Planned diet break... am I eating enough?
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JustSammi
Posts: 79
Hi everyone,
I've recently started a 14 day diet break after experiencing only a 2 lb loss in 5 weeks when previously (eating at TDEE -20%, currently around 1650 calories and I've been readjusting along the way) I'd been losing around 1 lb a week since January. This is the first time I've ever taken a diet break for longer than a week since January and that was only once in May though I have regular 'cheat' meals at the weekend. I'm going to start incorporating longer diet breaks more often as I don't want to fudge up my body. I just assumed that it had been fine all of this time as I wasn't creating a massive deficit.
Anyway, I've followed this article (http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html) so I'm eating at TDEE -10% to make up for metabolic slowdown as recommended in this article, which works out as 1850-ish calories per day though I frequently net a little over this. I've read here that people are eating at maintenance though and are not subtracting 10% off their TDEE so I was wondering if I'm doing this right or if I should be eating more?
I'm only on day 4 so I know it's still early days to see scale differences but I haven't lost or gained, I'm exactly the same weight, I've not even fluctuated by an ounce except for on Thursday morning my weight increased by 1 lb after heavy lifting the night before, this morning I was back to the same weight as before.
I guess what I'm worried about is that I'm still not eating enough. I've never restricted carbs so didn't expect a massive gain when I started eating more but I did expect a little. I really want this break to work and to regulate my body and hormones again so I'm wondering if what I'm doing is fine or if I should eat at my true TDEE which is 2063 according to the fat2fitradio calculators?
Sorry if I'm looking too much into this. I just want to be nice to my body. Other than this little worry I feel absolutely fine, physically and mentally. I don't feel hungry and I feel perfectly energised. :flowerforyou:
I've recently started a 14 day diet break after experiencing only a 2 lb loss in 5 weeks when previously (eating at TDEE -20%, currently around 1650 calories and I've been readjusting along the way) I'd been losing around 1 lb a week since January. This is the first time I've ever taken a diet break for longer than a week since January and that was only once in May though I have regular 'cheat' meals at the weekend. I'm going to start incorporating longer diet breaks more often as I don't want to fudge up my body. I just assumed that it had been fine all of this time as I wasn't creating a massive deficit.
Anyway, I've followed this article (http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html) so I'm eating at TDEE -10% to make up for metabolic slowdown as recommended in this article, which works out as 1850-ish calories per day though I frequently net a little over this. I've read here that people are eating at maintenance though and are not subtracting 10% off their TDEE so I was wondering if I'm doing this right or if I should be eating more?
I'm only on day 4 so I know it's still early days to see scale differences but I haven't lost or gained, I'm exactly the same weight, I've not even fluctuated by an ounce except for on Thursday morning my weight increased by 1 lb after heavy lifting the night before, this morning I was back to the same weight as before.
I guess what I'm worried about is that I'm still not eating enough. I've never restricted carbs so didn't expect a massive gain when I started eating more but I did expect a little. I really want this break to work and to regulate my body and hormones again so I'm wondering if what I'm doing is fine or if I should eat at my true TDEE which is 2063 according to the fat2fitradio calculators?
Sorry if I'm looking too much into this. I just want to be nice to my body. Other than this little worry I feel absolutely fine, physically and mentally. I don't feel hungry and I feel perfectly energised. :flowerforyou:
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Replies
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I definitely am not the expert , but I have read alot of posts here. I have seen posted that a 20% cut it a bit drastic and some like you may just want to make that 15% or 10%. However, those that seem to do a diet break eat at their full TDEE for a couple weeks then go back to the 15% cut.
I am sure that those that are in the "know" will give you more detailed information.0 -
I definitely am not the expert , but I have read alot of posts here. I have seen posted that a 20% cut it a bit drastic and some like you may just want to make that 15% or 10%. However, those that seem to do a diet break eat at their full TDEE for a couple weeks then go back to the 15% cut.
I am sure that those that are in the "know" will give you more detailed information.
Really? My deficit only works out as 400 calories though so I thought that was fine. I was planning on a 10% cut when I'm 10 lbs away from my goal but I still have 20 lbs to go all together.0 -
Not sure what you mean by deficit of 400 but you may want to redo your TDEE based on your current activity. Most here suggest only a 15% cut. Heybales may give a suggestion,0
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Not sure what you mean by deficit of 400 but you may want to redo your TDEE based on your current activity. Most here suggest only a 15% cut. Heybales may give a suggestion,
Sorry, I didn't explain that very well. My TDEE -20% deficit works out at 400 calories so I didn't think I'd need to do TDEE -10% or 15% as my 20% deficit is quite low. Someone with a higher TDEE than me would get higher deficits at -20% but mine's quite low. My TDEE is up to date and based on my current activity.
I think I've pretty much decided that I should eat at full TDEE during this diet break as it seems I'm losing weight (as of this morning) doing a 10% cut as Lyle McDonald suggests.0 -
I would personally eat at full TDEE for a few weeks. Remember, you want to challenge your metabolism to go as high as possible... Push it up there as high as you can go (without consistently gaining over time), and then take a 10 - 15% cut.0
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I would personally eat at full TDEE for a few weeks. Remember, you want to challenge your metabolism to go as high as possible... Push it up there as high as you can go (without consistently gaining over time), and then take a 10 - 15% cut.
Thanks. I'm raising my calories as I want this break to work properly for my body. I suppose it's a good sign that I started losing again after raising them a little.0 -
I would personally eat at full TDEE for a few weeks. Remember, you want to challenge your metabolism to go as high as possible... Push it up there as high as you can go (without consistently gaining over time), and then take a 10 - 15% cut.
Thanks. I'm raising my calories as I want this break to work properly for my body. I suppose it's a good sign that I started losing again after raising them a little.
Yes, if you are still losing, then you are not eating at TDEE yet. I would go ahead and continue to bump your calories up by 100 or 200 a day and keep an eye on your weight. if you continue to maintain or lose, you are still below TDEE. Once you start to gain consistently over time, you have surpassed your TDEE. Once you actually *find* your TDEE, stay there for a few weeks, and *then* start a 10 - 15% cut.
Then, remember to continue to take "diet breaks" every couple of months and bump up to that true TDEE figure for a week or so, just to remind your body of what it's true maintenance level is...0 -
I would personally eat at full TDEE for a few weeks. Remember, you want to challenge your metabolism to go as high as possible... Push it up there as high as you can go (without consistently gaining over time), and then take a 10 - 15% cut.
Thanks. I'm raising my calories as I want this break to work properly for my body. I suppose it's a good sign that I started losing again after raising them a little.
Yes, if you are still losing, then you are not eating at TDEE yet. I would go ahead and continue to bump your calories up by 100 or 200 a day and keep an eye on your weight. if you continue to maintain or lose, you are still below TDEE. Once you start to gain consistently over time, you have surpassed your TDEE. Once you actually *find* your TDEE, stay there for a few weeks, and *then* start a 10 - 15% cut.
Then, remember to continue to take "diet breaks" every couple of months and bump up to that true TDEE figure for a week or so, just to remind your body of what it's true maintenance level is...
Thanks for the advice. I've bumped up to around 2100 now, I suspect my TDEE is around 2060 according to the online calculators so I'll see how I get on here.0 -
Sounds like a great plan! Remember, your weight may bounce around for a while before stabilizing, but as long as you don't continue to gain and gain over time you are on the right track... You are going to do awesome!0
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Sounds like a great plan! Remember, your weight may bounce around for a while before stabilizing, but as long as you don't continue to gain and gain over time you are on the right track... You are going to do awesome!
Thank you! I hope so. :happy:0 -
I would personally eat at full TDEE for a few weeks. Remember, you want to challenge your metabolism to go as high as possible... Push it up there as high as you can go (without consistently gaining over time), and then take a 10 - 15% cut.
Thanks. I'm raising my calories as I want this break to work properly for my body. I suppose it's a good sign that I started losing again after raising them a little.
Yes, if you are still losing, then you are not eating at TDEE yet. I would go ahead and continue to bump your calories up by 100 or 200 a day and keep an eye on your weight. if you continue to maintain or lose, you are still below TDEE. Once you start to gain consistently over time, you have surpassed your TDEE. Once you actually *find* your TDEE, stay there for a few weeks, and *then* start a 10 - 15% cut.
Then, remember to continue to take "diet breaks" every couple of months and bump up to that true TDEE figure for a week or so, just to remind your body of what it's true maintenance level is...
Thanks for the advice. I've bumped up to around 2100 now, I suspect my TDEE is around 2060 according to the online calculators so I'll see how I get on here.
You are def on the right path!0
