I’m on a diet break..

halimaiqbal00
halimaiqbal00 Posts: 288 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
35 year old female, 5’ 6. 140 pounds. I’ve been in a caloric deficit since August and have lost 15 pounds. I’ve been eating around 1750 cals a day. I lift weights4x a week and walk 10k on the days I don’t lift. My weight loss has been slow but very sustainable.

However, I’ve been hovering around the same weight for the past month so did a little research and with the help of a coach, decided on a diet break for a week. I was very apprehensive as I have a type A personality and like structure and control so the thought of increasing carbs and calories freaked me out a lot!

Nonetheless, I’ve upped my calories to 2400 370C/120P/48F and I’m on day 4 and haven’t gained a thing! I am shocked! I have so much energy that I’m buzzing around like a bee high on honey.

I’m thinking of doing this for 2 weeks and then cutting down to 2000 calories instead to lose the remaining 5 pounds I want to lose.

Carbs are not the enemy! I’ve gone from averaging 180g carbs daily, to 370g. This is insane to me.

I’m not posting a questions, I just needed to share this with people that get it!

Replies

  • emilysusana
    emilysusana Posts: 416 Member
    Keep us updated! I’ve thought of doing this at some point, but the idea of eating at maintenance kind of freaks me out right now even though I know maintenance does not equal weight gain, and I also there’s no deadline for reaching my goal weight. Sounds like the extra energy is a good bonus. Maybe I’ll do this when we finally get spring weather...
  • lalalacroix
    lalalacroix Posts: 834 Member
    My next scheduled diet break starts on Friday. This isn't my first but I do have mixed feelings about it. I'm excited to be able to eat more for 7 days but there's part of me that doesn't want to spend a week at a deficit. I will do it anyways and practice maintenance eating.

  • AmyC2288
    AmyC2288 Posts: 386 Member
    @halimaiqbal00 any update? Considering doing this as well and wondered how you got on? :)
  • DeterminedFee201426
    DeterminedFee201426 Posts: 859 Member
    On a diet break now. I felt so ragged and lifeless. I only went for 90 days in a deficit.
    It stalled all the way out at 70 days. I ate at a surplus of about 1900 calories. This was over five day period. I lost 1.2 lbs. With eating over my maintenance. It's not water weight or anything. On my diet I ate way less than this. I also weighed more and stalled out.on my deficit diet.. At maintain.. I ate more and lost 1.2 lbs in seven days. Maybe next week will be some loss too. If lose some fat or weight in a diet break. Rather go another week and another. As long as the progress keep coming. Once not losing anymore and eating more. Time to go back to my deficit. My body look different too, a bit more full. Ofc because of carbs and sodium. They both carry water.
    I'm eating way more sodium and carbs.then when I was losing and lost. This is why I say water weight... Nope...
    When in a deficit
    Calories:1200-1550
    Carbs: 100g-125g
    Protein :70g
    Fat: 70g
    Sugar:50g
    ============#==========
    Diet break (maintenance)
    Calories:1750-2300
    Carbs:170g-220g
    Protein:80g
    Fat:80g
    Sugar:80g..
    This is what I average. On diet break and deficit regularly.
    I'm happy that I'm one of the lucky people.
    To had lost any type of lbs. Eating so way over rapidly. My goal coming in this maintenance.
    Is to allow myself 1750 calories extra perweek. For worse or for better.
    (It'll only be two weeks. maintaining as far as now) unless I lose more lbs. If so, I add another week.
  • Jacq_qui
    Jacq_qui Posts: 443 Member
    Anyone else doing this/ I'm really considering a diet break but I seem to be gaining on a deficit so the idea of eating more is terrifying....
  • Beautyofdreams
    Beautyofdreams Posts: 1,009 Member
    I completed my first diet break in October after being on a 1200 calorie diet since March. I lost two pounds during the break and my energy level shot up so much that I couldn't sleep at night. Carbs are definitely like rocket fuel. Since I had been in a deficit for so long I assumed metabolic adaptation and didn't raise calories the full amount but at 10% less. I will do another break in March.
  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
    Jacq_qui wrote: »
    Anyone else doing this/ I'm really considering a diet break but I seem to be gaining on a deficit so the idea of eating more is terrifying....

    @Jacq_qui Are you sure you’re in a deficit? Weighing via a food scale and tracking everything with correct database entries? Not overestimating calories burned during exercise? How long have you been gaining (is your weight gain possibly water weight)?
  • Jacq_qui
    Jacq_qui Posts: 443 Member
    Hi, I've just unlinked my fitbit today from MFP to see if it's been over estimating my calories. I'm going with MFP estimates for a month to see if it changes anything.

    Fitbit regularly reports an all day burn of 2300-2500 so 1430 net calories should have been more than enough deficit, assuming that it's calculated that daily burn correct, which I'm not sure it is. However 'total cals in' (i.e everything I'm eating in a day irrespective of exercise) was very rarely more than 1900 (and never over what MFP had set for the day) so that should have created a reasonable deficit. Some calculation is wrong somewhere and Occam's' razor, I have to be overeating.

    Today MFP estimated my 5.3km walk burned 208 cals. Fitbit said 419, I think it was. Quite a difference so this could be the source as I do walk nearly every day and over the course of a week that adds up. Interestingly my HIIT workout provided similar numbers.

    No weight loss for September and early October -pretty stable. I gained 1kg in last half of October which caused me to panic and switch to 1200 cals. I lost 1kg in under two weeks - which was either too fast or just water. But1200 was too low for me to function, I felt crap so I've increased to 1389. Since then I've regained that kg + 0.6kg back so I'm actually worse off than three weeks ago! Body doesn't seem to know what it's doing at the moment and neither do I :) Been in deficit since March, a diet break would be nice - if I could work out what maintenance was:)

    Yes to food scale and check db entries against packets. I've even added in my 2calorie coffees which I never bothered doing before :)



  • Dogmom1978
    Dogmom1978 Posts: 1,580 Member
    I found my Fitbit to over estimate my calories by quite a bit, so I don’t sync mine with MFP. I always try to underestimate exercise calories just to be on the safe side and I eat probably about 80% of my exercise calories back.

    I weigh and track everything and consistently lose 1 lb a week (unless I have a week where I go way over).

    I would try not using the Fitbit for calorie burn and see if you get better results.
  • Jacq_qui
    Jacq_qui Posts: 443 Member
    Thank you, that's reassuring to hear that from another fitbit user and hopefully I might be on the right track again :) I'd be more than happy with 2-3lbs a month!
  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,809 Member
    I'd also watch out with switching strategies and calorie goals too quickly. You need at least 4 weeks to determine your true weight trend and eliminate all the 'noise' from weight fluctuations, and switching strategies every few weeks will weak havoc with your weight trend. A few lbs up or down is within normal weight fluctuations caused by water weight, did waste,...
  • stephie_nyc
    stephie_nyc Posts: 96 Member
    Ugh I would love to be able to eat that much to maintain or lose! I am about 140 in my profile pic and I can only eat like 1800-1900 max to maintain that. I always gain back (like now) because that many calories is not intuitive for me :(

    What is your activity level like?

    Also, yes, diet breaks are good. You'll restore some fatigue and might have some kick *kitten* workouts with extra carbs!
  • getting_stronger1483
    getting_stronger1483 Posts: 36 Member
    I think it sounds like a great idea! Enjoy your diet break

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