Diet break

leahhope051174

When it's time for a diet break, let's say a two-week break, do you jump right to maintenance or do slowly increase your calories over the two weeks?

Fitnessgirl0913

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks#latest

This is an excellent thread by @Nony_Mouse !

CarvedTones

Something to consider is that after you have been in deficit for a while, if you use a calculator to figure maintenance, the number it comes up with will likely be on the high side. That is one of the reasons people do breaks - to try to get adjusted back to "normal".

TavistockToad

Fitnessgirl0913 wrote: »

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks#latest

This is an excellent thread by @Nony_Mouse !

i was just going to post that!

Fitnessgirl0913

TavistockToad wrote: »

Fitnessgirl0913 wrote: »

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks#latest

This is an excellent thread by @Nony_Mouse !

i was just going to post that!

As my dad would say "Great minds think alike...and then there's us!" My favorite dad quote ever!

Nony_Mouse

Yep, whole, uh, 110 page thread on this topic (okay and a lot of other topics!!). Don't be put off by the length of the thread, OP, we've rewritten the first post to contain all the info you need up front. Loads of good stuff throughout the thread, including testimonials from those who have done diet breaks, and photos of kitties and puppies too! But we appreciate that it takes a long time to get through all of that. So, read the first post, read the Lyle McDonald article linked in it, and then just dive in with any questions you have

jemhh

I jump right to maintenance. I see no point in wasting any break time eating below maintenance when the point is to eat at maintenance.

Rickster1967

I started diet break yesterday after 154 days straight in at least 20% deficit

jumped straight to maintenance, idea is to trigger hormone upregulation

feels fantastic haha, full belly, loads of energy

Nony_Mouse

Oh, yes, missed that bit about cal increase. Straight to maintenance as Jemhh and Rickster said. You'll see a small uptick in scale weight from gycogen replenishment and more food in your system, it will level out and drop straight back off in a few days when you go back to a deficit, so don't freak out

DmaMfz

Rickster1967 wrote: »

I started diet break yesterday after 154 days straight in at least 20% deficit

jumped straight to maintenance, idea is to trigger hormone upregulation

feels fantastic haha, full belly, loads of energy

How long are you planning your diet break?

Rickster1967

DmaMfz wrote: »

Rickster1967 wrote: »

I started diet break yesterday after 154 days straight in at least 20% deficit

jumped straight to maintenance, idea is to trigger hormone upregulation

feels fantastic haha, full belly, loads of energy

How long are you planning your diet break?

14 days to get the full re-set

Then I plan on doing 90 days in deficit, then another diet break

In the second diet break I'm going to start lifting heavy and eat all the exercise calories

DmaMfz

Rickster1967 wrote: »

DmaMfz wrote: »

Rickster1967 wrote: »

I started diet break yesterday after 154 days straight in at least 20% deficit

jumped straight to maintenance, idea is to trigger hormone upregulation

feels fantastic haha, full belly, loads of energy

How long are you planning your diet break?

14 days to get the full re-set

Then I plan on doing 90 days in deficit, then another diet break

In the second diet break I'm going to start lifting heavy and eat all the exercise calories

This is awesome. My diet break will be much longer but I’m going to give it my best go at maintaining for 2-3 months come this summer. I need to know that I can do it, and my hormones probably need a break as well after all these years of yo-yo dieting.

Keep us posted!