High calorie days?

VeinsAndBones
VeinsAndBones Posts: 550 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Are there days when you should eat above your normal caloric deficit? Say once every 2-3 weeks? I've read quite alot of posts saying it's to keep your body guessing.

Replies

  • vorgas
    vorgas Posts: 741 Member
    As long as you don't go stupid crazy, it'll probably wash. Whether or not doing so will increase your weight loss is another matter. It's more about allowing yourself to cheat once in a while so you stick to the diet over the long haul.
  • rayraex
    rayraex Posts: 50
    I sure hope so, then I can justify all the baked goods I ate at work yesterday!
  • jellybeanmusic
    jellybeanmusic Posts: 161 Member
    When I used to do weight watchers, I'd find I'd hit a plateau every now and again, and having a big blowout for a day seemed to kickstart things again, I almost always had a loss the following week.
  • drmerc
    drmerc Posts: 2,603 Member
    My body doesn't make guesses
  • mlwatts2
    mlwatts2 Posts: 244 Member
    I have no scientific evidence backing this but I definitely think a little indulgence throws the body off every now and then but it has to be a rare occassion not weekly...
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    My body doesn't make guesses

    Mine does. Just last week my muscles were so confused I instructed my lower body to start warming up for squats and I started doing the Gangnam Style dance instead.
  • VeinsAndBones
    VeinsAndBones Posts: 550 Member
    Doesn't this trick your body? I know if you stick to eating the same thing every day your body will get accustomed to it and slow down your metabolism to compensate.
  • tyraskanks_
    tyraskanks_ Posts: 229
    Try eating at a small deficit (15 to 20 percent) of you daily calorie needs and then every 8 weeks or so eat at your full TDEE for a week to do a little mini reset.
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,834 Member
    http://www.bodyrecomposition.com/fat-loss/the-full-diet-break.html
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    Doesn't this trick your body? I know if you stick to eating the same thing every day your body will get accustomed to it and slow down your metabolism to compensate.

    For it to "trick your body," then your metabolism would have to form "expectations" based on previous intake, form a response when said expectations aren't met, and the response would have to be in the form of a larger caloric deficit.

    ^There's no evidence that one day of a higher than average caloric intake would cause any of this to happen.
  • cmcollins001
    cmcollins001 Posts: 3,472 Member
    IF you need an excuse to blow your calorie deficit once in a while to scarf down a whole pizza before you end up going postal...then yes, you have permission to do so and call it a "body trick" if that makes you feel better.

    Otherwise, just know that your body is not going to be "tricked" into anything, especially short term. Eating above your calorie goals every now and then is not evil, it will not throw off any hard work, and is actually a decent idea....as long as it is just once in a while and not everyday.
  • prokomds
    prokomds Posts: 318 Member
    My body doesn't make guesses

    Mine does. Just last week my muscles were so confused I instructed my lower body to start warming up for squats and I started doing the Gangnam Style dance instead.

    Mwahahahaha you sneaky devil...



    I'm pretty sure that if you get out and live life, you're going to to have enough variation day-to-day that you don't need to plan for over or under days. I like varying my calories somewhat day-to-day, but it's mainly because I don't want to stress about being over a couple hundred one day and under a couple hundred the next. I wouldn't suggest taking it to extremes, but a little variation is normal, and it's the averages that count

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