If I stop for a month will I kick start my loss again

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  • Shell_7609
    Shell_7609 Posts: 786 Member
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    I've personally had luck with taking a "break" and changing my goal to maintain current weight for a few days, then back to my usual lose a pound a week setting. More protein seems to help me too
  • kalyn_QT
    kalyn_QT Posts: 273 Member
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    well personally i did it because i had a plateau that lasted 2 months. so i took a month not actively counting everything i still watched what i ate and did the gym sometimes but i just didn't log the food. i looked food up to make sure i wasn't completely over doing things like if i went to a restaurant. so it helped my learn portions and control without logging and measuring which i desperately need to learn for whenever i hit maintenance (i have a long while before then though). but i didnt weigh in for that month and after it was over i stepped on the scale to see the "damage" and lost like 5 pounds and have been losing nicely since. may not work for everyone but my body acted positively toward it.
  • stang_girl88
    stang_girl88 Posts: 234 Member
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    I stopped for two weeks and ate at my maintenance. I started to lose weight again once I re-started. I would be cautious about quitting all together, it could be hard for you to start again. Perhaps going for long walks or something. I didnt have a problem starting again, I was craving my workouts :)
  • hutchy100
    hutchy100 Posts: 103 Member
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    You could try it and see what happens i hit a brick wall for 2 months and then for 2 weeks i just stopped working out and watching what i eat and then 1 month later on i smashed though the wall and lost 6 lbs
  • ReinasWrath
    ReinasWrath Posts: 1,173 Member
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    I would do it only for a week or two tops, not a whole month . I'll "take the week off" every now and again and by the end of the week I feel more energetic and actually excited to work out again.
    You could also try calorie cycling, it should offer up similar results. You would end up netting the same amount of calories over the course of the week but each day you'd be eating differently like one day you'd eat +300 extra cals and the next possibly -200 and another day you'd eat -100. In theory it should shock your body a little and help break a plateau. Here is a site that could help you come up with what to eat which days if you're interested. (:
    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html

    ^^read this.

    A 10 - 14 day break should be good.

    ETA: I would not normally recommend a diet break after only 3 months with the amount you have to lose but I think I recall you are on a VLCD.

    However, when you say your weight loss has slowed down, how much have you lost in the last month?
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Three months is not a long time and since you still have a long way to go I wouldn't go to maintenance. You probably need to start doing some exercise that will increase your fitness, doing the same thing over and over lets your body become efficient at doing in. You don't even need to lift actual weights. Body weight exercises like squats, lunges, pushups are very effective. Walking is a great exercise for everyone.

    You may need to tweak your food intake. Your diary is closed but what you eat will be 90% of your weight loss. Being meticulous about measuring, weighing and being honest is important. I don't think eating more protein has any magical powers for weight loss but it does help keep you feeling satiated. Your weight loss will keep getting slower and slower as you come nearer to goal. It's just the way it is.
  • taylorwaylor
    taylorwaylor Posts: 417 Member
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    Isn't that kinda like yo-yo dieting?? If you continuously do it? Anyways... I say increase your protein!!! Add a protein shake everyday, like after you bike, that way your muscles will be getting what they need, and it will help prevent from losing your muscles....

    And maybe you'r not eating enough now?? Do you eat your exercise calories?? And I've of when people hit these sort of "platues", actually eating more has made them lose more weight!
  • sunnyside1213
    sunnyside1213 Posts: 1,205 Member
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    Greek yogurt is a good source of protein.
  • AnvilHead
    AnvilHead Posts: 18,344 Member
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    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html
    Beat me to it. :happy:

    One more thing try if you like a list , try googling Dr. Oz 100 weight loss tips
    ^ The only reason I would do this is to read about what NOT to do. There are plenty of people who are knowledgeable about weight loss, nutrition and training - IMO, he is not one of them. If you want solid information about nutrition and training, google Lyle McDonald (bodyrecomposition.com), Alan Aragon (alanaragon.com) and/or James Krieger (weightology.net) instead. All three are researchers and trainers with years of hands-on experience, as opposed to snake oil salesmen.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    Isn't that kinda like yo-yo dieting?? If you continuously do it? Anyways... I say increase your protein!!! Add a protein shake everyday, like after you bike, that way your muscles will be getting what they need, and it will help prevent from losing your muscles....

    And maybe you'r not eating enough now?? Do you eat your exercise calories?? And I've of when people hit these sort of "platues", actually eating more has made them lose more weight!

    It is not yo-yo dieting. There are hormonal and other reasons to give your body a break from dieting. Dieting is hard on your body and some are impacted more than others by it.
  • Sleepynita
    Sleepynita Posts: 82
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    I am doing the same thing, but just for ~10 days.

    With Christmas (3 family dinners - crazy!), my Grandfathers funeral right after that and New Years in the next few days, I feel it is a great time to eat at TDEE or a small cut from it and give my body a break. Hopefully I will be rewarded with a weight drop in the new year :) If not I will just work those pounds off as always.
  • alanlmarshall
    alanlmarshall Posts: 587 Member
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    If your goal is to lose fat, no amount of protein or resistance training will be more effective than a healthy caloric deficit.
    If you are a serious body builder, then your goals will be different. You're getting a lot of bro-science here, I'm afraid. You can't kick start fat loss without consuming fewer calories, it's physically impossible.

    The reason to consider a period of maintanence would be phsycololgical. It may be that taking time off to practice a moderate, healthy diet to maintain your current weight could make it easier phsycologically to stick with a fat reducing regimen later. But don't expect magical rapid fat loss.
  • Sarauk2sf
    Sarauk2sf Posts: 28,072 Member
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    If your goal is to lose fat, no amount of protein or resistance training will be more effective than a healthy caloric deficit.
    If you are a serious body builder, then your goals will be different. You're getting a lot of bro-science here, I'm afraid. You can't kick start fat loss without consuming fewer calories, it's physically impossible.

    The reason to consider a period of maintanence would be phsycololgical. It may be that taking time off to practice a moderate, healthy diet to maintain your current weight could make it easier phsycologically to stick with a fat reducing regimen later. But don't expect magical rapid fat loss.

    Where is the bro science?

    Did you ask how many calories she is currently on before suggesting to cut them?
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Just eat at TDEE for 2 weeks.
    Simple stuff.

    ^^ I'm doing this for the holidays. If it benefits me beyond the simple joy of eating holiday treats, then so be it. If not, then oh well, I had fun eating all the treats!

    I'm also finding that it's interesting to see how much I can eat after nearly six months in a calorie deficit.
  • apexgtp
    apexgtp Posts: 64 Member
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    I wouldn't give yourself an excuse to stop. You should do the bike extra long today just for thinking this. If you want a break take a few days off but stay on your diet. There are other ways around plateaus than STOPPING.
  • eviegreen
    eviegreen Posts: 123 Member
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    Don't stop completely. This is a lifestyle change, so it's important to keep it a process that you're able to maintain long term instead of something you do intermittently. Because when you do eventually reach goal, you want to be able to maintain.

    But that doesn't mean you can't change it up from time to time. I was at a plateau too, so I'm trying to kickstart my weightloss again. So these past few weeks I've been more lax with calorie counting, mostly trusting the food amounts that I've been successful with over these last months on MFP. I went months exercising 5-7 days a week, so I took a bit of a break from that and went down to 1 or 2 days for a few weeks. I lost a few pounds doing that. So I'm going back to routine again now.
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Thanks, I will both up my protien and do some weight bearing exercises (aka weight lifting right?) I had just recently added some balance ball routines and trying to plank on it and hand weights . I fall alot, alot, alot, ALOT. ( I am 57) even fell off the ball..lol. I fall off of chairs,couches,curbs, tripped on pine cones,rocks, cracks in sidewalks, sewer manhole covers, street grates, hems of long dresses which I no wear because of that. you get the picture. I fall ALOT. so much that I walk looking at the ground, and my family will point out the pit falls to me. I was thinking it might be my balance (though doctor says no medical reason). But I have digressed. So, anyway, thank you.

    Weight training exercises and calisthenics (body-weight exercises like body-weight squats, modified pushups, etc.) will help a lot with your balance issues. Definitely make sure you're doing some as part of your exercise routine.

    Good luck to you.

    ^ What Preg said. Work that core. I had notoriously bad balance (like, standing straight and suddenly falling over) with no inner ear or other medical issues. Lifting weights and working my core 4x a week has made a TREMENDOUS difference... which makes sense, since I had no balance issues when I was in gymnastics for seven years :P
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Isn't that kinda like yo-yo dieting?? If you continuously do it? Anyways... I say increase your protein!!! Add a protein shake everyday, like after you bike, that way your muscles will be getting what they need, and it will help prevent from losing your muscles....

    And maybe you'r not eating enough now?? Do you eat your exercise calories?? And I've of when people hit these sort of "platues", actually eating more has made them lose more weight!

    It is not yo-yo dieting. There are hormonal and other reasons to give your body a break from dieting. Dieting is hard on your body and some are impacted more than others by it.

    ^ This. Eating at "maintenance" is hardly yo-yoing; if she went from 1200 to 3500, that would be yo-yoing. Eating at maintenance has many benefits, the least of which being, "Learning how to eat healthy and sustainable at a higher calorie goal."

    I know I generally lose weight after eating closer to maintenance for a few days, and I know I've definitely had immunity issues from eating at a deficit for so long.
  • WendyTerry420
    WendyTerry420 Posts: 13,274 Member
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    Don't stop completely. This is a lifestyle change, so it's important to keep it a process that you're able to maintain long term instead of something you do intermittently. Because when you do eventually reach goal, you want to be able to maintain.

    But that doesn't mean you can't change it up from time to time. I was at a plateau too, so I'm trying to kickstart my weightloss again. So these past few weeks I've been more lax with calorie counting, mostly trusting the food amounts that I've been successful with over these last months on MFP. I went months exercising 5-7 days a week, so I took a bit of a break from that and went down to 1 or 2 days for a few weeks. I lost a few pounds doing that. So I'm going back to routine again now.

    I'm trying to figure out how "being lax" with logging would cause greater success than eating at maintenance. That makes absolutely no sense. If I weren't logging, it would be too easy to go above maintenance.

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