As you can imagine, I have the privilege to come into contact with all sorts of people on a daily basis who are at various places in their lives. Many of them are already doing fantastic on their low-carb lifestyle change and just want to share their success with me in celebration of the incredible changes this way of eating has produced. There are others who have just reached the point where they are seriously interested in and considering a healthy low-carb lifestyle change to help them lose weight, feel great and get healthy. I love hearing from all these real life examples of what low-carb living is all about because it is for all intents and purposes where the rubber meets the road for this diet we all love so much.
It truly is a humbling position to be in when people allow themselves to become vulnerable by opening up to a complete stranger they’ve never met in person (although many people tell me they feel like they know me from hearing my voice “speak” to them on my podcast or YouTube videos). But that’s what makes my job one of the coolest on the planet–I’ve got friends all around the world who have some connection to me because of our mutual love and appreciation for this thing I like to call livin’ la vida low-carb. It’s what bonds us together as one big happy family and I’m truly honored to play even a small part in the journey of others who are traveling this path to better health. One thing you can always be assured of when you send me an e-mail is a reasonably speedy response. I’ve always remained open to helping anyone and everyone who contacts me as a means of paying it forward for the blessings that have happened in my own life these past 7+ years.
One such example of someone who has reached out to me in his time of desperation over this past year is Randy Jones. That is Randy’s before and after face shots from July 2010 to July 2011 in the photos at the top of this post. When this Greenville, SC man first wrote to me and began eating a “no sugar, low-carb diet” one year ago, Randy weighed in at a morbidly obese weight of 418 pounds and he was ready to try something to get his weight and health under control once and for all. When he first got started on his low-carb journey, I was probably receiving anywhere from 5-10 e-mails a day from Randy asking all sorts of meticulous questions about whether he was eating low-carb the “right” way, suggestions about how to make his eating habits permanent, and so many more excellent low-carb questions. Slowly but surely he educated himself about low-carb to the point that the e-mails diminished to around 3 or so a week in the months that followed until suddenly they stopped altogether…until just this week!
Randy was bursting at the seams to share his success with me and wrote all about his good news in a post on his Facebook page. He recollected back when he first began his low-carb journey on July 13, 2010 and recalled his son Jacob breaking his arm and going to the emergency room unexpectedly. It was his first day of livin’ la vida low-carb and “dinner” was whatever he could find in the hospital vending machine. Randy was faced with a dilemma that would determine whether he was serious about getting his weight and health in order or not.
I almost said (to myself) what I had said so many times before–”I will start tomorrow.” But thank the Lord I stuck with (my low-carb plan) that day.
This set the tone for what would be a glorious year of low-carb weight loss success for Randy. Because of his voracious commitment to living the low-carb life wholeheartedly, he has been able to shed a total of 134 pounds with a goal to lose another 84 pounds. He’s dropped from 6XL shirts down to 2XL and his pant size dropped from 54-56 down to 40-42–he lost 13 inches off his waistline. Oh yeah, he’s DEFINITELY livin’ la vida low-carb and lovin’ it now baby!
Even more important than his stunning weight loss success, Randy has experienced some marked improvements in his health as well. The doctor had told him prior to his low-carb lifestyle that he was pre-diabetic and was about to put him on blood pressure medication. However, when he went to see his doctor recently for another checkup, his blood pressure was an amazing 116/63 and all the signs of pre-diabetes had vanished. Needless to say, Randy is quite thankful and blessed by his decision to begin a low-carb program to get his life back again.
I thank the Lord and give Him all the glory for getting me to this point because I could not be where I am today without Him.
Randy admits he still misses some of his favorite “comfort foods” that are loaded with carbohydrates, but now understands they will do him more long-term harm than any temporary, short-term feeling of euphoria he receives from eating them.
I realized that I could eat what I wanted and not do anything in life or I could do everything in life and not eat what I wanted. God got me through my birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter and not to mention a few trips out of town without one day of cheating.
And he credits this steadfast resolve and tenacity to stick to his strict low-carb plan of 20g net carbohydrates daily for his success. He also found incredible support from his wife who willingly cooked low-carb meals for him while feeding his kids their normal meals.
I know it takes a little extra time and I appreciate it.
Randy is also very appreciative of the support he’s received from the low-carb blogosphere, namely my “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” projects, for helping him stay educated, encouraged and inspired to keep going when the going got tough.
I want to thank Jimmy Moore who runs a low-carb blog and podcast and has helped me so much through this year by answering the many questions I had for him. I have never met him (in person) and I have never given him a single dime of money. But he has always taken time to help me when I needed him and I thank him very much.
You are most certainly welcome, Randy. It’s people like you that motivate me to keep doing what I’m doing. There’s nothing quite like hearing the story of a life that’s been changed forever and I’m super proud of you for what you’ve been able to accomplish. You WILL reach the next phase of your weight loss goal. But, more importantly, you will leave a legacy of healthy living to your children that they will never ever forget. You can’t put a value on a lesson as important as that!
Do you have a low-carb success story like Randy that you’d like to share with the low-carb community in a future post here at the “Livin’ La Vida Low-Carb” blog? I’d be thrilled to hear about it and use it to encourage others who are walking their own low-carb journey. E-mail me your detailed low-carb story (weight loss, diabetes reversal, etc.) along with relevant photos and anything else about the change low-carb has made in your life. Special thanks again to Randy Jones for inspiring us today with his life-changing story that’s still in the midst of being written.
