The Breaking Point
May 17th, 2010
If you’ve been reading my articles for any length of time, you know how important it is to change your approach to getting lean and losing weight regularly. For me, the time has come to switch my focus completely (at least for the next six weeks), from bringing out my two bottom abs to building more muscle.
The reason for this sudden change is that I’ve noticed I’m starting to burn more muscle tissue than anything–which, overall, is not good for my body or my metabolism.
Although it might sound like I’m taking a step backwards and putting a halt to my progress, ultimately, a nice break will catapult my long-term success for three reasons:
1. Taking a break from a calorie deficit will allow me to get my body back in balance, which will give my body a much needed break.
2. Building more muscle will greatly increase the speed of my metabolism, which will boost the number of calories (and amount of fat) I burn on a daily basis.
3. Eating enough food to meet my daily energy requirements (a.k.a. going back to my baseline food / calorie intake) will increase the likelihood that my body will burn a greater amount of fat for energy once I return to creating a calorie deficit.
Since my primary aim is to put on more muscle without adding fat, my plan is to increase the number of calories I eat by 250 daily and drop all the cardio for now. Then, once late June comes around, I’ll return to a calorie deficit and pursuing my two bottom abs.
Does that mean I’ll be going off of my eating program and having whatever I want?
Of course not, because consuming processed and sugary foods will only put my body into fat storage mode. Instead, I’ll be sticking to the same natural and low-glycemic foods I always recommend to everyone with one slight difference–I’ll be eating enough calories to create a neutral energy balance, which basically means that my body will be burning everything I take in.
Even though it may seem counterintuitive, one of the greatest (and hardest) lessons I’ve learned about getting lean is that you shouldn’t be afraid to take a short break when you stop making progress. It might feel like you’re slacking off in the beginning of course, but ultimately, your body will thank you for it and reward you with better results later.
The number one caution with taking a break is that you have to realize that that’s what it is, a break, and not an opportunity to give up or go on a see-food diet. The other thing to keep in mind is that you have to be committed to returning to your efforts once you’ve had your rest and your body is back on track.
If you do this periodically without losing sight of what your main focus is–which is getting leaner or losing weight–you’ll find that your results will come much faster and be beyond excellent once you go back to your deficit.
Categories: Get Back on Track, Weight Loss
