Varying calories daily/cycling

sapalee

Hey all, just an observation I've made aobut my eating habits since tracking here and thought I'd share and see if you all had any thoughts or do the same.

I've been tracking to ensure I'm getting enough calories and protein. When we switched to Paleo I unintentionally went very low-cal, I wasn't tracking and always felt satisifed from nutrient dense low-cal real food.

Anyway, in my struggle to meet my daily goals (200-300 above maintenance for growth) I've found that I go through a cycle of several days of not feeling all that hungry (completely satisfied with slightly below maintenance calories) followed by a day of being a bottomless pit for food, like I'm stomping around like the hulk saying I'M HONGRY.

My thoughts at the moment are to just go with it, to follow whatever cues my body is giving rather than force a set number as long as I stay well above my BMR. I don't want to give myself a complex by eating when I'm full.

Anyone else go through this cycle? Think it's healthy or not?

Sidesteal

Here is my opinion on this and what I believe to be true:


I think that as long as your calorie intake averages out to be in a reasonable spot, your method will work just fine.

But I also think that it's not universally a good plan to always listen to your hunger cues because the hormone signaling that triggers hunger isn't necessarily driven by a need for food.

EDIT: The nice part is, if you do this and just observe your progress over the course of a month or two, you'll get a pretty good idea of whether or you're eating an appropriate amount of food.

sapalee

Here is my opinion on this and what I believe to be true:


I think that as long as your calorie intake averages out to be in a reasonable spot, your method will work just fine.

But I also think that it's not universally a good plan to always listen to your hunger cues because the hormone signaling that triggers hunger isn't necessarily driven by a need for food.

My average for the week usually comes out low. And very good point about the hunger cues

Sidesteal

Here is my opinion on this and what I believe to be true:


I think that as long as your calorie intake averages out to be in a reasonable spot, your method will work just fine.

But I also think that it's not universally a good plan to always listen to your hunger cues because the hormone signaling that triggers hunger isn't necessarily driven by a need for food.

My average for the week usually comes out low. And very good point about the hunger cues

Then I suppose it would depend on how low it comes out, and what your goals and training are like and how these interact.