Talk to me about diet breaks

pluckabee

I'd read about diet breaks before and how they can be beneficial to someone losing weight. I did consider one a couple of months ago but since my weight loss hasn't been that agressive and I've got quite a lot to lose I figured I would wait until the longest suggested interval, which was every 12 weeks.

So here I am, 12 weeks from when i started, 30lbs down, hormones appear to be a mess and I'm still not sure if I genuinely think it would be a good idea for my overall health and long term weight loss, or if I'm just feeling desperately burned out and just want to be able to eat a little more.

Has anyone on here done a diet break and had success? Did anyone try one and find that the break never stopped and they gained?

What were your reasonings, strategies and experiences with a diet break?

I'd appreciate if anyone could help me out and if they have done one let me know how much they had lost and how long they had been dieting before going on a break.

pluckabee

EDIT:
just for anyone who doesn't know what a structured diet break is, this link was my main source of info:
http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

It's not a 2 week free for all. You still need to track to make sure you aren't going over maintenance and I wouldn't be changing what I eat too drastically (i'd need to add more carbs and that's about it)

coco3382458

bump

kitka82

I routinely took a day or two off from my deficit EACH WEEK, and still lost 60 pounds. I still tracked every day, because accuracy is still important. I make sure to get right back to it after those 1-2 days. If I get off track for much longer, it's very hard to get back in the game.

Mrsallypants

I have read about a two-week diet break where calories are restored to maintenance (subtract 10 percent from that to account for metabolic slow down from dieting) to stabilize hormones, increase sympathetic nervous system output thereby raising your metabolism to normal levels.

After two weeks, you can return to dieting and that should break any plateau.

you don't have to go straight into your maintenance calories, just gradually increase your calories over a week time span until you hit maintenance.

You could also try zig zagging your calories with a three days (dieting calories) to one day (maintenance calories)dieting scheme, or do a cheat meal once a week.

pluckabee

Thanks for replying kitkat, although I think this is more of the 'cheat day/meal' sort of model of dieting that people do.

A full diet break is up to 2 weeks eating at or just above maintenance after dieting for a few weeks.

I am a bit concerned that 2 weeks is a long time and it might be hard to get back on board so I'll consider that

pluckabee

I have read about a two-week diet break where calories are restored to maintenance (subtract 10 percent from that to account for metabolic slow down from dieting) to stabilize hormones, increase sympathetic nervous system output thereby raising your metabolism to normal levels.

^^ this is exactly what I'm talking about.

I'm really hoping for someone to share their experience with it, good or bad

kts3639

It sounds like if you are desperate to eat a little more, that you may not be eating enough. Your diary isn't open, so I can't see what/how much you are eating. How many calories are you netting? This should be a lifestyle change, not a "diet" per se. If you are already feeling like this, sustaining the weight loss is going to be difficult.

Keiras_Mom

I have never heard of diet breaks, though I've taken periodic maintenance breaks throughout my weight loss. I just didn't know they had a name. ;-)

Anyway, I always waited until my loss slowed down, or I was feeling burned out, then I'd take 2 weeks or a month to eat at maintenance levels. It was just the "reset" my body needed to make me feel relaxed and in control, and the weight would come off again when I went back into weight loss mode.

For me, it was maybe 3 breaks in a year, so that's pretty close to the 12 weeks of dieting mark when you factor in 2-4 weeks of maintenance between. Very interesting.

Sarauk2sf

I incorporated diet breaks every three or four months - 2 weeks at maintenance. Helped when my hormones were getting out of whack from dieting, especially when on the leaner side and I started going a little batsh!t crazy. I never had a problem getting back to a deficit after. You often see a release of water weight but the main benefit is psychological imo.

Have you read his?

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

caly_man

i would love to read more stories as well about diet breaks.

OP, your ticker says you only have 4 more lbs to go, is that right?

if that's the case, you should def. start upping your cals gradually

and congrats on your hard work.

pluckabee

I'm definitely eating enough

I'm 5'7 F 205lbs and I eat between 1500 - 1800 calories a day. Depending on activity this nets me between 1200 and 1800 a day (1200 is very rare).

I dont feel severely burned out but more like... run down. it's been a long time it's still going to take a long time still and a break might be rejuvenating for me and possibly help with my hormone issues.

pluckabee

i would love to read more stories as well about diet breaks.

OP, your ticker says you only have 4 more lbs to go, is that right?

if that's the case, you should def. start upping your cals gradually

and congrats on your hard work.

nah thats just my first milestone. I'm breaking up my goals into smaller chunks so I don't get demotivated. Realistically I have at least 45lbs to go

battyg13

i have a diet plan that i follow for 4 to 8 weeks depending on how comitted i am. i then have anything from a day to a week off to eat what ever i like then back on the diet. i find that this helps keep your metabolism up so when you go back on to the diet the affects from the sudden drop in calories and sugars or whatever you have over indulged is fairly quick.

AlongCame_Molly

I find that when I think of how I eat as a "diet" it sets me up to crave more treats and fast food. But when I decided it was a "lifestyle change", I suddeny dfon't feel as deprived. I never say "I can't have that doughnut", or "I can't eat Taco Bell". I just say, "I choose not to TODAY". And when there comes a day (cuz eventually there always will) when I just HAVE to have a whopper and fries, I go ahead and have it. I do my best to make it fit into my calorie goals, and maybe push it a little harder at the gym for that week, and then I get back to fueling my body with the kinds of foods that will give me the body I'm working for.

I personally wold recommend against "diet breaks", as I imagine it would be like pulling teeth to get back into healthy eating habits after weeks of a free-for-all. Remember how hard it is to train your mind to be ok with dieting? I wouldn't want to redo that every other month, that would suck.

caly_man

got it, a diet break sounds exactly what you need.

im in the same boat too, scale hasn't move in 6 weeks, doesnt bother me too much, but since im new to dieting, i'm trying to figure out what's my next move

pluckabee

I incorporated diet breaks every three or four months - 2 weeks at maintenance. Helped when my hormones were getting out of whack from dieting, especially when on the leaner side and I started going a little batsh!t crazy. I never had a problem getting back to a deficit after. You often see a release of water weight but the main benefit is psychological imo.

Have you read his?

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

This is great, thank you for sharing. Can I ask what was your starting weight? Was it quite high? I read the link and it said people with a much higher bf% need to take them less often but it did detail that after 12 weeks is a good time, which is where I am now.

Sarauk2sf

I incorporated diet breaks every three or four months - 2 weeks at maintenance. Helped when my hormones were getting out of whack from dieting, especially when on the leaner side and I started going a little batsh!t crazy. I never had a problem getting back to a deficit after. You often see a release of water weight but the main benefit is psychological imo.

Have you read his?

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

This is great, thank you for sharing. Can I ask what was your starting weight? Was it quite high? I read the link and it said people with a much higher bf% need to take them less often but it did detail that after 12 weeks is a good time, which is where I am now.

I lost about 37lb in total. I had a relatively long time before the first one. I think I had lost about 30lb at that point and was probably in the mid 20's in BF (I could be off here though). That was after about 4 - 5 months and it was also probably a case of some diet and training fatigue. I also took a training break for one of the weeks. After that I did another over the holidays before hitting my goal weight.

You are correct in that they are recommended more for leaner people, however, the purely psychological side should not be dismissed.

Edited to fix some mis-recollections

pluckabee

I find that when I think of how I eat as a "diet" it sets me up to crave more treats and fast food. But when I decided it was a "lifestyle change", I suddeny dfon't feel as deprived. I never say "I can't have that doughnut", or "I can't eat Taco Bell". I just say, "I choose not to TODAY". And when there comes a day (cuz eventually there always will) when I just HAVE to have a whopper and fries, I go ahead and have it. I do my best to make it fit into my calorie goals, and maybe push it a little harder at the gym for that week, and then I get back to fueling my body with the kinds of foods that will give me the body I'm working for.

I personally wold recommend against "diet breaks", as I imagine it would be like pulling teeth to get back into healthy eating habits after weeks of a free-for-all. Remember how hard it is to train your mind to be ok with dieting? I wouldn't want to redo that every other month, that would suck.

Thanks for weighing in. I already think exactly like you stated. this IS a lifestyle change for me and I want to be clear to anyone reading that what I'm proposing isn't to stop tracking my calories for 2 weeks and start an eating free for all. I plan on it being very structured and I'm still going to be eating like I do while losing weight, just eating a little more to reach maintenance.

It's not cravings just a feeling of being worn down and tired and feeling like I need to eat more. Workouts have suffered too which sucks.



I'm still actually losing weight, so this isn't to kickstart a plateau just to level myself out for a bit.

pluckabee

I have never heard of diet breaks, though I've taken periodic maintenance breaks throughout my weight loss. I just didn't know they had a name. ;-)

Anyway, I always waited until my loss slowed down, or I was feeling burned out, then I'd take 2 weeks or a month to eat at maintenance levels. It was just the "reset" my body needed to make me feel relaxed and in control, and the weight would come off again when I went back into weight loss mode.

For me, it was maybe 3 breaks in a year, so that's pretty close to the 12 weeks of dieting mark when you factor in 2-4 weeks of maintenance between. Very interesting.

pretty interesting that you just did this naturally, and you've lost a lot of weight which is great!

action_figure

Have you been using drop down weeks and weeks off in your lifting? I haven't done a diet break myself. I've read about them, but since I failed so hardcore on my last major diet attempt because of cheat days getting out of hand, I've been scared to. However, I definitely use drop down weeks and weeks off for the rest of my stuff.