Spike Day Experiment

jtbaddison

So, I've been doing a little research, and there are a surprising number of people who have had success incorportating a spke day (intentional calorie surplus) once a week.
My current BMR: 2000
My plan is to eat a 1,000 NET calorie defiict six days a week (and excercise all six days). Then eat 2X my BMR on Saturday (4,000 cals) and rest. This still gives me a weekly deficit of 4,000 calories. I won't be wasting my spike days on excessive sugar or candy or processed foods, but I will be eating foods high in carbs and fat.

I'm really not sure how this will go, so I'm going to try it out for about four weeks. Any successes with this? Any failures?

SergeantSunshine_reused

I did something of the sort. Carb cycling i would have kind of low net cals and eat low carb all week then have a refeed day on sunday where i would go 500 over maintenance. Carbs Carbs carbs! I had a lot of success with this. 4000 calories in one day seems to be too high though, some of that will be stored as fat for later use

rwd5046

I have had success with this process, especially when hitting plateau's in weight loss. I have not spiked as much as you plan on doing but what works for me could be different from what works for others. It makes sense to me in how it works as it keeps your metabolism kicked up and going and keeps the body from adjusting to one thing or from going into a starvation mode and storing fat. Doing it once a week has worked for me as well but again I have not doubled the calorie intake but instead raised it a few hundred calories for the spike days. Good luck.

pital74

So you plan to starve your body 6 days a week (1000 net is too low) and then totally overload once a week (4000 cals is excessively high). I am not a nutritionist, but that sounds like a plan to make yourself very sick to me.

sleepytexan

I'm interested in trying this too. Right now I don't really have a day off of exercise bc I'm training for a century ride in 2 weeks and am so busy with dance rehearsals and performances. Oddly, I think I am exercising too much right now -- especially the cycling; that is my theory as to why I am plateauing so long at so many different calorie deficits (plateau has lasted 1 month at 500 deficit, another month at 250 deficit, and now 3 weeks at maintenance - 0 deficit). I can't imagine I should go to a 750 or 1000 cal deficit bc I am only 3 lbs. from goal.

Anyway, after the century I'll be reducing my weekly rides back down to 35 miles a week (currently riding 60-80 miles) and I am taking October off of dance performances so that will bring my weekly dancing from 5 hours to 2. I have a hunch I'll be able to move the scale when I cut back workouts a bit, as this has happened in the past too.

One thing I am going to try differently this week is splitting calories from a big ride to include eating extra the day before. Usually when I burn so much on a big ride, I put half the exercise cals on for the day of the ride, and half for the next day--rest day. However, this week when I ride 80 miles on Sunday (about 3500 calories), I'm going to try to eat 1/3 of the extra cals the day before the ride), 1/3 on the day of the ride, and 1/3 the day after (rest day), to see if that makes any difference.

The spike84 guy told me he rests and spikes the day before a big workout. While I can't rest the day before my ride this week bc I have a dance performance; at least the performance is short so it will only burn about 265 cals.

I will definitely rest the day before the century and try to eat 2x BMR (that would be about 2700). The century should burn over 4500 cals -- I'm hoping to complete it in about 7 hours, but it could go to 8 depending on how ready I am for the climbs.

Let me know how it works for you!

blessings.

jtbaddison

So you plan to starve your body 6 days a week (1000 net is too low) and then totally overload once a week (4000 cals is excessively high). I am not a nutritionist, but that sounds like a plan to make yourself very sick to me.

Well, this is interesting...When MFP calculates my Calorie Intake for 2lbs weight loss per week, my suggested calorie intake is 1510, at 1 lb weight loss its 2010. This is weird considering that my BMR is 2010. Shouldn't the suggested be less? Possibly the difference 500 is my estimated calorie burn from going to work, etc?

Anyway, I was soliciting advice from those who have actually tried this, not simple judgement calls. The plan is to follow MFP's guidelines to lose 2 lbs per week at a 1k deficit per day (not starvation mode around 1500 calories), and to double BMR once a week which still gives me calorie deficit of 4k. I'm not sure if it will work or not. Like I said, its an experiment. If it does not, no big deal. I'll go back to the standard calorie counting plan seven days a week.

jtbaddison

I will definitely rest the day before the century and try to eat 2x BMR (that would be about 2700). The century should burn over 4500 cals -- I'm hoping to complete it in about 7 hours, but it could go to 8 depending on how ready I am for the climbs.

Ok, so I have to ask because one day I may want to take part in a 7 hour excercise. You are planning on 2X BMR the day before The Century, and then try to replace 4500 calories the next day also?

caroltina

I am trying a calorie zig zagging from today, higher and lower days. Hope it works out, same fir me not junk and sugar but increased cals, I am doing 1800 day 1, 1500 day 2, 1390 day 3, 1700 day 4, 1550 day 5, 1240 day 6, and 1500 on day 7- going to do it for a week to give it a go and if it works out I think I might do it once a month.

jtbaddison

I am trying a calorie zig zagging from today, higher and lower days. Hope it works out, same fir me not junk and sugar but increased cals, I am doing 1800 day 1, 1500 day 2, 1390 day 3, 1700 day 4, 1550 day 5, 1240 day 6, and 1500 on day 7- going to do it for a week to give it a go and if it works out I think I might do it once a month.

Good Luck Carol!

sleepytexan

I will definitely rest the day before the century and try to eat 2x BMR (that would be about 2700). The century should burn over 4500 cals -- I'm hoping to complete it in about 7 hours, but it could go to 8 depending on how ready I am for the climbs.

Ok, so I have to ask because one day I may want to take part in a 7 hour excercise. You are planning on 2X BMR the day before The Century, and then try to replace 4500 calories the next day also?

7-hour exercise is not an every day thing, however lots of cyclists ride centuries; they are organized everywhere, nearly every weekend, and it does take about 7 hours to ride 100 miles at a 3500 ft climb unless you're Lance Armstrong, I guess.

Anyway, what I plan to do is rest the day before (I would normally eat at least 1500 on rest day), but I will instead I will eat at least 2x BMR, so that will be 2700 . . . that is 1200 extra calories in advance of the ride that will be deducted from the 4500 or so burned. Then on ride day I will shoot for eating 3500 cals, (normal 1500 + 4500 burned - 1200 eaten day before - 3500 eaten ride day = 1300 defiict). Then on the day after the ride I will rest again and try to eat whatever is left over on top of my rest day 1500, so 1500 + 1300 extra = 2800 to eat on Sunday.

blessings.

Acg67

i have incorporated refeed days here and there, that are about 300-500cals over maintenance . macros are about 1.25g Pro per lb of lbm, <50g fat and the rest CHO