Rae Jaquest: Your comment [last newsletter] If you've lost five stone in a year caught my eye. Well, I haven't lost five stone in a year but did manage to shed 3.5 stones in 40 weeks. About 12 months ago as I was approaching my 55th birthday and having crept over 17 stone I decided that the low fat diet I was on just wasn't working! In my late 30s I had been a 50 miles per week 11 stone runner but on passing 40 the weight started to go on despite sticking rigorously to a low-fat diet. I tried to continue running but somewhere around the 15 stone mark it was putting too much pressure on my knees and I became a walker.When I reached 17 stone my daughter persuaded me to join the local gym which I enjoyed but there was something missing - the competitive element. You see I hadn't initially bothered with the rowing machine. I discovered the rowing machine around about the time that with some lateral thinking I realised that dietary fat was not my problem but sugar and refined foods. As soon as I ditched the low fat diet and cut down on the refined carbs I started to lose a steady pound a week; and having discovered the rowing machine my gym visits became as regular as my running sessions had been in my 30s (i.e. every day). My rowing improved and I would regularly post new PBs on the Concept 2 website. I'm down to 7:35 for 2,000m now but it's not all good news; after 40 weeks at a steady pound a week my weight loss suddenly stopped. I've been on a plateau now for 20 weeks and despite friends and family telling me that I'm looking good (well, better than I looked at 17 stone!) I believe I have a little way to go yet. I've got my lateral thinking cap on again and suspect that as I've got fitter I am now possibly running down my glycogen stores too quickly which is giving me too big an appetite. So I've changed my training to more long easy workouts including long walks. I'm trying to discipline myself to row more slowly but this goes against my competitive instincts! So if all goes to plan by the time the Welsh IRC comes around I should be a 'lightweight' 75kg...