diet during back-off period

[naf7]

Coach,

Do you still need a caloric surplus during a back-off period? I would imagine that you would overall need less calories, especially during the second scenario in PPST. How would you recommend we change our diet during this period? I'm doing the second scenario right now, fyi, and I dropped the milk.

[Mark Rippetoe]

Only if you're trying to get stronger and grow muscle as you recover during the back-off period.