Diet Breaks - When and how to program them in to promote fat loss.
If only fat loss were as simple as dropping calories, staying in a deficit until you have reached your desired body weight, then going back to eating at your previous maintenance to maintain your new weight. If things were like that, I'd be out of a job.
In reality, anyone that has ever dieted knows they have to deal with things like hunger, cravings, mood swings, low energy, strength and muscle loss. In theory weight loss sounds easy but the truth is weight loss is not linear at all. All these things make dieting, especially for long periods at a time, much harder. This is where diet breaks come into play.
Diet breaks both have their place and help with reversing some of the negative metabolic adaptations in response to caloric restriction.
A diet break is a period of eating at maintenance which usually lasts between 1-2wks +, depending on how long the client has been dieting for and can reduce diet fatigue, as well as recharge your metabolism in a manner of speaking.
People with moderate body fat may need to diet break every 7-9 weeks, while a very overweight person may be able to go 9-12+ weeks without a diet break. The leaner someone gets, the more often they'll need to diet break.
If you feel like your weight/fat loss has plateaued and you've been dieting for a long period of time then maybe you're due for a diet break.
If you have any questions ask your trainer for some more information.
*Disclaimer: Individual results vary based on agreed goals. Click here for details.
