My Experience with a Diet Break
Carolyn_79
Posts: 935 Member
I'm almost at goal. About 10lbs to go and I'll likely be where I want to be but I'm not focused on the numbers on the scale anymore as much as lowering body fat percentage. I had been eating at a deficit for about 14 months when suddenly I just found myself mentally growing frustrated. I was tired of logging every morsel and tired of getting wrapped up in the numbers. I felt like if I was still hungry I couldn't eat because I had my total daily calorie allowance for the day. I would tell myself, "You shouldn't still be hungry, you've eaten 1800+ calories today!" I was beginning to lack enthusiasm with my workouts which consists of doing a lifting program called Body Beast and half marathon training but the frustration from the food side of things was growing stronger by the day.
Something had to change so I decided to take a diet break. I needed a break from logging too though, not just a deficit. For the past 11 days I've been eating when I'm hungry and I've only logged my food 2 days just to have a sense of how many calories it takes to satisfy me. I've been eating around 2200-2300 calories (based on the 2 days I logged) since I started my break and I feel amazing! That slightly hungry feeling I always felt but ignored is gone. I've approached my workouts with enthusiasm and have seen a lot of improvement in how much I'm lifting. I feel strong on my runs. Releasing myself from the mental box I was in has been quite liberating. My food choices are still healthy because the idea isn't to go on a binge, but rather let my body dictate what I need instead of an online calculator.
My scale weight has gone up by 1.5lbs which is not significant at all if you ask me and my pants actually seem to be a teensy bit looser. I'm going to continue with this for at least another 2-3 weeks. I'm in the Bulk phase of my current lifting program anyhow so I'm suppose to be eating more calories. In 2.5 weeks I'll be in the cut phase at which point I'll go back to a small deficit which will have given me a month long diet break.
I just wanted to post this to say, don't be afraid to try it. This break has been the best thing I have done for myself! It's been a complete mental reset.
Something had to change so I decided to take a diet break. I needed a break from logging too though, not just a deficit. For the past 11 days I've been eating when I'm hungry and I've only logged my food 2 days just to have a sense of how many calories it takes to satisfy me. I've been eating around 2200-2300 calories (based on the 2 days I logged) since I started my break and I feel amazing! That slightly hungry feeling I always felt but ignored is gone. I've approached my workouts with enthusiasm and have seen a lot of improvement in how much I'm lifting. I feel strong on my runs. Releasing myself from the mental box I was in has been quite liberating. My food choices are still healthy because the idea isn't to go on a binge, but rather let my body dictate what I need instead of an online calculator.
My scale weight has gone up by 1.5lbs which is not significant at all if you ask me and my pants actually seem to be a teensy bit looser. I'm going to continue with this for at least another 2-3 weeks. I'm in the Bulk phase of my current lifting program anyhow so I'm suppose to be eating more calories. In 2.5 weeks I'll be in the cut phase at which point I'll go back to a small deficit which will have given me a month long diet break.
I just wanted to post this to say, don't be afraid to try it. This break has been the best thing I have done for myself! It's been a complete mental reset.
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Replies
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Thank you for sharing this.
I am at the end of what I had planned to be a 1 week diet break because my weight had stayed the same for a solid month and I hadn't actually done a break for close to 3 months.
I went from 1800 cals to 2200 calories a day and it has been GREAT. I was really excited because early on in the break the scale actually moved down 3 pounds. But, this past week was also my birthday (restaurant dinner + cake) and a work event that turned into a luncheon (more restaurant food meaning extra sodium). I had an IBS flare up last night, so thought I wouldn't weigh in today due to lingering bloating/discomfort. I got on the scale anyway and it was down 0.2 pounds from my weight at the start of my TDEE break.
I still get quite hungry feeling, especially as it gets close to the next meal, but I am making healthy choices and still staying focussed on portions etc. It has been a really great experience, and I think that I may actually go one more week at my full TDEE before doing a cut again. You are bang on, I think that mentally it is a good practice as much as it is good for our bodies.0 -
Thanks and I'm glad to hear it's working out for you as well
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happy for you! thank you for sharing0
