I have been low carbing for nearly two years now. The last one of these I’ve fluctuated between 80 and 84 kilos, slowly gaining and losing those 4 kilos over and over. I had accepted that I was a turtle and that nothing could be done. I’d tried every tweak in the book – all to little avail.

And then I joined fitday on the first of May. Despite ongoing difficulties with American measurements (how do you fit a chicken into a cup!!!) I was able to really keep track of everything. I went back to Atkins induction and started to lose weight.

Then I heard about the ‘back to basics’ challenge which long term low carbers were doing. It consisted of 4 days on Stillman’s (lean meat, eggs, fish only) and then back to induction on your chosen plan. I decided to give it a go and to start the Stillmans phase on May 4th – a day after my birthday.

Stillman’s is the low carb low fat boring diet from hell. I struck to it though, and was soon in strong ketosis. I can tell because I can’t sleep from a burning up in bed feeling. I lost 400g (a pound) a day on Stillman’s but boy was I glad to get back on Atkins! That first salad tasted so good. Atkins seems like a real luxury to me now!

I set myself a goal to get under 80 kilos by the end of the month. I still lost on Atkins induction but very slowly. I felt that it was really psychologically important for me to achieve my goal so I went back on Stillman’s for another five days.

It was touch and go. Yesterday I was 80.6 kilos and I didn’t think I’d make it…then the whoosh fairy visited me and I lost a kilo overnight!

This morning I am 79.6 kilos – a whole pound the right side on my goal. I’m staying on Stillman’s today to put more distance between me and the dreaded 80 k and then tomorrow will be a leisurely cruise back on Atkins to my goal.

I’m a turtle no longer. I lost 3.8 kilos ( 8.36 pounds) in a month! – my fastest since induction nearly two years ago.

Some thanks are in order. First the two doctors Atkins and Stillman for their plans. Next this board – without which I would have given up and drifted back up to 100 kilos months ago. Lastly but perhaps the most sincerely. Thank you to Karen, Doreen, Rosebud, Zuleikaa, BarbCA, loopygem and all the other people who have visited my journal and offered help and encouragement.

During the process I have learned a lot about my body and how it responds to different things. Below is a personal list – your list will probably be different:

Things which stall me:

Mineral water (too much salt in it!)
Sugar alcohols
Any alcohol – one glass of wine sets me back for days

Things which don’t stall me (but stall some other people):

Coffee
Tea
Artificial sweeteners
Sugar free jelly (jello)

Finally a word about Stillman’s. It’s a great stall breaker but boring and I believe could, after too long put you into starvation mode. An alternative to the fat fast maybe – but not for longer than 4 or 5 days.