Reverse diet - forced break in the middle of it!

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StrangeKraem
StrangeKraem Posts: 19 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So, I've still got some weight to lose (am at about 27-30% bf, goal is around 20% with a nice amount of muscle!) and a while ago I decided to try out reverse dieting. I ended up loving it, and have decided to continue to use reverse dieting cycles as my weight loss method. So far so good, it's working like a charm, still losing weight, getting more energy, increasing weights in the gym and yeah, to keep it short; I am having fun again!

Back to the reason of this post! I have just started a cycle.. aaand now I'm down with the flu. When I'm ill I dont stick to a certain amount of calories, but eat what I feel like eating. I don't truly care all that much if I end up gaining some fat during this period, but my "problem" right now is.. what should I do when I'm well again and it's return to my regular calorie goal?

Currently my calculated maintenance is at around 2300kcal, and whilst my RD-cycle looks somewhat like this, should 2200 be my maintenance then that's where I'll stay for two weeks, and if I'm still losing at 2300 then I'll only do that for a week and then continue up to 2400 until I hit my actual maintenance etc, etc - you get the idea!

Week 1 & 2) 1600 kcal
Week 3 & 4) 1700 kcal <-- got sick at the end of week 4
Week 5) 1800 <-- This is where I am right now!
Week 6) 1900
Week 7) 2000
Week 8) 2100
Week 9) 2200
Week 10 & 11) 2300


A part me was thinking about treating this week as if I had completed it on the intended decifit and just jump back in where I would be if I had followed my schedule, but another part of me is wondering if I should just stick to maintenance for another two weeks when I'm back on track and then start a new cycle.

I can't quite decide so.. What would you guys do?

Thanks for the help!
/Sara

Replies

  • icrushit
    icrushit Posts: 773 Member
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    Just bumping as I would love to see this thread gain some legs, as reverse dieting is something I love finding out more about, especially from others actual experiences :)
  • terbusha
    terbusha Posts: 1,483 Member
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    You won't be down and out for too long. I would just jump back into your RD cycle where you left off. 1 week of rest is not going to reduce your metabolism. You may see a bump in weight when you start eating normally again, but that will probably be water, and glycogen loading back into your muscles. If you do see that bump in weight, just stay at that calorie level until your weight stabilizes or you begin losing again.

    Congrats on the successful RD. I'm working my metabolism up too. I used to maintain ~2200 cal/day (after a long cut). Now I'm up to 2800 cal/day and maintaining to a slight loss.

    Allan
  • StrangeKraem
    StrangeKraem Posts: 19 Member
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    Just bumping as I would love to see this thread gain some legs, as reverse dieting is something I love finding out more about, especially from others actual experiences :)

    Thank you! Yeah, so far I'm absolutely loving it, I've been doing "strict" diets where you set a specific calorie goal and just stick to it for a couple of weeks, and honestly.. that just drained my energy. This is a little bit slower compared to that "method" but so much more fun! Not to mention the whole feeling of adding new things to eat every week, loving it! :D

    You won't be down and out for too long. I would just jump back into your RD cycle where you left off. 1 week of rest is not going to reduce your metabolism. You may see a bump in weight when you start eating normally again, but that will probably be water, and glycogen loading back into your muscles. If you do see that bump in weight, just stay at that calorie level until your weight stabilizes or you begin losing again.

    Congrats on the successful RD. I'm working my metabolism up too. I used to maintain ~2200 cal/day (after a long cut). Now I'm up to 2800 cal/day and maintaining to a slight loss.

    Allan

    Oh no, I'm not scared of that at all! I honestly think my metabolism is alright already so that's not the reason to why I'm actually doing RD. I mainly needed some change because cutting had become boring and dull compared to how fun I had with it the first year when I started cutting, so I felt it was a good way of getting the job done whilst having some fun with it! Thank you so much for that reach out though, I love how helpful people are around here!

    Have you gone through several cycles?

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