"diet breaks" and "eating at maintenance" and a "slower rate of loss" during a stressful period?

kiela64
kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
I've been extremely pleased with my success on MFP so far, and found a 1lb loss/week (1410cal) very comfortable to eat at even without exercise. I've lost about 15lbs so far. I'm so happy that I know this works, I can do it, and it's not difficult. I've been unable to exercise lately because of a knee injury. It's slowly getting better, and I will be mostly fine in about a month.

However in the last couple of weeks my anxiety has skyrocketed due to school (it's midterm and essay season, and bc of my knee I've had to get extensions and I'm behind in most of my classes). I'm a person with very high anxiety, and lately I've been overeating because of it. I have a minor binge-eating history (probably not BED, but anxiety related binges nonetheless) and it's coming back to haunt me at the moment, though nowhere near as bad as it was last year.

Because of this, I wanted to know people's opinions on things I keep hearing but not really understanding, like "diet breaks," "eating at maintenance" for a while, or simply going with a slower rate of loss during stressful times. I don't want to overeat, because eating 2000cal or more puts me in a surplus, which means I'm eating to gain again (which I've done for about a week, unfortunately). I don't want to lose my progress! But I'm not succeeding at my current rate of loss, and something needs to change, at least for a little while.

If I switch to 1/2lb loss/week, then I'm at 1660cal/day. If I switch to maintenance it's 1910cal/day. (I don't know what a "diet break" is exactly, but I'm guessing it's somewhere along the lines of these two things, if I'm wrong - correct me!).

TL;DR: If you've ever eaten at maintenance for a while, taken a "diet break", or lost more slowly for a while, how did it go? Has anyone done this for stress reasons? Are there pros & cons? Did it become more difficult to switch back to losing? Does anyone do this periodically, say during exam seasons (midterms & finals)?

Replies

  • Somebody_Loved
    Somebody_Loved Posts: 498 Member
    I'm currently eating at maintenance after losing 20 lbs because I simply got tired of trying of eating so few calories. I haven't been doing it long enough to determine how it's going yet (just started this week), but I already feel infinitely better mentally.

    I still have 5-10 pounds I'd like to lose, but for now I'm going to enjoy maintenance and maybe decide to go into a deficit again at some point. Or maybe not. Either way, I don't think going into maintenance for a while can hurt - sometimes it's nice to take a break and reenergize.
  • madhatter2013
    madhatter2013 Posts: 1,547 Member
    A break would be to stop logging for a while. Be mindful of what your eating but don't worry so much over the number at the end of the day. Some people view this as a re-feed in order to get your mind right again before getting back to deficit. Now doing this may cause a bit of regain, however, your mental health is more important at the moment. Unless you binge terribly for the next couple months, you won't gain back the 15 you lost.
  • jemhh
    jemhh Posts: 14,261 Member
    A break does not mean that you have to stop logging at all. I have taken many a diet break, or maintenance break. I eat at maintenance, log it, exercise as normal, and everything is fine. No problems with weight gain. No problems getting back to losing weight when I want to.
  • besee_2000
    besee_2000 Posts: 365 Member
    Some people "reverse diet" to get back to maintenance to prevent gain back. It is a longer process. Each week you add back about 100 cals to each day monitoring your weight each week until weight stabilizes. You may still lose a few pounds until you find the sweet spot. The issue is it could take awhile. You could maybe jump start to 1660 for a week or two and add on from there until you get your body's maintenance.
  • ekat120
    ekat120 Posts: 407 Member
    I like this article about diet breaks: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/ I haven't ever really done a former diet break, but it sounds like it might be helpful for you.
  • jmpaterno
    jmpaterno Posts: 47 Member
    I've given myself little breaks for stress reasons--I actually did it for maybe the third time last week, and it worked out well for me. I had a crazy rush job at work that took every second of my time, and I just felt too sleep deprived and stressed to meal prep, cook, and really focus on staying on track. So I gave myself permission to eat over 1400 (my normal daily amount) as long as I logged everything and stayed under 2000 (my maintenance amount). I ended up staying around 1600-1700 every day. Plus, because I had sat down and made a conscious decision to let myself off the hook a little, it wasn't hard for me to switch back to 1400 after I finished the project--I do think it would have been harder, though, if I had felt guilty about going over 1400 or if I had felt like I'd done it "accidentally."

    For me (and maybe for you?) losing just a little bit of weight during stressful times is actually a huge victory because I would almost always gain weight during those times in the past. So, TL;DR: My opinion is that as long as you log everything, stay under maintenance, and get back to your target calorie rate as soon as you can, giving yourself a bit of a break during periods of stress can be a big help.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    ekat120 wrote: »
    I like this article about diet breaks: http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/ I haven't ever really done a former diet break, but it sounds like it might be helpful for you.

    Thank you for the suggestion! Reading this, I looked back at how long I'd say I've been effectively/actively/correctly using MFP and it's somewhere around 12 weeks that I've been "dieting" or simply eating at a reduced calorie level. Of course, I started at 1200, then up to 1300, then 1600, then back to 1480 (and decreased from there to match the 1lb/week rate every time I updated my weight). So it isn't exactly steady, but according to this theory it might be a "good time" to eat at maintenance anyway. If for nothing but the sense of control that the article talks about. :)
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    jmpaterno wrote: »
    I've given myself little breaks for stress reasons--I actually did it for maybe the third time last week, and it worked out well for me. I had a crazy rush job at work that took every second of my time, and I just felt too sleep deprived and stressed to meal prep, cook, and really focus on staying on track. So I gave myself permission to eat over 1400 (my normal daily amount) as long as I logged everything and stayed under 2000 (my maintenance amount). I ended up staying around 1600-1700 every day. Plus, because I had sat down and made a conscious decision to let myself off the hook a little, it wasn't hard for me to switch back to 1400 after I finished the project--I do think it would have been harder, though, if I had felt guilty about going over 1400 or if I had felt like I'd done it "accidentally."

    For me (and maybe for you?) losing just a little bit of weight during stressful times is actually a huge victory because I would almost always gain weight during those times in the past. So, TL;DR: My opinion is that as long as you log everything, stay under maintenance, and get back to your target calorie rate as soon as you can, giving yourself a bit of a break during periods of stress can be a big help.

    Thanks! That sounds like a really good idea :) For sure, I usually always gain weight when I'm stressed out.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    besee_2000 wrote: »
    Some people "reverse diet" to get back to maintenance to prevent gain back. It is a longer process. Each week you add back about 100 cals to each day monitoring your weight each week until weight stabilizes. You may still lose a few pounds until you find the sweet spot. The issue is it could take awhile. You could maybe jump start to 1660 for a week or two and add on from there until you get your body's maintenance.

    Interesting, I've never heard of that before. I don't currently have access to weekly weighing, but it still sounds really neat!
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    madhatter2013 wrote: »
    A break would be to stop logging for a while. Be mindful of what your eating but don't worry so much over the number at the end of the day. Some people view this as a re-feed in order to get your mind right again before getting back to deficit. Now doing this may cause a bit of regain, however, your mental health is more important at the moment. Unless you binge terribly for the next couple months, you won't gain back the 15 you lost.

    Hm okay, well I wouldn't stop logging so I'm thinking of more just eating at maintenance for a while. I've kept track of a few days here where I've kind of binged, and it was easy to get into surplus area. I think if I stopped logging I might have issues like that, which would be somewhere around a 600cal/day surplus, at which rate I do think that I could easily gain back 10 if not all 15 and then some. :/
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    Somebody_Loved wrote: »
    I'm currently eating at maintenance after losing 20 lbs because I simply got tired of trying of eating so few calories. I haven't been doing it long enough to determine how it's going yet (just started this week), but I already feel infinitely better mentally.

    I still have 5-10 pounds I'd like to lose, but for now I'm going to enjoy maintenance and maybe decide to go into a deficit again at some point. Or maybe not. Either way, I don't think going into maintenance for a while can hurt - sometimes it's nice to take a break and reenergize.

    That's really good to hear! I'd hope it would help me relax a bit too, though I'm much farther from my goal than you are :)
  • marissafit06
    marissafit06 Posts: 1,996 Member
    I'm in school and I take diet breaks around exams. I tend to eat more erratically around that time and not worrying about my diet helps to keep me focused on what matters (school). I don't stop exercising though as I have found it helps to reduce stress and give me a healthy break from the grind.
  • vespiquenn
    vespiquenn Posts: 1,455 Member
    edited October 2015
    I'm currently eating at a lower deficit due to stress from a concussion. I am a teacher and was out a week and a half. It doesn't seem like much, but my classes feel like they're a month behind now. With that being said, sometimes you have more important things to worry about. To add the stress of staying at a lower amount of calories is just enough to be the tipping point. So if it's something you think you need to lessen that weight load, it won't be a big deal. I suggest setting it to .5lb. That way you are still losing without really thinking about it.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,151 Member
    I'm on my bi-yearly 2 week logging break as we speak. LOVE and NEED them!!!
  • daniwilford
    daniwilford Posts: 1,030 Member
    I took a break and ate at maintenance for last half of July and first half of August. I had vacation and then an injury recovery period where I could not do as much cardio. I gradually increased my cardio and decreased my calories until I was back in the grove. I was back in good losing form and in two weeks it felt like normal to eat at my healthy deficit again. I couldn't switch back and forth overnight but needed an adjustment period. I plan to do the same thing around the holidays.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    daniwilford wrote: »
    I took a break and ate at maintenance for last half of July and first half of August. I had vacation and then an injury recovery period where I could not do as much cardio. I gradually increased my cardio and decreased my calories until I was back in the grove. I was back in good losing form and in two weeks it felt like normal to eat at my healthy deficit again. I couldn't switch back and forth overnight but needed an adjustment period. I plan to do the same thing around the holidays.

    That sounds good! With my injury I can't do much at all at the moment, but hopefully within the month I'll be back at it. :) Thanks, it's good to hear other people have had success with this.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    edited October 2015
    vespiquenn wrote: »
    I'm currently eating at a lower deficit due to stress from a concussion. I am a teacher and was out a week and a half. It doesn't seem like much, but my classes feel like they're a month behind now. With that being said, sometimes you have more important things to worry about. To add the stress of staying at a lower amount of calories is just enough to be the tipping point. So if it's something you think you need to lessen that weight load, it won't be a big deal. I suggest setting it to .5lb. That way you are still losing without really thinking about it.

    I hurt my knee about 3 weeks ago and I feel practically two months behind as well. School moves so fast when you're out of it! I only missed two days of classes, but I didn't do much reading or coursework during that time because of stress/pain/appointments. I got extensions and I'm at the due dates for them, and I'm just not making it. :'( Thanks, I think I can manage that - or I'll at least try that. :)

    A concussion sounds rough, I hope you're feeling better now!!!
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    You can lose weight any time - school has to come first. Stick to maintenance, let your body heal, and maybe get back to a slight deficit if your jeans start feeling tight. (Because who wants to go clothes shopping during exam time. Other than everyone. But it's not a good idea.)
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    You're over thinking this. If you want, take a diet break. I have taken them. They feel great, give you a chance to practice maintenance, and getting back to losing is easy.
  • arditarose
    arditarose Posts: 15,573 Member
    kae612 wrote: »
    madhatter2013 wrote: »
    A break would be to stop logging for a while. Be mindful of what your eating but don't worry so much over the number at the end of the day. Some people view this as a re-feed in order to get your mind right again before getting back to deficit. Now doing this may cause a bit of regain, however, your mental health is more important at the moment. Unless you binge terribly for the next couple months, you won't gain back the 15 you lost.

    Hm okay, well I wouldn't stop logging so I'm thinking of more just eating at maintenance for a while. I've kept track of a few days here where I've kind of binged, and it was easy to get into surplus area. I think if I stopped logging I might have issues like that, which would be somewhere around a 600cal/day surplus, at which rate I do think that I could easily gain back 10 if not all 15 and then some. :/


    Yeah, don't stop logging. Just get up around maintenance and continue logging. Take a week or two.
  • noclady1995
    noclady1995 Posts: 452 Member
    This week and next week have been crazy stressful for me. And I have bad anxiety when I'm super stressed. So while I'm not eating as well as I usually do, I still log. Otherwise I feel like I would definitely exceed my TDEE by too much.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    arditarose wrote: »
    You're over thinking this. If you want, take a diet break. I have taken them. They feel great, give you a chance to practice maintenance, and getting back to losing is easy.
    haha, fair enough I overthink everything pretty much. Thanks :)

  • robspot
    robspot Posts: 130 Member
    I decided to switch to maintenance a few weeks ago because I had a lot of boozy weekends coming up. I still intended to exercise to really get my calories up but I knackered my Achilles so I've done virtually nothing :s however, my weight hasn't really moved. Sure, it's not gone down which is disappointing BUT most importantly it's not gone up either. In the past I would have gained half a stone by now (7lbs in other languages) but sticking at maintenance is working.

    Weight loss is a long haul, if you accept that then the odd week maintaining instead of losing is no big deal. If it keeps you in the game it's totally worth it. Definitely keep logging though, you need to make that process automatic because it makes you accountable for what goes in your mouth. Then when you're ready to get back on it, you should find it easier.

    Good luck with school and I hope your knee gets better soon
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    kae612 wrote: »
    daniwilford wrote: »
    I took a break and ate at maintenance for last half of July and first half of August. I had vacation and then an injury recovery period where I could not do as much cardio. I gradually increased my cardio and decreased my calories until I was back in the grove. I was back in good losing form and in two weeks it felt like normal to eat at my healthy deficit again. I couldn't switch back and forth overnight but needed an adjustment period. I plan to do the same thing around the holidays.

    That sounds good! With my injury I can't do much at all at the moment, but hopefully within the month I'll be back at it. :) Thanks, it's good to hear other people have had success with this.

    I'm just going to address the anxiety part of your OP - exercise is really important to me to manage my emotional state - are you doing all the exercise you've been cleared to do while your knee is in this condition?

    I have chronic knee pain - official diagnosis "pain with activity," lol. Here's how I get exercise despite this:
    - I walk in the woods but not on concrete
    - A recumbant bike is ok
    - I can do most of my yoga practice but skip or modify parts of the Sun & Moon Salutations.
    - When I swim, I do very little frog kick with the breast stroke - mostly I wear flippers and do breast stroke arms while flutter kicking.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    kae612 wrote: »
    daniwilford wrote: »
    I took a break and ate at maintenance for last half of July and first half of August. I had vacation and then an injury recovery period where I could not do as much cardio. I gradually increased my cardio and decreased my calories until I was back in the grove. I was back in good losing form and in two weeks it felt like normal to eat at my healthy deficit again. I couldn't switch back and forth overnight but needed an adjustment period. I plan to do the same thing around the holidays.

    That sounds good! With my injury I can't do much at all at the moment, but hopefully within the month I'll be back at it. :) Thanks, it's good to hear other people have had success with this.

    I'm just going to address the anxiety part of your OP - exercise is really important to me to manage my emotional state - are you doing all the exercise you've been cleared to do while your knee is in this condition?

    I have chronic knee pain - official diagnosis "pain with activity," lol. Here's how I get exercise despite this:
    - I walk in the woods but not on concrete
    - A recumbant bike is ok
    - I can do most of my yoga practice but skip or modify parts of the Sun & Moon Salutations.
    - When I swim, I do very little frog kick with the breast stroke - mostly I wear flippers and do breast stroke arms while flutter kicking.

    Yes. I'm just getting off of using crutches (I have to check tomorrow if I'm okay to walk without them) and still using a substantial knee brace with a solid supporting plastic joint and a "donut" keeping my knee cap in place. I'm not currently cleared to do any kind of physical activity except minimal walking when necessary, within the house or at school.

    I have exercises to do with the knee (working on straightening and bending the leg and stretching the IT band), but I'm not allowed to do any yoga moves or strength exercises where I use the knee or put any weight on the knee. I'm not allowed to swim yet, and although I was allowed to walk in water the pool at my gym is not currently open (closed for repairs), so I haven't been able to use that option.

    Luckily I'm only looking at one or two more weeks with this restriction, I feel like the knee has been improving rapidly but I'll find out for sure tomorrow. In lieu of the pool, the physiotherapist thought the first thing I could do would be to use an exercise bike without any tension for about 5min, so I'm hoping to get okayed to do that tomorrow!

    I really do think that the restrictions on movement and exercise have probably contributed extremely to my anxiety levels. It's good to hear you have strategies for dealing with knee pain, because these are issues I'm going to have forever, but I'm going to have preventative measures so my knee cap doesn't dislocate again as best as I can help it. :)
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Good luck tomorrow!

    My fitness goals for this week are to do my knee exercises every day - it doesn't take long, but sometimes it's hard to just get started.
  • tomatoey
    tomatoey Posts: 5,446 Member
    To get through PT, which I personally think is boring and feels insubstantial and demotivating compared to real workouts, I program my exercises into Simple Workout Log (which allows for free-form entries. It's for Android, don't know if there's an IOS version but something must exist) and run it *as a workout*. Counting reps and logging them at least creates the incentive of ticking off the routine.
  • kiela64
    kiela64 Posts: 1,447 Member
    tomatoey wrote: »
    To get through PT, which I personally think is boring and feels insubstantial and demotivating compared to real workouts, I program my exercises into Simple Workout Log (which allows for free-form entries. It's for Android, don't know if there's an IOS version but something must exist) and run it *as a workout*. Counting reps and logging them at least creates the incentive of ticking off the routine.

    Interesting. I don't have so many physio exercises that I ever feel bored doing them, but I agree. It's nowhere near as satisfying as a "real workout" though if I only did 10 sit ups in the same space I would find it similarly dull. I think the issue rests more on the limitation of other exercises, myself.

    Which is why I'm so excited I got okayed for swimming! No kicking off of the wall & no breast stroke, but swimming! :)
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