Diet Breaks

_jayciemarie_

I use the word "diet" loosely as I feel this is how I will eat for life. Question though--I have been at this since August. I was consistently losing weight and the last several months I have been losing/gaining the same weight. I do have PCOS and getting check by my endo next week. I'm just curious--JM recommends when you hit a plateau to mix up your calories. I have read on several weightloss sites that taking a "diet break" for at least 10-14 days can restore the hormones and trick the body to start losing weight again once you eat at a deficit again. Can anyone give me good advice or information to support a diet break?

joan23_us

I use the word "diet" loosely as I feel this is how I will eat for life. Question though--I have been at this since August. I was consistently losing weight and the last several months I have been losing/gaining the same weight. I do have PCOS and getting check by my endo next week. I'm just curious--JM recommends when you hit a plateau to mix up your calories. I have read on several weightloss sites that taking a "diet break" for at least 10-14 days can restore the hormones and trick the body to start losing weight again once you eat at a deficit again. Can anyone give me good advice or information to support a diet break?

Not sure about your condition PCOS, but in my experience, its more of improving your 'metabolic capacity' to have a better "wiggle room" when you do start your deficit... as an example, a person consuming 3000 calories will have the metabolic capacity to burn fat as opposed to a person who started their deficit to say 1200 calories.... so to answer your question, worry about improving your metabolic capacity to avoid getting backed to a corner where you dont have anymore calories to cut back to and have NO choice but to do a ton of exercise and cardio, if i may suggest YOUTUBE Dr. Layne Norton on "metabolic adaptation" lots of useful information....

DivineChoices

I'm relatively new to this site and the what the forums advocate. With that said, I think going back to basics and weighing EVERYTHING (except liquids) and using accurate logging (double check everything against the label and if it's label-less, check the USDA database).

From what I've read, if you're not losing, you're eating at maintenance. That means you are either overestimating exercise or under-estimating food.

I have PCOS too. I've read great things about Metaformin helping your body use insulin more effectively, and a side effect is weight loss. IDK how accurate those accounts are (unknown variables), but it's worth a chat with your endo.

I wish you the BEST!

Xingy01

If you're not losing weight then your calorie deficit isn't low enough and/or you're not counting accurately. It's easier to lose weight and estimate calories when you're larger and have more to lose. When you get closer to your goal, you have to be a lot more careful because your deficit will be a lot smaller so there's less room for error. Remember that it's very common for foods to have 10% more calories than what the packaging claims. Estimating portions/weight is a big deal when your deficit is smaller because a couple hundred calories will keep you from losing.

A break from your diet isn't going to make you lose weight. Since your weight is remaining constant right now, eating more calories than you're currently eating is just going to make you gain weight.

Taking breaks from diets can be beneficial for psychological reasons, but since you're already eating maintenance and not losing anything, I'm not sure it's a great idea for you to eat more right now.

rm33064

I'm not familiar if your condition could cause a stall or not, you should ask your dr that. If not then you're just not as accurate with your calorie accounting than you realize. Your results can be slowed a little because your body adjusts to a routine but you certainly wouldn't gain weight if you weren't eating more than you burned. It just isn't possible unless you're retaining excess water. I have heard that mixing up your daily calorie intake keeps your body from adjusting to your diet and maximizes your weight loss. I'm not 100% sure that is actually what happens but it makes sense. They say same thing about mixing up your weight training routines to maximize muscle growth. It's a good question to ask your dr.

Francl27

You could eat at maintenance for a couple weeks, but it might be harder to get back in gear afterwards, and it doesn't mean it will work.

Most of the time, if you stall more than a few weeks, it means you're eating too much (or for women it can be linked to hormonal issues I guess).

rockmama72

I take breaks from logging all the time. Not necessarily from the lifestyle, as I still make lots of lower-calorie choices and eat my vegetables and keep active. I think it probably slows my weight loss down if I'm honest; in fact, I'll go for weeks without losing a thing.

What it does for me is purely psychological, because when I start logging again it's always with a renewed resolve to be diligent, and it's usually good for a pound or two.

cassie4animals

My doctor told me that calorie confusion was important. I get 2 non-consecutive days (I use Wed and Sat) to have more calories. Supposedly it is some sort of wake up call to my metabolism to help my body avoid plateaus. I've only been doing it for a couple weeks, so I have no opinion on it yet, but the doctor recommended it so I'm going to stick with it.

LKArgh

Taking breaks from logging, eating at maintenance for while etc makes sense for everyone. But if you have changed your lifestyle, what does taking a break mean? Going back to what you ate before?

sodakat

If you go to the group "Eat More to Weigh Less" and read through the stickies in the discussion area you will find some answers to your question. There is a lot of great info there.

_jayciemarie_

I hate asking questions like this because I do get the traditional answers about weighing food or overestimating my calories burned. Here are facts about me. I wear a HRM for all sanctioned exercises. I also wear a fitbit. I weigh everything. EVERYTHING. I didn't lose 60lbs guesstamating. When you have insulin resistance your body fights against weightloss. I'm just curious---I feel the body adjust to the amount of food you eat and scales back. If I go on a "diet break" it doesn't mean I'm going to load up on donuts and fast foods. I eat healthier now. All I would do is add more good foods like chia seeds, nuts, larger portions of proteins, etc. Not going to do a day full of food with very little nutrients. Any other thoughts or success stories?

sodakat

Any other thoughts or success stories?

There are lots of success stories in the Eat more to Weigh Less group stickies, as well as general discussion area. It really is worth a read.

whitebalance

"Traditional answers" are "traditional" because they work for most everyone. Logging accuracy nails a lot of people as they get closer to their goals. If you are insulin resistant, YMMV and you should consult with your doctor. But here are a few general thoughts to consider.
You've lost 60 pounds... Have you re-adjusted your calorie target since then?
You sometimes log running as a cardio activity and also have a Fitbit adjustment... Are you double-counting your exercise? Does your cycle of gaining correlate with increased running and eating exercise calories back?
You use a heart rate monitor to estimate calorie burns... When is the last time you calibrated your zones and updated your weight?

_jayciemarie_

When I log in my activity into MFP I have to put a start time and how long I exercised for. What that does is to (basically) not give me fitbit credit for those calories. For example:


Burned 500 running

Fitbit says I'm on track to burn 2400 calories for the day
MFP (including the 500 burned) says I will burn 2300 calories.

Therefore you will see an entry of:

Cardio 500
Fitbit 100.

They don't overlap. It is hard to explain. I didn't understand it until I got a fitbit, but they don't overlap.

I weigh everything. The only time I don't weigh foods is when I eat out. It is just a guesstamation, but I typically try to only eat one meal out a week. Other than that. I have a handy dandy notebook. I write all my foods for bfast/lunch down and their weights. When I get to work I plug them into MFP. At home I make recipes labeling with the date and break them down to servings. and divide and so forth.

My biggest problem is sugar. I just need to cutback and the weight will fall back. I have been eating so much fruit, and I realize the body doesn't know if I'm eating a cupcake or a cup of grapes. So, that is what i'm adjusting this week.

rsoice

We've had success with cheat days. We use a single day each week and plan for it in advance and actually eat at deficit going towards the day. It's been working for a year.