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The first few weeks of a cut are usually smooth sailing. You aren\u2019t that hungry, your energy levels are good, and you\u2019re still enjoying your workouts.

Somewhere around the four- to six-week mark, however, the other shoe begins to drop. You\u2019re starting to feel hungrier leading up to meals and less satisfied after. Your energy levels begin to sag, and especially in the afternoons. You\u2019re no longer progressing in your workouts, which are feeling harder and harder.

There are two schools of thought on what to do next:

1. Grit your teeth and keep dieting so you can move on to the fun stuff as soon as possible (maintaining and lean gaining).
2. Take periodic diet breaks where you increase your calorie intake to maintenance for several days or weeks, then continue dieting after your reprieve.

Many diet break advocates say that taking a break here and there can speed up your metabolism, help preserve muscle mass, and even \u201chack\u201d your hormones to supercharge fat loss.

Others claim diet breaks offer no real benefit beyond \u201cfeeling good\u201d and are only necessary if you\u2019re too \u201cweak\u201d to stay the course.

Who\u2019s right?

That\u2019s what I ask James Krieger in this episode.

James is an accomplished researcher and writer as well as a lifter who knows what it\u2019s like to diet down to extremely low body fat levels, and in this episode he tells you everything you need to know about the real science behind diet breaks and refeeds.

In this episode, you\u2019re going to learn:

- Why people incorporate diet breaks and \u201crefeeds\u201d into their cutting regimens
- How taking diet breaks affects fat loss, muscle retention, and metabolic rate while dieting
- When you should or shouldn\u2019t take a diet break
- The pros and cons of diet breaks versus continuous calorie restriction
- How to take an effective diet break
- And more.

6:06 - Why do people do diet breaks?
10:30 - What did your research find regarding diet breaks?
13:52 - For most people, isn\u2019t the bulk of their total daily energy expenditure really their resting metabolic rate?
17:35 - How can you use diet breaks effectively?
24:38 - Is the weight loss related to a reduction of cortisone levels?
25:29 - Where can people find you and your work?

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