Calorie cycling

genesis1815

Do you think calorie cycling is bad for weight loss ? I recently went over my calories today but if I lower my calories for tomorrow, would that fix the damage ?

harper16

How much did you go over?

Honestly I'd just move on, and not worry about today.

Unicorn_Bacon

People often feel the need to correct because the red color of calories over really bothers them.

But you have to remember.. 1 day is not going to make a difference.

If a pound lost is 3500 calories

Even if your rate of loss is only a half.pound per week.. that's still 1750 calories deficit for the week... unless you went over 1750 calories today, you are still going to lose weight. Next week you could stay on track and you will probably still see a pound gone because weight loss isnt linear and who knows what the next week will bring you as far as activity levels etc.

Dont punish yourself for 1 day.

Dont restrict more tomorrow because you're just going to end up hungry and that could lead to a binge. Do not set yourself up for that.

Moving on tomorrow as normal will keep you on track.

Lillymoo01

Punishing yourself for going over with calories can easily lead to an unhealthy relationship with food and a continuous binge/restrict cycle. It is better to log honestly, learn from it and move on. However, if you know you have a big day coming up or that you eat more on one particular day, banking calories can be useful. For example, if you eat 100 calories less from Sun to Fri then you have 600 calories more for that Saturday evening takeaway. When you take this approach there is no feeling of failure so no urge to punish yourself as a result.

cmriverside

Yeah, robbing Peter to pay Paul never worked for me.

If I have an over day I just log it and stick to my regular plan the next day. A few days of being over really doesn't make a difference and it can lead to a game of control that is impossible to beat which can also cause eating disorders over time.

Jackie9003

It's up to you, I know people who regularly "bank" calories during the week knowing that they will go over at the weekend. I've done this too, I've adjusted my daily intake to compensate for the fact that I'm having a social event - as long as my average over the week is on plan I don't worry about it.
Others just take the hit and carry on.
Do what you find is easier to manage.

NovusDies

genesis1815 wrote: »

Do you think calorie cycling is bad for weight loss ? I recently went over my calories today but if I lower my calories for tomorrow, would that fix the damage ?

It is better to accept that you will go over some days. Some days it might be an accident. Some days you may have something planned. You only need to hit your target most of the time not all of the time. I found that by allowing myself to relax about calories it increases my compliance. Knowing I can go over keeps it from happening very often.

I think it is generally a bad idea to try and pack back a deficit. Some people do not know why they went over. They may not be eating enough of their exercise calories back, they are trying to lose weight too fast, or they are being too strict with food choices. Restricting further could cause what @Lillymoo01 is saying... a binge-restrict cycle.