Fad dieting to kick start weight loss

I used the cambridge diet plan

As to see a dietitian. Doctors have minimal nutritional training.

Also check this link out

http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-18361594

My Awesome sister has successfully maintained a 70 pound weight loss for the past four years. She kicked off with one of those books that told you to eat XYZ in week one, then ABC in week two, etc. I think it was like the four day diet, or the two week diet, or the 17 day diet.. something like that. When she first started she needed the structure and restrictions. She stayed with it for only a few months before transitioning to something more sensible and sustainable but it was enough to help her become aware of her eating and fully dedicate herself to her weight loss and fitness journey.

Unfortunately with my body patience doesn't seem to be doing a whole lot. I am actually doing the rest though

Your diary is private and only you know your stats, logging accuracy and calorie goal.....

To answer your question - no I don't believe in kickstarts (except for my 1977 Yamaha motorbike!).
I was fat for 20 years but when I properly started tracking my calories in and out I lost weight. Slowly and steadily and with a view to what was going to be sustainable after I got to my goal weight.
The way to start is is the way you intend to continue IMHO.

Unfortunately the least likely cause is that you are a medical marvel and can't lose weight.
The most likely cause is that you have been eating at maintenance for reasons that gypsyrunner gives.

Two options are:
1/ Don't change anything in your food / exercise logging routines but take 250 cals a day off your goal. That "should" give you half a pound a week loss so you would have to stick with it for a number of weeks to even out any bumps and dips caused by normal weight fluctuations.
2/ Make a fresh start. Weigh and measure absolutely everything you eat or drink. Try to calibrate your HRM as although 500 - 700 average exercise burns are possible that's a really serious amount of strenuous exercise (ten hours per week perhaps). HRMs aren't always accurate, just having a higher than average heart rate will throw it out.

Knowing your maintenance level is actually very useful so don't despair!

I have tried many of those fad diets (Atkins, South Beach, 17 day, Hormone Balance, etc, etc) and loved them AT FIRST because you lose a lot of weight in the first few weeks. The problem is that they are impossible to sustain, because they require a lot of shopping, prepping etc and also require cutting many thing out of your diet. When I stopped using those diets I gained back all the weight I lost, plus a few extra. I used to think that I couldn't lose weight by just eating "normally", but I've found that by being REALLY honest with the MFP food journal and making sure there is a deficit each day, I am losing weight. And I'm doing this by eating all the foods my family is eating, but mindfully and in moderation. Hopefully you will find what works for you too, but don't pin too much hope on any of those "diets".

Do you have any symptoms of a hormonal imbalance?

I'm not a fan of the Atkins diet, since everyone I know personally has regained the weight. But, for hormone issues, I'd definitely recommend decreasing your percentage of carbs (as in cut them in half) and increasing your good fat and protein for a while. That will give your body an opportunity to try to balance itself out, especially if you're already eating a clean diet.

I also found that my workouts need to be fairly intense (for me that meant a good sweat for 20-30 minutes). If you don't have a good heart rate monitor, then you might think about getting one, since MFP calculations can be pretty far off from the real thing.

Hopefully, that will give you a start. Oh, and I found that sometimes I have to increase my net calories as my metabolism improves in order to continue to lose weight.

Once you start losing and feeling better, then you can slowly add carbs back to your diet to reach a sustainable level.

So maybe you've got some thyroid issues. If not, you're overestimating your calorie burns or underestimating what you are eating. Play around with your numbers some. Tighten up on your weighing and measuring.

7 months is a long time to go with no loss. You are obviously eating at maintenance. Consider that your HRM may not be as accurate as you think - sometimes they are not. Drop your cals to 1500 or 1600 for a couple of weeks and see what happens.

This!!!
OP , if your only netting @1200 calories a day, then you should be losing weight. I would definitely tighten up on weighing and measuring your foods and see what happens.

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...

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.

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

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.