CarbSmart.com Your trusted guide to the keto, low carb, intermittent fasting lifestyle

So there I am, in the pig pen, with little piglets running to and fro under my feet, squealing. I'm lurching back and forth, holding a roasting pan upside-down over my head, swooping down with it at intervals, and all the while seriously wondering why I ever agreed to this scheme in the first place!

Joanne from Leeds in the UK is 28 years old. She started low carbing in January of 2000, and has been at it ever since. Joanne follows the Atkins program and is currently just below her goal weigh at 117 pounds. She has gone from a US size 14/16 to a US size 6/8.

Since Glorious Spouse and I have become low carbers, the thing I miss most about stuffing the Thanksgiving turkey is getting rid of last year's Christmas fruitcake. Designated-drivers not withstanding, there should be bumper stickers that read "Friends Should Not Let Friends Give Fruitcakes."

This evening's meal, Chicken Caesar Salad, is the ultimate make-ahead dinner or lunch. Everything is prepared ahead of time, so that when it comes time to serve your meal all you have to do is toss it all on the plate. It's great for those evenings when everybody is going in different directions and no one is eating at the same time. With everything already prepared, everyone can fend for themselves. This is my kind of cooking!

Howard from New Mexico is 50 years old and 6 feet tall. Howard began low carbing weighing 330 pounds and now weighs 241 pounds. He used to wear a size 50 waist, but now wears a 42! His goals are to continue losing weight until he reaches 200 pounds and wears a size 36 waist.

Connie from Ohio is 31. She started the Atkins Plan in May of 1998, but told me, "It's since been tweaked so much it's more like a hybrid plan of my own." Connie has gone from 244 pounds to 169 pounds, and from a size 24 to a 12!

Jen from Maryland is 27 years old. Jen has been following the Atkins program since November 5, 1999, nearly 2 years now. Jen has lost 64.5 pounds dropping from 284 pounds to a current weight of 219.5 pounds, and still losing on her way to her goal of 160 pounds! She has shrunk from a size 26 to an 18! "I don't have a goal size," Jen said. "I have a goal weight. When I get there, I will be the right size."

In the wake of September 11th, many of us are thinking about disaster preparations, things we can do to prepare ourselves for the unforeseen. Foremost in our minds at this time are terrorist attacks, of course, but there are other kinds of disasters, too. Many of us live in areas that are prone to earthquakes, forest fires, tornadoes, hurricanes, floods, blizzards, or lengthy power outages.

Carol from Wisconsin is 53. She has been following the Atkins program since June of 2000, and gone from 186 pounds to 107.5 pounds, from a size 18 to a 5! "I never had problems with weight control until I hit my mid-thirties," Carol told me. "The past fifteen years, though, it has been a real struggle to keep from gaining at an alarming rate!"