Taking a break?

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alizesmom
alizesmom Posts: 219 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Did you ever consider this? I've been working on weight loss through diet and exercise since Christmas of 2014 and feel the need to relax a bit. I'm thinking of eating maintenance for my current weight and easing off on the exercise for a month. I'll continue to weigh daily. Is this a bad idea?
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Replies

  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Love the idea! Yes! But you've got to come back :)
  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,627 Member
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    i essentially ate at maintenance from october though xmas.


    it was niiiice lol
  • BoaRestrictor
    BoaRestrictor Posts: 194 Member
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    Yep. First semester of college i ate maintenance calories. And now I'm back to losing. I will admit I got a little spoiled so being back on the diet makes me yearn to get back into maintenance land even more. Just be careful to make sure you don't gain. Weigh yourself and track.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    Great idea @alizesmom. A rest can be very good. I often ramp down my exercise so I don't burn out.
    If you are good at eyeballing portions, you could also not count. Just weigh the odd thing.

    Cheers, h.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    Great article here that explains what it is and how to do it right: bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
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    I took a break from logging from October to December because I had some extremely stressful things going on in my life and I just needed to step back. That doesn't mean I totally gave up and started eating whatever I wanted. I was still mindful of my food choices and exercised, though not as often. I gained 3 pounds, but all of them during Christmas! And they came off right away. So basically maintained. I started logging again because I wanted to refocus and lose the last ten pounds. If you're feeling burnt out I don't think a logging break is a bad idea.
  • Marianna93637
    Marianna93637 Posts: 230 Member
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    Anytime I took a break from logging for more than a couple of weeks I either maintained or gained weight.
    I got tired of logging, at times I felt like not logging accurately (actually cheating) so I thought, what's the point?
    I took break between august and November, and viola, I gained back 10 lbs (of the 33 lost). Wasn't a good idea for me.
    Make sure you keep logging at a maintenance level. Don't stop logging lol. Just don't :)
  • cafeaulait7
    cafeaulait7 Posts: 2,459 Member
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    Don't stop the exercising, imho. Your exercising should be for health, so maintenance there means continuing to exercise, lol. I don't know how much you do, so cutting back some would make sense on a break if you plan to do that in maintenance.
  • brb_2013
    brb_2013 Posts: 1,197 Member
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    H4N4H wrote: »
    Yep. First semester of college i ate maintenance calories. And now I'm back to losing. I will admit I got a little spoiled so being back on the diet makes me yearn to get back into maintenance land even more. Just be careful to make sure you don't gain. Weigh yourself and track.

    Yep! Taking a break doesn't mean slipping back into old habits :)
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 24,883 Member
    edited January 2016
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    I didn't just consider taking a break ... I've done it four times so far. :)

    I started here in Feb 2015 and stuck to my diet like glue for 4 months. In that time I dropped 15 kg which was my original goal. I thought I might stop there, and my husband and I were taking a trip to Canada, so I took a 1-month diet break.

    My plan was to eat everything in sight ... ALL the food. :grin: I discovered I couldn't eat as much as I wanted or what I wanted ... I just didn't have the taste for it anymore. I did eat some stuff, but the plan to really pack it in didn't work. Plus I exercised my butt off ... we cycled, we hiked, we even went sea kayaking!

    When I returned, I had gained 2 kg, but lost that in about 2 weeks and went on to lose another 11 kg.

    In November, I took a couple weekend diet breaks, after dropping a total of 26 kg. I'm sort of debating where my maintenance level should be, and I'm getting down to the bottom end of my normal BMI scale, so I'm not as concerned about losing too much more.

    Then just before Christmas I went onto another diet break, and haven't come off it yet. I'm sort of toying with the idea of coming off and resuming the diet around the middle of next week. But there's still so much good food around .........

    Oh, and I've increased the amount of exercise I'm doing.
  • tara_means_star
    tara_means_star Posts: 957 Member
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    I'm really interested if you guys can give information on the benefits of diet breaks and is there a "best" time to take one? Like after 4 months, 6 months, a year? I don't know if there is information out there but I'm really curious on if this is something that I should consider or just keep plowing along.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    taracan25 wrote: »
    I'm really interested if you guys can give information on the benefits of diet breaks and is there a "best" time to take one? Like after 4 months, 6 months, a year? I don't know if there is information out there but I'm really curious on if this is something that I should consider or just keep plowing along.


    Why not just try it? Eat at your maintenance level for two weeks but continue to log.
  • tara_means_star
    tara_means_star Posts: 957 Member
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    queenliz99 wrote: »
    taracan25 wrote: »
    I'm really interested if you guys can give information on the benefits of diet breaks and is there a "best" time to take one? Like after 4 months, 6 months, a year? I don't know if there is information out there but I'm really curious on if this is something that I should consider or just keep plowing along.


    Why not just try it? Eat at your maintenance level for two weeks but continue to log.

    I'm a little obsessive...that's two weeks of not losing weight. I'm willing to do it but only if I think it makes more sense than just continuing what I'm doing.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    taracan25 wrote: »
    queenliz99 wrote: »
    taracan25 wrote: »
    I'm really interested if you guys can give information on the benefits of diet breaks and is there a "best" time to take one? Like after 4 months, 6 months, a year? I don't know if there is information out there but I'm really curious on if this is something that I should consider or just keep plowing along.


    Why not just try it? Eat at your maintenance level for two weeks but continue to log.

    I'm a little obsessive...that's two weeks of not losing weight. I'm willing to do it but only if I think it makes more sense than just continuing what I'm doing.

    Think about it this way. When you reach your goal weight, won't you be eating at maintenance? 2 weeks here or the rest of your life there. What difference will two weeks be?
  • janjunie
    janjunie Posts: 1,200 Member
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    cafeaulait7 wrote: »
    Don't stop the exercising, imho. Your exercising should be for health, so maintenance there means continuing to exercise, lol. I don't know how much you do, so cutting back some would make sense on a break if you plan to do that in maintenance.

    I second this.
  • punkrockgoth
    punkrockgoth Posts: 534 Member
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    I do this every 10-16 weeks for a week or 2. I eat at maintenance, do different exercise than I usually do (like I'll treat myself to hot yoga and/or swimming, or go to the trampoline park, stuff like that). I find that since starting to do that, I'm happier and healthier. Losing weight and training is hard. Sometimes your body just needs a chance to catch up to all those changes.
  • tara_means_star
    tara_means_star Posts: 957 Member
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    I saw an article from bodyrecomposition about the physiological benefits of taking a break but I was concerned that, since I don't know much about this topic, I might fall for woo. Are there physiological benefits or are the benefits primarily psychological? If they are psychological, I'll likely wait a bit before trying to take one simply because I don't feel like I need it yet--still going strong, don't feel overly hungry, my mind is still fully engaged in my goals, etc....I've been in a deficit since September.
  • sunandmoons
    sunandmoons Posts: 415 Member
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    Yep. I did.. 1200 calories 90 days. Then took a break for 20 days. Some days I would log and others ate as I pleased. Gained 4 pounds and have lost it within a week. I plan on another 90 days then another break. I take vacations nearly every 90-120 days as I have family 1000 miles away. Im in no hurry to lose. Lost 18 pounds in 90 days. I have another 18 pounds to go!
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,372 Member
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    I did it (went on vacation and had to eat out for every meal) and it boosted my appetite and I was never able to lose more after (granted, I only want to lose 5 more pounds). I hear it's not that common but yeah, I really wish I hadn't gone on that vacation! That was 1.5 year ago...

    That being said, if you want to do it, I wouldn't eat more than maintenance calories for your goal weight... it's a lifestyle change, and you're not doing yourself any favors by getting used to eating too much again.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,483 Member
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    Diet breaks come in many different guises and happen for a number of reasons.

    Illness, vacation, diet fatigue, stress, and more, are all valid reasons to take a break.

    Choosing how you shape that break is individual, and it is important to choose the way that suits you at that particular time.
    My thoughts......

    Illness,
    My exercise routine virtually or totally stops. Defitnately no germ spreading at the gym or in classes, but some light exercises at home if I am well enough, or a light walk.
    I go immediately to maintenance calories, you need the fuel to repair the body, and log.

    Vacation,
    I did try doing formal exercise on vacation, but found I was active enough without it, so gave up. It depends on what and where your vacation is, but carrying on even an abreiviated routine can be beneficial if the vacationinvolves a lot of sitting around. ie: a road trip.

    Tracking calories can be difficult, do it when you can, but accept that maintenance will give you room to enjoy new foods. I am always aware of portion sizes and try to keep to the same portions even if I am eating more calorie dense food and dont have tho oppertunity to log. I generally gain 0-2 lb on a 2 week cruise.
    Don't forget you often gain water on vacation it can take a week to drop off.

    Diet fatigue.
    If I exercise more than an hour a day 6 days a week, I burn out in about 3 month. A month at 3 times a week, eating back the lessened burn, gets me back and enthusiastic.
    When you get to feeling just tired all the time, and can't live your daily life because you are tired from all the exercise, pull back and re-evaluate.

    Same with food. Sometimes we need a break both mentally and physically from the rigours of keeping to a tight calorie buget and constantly logging.

    Moving to maintenance can alleviate the stress.
    Eating at maintenance for a few weeks logging and weighing, yourself and your food, is the most guaranteed way to stay on track, but sometimes that only gives you the physical relief; not mental.

    If you are able to eyeball portions, and recognise when you are full, it is possible to just wing it for a few weeks using your bathroom scale as your guide. This is usually easier, more possible, if you have logged for a long time and eat a regular, but varied diet.

    A good half way between the two above is to take a break from logging, but weigh your food for your meals, and yourself daily. This gives you the control of knowing how much you eat but takes away the stress of logging.
    ( I am 100g protien, 100g carb, and all the veg I want for dinner with 8g dressing or butter, for dinner)

    These are my tried and true observations from losing for a year and maintaining for 6. I wing it most if the time now just by observing my weight, but will come back and log if I feel I need to.

    Cheers, h.

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