Taking a 'break' from weight loss by maintaining

dohayoussef123 · February 2015

Hi everyone. I've lost about 17 pounds so far and want to lose another 13 pounds. However, I have decided I want to take a 'break' for a while and eat at maintenance. I feel like I've been eating too little and thinking way too much about food, so I think eating a little more and maintaining my weight for 2 or 3 months will help kick start my weight loss again. Anyways, I'm 20 year old female, 5'5 and currently weight 134 pounds. According to MFP, I should eat 1930 calories to maintain but that feels like a lot to me. Should I change it or stick with it? I really don't want to eat too much and gain weight. What do you guys recommend? Thanks

sijomial · February 2015

Over the last four weeks how much have you lost per week?
1lb a week would be approximately 500 cal/day deficit that you would have to make up....

If you have been seriously under eating you may get a water weight bounce out of proportion to your calorie increase - ignore it!

A diet break is a good idea mentally and physically.
Another good idea would be to take the last 13lbs at a sensible and sustainable rate.

Worth reading what Lyle McDonald says about diet breaks....
bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/

luluinca · February 2015

I think it might be better to up your calories slowly to that maintenance level. Also, if you can increase your exercise, or at least the intensity at the same time, you'll probably have no problem reaching that.

I crept up to my maintenance last year over about 6 weeks because I was worn out with the deficit, and now I can actually eat a lot more (300-400 calories) daily and still lose weight. It takes a bit of patience though. I would up your calories by 50-100 daily for a week or two and then do it again and again every couple of weeks until you reach maintenance. Sit there for as long as you want and enjoy it. When you're ready to cut again then go for it. But I wouldn't take more than about a 15% deficit. You'll lose the last 13 lbs slowly but you won't be hungry.

I still had about 20 lbs to lose when I did it and now, since October, I've lost about 10 of those.

Good luck!

riffraff2112 · February 2015

not sure 'kickstart' is the correct term. I don't think your body will lose the weight any faster by taking a break. I think I know what you mean, that your body is adjusting but sounds like you are losing at a decent rate already but are worried that you can eat so little.

If you feel like you are hungry all the time maybe you are losing too fast and eating too little then maybe you do need to add some calories but if your goal is to lose 13 lbs, why don't you just eat at a modest deficit.

It isn't a race. Good luck

PennyHartz · February 2015

I was just talking about something similar in another thread, but if you feel like you need to eat more, yet still want to lose weight, couldn't you increase your calories while still eating in a deficit? What are you set to lose now/ how many calories are you eating? Just today I switched my weekly from 1.5 lbs/ wk to 1 lb/ week because I feel like I need more to eat.

dohayoussef123 · February 2015

PennyHartz wrote: »

I was just talking about something similar in another thread, but if you feel like you need to eat more, yet still want to lose weight, couldn't you increase your calories while still eating in a deficit? What are you set to lose now/ how many calories are you eating? Just today I switched my weekly from 1.5 lbs/ wk to 1 lb/ week because I feel like I need more to eat.

Could you link me this thread? And thanks, I don't know why I didn't think of that. I was eating around 1200-1400 calories to lose 1Ib - 1Ib/ week. However, I just felt burnt out. So I changed it to 0.5 Ib/ week. Since I only want to lose the last few pounds, I'll take it slow. I should be eating about 1630 cal now. Thanks for the advice

dohayoussef123 · February 2015

sijomial wrote: »

Over the last four weeks how much have you lost per week?
1lb a week would be approximately 500 cal/day deficit that you would have to make up....

If you have been seriously under eating you may get a water weight bounce out of proportion to your calorie increase - ignore it!

A diet break is a good idea mentally and physically.
Another good idea would be to take the last 13lbs at a sensible and sustainable rate.

Worth reading what Lyle McDonald says about diet breaks....
bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/

I actually haven't lost anything in the last few weeks. I was eating too little, so I would eat much more other days, so my weight has been stable. I agree. I need to take the last few pounds slow to keep my sanity haha. Thanks for the article-extremely helpful and informative

arditarose · February 2015

I slip into maintenance sometimes. I'm only on a 250 calorie or so deficit. 5'4", 136 pounds. No desire to be less than 130. So I eat if I feel like it.

dohayoussef123 · February 2015

luluinca wrote: »

I think it might be better to up your calories slowly to that maintenance level. Also, if you can increase your exercise, or at least the intensity at the same time, you'll probably have no problem reaching that.

I crept up to my maintenance last year over about 6 weeks because I was worn out with the deficit, and now I can actually eat a lot more (300-400 calories) daily and still lose weight. It takes a bit of patience though. I would up your calories by 50-100 daily for a week or two and then do it again and again every couple of weeks until you reach maintenance. Sit there for as long as you want and enjoy it. When you're ready to cut again then go for it. But I wouldn't take more than about a 15% deficit. You'll lose the last 13 lbs slowly but you won't be hungry.

I still had about 20 lbs to lose when I did it and now, since October, I've lost about 10 of those.

Good luck!

Thanks for the advice. I'm glad to hear that. Isn't really fun being hungry most of the time, haha. I was eating between 1200-1400 calories to lose 1 - 1.5 Ib/wk. I increased it today to 1630 to lose 0.5 Ib/wk. I'll see how that goes. Definitely going to take the last few pounds slowly

KeriA · February 2015

I think that is a very healthy idea. An extended calorie deficit isn't that healthy. I tried to do this as well. After losing 20 pounds I stalled out and realized my deficit was too much. I slowly raised my calories and each time I would gain a few pounds and then would lose them and settle down to maintaining my weight at that calorie level. Then I raised it again and the same thing happened. I never got to where I went over maintenance but raised my calories significantly and I believe I got to what MFP indicated was my maintenance goal. I never got to just where I started to gain to identify whether it was my true maintenance calories or not. What MFP shows or another TDEE calculator shows is just an estimate. Only in testing it out for yourself can you find your true maintenance calories. However at first if you raise your calories from a deficit you might gain a bit but if you stay the course if it is at or under your true maintenance you will lose the gain and start to maintain or even lose. After taking a rest from a significant deficit I was able to lose another 20 pounds slowly with a smaller deficit.

nxd10 · February 2015

Actually a lot of people break by maintaining for a while. I think it's a great idea. Spring will come, you'll be out and more active, and you'll be ready to lose some more. Congratulations on what you've lost.

Jyve · February 2015

Just looking at your stats there - I'm the same height as you and I weighed your goal weight when I was your age - but I trained 3 times a week doing derby and did additional skating/cardio on the side. I now weight about 150lbs but I'm a pole dancer training 4-5 x per week and I've gained a lot of muscle. Keep in mind, 1200 is really low - especially if you're being active. Weight sits on everyone's frame differently, but being about the same height as you perhaps the reason you want to take a break is because you've gone a bit hard and fast on the calorie deficit.
- What kind of exercise are you doing at the moment?

Malak159 · February 2015

You can eat for 1700 cal, i think that will be perfect!

Taking a 'break' from weight loss by maintaining

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