Backed into a solution

donjtomasco

I have 4 weeks to go to lose a set goal of weight. It's fine if I don't hit it, since I have lost quite a bit so far. I had started feeling frustrated that I had hit a wall, my daily calorie goal kept going down, then I ended up going out of town with my wife for one of her conferences, and just let lose. The appetizers were great, the dinners were great, and I logged what I ate and it was gluttonous and very satisfying. Today I 'restart' and was worried that I might feel like it was not worth battling back, instead, I felt rejuvenated in a way that I got to have a 'diet vacation', I satisfied every culinary desire from Wednesday night to Friday night, and it will now be fun to see how long it takes to flush out the fun foods loaded with everything including sodium, and wait for the woosh. It will probably take 7 days. I am plugging that in as my goal knowing it should be just a few days. It is almost like starting the diet over but at a much lower weight, which is kind of like a bones. It seems very tolerable now.

Tacklewasher

People talk about taking a diet break. I think it was @sidesteel who had a post on it, but I could be mistaken.

Some people smarter than me say it is a good idea.

lulalacroix

I just finished one. My total weight loss is expected to take over one year. So I planned 5 diet breaks into this year to give my mind and body a break. I really enjoyed my break and practicing maintenance is helpful for when it happens for real.

Btw, the day after my break the scale showed a tiny loss and then another pound a couple days later.

CattOfTheGarage

It helps me. I'm not organised about it, more like the OP, every now and then I just get scunnered with the whole thing and eat more, either for a day or for longer. I log it all of course. Sometimes I think you just need a rest from eating in a deficit all the time.

trigden1991

Diet breaks work both physiologically and psychologically. There was a study that showed that people who took a planned diet break, rather than those who didn't or were forced to have unplanned food, lost more weight in the long term.

Don't ask me to dig it up but the study was referenced in RFL by Lyle McDonald

Gallowmere1984

trigden1991 wrote: »

Diet breaks work both physiologically and psychologically. There was a study that showed that people who took a planned diet break, rather than those who didn't or were forced to have unplanned food, lost more weight in the long term.

Don't ask me to dig it up but the study was referenced in RFL by Lyle McDonald

Yeap. Essentially, when a diet break is built into the diet, it does two things.

First, it keeps people compliant by never being on what can feel like a permanent "diet"; essentially it makes it really easy for many to go off and on, without completely screwing up their progress.

Second, it helps assuage the problems with those who feel like they have to be "on a diet" the entire time, and a single slipup results in "failure" that leads them to say to hell with the whole thing. They get to still "be on a diet", while getting their hormone levels back to normal, and easing both psychological and physiological stress.

Amazingly, it somehow manages to fix problems that approach from both ends of the spectrum.

AnvilHead

trigden1991 wrote: »

Diet breaks work both physiologically and psychologically. There was a study that showed that people who took a planned diet break, rather than those who didn't or were forced to have unplanned food, lost more weight in the long term.

Don't ask me to dig it up but the study was referenced in RFL by Lyle McDonald

Do you find it anywhere in here?: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/

donjtomasco

HA!!! As the dust settled I just finished doing a mental inventory of ALL food eaten Wednesday thru Friday, which turned out being my "blow-out special". I guess it is no surprise the my weight is up on the scale this morning due to the sodium. Here is the breakdown of my calories and just sodium intake. Wednesday, I was over my calories by 3064 (my MFP goal is 1000 off my maintain weight, so I was technically 2064 over) and my Sodium was 5,075 (WOW, highest so far since Dec 26th) Thursday, I was over my calories by 588 (MFP goal of 1000 off maintain weight, actually had me 412 under) Sodium was 2,962, Friday my calories were over by 1386, Sodium was 2,617.

Three days prior, my sodium was 4,237 from my daughters wedding dish tasting menu blow-out, and my calories were blown out too, so....

Sunday, sodium load, 2 days of flushing (probably not fully since my weight was up, but then came back some), then Wednesdays 5,075 Sodium, Thursdays 2,962 Sodium, then Fridays 2,617 Sodium. Finally, yesterday, my intake was back to normal.

So I weighed this Sunday Morning (before the wedding tasting at 191.8, really on track, Monday morning weight was up to 193.8 (Sodium??? - probably), weight down Tuesday and Wednesday morning, then the Wednesday Thursday Friday 3 day sodium bonanza. This morning I weighed in at 197.8, and was kind of surprised, till I spent an hour retracing my REAL food intake during that period, then the details were there in black and white, and it was NO SURPRISE to me that today I weigh 197.8 versus 191.8 LAST SUNDAY!!!!! 7 FRIGGING POUNDS!!!

But....this is why I weigh daily, and am as accurate as possible on logging why went in. My manual graph has a spot where I put my sodium intake in daily, and know my over/under number, and my weight tracks right along with sodium intake (assuming I have been 'on diet' on my calories in.

So this last week is an interesting look at what were actually 4 days off the diet out of 7. I had forgotten about last Sundays wedding tasting, which was rich food, and lot's of sodium. My body simply did not have time to flush out the sodium before I loaded back up with my 3 days off.

Honestly, I have to say this was one entire 7 days off period/vacation from my diet. What will be fun (and for me this IS fun, watching the numbers and the data), and seeing how long it takes for the weight to start coming back off on the scale. For me, without this 'Data', I would most likely be very depressed this morning wondering what had happened. Now I know exactly what happened, and there is no mystery to it. It actually inspires me now to have a healthy day and drink A LOT OF WATER!!! Hopefully I will have One Hell Of A Whoosh!!! sometime between Tuesday and next Sunday.

CattOfTheGarage

I also bank calories during the week, so every weekend feels like a break. This is hugely helpful for me.

Tacklewasher

My scale has me up ~5 lbs from yesterday. Yeah, pizza and Chinese will do that to a guy. Still have pizza to eat today but those 5 lbs are going to come off in one big whoosh. While, that and I'm expecting a big BM.

Gallowmere1984

Tacklewasher wrote: »

My scale has me up ~5 lbs from yesterday. Yeah, pizza and Chinese will do that to a guy. Still have pizza to eat today but those 5 lbs are going to come off in one big whoosh. While, that and I'm expecting a big BM.

Considering all of the sodium in Chinese and pizza, I suspect you'll be whooshing from the front and back.

Tacklewasher

Gallowmere1984 wrote: »

Tacklewasher wrote: »

My scale has me up ~5 lbs from yesterday. Yeah, pizza and Chinese will do that to a guy. Still have pizza to eat today but those 5 lbs are going to come off in one big whoosh. While, that and I'm expecting a big BM.

Considering all of the sodium in Chinese and pizza, I suspect you'll be whooshing from the front and back.

Hence the big BM comment

AnnPT77

Yes. It made me very happy when I realized that weight loss could be just a big, fun science fair project for grown-ups, instead of an unpredictable emotional melodrama about sin, retribution and redemption.

AnvilHead

AnnPT77 wrote: »

Yes. It made me very happy when I realized that weight loss could be just a big, fun science fair project for grown-ups, instead of an unpredictable emotional melodrama about sin, retribution and redemption.

Awesome comment! That's exactly how I look at it and it's actually been a fun, interesting and educational process the entire way.