Week Off Dieting?

Posted by: @bodybuilder777

Hey guys, Ive been dieting for about 3 months now. I was wondering if I should take 1 week off to let my metablosim reset and then finish the cut? I read that this would be more beneficial and everyone should do this. Is this necessary?

I dont know if i would take a whole week off. Have you been incorporating refeeds into your current cut?

Posted by: @combustion

I dont know if i would take a whole week off. Have you been incorporating refeeds into your current cut?

Yes I have. I dont got a whole lot left of cutting at the moment. And when i say week off I dont mean week off and eat junk. I mean a week off and eat at maintance calories to get meTbolism back up so it makes those last few lbs easier. Kind of 1 step backwards 2 forward.

I read somewhere that lyle mcdonald recommends this

If you have been dieting for 3 months straight i would take a week or two to eat at maintenance and decrease your workout volume. So maybe 2 quick full-body sessions with 1 day of cardio or something like that.

Posted by: @magic8989

If you have been dieting for 3 months straight i would take a week or two to eat at maintenance and decrease your workout volume. So maybe 2 quick full-body sessions with 1 day of cardio or something like that.

Agreed. A day or two simply isn't enough to reset metabolism for a strech that long. But each to his own, some people can get in down in just a few days. If you have been low-carbing, you definitely need a longer strech incorporating healthy carbs.

metabolism won't reset. It depends on whether you want to lose the remainder of the fat.....if you do, keep rolling.

as i told you before (i think that's you), in one week you can undo all the dieting you've done & more

But he's not talking about binging - he's talking about eating at maintenance.

At the very least, I would think that a short break of eating at maintenance would provide some psychological rest. Whether or not that's necessary is another question.

I sometimes find that once I lose focus, I have trouble regaining it. If you're in the dieting zone, it might be best to stay there.

That said, a small break now might help prevent the backlash many people experience when they've been dieting a long time to low bodyfat, and then the give themselves an inch and end up taking a mile.

I believe I mentioned this before as well when you are on a bulking diet as well, which is obviously different (higher cortisol levels, higher calories, etc). Even when I do a bulking diet I still have to take a break off of eating above my maintenance because I cannot try to force feed myself into eating that much constantly. It is also taxing on the body, as is a constant cutting diet so taking a break is a good idea.

Posted by: @Jinx Me

But he's not talking about binging - he's talking about eating at maintenance.

At the very least, I would think that a short break of eating at maintenance would provide some psychological rest. Whether or not that's necessary is another question.

I sometimes find that once I lose focus, I have trouble regaining it. If you're in the dieting zone, it might be best to stay there.

That said, a small break now might help prevent the backlash many people experience when they've been dieting a long time to low bodyfat, and then the give themselves an inch and end up taking a mile.

I feel the same way. I've been cutting for a long enough period that a break is warranted, but I really don't want to break my cycle for fear that I won't regain my drive and motivation.

Posted by: @str8flexed

as i told you before (i think that's you), in one week you can undo all the dieting you've done & more

Ain't no doubt about this...particularly if you've toyed with your sodium as well.

Vv

I agree. However I do have to say that my experience with fibrates leads me to believe that although they aren't a magic bullet, they let you get away with more with far less net damage. However it's really best to just avoid developing reliance on supps to justify bad habits like binging. Not only do you end up spending more and putting more junk in your body (both too much food and substances to negate the effect of the extra cals), but you also lose that mental dedication and focus and become lazy - sliding down that slippery slope.

I felt it happening even during my short time indulging my whims.

What's cool, is that I also stopped doing cardio for awhile (due to being frigging sick of it and overloaded and needing a dang break), and have been thinking of adding a little back in, but also not wanting to start sliding down the 'more is better' cardio slope that my mind gets into.

So I just did a 30 minute walk on the treadmill at lunch, and good lord, it just reminded me of that mental focus I had. It really boosted my mood and refreshed me. I honestly think I can say that cardio (esp. during the day for us 9-5ers), can be a great motivator if used in moderation. Well, assuming you're not hypocaloric and exhausted and just sick of doing it all the time.

I plan on re-integrating some cardio and getting back to the good old-fashioned hard work in the gym and kitchen. Experience tells me time and time again that this combo kicks any supps ass any day of the week.

But I've also gotta add - though I lost focus during my downtime, I DO feel refreshed and ready to go at it again. And I feel I've satisfied some of the obscene cravings I was having, with fairly minimal damage done. So maybe losing focus isn't so bad, as long as your vigilant about re-focussing after a few weeks, and as long as you take steps to minimize the damage during those few weeks (such as making sure food is clean, supping with sesathin and vinegar, timing larger meals for pwo, etc.).

QUOTEBut I've also gotta add - though I lost focus during my downtime, I DO feel refreshed and ready to go at it again. And I feel I've satisfied some of the obscene cravings I was having, with fairly minimal damage done. So maybe losing focus isn't so bad, as long as your vigilant about re-focussing after a few weeks, and as long as you take steps to minimize the damage during those few weeks (such as making sure food is clean, supping with sesathin and vinegar, timing larger meals for pwo, etc.).

Re-focusing is key...however, the longer one goes without re-focusing, the harder it is to get back on track...thus, as Layne points out (and as I concur)...try to get back on track as quickly as possible...that goes without saying that some circumstances allow for an easier time of doing this than others.

Vv

also on refeeds I crave fatty, plateabl;e foods. I am reading up on mecahism of fat sensing and craving but still don't get it. it seems like ghrelin is a player and NPY, but I'm in the dark.

I still don't understand the connection between fat in diet and leptin. high fat diet promote leptin somehow, although in theory they should impair signaling...

vain, care to help?

maybe CART is involved (that ilttle booger is involved in alot of shyte)

any one has the full text?

Cocaine- and amphetamine-regulated transcript in the arcuate nucleus stimulates lipid metabolism to control body fat accrual on a high-fat diet.Wortley KE, Chang GQ, Davydova Z, Fried SK, Leibowitz SF.
The Rockefeller University, 1230 York Avenue, New York, NY 10021, USA.

Previous studies have indicated a relationship between cocaine- and amphetamine-related transcript (CART) and leptin. The present study used quantitative PCR and in situ hybridization to examine this CART-leptin relationship in different animal models. With CART injection, the function of this pathway was also investigated. The results demonstrate that CART mRNA in the arcuate nucleus (ARC) was significantly increased in subjects fed a high-fat diet (HFD) compared to low-fat diet (LFD). It was also elevated in obese vs. lean rats and in normal-weight obesity-prone vs. obesity-resistant rats. In each group tested, CART mRNA in the ARC was positively correlated specifically with circulating levels of leptin. Its close association specifically with leptin was further supported by a stimulatory effect of this hormone on CART expression. This leptin-CART relationship in the ARC, in contrast, was less consistent or undetectable in the paraventricular nucleus and lateral hypothalamus. Central injection of CART peptide (55-102) increased circulating non-esterified fatty acid levels and decreased lipoprotein lipase activity in adipose tissue. These results suggest that, on a fat-rich diet, this leptin-CART pathway originating in the ARC inhibits excessive body fat accrual by causing a shift from lipid storage toward lipid mobilization.

PMID: 14700744