Whats the most effective diet you've been on?

kateyb · March 2010

Firstly please let me preface this by saying that I know there are no real quick fixes and that I should be looking to lose 1-2lbs a week through a combination of healthy eating and exercise. I am also aware that I need to view my weight loss as a lifestyle change rather than 'diet'. That said:

I am 29 yrs old, 5"5, and currently weigh 204lbs. On the 4th Jan I set myself the task of reaching the healthy zone of the BMI by Christmas, and in the past 2.5 months have lost 16lbs. For the past 3/3.5 weeks however the scale has not moved at all and I am becoming incredibly frustrated. I am taking measurements and have purchased a scale that shows my body fat percentage, so I am reasonably well enough informed to say with confidence that in the past 3 weeks there hasn't been any change - I've not built up muscle which has cancelled out any weight loss.

According to MFP I should be consuming 1200 calories a day/160 carbs/40 fat/45 protein/2500 sodium and 24 sugar, and aiming to exercise for at least 30 mins 4 times a week (aiming for a weekly calorie burn of 1200).

Whilst I find this site to be an incredibly useful tool and the support received by the community to be a real motivator there has been a lot of information bandied about regarding RMR's and BMR's and how sustaining a 1200 calorie diet will eventually lead to a plateau because your body enters starvation mode. The problem is everyone seems to be an expert (or at least think that they are), and everyone has a different opinion. So I don't know who to believe.

I always thought that it was as simple as you eat less and exercise more and you will lose weight. Now I'm caught trying to decide whether I should eat my exercise calories, eat back half, or have as large a calorie deficit as possible each day. As well as understand why my efforts have stopped producing results.

I did try raising my calories to match my RMR, which that site told me was 1600, but the scale didn't move so I went back to the 1200. I am working out (now with a trainer) 3 times a week (45 mins) doing a combination of cardio and weight/strength training. I am also going to start attending at least 1 spinning class a week (I did one on Sunday and am booked in for two this week) and am aiming to swim at least once a week. Sometimes I eat my exercise calories, sometimes I don't depending on how hungry I am.

This is a lot more activity than I was doing before, my job and lifestyle is very sedentary and so in theory I should be seeing some real results. It's so frustrating.

My 30th birthday is approx 12 days away and I am in the horrible stage where my clothes are looking really baggy and unflattering, but the size smaller is still a little too tight to wear. I reallly want to look my best on my birthday and so am desperately trying to shift at least 4lbs between now and then.

Other than keeping with what I am already doing does anyone have any ideas about how I can break my plateau and/or achieve a quick (even if temporary) fix?

Is there a particular diet you would recommend, just for the next couple of weeks? I know it won't be sustainable but I really need to do something in the short term to kick things up a gear and try to shift a few more lbs!

kdiamond · March 2010

You should google calorie cycling. Your body is probably stalling at 1200 calories - it is too little for your weight. I think calorie cycling would help get you back on track.

snorker88 · March 2010

Hey hun,

You already know that long-term nothing really beats eating less and moving more, but I completely understand your motivations for wanting to boost your weightloss.

The girl I used to live with did this detox diet for a week before she went on holiday last year. She lost 5lb in a week. Also, she found that the weight didn't quickly go back on either!

However, she found it really hard work and had low energy levels for the week that she was doing it, so I wouldn't recommend that you do it for more than a week or two max!

http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk/diet/132449/bikini-detox-diet

Good luck with it x

mlally1014 · March 2010

I also had 3 weeks with no weight loss. I was working out like crazy and keeping to about 12-1300 calories. I finally got frusterated and decided to try and eat more. At first (about a week) I still saw no change, but week 2 I just recorded a 3 pound loss. I am trying to keep my calories to around 1500-1600 a day. I only have about 15 pounds to go, so I am very excited about the 3 pund loss. I say up the calories and give you body a chance to get ysed to it before you decide it isnt working.

kateyb · March 2010

Cheers babe - that looks good but quite complex and my shopping bill would be huge buying all the bits you need!

I'm thinking of doing 10 days on something like the Atkins or South Beach diet. Never done either before and long-term it doesn't appeal but for a short sharp fix I'm sure I can cope. I know that the atkins diet has been re-launched to include stuff like fruits and veg, and the trainer at my gym keeps telling me to cut my carbs are eat a lot more protein - just wondering if anyone has any experience of those or if they found anything else that works better!

I don't really know enough about them to judge lol

shelleycolton · March 2010

Hiya,
I'm just going through this at the moment, so I have started the "Super juice diet" for 1 week by Jason Vale, it says that 7lbs in 7 days, okay so i'm only having juice all week but if I put my mind to it I can do it and it will give me the boost I need, as I need to drop lbs! Currently on day 1, lets see how it goes! :happy:

kwardklinck · March 2010

1200 cals a day caused a plateau for me. I raised my cals by about 150 a day and started losing weight again. You might try readjusting your goal of weight loss from 2 pounds a week to 1 pound a week for just a few weeks and see what happens. You should also definitely eat your exercise cals. I don't lose if I don't eat them.

kwardklinck · March 2010

Another thing that helped me was taking calcium supplements and extra Vitamin D.

lotusfromthemud · March 2010

A few things: I know it can be discouraging to sit still (scalewise) for a few weeks. That being said, 3 weeks is nothing to your body. It is possible that your body is simply adjusting, as you were making good progress before. When I lost my weight, I would lose a chunk of weight, then plateau. I always plateaued just long enough to say "well, I guess I'm just meant to weight X pounds" and then I would drop another chunk of weight. (I would lose five pounds in a week, then nothing for a month or two, then another 4-5 pounds.) So, every unique body will lose weight differently.

It can be amazingly frustrating to try to glean your info here. As kind and as well meaning as nearly everyone on the site is, we're not experts.

Have you consulted your doctor regarding your weight loss? To rule out any medical issues that are making it difficult for you?

Have you considered finding a registered dietician?

I think if you've invested in a trainer, a nutrition expert would be a good companion to that.

PoeRaven · March 2010

When I first started (January 4th) I used a "jump start" diet called "the Amazing Soup Diet". It truly is amazing too. It's a healthy alternative to most fad diets and I lost a total of 9 pounds in 3 weeks.
The diet consists of a Basic veggie Soup that you can have as much of as you want throughout the day. Then there are variations for each day so you don't get bored with it.
Like I said, this was one I had no problems staying with because of the variety and it is a very healthy way to lose a few pounds quickly. Dr. Oz even refers to this diet on his website.
Anyway, check it out and let me know if you have any questions...I'm here to help!
Good luck to ya...:

Jan AKA PoeRaven

Created by MyFitnessPal.com - Free Weight Loss Tools

Lisa0711 · March 2010

Considering your situation, I would say give the Atkins a try. Once when I was 15 I went on it for a month and lost 25 pounds in that time! I kept the weight off too, for about a year until I met my boyfriend.. (then I REALLY packed the weight on!) But in the year after I went off of it, I SLOWLY went back to eating normal, and healthy. If I would have kept up exercising and eating right, I'm sure I'd never have gained any of it back! I would go back on the Atkins diet because it worked so well for me, but I don't want to sacrifice my health, and really losing 25 pounds in a month was very motivating, but I had so much loose skin! That's why I want to do it slowly (and as healthy as possible) this time around. But maybe trying it will drop a few pounds for you and unstall your weight loss. Good luck!

Whiskey5JDA · March 2010

the most effective diet I have ever been on is my most current!. I consume my bmr in calories every day, but stay under my calorie goal. I also workout at 24 hour fitness on my days off, and sometimes on my days on for stress relief.

If you don't consume your bmr in calories everyday sooner or later your body will plateau and stop losing weight. it will think it is starving and will start consuming itself. i don't know what your case is but the calorie window that i shoot for is about 80 calories from my bmr to my calorie goal - hence exercise. exercising will allow me a little more leeway in that window. for example. Yesterday i came home from work and went to the gym. i got in a good strength training workout and then went to church. My church, like so many others, serves snack before and during service. i was able to get a good healthy breakfast at church. I knew later on in the day that i would be going to a church function that served food and some what knew the menu. before i went i was able to somewhat figure what i could eat. i was able to stay under my calorie goal thanks to the exercise i did.

it may take me a long time to get to my goal weight, but when i get there i plan on still logging my food so i can maitain a healthy weight.!

"So refuse to worry, and keep your body health" Ecclesiastes 11:10a NLT

snorker88 · March 2010

Another thing that helped me was taking calcium supplements and extra Vitamin D.

Taking vitamin D has also worked for me

run4yourlife · March 2010

I have a Fat-Burning Soup diet that I've tried twice when I wanted to kick start my weight loss. Each time I lost 6-8 lbs in the week that I did it and I am of a healthy weight, so I would imagine for someone who has more to lose than I that more weight would actually come off. It was created by medical professionals to help overweight patients lose weight quickly in preparation for surgery. Basically, it's a vegetable broth soup that you can eat anytime you want, plus each day you are supposed to eat specific things like fruit one day, veggies another. You even get beef or chicken and a baked potato on a couple of days. One day I had a large steak and still lost the 6-8 lbs. I found it very effective but by the end, I didn't want to see another bowl of that soup!
Anyway, if you want the soup recipe and guidelines for the diet, just let me know and I'd be happy to share it with you.
Good luck!

simona1972 · March 2010

I always say that I've dieted myself right up to 350lbs. In my opinion any diet can be effective but only short term. Once the diet is broken we're right back where we started.

I've tried them all - Atkins, South Beach, Zone, Stillman etc... they all worked until I couldn't continue with them for whatever reason.

I've been at the same weight for 2 weeks and someone as big as I am should be losing more but I try not to get discouraged or frustrated because I know this is the best way to lose weight long term and keep it off.

All I can day is .... hang in there, it WILL come off.

jordan_vakil · March 2010

Weight watchers really worked for me. The meetings were great too. It was very motivating.
Maybe you want to try that..

Rudie · March 2010

Hi

I've only just joined here, but I've lost 60lb over the last year and a bit. Here are a few of my observations about what works/doesn't work for me:

If I look at my weight chart, I get a distinct plateau every 12-15 weeks, regardless of what diet principles I'm following at the time.

What I have found to break the plateau more quickly is a change of diet habits. Over time that has included cutting out carbs after 6pm, reducing my cals to 1000 for a week or increasing them to 1500 for a week, changing my gym workout or increasing it for a week or two. They all seemed to work as well, as long as it was a complete change of habits, so your idea of doing a couple of weeks of Atkins might well work for you.

Other things that contribute to me losing well are replacing tea/coffee with milk with herbal tea, drinking the 2L of water a day (3L on a gym day), having a couple of vegetarian days a week (it's easy to do cauliflower cheese and just do some grilled meat on the side for the other half), and cutting out all snacks.

Oh, and no alcohol. None at all. I've tried it all ways - one glass a day, only at weekends, only drinking spirits - you name it I've tried it. The only one that I consistently lose weight with is leaving it in the bottle.

kateyb · March 2010

Hey guys, thank you so much for all of your input. Two of you have mentioned this veggie soup diet so that's a possibility, and Atkins was something I had thought of myself as well. Could one of you please send me the recipe and diet details for the soup, I'm not sure I could manage the full 7 days but what I was thinking, and any thought's or input is more than welcome, is that:

I was quite good this weekend. Haven't logged everything yet but will go back and retroactivate everything. Didn't stick to any particular diet though.

I'm going to try Atkins this week (today through sunday). I've had a bad brekkie (because I was stuck babysitting my neice this morning and so didn't get the chance to pick anything up on my way to work, and it was the only food I had in my drawer) but it was only 17g of carbs and you're supposed to be able to have up to 40g of carbs a day according to the stuff I've read so hopefully that won't affect it too much. I'm going to run to Asda now and stock up on protein type bits - if anyone has any meal tips or recipe ideas for me to try out in the next week let me know.

Next week I'll try out the veggie soup thing Mon-Thurs and see whay happens.

In the meantime I'll be at the gym for at least 45 mins tonight, tomorrow, weds and Thurs after work (9.15pm-10pm). I have spinning class booked in for Tues and Thurs mornings (6.30am starts is going to kill me!) and may try and squeeze a 30 minute swim in after the classes. I have an all day shopping spree on Saturday searching for the perfect dress so lots of walking, and am out all day on Sunday (but will spend a good 3/4 hours dancing so again theres some good cardio there!).

Next Friday is my bday so hopefully with a combination of the above I should be able to shift at least 4lbs.

Pray for me!!!

CasperO · March 2010

Here's my standard "welcome aboard" post. Describes what has worked for us:

welcome aboard! You can do this,,, just choose to do it, and do it.

This is easy - here's all ya' gotta do:

Cook smart, lotsa good filling stuff. Some fruits, lotsa veggies, some grains-cereals, some starchy stuff, some lean meat. Almost nothing fried (and certainly nothing batter dipped & deep fried), and very very little pastry/cakey stuff.

Count your calories accurately with the food guide here, and stay as close to your calorie allowance as you reasonably can. If you cook properly you shouldn't be too uncomfortable on the calorie allowance MFP will give you.

Get some exercise - work that gym, walk a little every day, something - that's a huge help. Remember to log your exercise and eat at least some (I eat most) of your exercise calories. Exercise is a self-feeding phenomenon. If you push yourself to do just a little today (it's supposed to be hard,,, it's exercise ) then you'll feel better about it and it'll be easier to do it again tomorrow. Then in a week you'll be able to do more, and it'll start to get fun. In a year you might be running 10k's,,, it's up to you.

And drink your water!

That's it, piece o' cake. Wife and I have been doing it for about a year now and we've done well. Lost about 130 pounds between us, and we're in much better shape. You can do it too.

"Do - or do not. There is no 'try"
Yoda.

whyflysouth · March 2010

Good luck with your diet plan! It can be difficult at first but I'm thinking if your BMR is calculated at 1600 and you're exercising to the extent that you are then eating at 1200 is extremely low and your metabolism is slow as a result. The fit body acts as a machine, if you provide it too little fuel it won't be effective. Also when you up your cals avoid the scale for about 2 weeks - that's the really important thing b/c your first week you will gain weight and the second week your weight will drop back down to where it was before you raised the cals and by the third week your weight will drop down even lower...

Whats the most effective diet you've been on?

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