Calorie cycling...?

CatherineGreene

Hey guys... I'm readjusting my nutrition and calorie in take.. has anybody got any light to shed on how they managed calorie cycling? Have reached a bit of a plateau...

theresaTerriM

If you find out let me know. I am on one myself. I keep reading about calorie cycling when this happens but do not know how to adjust my fitness tracker for this. Or if it will even work, or details on how to exactly do it. I don't want to just "pick" a set of calories to use on my own.

vfit10

Never hear of it ... Unless you're talking about carb cycling

theresaTerriM

I found this on Jillian Michael's website....I haven't done it yet, but I don't know...there's not enough specifics. Like is that calorie number different for age/height/weight?

"If you’re only trying to lose five, 10, or 15 pounds, you’re in a different place than someone who wants to drop triple digits. You’re not obese, you just want to look better — and this is what I refer to as vanity pounds. The human body doesn't want to be carrying around excess weight, so it will respond to diet and exercise. When you have a smaller amount of weight to lose, your body is already healthy, which makes it tougher to lose weight. What people in this situation often do is cut more calories or increase their time at the gym, but this method will not work. All that does is slow your metabolism down and send your body into starvation mode. The best quick fix is to give your body a little more food so it feels secure. Varying your calorie intake is my best advice for keeping your body from plateauing. For the next three days, vary your calorie intake between 1,800 and 2,400 calories. I know this may sound crazy, but trust me — I know what I'm doing. After three days, drop back down to your usual calorie allowance. Remember, never allow your daily calorie allowance to fall below 1,200 if you are a woman and 1,500 if you are a man. Falling below these daily allowances can do real damage to your metabolism and result in excessive loss of lean muscle tissue."

ashdawg8790

I like calorie cycling, or at least a general idea of it - I don't really do it on purpose though. I like to look at my calories as a weekly number rather than a daily one. It makes it a lot easier when you want to splurge or if you're just not that hungry. For me, I generally am not that hungry on a big workout day, but the next day I am absolutely RAVENOUS. So calorie cycling works great. I am not, however, trying to lose any weight so I have no input on that. Just keep trying until you find what works for you.

Countryboy_83

CatherineGreene wrote: »

Hey guys... I'm readjusting my nutrition and calorie in take.. has anybody got any light to shed on how they managed calorie cycling? Have reached a bit of a plateau...

Whenever I plateau i have 1 high calorie cheat meal. Like spaghetti, cheesesteak, etc. then continue on with my notmal diet. After losing over 110lbs it works everytime I plateau. It shocks your metabolism.

SideSteel

theresaTerriM wrote: »

I found this on Jillian Michael's website....I haven't done it yet, but I don't know...there's not enough specifics. Like is that calorie number different for age/height/weight?

"If you’re only trying to lose five, 10, or 15 pounds, you’re in a different place than someone who wants to drop triple digits. You’re not obese, you just want to look better — and this is what I refer to as vanity pounds. The human body doesn't want to be carrying around excess weight, so it will respond to diet and exercise. When you have a smaller amount of weight to lose, your body is already healthy, which makes it tougher to lose weight. What people in this situation often do is cut more calories or increase their time at the gym, but this method will not work. All that does is slow your metabolism down and send your body into starvation mode. The best quick fix is to give your body a little more food so it feels secure. Varying your calorie intake is my best advice for keeping your body from plateauing. For the next three days, vary your calorie intake between 1,800 and 2,400 calories. I know this may sound crazy, but trust me — I know what I'm doing. After three days, drop back down to your usual calorie allowance. Remember, never allow your daily calorie allowance to fall below 1,200 if you are a woman and 1,500 if you are a man. Falling below these daily allowances can do real damage to your metabolism and result in excessive loss of lean muscle tissue."

I don't direct this at you (the person who posted this), but I'd disregard the above.

jwschutz

markboone94 wrote: »

CatherineGreene wrote: »

Hey guys... I'm readjusting my nutrition and calorie in take.. has anybody got any light to shed on how they managed calorie cycling? Have reached a bit of a plateau...

Whenever I plateau i have 1 high calorie cheat meal. Like spaghetti, cheesesteak, etc. then continue on with my notmal diet. After losing over 110lbs it works everytime I plateau. It shocks your metabolism.

I think I am going to try this, when you say one high calorie meal, how many calories are you talking about? It would be easy to take this to an extreme.

Christine_72

This calculator is brilliant. It'll work out your daily calories for you if you want to zig zag them. It's further down the page.

http://www.weightloss-calculator.net/

jwschutz

christinev297 wrote: »

This calculator is brilliant. It'll work out your daily calories for you if you want to zig zag them. It's further down the page.

http://www.weightloss-calculator.net/

That's a great calculator, thanks for posting it.

theresaTerriM

jwschutz wrote: »

markboone94 wrote: »

CatherineGreene wrote: »

Hey guys... I'm readjusting my nutrition and calorie in take.. has anybody got any light to shed on how they managed calorie cycling? Have reached a bit of a plateau...

Whenever I plateau i have 1 high calorie cheat meal. Like spaghetti, cheesesteak, etc. then continue on with my notmal diet. After losing over 110lbs it works everytime I plateau. It shocks your metabolism.

I think I am going to try this, when you say one high calorie meal, how many calories are you talking about? It would be easy to take this to an extreme.

I was just going to ask the same thing! I'm interested as well.

LolBroScience

CatherineGreene wrote: »

Hey guys... I'm readjusting my nutrition and calorie in take.. has anybody got any light to shed on how they managed calorie cycling? Have reached a bit of a plateau...

First, define plateau.

Calorie cycling can work if your average caloric intake over the span of time averages out to a caloric deficit. If i were to implement it, I would go about it with having a lower caloric intake on my off days, and a higher caloric intake on days that I'm in the gym. Being as though I would more than likely be more hungry on days with larger amounts of physical activity, it may help with adherence. Example:

Regular Example
TDEE = 3000 cals
Eating at 2500 cals per day would result in a deficit of 500 cals/day

Cycling Example
TDEE = 3000 cals
Eating at 2700 on lifting days (4)
Eating at 2000 on off days (3)
Averages out to 2400 cals over 7 days

^ Just an example of the methodology... not particularly how I would structure it, nor would I implement it unless my cals got very low.

Upstate_Dunadan

I believe the focus of carb cycling (never heard of calorie cycling) is to focus on the macros you are eating to make up your daily calories. I just read a good article on the topic at Muscle & Fitness. It explains the idea well.

muscleandfitness.com/nutrition/lose-fat/build-lean-muscle-carb-cycling

CatherineGreene

So much great advice and different perspectives...! Thanks so much

CandyMonster160

markboone94 wrote: »

CatherineGreene wrote: »

Hey guys... I'm readjusting my nutrition and calorie in take.. has anybody got any light to shed on how they managed calorie cycling? Have reached a bit of a plateau...

Whenever I plateau i have 1 high calorie cheat meal. Like spaghetti, cheesesteak, etc. then continue on with my notmal diet. After losing over 110lbs it works everytime I plateau. It shocks your metabolism.

I do the same thing... has worked so far!