Anyone took a diet break ?

passenger79
passenger79 Posts: 257 Member
edited November 21 in Health and Weight Loss
So I'm half way through my weight loss with MFP ,I 've lost 14 lb since January ,13 lb more to go.
It hasn't been super fast but I'm okay with that. Got a stressful time at work atm and struggling to stick to my calories and thinking of taking a week break until it's over and then getting back to workouts and logging.
Has anyone successfully taken a break ?

I'm worried I'll struggle to get back into routine but feel so stressed and knackered right now my oomph has gone .

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    i'm going on holiday in 2 weeks, that will be my next diet break.
  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    I had two vacations within 3 weeks--would definitely call that a diet break, though it wasn't carefully orchestrated. I gained 5 lbs. I feel re-energized now and am back to losing mode. Not the worst thing to ever happen, and I gained it on some amazing foods. It's too hard to be all-on 100% of the time, and I think allowing yourself some wiggle room keeps you more likely to stay on track long term.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    A break has both mental/ emotional and physiological benefits. Highly recommended every 3 to 4 months.
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html/
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Joanna2012B wrote: »
    I don't take a break. I will eat at maintenance from time to time, but I am always conscious of what goes in my body. I've worked so hard to get where I am I don't want to have to struggle to get back to it. It has been a complete lifestyle change for me.

    Isn't eating a maintenance a "diet" break, even if you track? You are not in deficit.
  • Mezzie1024
    Mezzie1024 Posts: 380 Member
    mmapags wrote: »
    Joanna2012B wrote: »
    I don't take a break. I will eat at maintenance from time to time, but I am always conscious of what goes in my body. I've worked so hard to get where I am I don't want to have to struggle to get back to it. It has been a complete lifestyle change for me.

    Isn't eating a maintenance a "diet" break, even if you track? You are not in deficit.

    But you also aren't eating with abandon, which is what some people think of when they think diet break.

  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,129 Member
    I have taken 3 diet breaks so far, Christmas which was just a month after I started, I still tracked but I was travelling a lot and home visiting family and friends so I had most days at maintenance or slightly above. I took another at Easter, ate at maintenance or just below and again on my birthday in July whilst I was at a festival, it was near impossible to track but I only gained half a kilo so no harm no foul, I have seen a whoosh after each and every break I've taken.
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Mezzie1024 wrote: »
    mmapags wrote: »
    Joanna2012B wrote: »
    I don't take a break. I will eat at maintenance from time to time, but I am always conscious of what goes in my body. I've worked so hard to get where I am I don't want to have to struggle to get back to it. It has been a complete lifestyle change for me.

    Isn't eating a maintenance a "diet" break, even if you track? You are not in deficit.

    But you also aren't eating with abandon, which is what some people think of when they think diet break.

    Yes, I understand. That is the whole mentality that leads to yoyoing. IMHO, the right mentality is maintenance is a break from deficit. Deficit can be hard and taxing mentally., emotionally and after a while causes certain hormonal adaptations that can make losing harder. Maintenance should be easy.

    One of the key elements of the full diet break described in the link I posted is the hormones that control hunger/ satiety (ghrelin/ leptin) signalling "reset" so that when one goes back into deficit, it is a little easier to lose.
  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    I have, a few times. I just ate at maintenance for a while. It did help "reset" my mind.
  • gothchiq
    gothchiq Posts: 4,590 Member
    If I am seriously ill I will take a break. I can't get over the flu or whatever very quickly on a deficit.
  • ElizabethHanrahan
    ElizabethHanrahan Posts: 102 Member
    I am currently on a "break" from deficit. I pinched my sciatic in Dec. and then found out I have 2 bulging disks. I have been eating at maintenance since then to try to heal properly. I am still not able to exercise the way I would like and just walking is still a problem. I gained almost 10 pounds just after the injury due to meds, but I have since lost all but 3. I will start back as soon as I feel that I am healed enough to continue. I lost 100 pounds before the injury and would like to lose another 30-50.
  • SafioraLinnea
    SafioraLinnea Posts: 628 Member
    edited August 2017
    I just took a break a week ago and I'm back at it. It feels very refreshing and I feel a great deal better about continuing on my healthy methods of fat loss after maintenance for a week.

    I've lost 60 pounds and have 30-40 more to go.
  • me0231
    me0231 Posts: 218 Member
    I'm on my first diet break right now and I love it. I was also worried about getting back on the deficit after, but I think I'll be fine. It's not a break of 'yay eat garbage all day' but I still log, still weigh and I don't think it'll be too hard to cut it back down. It's just nice to have some extra calories to play with after 14 weeks of a strict deficit.

    I coincided the break with my family's visit so it's just really nice to be able to eat out and fit it into the calories. I also feel I have more energy in the gym. I'm definitely planning to take another one in a few months.

    Just keep in mind that the scale will fluctuate a lot. I was up 9 (!!!) pounds the first couple of days of my break. Now 8 days in I'm a pound over the pre break weight, but the scale has been all over the place.
  • Rooskie73
    Rooskie73 Posts: 30 Member
    I took a 2 week break in May while we were in Europe. Had little to no access to internet, so I wasn't able to track calories and exercise. In my mind, I knew what I was eating and there were days I'm sure I ate a little over, but we did so much walking and climbing, I really didn't worry. Came home and had lost a couple pounds. B)
  • PatriNina
    PatriNina Posts: 154 Member
    Just got out of a 1 week break, eating somewhere around maintenance (ate 2400-2600 kcal as a 5'5' sedentary female @ 246 lbs).

    Did it because I had family from abroad over. Got so active and energized by the extra food and having a demanding 1 year old around that I ended up losing 4 lbs, once the extra food and water weight went away.

    Definitely a good lesson on just how awesome increasing your daily activity can be for the mind and body. I usually am below 2k steps per day as a childless working-from-home freelance writer.

    10/10 would recommend a @maintenance diet brake!

  • SCoil123
    SCoil123 Posts: 2,111 Member
    I recently took a break when we went to Europe for 2 weeks. I didn't track anything and left my Fitbit at home. It was good for me. I'd been stuck for awhile before that.

    I was bloated when I came home but after the water weight fell off I started losing again for the first time in months. I'm now down 2lb from before vacation.

    I'm close to goal and doing recomp so it has gotten very slow seeing results. Taking a break mentally helped me reset and refocus. It is easy to get frustrated and discouraged when progress is so slow.
  • Heart_Fit
    Heart_Fit Posts: 63 Member
    Rooskie73 wrote: »
    I took a 2 week break in May while we were in Europe. Had little to no access to internet, so I wasn't able to track calories and exercise. In my mind, I knew what I was eating and there were days I'm sure I ate a little over, but we did so much walking and climbing, I really didn't worry. Came home and had lost a couple pounds. B)

    Isnt Walking Exercising? (Shrugs)
  • HeidiCooksSupper
    HeidiCooksSupper Posts: 3,839 Member
    I took a four-day break where I ate with reckless abandon while friends were here for the eclipse. I'm now back to eating within limits and it may take me a couple of weeks to recover what I did in 4 days. Do I regret those days? Not really but it will be a long time before I do that again!
  • YalithKBK
    YalithKBK Posts: 317 Member
    I took a two week diet break and ate at maintenance for two weeks. I was re-energized and actually excited to getting back to losing weight. I think you should set up specific rules for yourself and pound it into your head that the diet break is temporary and you have more to lose.
  • passenger79
    passenger79 Posts: 257 Member
    Cheers everyone some good tips there :)
  • mmapags
    mmapags Posts: 8,934 Member
    Heart_Fit wrote: »
    Rooskie73 wrote: »
    I took a 2 week break in May while we were in Europe. Had little to no access to internet, so I wasn't able to track calories and exercise. In my mind, I knew what I was eating and there were days I'm sure I ate a little over, but we did so much walking and climbing, I really didn't worry. Came home and had lost a couple pounds. B)

    Isnt Walking Exercising? (Shrugs)

    They didn't say it wasn't. They just said they weren't tracking exercise.
  • Rooskie73
    Rooskie73 Posts: 30 Member
    Heart_Fit wrote: »
    Rooskie73 wrote: »
    I took a 2 week break in May while we were in Europe. Had little to no access to internet, so I wasn't able to track calories and exercise. In my mind, I knew what I was eating and there were days I'm sure I ate a little over, but we did so much walking and climbing, I really didn't worry. Came home and had lost a couple pounds. B)

    Isnt Walking Exercising? (Shrugs)

    Yes it is. I know that. I said that I wasn't TRACKING calories and exercise. Woo.
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