In the beginning of my fitness journey I would go on diets with the intention of losing body fat. Those diets would not last longer than three days. Eventually I learned that if I wanted to sustain a diet, I’d need to eat more than 1500 calories a day. I’d also have to stop calling it a diet and just call it, “the way I eat.” I bumped my daily calorie intake to 2500 when I’m more active, and 2000 when I’m less active. Those numbers are good for my body and may or may not work for someone else. I’ve always recommended that people experiment to find what is right for themselves.
With these better calorie targets the length of my diets, or “the way I eat,” went from three days to three weeks. For the first week and a half I’d feel completely satisfied. I wasn’t eating junk food and I didn’t miss it. Over the next seven days I’d start to notice that I missed some of my old favorite foods. By the end of week three, I’d be ready for a binge.
My most recent stretch of super clean eating lasted a month, but on day 31, I enjoyed a bag of cookies. It wasn’t cheat day…
It was, however, time for a diet break. Although reluctant at first, I’ve come to accept these breaks as an asset, helping me to stay focused over the long term. They are two weeks in length and during that time I still eat healthful foods, but I also eat junk food as desired.
My most recent diet break ended two days ago. During the break I ate more cheese than usual and enjoyed way more cookies than usual. I made an effort to fill up on the healthful foods first, however I wasn’t trying so hard. Whereas I normally plan to eat around 2500 calories in a day, I was maybe having closer to 3000. It’s a guess, I wasn’t measuring.
The diet break is a physical and mental reset. It’s an extended period of time where I can enjoy the foods that I don’t normally eat. It also provides a bit of a high. The extra sugar in my diet definitely releases those reward chemicals in my brain, and that means I was having fun!
During the break I was still mindful about what my fitness goals are. I knew that at the end of the break I’d want to resume my “lean diet,” and resume focus on my fitness goals. I’d literally be sipping rum, snacking on cheese, and thinking about how I want to walk back into the gym (whenever it opens again) looking like I’d never left. The combination of “sugar joy” and dreaming of a “power body” is intoxicating. It sends my motivation through the roof. In a nutshell, the two week diet break reinvigorates me.
I’m two days in to clean eating and do not miss the diet break. It was wonderful to enjoy those foods, but they don’t fuel me the way that the healthful stuff does. Alcohol may relax me but water really energizes me. Burgers, fries, and cheesecake make me feel good, but at the cost of dehydration and sluggishness. The diet break allowed me to miss my normal fitness routine. Missing the routine makes resuming the routine so very sweet.
I’m going to enjoy the next three to four weeks of eating my power foods, and by June, I’ll enjoy another diet break.
I strongly recommend these breaks. I suggest using them just before you think you’re about to “fall off the wagon.” The diet break makes it okay to ease off of the diet because you know that you’re going to get back to it. Gradually increase the length of time between diet breaks. If you can only diet for three days before taking a break, accept that truth and take a break. Next time around stretch it an extra day or two.
While on the diet break, and specifically while eating those fun foods, acknowledge that it is good for you to take these breaks. Acknowledge that you should enjoy some junk food, and that when the time comes, you’ll focus more on eating energizing, power foods, until the next break.
-Mike Humphreys