Well, I low carbed the third trimester of my only pregnancy, 10.5 years ago, due to gestational diabetes. Then I went back to the carbs with gusto (& a new bread machine) after my son was born, and within 5 years had gained 20 pounds I didn't need.

So I began to Low Carb (for life) in January 2004 (just over 5 years ago) when I bought your 15 Minute Low Carb Recipes cookbook on a whim at the local Costco, not because it was LC, but because of the fast recipes that used lots of ingredients I love, like avocado, tuna, eggs, etc. I started to lose weight right away (8 pounds the first two weeks, 12 pounds the first month, 20 pounds by May). I continue a LC way of eating for my health and to maintain my weight.

For the past couple of years I've been increasingly Paleo Low Carb - and entirely gluten-free since the beginning of the year. I've been cutting back on dairy somewhat, too, not because of carbs, but because if IgA antibodies against casein (a dairy protein). I focus on Real Food and very much minimize industrially processed foods. I think the low carb pita breads I ate in the beginning weren't so healthy due to the excess gluten and soy protein content (hypothyroidism). I make IgA antibodies to those ingredients, too, so it's best to avoid them for better thyroid function and overall health.

Low Carb reinvigorated my love of cooking (I had become a lazy cook and used to many packaged foods). Now most of our family's food comes from non-supermarket sources - pasture-based ranchers, local folks who raise chickens for eggs (*not* the huge local egg CAFO ranches), a CSA produce farm share box, farmer's markets, local coffee roasters and chocolatiers, etc.

I'll never, ever go back to my high carb, grain-heavy ways again.

www.againstthegrainblog.com