Well, as I said earlier, I believe that opposition from loved ones almost always stems, at least in part, from a fear of a change in the relationship, whether they're aware of it or not. You have to realize that you CAN'T argue them out of that fear, or logically convince them of low-carbing's advantages, because they're not coming from a logical place AND their fears aren't really based on fears about the foods you're eating.

The only antidote is to work on your OWN self-esteem, which will short-circuit those buttons they've become accustomed to pushing to get you to do what they want you to do, i.e. feel guilty or frightened and go back to the old way of eating.

When you feel confident of your own worth and believe you deserve to feel good and look good, you won't be so vulnerable to people who try to control your feelings by telling you you're unattractive, weak, stupid, etc. Which is exactly what they're saying when they tell you in a negative tone that you're overweight and doing all the wrong things.

I highly recommend Dr. Phil McGraw's "Self Matters," which goes into great detail about the difference between self image -- your worth as a person -- and body image -- your appearance. They are NOT the same thing, but we who have lived as fat people in a thin-worshipping world have been brainwashed into believing that we ARE our bodies. NO!!!

We are the beautiful, eternal, perfect beings RESIDING in our bodies. Shape and improve those bodies as we will, they are still only vehicles to carry our perfect true selves through this life. They are no more us than we are our cars. If you don't wash your car and keep it well-oiled and full of good-quality fuel, it will deteriorate and look shabby and sputter and stall. But no matter what shape your car is in, it is still separate from YOU.

Gina