Two things Layne doesn’t mention that are extremely valuable are: 1. Doing this stretches out the diet and therefore you’re automatically at a lower than starting weight for longer while still having a reason to track 2. The diet breaks spread throughout the diet teach you how to eat at maintenance which is what you’ll have to do once you reach your goal
Been cutting for 4 months and lost about 8% body weight. Its becoming significantly more difficult to cut. After just watching your why diets fail series, I've come to the conclusion that its probably better to create a new metabolic homeostasis before continuing to lose weight. Diet sprints seem like a great way to do this
Perfect timing! I've been on a 7 week cut using the Carbon App and its been great. This week has been pretty tough though with strength loss and increased fatigue so my new plan is to incorporate a diet break and then give fat loss sprints a go.
I lost 300 pounds doing this. 4-6 week cycles of reducing calories more and more and then increasing them slowly back to my TDEE and resting there for several weeks before starting a new cycle. It's taken me about 4 and a half years but I never regained anything more than 10-20 pounds here and there.
awesme man ! May I ask how would you slowly add calories back to TDEE? meaning how long into maintenance phase before you hit those maintenance calories?
Minus 41 likes for having 300 pounds to lose in the first place. Society is now congratulating ppl for doing stupid shit. It’s all backwards, and will not survive much longer.
Funny how you dismissed occasionally regaining up to 20lbs. Most of the health damage is done while gaining weight (calorie surplus, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, etc) instead of while maintaining an obese weight, although it may not be the case if you are over 400lbs. Anyway, congratulations on you impressive weight loss, keep it up.
This is literally the concept I used as a rational for finally downloading the Carbon app. I have reached a point where I needed a Sprint to get down the last 10 pounds I wanted to lose before switching to a muscle mass focus. Using the app I have been Sprinting in a deficit and dropping pounds. Four pounds down and with the app as a guide, I'll get that last six in the coming weeks. I feel the Sprint will be a mainstay of my plans for the future as it really gives goals with flexibility to keep my moods stable as well. Many thanks to Layne and his crew!
For me the transition into and out of a deficit is the hardest part; once I’m a few days in I have my routine and my recipes planned out, so I’m golden. Frequent short breaks don’t sound fun at all, but as I get leaner I may have to put up with them for the physiological benefits.
I'm the same way. During Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks I had two diet breaks and I was anxious the whole time. I was worried about screwing up my diet and not being able to get back on it again. The water weight I gained during those weeks was tough mentally (even though I knew it was just water). I guess it's just a psychological thing. Once I've set up my diet routine, it's pretty easy to keep going and any diet break just feels like I'm wasting time.
@@Mekias That can certainly happen, in a few different ways. Chronic dieters are understandably apprehensive because every time they’ve ended a diet in the past they quickly regained the weight. (It also doesn’t help when you’ve been socialized to see any uptick in the scale as a negative.) Others have trouble adhering to a maintenance goal. They’re not on a mission anymore, so they kinda lose focus and let the good habits slide. For these people coaches will usually recommend performance goals, like getting your first chin-up. You can build a lot of strength when you’re properly fueled. At the same time you’re fighting the physiological drive to regain weight. As Layne describes in his “Why Diets Fail” series, when you lose fat your body tends to increase signals for hunger and cravings so that when food is available again, you’ll eat a bunch and replenish your fat stores. This is why it’s a good idea to take breaks or end fat loss phases _before_ they get too stressful. That way you have some strength left to get you through those first few weeks where you want to eat all the things. As long as it keeps working for me, my workflow is going to be bigger blocks: 4-8 weeks dieting, 4-8 weeks not, repeat as needed.
Sounds like me, frequent short breaks slow down my progress and make me binge. I feel they are a sure path to an eating disorder. I do much better with a consistent routine slowly raising the deficit and then longer diet breaks, when I still had a lot to lose. People are different I guess.
This is kinda what I started doing in late 2019 when working out hard and eating as "clean" as possible was my way of coping with a broken heart. This video comes at the perfect moment to give me the extra little push to go hard for 2-3 weeks now, thank you!
I've been doing this kind of strategy recently and love it. I diet during my accumulation weeks then on my deload/rest week I bump calories to maintenance or just above. Also if I get any strong hunger cravings at any time I bump calories to maintenance for that day. It's definitely made dieting a lot easier and the weight has actually been dropping faster that usual as my metabolic rate hasn't seemed to have dropped much at all and it's psychologically easier.
I love this. Especially since as I'm getting older, my weight has 5-6 lb fluctuations during my cycle. My first 2 weeks weight decrease. Then last 10 days weight goes up & then the mental battle begins. This may be the answer to keeping my fat loss on track & helping the mental deflation I get.
Yes I agree, as a women it's so tough w/ the pms changes 2 weeks out of the month. When the body is more tired and stressed. I feel the same...being too rigid around that time isn't beneficial. It feels like it's impossible to be so strict w/ self during those hormone changes. That would actually be a great idea for women, flexible eating going off their cycles. I was diagnosed w/ pmdd so my pms isn't the typical. It feels more intense. I'm so glad I found Laynes channel, cause all the crap out there is too much sometimes. It really could put a lot of pressure on a person. ❤
I've never managed to keep a diet for more than two months now just because of those videos i am getting far more results than ever before thanks a lot my friend you've changed my life god bless you from brazil
I agree. When I'm getting ready for summer, I always take the two step forward, one step back approach rather than a grueling, long term linear diet phase. It works better.
You just made Carbon Diet make sense to me. There was no way I was going to be able to eat at the deficit it calculated for me, without a couple of beiges. But now I know why.... This video is long overdue. P.S. I just reactivated my subscription!!!
From a behavioral science point of view, this makes a ton of sense. I will likely be trialing this with myself and then starting to implement with my clients. This is great stuff.
Great points and information. I've been utilizing both fat loss sprints and more traditional styles of caloric deficits over a longer period of time. Although both works, I think the context of the individual is what determines what's best. For someone with a history of disordered eating or new to this whole fitness and health world I think a slower deficit is more appropriate. I.e. appropriate for someone who is trying to create and implement new lifestyle habits. There could be an issue if someone who doesn't have a healthy lifestyle in check or knows how to eat mindfully with a purpose to attempt fat loss sprints. However, for the more experienced person who already has good habits in place I think fat loss sprints might actually be a really good option which allows for a lot of lifestyle flexibility. Great video Layne
I appreciate so much that you admit you are taking liberties with the research. I think it makes total sense to do this and it's how I like to do it myself.
There have been at least two studies on diet breaks, one with a 2 weeks on, 2 off cadence that showed a benefit to metabolic rate, and the other 3 on, 1 off and not showing that benefit. Doc did a video discussing those. ruclips.net/video/XplkrDJ-RLI/видео.html tldw, even if the fat-loss benefits don’t pan out, the researchers in the 3:1 study found that breaks also reduced hunger. If that helps adherence in the real world, that’s a very good thing.
@@tilfliegel That too. I’m not that keen on diet breaks myself because I feel hungriest around days 3-10 after ending a diet. I can understand taking a break for special occasions or if I needed a mental break, but going in and out of a deficit every few weeks would probably be more stressful for me, not less.
I've been doing this for the last 6 months. I've had a great deal of success with it and it's how I prefer to lose fat. I didn't know there was a name for it!
This is definitely the future. I do 6-12 weeks in a deficit and a 2 week diet break depending on how deep I am in a cut. It usually takes me 3-4 weeks when I start a cut to get into the groove of it and have my taste buds adapt a bit.
I did this/ do this. My body is really bad with long periods of deficits (I wake up at night already on a 300 deficit), so two years ago I figured that I would go into a big deficit for 2-2,5 weeks and than eat on maintenance energy intake again for a couple of weeks. (3-4) Interesting enough I noticed that during maintenance periods I could keep the weight off quite effortlessly. I've done it a couple of times and I'm in a loss period again now. It's a difficult 2 weeks, but then I've lost a decent amount of weight and I can go maintenance again and sleep decently :p
Well, I have not come up with fat loss sprints expression, but I usually do this as a standard for a while. Reason being that after years of training, I noticed long cutting periods are quite ineffective on the long term. There is no other way around, you have to cut carbs to cut calories, cutting carbs means less energy, less energy means less weight and less weight... less muscle. So for instance, now I am at around 15% bf (my ideal bf for maingaining as Greg defines) but for summer I prefer my look around 12% bf. I could start a cut phase in March up to May to lost those 3% bf but I know by experience 3 months cut will mean around 20% drop in stregth and loss of muscle. I tried in the last 2 years this spring approach with 2 weeks cut phase, 1 week surplus (increasing carbs only) and I although I don't see any gains in strength, at least I don't lost any, it's wayyyy easier to go this way and in my case I can say wayyy more effective at keeping muscle.
I never cut carbs. I prefer cutting out the fats and keeping in my lovely carbs. Carbs are king for keeping muscle and gym performance and fats i eat at absolute bare physical minimum (essential fats)
Thats literally what I did to lose 150lbs! Stopped doing it cause I thought it “wasn’t healthy”. Ive still got 100ish to lose so Im gonna definitely get back on that.
I love aggressive cutting, I used them last year with great success. Martin MacDonald was an advocate who really convinced me it wouldn't result in major muscle loss.
NEJM study on long term weight loss/regain and hormonal impacts supports your approach. Caloric deficits for longer percentages of lifetime seem linked to significant hormonal improvement (esp insulin sensitivity). Signed, Member of -100 Club.
Hey Layne, thanks for the great content. Both you and Mike Israetel are my go-to for fitness and diet education. Mike claims that after a cutting phase, you should have a maintenance phase for about the same length of time that you cut. Would you agree with that for longer cutting phases?
I've had good success with long diet phases and long breaks. And bad experiences with sprinting and short breaks. You have to find out what works better for you.
Hey! I've been talking about "fat loss sprints" and proper "cool downs" (aka reverse diets) for a pretty long time Layne...I'll have my trademark attorney give yours a ring :)
I've been doing this combined with fasting as the way to control calories. Currently doing 36 hours over Monday, then 24 on Wednesday, and Friday. Doing 3 weeks if that and then will go back to normal eating for a while to even out. If I start to creep up because my gluttony gets the best of me I just do another fast week or two and re-assess. I wouldn't call what I eat a 'diet' or even a plan per-say. More like when you're driving down the highway and you have to nudge the wheel once in a while or you'll drift off course... It's just little nudges to keep on target.
Yea, I have to lose the last 10 pounds to reach my goal. It’s super hard when individuals are that close to lose the last bit of fat. I prefer to go hard with my diet for 4 weeks or so then take 2 weeks of maintenance break!
Hey Layne, love the channel! Any chance you could do a video on heart rate variability? I’m struggling to work out if this is a valuable metric of performance. The studies I’ve seen seem point to a high variability between athletes so I can’t really tell if it’s strongly indicative of anything and if modifying it will enhance performance. All in all, pretty confused. Take care and thanks for all the quality information. I’ve learned a lot from your work.
Hey Layne! Love your videos and your Instagram feed. I actually signed up for Carbon a while back. I teach AV Production and noticed you’ve got what looks like a wireless Rode mic. Solid choice for clear vocal audio! If ever decide you don’t want to see the mic in the shot, you could invest in shotgun condenser mic and put it on a stand with a long rod pointed at your face. That way you don’t have to wear any “gear” and you’ll more like just a dude talking. Love your stuff man!
Great info. I've been doing something sort of like this as well. I would be on a lower calorie cut until I feel like I'm plateauing, usually around the 15lb loss mark. Then I'd eat at maintenance or possibly slightly higher for about a week which I would also make into a mini-bulk. I've noticed that my weight stays about the same or I might add another 1lb or 2lbs but it's like the stock market: slight corrections help build momentum and I'm ready to get back to it more aggressively with more results than if I'd just toughed it out in a linear fashion.
I read about fat loss sprints from Christian Thibaudeau.. Fat loss sprints->Maintenance and repeat till you reach your goal. FREAKING love them! Lane any thoughts on coaches that preach go into a surplus to “build your metabolism” even if someone has a lot of fat to lose? Have an awesome day!
Thats how i been doing it for a long time: 1: pushing fase = 1k cals deficit. Fatloss galore. For 3 weeks maximum 2: maintenance fase = spend 90% of my time here. And since its maintenance i dont gain any fat and keep looking lean as a cock whilst eating 400 to 500gr of carbs daily. Its great. Thats it. And if i ever overeat and slip i simply do 2 week pushing fase to get cut again quickly and back into maintenance
I love this idea personally. Bringing calories back up for a period. But I’ve found with clients, when I say diet break I bring calories up and they start going way too hard eating whatever. So I’ll say it’s an excellent idea, and does work. Just be careful who you use it with. Qualify the candidate.😁
Pretty unique question! I am curious what your thoughts are on what I should do from my current position: I went from very very gym focused (6year span 6 days a week) until 4 years ago (as a natural) and then had our first child. My gym focus declined and then died all together until last year. I had ballooned up from 175/180lb to 230lb at 5’8”. Needless to say obese… Last year I dedicated myself to a fat loss phase and maintenance phase after and dropped my weight to 185lb in 10-12 weeks and maintained that weight the remainder of the 2021 year (+/-4lb) leading up to now. I had my hormonal levels checked 2x last year whilst dieting and my test had crashed, which I assume to be normal. I began a new fat loss phase this year but my calories are already pretty low at 1,900 calories living a semi sedentary lifestyle as a teacher. My hormones were tested again and are somewhat still wonky. My question is… should I focus on fixing my test and e2 levels through maintenance or reverse dieting? Or would it be okay to push for the remaining 10lb I want to lose this year before maintaining/mass phasing again. I’m nervous that I will wreck my hormones further but could I be pr8med now to just add fat? Could I be working against my hormones by trying to get leaner and be losing more muscle than others w better test levels? Thank you to ANYONE that fully reads and offers assistance. I am very thankful! 🙏
I would not lose that last 10 lbs. Most likely, your calories will drop more, and your body will fight against u. Get to Maintenance and stay there for some time and get a lab done. If it doesn't go your way, def reverse diet. Your health is more important than losing 10 lbs. Just my input
Great video. I've been helping my clients with this and the results have been really good. Fits into 'life' nicely for most people, and they reach the goal weight. Keeping up the great work 👍
Hey, Dr. Layne, I hope all is well. Do you have any new research on this topic? I see Dr. Bill Campbell talked about it again about 7 months ago on another podcast, but since then, I could not find anything of the current date. Even just pointing me in the direction of a study, if you can not do a video on it right now, I would really appreciate it. Thanks
Layne introduced me to diet breaks. I love em.....been on a break going on 6 years now!!
🤣🤣
Lmfao! Keep up the commitment 👏
Lmaooo me too bro!
Man my diet break's been about 6 years as well.
Im on 8 year bulking cycle
Two things Layne doesn’t mention that are extremely valuable are:
1. Doing this stretches out the diet and therefore you’re automatically at a lower than starting weight for longer while still having a reason to track
2. The diet breaks spread throughout the diet teach you how to eat at maintenance which is what you’ll have to do once you reach your goal
Been cutting for 4 months and lost about 8% body weight. Its becoming significantly more difficult to cut. After just watching your why diets fail series, I've come to the conclusion that its probably better to create a new metabolic homeostasis before continuing to lose weight. Diet sprints seem like a great way to do this
Absolutely. I wouldnt cut more then 6 weeks or even less. Never over.
@DarkoFitCoach is this to avoid metabolic adaptation?
Perfect timing! I've been on a 7 week cut using the Carbon App and its been great. This week has been pretty tough though with strength loss and increased fatigue so my new plan is to incorporate a diet break and then give fat loss sprints a go.
Is this app free?
Clicked for sprints but left with more fat loss knowledge. Thanks Layne!
I lost 300 pounds doing this. 4-6 week cycles of reducing calories more and more and then increasing them slowly back to my TDEE and resting there for several weeks before starting a new cycle. It's taken me about 4 and a half years but I never regained anything more than 10-20 pounds here and there.
awesme man ! May I ask how would you slowly add calories back to TDEE? meaning how long into maintenance phase before you hit those maintenance calories?
Nice work!
Minus 41 likes for having 300 pounds to lose in the first place. Society is now congratulating ppl for doing stupid shit. It’s all backwards, and will not survive much longer.
Amazing!
Funny how you dismissed occasionally regaining up to 20lbs. Most of the health damage is done while gaining weight (calorie surplus, hyperglycemia, hyperinsulinemia, etc) instead of while maintaining an obese weight, although it may not be the case if you are over 400lbs.
Anyway, congratulations on you impressive weight loss, keep it up.
This is literally the concept I used as a rational for finally downloading the Carbon app. I have reached a point where I needed a Sprint to get down the last 10 pounds I wanted to lose before switching to a muscle mass focus. Using the app I have been Sprinting in a deficit and dropping pounds. Four pounds down and with the app as a guide, I'll get that last six in the coming weeks. I feel the Sprint will be a mainstay of my plans for the future as it really gives goals with flexibility to keep my moods stable as well. Many thanks to Layne and his crew!
Fantastic Video! Thank you 🙏🏼
For me the transition into and out of a deficit is the hardest part; once I’m a few days in I have my routine and my recipes planned out, so I’m golden. Frequent short breaks don’t sound fun at all, but as I get leaner I may have to put up with them for the physiological benefits.
I'm the same way. During Thanksgiving and Christmas weeks I had two diet breaks and I was anxious the whole time. I was worried about screwing up my diet and not being able to get back on it again. The water weight I gained during those weeks was tough mentally (even though I knew it was just water). I guess it's just a psychological thing. Once I've set up my diet routine, it's pretty easy to keep going and any diet break just feels like I'm wasting time.
@@Mekias That can certainly happen, in a few different ways. Chronic dieters are understandably apprehensive because every time they’ve ended a diet in the past they quickly regained the weight. (It also doesn’t help when you’ve been socialized to see any uptick in the scale as a negative.)
Others have trouble adhering to a maintenance goal. They’re not on a mission anymore, so they kinda lose focus and let the good habits slide. For these people coaches will usually recommend performance goals, like getting your first chin-up. You can build a lot of strength when you’re properly fueled.
At the same time you’re fighting the physiological drive to regain weight. As Layne describes in his “Why Diets Fail” series, when you lose fat your body tends to increase signals for hunger and cravings so that when food is available again, you’ll eat a bunch and replenish your fat stores. This is why it’s a good idea to take breaks or end fat loss phases _before_ they get too stressful. That way you have some strength left to get you through those first few weeks where you want to eat all the things.
As long as it keeps working for me, my workflow is going to be bigger blocks: 4-8 weeks dieting, 4-8 weeks not, repeat as needed.
Sounds like me, frequent short breaks slow down my progress and make me binge. I feel they are a sure path to an eating disorder. I do much better with a consistent routine slowly raising the deficit and then longer diet breaks, when I still had a lot to lose. People are different I guess.
I’m in the same boat as you. I get into a rhythm when dieting. So my diet break is usually every 6-12 weeks. Usually it’s a 2 week diet break.
This is kinda what I started doing in late 2019 when working out hard and eating as "clean" as possible was my way of coping with a broken heart. This video comes at the perfect moment to give me the extra little push to go hard for 2-3 weeks now, thank you!
I've been doing this kind of strategy recently and love it. I diet during my accumulation weeks then on my deload/rest week I bump calories to maintenance or just above. Also if I get any strong hunger cravings at any time I bump calories to maintenance for that day. It's definitely made dieting a lot easier and the weight has actually been dropping faster that usual as my metabolic rate hasn't seemed to have dropped much at all and it's psychologically easier.
I love this. Especially since as I'm getting older, my weight has 5-6 lb fluctuations during my cycle. My first 2 weeks weight decrease. Then last 10 days weight goes up & then the mental battle begins. This may be the answer to keeping my fat loss on track & helping the mental deflation I get.
Yes I agree, as a women it's so tough w/ the pms changes 2 weeks out of the month. When the body is more tired and stressed. I feel the same...being too rigid around that time isn't beneficial. It feels like it's impossible to be so strict w/ self during those hormone changes. That would actually be a great idea for women, flexible eating going off their cycles. I was diagnosed w/ pmdd so my pms isn't the typical. It feels more intense. I'm so glad I found Laynes channel, cause all the crap out there is too much sometimes. It really could put a lot of pressure on a person. ❤
I've never managed to keep a diet for more than two months now just because of those videos i am getting far more results than ever before thanks a lot my friend you've changed my life god bless you from brazil
I agree. When I'm getting ready for summer, I always take the two step forward, one step back approach rather than a grueling, long term linear diet phase. It works better.
The timing on this! I just started doing this but had no name for it. Great content!
I just got a Layne video as the 2nd ad on this video.
I think you just sold me on the app. Ive been on the fence for awhile now but I like the idea of sprints. It works with my personality.
Very helpful and insightful layne. Good video!
This has probably been the most efficient and effective video for me on fat loss. It just makes so much sense, awesome content 💪🏽
You just made Carbon Diet make sense to me. There was no way I was going to be able to eat at the deficit it calculated for me, without a couple of beiges. But now I know why....
This video is long overdue.
P.S. I just reactivated my subscription!!!
From a behavioral science point of view, this makes a ton of sense. I will likely be trialing this with myself and then starting to implement with my clients. This is great stuff.
This concept is incredible! ✊🏽 Layne this is much appreciated!
At the end of the day “adherence is key.” Yes! All about what you can actually stick to 💯
Please do more videos on this topic!
Thank you for all the great information you put out way more helpful than other youtubers.
Thanks for the information. Will you do a video on how to do this method in the Carbon app?
Absolutely great video 👏 👏
Great points and information. I've been utilizing both fat loss sprints and more traditional styles of caloric deficits over a longer period of time. Although both works, I think the context of the individual is what determines what's best. For someone with a history of disordered eating or new to this whole fitness and health world I think a slower deficit is more appropriate. I.e. appropriate for someone who is trying to create and implement new lifestyle habits. There could be an issue if someone who doesn't have a healthy lifestyle in check or knows how to eat mindfully with a purpose to attempt fat loss sprints. However, for the more experienced person who already has good habits in place I think fat loss sprints might actually be a really good option which allows for a lot of lifestyle flexibility. Great video Layne
Thank you so much. This is super helpful.
Thank you for the high quality information and examples. I also like the app so far.
Great info! I like this idea!
This is a great concept, thank you!
Thanks lane I needed this
Very well explained
I appreciate so much that you admit you are taking liberties with the research. I think it makes total sense to do this and it's how I like to do it myself.
As always, great content Layne.
Interesting. Will you be doing a study on this? I'd be interested in seeing how it stacks up to a continuous deficit.
There have been at least two studies on diet breaks, one with a 2 weeks on, 2 off cadence that showed a benefit to metabolic rate, and the other 3 on, 1 off and not showing that benefit. Doc did a video discussing those.
ruclips.net/video/XplkrDJ-RLI/видео.html
tldw, even if the fat-loss benefits don’t pan out, the researchers in the 3:1 study found that breaks also reduced hunger. If that helps adherence in the real world, that’s a very good thing.
You don't need a study, the individual response is too widly spread. Do what works best for you.
@@tilfliegel That too. I’m not that keen on diet breaks myself because I feel hungriest around days 3-10 after ending a diet. I can understand taking a break for special occasions or if I needed a mental break, but going in and out of a deficit every few weeks would probably be more stressful for me, not less.
This is great, thanks for sharing
Can’t wait to try this
Very interesting 👍👍🙏🙏🙏
Thank you
I've been doing this for the last 6 months. I've had a great deal of success with it and it's how I prefer to lose fat. I didn't know there was a name for it!
Okay ill try it right away
I eat the carnivore diet at 54 years old. Lost 25 pounds since this past December. Feeling the best, super energy.
I think near summer we need a fat loss educational series
This is definitely the future. I do 6-12 weeks in a deficit and a 2 week diet break depending on how deep I am in a cut. It usually takes me 3-4 weeks when I start a cut to get into the groove of it and have my taste buds adapt a bit.
haha i wont diet longer than 3-4 weeks and that's pushing it!! thanks for keeping us in the loop! you're the GOAT laybe!
I love you Dr. Norton
Also ACTUAL sprints like hill sprints are a great fat loss exercise! Pick a hill that takes 30-60s to sprint up, walk back down and repeat 5 times.
I completely agree I prefer fat loss sprints as it allows one to be more dialed in as it only requires a few weeks of adherence.
Interesting stuff
I've been doing this for a very long time, with one exception that I don't go in a deficit that's bigger than 500 kcal. Great vid!
4:40 i also do this M-F deficit with *slight* carb refuel on weekends (usually just Saturday breakfast). Easy for me to adhere to.
I did this/ do this. My body is really bad with long periods of deficits (I wake up at night already on a 300 deficit), so two years ago I figured that I would go into a big deficit for 2-2,5 weeks and than eat on maintenance energy intake again for a couple of weeks. (3-4) Interesting enough I noticed that during maintenance periods I could keep the weight off quite effortlessly. I've done it a couple of times and I'm in a loss period again now. It's a difficult 2 weeks, but then I've lost a decent amount of weight and I can go maintenance again and sleep decently :p
Cool! Are your maintenance calories based on your starting body weight, or your new body weight?
@@sonja4164 new weight, otherwise it's not maintenance.
@@elisenieuwe4649 thanks. I've seen conflicting info. I figured as much but I want to make sure.
I’m guessing you don’t have a lot of fat to lose
How does this guy does not have a million subscribers I don’t understand
Well, I have not come up with fat loss sprints expression, but I usually do this as a standard for a while. Reason being that after years of training, I noticed long cutting periods are quite ineffective on the long term. There is no other way around, you have to cut carbs to cut calories, cutting carbs means less energy, less energy means less weight and less weight... less muscle. So for instance, now I am at around 15% bf (my ideal bf for maingaining as Greg defines) but for summer I prefer my look around 12% bf. I could start a cut phase in March up to May to lost those 3% bf but I know by experience 3 months cut will mean around 20% drop in stregth and loss of muscle. I tried in the last 2 years this spring approach with 2 weeks cut phase, 1 week surplus (increasing carbs only) and I although I don't see any gains in strength, at least I don't lost any, it's wayyyy easier to go this way and in my case I can say wayyy more effective at keeping muscle.
I never cut carbs. I prefer cutting out the fats and keeping in my lovely carbs. Carbs are king for keeping muscle and gym performance and fats i eat at absolute bare physical minimum (essential fats)
Can’t run away from your fat, it will always follow you home
Agree I find this so much easier psychologically, aggressive short term and more visible results!
Yah I’m a big fan of fat gain sprints. Hits the spot every time!
He's right on. I plan my "aggressive" sprints ahead if time when I'm in a good mood
You could do this with a few extended fasts (48-72hrs) over a 2-4 week period seems easier then having to eat super low calories throughout the week.
Doncha love science 🧬🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Thats literally what I did to lose 150lbs! Stopped doing it cause I thought it “wasn’t healthy”. Ive still got 100ish to lose so Im gonna definitely get back on that.
Awesome! You got this don’t give up!
I love aggressive cutting, I used them last year with great success. Martin MacDonald was an advocate who really convinced me it wouldn't result in major muscle loss.
Grazie
NEJM study on long term weight loss/regain and hormonal impacts supports your approach. Caloric deficits for longer percentages of lifetime seem linked to significant hormonal improvement (esp insulin sensitivity).
Signed, Member of -100 Club.
dude, I think this is exactly what I am looking for!
Diet cycle, two weeks at 60% of maintenance then two weeks of 100%
Layne, you OG rocking the pager
Hey Layne, thanks for the great content. Both you and Mike Israetel are my go-to for fitness and diet education. Mike claims that after a cutting phase, you should have a maintenance phase for about the same length of time that you cut. Would you agree with that for longer cutting phases?
I'd have to understand his reasoning
Good question
He says it's to get rid of diet fatigue and get your metabolism back to normal
I've had good success with long diet phases and long breaks. And bad experiences with sprinting and short breaks. You have to find out what works better for you.
@@tilfliegel I'm the same
Works for me. let’s me better assess my energy levels & needs with deficits & maintenance phases because it changes over time
Hey! I've been talking about "fat loss sprints" and proper "cool downs" (aka reverse diets) for a pretty long time Layne...I'll have my trademark attorney give yours a ring :)
A “Fat loss time lapse” would be a much better name
I've been doing this combined with fasting as the way to control calories. Currently doing 36 hours over Monday, then 24 on Wednesday, and Friday. Doing 3 weeks if that and then will go back to normal eating for a while to even out. If I start to creep up because my gluttony gets the best of me I just do another fast week or two and re-assess.
I wouldn't call what I eat a 'diet' or even a plan per-say. More like when you're driving down the highway and you have to nudge the wheel once in a while or you'll drift off course... It's just little nudges to keep on target.
Yea, I have to lose the last 10 pounds to reach my goal. It’s super hard when individuals are that close to lose the last bit of fat. I prefer to go hard with my diet for 4 weeks or so then take 2 weeks of maintenance break!
Hey Layne, love the channel! Any chance you could do a video on heart rate variability? I’m struggling to work out if this is a valuable metric of performance. The studies I’ve seen seem point to a high variability between athletes so I can’t really tell if it’s strongly indicative of anything and if modifying it will enhance performance. All in all, pretty confused. Take care and thanks for all the quality information. I’ve learned a lot from your work.
This gave me some hope, because I friggin hate dieting down.
Wow, this is great. I think this is my solution.
Rusty Moore's Visual Impact Fat Loss Boost is working for me. 14 day sprints.
Hey Layne! Love your videos and your Instagram feed. I actually signed up for Carbon a while back.
I teach AV Production and noticed you’ve got what looks like a wireless Rode mic. Solid choice for clear vocal audio! If ever decide you don’t want to see the mic in the shot, you could invest in shotgun condenser mic and put it on a stand with a long rod pointed at your face. That way you don’t have to wear any “gear” and you’ll more like just a dude talking.
Love your stuff man!
Would you recommend a similar approach on a bulk or reverse diet?
Once you lose a lot of weight (in my case 160lbs) - 12 weeks in a moderate deficit is nothing. Thanks for the tools to keep if off too!
Great info. I've been doing something sort of like this as well. I would be on a lower calorie cut until I feel like I'm plateauing, usually around the 15lb loss mark. Then I'd eat at maintenance or possibly slightly higher for about a week which I would also make into a mini-bulk. I've noticed that my weight stays about the same or I might add another 1lb or 2lbs but it's like the stock market: slight corrections help build momentum and I'm ready to get back to it more aggressively with more results than if I'd just toughed it out in a linear fashion.
I read about fat loss sprints from Christian Thibaudeau.. Fat loss sprints->Maintenance and repeat till you reach your goal. FREAKING love them!
Lane any thoughts on coaches that preach go into a surplus to “build your metabolism” even if someone has a lot of fat to lose?
Have an awesome day!
I'd like to know the answer to that question too.
Slight surplus of 300cals or so on maintenance fase is great for building muscle and no fat gain
I am either in a calorie deficit or calorie overage. I can’t seem to get to maintenance ever.
You always have great hoodies. Who makes them?
For me, I diet hard during the week and do maintenance during the weekend.
Thats how i been doing it for a long time:
1: pushing fase = 1k cals deficit. Fatloss galore. For 3 weeks maximum
2: maintenance fase = spend 90% of my time here. And since its maintenance i dont gain any fat and keep looking lean as a cock whilst eating 400 to 500gr of carbs daily. Its great.
Thats it. And if i ever overeat and slip i simply do 2 week pushing fase to get cut again quickly and back into maintenance
Interesting; I m thinking to do this for my next bodybuilding competition. Having like a 20 week prep with diet breaks instead of 12 weeks.
Hey Layne, when is the diet break feature coming out on Carbon?
😄Wow, I had never heard about "Burt Days" until this video...
I'm more familiar with "Berf Days"!
Now, let's talk about Fat Gain Sprints...
I love this idea personally.
Bringing calories back up for a period. But I’ve found with clients, when I say diet break I bring calories up and they start going way too hard eating whatever. So I’ll say it’s an excellent idea, and does work.
Just be careful who you use it with. Qualify the candidate.😁
Diet break is wrong word. Gives assholes idea they can binge. Maintenance fase is better or caloric maintenance.
Pretty unique question!
I am curious what your thoughts are on what I should do from my current position:
I went from very very gym focused (6year span 6 days a week) until 4 years ago (as a natural) and then had our first child. My gym focus declined and then died all together until last year. I had ballooned up from 175/180lb to 230lb at 5’8”. Needless to say obese…
Last year I dedicated myself to a fat loss phase and maintenance phase after and dropped my weight to 185lb in 10-12 weeks and maintained that weight the remainder of the 2021 year (+/-4lb) leading up to now. I had my hormonal levels checked 2x last year whilst dieting and my test had crashed, which I assume to be normal. I began a new fat loss phase this year but my calories are already pretty low at 1,900 calories living a semi sedentary lifestyle as a teacher. My hormones were tested again and are somewhat still wonky.
My question is… should I focus on fixing my test and e2 levels through maintenance or reverse dieting? Or would it be okay to push for the remaining 10lb I want to lose this year before maintaining/mass phasing again. I’m nervous that I will wreck my hormones further but could I be pr8med now to just add fat? Could I be working against my hormones by trying to get leaner and be losing more muscle than others w better test levels?
Thank you to ANYONE that fully reads and offers assistance. I am very thankful! 🙏
I would not lose that last 10 lbs. Most likely, your calories will drop more, and your body will fight against u. Get to Maintenance and stay there for some time and get a lab done. If it doesn't go your way, def reverse diet. Your health is more important than losing 10 lbs. Just my input
@@crazykorean2268 Thats what im on the fence about.
@@crazykorean2268 I am still in reference range, but not remotely close to optimal
I think thos type of weight loss approach iz good for people learn very important thing. Which is maintenence.
Great video.
I've been helping my clients with this and the results have been really good. Fits into 'life' nicely for most people, and they reach the goal weight.
Keeping up the great work 👍
Well done layno more good content mate. Cheers
I like the idea of diet breaks, but as a distance runner, I hated the marathon analogy. 😂
Wow. An actual 200 pound man and not a 170 pound kid like all the other RUclips fitness channels.
Hey, Dr. Layne, I hope all is well. Do you have any new research on this topic? I see Dr. Bill Campbell talked about it again about 7 months ago on another podcast, but since then, I could not find anything of the current date. Even just pointing me in the direction of a study, if you can not do a video on it right now, I would really appreciate it. Thanks