This may seem like a dumb question, but how do you keep from Oprah Winfreying after a rapid fat loss diet? I was just reading an appetite for construction article and saw that a major cause for weight gain after a diet was not due to muscle loss, but to a suppressed metabolic rate. By that logic, you cant rely on the Dont Diet calculations because they calculate your requirements by your LBM, right? That and lifestyle issues, but those should remain constant. Is there a post diet back off period that I have somehow missed. Like once you get to your target BFP, what do you do to maintain it without springing right back to where you started?
A lot of people have said Hot Roxx have maintained the wieght loss after switching from a cut cycle to a more moderate diet, but beyond that, what are some tried and true methods to stay thin?
Someone in my lab said something about adjusting your ‘set point’, which at the time seemed like a catch phrase he had heard on a late night informercial for one of those revolutionary fat burners. But it kind of makes sense that you would have to give your metabolism time to adjust to the new baseline BFP and caloric intake.
Now, if there is an atricle that I missed, flame away.
Well, I’m no diet guru but I’ll let you know what I did. I did a fat fast a couple of months ago and have managed to avoid “Pulling an Oprah” since then.
Basically when I ended the fat fast I gave myself a cheat day. Then it was back to dieting.
The first week bumped the protein up to just over 1g/lb of bodyweight. I left the fat alone and added all the fibrous veggies I could stuff down my throat.
The next week I added a huge bowl of oatmeal in the mornings and continued with all the fibrous veggies I could find. Now I’ve started eating more carbs again as I’m attempting to pack on a little muscle.
I just found that taking the two weeks to come back to a normal consumption level seemed to do it for me. . .
Hope that helps a little.
STU
Number one problem I’d say most people have is that they change their diet drastically after a cutting phase. You can’t go from 2200 cals to 4000 cals in a day (at least most people can’t).
T-dawg 2.0 suggests (and I concurr) “eating up”. This is similar to what Sturat suggested. When cutting you’re mainly reducing your calories by limiting carbs (Protein shouldn’t really be reduced by much…I suggest at least). So “eating up” involves increasing carbs during least susceptable times of the day (Immediately Post-workout and breakfast). A week or so with those increased calories (say 2200 to 2700…for a 180lbs 10%bf person to go from 15*BW-500 to maintanence). Than after that increase carbs and protein in your meal 90-120 mins post-workout. That can bring you up to say 3500 in my example. And then after a week or so adjustment, increase to 4000, and so forth…While you will likely gain fat any time you go Hypercaloric (above maintanence), the “ballooning up” will be reduced, and you’ll be putting on mostly LBM.
Hope that helped.
Here is what I do:
I bump up my calories by about 250 for the first week out of my diet. The second week I bump it up another 250 and stay at this cal. level for a total of 2 weeks. Then the 4th week I’ll bump it up another 250, then another 250 by the 5th week if I’m dieting severly. By this time I should be back to my maintenance. 2 weeks at my maintenance and I’m ready to add some more calories. Every time I’ve tried this I’ve actually gotten leaner. I usually use the t-dawg for dieting also. I just take my r-ala with my carb meals. I’ve yet to get a rebound effect.
“Basically when I ended the fat fast I gave myself a cheat day. Then it was back to dieting.”
Exactly. Especially if you were low-carb dieting, you have to stair-step back up to maint. or mass-adding calorie levels. I, too, had success adding calories weekly:
- from whole foods, and
- with respect to when they
could best be used (first
post-workout, then early AM…)
Point being - just when you think your diet’s over… It’s not. What a wonderful life. 
Beka