Zone Diet Success Stories Wanted For First Magazine Feature Story

The Zone Diet will soon be featured in FIRST magazine

I got word from the people at the Zone Diet today that they are teaming up with the popular First magazine to do a story on people who have implemented the Zone strategies for weight loss. What they REALLY want to see are people who have been using fish oil supplements with GREAT success in improving both their weight and health. Here's your chance to have YOUR story heard in a well-known national publication!

Those of us who are livin' la vida low-carb recognize the importance of getting the proper balance of essential omega fatty acids to reduce inflammation and this is a subject that is near and dear to the heart of Zone creator Dr. Barry Sears (who by the way is coming out with a new book in September 2008 entitled Toxic Fat: When Good Fat Turns Bad). They want first-hand testimonials of women (sorry guys!) who have experienced an amazing turnaround in how they look because of the Zone diet and fish oil supplementation (like Zone spokesperson Sue Knorr who I recently featured at my podcast show).

Time is of the essence and this story is on a deadline, so get on this ASAP if you are genuinely interested in sharing what happened to you. Here are the requirements:

- You MUST be female
- You MUST be willing to reveal before and after photos
- Your story MUST include your testimony about the Zone diet/fish oil

If you fit all of this criteria and can send me your story quickly, then please e-mail this information to me at livinlowcarbman@charter.net. I'll forward them to the people at the Zone diet and cross my fingers for you that yours will be chosen. GOOD LUCK TO YOU and remember--DON'T DELAY! Send your story in today.

Atkins Nutritionals Wants YOUR Atkins Low-Carb Success Story

Atkins Nutritionals looking for low-carb testimonials

The Atkins Nutritionals web site is in the process of being updated right now and they are looking to add some Atkins weight loss success stories and testimonials to the new and improved site. If you've experienced weight loss, successful weight maintenance or improved health and energy from following the Atkins Nutritional Approach, then they'd love to hear from you. And there's a payoff for those of you who do--you'll win a special Atkins prize if your story is chosen.

What they are looking for is first-person stories about how the Atkins Nutritional Approach, Atkins products and the Atkins community have changed your life. Here are a few questions to consider as you write your story:

- When did you start following the Atkins approach, and over what period of time?
- What inspired you to try the Atkins Diet™?
- Are you still following the Atkins principles? Which phases, principles and aspects of the Atkins Nutritional Approach have proved to be the most practical, helpful and easiest to follow?
- What Atkins products have helped you with your weight loss goals? We want to know if you used Atkins products, which ones you used, and your opinions about our products.
- Did you succeed? What were your keys to success? Did you modify the Atkins plan to suit your own lifestyle and preferences?
- What has changed in your life–for example, if you lost weight, have you maintained your weight loss and how have you benefited from following Atkins?
- What obstacles did you have to deal with while following the Atkins Nutritional Approach, and how do you overcome them?

If you send pictures, these should also depict your personal experience–from before you started on the Atkins Nutritional Approach to your "after" picture, showing where you are now or when you finished your last Atkins phase.

You can e-mail your first-person success story to testimonials@atkins.com. Be sure to include your name, address, and the best way to contact you (phone and e-mail address). If you have an Atkins weight loss success story, then send clear digital .jpg before and after photos (be sure the pictures do not include other people). When you send in your story, keep in mind you will be contacted by Atkins Nutritionals if they are interested. It may take some time for them to go through the submissions, so be patient.

If your story is chosen, then they will send you a release form to sign. They will not use your story unless you send the signed release form back to them. They will not use anything you send them without your explicit permission and they will not use anything without a signed release form from you.

GOOD LUCK to everyone who shares their Atkins success story! :)

Woman's World: 'We Can't Stand Behind' Our Kimkins Diet Story

The notorious Woman's World magazine Kimkins cover story

It took them eight months to do it, but Woman's World magazine has FINALLY acknowledged the cover story they did on the now-notorious Kimkins diet contained some "inaccurate information" from and about the founder of the low-fat, low-calorie, starvation scheme--the lying and manipulative Heidi Diaz.

Ever since a private investigator released photos of a morbidly obese Diaz back in September 2007, literally thousands of concerned readers have flooded Woman's World with letters and e-mails begging them to print a retraction of their June 2007 story featuring the Kimkins diet prominently with two real people--Christin Sherburne and Deni Huttula--and a fake photograph and story of Diaz who referred to herself in the magazine as Kim Drake.


Christin Sherburne and Deni Huttula have repudiated Kimkins

Although Heidi Diaz alleged to have lost 200 pounds, it was one big lie and it took a class action lawsuit deposition for her to admit that after many months of speculation following the private investigator's shocking photo discovery. In the meantime, some of the most ardent former supporters of this diet have been speaking out about how the Kimkins diet program has negatively impacted their health and even got a local television station in Los Angeles (KTLA-TV) to pick up the story in October 2007.

Despite this, Woman's World was eerily silent.

But then the Kimkins diet fraud was given a nationally-televised audience for the first time in November 2007 when it was featured on FOX-TV's "The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet" where Christin and Deni shared their concerns about Diaz and the ultra-low-calorie diet plan she was pushing on the members of Kimkins who joined as a result of the Woman's World story. They warned that this diet simply promoted "anorexia" and should be avoided.

Even still, Woman's World did nothing.

The public spokesperson for the Kimkins diet at the time was a woman named Jeannie Battinger who severed ties with the organization in response to her own concerns about the now-exposed Kimkins founder. Even as Battinger was trying to defend the indefensible during her appearance on "The Morning Show," you could tell she knew that something was awry. Her resignation took place about a week after the show aired.

And yet again, Woman's World took no action.

However, the most significant exposure of the Kimkins calamity to date took place last month when ABC News was looking for people harmed by Kimkins and ran this story that was featured on "Good Morning America." The tidal wave of concern about Kimkins apparently grew to the point after that segment aired that Woman's World came to their senses and decided to post a statement.

Here's what the statement reads:

A statement from Woman's World Magazine. Please accept our apology. We at Woman’s World pride ourselves on finding inspiring diet successes to share with our readers every week. That's why we were so distressed to learn that Kim Drake, the founder of Kimkins.com, gave us inaccurate information about herself and her weight loss. Though the article appeared several months ago, in our June 12, 2007 issue, and nutritionists assure us the diet information we provided was accurate, we deeply regret having shared with you a story we can't stand behind. Your trust means everything to us, and we want to bring you the very best magazine we can, each and every week.

All I can say is IT'S ABOUT TIME!!! Considering all the preponderance of the evidence that had previously come out in the eight months since the story was published, it should not have taken this long for action to be taken. They are now asking for people to e-mail them at dearww@bauerpublishing.com if they have any concerns or questions about this decision.

According to our friends at Kimkins Scam, the retraction will appear in the March 4th issue and will be on newsstands the week of February 25th. The skepticism of the Kimkins Scam author about this is difficult to argue with or ignore.

"Now, you know this retraction will be buried way back in the back, in itty bitty letters. Just CYA...that's all it is...CYA."

She's right! But at least they took SOME kind of action to right this wrong that set in motion a flood of new Kimkins members to the web site to be sucked in by a professional scam artist who is still bilking members out of $80 even today (it used to be $60 before that $40 before that $15 before that $10...is it gonna cost a hundred bucks next, Heidi?!). If you're even thinking about joining this web site, don't waste your money.

There are plenty of FREE low-carb support groups like my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Discussion" forum, Low-Carb Friends, Active Low-Carber forum, The Low-Carb Cafe forum, Eating Low with Amy, Atkins All The Way, and MANY MANY MORE (my apologies for leaving some out...but there are a BUNCH of 'em)! The point is you don't NEED to pay money to get the support you need in your low-carb lifestyle. You can glean all the helpful support and information you need to get started right livin' la vida low-carb by relying on the collective wisdom of those of us who have been eating this way a while. We're ready to help you on this amazing journey to lose weight and get healthy, so hop on board one or more of these sites today to get started!

I think we should all e-mail Woman's World at dearww@bauerpublishing.com to thank them for stepping up and doing the right thing. Yes, it took them a long time to do it, but at least they did it and printing a retraction takes a lot of guts for a magazine to do. They don't like getting a story wrong, so let's encourage them and share how much we appreciate the courage they have taken in doing this. Perhaps you can send them your story of success by livin' la vida low-carb if they want to talk about REAL success the healthy low-carb way. Ladies only please! :D

Lots Of Local Love For 'Livin' La Vida Low-Carb'

Story on my blog and business in two Spartanburg, SC papers

The local media here in my hometown of Spartanburg, South Carolina have been very kind to me ever since I lost 180 pounds on the Atkins diet in 2004. I've been on all the major local television affiliates, the powerhouse talk radio station, and in several different newspaper columns over the past three years. You can see links to all of these features and more at my "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb Links" blog in the section called "More Moore." It's a real honor to be able to share my low-carb weight loss success story with people on a local level right here in my own hometown.

Three weeks ago, I received an e-mail from a columnist for the local newspaper The Spartanburg Herald-Journal named Christina Wilson. She came across my blog while searching for health-related information in the Spartanburg, South Carolina area. Because of the enormous traffic I receive, my blog articles are ranked very high in the Google search engines and she contacted me about writing a story about me.

Since they had already done an article about my weight loss a couple of years ago, I said they could update my story to let people know I've kept the weight off. But Wilson was more interested in the business aspect of what I do working full-time as a blogger, doing podcasts and YouTube videos, and selling my own low-carb chocolate bar. Yeah, I suppose doing all that for a living is kinda rare these days.

She asked me all sorts of questions about how I got into blogging, where did I learn how to do what I am doing (I still don't know! LOL!), what is my source of income--almost exclusively focused on the business aspect of "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb." It was an awesome column and I encourage you to read it all by clicking on the images below:

PART 1 PART 2
CLICK ABOVE to enlarge Part 1 and Part 2

Originally, I was told the article on me would be featured in an insert in the newspaper that publishes once a month called The Pulse. This health-oriented magazine features stories about diet, weight loss, health, and fitness as a supplement to the regular newspaper. An online version of the January 9, 2008 edition of The Pulse can be accessed by clicking here (you'll see my picture and a tease about the story on the front cover and the article appears on pages 9-10).

But imagine my surprise on Tuesday this week when that same story written by Christina Wilson ended up on the FRONT PAGE of another sister newspaper of The Spartanburg Herald-Journal called HJ Weekly. This was way cool because it's a free newspaper that gets delivered to the driveway of every single home in Spartanburg County. And when they open it up, that's me they see smiling at them along with my business story. WOW!

Okay, now about that picture they used of me jumping up with my mouth open. You might be wondering why was it so goofy looking (no comments from the peanut gallery)? Here's the final photo they chose for the column:



A little wild and crazy? SURE! But what the newspaper photographer Holly Bowman asked me to do was simply hold up my old "fat boy" pants in front of me. Yaaaawwwwnnn! BORING! See for yourself:



It was a nice picture, but let's have some fun with it, shall we? So she asked me what I had in mind and I decided to jump up and show some personality. The photographer was lovin' it and she said, "do that again" and "how about something else?" So we got a whole buncha photos of me in poses that gave me a workout. Here are a select few others that didn't make it to print:



All in all, it was an exhilarating experience to get the word out about the healthy low-carb lifestyle in a positive story in my local press. Every time something like this happens for me, I generally receive feedback from people who said that my blog is just the inspiration they needed to start living healthy again. You just don't know how good it feels to know that.

If you read about my story in either The Pulse or HJ Weekly, then welcome to the "Livin' La Vida Low-Carb" blog. I'm happy to help you in any way that I can to become the same kind of success that I was back in 2004 when I shed 180 pounds on the Atkins diet. Feel free to e-mail me anytime at livinlowcarbman@charter.net and I'd be honored to assist you in your low-carb lifestyle. THANKS for reading and please come back often for education, encouragement, and inspiration for living better than you ever thought possible!

Burton Brown is Just 'Waisting Away' On Low-Carb

Burton Brown has lost nearly 70 pounds on the healthy low-carb lifestyle

Nothing is more inspiring when you are trying to lose weight and get healthy on a low-carb diet than to witness someone who has done it themselves. That's why I have featured many low-carb weight loss success stories here at my blog and today I have another one for you.

It's the story of a man named Burton Brown who was so proud of the change livin' la vida low-carb has made in his life that he asked if he could share his story with YOU today here at my blog. Absolutely, I told him, because this may be exactly the message that someone needs to hear today to get started on the low-carb lifestyle for themselves.

ENJOY this special story from a special man whose life was forever change by low-carb.

WAISTING AWAY by Burton Brown

Some of what I will be writing today I have never verbally expressed to anyone. I share them now in order to inspire or help others that may have the same thoughts or feelings.

First, some background on me. I am 42 years old and am 6 foot 1 inch tall. I am the father of two beautiful daughters and I am the husband of one--yes I am in Utah, but have only one wonderful wife. :)

Weight issues and I are longtime acquaintances. As a kid, I wore size husky. In Jr. High I was a wrestler on the school team. I was on the low end of the Heavyweight division. So I was big even then. The biggest issue with wrestling in the Heavyweight division was that there was no maximum weight! So I had to wrestle some guys who outweighed me by maybe 100 pounds! After being squished a few too many times, I stopped wrestling after Jr. High.

I do not remember even trying to lose weight when I was still in school. I may have tried, but do not remember and was obviously not successful. I was simply a big guy.

At the ripe old age of 21, I was attending a tech school which was 5 days a week in the mornings. This left the afternoons and evenings available for work. At some point I decided to try and lose weight. I weighed 240 pounds, probably stretching my size 38 jeans to their breaking point, but I rationalized that a size 40 was simply too loose! Ha ha!

I had determined that I was going to lose weight and decided to eat only 1000 calories a day. That was my magic number. One summer day, I began riding my bike. I enjoyed riding the country roads of rural Idaho. Each ride turned out to be about 45 minutes and I was faithful that almost every weekday I was out riding.

With having to leave for school early in the morning, I would not eat breakfast since I wanted to sleep more than I wanted to eat. I arrived home from school around 1PM each day and back in days of the dinosaur cable television did not exist. So the only thing on TV was General Hospital or some other lame soap opera.

I would watch General Hospital while I ate lunch and then would hop on my bike around 2PM for a ride. I would get back, shower and head off to work until 9PM or so. It never crossed my mind to turn off the TV and not watch anything while I ate lunch. Did I mention I REALLY hated General Hospital? :D

For lunch each day I would have a very large salad. Lettuce, tomatoes and a can of tuna mixed in, with whatever dressing was available. I did not officially track calories, but my guess is that some days, I would have 800 and some days would be 1300 depending on what I put on the salad that day, averaging about 1000 calories a day. I usually worked full days on weekends, and learned to limit my calories in other ways.

Diet Coke stock went up based on the sales of soda to me. When working Saturdays, I could easily drink eight 16 oz glass bottles--yes they used glass back then to help protect the soda during dinosaur attacks and apparently plastic was not invented yet. In fact, I even have the UPC # memorized from the cans of Diet Coke--496580! Don't believe me, just check a can for yourself sometime--it's there!

Back in the days when I carried a briefcase, 496580 was my code to open it. Diet Coke was (and still is) my answer when I want a sweet fix.

After 3 months of this extreme diet and exercise, I had lost 60 pounds! Yes, I really did lose 60 pounds in 3 months! I weighed an incredible 180 pounds! One of my most vivid memories while at a "thin" 180 pounds is a comment made by a friend who had not seen me in a while. There were three of us headed to a movie and the subject of my weight came up and one of them says, "You look like a million bucks!" This was from a perpetually fit and thin friend (you know, the one all the girls swooned over--or at least that was my perception). He probably does not remember saying it, and I have not talked to him in years, but I was on cloud nine that someone noticed.

I still felt I should lose even more weight but that did not happen. The weather changed, and riding my bike was not as fun in the cold, and then "the holidays" came, and I began gaining the weight back. Soon enough--maybe 3 years later, I was back at 240 pounds again and thin was merely a memory. Years passed and life rolled on. As I got bigger and bigger, I also discovered the fashion secret called "relaxed fit."

As a Christian, I believed I would be a better witness if I was not overweight and saw myself fail time and time again when trying to lose weight. God wanted me thin, so why was He not helping me? This was an excuse the devil kept telling me to stop me from sharing my faith with others.

I was also shy. I am sure my weight did not help my shyness. I felt that everyone judged me based on the fact that I was overweight, even if they themselves were overweight, I felt totally inferior to those that were slim. Most likely people did not really care that I was overweight, and I was probably the only one concerned about it, but that was my mentality at the time. How can I share to a fit person that Christ is the answer! Look at how happy I am--but I was not happy at all...at least with myself.

My weight hovered around 235-240 for a very long time, and I only made half-hearted attempts to lose any weight. I began working a very sedentary job answering phones all day, never leaving my cube. I was a telephone computer support guy in a call center. After 3 years of working in this sedentary environment, my weight peaked at 307 pounds!

I changed jobs and my weight dropped somewhat to around 280. I remained at 280 for a while and then I met the woman that was to be my wife. Once engaged, I focused on losing weight for the wedding day. Using Atkins and Hydroxycut, I lost 30 pounds and got down to 250 pounds for my wedding day. Hydroxycut was later deemed unsafe, so they stopped selling it with ephedrine in it. I felt great, but knew I could lose more.

On the honeymoon, no restrictions in my diet were in place. And thereafter, I did not attempt to maintain the weight loss. I hoped the weight would not return but I was not doing anything to prevent it from coming back--AND SO IT DID!

Over the 5 years I have been married, I have yo-yo dieted to as low as 250 pounds, and usually hovered in the 280 pound range. Here are some of my failed motivations that I have attempted to use: High School reunion, my first daughter was born, and my second daughter was born.

By February 2007, I was bursting out of size 42 pants at a whopping 290 pounds. I had been asked to sing a solo at church. The suits I have were too small to fit, and I was very uncomfortable in most of my clothes. I was so frustrated with myself that I had allowed myself to balloon up to 290 pounds. So I decided not sing at church and felt so convicted that I needed to do something about my weight once and for all.

I prayed and turned my appetite over to God. It was painfully obvious that I could not do this without His help. I had achieved success using a low-carb diet plan in the past, so that was what I was going to do. With God's help I chose to follow the low-carb lifestyle.

It has now been eight months since I changed my eating lifestyle and I have lost a total of 70 pounds to get down to 220 pounds--my goal weight! I am in the process of reevaluating my weight to see if need to lose more. I also shaved my beard/goatee that my wife really likes. One of the rewards for reaching my first goal of 220 pounds will be allowing myself to grow the beard back. I HATE shaving, so this is a reward I look forward to!

I will be setting additional 10 pound goals as necessary and eventually arrive at my final weight that I plan on maintaining for the rest of my life. I have not "cheated" even once! Praise God! I have been tempted. We have had various levels of candy and other treats in the house as the holidays have come and gone. But after about 5 months, I have found that I am not really even tempted any more--at least by the stuff that used to tempt me. My temptations are the worst when I am tired, but God has seen me through all of them!

Now I did not actually "count" all the carbs that I eat, but I know by reading the labels and such that my net carbohydrate intake is low, probably 20-30 grams per day.

I have removed ALL XXL sized clothing from my closet and have begun buying a
few XL sizes to wear until my final weight goal is achieved. It is such a great feeling to donate the clothes that are too large! It cannot be explained, but it just feels GREAT! Now my once too small suits are actually too large! I can live with that for now. Someday I may have them tailored to fit.

Overall, I feel fantastic! I have eaten at buffets and at other restaurants and NOT HAD A "CARB COMA" an hour afterwards. I weigh myself EVERY morning and am not discouraged if my weight fluctuates upward by a few pounds. I have overcome MANY "plateaus" and I am currently in one now that has lasted over 2 weeks! As they say--this too shall pass.

My exercise has been minimal. Several 30-minute walks per week is what my schedule seems to allow so far. I am sure I will be exercising more as time permits, but this weight loss has been achieved with MINIMAL exercise.

Here are just a few TIPS I like to share to encourage others:
- PRAY for God's guidance and assistance.
- Reward your success with NON-FOOD related items.
- NEVER EVER, EVER, GIVE UP!
- When you are tempted, have a low-carb treat of some kind.

I like Atkins bars, especially one that is very similar to a Snickers bar called Endulge. There are also some DELICIOUS low-carb ice cream treats that I love. With low carb treats, you get the sweet fix taken care of and there is no cheating involved. So maybe your total net carbs for the day are over 20 or even pushing 40 grams. But you KNOW that you have NOT cheated and therefore there is NO GUILT. And there is no rationalizing to yourself about eating more carbs since you already "cheated." The feeling of successfully overcoming temptation is so much better than the guilt we heap upon ourselves if we "cheat." Try it sometime.

Here are some surprisingly low-carb foods that helped me:
- Strawberries
- Raspberries
- Sunflower seeds
- Whipped Cream--the real stuff made with real cream

Finally, here are some low-carb restaurant menu items that helped me:
- Taco salads (no chips and only eat the lettuce, meat, and salsa)
- Sour cream, guacamole (Mmm!)
- Steaks and other non-breaded and non-sauced meats of all sorts
- Diet or unsweetened drinks
- Cobb salads
- Club salads
- Low Carb tortillas--these probably have the highest carb count per serving of the things I eat, but these low-carb versions have only 4-7 net carbs per tortilla.

Man, what an inspiring story, Burton! THANK YOU for sharing that with me and my readers today and I'm so very proud of all you have accomplished. You have a beautiful family who is undoubtedly beaming that daddy has gotten his weight and health under control by livin' la vida low-carb. KEEP IT UP, my friend, and share your positive story of success with everyone you know. God bless you!

Low-Carb Documentary To Feature ChocoPerfection Weight Loss Stories

Now here's something just too juicy to pass up if you are a fan of those outstanding and decadent sugar-free, low-carb chocolate bars I just happen to think are the best on the planet--CHOCOPERFECTION! Yes, they are one of my top sponsors, but I genuinely LOVE these bars (especially the dark chocolate!).

I heard from ChocoPerfection founder and president Mary Jo Kringas today about an upcoming documentary being shot about low-carb living called Today's Family. Mary Jo was recently contacted and interviewed THREE TIMES about the story behind her amazing chocolate bars and now they want to speak with REAL people who have implemented ChocoPerfection bars into their successful low-carb lifestyle.

Are you a fan of ChocoPerfection bars and have lost and/or maintained your weight while eating them? Then send your story to Mary Jo Kringas directly at mjkringas@lowcarbspecialties.com.

For those of you who know Mary Jo personally as I do, there's no doubting her passion and zeal for making livin' la vida low-carb as enjoyable and exciting as possible and that fact shines through brightly when you talk to her. Is that your experience using her ChocoPerfection bars as part of your healthy low-carb diet? If so, then make your voice heard and you might just be in a movie! COOL!

I hadn't heard about this film before now, but apparently the filmmaker wants to show how families can implement the principles of low-carb living to start eating more healthy than they ever have before. I don't know anything more about who is producing this documentary, but I'll be sure to share the full details with you if and when I come across them.

Today's Family is still in pre-production with filming to begin shortly.

Again, send an e-mail to Mary Jo Kringas with your positive ChocoPerfection stories at mjkringas@lowcarbspecialties.com. I may just have to send my testimony about these bars because I'm a BIG FAN of ChocoPerfection.

Haven't tried these bars yet? Try some ChocoPerfection for yourself and you'll become a full-fledged believer, too! :D

Swedish Author Examining Eating Disorders, Needs Your Feedback

There's a very important book in the process of being written by a Swedish woman named Frida discussing the serious but often neglected issue of eating disorders. I've heard from quite a few people with eating disorders since I started this blog in April 2005, including this memorable cry for help from a bulimic earlier this year.

From overeating to anorexia, bulimia to ortorexia, as well as sugar addiction to carbohydrate obsession, this is a subject that has been swept under the rug long enough and I for one am glad to see it coming out in the open in the form of a book.

When you have been overweight or obese as I was for most of my life, you never really THINK about an eating disorder. I don't know if people even realize it when they are that close to the situation which may explain why the problem persists for many years before it is detected if ever. It is perhaps the saddest and most lonely state of existence you can possibly be in and there are countless numbers of people dealing with this day in and day out.

Frida wants to hear from anyone who "would be interested in sharing their experiences" with any eating disorder.

"Obviously it’s anonymous and you will of course get a copy of the book," she said.

The book will contain real life stories of people who have been through various eating disorders and how they overcame them. For Frida, this is a topic of personal interest for her.

"A friend of mine almost died in anorexia, and that's how my interest in the disease started," she explained.

She expects to devote about ten pages to each person's story to share all the intimate details so that others who read the book will find comfort and hope for their own situation. Frida says we can learn from our shared experiences in an effort to show others how to avoid making the same mistakes.

"I think that recognizing yourself in other people is a good start in recovering," she explained.

What do you need to share? Pretty much your story in your own words or the story of a friend or family member who has been through the pain of an eating disorder. Your identity will be kept strictly confidential and anonymous, so don't worry about providing as many details as you can using the following keywords and questions as a guideline for sharing your thoughts:

Growing up
School
Friends
Sports and exercising
Strain & demands (your own? From the surroundings? From parents?)
Self-esteem
How did everything begin? When?
When did you realize that you were ill?
What did people around you say? When did they notice it? Did you try to hide it?
How did this affect you as a person?
Do you feel like this has been a waste of years?
Do you consider yourself healthy today?
How does someone get rid of this disease?
Can you do that by yourself?
How long did it take to get better (if you are)?
Why do you think people get this desease?
Why is there an obsession to look good?
Why do a lot of people feel ashamed of this?
Give examples of what a typical day was like.
Better and worse days? When is it better?
How are you today?
Excuses
Can you ever get completely well from an eating disorder?
Did you ever think that your body could get hurt? Did you care?
Social life? Isolation?
If bulimia and compulsury eating, was it expensive buying all the food?
Did someone ever discover you ”in action” with your eating disorder?
How much did you eat? What?
How did it get so far?
How did you deceive friends and family?
How do you handle your feelings today?
Are eating disorders common among your family and friends? Why?
How do you feel in general about those years?
Share excerpts from your diary.
Did you feel the need for control?
What do you want your future to be like?
When did you make the decision to become well?
How do magazines, TV and so on affect you?
What role does society play in eating disorders?
Most people do want to get well, so why don't they do something?
Did you ever think that your health can get damaged?
The trend of healthiness, how did it influence you?
Tell a little about yourself--age, personality, quirks.
If you think back in time, what would you have done differently?
The best tip you can give for other people?
Why do you think you became ill?
Why is it so difficult to get well?

The following is a sample story to give you an idea what Frida is looking for:

It is difficult to say when everything began. I remember as a young child sitting at the dinner table with my family and my father and I having eating contests. I always loved the potluck suppers at church, especially all of those delicious desserts. I was an active child and didn’t have any eating issues at that time.

My major issue is lack of self-esteem. As I progressed into my teenage years and young adulthood I bought into the myths that our media spoon feeds us. I used to starve myself and it began. It was so easy to lose weight as a late teenager, young adult. I was of average weight, but I always wanted to be thinner.

I got married, had a child at 23 and within a month I was back into a size 5. I just stopped eating until I got there. I also did drugs and each time I did I would be so hard on myself with negative self talk that I never could get the munchies like most people. I had my next child at 29 and ballooned up to over 200 pounds. I was married to a man that was extremely emotionally abusive (a pattern it seems as my father was verbally abusive as well). I learned in my marriage that to stand up and speak my mind, heart and feelings was fruitless, I was never heard.

And that, I have a feeling is where the monkey jumped officially on to my back. When I was angry, sad, hurt, lonely, I just ate. And ate. And ate. After my second child I got back to my pre-pregnancy size of about size 7 within five years. I had my last child at 35. Again I ballooned up to over 200 pounds.

I divorced my husband when my son was almost three and my weight continued to climb. I had an emergency surgery, and became homeless, moving six times in two years. I was well over 220 by this time. I was depressed, overwhelmed, dealing with a child with bipolar disorder and I finally snapped. I started using amphetamines and drinking and lost over 75 pounds for the second time in my life.

I looked good and felt good, but felt angry because of the way people treated me when I was thin versus fat. I resented that people gave me more value and worth as a thin woman. I was the same person inside dammit. I stopped doing the drugs (that I had gotten through my physician) and drinking, but had met a man on the internet that I felt was my soulmate. We moved in together seven years ago. Life was good.

I was a size 10, was in love, had a great job. Time went on and the holidays came around. My bipolar child was hospitalized and I baked some holiday goodies to bring to her for Christmas. I ate a few, and then a few more…and next thing I realized I was again a size 20. I realized that again I had been sucked in by my demons, that instead of owning my power and speaking my truths that again I had numbed and buried them in food.

Food is horrible for me. It’s not like drugs or alcohol where you just quit and you are done. We require it to live. I can’t just eat to nourish my body, once I start eating I eat and eat. I can’t eat just one cookie. If I eat one, I eat the entire bag. I do well sometimes and just stay away from the foods that I know are my downfall. But I always end up back there.

It’s difficult in our culture. If you are young and thin you have value. If you are older and less thin you are invisible.

I have successfully isolated myself from the world. I stopped watching television for over ten years. I have no friends, nor do I want any. I am challenged in relationships. I have major trust issues. I trust no one. I look forward to death. I am not suicidal, but I am tired of life. I don’t know who I am and I am so governed by what I must do that I cannot find a way to discover who I am. I like much about who I am, but I dislike much of who I am."

This is an extremely sensitive subject, but it is the unspoken pain carried around by millions. If you have overcome your eating disorder and want to help other avoid the same mistakes that you made, then please e-mail your story to Frida at flfrida@yahoo.se. You'll feel great inside that you gave others the chance to see they are not alone in this battle. THANK YOU for helping out with this worthy cause!