Deficit break/eating at maintenance.

philippakate197 · June 2016

I've been at a deficit for just under a year, lost 61lb and am only 12lb from my initial goal. I took a break last week and ate at maintenance, still logging but eating considerably more. I really wanted to see if I could do it, or if I'd just throw caution to the wind and revert to all my old habits as if I'd learned nothing!

I saw a 'gain' on the scales of about 3lb after 7 days but I'm now 2 days back into a deficit and that has almost gone - I knew it wasn't a gain of fat, so I wasn't concerned. I was also pleased that it wasn't too hard to refocus when the 7 days was over. I had a day of silently complaining about how much I'll miss those extra calories, then remembered how much I enjoy clothes shopping now!

I'm interested in others opinions about taking a mid-loss break and what effects you've seen/how hard it was to get back into a deficit.

dmiivanov · June 2016

I think what you did is great for the long term success. You've let your body rest from the stress of calorie deficit, for a bit, and without going into old habits, let hormones balance out and stuff. I use this technique whenever I'm cutting, and it always works like magic.
When you go back to the deficit, it's (calories in - calories out) that matters. I believe that taking a reasonable break from dieting can increase your (calorie out ) part, not necessarily due to the "starvation mode response ", which is now proven to be a negligible effect , but because you'll be more likely to engage into all sorts of unplanned physical activities, when you're feeling well and rested.

trigden1991 · June 2016

"Diet breaks" are highly encouraged after long periods of being in a deficit. A whole year is a very long time to be in a deficit, something I couldn't do personally. 1 or 2 weeks at maintenance every 16-20 weeks will help with any metabolic adaptation that may have occured.

Jacob1020 · June 2016

After a whole year in a deficit it's also sensible to go even a few months at manitance and not dratstically run back into the deficit so quickly after two days. ( Reverse Dieting ) It's going to take much longer for your body to rehabilitate itself from the deficit to even and balance out everything metabolically that has occurred and hormonaly.

VintageFeline · June 2016

I'd have done two weeks after a year at least personally, as above, the body can take a little time to fully reap the benefits of a break.

I now have 413 days logged. I took my first proper break in December having started in April. It actually happened kind of organically, I was slipping and getting sloppy and my health (mental) was a bit ropey at the time. But it was what I needed and I refocused easily in the new year.

I have just taken my second break of a little over three weeks and again, it was just what I needed! I went on holiday so just ate freely, I gained nothing really and again, refocussing hasn't been an issue at all, gratifyingly! And boy is it nice to have my body all firmed up (I go very wibbly while cutting, I'll be sad when the wibble returns!).

I've lost 47lbs so far (I'm in no rush, consistency and habit changing is more important to me than speed) with about 30 to go, depending on what appears in the mirror.

But yes, diet breaks are a wonderful thing.

LivingtheLeanDream · June 2016

That gain you saw wasn't real, once you start eating at maintenance calories the glycogen stores get replenished (that's normal, for some that shows up to 5lbs on the scale), so if you'd stuck to those maintenance calories for another few weeks that so called gain would have disappeared.
Breaks are a good idea, next time wait it out longer before you start cutting.

philippakate197 · June 2016

RunRutheeRun wrote: »

That gain you saw wasn't real, once you start eating at maintenance calories the glycogen stores get replenished (that's normal, for some that shows up to 5lbs on the scale), so if you'd stuck to those maintenance calories for another few weeks that so called gain would have disappeared.
Breaks are a good idea, next time wait it out longer before you start cutting.

Thanks for that. I knew it wasn't a real gain - that wouldn't have been possible - but having never got to the stage of needing to maintain I'm unfamiliar with how the fluctuation disappears. I'm going to keep on with the deficit a little longer for now but I'm only on a 0.5 loss per week so I'll probably have another break before I hit goal.

LivingtheLeanDream · June 2016

@philippakate197 good plan, a smaller deficit will ease you nicely into maintenance calories when the time comes

philippakate197 · June 2016

Jacob1020 wrote: »

After a whole year in a deficit it's also sensible to go even a few months at manitance and not dratstically run back into the deficit so quickly after two days. ( Reverse Dieting ) It's going to take much longer for your body to rehabilitate itself from the deficit to even and balance out everything metabolically that has occurred and hormonaly.

Although this was the first planned break, I did have 2 months of what I thought was a plateau where I maintained. This was before I discovered mfp and I wasn't counting calories, so I suspect I was actually eating at maintenance.

lisaisso · June 2016

This is interesting, Ive been in a deficit since late January, and vacation is coming in 3 weeks, so I think that will be perfect for a maintenance week

edited to add I still have 44lb left until my first goal.

arditarose · June 2016

Diet breaks are a good idea when you have a lot to lose and you've been in a deficit for awhile. I like them because they help me practice maintenance, they get my logging back in check, and sometimes I'll lose a little weight I've been waiting on (no science to back this up, but it happens to me personally).

At this point my life is mostly diet breaks, with the occasional deficit when I feel like it

Deficit break/eating at maintenance.

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