I've been low carb for 3 years.
I still drink beer, but I've been "primal" eating for those three years.
The first month was HARD for me. I was sick, tired, and had, er, digestive issues. I would have quit had I not been convinced of the gains I would make on this lifestyle.
After about 30 days, it was like someone just flipped a switch! I woke up, felt energetic, slept better and my digestive issues corrected.
I eat grass fed beef, fish, chicken, venison, lamb, a bit of pork occasionally, and lots and lots of vegetables. When I cook, I use tallow and/or coconut oil and butter. For salads, I use olive oil. My husband does the same, but he got way too thin so he added back white rice and wild rice to his diet.
Marksdailyapple.com is great- so is chriskresser.com. Perfecthealthdiet.com is another, but his is not so much low-carb as much as "real food" diets.
A couple of things to get you started- say away from "industrial seed oils" - soybean oil, canola, corn, well, any vegetable oils (except for coconut oil and olive oil). The way they are processed makes them very unhealthy.
The next thing, and it may be the hardest for many- is sugar. Sugar is bad, and cutting out the sugar is hard because it's in everything. Any packaged food, especially low-fat foods, are loaded with sugar. Even Chobani Greek Yogurt, which sounds healthy, is loaded with sugar. That was the hardest thing for me- to buy food without getting tons of sugar. The natural sugar in regular yogurt (NOT low fat!!!!) is fine as it's low.
Of course, bread, crackers, etc should be eliminated or greatly reduced. That was very hard for me!
Three years later, I'm lean and healthy. My husband is too, and at 58, he takes no medications at all and looks and acts 30 (except for his wrinkles around his eyes from years of sun damage!).
My blood work shows the gains- as my good cholesterol is up, by total cholesterol is down (188), my fasting blood sugar is low/normal, and my blood pressure is 100/60. My crp (indicator of heart disease) is very low. My body fat is at the athlete/average spot according to my last measurement.
I'm totally convinced that primal eating is the way to go, and even though I might have a cheat once in a while (when invited out, I don't decline their food), I will never go back to the way I was. I wasn't really overweight, but I was overfat and a bit sluggish. I had trouble sleeping, and had low energy in the afternoon. Now, I feel like I'm 30 years old, and literally run circles around people half my age sometimes!
To top it all off- I'm NEVER hungry. Absolutely never. The way I eat is so satiating that I can't imagine eating more food! I never count carbs anymore (don't need to now), and never count calories as calories don't matter if you're giving your body the right fuel.
I really feel great all the time, and haven't even had a cold or a sniffle in about a year.