The Diet Break.
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Gallowmere1984 wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »ticiaelizabeth wrote: »ticiaelizabeth wrote: »I'm on week two of a diet break, and lemme tell you, I feel about 1000x better and much more prepared for the last leg of my weight loss
Really?
So are you doing maintenance (for now)?
Yep, I've been at maintenance calories for a couple weeks now. Ready to take them down a bit again to lose this last 10 pounds. I'd been stuck for months anyhow, all the while eating several hundred calories less, so I'm hoping this has been a good reset for my body.
I'm curious, because I'm sort of in the sameish situation. When you upped to maintenance calories, what did the scale do?
Since the person you quoted hasn't answered, I will. Now granted, my experience will be a little different, because I ran an extremely restrictive cut (>18g carbs, and only enough fat for EFAs) that was also VLCD. What I did was set my maintenance calories to maintenance -20%, and increased slowly over the two weeks, finally going back to cutting after getting back to my "true" maintenance calories (2100).
With the reintroduction of carbs, I saw my scale weight go from 162 to 167 by the end of the two weeks. However, considering that I had started the cut at 177, it was still a success. I also noticed that my chest, shoulder, arm, and thigh measurements skyrocketed over that two weeks, while my waist and hip measurements only saw a minimal increase. It was all glycogen recoup, and while it was a little difficult, I had to make myself ignore the scale while still recording it for a few days.
This happened to my husband too. He bumped up a few pounds in weight, but was still within his range for goal. I don't know about his measurements, though. He rarely measures.0 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »ticiaelizabeth wrote: »ticiaelizabeth wrote: »I'm on week two of a diet break, and lemme tell you, I feel about 1000x better and much more prepared for the last leg of my weight loss
Really?
So are you doing maintenance (for now)?
Yep, I've been at maintenance calories for a couple weeks now. Ready to take them down a bit again to lose this last 10 pounds. I'd been stuck for months anyhow, all the while eating several hundred calories less, so I'm hoping this has been a good reset for my body.
I'm curious, because I'm sort of in the sameish situation. When you upped to maintenance calories, what did the scale do?
The scale actually went down a pound in the 1st week and has stayed put since then, so I've effectively been maintaining for several weeks. Also, with the extra cals my workouts have been killer!0 -
I've gone back to weighing myself everyday again since i switched to maintenance, and thus far I've been losing 100g a day. I'm leaving a few hundred exercise calories on the table when i can. I tightened my logging up too at the same time, so i'd say this is the cause of the loss.4
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The month of November recently completed was either my worst month of this journey or it was a diet break. Whatever I call it, it was not well-controlled. For 5 days in the month, I ate in excess of my maintenance calories. I gained a few pounds, maybe it was 5 or 8, but it was less than 10. Finally, on December 12, I regained control of my eating and logging, and increased my water consumption. My eating plan is to consume 1600-1700 calories daily, of which 107 grams are to be protein and I want 35+ grams of fiber. I achieve this with all food groups. I typically don't eat back calories from cardio exercise, and in the past week I've done no cardio exercise at all. I don't lift. I know, I should, but I don't. In the past week I've lost 8 lb. That's more than I can attribute to the whooshing discharge of water gain from excess salt and more than I can attribute to the absence of inert temporary contents of my gut. There is no other possibility to explain my rapid weight loss in the past week other than that my November eating was in surplus to my reduced NEAT sufficiently to increase my NEAT ... a diet break. I'm pleased to observe that my weight today matches my lowest weight of this journey achieved on October 31, which was the date of my colonoscopy.2
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JeromeBarry1 wrote: »The month of November recently completed was either my worst month of this journey or it was a diet break. Whatever I call it, it was not well-controlled. For 5 days in the month, I ate in excess of my maintenance calories. I gained a few pounds, maybe it was 5 or 8, but it was less than 10. Finally, on December 12, I regained control of my eating and logging, and increased my water consumption. My eating plan is to consume 1600-1700 calories daily, of which 107 grams are to be protein and I want 35+ grams of fiber. I achieve this with all food groups. I typically don't eat back calories from cardio exercise, and in the past week I've done no cardio exercise at all. I don't lift. I know, I should, but I don't. In the past week I've lost 8 lb. That's more than I can attribute to the whooshing discharge of water gain from excess salt and more than I can attribute to the absence of inert temporary contents of my gut. There is no other possibility to explain my rapid weight loss in the past week other than that my November eating was in surplus to my reduced NEAT sufficiently to increase my NEAT ... a diet break. I'm pleased to observe that my weight today matches my lowest weight of this journey achieved on October 31, which was the date of my colonoscopy.
If I'm not mistaken, I think part of the true "diet break" strategy is that it be intentional. There is a mental element involved as well as a physical one. But I've often found a short period of overeating (like vacation) often will boost my weight loss after the fact. In your case, I think it had to be sodium or an increase in carbs, though. You couldn't have gained 5-8 lbs of fat from 5 days of overeating (unless those were the biggest binges ever!), and you didn't lose 8lb of fat in a week, not even half that. So most had to be water. I can gain/lose 5 lbs of water weight in a day or two easy. Regardless, still great that you are back on track!
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So, @SideSteel , a couple question about the article in the OP, and myself.
I started losing weight in Aug/Sep. Didn't start here until mid-Sept. Since then I'm down ~50 lb (not quite sure on the start weight, but guessing 330). Except for a few days here and there, I've stuck to the calories MFP has given me and eaten or drank back about 1/2 the exercise cals.
I'm not tired of it. Had a big day yesterday just because and basically ate maintenance, but I really don't feel like doing that for 2 weeks. I know I'll have a couple of close days over Christmas, but all in all I'm not craving a lot more food and kinda didn't like how I felt yesterday, mostly that I felt to full to use the treadmill like I had planned.
What would I gain by doing two maintenance weeks if I'm not tired of my "diet" right now? Is there some way to know if my hormones are out of whack and need resetting? I'm eating between 1700 and 2000 right now, depending on exercise, and that seems enough to me.
Am I looking at this wrong?2 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »I'm at the point where it's diet break time, and I think I'm going to gain. At my margins of calories because I'm short, and already eat low fat, and a decent amount of protein, I tend to add more carbs. Oh well. More glycogen will happen. No biggie.
The thing is, I had my weight drop to 116, and this morning the scale bounced back up to 120 for no reason other than I lifted yesterday and had soy sauce and popcorn last night. I'm sick of this ridiculousness. My weight keeps gravitating to 120 no matter what I do and it's been doing that for, oh, I'd say six months.
Do I log every bite? Nope, but I'm vaguely aware of the calories of what I'm not logging and I leave a hefty chunk of exercise calories on the table every day to cover for it.
I'd love to lose some fat off my legs, because they are just chunky. I honestly don't know if I can at this point and it's frustrating.
I know your struggle.I've been trying to lose this weight for the last 4 years (I have to eat low fat due to a health issue). My weight will go down. Then it goes right back up to a certain area no matter what I do. Your weight will fluctuate hr by hr, day by day depending on a lot of factors. When you lift heavy you do retain water to help with muscle repair so that could be it along with the extra sodium. I need to lose some fat off my legs too, but its been very very slow
I'm finding the same thing in that I've hit a "settling point" that my body likes. I can force my weight to go down with much effort 4 or 5 pounds, but the weight will quickly bounce back and settle there again at the same original number. I've been dealing with this range for a long time and would love to completely lose the weight and get to goal once and for all forever. I feel like I've been losing and gaining the same 4 pounds over and over.
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Christine_72 wrote: »I'm in the same situation aswell, trying to lose the last 6-10lbs, I upped my calories yesterday to (sedentary) maintenance calories. What a freeing and happy feeling it was! It's like the pressure and weight was lifted off my shoulders. Like @ticiaelizabeth I've been stuck for months too.
Christine, how are you doing now? Are you still stuck?0 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »So, @SideSteel , a couple question about the article in the OP, and myself.
I started losing weight in Aug/Sep. Didn't start here until mid-Sept. Since then I'm down ~50 lb (not quite sure on the start weight, but guessing 330). Except for a few days here and there, I've stuck to the calories MFP has given me and eaten or drank back about 1/2 the exercise cals.
I'm not tired of it. Had a big day yesterday just because and basically ate maintenance, but I really don't feel like doing that for 2 weeks. I know I'll have a couple of close days over Christmas, but all in all I'm not craving a lot more food and kinda didn't like how I felt yesterday, mostly that I felt to full to use the treadmill like I had planned.
What would I gain by doing two maintenance weeks if I'm not tired of my "diet" right now? Is there some way to know if my hormones are out of whack and need resetting? I'm eating between 1700 and 2000 right now, depending on exercise, and that seems enough to me.
Am I looking at this wrong?
I'm no SideSteel, but I would say if you are happy, having no issues with adherence, and are still losing at your chosen rate, you aren't in need of a break.
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Christine_72 wrote: »I'm in the same situation aswell, trying to lose the last 6-10lbs, I upped my calories yesterday to (sedentary) maintenance calories. What a freeing and happy feeling it was! It's like the pressure and weight was lifted off my shoulders. Like @ticiaelizabeth I've been stuck for months too.
Christine, how are you doing now? Are you still stuck?
Nope. I've gone from losing 0 kgs pw to .3kgs a week. I think .3kgs = .8lbs.
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Christine_72 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I'm in the same situation aswell, trying to lose the last 6-10lbs, I upped my calories yesterday to (sedentary) maintenance calories. What a freeing and happy feeling it was! It's like the pressure and weight was lifted off my shoulders. Like @ticiaelizabeth I've been stuck for months too.
Christine, how are you doing now? Are you still stuck?
Nope. I've gone from losing 0 kgs pw to .3kgs a week. I think .3kgs = .8lbs.
Terrific! I would love that!0 -
Tacklewasher wrote: »So, @SideSteel , a couple question about the article in the OP, and myself.
I started losing weight in Aug/Sep. Didn't start here until mid-Sept. Since then I'm down ~50 lb (not quite sure on the start weight, but guessing 330). Except for a few days here and there, I've stuck to the calories MFP has given me and eaten or drank back about 1/2 the exercise cals.
I'm not tired of it. Had a big day yesterday just because and basically ate maintenance, but I really don't feel like doing that for 2 weeks. I know I'll have a couple of close days over Christmas, but all in all I'm not craving a lot more food and kinda didn't like how I felt yesterday, mostly that I felt to full to use the treadmill like I had planned.
What would I gain by doing two maintenance weeks if I'm not tired of my "diet" right now? Is there some way to know if my hormones are out of whack and need resetting? I'm eating between 1700 and 2000 right now, depending on exercise, and that seems enough to me.
Am I looking at this wrong?
Hey there @Tacklewasher!
First of all HUGE congrats on your weight loss. That's excellent progress.
No, I don't necessarily think you're looking at things "wrong" so to speak.What would I gain by doing two maintenance weeks if I'm not tired of my "diet" right now?
For a lot of people, but certainly not everyone, you can sometimes miss the signs of needing a break. If you did decide to take a diet break, I would view it as preventative more so than restorative if that makes any sense.
The other potential benefit to it is that you would gain time practicing the skill of maintenance both in terms of dietary management and in terms of the mindset around the goal being to maintain weight.
But that being said, I can understand why you would be hesitant to do this ESPECIALLY given the fantastic progress you're having, and that you're still cruising along and going strong.
Just be alert and diligent about it if things start to slow down, if food focus starts to increase, if you start feeling excessively fatigued, etc.Is there some way to know if my hormones are out of whack and need resetting?
You could get blood work done but I don't think it's ultimately necessary especially if you're not experiencing any circumstances in your life that would dictate something funky going on with your hormones.
Ultimately, congrats on your losses. Just be open to the idea of periodic maintenance phases even if you don't do them on a regimented 8-12 week schedule.1 -
Christine_72 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I'm in the same situation aswell, trying to lose the last 6-10lbs, I upped my calories yesterday to (sedentary) maintenance calories. What a freeing and happy feeling it was! It's like the pressure and weight was lifted off my shoulders. Like @ticiaelizabeth I've been stuck for months too.
Christine, how are you doing now? Are you still stuck?
Nope. I've gone from losing 0 kgs pw to .3kgs a week. I think .3kgs = .8lbs.
Terrific! I would love that!
ETA-- Did the "diet break" help you so that you started losing again afterward?
I'm kinda still on it. I changed my calories to goal weight /sedentary /maintenance and try and create more of a deficit with exercise which is just walking.
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@SideSteel Thanks for the input. I admit to being a little paranoid about the weight loss, as I've averaged over 3.5 lbs lost per week, but I was morbidly obese so I think it's safe enough. If anything, I've kinda upped my calories a bit to try to get to 2.5 lbs per week and expect to be down to a loss of 2 per week in Jan (but I really want to hit 275 by New Years).
I'll keep an eye on how I'm feeling. I do seem to have more energy these days, enough to actually walk the dogs etc. Plus I've been pretty consistent with 25 mins on the treadmill every morning with no ill effects. But I will keep a break in mind.
Thanks again.0 -
Christine_72 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I'm in the same situation aswell, trying to lose the last 6-10lbs, I upped my calories yesterday to (sedentary) maintenance calories. What a freeing and happy feeling it was! It's like the pressure and weight was lifted off my shoulders. Like @ticiaelizabeth I've been stuck for months too.
Christine, how are you doing now? Are you still stuck?
Nope. I've gone from losing 0 kgs pw to .3kgs a week. I think .3kgs = .8lbs.
Terrific! I would love that!
ETA-- Did the "diet break" help you so that you started losing again afterward?
I'm kinda still on it. I changed my calories to goal weight /sedentary /maintenance and try and create more of a deficit with exercise which is just walking.
I'm convinced that this will be the only way I can do this also. I'm going to amp up activity and go to the gym more.1 -
CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »I'm at the point where it's diet break time, and I think I'm going to gain. At my margins of calories because I'm short, and already eat low fat, and a decent amount of protein, I tend to add more carbs. Oh well. More glycogen will happen. No biggie.
The thing is, I had my weight drop to 116, and this morning the scale bounced back up to 120 for no reason other than I lifted yesterday and had soy sauce and popcorn last night. I'm sick of this ridiculousness. My weight keeps gravitating to 120 no matter what I do and it's been doing that for, oh, I'd say six months.
Do I log every bite? Nope, but I'm vaguely aware of the calories of what I'm not logging and I leave a hefty chunk of exercise calories on the table every day to cover for it.
I'd love to lose some fat off my legs, because they are just chunky. I honestly don't know if I can at this point and it's frustrating.
I know your struggle.I've been trying to lose this weight for the last 4 years (I have to eat low fat due to a health issue). My weight will go down. Then it goes right back up to a certain area no matter what I do. Your weight will fluctuate hr by hr, day by day depending on a lot of factors. When you lift heavy you do retain water to help with muscle repair so that could be it along with the extra sodium. I need to lose some fat off my legs too, but its been very very slow
I'm finding the same thing in that I've hit a "settling point" that my body likes. I can force my weight to go down with much effort 4 or 5 pounds, but the weight will quickly bounce back and settle there again at the same original number. I've been dealing with this range for a long time and would love to completely lose the weight and get to goal once and for all forever. I feel like I've been losing and gaining the same 4 pounds over and over.
same with me and I even ate less calories for months on end and saw NO loss,I weigh and measure everything too,so I decided to heck with it for the winter,go to maintenance and try a recomp. then once march/april gets here then try and lose again.1 -
Christine_72 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I'm in the same situation aswell, trying to lose the last 6-10lbs, I upped my calories yesterday to (sedentary) maintenance calories. What a freeing and happy feeling it was! It's like the pressure and weight was lifted off my shoulders. Like @ticiaelizabeth I've been stuck for months too.
Christine, how are you doing now? Are you still stuck?
Nope. I've gone from losing 0 kgs pw to .3kgs a week. I think .3kgs = .8lbs.
Terrific! I would love that!
ETA-- Did the "diet break" help you so that you started losing again afterward?
I'm kinda still on it. I changed my calories to goal weight /sedentary /maintenance and try and create more of a deficit with exercise which is just walking.
I'm convinced that this will be the only way I can do this also. I'm going to amp up activity and go to the gym more.
Ive tried this in the past and for me didnt work.but good luck hope it works for you.0 -
Yup, I've dropped 140 lb, realistically have 20 more to go, but I've decided to take a diet break until spring. Between holiday (over)eating, not wanting to be cold all the time, and spending more of my time focusing on my upcoming Kili climb, I've decided to stay where I am (which is a bit overweight but not obese) and decide in the spring if I want to lose the rest or not. Even if I didn't lose any more, it's not like I'm unhappy with where I'm at now, particularly by comparison.
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CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »Christine_72 wrote: »I'm in the same situation aswell, trying to lose the last 6-10lbs, I upped my calories yesterday to (sedentary) maintenance calories. What a freeing and happy feeling it was! It's like the pressure and weight was lifted off my shoulders. Like @ticiaelizabeth I've been stuck for months too.
Christine, how are you doing now? Are you still stuck?
Nope. I've gone from losing 0 kgs pw to .3kgs a week. I think .3kgs = .8lbs.
Terrific! I would love that!
ETA-- Did the "diet break" help you so that you started losing again afterward?
I'm kinda still on it. I changed my calories to goal weight /sedentary /maintenance and try and create more of a deficit with exercise which is just walking.
I'm convinced that this will be the only way I can do this also. I'm going to amp up activity and go to the gym more.
Ive tried this in the past and for me didnt work.but good luck hope it works for you.
What worked?0 -
@SueSueDio - would love to see your experience here for everyone's benefit 0
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