Calorie Staggering

Jerseygirl248

Has anyone heard of calorie staggering?? I did this the first week and had pretty good results and the easiest time ever. I think it was because I didn't feel "deprived" which has been my biggest problem/downfall. Here is a copy and paste of a portion of an article I read:

Let's say hypothetically that you weigh 200 pounds and want to lose 20 pounds of bodyfat while maintaining your muscle mass. This is not an simple goal, as many who have tried will attest. However, this go-around we'll be using CS strategies. Rather than taking the standard approach of 10 times your bodyweight in calories, which would be 2,000 calories per day, a CS-type strategy may look something like this:
Day One: 1,200 calories
Day Two: 1,500 calories
Day Three: 2,500 calories
Day Four: 1,200 calories
Day Five: 1,500 calories
Day Six: 1,000 calories (a tough day!)
Day Seven: 3,500 calories (Say what??)

Anyway I was just wondering if anyone else has tried this and what your results were. Thoughts, comments, suggestions?

crmason88

I have no idea the effect calorie staggering would have, but seeing your example of calories to eat a day...it doesn't seem healthy. I don't think it's good to eat less than 1200 a day but I also don't think anyone should need to eat 2500-3500 a day.

I'm new to this though, so I really don't know. Interesting topic though, I hope you get some educated answers.

ltls76

I did this when I was doing WW. I wouldn't do it until you kind of hit a plateau, but what it comes down to is that your metabolism doesn't like eating the same low amount of calories each day. It starts to go into starvation mode and wants to hold onto fat because it things you might be starving. When you do the staggering it's like you are keeping your metabolism guessing and it keeps burning calories! It really does work, and very well! Good luck!

2essie

Bump

Jerseygirl248

OH! Thank You!! I am a plateau magnet So I will save this trick for when that happens!!! Really appreciate the info!!

mjswalters

I do something similar, but more patterned, if that makes sense. I calorie cycle, so I eat 2200 one day and 500 the next (give or take 100 calories either way), back and forth and back and forth. I think the official name is the Johnson Alternate Day Diet (the doctor has a website with a little calculator thing on it). Anyway, I've been doing it for about 2 months and am losing at a nice steady pace. And, like you said, I don't feel deprived, which is why I think I've been successful so far. I can always tell myself "You can have that tomorrow" and it is true!

albayin

um....caloric cycling, the other more popular name. LOL

albayin

I do something similar, but more patterned, if that makes sense. I calorie cycle, so I eat 2200 one day and 500 the next (give or take 100 calories either way), back and forth and back and forth. I think the official name is the Johnson Alternate Day Diet (the doctor has a website with a little calculator thing on it). Anyway, I've been doing it for about 2 months and am losing at a nice steady pace. And, like you said, I don't feel deprived, which is why I think I've been successful so far. I can always tell myself "You can have that tomorrow" and it is true!

I was wondering how you feel on those days with 500 calories...

OliveRiver

I've honestly never heard of this but, after checking out the Johnson website, it does seem to work. Will definitely give this shot!

Doberdawn

It is also called calorie confusion. The theory is that providing a higher level of calories for a day will encourage stubborn fat cells to let go of their stores. I don't know that I buy into it, but the info I'd heard about it talked more about doing your 1200 daily and having a single mixed in day a week of 2000 which seems a lot more reasonable.

1960HikerDude

I saw the subject line and thought this was going to be another alcohol thread.

ellebish

I do something similar, but more patterned, if that makes sense. I calorie cycle, so I eat 2200 one day and 500 the next (give or take 100 calories either way), back and forth and back and forth. I think the official name is the Johnson Alternate Day Diet (the doctor has a website with a little calculator thing on it). Anyway, I've been doing it for about 2 months and am losing at a nice steady pace. And, like you said, I don't feel deprived, which is why I think I've been successful so far. I can always tell myself "You can have that tomorrow" and it is true!

I was wondering how you feel on those days with 500 calories...

Me too - I have done calorie cycling before and it worked for me but had to switch up my plan when I plateau...I don't think going down to 500 seems very healthy - the lowest I would go would be 1100ish and that was hard.

mjswalters

I do something similar, but more patterned, if that makes sense. I calorie cycle, so I eat 2200 one day and 500 the next (give or take 100 calories either way), back and forth and back and forth. I think the official name is the Johnson Alternate Day Diet (the doctor has a website with a little calculator thing on it). Anyway, I've been doing it for about 2 months and am losing at a nice steady pace. And, like you said, I don't feel deprived, which is why I think I've been successful so far. I can always tell myself "You can have that tomorrow" and it is true!

I was wondering how you feel on those days with 500 calories...

95% of the time I feel absolutely fine. I spread those calories out through the day, so there is always a little something keeping me going. I DO struggle on days that I'm set to exercise. If I go in the morning after a high cal day, it is no big deal. But I tend to go in the afternoons and my endurance isn't great. I run and do weights and find that I can run about 75% of what I usually do and my weights don't seem to be affected.

The other 5%, I'm a bit low energy. Those times tend to occur when I'm on my period, though.

SideSteel

It's fine to take a cyclical approach but given the same average intake you're not going to experience any metabolic magic, so to speak. The idea that shuffling around your intake to "spike your metabolism" doesn't hold much in the way of supporting evidence, at least that I'm aware of.

Now having said that, you may find it beneficial for adherence reasons, for example you may look forward to having that day with 3500 calories, and in that regard it's fine to do so.

As long as your average intake is appropriate, you'll make progress either way. I believe a cyclical approach is more complicated which is why I just stick to something relatively steady.

Rather than taking the standard approach of 10 times your bodyweight in calories, which would be 2,000 calories per day, a CS-type strategy may look something like this:
Day One: 1,200 calories
Day Two: 1,500 calories
Day Three: 2,500 calories
Day Four: 1,200 calories
Day Five: 1,500 calories
Day Six: 1,000 calories (a tough day!)
Day Seven: 3,500 calories (Say what??)

Anyway I was just wondering if anyone else has tried this and what your results were. Thoughts, comments, suggestions?

Also, in the above example I find it sort of odd that it's comparing the above to a steady intake of 2k per day. 2k per day would be 14k per week. The above list adds up to 12400. That's not an equal comparison.

Lift_hard_eat_big

Recomp is fairly difficult. I'd recommend a bulk and cut approach.

MichelleLaree13

I stagger according to how I am feeling. If I am sooooooooo hungry, I eat 1800. I dont go over 1800 because than I feel I am ruining my hard work. If I am having a slow day and just am not hungry I eat like 800.

AnvilHead

Another approach is to eat a steady amount and let the workouts create the calorie cycling effect. You'll burn some calories on weight days, more on cardio days and none on rest days, so the deficit is different every day.

LERadicalDreamer

It is also called calorie confusion. The theory is that providing a higher level of calories for a day will encourage stubborn fat cells to let go of their stores. I don't know that I buy into it, but the info I'd heard about it talked more about doing your 1200 daily and having a single mixed in day a week of 2000 which seems a lot more reasonable.

This is what I have been doing for six weeks (look up the Game On Diet), except I get one meal off (eat what I want) and one day off (Sundays, which I don't track) and I have been losing weight steadily the whole time. Down 12 lbs already, and I have great energy every day.

Also, i eat most of my exercise calories. I could never do 1200 a day and exercise, and have consistent energy otherwise.