Will you power through to the goal or take a break?

power thru for sure. good health is becoming more important to me everyday...gonna see it thru

I'm not sure. I'm feeling sort of burnt out myself right now. Ideally I need to lose about another 15 pounds but the weight is coming off so very slowly at the moment and I've lost a lot of my will to do this.

If I "take a break" I risk gaining some of this weight back or at least losing some muscle. And then I'll lose a month or two and then hate myself because I could have been closer to my goal.

I don't know. I guess I'll just keep going because there's no other option that I won't hate myself for later on.

Already made my goal but the only time I've taken a break is for vacation. On vacation I always just eat whatever I want.

I have about 5 pounds to go after hitting my original goal and moving the goal line. I also have a twinge-y knee and want to give running a break for a bit. I'm having a week of eating at maintenance and walking only, and next week I'm going back to a small deficit and starting a strength program. This week has been extremely nice and refreshing, and there is a part of me that just wants it to be over so I can charge into this weight program. Breaks can be mentally restful and helpful, as long as they don't stretch themselves out to months or years.

Everyone is different you have to do what is best for you For me this is about changing my lifestyle. I have went 3 years "powering through" and I am sure I have another year or two ahead of me before i hit goal I dont take "time off" because this is about making what i am doing a everyday plan. Do I have bad days sure but that is part of life and it will happen now and in the future. I don't plan for bad days but I have recognized they will happen no matter what and when they do I promise myself to do better the next

If one needs to "power through", they're doing it wrong. It's about sustainability and compliance, forever.

No, I'm not going to be eating at a deficit forever, so sustainability isn't really relevant beyond my goal.

I won't be taking any breaks, but I'll have a few days over maintenance until I get to my loss goal. So, I'll be powering through.

i plan on taking breaks every 2-3 months. my breaks will more than likely also line up to when it's time to take a week or 2 off from hard workouts and will be deloading/active rest weeks .

lyle mcdonald explains pretty well the resaons to take a full diet break

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

If one needs to "power through", they're doing it wrong. It's about sustainability and compliance, forever.

No, I'm not going to be eating at a deficit forever, so sustainability isn't really relevant beyond my goal.

I won't be taking any breaks, but I'll have a few days over maintenance until I get to my loss goal. So, I'll be powering through.

Sustainability can be relevant. Well you're hugely tall so your calorie needs may always be higher than most. But consider for instance people eating at a deficit of a half pound per week , for whatever reason. When they get to "maintenance" they really won't be eating that much more per day. Their maintenance habits could need to be rather similar to their weight loss habits.

I am a little worried that a week or two would turn into a month or two.

I think I actually just came off a break that was probably a bit worse than maintenance. However, things like exercising and logging are already habits for me; I just couldn't stop them, whether or not I was under goal. I sure as heck wasn't losing my streak. Perhaps taking a break doesn't have to mean stopping everything. It could be letting one aspect wait for a few days while you continue to push on other fronts that you do not find so cumbersome

If one needs to "power through", they're doing it wrong. It's about sustainability and compliance, forever.

No, I'm not going to be eating at a deficit forever, so sustainability isn't really relevant beyond my goal.

I won't be taking any breaks, but I'll have a few days over maintenance until I get to my loss goal. So, I'll be powering through.

Did I say anything about a deficit, cowboy? I meant in general, whether it be weight loss/maintenance/gain maybe I should have been more specific obviously some people can't read between the lines..

Well that is the purpose of a discussion forum. To read the lines. A little clarification shouldn't hurt nothing. For example are you really saying weight change/maintenance is a breeze? Cos I have many a day I didn't want to work out but did it anyway, or didn't feel like cooking or hand washing a huge pile of dishes (again) but did it anyway because that's what it takes to get where I want

If one needs to "power through", they're doing it wrong. It's about sustainability and compliance, forever.

No, I'm not going to be eating at a deficit forever, so sustainability isn't really relevant beyond my goal.

I won't be taking any breaks, but I'll have a few days over maintenance until I get to my loss goal. So, I'll be powering through.

Sustainability can be relevant. Well you're hugely tall so your calorie needs may always be higher than most. But consider for instance people eating at a deficit of a half pound per week , for whatever reason. When they get to "maintenance" they really won't be eating that much more per day. Their maintenance habits could need to be rather similar to their weight loss habits.

That's fair. If someone is eating close to maintenance and eating in a way they won't be able to continue -- bringing celery and yogurt to Thanksgiving or skipping everyone's birthday parties or whatever -- then sustainability could be relevant. Still, that's different from powering through, IMO.

Maybe someone says, "OK, this holiday season I'm really going to restrict myself substantially in order to meet my goal, but next year I'll be in a better position to indulge within reason." To me, that's powering though, it's probably not sustainable, and it's still an arguably reasonable approach.

I don't see eating at maintenance once in a while as taking a break. You'll be fine.

This, as long as you're still logging.

My primary goal isn't a specific weight. Nor is it a specific shape. These are all secondary and are natural consequences of my primary goal. My primary goal is to eat and live - each day - in as healthy a way as I can. I need to focus on developing better habits and new ways of thinking about food and activity. That in the face of decades of bad eating and laziness. I can't take a break from that. Habits and conversion of thought processes are too hard to form and persistence and consistency are key to those changes. I simply cannot afford to let my guard down until I'm 110% confident I've truly changed.

ive taken a break before and eaten what i wanted, i was a waitress though so still lost 10lb in 4 weeks, as long as youre not gaining youre not going back enjoy :drinker: