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Made real progress, is it fine to take a break?

FatMatt80
FatMatt80 Posts: 8 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi all - the good news is i've lost 2 stone since the start of October, really pleased as i've maintained strength also, however, i do feel a little weak/bored/tired of having 1,500 cals per day, i plan on upping this to a maintenance amount of 2,450 cals for the next few weeks, open question, is this ok, will it help/hinder in the long run?

Replies

  • FatMatt80
    FatMatt80 Posts: 8 Member
    realize you will probably see a small increase in weight once you increase your calories, just water weight and not fat so don't let it get to you

    it shouldnt hinder you as long as you stick to your maintenance calories. Lots of people find they need to take breaks along the way, losing weight puts stress on your body breaks along the way can be beneficial when you have alot to lose. As mentioned above, you might want to consider eating more and losing slower when you get back at it, it may be more sustainable for you.

    thanks for the advice, much appreciated, i was / still am very heavy, and i did plan on upping my calories once i got into more advanced training.
  • Rickster1967
    Rickster1967 Posts: 485 Member
    yes you can switch betweenb deficit and maintenance all the way to your ideal weight

    hormonally it's a good idea too, I still have a lot to lose but I'm going on a high carb maintenance level diet break starting the 18th December
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    FatMatt80 wrote: »
    i didn't think i was crash dieting?

    You averaged close to 3 pounds a week on the minimum amount of calories. That’s pretty fast. What are your stats?
  • mccormf1
    mccormf1 Posts: 153 Member
    What about upping it to 2000/day? Your still in a deficit, but the extra 500cal/day might rejuvenate you. Are you eating too bland? Sometimes it's tough to make 1500cal/day taste good, but you can get creative.
  • FatMatt80
    FatMatt80 Posts: 8 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    FatMatt80 wrote: »
    i didn't think i was crash dieting?

    You averaged close to 3 pounds a week on the minimum amount of calories. That’s pretty fast. What are your stats?

    i started at 18st 11, now at 16st 11, 5ft 10, i started with some walking and dumbbell circuits.
  • maggibailey
    maggibailey Posts: 289 Member
    That was a pretty rapid weight loss which is why he was worried about crash dieting. But with a significant amount to lose it’s not unusual for the first bit to have a higher rate of loss than you will experience in the future. Slowing that rate of lose will help you with important things like keeping lean muscle and being able to continue with your deficit without feeling miserable. Go for it, take a diet break and when you come back set your goal for 2 pounds a week and eat a few more calories.
  • FatMatt80
    FatMatt80 Posts: 8 Member
    ZoneFive wrote: »
    Losing very quickly -- and 3 lbs. a week is quickly -- is fun and exciting, and it's wonderful to see the numbers dropping on the scale and to feel successful. Unfortunately the faster weight comes off, the more likely it is that it'll come back again. On top of that, with calories that low you're going to lose lean mass along with the fat, and not have the nutrients available to build muscle . . . which I'm guessing is one of your goals. 1500 calories/day isn't going to do you any favors in the long run.

    From your stats and at your current weight, it looks like you could lose 2 lbs/week at 1839 calories/day, and 1 lb/week at 2329 calories/day. Maintenance should be around 2829 calories/day. There's a long and interesting thread in the forum called Of Refeeds and Diet Breaks with a solid summary on the first page. You might give it a look to get some ideas about a diet break.

    thank you, much appreciated.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    FatMatt80 wrote: »
    i didn't think i was crash dieting?

    You're weak and tired... What do you think has caused That?
  • maggibailey
    maggibailey Posts: 289 Member
    FatMatt80 wrote: »
    i didn't think i was crash dieting?

    You're weak and tired... What do you think has caused That?

    Read to me as though the OP is feeling weak and tired of having to eat low calorie not actual energy wise. If I was wrong then yes more calories after their break. If not most people experience a bit of “weakness” when faced with their favorite foods.

  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,130 Member
    I would try a 2,000 for a bit.
  • Nony_Mouse
    Nony_Mouse Posts: 5,646 Member
    ZoneFive wrote: »
    Losing very quickly -- and 3 lbs. a week is quickly -- is fun and exciting, and it's wonderful to see the numbers dropping on the scale and to feel successful. Unfortunately the faster weight comes off, the more likely it is that it'll come back again. On top of that, with calories that low you're going to lose lean mass along with the fat, and not have the nutrients available to build muscle . . . which I'm guessing is one of your goals. 1500 calories/day isn't going to do you any favors in the long run.

    From your stats and at your current weight, it looks like you could lose 2 lbs/week at 1839 calories/day, and 1 lb/week at 2329 calories/day. Maintenance should be around 2829 calories/day. There's a long and interesting thread in this forum called Of Refeeds and Diet Breaks with a solid summary on the first page. You might give it a look to get some ideas about a diet break.

    ^^She said what I was going to :)

    A controlled diet break (eating at maintenance cals, not a free for all) is actually a really good thing to do periodically while you're losing weight, and the thread ZoneFive linked explains why, and how to do it properly - ie, you need to actually hit maintenance cals. Yes, you are going to see a scale weight spike from more food in your system and glycogen replenishment, it will drop off fairly quickly once you go back to a deficit, because not fat. There are now a heap of personal testimonials in that thread from those who have done a diet break, it's well worth wading through to read those (just open the thread in another browser window and chip away at it, cos damn, we're chatty in there!), but the TL;DR of those is that I think every one of us 'gained' initially, and every one of us dropped that quickly when returning to a deficit, plus a bit extra for at least some of us.

    After your diet break, reset MFP to lose 2 lbs per week, and eat that plus at least half of any extra calories you burn from deliberate exercise. Because yes, you are losing too fast.
This discussion has been closed.