Should You Use Diet Breaks? Latest Research. | Educational Video | Biolayne

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[ddavidjeremy]

Maintenance phases have made a huge impact on my weight loss journey. I usually go 4-6 weeks at maintenance then I'm back at it. Fatigue from dieting is real

[DayyHughes]

I've been on a diet break for about 18 months at this point 😅

[TheMarkTenification]

Another psychological benefit, you can see your progress better.

Whenever I go off the rails on a diet, I always notice how good I look after cheating, because my muscles soak up all that water and glycogen, and are more visible because I've just been on a fat loss jag.

Also, my numbers in the gym crash and burn. So, with 2 on, 1 off, I get to see my progress more regularly, and have periods where I'm maintaining or regaining lost strength. All of this is motivational.

[GarryDavidson]

What I've found with myself - is that eating a normal sized meal that you want (like pasta, for example) - every 3-4 days really helps psychologically on the diet. It's just important to keep the size of it appropriate.

[howbradknew]

This is so helpful. I've been so confused on diet breaks and their efficacy. This breakdown provided a lot of clarity. I love the idea of thinking in terms of "fat loss sprints!"

[benjamingill]

Hey Layne, I’m a dietitian, nutrition science lecturer/tutor and PhD student and I always recommend your website, YT channel to my students who are into nutrition and sports fitness.

[adityapasumamula]

This study is Awesome not just for physical fitness but for emotional/Mental health as well because nothing is going to work unless it's long term sustainable🎉.
Thank You Layne😊. 6:52

[ShadowStarlight]

Been on a diet break for about five weeks. I gained around 1.5lbs. Which isn’t a lot. No noticeable change on my body. I was eating a ton of food. I also keep my physically activity. To walk a few hours and workout 3 times. For 30 min in them weeks. I still track while in this diet break. It’s the only way to learn. How to truly maintain for me. The worst thing to do.. is not track. Cause don’t know what or how the body react to certain foods. Like levels of sodium, carbs, and so on. I plan to do two months total. If I maintain successfully I’ll go for three. Maintenance is a set of challenges in itself. More challenging than wl itself. With maintenance if one go over calories. There is a gain immediately of fat. With weight loss there is no gain more than likely. Just your calorie deficit will be smaller.

[Krythan]

I finished an 8 week fat loss phase (my first ever structured one) recently and it was about as hard as I expected. Took about a week maintenance and then straight back into another 6 week cut. Had to stop after a week because I just wasn’t ready mentally. Think I would have failed miserably if I had continued.

[bill_monty]

I prefer to go straight through if I can, but my social life (especially family events) make it near impossible without looking like a douche LOL, so I do "diet breaks" sometimes for like a day or two, maybe even just a meal rather than entire weeks. It's also why I gave myself a bit of extra time this year to get to my 10% (or lower) bodyfat goal.

[_negentropy_]

Thank you. This is really helpful. I worry that I’ll won’t get back on track if I take breaks. Though I feel this way about every area of my life. 😬

[bastinelli]

I noticed after dieting for awhile that if I take a day or two break then my body is ready to go strict again

[michaelp]

I used to do breaks and cheat nights but finally had to stop because it's too easy to extend the break for days and then weeks and then you're totally off track.

[MeisseLee]

What a coincidence. I’ve been dieting for 4 weeks, lost about 6lbs and thought about diet breaks just today. Was planning on having a one week diet break after next week, if I’m at a certain goal. After this video, I decided to have a diet break if/when I feel worn out by the diet. So far it’s been smooth sailing.

[catche]

Going to try a diet break strategy as after 2 years of continuous dieting and results so slow they're almost non-existent, a 2 on 2 off approach which also incorporates calorie cycling seems like a good way to mentally reset, since prolonged dieting, weighing and tracking to the nth degree has definitely made me lose the will to live. All set up with Carbon now too which I am already loving.

[TeamYouphoric]

I'm on a "Diet Break" today and yesterday. Doing a Trial Carb Load for my first show. 18 Days Out today 💪🏿💪🏿

[fullmetalathlete]

The psychological aspect is so huge for me. In the past i have made myself be strict and commit to a hard 12-13 week cut and by the end I'm so burnt out that i just want to eat everything and i fall off the wagon super hard afterwards. I thought 8-10 weeks might be better but even that was pretty tough. Recently i went 6 weeks and then did a 2 week break and it went really well. I didn't feel nearly as compelled to just eat everything in sight during those two weeks, just some maintenance calories and a cheat meal here or there with the family. And then when i got ready to get back on diet my weight had maintained way better than in the past, and psychologically i was really ready to get back to cutting hard. For me, i will never go back to the other way as i think this may lead to much better long term success for me. I'm glad they included that disinhibition score component in this study because that's the defining factor imo.

Great video!

[dmcc]

Really appreciate this update. Very useful to know that EITHER approach works - I'm diet-break guy, as dieting for a month or more at a time always seems mentally daunting, not to mention that there seems to be some crap going on EVERY month, where you feel like you either indulge, or miss out - which of course, wears down the will to stay on course. Would be interesting to see what happened if total calories were NOT equated - would the break group lose less fat, relative to their calorie excess v's the straight-diet group (arithmetic would say yes, biology might not...), ffm retention, other psychological factors, etc...

[LeroyJenkins-fqko]

A break here and there are good for the mind and soul.

[lucasvarley]

This is really informative and interesting! One of the biggest things that have helped me build muscle aside from spending time in the gym has been a custom meal plan from Next Level Diet. I use it every week and I love it!