A recent study has found that taking “diet breaks” can be a part of an effective fat-loss plan. It’s the idea of temporary maintenance as a break from active weight loss – hitting pause on the plan while something like a holiday or vacation happens.
Think of it as an intentional plateau. It’s the third option that we often forget about – there’s losing, there’s gaining, and then there’s maintaining.
Diet breaks, also known as maintenance phases or maintenance breaks, are often crucial for long-term success. They teach you how to maintain your weight, break your fear of re-gaining, and help you practice healthy habits without the pressure of actively losing weight.
The science may seem surprising, but it’s just another notch in the belt of adherence as the ultimate determining factor of nutrition success. While most people argue on social media about which diets work better, faster, longer, the common denominator of all successful diets is how long you can stick to the plan. Continuity and consistency. This means following a plan that gives you the best chance to stay consistent for many months, and ideally, years.
In the study, diet breaks were not associated with faster or more significant fat loss. But that’s just half the story. Even though one group took a one-week break every 2 weeks, they still lost the same amount of fat as those people who dieted without any time off.
Now, this doesn’t mean you’re taking a break from healthy eating. A diet break is only hitting “pause” on your caloric deficit, not a complete cessation of all good habits you’ve built up – especially exercise. A diet break is – simply put – taking the focus off of weight loss by increasing your calories into a maintenance zone. That’s it.
The point is, if taking breaks every two weeks keeps you sane and more consistent with your overall plan, and it makes you less likely to burn out and throw in the towel, it could help you end the typical and dreaded yo-yo cycle of weight loss and regain.
Breaks can give you more flexibility and help you stick to the plan without so much stress. If that solves why you typically struggle, then diet breaks could absolutely be an effective way to build long-term healthy habits, improve your nutrition, and finally keep off the weight for good.
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