The DIET BREAK: Why it's so successful
First off, WHAT IS A DIET BREAK?? (AKA, REVERSE DIET)
It's just as it sounds, it seems now adays, with social media, and marketing that the general population is ALWAYS on some sort of restriction! Whether it be ATKINS, SOUTH BEACH, MEDITEREENIAN, KETO, PALEO, LOW FAT, GLUTEN FREE, SUGAR FREE, ALL NATURAL, VEGAN, etc, somehow we are restricting what we eat, and eliminating whole food groups from our daily intake. A diet break, is generally a BREAK from resticting calories, and or food groups. In a somewhat controlled fashion, you are adding calories to your daily intake until you are at maintenance, or better yet a surplus,(meaning a healthier metabolism, and new "setpoint") with minimal weight gain.
Have you been dieting SO LONG that you're sick and tired of worrying about it all the time. Have you hit a plateau that you just can't seem to get thru?? Is it causing you more stress than than you feel like investing right now...well maybe it's time for a break! It can be scary, but it works more often than not!!! Get the DEETS below:
LONG TERM DIETING CAUSES:
1. DECREASED METABOLIC RATE
2. DECREASES OF FAT OXIDATION
3. DECREASE IN THYROID AND LEPTIN, and INCREASE IN GHRELIN
4. INSULIN RESISTANCE
5. LONGER RECOVERY TIMES
6. POOR SLEEP PATTERNS
7. REDUCED DESIRE FOR EXERCISE
8. LOSS OF STRENGTH/MUSCLE MASS
and the list goes on, but these are the ones most of us are aware of.
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The Reasons To Reverse Diet SLOWLY
1. PEACE OF MIND: Adding A HUGE amount of carbs post dieting, can cause your body to hold onto water. (Each gram of Carbohydrate, holds 3 grams of water) The jump in numbers on the scale often scares dieters back into another diet, rather than repairing hormone levels, and metabolic rate. This just exasperates the initial problem..
2. Give the Metabolic Rate time to adjust to the changes, minimize fat gains and weight fluctuations!
How do you plan a reverse diet??
EASY PEASY!!!
1. Start by adding 50-100 Calories to your daily intake for a week or two. These calories USUALLY come from Carbs, as that's what dieters usually crave, however, these calories can come from fats as well. (This is assuming that you were consuming enough protein to begin with) Obviously, you will get more VOLUME of food if you choose carbs over fats.
*If you don't gain, add more the following week, another 50-100 Cals
*If you do, stay at your current calorie intake for a little while longer
Adjustments should be based on results. Be patient, this can be a long process!! (over the past 6 weeks, I've increased my calories from 1400-2000 with minimal fat gains. Is there a change, absolutely, but it's WORTH the effort. I wil able to but thru my plateau next time I'm in a lean out phase!) The best part, and it REVERSES all the effects of dieting listed above.
2. Be sure to taper off your cardio as well. Don't just STOP cardio and add calories all at once. Reduce one session a week, until you are left with just HIIT, and continue to reduce further if you want. Honestly, I don't think anyone should ever eliminate cardio all together. It's fantastic for cardiac health, stress relief, endorphins (the feel good hormones) and so much more.
3. STICK TO THE PLAN!!! Don't go two weeks, get scared and go back to dieting. You will back yourself into the same corner you did last time. Make sure you choose a time to do this that you aren't going to be obsessed with how you look in a bathing suit. Like when you have a beach vacation coming up!!
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4. Make this a motivating experience: Make this time a lean gains goal. In order to put on quality lean gains, you need to be eating in a surplus. Focus on the postitives. With more good, healthy food, you will have more energy for kick A%$ workouts, you will feel stronger, you will recover faster, you will sleep better, you will have more stamina and excitment in the gym, and will more than likely put on lean mass. How's THAT for a goal!!! Create that beautiful shape you've always wanted ;)
BONUS #1 MANY OF YOU WILL ACTUALLY LOSE WEIGHT!!!
Example of a client checkin today :
Here is my first check in since we started building. I'm feeling fabulous! Workouts are so good! As I said before, loving the extra food but wouldn't complain if you made me eat even more! So here are my results from week one: waist down one inch, didn't bother to measure the rest, seeing WAY more definition, weight down 1.5 lbs and stomach looking flatter. Energy is high. Workouts are on point and enjoyable!
Bonus #2: YOUR SANITY: You can only be restricting yourself for so long before you either A) Fall off the wagon from cravings, or B) or get sick of never feeling FULL, or C) Miss out on too many BBQ and Party food until you start to feel deprived. This could be the perfect plan for you!!!
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Please send in questions or comments, as this is how I come up with what to write next! If you are wondering, thinking the same thing, so don't be shy!!
As always, please share, this article, and let me know what you think!! This motivates me to keep doing what I do! Let me know how your reverse diet, or "diet break" pans out!
