Diet break duration and advice?

opalle · August 2015

I've been doing this for almost three months. I've lost 19lbs. Everything is going great but I also know I have months ahead of me and I think now is a good time to take a diet break.

If I understand correctly doing this will help with adaptive thermogenesis and I've seen it recommended if your goal will take more than three months to achieve.

I want to make sure I am doing it correctly and not undo my hard work.

Below is what I'm planning:

Eat at maintenance- I will still track and log though. This isn't an excuse to go back to old eating habits.

Continue with exercising and increase my strength training.

I'm changing my activity level (I work a desk job and had it set to sedentary) However I will not be eating back my exercise calories.

Some places I've read say to do it for 1 week, others say 2 weeks. Both options appeal to me but I'm leaning towards two. (Maybe a week and a half?)

Would love some advice from others who have done this and opinions on how long a break should last.

Liftng4Lis · August 2015

I take a diet break every 6 months, for two weeks. It doesn't mean I go crazy, I'm still conscientious, I just don't weigh or log.

PinkPixiexox · August 2015

I've never thought of trying a diet break but I can see the logic! I can't see how you would undo any of your hard work if you are eating at maintenance and continuing your work-outs! You're just giving your body a fat burning rest, surely? I'd be interested in seeing how this goes

jemhh · August 2015

I usually do it for one week. In general, I do it when I start to have constant hunger. Within a few days I feel much better and am ready to get back to losing again.

Do you currently log your exercise and eat the calories? If so, just set your loss to 0 for the week and continue as normal. I don't see the need for changing the activity setting.

callsitlikeiseeit · August 2015

i dont PLAN for breaks but have times where i will eat at or near maintenance (ie: vacation, holidays, busy weekends with friends, etc) i still log it all though....

nordlead2005 · August 2015

I just took a 1-week break eating at maintenance while on vacation. I didn't even exercise (but we did walk a lot, upwards of 3 miles/day). That was after 2.5 months of dieting. I'll probably take another week long break at maintenance in 3 months (thanksgiving timeframe). A 2 week break sounds great also. Do whatever you want.

It is pretty hard to screw up 19 pounds of weight loss in 1 week. Worst case scenario is you set yourself back by 1lb of actual fat, but isn't likely if you are somewhat monitoring it. Just be aware that water weight will be up. I went up 3.1lb in weight over that 1 week, but I'm back down that same 3.1lb in 5 days, and I didn't lose 3.1lb in 5 days eating at a 1.5lb/week deficit.

XavierNusum · August 2015

I think it's a great idea. I phase my training and nutrition throughout the year. Length of phases is really up to you. Some suggest 4-6 weeks but as others have said, listen to you body. When ou hit maintenance, you should see/feel a difference in performance in the gym. Ride that out for a coule of weeks and then back to a deficit.

opalle · August 2015

Thank you all for your responses . Going to try for 10 days and start again after the September long weekend.

andympanda · August 2015

I usually switch to maintenance whenever I go on vacation, or around the holiday time. I still have managed to loose over 140 pounds in 20 months

Machka9 · August 2015

After I reached my first weight goal ... back to the weight I was 4 years ago, within the normal BMI range, but near the top end ... I took a break for about a month. I was on holiday from mid-June to mid_July and really didn't want to log things.

Then I returned to it again, aiming for my second goal.

Diet break duration and advice?

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