How Long Can You "Skate"?

So you've been working out consistently and watching your diet for a while and have pretty much hit your bodyfat/fitness goals... Can you take a break, and if so for how long before things start falling apart?

I know that sometimes even after getting to the point where working out has become a habit, we can all hit a point where we just want to take a break. This can also happen (ironically) once we've hit some sort of personal fitness goal. So if you do take a break, how long can you go before you really start to backslide?

This will depend on how long you've been working out on a regular basis, at what point (bodyfat-wise) you are at the point you stop exercising and what you do as far as diet is concerned.

I can use myself as a personal example...

If you have read my blog for a while, you'll know that I recently got back below 10% bodyfat over the summer. What happened after that is that I slacked off for a bit. I held it together for 2-3 weeks, but then I started noticing a loss of muscle tone. About this time I had decided to get together for a reunion of sorts with some friends I hadn't seen in over 20 years.

If that's not motivation to kick it into high gear, I don't know what is. :-)

Anyway, it only took me a couple of weeks to get back to where I was previously (under 9% body fat) and I was happy with my results. So what happened when I returned? My goal had been accomplished and I got busy with work-related things, and slacked off on working out again.

For about 2 weeks I didn't see much of a change in the mirror, but after that the muscular definition started to fade and my waistline increased a bit. I tracked my weight and bodyfat, and what happened was that although my bodyfat stayed at about the same level, I was losing muscle (I dropped about 3 pounds). So the increase in my waistline was due more to a lack of muscle tone and that my ab muscles are "looser" than to fat gain.

So although I'm not gaining fat, I'm losing lean mass. The reason I'm not gaining is because although I stopped working out temporarily, I did not throw the baby out with the bathwater and start eating tons of food and gorging on the wrong kinds of food.

Our bodies are ruthless when it comes to backsliding when we stop working out. You can lose two years of progress in that many months if you're not careful. But on the flip side once you've been in recent shape, you can get back there very quickly.

So it is possible to take a break after hitting a goal, but don't look at it as an excuse to go hog wild, or next thing you know you'll be right back where you started.

To learn how you can use these techniques for fat loss, read "The Last 10 Pounds" eBook.

Posted by Vic on November 14, 2005 11:58 AM