I would LOVE your input on this weight loss concept:

_Tay_
_Tay_ Posts: 95
in Introduce Yourself
Every morning on my way to work I listen to a weight loss podcast ran by a female fitness trainer and a male pharmacist. This mornings topic really had me thinking....

Their good friend, a doctor to be exact, mentioned this KEY tool in keeping the weight OFF. He says:

"After losing 10% of your body fat, it is vital to take a 3-6 month break from weight loss and switch to maintaining. Then, after the body maintained this weight for 3-6 months,start up the weight loss training again"

So, 200 pound person lets say loses 20 pounds. They are down to 280. This doctor recommends maintaining the new weight for a couple months, then starting again.

He says this will adjust your metabolism to the new weight. This gradual loss, maintain, loss method is the most effective way to lose weight and keep it off.
He says, yes every body is different, but every body needs time to adjust to the new weight. Plain and simple. If a 200 pound person lost 50 pounds rapidly, maintaining would be more difficult for him/her. As the body hasn't had time to adjust properly...


After hearing this I was a bit sad, fast weight loss is something we all strive for. The maintain method would drive me nuts.

What is your opinion on this topic? I'd love to hear!
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Replies

  • Dave198lbs
    Dave198lbs Posts: 8,810 Member
    no. too long of a break.
  • bikinibeliever
    bikinibeliever Posts: 832 Member
    I once lost 65 pounds in 4 months.....then I gained it all back, plus some. I loved losing it fast, but because it was fast I did not change my lifestyle.

    This time around I am all about the slow and steady. I feel like it will give me time to truly change, not just willpower changes.

    I have stopped and maintained along the way. I am maintaining right now, until after Christmas. It actually takes the pressure off.

    It might take longer to get there, but I will get there. The other way, I'd get so far and then quit, like I have so many times in the past.

    Having said all that, weight loss is a very individual thing.
  • acogg
    acogg Posts: 1,870 Member
    It actually seems to be happening to a lot of people at MFP, but they call them "plateaus."
  • SweetCheekszx0
    SweetCheekszx0 Posts: 478 Member
    no. too long of a break.

    Agreed
  • booknurse
    booknurse Posts: 3
    I'm not sure if I agree. It seems to me that if you're losing weight slowly, you wouldn't need time to "reset."
  • nanainkent
    nanainkent Posts: 350 Member
    I have a plan of maintaining my weight for 30 days every 3 months. I am due for my maintenance month January 1st and I am bummed that I only lost 14 pounds in three months. Wondering if I even need that month break.
  • know_your_worth
    know_your_worth Posts: 481 Member
    That makes sense to me. Not only your body, but your mind too. I think it takes a while to adjust your way of thinking along with your habits. I don't know about a specific time frame, I'm sure it varies between people, but still. Sounds reasonable.
  • MrsAnderson_GettingHealthy
    MrsAnderson_GettingHealthy Posts: 122 Member
    I lost a lot of weight before getting pregnant and I had lost 50 pounds. I never took a break in there, I kept going full on, head strong and I succeeded. I kept the weight off until I got pregnant so, now I plan on doing the same thing again!
    Plateaus happen for everyone but, I think that it is a good idea to try and complete your goal. You can try to maintain for a while if you want to but, it was really easy for the weight to keep coming off without me maintaing anything the first time around.

    To each their own.

    It's a wonderful idea to listen to those on your way to work. I am sure you get very helpful tips all of the time! :)
  • GomesDavid
    GomesDavid Posts: 149
    It actually seems to be happening to a lot of people at MFP, but they call them "plateaus."

    yup acogg u r absolutely right!!
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
    I think it's not bad advice for someone who is on really low calories to lose.
  • jayche
    jayche Posts: 1,128 Member
    I'd have agree with this concept, someone who is maintaining their bodyweight at 2000 calories a day at X weight due to having a higher metabolism is going to have an easier time losing weight than the person who is eating 1500 calories a day at the same bodyweight.
  • RedHeadDevotchka
    RedHeadDevotchka Posts: 1,394 Member
    I think every few months you should switch up the routine both with diet and exercise, and maintenance can be included but I don't know that it needs to be that long.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
    That may well help if you're not strong willed enough to stick at it when maintaining.

    I know I haven't been strong willed in many situations - despite knowing that I was already overweight, I have then gone on to eat even more in many situations. Haven't needed to diet/lose weight beforehand to do this.

    I'm slowly returning to maintenance then going to go to 250calories over.
    Am now on a target of -500 deficit. Because I did have a couple of weak willed days (due to environmental issues not diet specific - I've always turned to food for comfort/pleasure), I'm extending my time here a bit longer; but happy enough that it should even out.
  • byeachmoment
    byeachmoment Posts: 67
    I think that the idea makes sense but I think that 3-6 months is too long of a maintaining period. Maybe a couple weeks tops?
  • AylaAlys
    AylaAlys Posts: 7 Member
    You are bummed that you "only" lost 14 pounds in three months?? That wonderful! Be proud!!! xo
  • kaseysospacey
    kaseysospacey Posts: 499 Member
    Too long. I don't really get the point of it.
  • naticksdonna
    naticksdonna Posts: 192 Member
    I actually do that. I have been maintaining a 55 lb. weight loss that I did in three sections with 6 week breaks in between going from very low calorie to almost 4 times that during the maintenance phase. This time I am stretching it out from the end of September to the New Year. It's supposed to give you a new lower set point each time and your body needs time to adjust to that lower set point. I wouldn't call these plateaus because usually a person who is still trying to lose weight but hits a wall so to speak. With interval losing, you are stabilizing your metabolism. Might not work for everyone but so many people lose weight quickly, get all excited about it and then, boom, gain it back and then some almost as quickly.
  • slacker80
    slacker80 Posts: 235 Member
    Why ruin a good run. If a person is obviously focused in the zone, than I would rather continue that drive. Many new factors can come into a persons life durring break. Motivation can easily be lost between the seasons.

    Durring a course of weight loss there may be several factors that naturally plateau a body weight anyhow. Each time we plateau is a period of maintenance in itself where we like to reassess and figure out what we are doing wrong or what we need to do next.
  • divacat80
    divacat80 Posts: 299 Member
    If there is no extreme weightloss needed then i don't see why this wouldn't be a good idea. But, eating maintenance for some people would mean being too close to going back to old bad habits. Say, someone who is not willing to follow a diet with only homemade food and is resorting to just limiting the portions of fatty food, is now eating larger amounts of those foods... He/she would be too tempted to overeat.
    It depends on the person. What i do agree with is that you can't change your habits overnight, and since an overweight person might have tried to lose weight for so long and frustrated by so many unsuccessful attempts... Seeing that he/she can maintain the weightloss can motivate him/her to keep going because it's a confident boost. A lot of people just won't diet because of the fear to failure. If we can show them that they won't fail for real then it might work for them on the long run.

    Every person is different.

    It wouldn't have worked for me, I'm sure, it's too long. But it could work for others when all other strategies fail.
  • pkw58
    pkw58 Posts: 2,038 Member
    I actually think it makes sense. Also, say you want to lose your weight at an average of 1 pound per week and you have 50 or more pounds to lose. you will have times where maintaining is the best you can do - such as going on vacation or big family celebration where the only healthy thing to eat is the water on the table.

    I am at my ultimate goal weight. It took me about 11 months to get there. I had an initial ultimate goal that was 10 pounds higher , but found when I went on maintenance I continued to lose. Learning to maintain a weight seems a bit more individualized than I thought!

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