Anyone have success with a calorie cycling diet?

Veganvibesss

Meaning having different goals every day of the week so for my weight and height and age my plan would be
Monday: 1406 calories
Tuesday:1200
Wednesday:1687
Thursday:1406
Friday:1265
Saturday:1546
Sunday:1406
It's suppose to trick your body into losing weight without going into starvation mode from eating less calories constantly...
Any success with this diet?
I have lost alot of weight with a restricted diet (1300cals) but I plateaued for a long time now and I think I need to change it up, I'm scared I will gain weight though

Alatariel75

First of all: Your body doesn't get tricked and starvation mode is a myth. Both of those things are whackiness dreamed up by the diet industry, or concepts with a far off basis in science that have been twisted beyond recognition to sell books.

Having said that, I work to a weekly calorie goal rather than a daily, meaning that most weekdays when nothing is on, I eat around 1200 calories, and weekends or nights I have something on, I will go anywhere from 1700-2200 depending on what's happening. As long as it averages out over the week, I lose the same as if I was sticking to my 1500 a day, and it keeps me sane.

livingleanlivingclean

I have calorie/carb cycled. It's much the same as people looking at their weekly calorie goal instead of a daily goal.

For me, non training days were low days, most training days were normal days, and one day was a high day. It helped by giving me a higher cal day within my goals where I could include more indulgent food that might not ordinarily fit my day.

mph323

Alatariel75 wrote: »

First of all: Your body doesn't get tricked and starvation mode is a myth. Both of those things are whackiness dreamed up by the diet industry, or concepts with a far off basis in science that have been twisted beyond recognition to sell books.

Having said that, I work to a weekly calorie goal rather than a daily, meaning that most weekdays when nothing is on, I eat around 1200 calories, and weekends or nights I have something on, I will go anywhere from 1700-2200 depending on what's happening. As long as it averages out over the week, I lose the same as if I was sticking to my 1500 a day, and it keeps me sane.

This. I also manage my calories on a weekly basis and rarely eat the same amount two days in a row. It doesn't trick my body into anything, it just lets me eat more when I want and eat less when I'm not hungry.

TR0berts

Well, if you use MFP's method, where you simply input your stats and goals, then log exercise and eat those earned Calories, you'll most likely end up with a form of Calorie cycling. Unless, somehow, you end up with the same exact Calorie burn from exercise every day, but that's highly unlikely unless you do the exact same workout every day.

And, as mentioned, you don't need to confuse your body with different Calorie totals for different days. If you're worried about that, simply take a break from trying to lose weight every 2-3 months and eat at maintenance Calories for a couple of weeks.

MegaMooseEsq

I also track weekly, largely to allow for a couple nights out a week, but also to keep from getting overly focused on any one number and freak out about it. On days I stay in, I eat between 1400 and 1800, usually around the 1500 mark. Once a week I eat up to the general vicinity of maintenance, and the last day I go well over maintenance. It's what works with my life, not to trick my body into anything.

That said, taking a diet break is a real thing, and maybe that's something that would or for you if you're stuck and have been restricting for a long time.

richardgavel

I calorie cycle, but not to trick my body or anything. I eat roughly the same amount of calories every day to end up with a net zero deficit on lifting days and 300-700 deficit on cardio days, depending on the cardio involved.