Whether it is an exercise or diet plan, have you ever found yourself just tired of doing it and tired of thinking about it? Have you ever wanted to just take the night off? Does it feel exhausting? Do you feel like you are approaching burn out? If so, take a break already. Yes, I really just said that. Jillian Michaels suggests to those she trains to take a high calorie day (eating enough calories to maintain current weight).
Recovery is an important component of both growth and maintenance. If you run a marathon without proper training, you will probably find it difficult to impossible to walk the next day. If you push yourself too hard, eventually your body will refuse to work. The same thing happens mentally. Have you ever had a tough day at work or had to think too much and found you could not bring yourself to do anything but stare at the TV that evening? Creating a new habit and sticking to a food plan are mental stressors.
You need a break, even to maintain the status-quo of your ability to function. Allow yourself to recover physically and mentally. You also need to take a break if you want to empower yourself to higher achievement, greater endurance, or weight loss. Recovery is an important part of growth. Although we want to push ourselves toward higher achievements, if we do not allow ourselves time to recover between, there will be nothing left to push.
It is not weakness to take a break; it is responsibility. If you push too far, you will not have any thing left to give. If you live at a high level of stress, you may not be able to handle any extra thing and there is always something extra.