for me as effectively as livin' la vida low-carb!

This story cites a recent study that shows that nearly 5 percent of Americans are on a low-carb lifestyle as of November 2004. WOWsers! That's a LOT of people doing low-carb!!! But I thought the "craze" and "fad" were finished? The way the media talks about the sudden death of low-carb, you'd think only a handful of people are still doing it. The fact is that literally tens of millions of people have made low-carb their permanent change for better overall health.

It's funny how one restaurant owner in the story blasts the low-carb way of eating and is threatening to remove those items from her menu, but then relented and said she'll keep them on the menu "just in case the low-carb craze hits again and because she said they taste good."

Meanwhile, other restaurants in the area are excited about the alternatives they can offer their low-carb customers.

"We have no intention of taking it off our menu," said a restaurant owner who is doing low-carb. "I continue to be surprised by how many restaurants don't have low-carb offerings."

And that is true. While some restaurants have been aggressively marketing the low-carbers, other well-known chains have completely ignored us. That's okay by me because I will only go to businesses that caters to my dining needs as a low-carb consumer. Don't capitulate and allow the media or restaurant executives dictate what you can eat and where you can dine!

While stories like this one are commonplace these days, it is not a reason for people who are livin' la vida low-carb to get discouraged. In fact, we need to laugh at the notion that this "fad" of doing low-carb is finished because we are living proof that it's not going anywhere anytime soon. You keep on eating this way and eventually they'll have to acknowledge us for sticking with a weight loss plan that worked!