Yoyo dieter - 35lbs by next July? Help?

[derbyshire]

I know that in theory 35lbs in 8 months is doable (approx 4lbs a months) but I seem to have lost my way with dieting/losing weight.

I've been up and down the scales at least 3 times: from 10st to 15st. Have done it with Atkins - that seems to work best for my body. I do think some people just can't eat loads of carbs - and I'm one of them.

Problem is: I'm stuck. Plateaued. Scales won't budge, clothes no looser.

I've lost 2st, and now at 13st. I would be happy with 10.7st for an occasion in July 2013.

Really happy......but am I stuck (for over a year)
because I'm in my 40's,
because I've messed up my metabolism,
because of Cerazette
because I snack (I do, I admit but I work FT, then home to kids etc and get so hungry)
because my treat at weekends is wine?

Or all of the above?

Please help - would love to fit into my old clothes again for next summer.

Fad diets don't work.

Get yourself on my fitness pal (app and website) and put in your goals. Log you food religiously and you will no exactly what your calorie intake is.

Get yourself a Fitbit (posh pedometer). This will tell you exactly how many calories you burn.

Link the two sites together and they will tell you your daily calorie allowance. Stick to it and you will lose weight healthily and keep it off.

Go and have a look at Mark's Daily Apple. It's not for everyone and there is a fair amount of eye-roll-inducing stuff on it BUT I think the central tenets are probably reasonably sound. There are books you can buy but there is also a lot of free information, about both nutrition and fitness, on the site; and I think it's best to start with that and then decide if you're interested in getting the book or not. There is also a very active forum which you can read without joining, and there's lots of information there too. And have a look at the success stories if you're feeling like it's impossible!

Another vote for MyFitnessPal here (although I haven't got a Fitbit...yet...).

I've lost 25lbs since July on it - no fad diets, no meal replacements, no nonsense, just sticking to my daily allocated calories. Sure I've had blips and weeks where I've stayed the same weight, or put a pound back on, but it comes off again the following week. I've tried fad diets/Atkins/Slimfast/Cambridge before, and whilst I lost lots of weight quickly on them, the weight came straight back on with more on top because I'd learned nothing about how to eat sensibly and healthily. Slowly, with MFP, I'm learning about portion size, what constitutes a "normal" meal, and how much chocolate I can eat without it affecting the scales (answer - bugger all ).

I've got another 25lbs to go and I'm changing my diet slowly but surely to include healthier options, rather than eating smaller portions of the same crap. It's a long, slow process, but the weight didn't go on overnight, it's not going to stay off by coming off quickly either.