Fad dieting to kick start weight loss

ahoier

I know many will shun the word "detox" but I think that's a great way to kick start a work out plan, or even when you hit a plateau...I can't personally vouch for Atkins per se.....but perhaps try a raw food detox....keeping to vegetables and fruits. They will keep you full.


Also, I'm sure its been mentioned already....but invest in a good digital food scale.....I personally like anything "Taylor" brand......my grandmother had a Taylor.....when I moved out of her house, I got myself a Taylor brand digital scale from Walmart (think it was like 15 dollars) and I believe it has helped me quite a bit.....you will find that those protein scoops they give you are no where near the stated "gram" measurement.....lol....for example...

BarbieAS

I feel you, honey. It's taken me over 2 years to lose 30lbs (with another 60+ still to go). To give you a flavor, yesterday I charted my last 7 weeks of logs and compared them to my change in weight. I actually gained 6lbs over that 7 weeks. I was eating an average of 2,055 calories per day (I took some "time off," if you will, in the middle of that 7 weeks, so that's not my normal deficit level, but this is just an example). I weigh and measure and log my food religiously. Like, I even bought a pocket-sized food scale to keep in my purse so I could weigh my food as often as possible on the rare occasions I eat food I didn't make at home. If I eat 1 Dorito off my kid's plate at dinner, it gets logged. 2 years of messing with this weight loss thing with so little success has led me to be almost obsessive about getting my log correct. My "calories in" are very, very solid, which means my issue is with my "calories out." So...that means my TDEE is around 1,625 calories per day? At 210lbs, 5'6". And I'm definitely at LEAST lightly active - my average steps per day per my Fitbit during that time was over 8,000. (ETA: I've had my thyroid checked, it's perfect.)

Sorry for taking over with a bunch of "me me me" there. I just wanted you to know that you are not alone!! I haven't figured it out either - let me know if you do. :flowerforyou:

parkscs

Your doctor is suggesting a low carb diet and it may be worth seeing how your body responds to a carb macro, given your history and frustration losing weight. Atkins may be a good choice as it provides you with structure, but realize there are plenty of other structured programs other than Atkins that involve a low carb macro (and you can always just do IIFYM with a lower carb macro).

The question is what's going to be sustainable for you. I have friends that have followed ketogenic diets for close to a decade and swear by it, while I have other friends that couldn't stick with a ketogenic diet for more than a few weeks because it's way too restrictive for them. Anyone that tells you a particular diet makes you "more likely" to fail versus another is talking out of their rear, because what leads to failure isn't the way you choose to cut weight but rather complacency and reverting to your old habits at some point in the future. To rephrase, what they're saying may be true for them because they know their own likes/dislikes, but there is no one-size-fits-all solution when it comes to weight loss and overall diet.

So all of that said, I'd encourage you to try at least lowering your carb macro and just see how it works for a bit. You said you're struggling to lose weight, so make a change and do some self-experimentation. You don't need to go straight to a ketogenic diet (and I probably wouldn't recommend it yet) but perhaps just reduce your carb macro for a few weeks (say <150g a day, although you could go lower if you want), cut calories back slightly and see how things go. In other words, try to make incremental changes to your diet and exercise routine and give it enough time to see if these changes are working before you make additional changes; avoid the temptation to make drastic changes.

meilach

I kind of did a kick start by doing a fad diet (Ideal Protein) but honestly I was miserable and felt sick 9.5 days out of 10, my hair was falling out (falling out a bit in the shower is normal but I was constantly having hairs fall out during the day) and I couldn't enjoy normal things like birthday dinners with friends. It also made me broke!
I feel like a hypocrite saying I think it's a bad idea because I did it and it worked and I'm so happy to be 33 lbs lighter but I was miserable. I literally used to day dream about dancing donuts..and pasta...and FRUIT...and basically just food b/c I couldn't eat anything. I still have 25-35 lbs more to go but I'd rather be happy while doing it. I don't reccomend it but I can't say it doesn't work....

cbhubbybubble

Being 5'2" myself, 1700 seems like a high amount of calories for a 5' female trying to lose weight. What are your actual net calories consumed per day? If you aren't eating any of your exercise cals back, then you'd be netting lower, but if you are eating most of them back, I can't see how you'd be in much of a deficit. If your deficit is slim any miscalculations on your food or exercise would eliminate it pretty quick. You'd have to be super careful about weighing and logging

VeryKatie

I wish there was something I could do to "kick FINISH" my weight loss haha.

leggup

There is no such thing as a kick-start. You need to develop habits that can last you a lifetime and help you transition to eventually maintaining your weight. 1,700 cals a day with 500-700 calories burned exercising means netting 1,000-1,200 calories a day. If you are eating that much and burning that much, you would be losing. Even with a thyroid condition, doing that for long enough, your thyroid cannot cause you to stay at the same weight forever. You're likely overestimating your calorie burns (sorry, HRMs are not always accurate) and you're probably eating more than you realize.

Alatariel75

I think a calorie deficit is a good suggestion. I recently started using a meal replacement shake called Shakeology that a lot of my friends use. My sister recommended it for me when I couldn't seem to lose the extra weight. It is a meal replacement shake, but it is made from whole foods. It keeps me full and tastes really good. It has definitely helped me lose the pounds I couldn't kick and I have a ton more energy. Let me know if you want more information about it. I think it may help you. I definitely helped me.

Reported. Again. You're blatantly violating the terms of service and being a spammer. Just stop.