Conference rocks::weight_control

    Good idea for a topic.
    
    I went on the Cambridge Diet about 7 years ago.  After 2 days
    I was carted to the E.R. via ambulance!
                     
    At the time I was 110 lbs. overweight, was on medication for high 
    blood pressure, and was having frequent attacks of tachycardia.
    The trip to the hospital was the result of the above events having
    a negative effect on my body while helping my in-laws to move.
    
    I was exerting myself more than I probably should have, but heck,
    I was only 23, what did I have to worry about?  The warning here
    is that some fad diets can lower your resistance/energy levels to
    a point where normal activity can produce undue stresses on your
    system.                                                 
    
    Mike

re .0

>     The worst experience
>     I had with a fad diet was with the so-called "fiber pills."  They
>     took off the weight, all right, but planted a roller coaster-like
>     effect in my system (to put it delicately!) that lasted for MONTHS
>     after I stopped taking them.

I'm sorry if I'm a little dense here, but what do you mean?  What happened
to your body?  (Were you desperately in need of Kaopectate?)  If you can't
put it delicately here, feel free to mail it to me.  I had started to take
those fiber pills slowly (not at the recommended dosage right away) because
someone recommended them, and they sounded like they were good for you (fiber
is good for you, no?), and not just a fad.  This was back last year sometime.
Then I started Weight Watchers and didn't want to count them as optional
calories so I stopped taking them. :-)  Do they give you too much fiber?
Has anyone else had experiences with these pills?

Jill

    re .2:
    
    > (fiber is good for you, no?)
    
    Yes, but not TOO much fiber.  The aftereffect was chronic diarrhea
    and spastic colon.  I read an article somewhere recently about a
    study on the effects of excess fiber on the system, and while I
    don't recall the exact details it concluded that it was as bad as,
    if not worse than, not getting enough fiber.  The message was that
    the body has no use for the excess and it gradually weakens the
    colon (if anyone sees this study, please post it).  I guess you
    could equate the fiber pills with taking multiple laxatives every
    day - something I didn't realize until I had taken them for awhile.
    They may not have the same effect on everyone but that's what happened
    to me.  Hope to hear about others' experiences...
    
    BTW, the award for the most constipating diet has to be the Stillman
    Diet:  no fruits, grains or vegetables!  Definitely NOT recommended.
                                                     

    The one thing that I've noticed about fad diets is that they don't
    seem to change your eating habits for good.  OK, so eating 46
    grapefruits a day makes you loose 5 pounds every hour.  But once
    you've lost the weight you can't continue living on grapefruit.
     You haven't learned anything about why you were overweight and
    you don't know how to modify your eating habits so you can keep
    the weight off.
    
    Have you ever noticed that people on fad diets are frequently on
    them for the 3rd or 4th time?  How good could the diet be if you
    have to keep doing it again and again?

Saw a great cartoon the other day in a magazine:

"I really love fad diets.  I'm on three of them right now!"

Jill

    The only fad diet I ever tried was Stillman's.  After 3 days on
    it, I fainted on the subway while on a shopping trip downtown! 
    I'll never do any of them (fad diets) again . . .
    
    Marcia

    In high school I lost 60 pounds on Stillman's and loved the way
    I felt.  I kept it off for 3 years.
    
    What worked fine for a 16 year old body would be pure hell on a
    34 year old body now!
    
    My favorite recipe from that diet was cottage cheese with cinnamon
    and sweetener.  I still eat cottage cheese that way on occasion!
    
    Holly

    I'm a fan of the Stillman diet, too.  It knocks the weight off faster
    than the Slim-Fast method and any of the "balanced" diets I'd tried
    before.  I haven't been very faithful to it, but I've lost 15 pounds
    and haven't gained them back.
    
    The Stillman diet has an "alarm": If you gain more than 3 pounds,
    you have to go back on it again.  In my case, I end up see-sawing
    a lot within a 3-4 pound range.  Whenever I start to feel heavier
    and begin to lose some of the spring in my step, I know it's time
    to get back on the diet again.
    
    Admittedly, it has been difficult breaking old eating habits so
    the see-saw doesn't swing up so fast.  That's where just getting
    educated about the calorie content of various foods has helped a
    lot.
    
    Considering that so-called "balanced" diets never worked for me,
    I find the rapid weight loss with the Stillman diet very encouraging.
    
    --Mike
    

    re: .8
    
    One problem with the Stillman diet is that it is *SO* high in protein
    that it blocks the absorbtion of some necessary nutrients such as
    calcium.  
    
    Marion

Does anyone recall the Stillman diet?  I remember it's 

-96 oz water a day
-All the fish, poultry, beef you can eat
-All cottage cheese or farmer cheese you can eat
-All the eggs you can eat

I think you must broil the fish, poultry, beef.  I'm not sure what kinds
of meat you can have, are there limitations (like probably pork?)

I know it's not at all healthy, but I'm about to try it for just a few days
before I get back to WW type eating.

Also, what condiments and spices does it limit?

If anyone remembers this off the top of their head I'd appreciate it.  I
bought the book about 17 years ago, but for some reason can't find it...

    I thjink the problem with Doc Stillman's diet was the cholesterol
    content. Imagine eating as many eggs as you wanted to and all the
    beef you wanted? Not to mention fish (although some are high and
    others low in cholesterol).
    
    The Rotation Diet Book has a page in which a two-day diet is prescribed
    to help take off excess fluid over a 2 day period. The author does
    caution the reader that this should not go beyond 2 days. If you
    like I'll enter in the exact diet. I know that cottage cheese is
    prominent in the diet along with lots of water...could be some special
    fruit like melon in it also.
    
    Stillman was a fan of diuretics.
    
    Mike

    To render Stillman's diet lower in fat, you can:
    
    	o eat only the egg whites (this is a standard trick of body
    				   builders on low-fat diets)
    	o confine "meats" to chicken, turkey & fish
    	o don't eat the skin of the chicken, turkey & fish
    	o eat only white meat in your fowl
    	o stay away from shellfish
    	o leave the beef, lamb, duck and pork alone
    	o eat only skim-milk cheeses
    	o use only skim milk in coffee or tea
    
    Even with this, it is still an unbalanced regimen, not one to stay
    on for any length of time (maybe not even a week!).
    
    Marcia

    the Stillman Quick Weight Loss (QWL) diet worked the first time
    I did it.  The second time, my body had wised up.  Oh well.  Also,
    one fun side affect is that a diet such as this puts the body in
    a state called "ketosis", where the breath grows foul, and half-burned
    fat cells swamp the blood stream.  Apparently, this gives one a
    false sense of well being as (from some of the diet mags I once
    read) I heard they are similar in chemical makeup to alcohol and
    the likes.  My alternative name for the diet was not "Quick Weight
    Loss", but rather "Quick Where's the Ladies-room", as with all that
    water and very little bulk I spent a great deal of time there.
    
    -Jody
    

    I'm surprised no one has mentioned Dr. Atkins here.  I lost about 30
    pounds on it in High School (within 3 lbs of target), but eventually
    gained it all back, and then some.  It, too, was easy at that age, 
    but no longer.  
    
    Atkins advocates a very low carbohydrate intake -- my CCL (Critical 
    Carbohydrate Level) was around 30 grams.  That's about 1 large apple, 
    to give you an idea.  This diet allows all the protein and fat you want.
    Heavy cream in your coffee, etc.  Lots of water, a la Stillman's.  The
    way you tell whether you're "on" is by checking for Ketones.  The theory
    is that if your blood sugar is below the required level, your body will
    mobilize fat to get the energy it needs.  Ketones are a by-product.
    
    This diet does work; it can be hard on the kidneys (why all the water).
    As with so many, the problem is sticking with it.  My father has kept
    his carbohydrate intake down around 50 g / day for over 10 years, and
    seems to be quite healthy, so it can be done.

    Even on low-calorie exchange counting diets, I find I feel better and
    lose faster if I keep the carbohydrate count down as well as the calories.

    Hi, I know this is for fad diets but I noticed in note 11.1, that
    he sufferred from tachycardia?  What is that?
    
    Thanks
    

    	Tachycardia is an excessively fast heartbeat
    
    	You could tell by taking your resting pulse and comparing it
    to your expected resting pulse for your age and fitness level.
    
    	The hard part is find out what your expected resting pulse should
    be.
    
    -mike z

    Thanks, I had never heard of it before.
    elaine
    

    After reading these notes on fad diets, it came to me that maybe
    that the problem that I am experiencing as a life time ww may be
    related to the fact that I don't have anything to 'follow ' anymore.
    In the first 5 weeks of the program you trot home with your diet
    book to follow for the week. After 6 weeks on maintenance, you are
    on your own.
      
    I have never been on a fad diet before. Is one of the big attractions
    the fact that you have something to 'follow' and that the food recommended
    in the diet only secondary to that?
    
    Theresa

    re .18
    
    Theresa,
    
    Could you possibly continue to follow your maintenance plan since
    I read in another note that you were having problems?  Maybe you
    could use the maintenance plan as your general guidelines now that
    you're a lifetimer.
    
    Virginia

re: .18

I think the biggest attraction of fad diets, for me, anyway, is that 
they promise QUICK results. I am constantly excited by reading an ad 
in a magazine that promises that I can lose a lot of weight in a 
short period of time.

Luckily, I am also suspicious, by nature, of anything that promises
something for nothing. Anything that looks "too good to be true"
usually is.

	-Amy.