your mileage may vary

I don't think there's anything more frustration-producing for a lot of people than trying to lose weight.  There are countless diet/exercise plans and theories to choose from, not to mention unsolicited advice from surprising sources.  Then there is the desire humans have to see what they WANT to believe is true.  People WANT to think they can eat what they like and move as they like, and still get the results they desire -- and a lot of the time it just ain't true.

There's a mis-match going on, in many cases.  Trying to use a diet or type of workout that produced good results for someone else can be like changing the fuel-filter in your car to try to improve its performance because that worked for your brother -- but if the problem is a clogged AIR filter instead, YOUR car won't run any better.

I have to conclude that the best way to choose a regimen that will work for YOU is essentially how i decide which of various similar products to buy on Amazon:  you read a couple of the positive reviews, and a couple of the negative reviews, THEN think about the tone of each before developing an opinion of who is credible.  So many diet books and sites give examples of success stories and testimonials....  It's only if the good reviews come from people LIKE YOU, and the negative comments are from dissimilar individuals, that you can reasonably assume they're relevant in your case!

Then, you may have to match your key activity to an eating style that will specifically support it (or vice versa).  Again, there are SO many little tricks and tweaks that people have worked out for themselves -- intermittent fasting, supplement use, various carb-intake levels, starch VS fructose, etc.  You may simply LIKE doing certain things, but if all of them don't work right TOGETHER for YOUR physiology, they might not be right for you in an "active improvement stage" even if they're fine for maintenance.

It's a good idea to start with basics again, and become thoroughly equilibrated THERE, then add in new techniques very slowly, one at a time.  If weight loss is the aim, re-read the WHOLE Atkins book and follow the rules strictly for a goodly period of time.  Usually, when we re-start Induction we aren't sufficient purists -- we use the compromises we learned some time ago, which COULD be the stumbling block that derailed us before.  Also, the first time we read the book, it was all new and there was a lot to absorb; now that we're more familiar with the philosophy, if we read it again it's very possible we'll notice a point that didn't click for us when we were newbies.

Back when i was actively fencing, it was impressed upon us that the best way to cement one's own mastery was to teach the basics to someone else.  All the little things that are so important may be forgotten or at least placed on the back burner as we progress.  When we revisit the details that are important for the beginner to know, we tend to clean up our act and correct sloppiness that has infiltrated our style.

...I really do need to finish reading "Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind" -- sounds like an important key.