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

Di Bauer, CarbSmart's editor, offers her view of low carbing and helpful tips to make low carbing easier and more productive.

Lori from Illinois is 26 years old. "I started Atkins on January. 3, 2001," she told me. "I guess I don't follow the plan as strictly as others do; I kind of do my own version, you could say." Lori began her journey weighing 266 pounds and wore a size 26 at that time. Just nine months later, Lori weighs 181 pounds. That's fourteen pounds lighter than she is in her 'during' picture! She now wears a size 12/14, and is well on her way to her goal weight of 150 pounds.

What Are Fats? Misconceptions & Truths. Article 13 of the Science of Low-Carb & Keto Diets series. Today we are beginning our discussions of dietary fats. In this new series of articles, we will be discussing the answers to the following questions: What are fats? What are oils? How are fats and oils digested by and absorbed into the body? We'll also be talking about how dietary fats relate to body fat. At the very start, though, let's consider how it is that so-called 'nutritional science' seems to tell us that every condition known to mankind is in some way related to dietary fat. How and why has fat been relegated to the position of being the "evil food?"

Mark and Donna are from Texas. Mark is 47 years old and Donna is 39. Both are following the Atkins' program. Mark began low carbing in February of 2000, and Donna has been following Atkins since August of 1999.

Suddenly getting into those reference jeans doesn't seem quite so important anymore, does it? The tragic events of September 11th have shifted all our priorities, and looking good isn't as high up on the list as it used to be. Now we have more important things to think about. But that doesn't mean than staying on plan isn't still important.

Kentucky Hot Brown is a traditional recipe for a hot turkey sandwich. I usually make it as an entree, but I will sometimes make it as a sandwich using Romaine lettuce leaves in lieu of the traditional bread. It's good that way, but messy.

Barbie from Pennsylvania is 49 years old. She began the Atkins program nearly 2 years ago at 195 pounds and wearing size 18/20's. She is currently at her goal weight of 131 pounds and wearing a size 6/8!

For Italian Meatball Stew you need to make meatballs. You probably already figured that out, right? I like to make the meatballs ahead of time and put them in the freezer. The meatballs can be used not only in Italian Meatball Stew but in spaghetti sauce, rolled up into Romaine lettuce leaves with some tomatoes, cheese, and Italian salad dressing or a little heated spaghetti sauce for a meatball sandwich, or just heated and munched as a snack, so don't hesitate to make a double batch. They're always handy to have on hand.

Everyone, and every family, ought to have emergency supplies and emergency plans - this includes if you want to stay on your low-carb & keto lifestyle during emergency situations.

I have been low carbing for approximately one and a half years now, and I have lost 127 pounds. The whole thing has become pretty much second nature to me now. In the beginning, it was very difficult to adjust to this way of life, but boy has it been worth it! My life has completely changed! And that's what this week's article is all about: change.