Deficit strategies

oakster69

I have been back at the diet for weight loss for about 6 weeks or so. It is going well. My question is this...

Should a person have a week or two at maintenance calories so the body doesn't get used to being in a constant deficit? If the diet is working and weight is coming off, don't mess with it? I was wondering if a guy should mix it up a little just so the body doesn't go into a starvation mode or something?

tomcustombuilder

If it’s working don’t mess with it. There is no starvation mode and your body doesn’t “get used to it”.

cmriverside

^what Tom said.

I mean, if you want a maintenance week nothing wrong with that. You're not going to hack your body or weight loss by doing that, you just will delay reaching your Goal by a few days.

Lietchi

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

If it’s working don’t mess with it. There is no starvation mode and your body doesn’t “get used to it”.

Bodies can downshift metabolism somewhat as a result of calorie restriction (a far cry from the mythical starvation mode though) for example slower hair/nail growth, slightly lower body temperature, etc. And a prolonged calorie deficit can also mess with appetite and satiation hormones.

Personally, I do think the occasional break is a good idea (also for psychological reasons), but perhaps not necessarily after only 6 weeks.

Some potentially interesting reads:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1077746/starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

tomcustombuilder

Lietchi wrote: »

tomcustombuilder wrote: »

If it’s working don’t mess with it. There is no starvation mode and your body doesn’t “get used to it”.

Bodies can downshift metabolism somewhat as a result of calorie restriction (a far cry from the mythical starvation mode though) for example slower hair/nail growth, slightly lower body temperature, etc. And a prolonged calorie deficit can also mess with appetite and satiation hormones.

Personally, I do think the occasional break is a good idea (also for psychological reasons), but perhaps not necessarily after only 6 weeks.

Some potentially interesting reads:
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/1077746/starvation-mode-adaptive-thermogenesis-and-weight-loss/p1
https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

you have to be careful with diet breaks. If your losses are fairly consistent and you’re feeling good about everything there is no reason to take a break as you lose your momentum then the fatloss train has to pull out of the station again and get up to speed again.

They can also cause fat gain if you aren’t careful. It’s easy to relax and go back to your old eating habits and get comfortable then dread going back to a deficit.

If you plateau for awhile at a certain calorie amount you may be at your new maintenance after losing so in that respect you have been on a diet break since you were at maintenance for a month or however long the loss stop has been.

To each his own. There is more than one approach and it may take a couple of laps around the fatloss circuit to figure what works best.
.

J72FIT

Agree with all. If it's working and you feel good don't mess with it. If you plateau, re-access and make needed adjustments...

oakster69

Thank you all.