With the second Juneteenth federal holiday fast approaching, here are some traditional ways to honor Juneteenth while staying firmly planted in Low-Carb Land.

Whether you are a dedicated physician with a thriving private practice; a factory worker on shifts and exhausted from overtime, or a homeschooling, stay-at-home mom returning from a long day at the zoo, the need to be nourished is inescapable. Throw a special eating plan into the confusion – your low carb diet – and the panic may become all-consuming. With just a few simple suggestions, you can turn those dreaded moments of desperation into food-filled victories.

A Celebration of Freedom: May 28 "Juneteenth" by April Walker in the June 2013 issue of CarbSmart Magazine. Whether you celebrate freedom with just family or with the whole community, we give you the secrets to keep it down-home delicious and nutritious.

We have all heard and/or made self-defeating statements regarding our low carb plans, but the enticement to stray is far more insidious during the holiday season. Watch out for these statements of sabotage which can wreak havoc on your low carb plan.

CarbSmart is proud to introduce April Bradford Walker to the CarbSmart Magazine team. April says it best: My mission is to inspire others to achieve health and wellness through a low carb lifestyle while I live my low carb journey.

"Morbidly Obese" Those words dangled from my medical chart like a scarlet letter. How could the doctor have used those words to describe me? Surely, the doctor made a mistake, or maybe my eyes were mistaken. Perhaps it was someone else's chart. Cautiously, I looked at the chart and read the name: April Bradford. I was only 25 years old at the time. I was mortified and shocked, but I could not deny those words staring back at me from my own chart. The walls seemed to close in around me. How did I arrive at this place? How did this happen to me?