DON'T DO STILLMAN DIET TO JUMP START WEIGHT LOSS!!!!!

Dear Fellow Beautiful Losers: I have been among the missing until today, when I just HAD to write in response to a recommendation made to go on the Stillman diet in order to get off a plateau. Please, do NOT do this to yourself. I remember following this diet in 1967 (yes, I am that old), and have followed it, on and off, ever since then. It DOES NOT WORK!!!! For those of you who don't know what the Stillman diet is, it is following a protein-ONLY diet, whi*****ludes drinking 8 8-oz glasses a water per day. No veggies, fruits, milk, or carbs of any sort. It will make you feel ill and will seriously mess up your ketones. When I think of all the times I followed this and gave up after a 4-6 weeks, I still shudder. Yes, you lose weight, but I felt dizzy, always hungry, and constantly naseous. As soon as you start eating "normally" again, the weight will come back, and then some. Your pouch will make you feel even worse. If you want to jump start your weight loss again after a plateau, just skip eating carbs (breads, crackers, potatoes, etc.), and eat everything else. This has worked for me, time and time again, since having Lap-RNY on March 1st of this year. Granted, I am presently at a plateau, but I know it's because my exercising has been inconsistent and I have been enjoying way too many late-night snacks. Also, with the Stillman diet, YOU MUST DRINK 8 8-OUNCE GLASSES OF WATER PER DAY, which is not a bad thing, but it WILL take up space in your pouch that really should be taken up by protein. If you don't believe me, consult with your doctor before trying the Stillman diet for a week and tell me how you feel. I would be interested in hearing about your experience. God bless you, and make sure you have plenty of famatodine or antacids handy. You're going to need them. Rita 299/232/143

I did ask my dr. He said fine as long as it was only for a few days. My goodness, we shouldn't do it for 4-6 weeks. Heck, I can't have fruits or veggies anyway. As far as the water goes. My program says that those 64 oz of water the Stillman diet requires is the minimum we should squeak by with. We are supposed to get in 94 oz. Water flushes the poisons out of our systems especially ketones. JMHO. Take care. Grins, Kaye

I've never done Stillman, but I have done Atkins. I wouldn't be so quick to dissuade everyone from it. Some people are just extremely resistant to loss and need that kind of a diet to keep them losing. I don't know the details of it, but I know with Atkins you can have low carb veggies. My only thing is that I'm too lazy to get on the Atkins bandwagon, but as far as that goes, it is highly effective when done right and healthy as well. As for ketones...we get those regardless of what diet we are on when we have the surgery because we eat so little. It's just the body processing the fat that causes that. Water - well, I don't drink enough. I admit I think it's important for me to drink more than I do, but recent studies by nephrologists (specifically one out of Dartmouth University) disputes the claim that everyone needs to drink 8x8 every day. He states that there is no scientific basis for that claim for it and it was never able to be attributed to anyone in the world of science. His stance is that although water is important, unless you suffer from a medical condition that indicates otherwise, the average person does not need to drink 8x8 and that *all* liquids count toward a person's water intake, including caffeinated beverages. He also said that it is not true that by the time we are thirsty we are already dehydrated. THANK YOU DOCTOR!!! My logical thought process tells me that we have not gone so far in our society so that virtually every person on this earth has a faulty thirst mechanism that only tells them to drink water when they are already dehydrated. Dina

Dear Rita: I found your post quite dramatic. I did the Stillman diet for 2 weeks and lost 11 pounds, 9 pounds that have stayed off. It is an excellent quick loss diet, a great plateau buster. It is certainly not a long term diet nor for someone looking to lose large amounts of weight. I felt fine. I did not experience any of the symptoms you described. My surgeon thought it was a good idea. I did it in 1969, for 2 weeks, and lost the 15 pounds I needed to lose then. Please do not discourage people from using a tool that could help them break a plateau. The weight doesn't return when you eat normally. It returns when you overeat. I wish you good luck with your weight losss. Louise 231/162/150

After having read all those replies to my anti-Stillman Diet post, all I can say is that I have bad memories of going on the Stillman diet for weeks at a time, for the past 37 years. I did not mean to sound like an alarmist, so my apologies to anyone who took it as such. I, too, lost weight, on this diet, but I could not keep the weight off. I really missed eating CARROTS, not chocolate, and ORANGES, not pie. Sure, for a jump-start to those on plateaus, it could work. I am simply saying that for long-term weight loss, I feel it is best to eat a balanced diet, that is all. When I hear of people eating lots of bacon and other fatty meats, I know that it is only a matter of time before they'll start to crave something other than protein, and then, poof! the diet backfires. Also, if it is such a wonderful diet, then why did we all end up having bypass surgery? So, to all of you that wish to go Stillman, best of luck. And I mean that sincerely. Rita

Hi Rita: Just saw your post. I think you are confused about the Stillman Diet - it only allows lean meat, fish, eggs, low fat cottage cheese and sf jello. It doesn't allow fatty meats at all, no pork and therefore certainly not bacon. Of course a balanced diet is best, but my post was for a jump off from a plateau. I have several friends who did this with me or are now doing it with terrific results. I did it for the longest time of 2 weeks. It was fun to see the weight not only come off but to come off quickly. I have always been very goal oriented and being this close to my weight goal just makes me want to hurry up the process so I can then focus on learning about maintenance. That is something that I hope to be succesful at with the help of WLS. Louise 231/161/150

Rita: I have been eating nothing but animal protein since surgery and I am fine. I do eat green leafy veggies on occasion -- but I am eating protein only most all of the time -- weeks on end. It's how my surgeon has us eat for the first 6 months following surgery. No antacids needed. My pouch is fine. Nancy -83lbs Lap RNY 3/22/04 250/167/150