Stillman Diet

The Stillman Diet, designed by Irwin Maxwell Stillman, is an older weight loss diet. It is no-carbohydrate rather than low-carbohydrate diet, and it also demands a low-fat regimen. The Stillman Diet focuses completely on lean proteins. Bread, vegetables, fruit, sugar and alcohol are all cut out.

The diet uses the same principle of fat-burning ketosis as the Atkins Diet and is used for rapid weight loss which is usually gained back when the diet ends. It recommends that dieters eat several small meals a day and that they eat only to satisfy hunger rather than to enjoy food.

The diet is restricted to the following foods: lean meat, chicken and turkey, eggs, lean fish and seafood, cheeses made with skim milk and at least eight glasses of water per day. The diet does not allow any oils or fats including butter. Some condiments such as salt, pepper, tobasco sauce, garlic, cloves, herbs and spices, small amounts of ketchup and horseradish are permitted. The diet is very low in fibre and will likely cause constipation. It recommends the use of multivitamins during the diet, for the lack of necessary vitamins and minerals which would normally be obtained through fruit and vegetables.

This diet should not be followed for more than two weeks because of the extreme nutritional imbalances built into the plan. This extreme diet can lead to dieters burning 5% to 10% of their total body weight, though this is achieved through unhealthy, unsustainable dieting techniques.