Dieting too hard/long? taking breaks/refeeding...

smittieaj

Hi everybody. I've been going pretty hard and fairly consistent with a 1k cal/day deficit diet for several months now, and while I've seen a lot of success, I've also begun to notice some less than desirable symptoms that I can only assume are associated with my diet:

1) Less energetic
2) Less concentration
3) Increased solemness and less levity
4) Usually feeling cold
5) Obsessive thoughts about food/diet

Can these symptoms be considered normal considering that I am currently undergoing a HUGE cut? Do you all think I'm going too hard, or is this par for the course when you're dropping a lot of weight? Also, do any of you out there take breaks or 'refeed' from time to time? If so, how do you know when it's a good idea, or when you just need to keep your nose to the grindstone and keep going? I'm trying to decide if this might be a good idea for me, or if I would end up losing my steam and fall off the wagon.

Thanks in advance for any advice you might be able to offer.

smittieaj

You should feel that way, as you lose weight your deficit should be smaller.

Good point. I'm considering this option too. Perhaps instead of a break I might opt for a smaller deficit. BUT, it requires so much patience....

monty619

yeh u gotta start reverse dieting.. start adding calories in small incriments of 100 cals a day/per week or something along those lines in order to heal ur metabolism because you probably have some micronutrient defficiencies being at 1k calories and definately metabolic damage occurred after bein in a deficit for a long time.. definately the worst time to binge tho cuz ur metabolism has slowed so be carefull in adding cals if u want to remain fairly the same weight.

smittieaj

@PU - I guess it looks like I don't have too much of a choice. Thanks for sharing your personal experience. It sounds like you've been there and done that already.

Vonwarr

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

edit: Hit post too fast there... it's a great article on when and why you might want to take a break.

smittieaj

yeh u gotta start reverse dieting.. start adding calories in small incriments of 100 cals a day/per week or something along those lines in order to heal ur metabolism because you probably have some micronutrient defficiencies being at 1k calories and definately metabolic damage occurred after bein in a deficit for a long time.. definately the worst time to binge tho cuz ur metabolism has slowed so be carefull in adding cals if u want to remain fairly the same weight.

Thanks for that tip about avoiding the binge... I'd be even more upset if I gained a bunch of weight back.

melindanew

I would agree that you are at a point in your weight loss that you can no longer run a 1K deficit without it being detrimental to other areas of your life. When you are larger you have more room in your diet to run larger deficits.

If you want quality of life, you have to eat enough to support that and still be at some deficit.

It could also be (and I don't know how much you weight/measure your food) that you are eating less than you think you are - eyeballing portion sizes smaller than they are in reality. (In other words, is your 5oz steak 5oz or only 3.5?)

Hang in there, I found that time of transition from being able to run massive deficits easily to not being able to do that to be very rough mentally. You stop dropping huge amounts of weight quickly and transition to a slower, more sustainable loss.

dixiewhiskey

Up your carbs or decrease your deficit

smittieaj

http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

edit: Hit post too fast there... it's a great article on when and why you might want to take a break.

This is an interesting and very applicable read. Thank you!

smittieaj

I would agree that you are at a point in your weight loss that you can no longer run a 1K deficit without it being detrimental to other areas of your life. When you are larger you have more room in your diet to run larger deficits.

If you want quality of life, you have to eat enough to support that and still be at some deficit.

It could also be (and I don't know how much you weight/measure your food) that you are eating less than you think you are - eyeballing portion sizes smaller than they are in reality. (In other words, is your 5oz steak 5oz or only 3.5?)

Hang in there, I found that time of transition from being able to run massive deficits easily to not being able to do that to be very rough mentally. You stop dropping huge amounts of weight quickly and transition to a slower, more sustainable loss.

You are right about it being difficult mentally. I haven't even adjusted the deficit yet, and I'm already dreading the slow down. I guess I had some unrealistic expectations about riding this thing all the way to the end of my ticker.

ryry_

I believe there is a post for recommended deficits depending on how much you have to lose. I believe it was 40-70 1.5 /week, <40 1/week. <10 lbs .5/week.

Nothing iron clad but general guidelines. I"m starting to raise calories by 100 every few weeks as i get closer to my goal.

smittieaj

I believe there is a post for recommended deficits depending on how much you have to lose. I believe it was 40-70 1.5 /week, <40 1/week. <10 lbs .5/week.

Nothing iron clad but general guidelines. I"m starting to raise calories by 100 every few weeks as i get closer to my goal.

It's nice to know that I'm not alone in this, ryry. And, congratulations on your progress towards you goal!

sardesc

I, too, dreaded going into maintenance. I found that once I hit my goal weight and increased my calories to what the calculators said my maintenance calories should be, my weight loss sped up. I've been increasing my calories for a month and still losing weight despite not wanting to. I'm petite and a size 2 and I don't want to have to shop in the children's department. My husband says it's a nice problem to have and not to talk about it with my friends. I have more energy now and am noticing more muscle definition (I lift weights and do cardio). Eat more, see what happens.

Edit: I also raised my calories by 100 each week and kept losing.

ldrosophila

It makes complete sense! The body's one goal in life is to help us survive and to the body weight loss means starvation. It doesn't like to starve because in all but these times of excess starvation meant death.

Might be time to give it a bit of high calorie nutrition. Some great nuts, oils, fatty protein, and a decadent meal here or there. You can maximize your nutrition feed it high calorie real nutrition and give your brain and body a bit of excitement. Maybe sometime this week have a huge porterhouse steak, a baked potato loaded with real sour cream and butter, a chocolate fruit dessert, and a glass of wine. Or if you arent a meat eater maybe do a mexican meal chicken/bean enchiladas loaded with guacamole, cheese, sour cream, black beans, and some rich flour tortillas with some butter or oil if you dont do dairy. Think rich and french, LOL!

smittieaj

I, too, dreaded going into maintenance. I found that once I hit my goal weight and increased my calories to what the calculators said my maintenance calories should be, my weight loss sped up. I've been increasing my calories for a month and still losing weight despite not wanting to. I'm petite and a size 2 and I don't want to have to shop in the children's department. My husband says it's a nice problem to have and not to talk about it with my friends. I have more energy now and am noticing more muscle definition (I lift weights and do cardio). Eat more, see what happens.

Edit: I also raised my calories by 100 each week and kept losing.

Sardesc, while I'm not sure how to account for your results mathematically, I do believe you. I'll keep my fingers crossed that similar serendipity falls on me.

smittieaj

It makes complete sense! The body's one goal in life is to help us survive and to the body weight loss means starvation. It doesn't like to starve because in all but these times of excess starvation meant death.

Might be time to give it a bit of high calorie nutrition. Some great nuts, oils, fatty protein, and a decadent meal here or there. You can maximize your nutrition feed it high calorie real nutrition and give your brain and body a bit of excitement. Maybe sometime this week have a huge porterhouse steak, a baked potato loaded with real sour cream and butter, a chocolate fruit dessert, and a glass of wine. Or if you arent a meat eater maybe do a mexican meal chicken/bean enchiladas loaded with guacamole, cheese, sour cream, black beans, and some rich flour tortillas with some butter or oil if you dont do dairy. Think rich and french, LOL!

It feels so wrong, but I bet it'll taste just right. Yum.

sardesc

Maybe I had my activity level set too low, but I'm a housewife in the winter in Saskatchewan. I don't vacuum that much, I shovel sometimes but I guess my husband's right - nice problem to have.

ryry_

I believe there is a post for recommended deficits depending on how much you have to lose. I believe it was 40-70 1.5 /week, <40 1/week. <10 lbs .5/week.

Nothing iron clad but general guidelines. I"m starting to raise calories by 100 every few weeks as i get closer to my goal.

It's nice to know that I'm not alone in this, ryry. And, congratulations on your progress towards you goal!

For sure. When I first started I was losing 2-3 lbs and was never hungry and full of energy. Now starting to feel the effects so I want to raise em. The hardest part is mental to say I could be eating 2500 calories every day and losing a lb a week.

NCchar130

If I start feeling that way plus a lot of cravings, and my regular food and amounts just don't seem to do it for me anymore, I take a day or three off. I still log my food but I go over. This has happened about every 6-8 weeks, I'd say. I don't make it an all out binge or anything, but I just quit restricting quite so much and take a break from working out too, sometimes. Usually when I get back on it, I'll drop a couple pounds right away, and I always return to my workouts stronger. It's mentally refreshing to me and proves something to myself, that I can eat a little too much once in awhile without returning to my old lifestyle or giving up on this altogether.

SideSteel

Hi everybody. I've been going pretty hard and fairly consistent with a 1k cal/day deficit diet for several months now, and while I've seen a lot of success, I've also begun to notice some less than desirable symptoms that I can only assume are associated with my diet:

1) Less energetic
2) Less concentration
3) Increased solemness and less levity
4) Usually feeling cold
5) Obsessive thoughts about food/diet

Can these symptoms be considered normal considering that I am currently undergoing a HUGE cut? Do you all think I'm going too hard, or is this par for the course when you're dropping a lot of weight? Also, do any of you out there take breaks or 'refeed' from time to time? If so, how do you know when it's a good idea, or when you just need to keep your nose to the grindstone and keep going? I'm trying to decide if this might be a good idea for me, or if I would end up losing my steam and fall off the wagon.

Thanks in advance for any advice you might be able to offer.

I would take a week to two weeks at TDEE assuming you've dropped from 225 to your current weight from Nov to now with no diet breaks in there.

EDIT: I think the question about whether those symptoms are normal depends on the severity of the symptoms. I would expect that a full diet break will lessen the severity of these and give you a renewed motivation/aggressiveness going back into the deficit.

ILiftHeavyAcrylics

Maybe I had my activity level set too low, but I'm a housewife in the winter in Saskatchewan. I don't vacuum that much, I shovel sometimes but I guess my husband's right - nice problem to have.

This happened to me too. I was told that it's from losing water weight that your body has been holding onto due to dieting. Also it turned out that I am not at all sedentary.

smittieaj

If I start feeling that way plus a lot of cravings, and my regular food and amounts just don't seem to do it for me anymore, I take a day or three off. I still log my food but I go over. This has happened about every 6-8 weeks, I'd say. I don't make it an all out binge or anything, but I just quit restricting quite so much and take a break from working out too, sometimes. Usually when I get back on it, I'll drop a couple pounds right away, and I always return to my workouts stronger. It's mentally refreshing to me and proves something to myself, that I can eat a little too much once in awhile without returning to my old lifestyle or giving up on this altogether.

I like how in this case, taking a break was actually reinforcing healthy habits. Thank you for your perspective.

DavPul

I took a 3 month break after a year of dieting. Still had/have a ways to go, but counting and restricting had me feeling about the same as you. Working out really hard but never eating enough cals to recover was taking a toll and niggling injuries were starting to crop up. So I took a break from Thanksgiving to mid February.

The break was refreshing and I think what I need to finish this thing up. I gained back 12 pounds during the break (which I would have avoided if I ate maintenance, but screw maintainence) but those pounds are easily lost again. The toughest part was getting back into the swing of logging again. And saying no to food that I wanted.

I don't regret a thing. If I could do it over I'd opt for a shorter break, maybe Thanksgiving to New Years or so.

smittieaj

@SideSteel - Yes, the loss was 225 to 185 from November until this week. The symptoms haven't been too sever, so I haven't changed anything. But, I'm afraid they are getting stronger as I continue.

Your 2 week idea seems to follow the spirit of the previously mentioned article, btw. I can hardly imagine the comparative riches of all of those maintenance calories, too.

smittieaj

I took a 3 month break after a year of dieting. Still had/have a ways to go, but counting and restricting had me feeling about the same as you. Working out really hard but never eating enough cals to recover was taking a toll and niggling injuries were starting to crop up. So I took a break from Thanksgiving to mid February.

The break was refreshing and I think what I need to finish this thing up. I gained back 12 pounds during the break (which I would have avoided if I ate maintenance, but screw maintainence) but those pounds are easily lost again. The toughest part was getting back into the swing of logging again. And saying no to food that I wanted.

I don't regret a thing. If I could do it over I'd opt for a shorter break, maybe Thanksgiving to New Years or so.

I sympathize with your feelings about working out with too few calories to recover. Something always seems sore.... You picked the right time of the year for a break, too.

Mock_Turtle

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. Have been averaging a 1k/day deficit for the past 20 weeks and held a basically linear 2 lb/wk weight loss for the first 4 months. This month the loss has been slower and it's getting harder to keep at this deficit, getting a bit disgruntled. I've started running longer distances and it's not really a great fit with a big deficit.

Since I have only 12-17 more lbs to lose I figure I'll keep the same plan perhaps up to the 26 week mark and then I will need to take a break as well.

PetulantOne

I take week long diet breaks regularly. I also just took about a month off. When I start getting crabby about the whole deal, I know it's time.

Hendrix7

I'm pretty much in the same boat as you. Have been averaging a 1k/day deficit for the past 20 weeks and held a basically linear 2 lb/wk weight loss for the first 4 months. This month the loss has been slower and it's getting harder to keep at this deficit, getting a bit disgruntled. I've started running longer distances and it's not really a great fit with a big deficit.

Since I have only 12-17 more lbs to lose I figure I'll keep the same plan perhaps up to the 26 week mark and then I will need to take a break as well.

1000 calorie per day deficit when you are only 12-17lbs from goal weight????!?

you really need to re-think that.

TavistockToad

with only 30lbs left to lose, your deficit should only be 500 cals at most - fuel your body, it will thank you for it!

smittieaj

with only 30lbs left to lose, your deficit should only be 500 cals at most - fuel your body, it will thank you for it!

Thanks for your advice. It seems that everyone is reaching a consensus, too. I'm pretty stubborn, but I am starting to reconsider this one because you all seem to know a thing or two about this. Having energy and continuing to lose weight would be great, I suppose, even if it is a bit slower.

TavistockToad

with only 30lbs left to lose, your deficit should only be 500 cals at most - fuel your body, it will thank you for it!

Thanks for your advice. It seems that everyone is reaching a consensus, too. I'm pretty stubborn, but I am starting to reconsider this one because you all seem to know a thing or two about this. Having energy and continuing to lose weight would be great, I suppose, even if it is a bit slower.

do you have any holidays coming up where you could take a proper break and have a week or so at maintenance with minimal exercise?

i went on holiday in february (all inclusive) and ate and drank to my hearts content, and it was just the break i needed, i started insanity about a week after i got back!