Calorie cycling, what do you know & have you tried it?
KeepCalmNGetyaSweatOn
Posts: 361 Member
I am thinking about trying this but before I do I just want to see if it has worked for anyone else who has encountered a plateau. Or if you have any suggestions or advice on what worked to get you over it. I'd be forever grateful!
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Some one, anyone?0
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It is best to keep calories consistent. Too much thought goes into calorie cycling. If you are not losing then decrease cals by 250. Keep it simple!0
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I havent tried this but i figured if my weightloss stalls i will give it a try. I read about it in a book before and it says it pretty much guarantees it works. it wasnt a huge difference maybe like by 200 calories. If you go on calorie count.com and plug in your weight etc it tells you how to do it but they call it zigzag. good luck,let us know if it works!0
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It is best to keep calories consistent. Too much thought goes into calorie cycling. If you are not losing then decrease cals by 250. Keep it simple!
Thank you soooo much for answering! I am already at 1200 a day (that's what I need to eat according to my CF personal trainer) in order to lose weight. I also exercise 4-5 days a week (cardio and lifting) and live a very active life. So I am not sure I would be able to function on 950 cals a day. I also have hypothyroidism and have no metabolism
But thank you for your suggestion!!! 0 -
I havent tried this but i figured if my weightloss stalls i will give it a try. I read about it in a book before and it says it pretty much guarantees it works. it wasnt a huge difference maybe like by 200 calories. If you go on calorie count.com and plug in your weight etc it tells you how to do it but they call it zigzag. good luck,let us know if it works!
I have done a lot of reading on this topic too, I just was hoping someone else has tried it so I knew if it actually worked before I tried it myself. I may have to try it just so I can help others in my situation who are wondering the same thing. I know doing interval training helps too. I'm just so damn frustrated with this plateau. I'll let you know how it goes!
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It's also called Calorie Staggering and I lost weight consistently doing it (plus exercise). I had a weekly plan of calories per day so I knew what I was shooting for each day. As long as it equaled my daily calories x 7 by the end of the week, I was a happy camper. On the days you would have to go under 1200, eat 1200 calories and use your workout to bring your calories down. Just a suggestion.0
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This is my natural diet. It seems there is always a reason to eat more calories. Birthdays, anniversary, holiday, eating out at restaurants, favorite foods that someone made that I just don't want to resist, are just a few of the reasons that come to mind that help me to calorie cycle without any effort. Does it work to help weight loss?, I do not know if it helps any but I don't think it has hurt mine.0
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I have done it...altho I dont currently. It did help me break a plateau when I was around 270 pounds (im now around 200 pounds). I basically worked it out by making my intensive exercise days being my high days and day 4 of the week (say i weighed in on saturdays then tuesday would be day 4) that would be my highest day and the day before weigh in would be my lowest day.0
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It is best to keep calories consistent. Too much thought goes into calorie cycling. If you are not losing then decrease cals by 250. Keep it simple!
Why do you say that? Any solid proof? Not calling you a lier, just interested on the consistent part. The body seems to adapt to changes quickly, so in theory - Calorie cycling should work well...
Some people may cycle and think it helped, when in fact, it could have been something totally different. So it's hard to say any one thing was the reason...0 -
Check into intermittent fasting, or the 5:2 diet. A lot of people do this and have good results with it. Do a search for IF or 5:2 and you should find some info on it. If I ever hit a plateau, I will probably try it.
ETA My weight loss stalled a bit after the holidays, as I was eating more than normal and food I didn't normally eat. For a couple of weeks afterwards, I was exercising more, trying to lose the 2 pounds I lost, but not getting any results, and ended up overdoing it and having to back off the exercise to let my back heal. Surprisingly, my weight loss started up again and I have lose 1 pound a week, every week since then. When I backed off on the exercise, I also lowered my cals and carbs back to where they were before the holidays hit.
Now I have learned that moderate exercise- 3-4 days a week, and focusing on my cals and macros, is working the best for me right now. So you might try cutting back on the exercise for 1-2 days a week and see if that helps.0 -
It's also called Calorie Staggering and I lost weight consistently doing it (plus exercise). I had a weekly plan of calories per day so I knew what I was shooting for each day. As long as it equaled my daily calories x 7 by the end of the week, I was a happy camper. On the days you would have to go under 1200, eat 1200 calories and use your workout to bring your calories down. Just a suggestion.
Its also called Zig Zagging.
The focus is usually placed on adding or subracting carbs/fats not total calories. Not sure why anyone would want to decrease their intake of protein?0 -
I would look to see if you can find out why you have hit a plateau first.
ETA: you started last month but you are saying you have hit a plateau - how long has your weight loss stalled for?0 -
I've read that lots of people on here have used eating at maintenance calories (TDEE) for a couple of weeks can be very useful to break a plateau.
But if you're really active and only eating 1200 calories - are you sure you're eating enough?0 -
When not on my phone, I'll link you some info on intermittent fasting. But the short of it is that you skip breakfast.0
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It is best to keep calories consistent. Too much thought goes into calorie cycling. If you are not losing then decrease cals by 250. Keep it simple!
Thank you soooo much for answering! I am already at 1200 a day (that's what I need to eat according to my CF personal trainer) in order to lose weight. I also exercise 4-5 days a week (cardio and lifting) and live a very active life. So I am not sure I would be able to function on 950 cals a day. I also have hypothyroidism and have no metabolism But thank you for your suggestion!!!
Sounds like you are not eating nearly enough!0 -
It helped me shift the final few pounds that wouldn't budge. I started off at 1400 - 1200 every other day. Then went up to 1500-300 and I am now on 1700. I found it helped, but what helped even more was on the low calorie days I ate low carb and high protein.0
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In my opinion, calorie cycling is most effectively used as a 'trick' to make it easier for the person to consume fewer calories by playing off their personal preference and timing higher caloric intake for the day/week when it'll best suit them. For example, if you like to go out and party on the weekend, having really low intake on Wednesdays and Thursdays can help. Or if you like big dinners, you can skip breakfast.
Trying to trick your metabolism into staying running, or any of that stuff, just seems like a whole lot of effort for something that probably doesn't work as well as you think it does anyway.
Ultimately, I really think the effectiveness of diets comes down to your ability to stick with them long-term. If it's extremist, or moderate, or whatever, if it suits you do that one.
1) Get adequate protein
2) Get adequate dietary fat
3) Eat enough calories to fuel your daily activity and set an appropriate intake target for your goals
4) Get adequate micro-nutrient intake
5 Optional) Get enough carbs to fuel your works
6 Optional) Figure out when you should eat to best suit your needs0 -
Thank you soooo much for answering! I am already at 1200 a day (that's what I need to eat according to my CF personal trainer) in order to lose weight. I also exercise 4-5 days a week (cardio and lifting) and live a very active life. So I am not sure I would be able to function on 950 cals a day. I also have hypothyroidism and have no metabolism But thank you for your suggestion!!!
I just read this, you should be talking to a dietician that is better able to take into account your medical condition, not a personal trainer0 -
It is best to keep calories consistent. Too much thought goes into calorie cycling. If you are not losing then decrease cals by 250. Keep it simple!
Thank you soooo much for answering! I am already at 1200 a day (that's what I need to eat according to my CF personal trainer) in order to lose weight. I also exercise 4-5 days a week (cardio and lifting) and live a very active life. So I am not sure I would be able to function on 950 cals a day. I also have hypothyroidism and have no metabolism But thank you for your suggestion!!!
I would recommend taking that advice with a grain of salt; plenty of people have done well on calorie cycling. You also don't want to decrease even further; you'll plateau even more, won't fuel your body, etc.
I lost slower when I consistently ate my goal calories, net or otherwise, of 1400-1500. Adding in a day of maintenance has resulted in faster losses for me; not necessarily the most "technical" calorie cycling, but again, I was losing (inches and/or pounds) steadily doing this. I stopped with the occasional one or two higher days and plateaued for two months. Went back, and I've lost weight steadily since (I have hypothyroidism, NO thyroid, I have unstable levels still, I recovered from adrenal fatigue, and I have a fairly small amount of weight to lose, etc.). Talk to your endo over your trainer about calories with hypothyroidism. You don't need to eat at a huge deficit to lose weight with issues like that (watching carb intake has some science with thyroid, however); you just lose slower, and if you lift, 1200 calories is most likely not doing enough for you (Good for you for lifting, though! Lifting has made a huge difference in my metabolism/hormones).0 -
It's also called Calorie Staggering and I lost weight consistently doing it (plus exercise). I had a weekly plan of calories per day so I knew what I was shooting for each day. As long as it equaled my daily calories x 7 by the end of the week, I was a happy camper. On the days you would have to go under 1200, eat 1200 calories and use your workout to bring your calories down. Just a suggestion.
Its also called Zig Zagging.
The focus is usually placed on adding or subracting carbs/fats not total calories. Not sure why anyone would want to decrease their intake of protein?
That's just the way I ended up doing it. I wasn't following any diet plan. I was eating ice cream and burgers and regular meals and not concerned with my Macros. I was younger and had just gotten the simple equation of calories in vs. calories out, so that was my focus. I totally agree where you cut the calories is important - I get that now.
I was also following these guidelines and I am doing so now:
For fat loss, you want to aim for a range of daily calories that is calculated based on your bodyweight (in pounds) as well as other factors.
To lose fat: 8 to 12 times bodyweight
To stay the same, neither losing nor gaining (also known as maintenance): 13 to 16 times bodyweight
To gain mass: 15 to 20 times bodyweight
You will notice that these are fairly broad ranges. This is because the precise intake will depend on other factors besides your general goals.
Aim for the LOWER end of the range if you are:
female
older
less active
starting out at a fairly high level of bodyfat
http://www.stumptuous.com/part-2-learning-the-basics0 -
Check out Chris Powells choose to lose. There is also a group on here for the plan. It alternated lower cal and carb days with higher carb and cal days.0
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I lost a fair bit last year (about 16lb, maybe slightly more) through calorie cycling, although I didnt plan to do this, it sort of happened by accident as I have the sort of hectic lifestyle that sometimes means I eat more on certain days and other days alot less. And discovered by chance that after a couple of days of low calorie intake then a day of much higher calorie intake it would boost my metabolism. My metabolism is super slow due to hormone changes/menopause etc so I coupled this with quite a bit of exercise.I am planning to do this calorie cycling again as I was impressed with the results.0
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I am thinking about trying this but before I do I just want to see if it has worked for anyone else who has encountered a plateau. Or if you have any suggestions or advice on what worked to get you over it. I'd be forever grateful!
Plateau after a month, only 25lbs to lose, lift/cardio 4-5 days a week and only on 1200 cals and want to cycle lower? You actually should think about increasing your calories instead.0 -
THIS!!!!!!!I am thinking about trying this but before I do I just want to see if it has worked for anyone else who has encountered a plateau. Or if you have any suggestions or advice on what worked to get you over it. I'd be forever grateful!
Plateau after a month, only 25lbs to lose, lift/cardio 4-5 days a week and only on 1200 cals and want to cycle lower? You actually should think about increasing your calories instead.0
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