Losing weight can be a very difficult task to achieve, especially if we see that the results are not as expected while we strive to restrict our diet. However, taking breaks in the midst of dieting can help us lose weight(and reduce perceived exertion as well).

Intermittent calorie restriction

A recent study published in the International Journal of Obesity that tries to discover the keys to deactivate the rebound effect and to minimize the metabolic adaptation that takes place in our body after having a hypocaloric diet and losing weight, indicates that “rest” of the calorie restriction It can promote weight loss.

Specifically, to make a hypocaloric diet for about 7 weeks and to rest from the same two weeks during which a weight maintenance diet was carried out encouraged the loss of weight and body fat and decreased the loss of fat-free mass . The latter can be key to reducing the risk of a rebound effect.

The resting energy expenditure was finally similar to that with a continuous energy restriction, but the higher weight loss and adherence to the diet can also be improved if we think that we will have a “rest” of the diet as part of the process to lose weight .

Also our body that always tries to maintain stable weight can offer less resistance to get rid of the extra kilos if we do not sustain an energy restriction in time but we alternate it with periods in which the calories do not lack (nor do they spare). Something similar to trap food but with longer periods of controlled diet.

Intermittent diet, but in the hands of a professional

Doing an intermittent diet like the one evaluated in the study does not imply performing a miracle diet for a couple of months and leaving it for two weeks, because this far from helping us can harm us by opting for a strategy that by the degree of restriction and depersonalization affects all the functioning of the organism .

On the contrary, taking an intermittent diet or hypocaloric diet and maintenance cycles involves always planning with a professional knowledgeable about the subject, a diet that allows us to restrict calories in a moderate way for a while and obtain enough calories to maintain the weight, of foods with quality nutrients that protect health during another period.

Only if we take an intermittent diet in the hands of a professional who provides us with a personalized tool , suited to our needs and objectives, this modality will be successful because it will minimize the rebound effect and help us to maintain the lost weight by adopting good habits of lifetime.