High Calorie Days?

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Kristygirl_RN
Kristygirl_RN Posts: 9 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Hey Everybody,

I am pretty new to this site. I keep seeing people post things like, "today is my high calorie day". What does that mean? Do people have a high calorie day occasionally to boost metabolism? I read somewhere... eons ago... that you shouldn't eat the same amount of calories everyday or you metabolism adjusts to it and you don't lose the pounds very easily, instead you should eat at a variety of calorie intake levels... it's meant to help metabolism.

What do you all think?
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Replies

  • Ainar
    Ainar Posts: 858 Member
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    Either that or that is just their cheat day. But yea, it helps to keep metabolism high. Eating those extra cals from carbs does it the best. What I do when I lose fat I don't even go to calorie deficit anymore. I just add a high calorie day a week where I go over my maintenance and the erst of the days I stay on maintenance, then I start losing fat. Without going in deficit but by speeding up metabolism instead. So yes, it's definitely a good idea to include one. Either to do what I do, or to keep your metabolism high, or simply as a cheat day to keep you mentally satisfied when you diet. ^^

    One or two days a week of higher cals is enough. You don't need to change cals every day. I think that the best is to keep it on schedule. You don't wanna confuse your body, that's not the point. The point is to keep your metabolism high.
  • PolacaFL
    PolacaFL Posts: 213 Member
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    I'm not sure about boosting metabolism. I know exercise could do that.
    Maybe someone here might be able to tell you more.
  • unapologetically_crystal
    unapologetically_crystal Posts: 278 Member
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    personally, i calorie cycle so i have high and low calorie days. meaning for instance on monday, wednesday, friday i eat 1400 and tuesday, thursday, saturday i have 1700 . this allows me my "cheat day" on sundays cuz it basically takes the extra 300 every low day and adds to my basic day on sunday. i do believe that this is good for your metabolism because it keeps it guessing.. but at the same time it can still stall. which is why i do three weeks of high/low and then a week of all high.

    i came to this idea because of chris powell (extreme weightloss tv show )'s book choose to lose. he introduces CARB cycling. but i just do CALORIES.

    but as stated, it might just mean the person's cheat day but they dont want to call it cheat day because some people get their panties in a twist when you refer to it as a cheat day.. cheat day, reboot day, whatever.. same idea.
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
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    Some people have high calories days (or treat days, or cheat days) because they find it easier to stick to long term deficits and healthier eating if they still feel they can indulge once in a while.

    Me personally, I figure life isn't worth living without an occasional overindulgence on beer or margaritas or whatever cheese & sour cream & guacamole laden abomination I can get at On The Border, so I have occasional blowout days to satisfy that itch. That way I don't feel like I'm missing out, I don't get resentful, and I still get to enjoy the things I like...just more in moderation than before, maybe.
  • fast_eddie_72
    fast_eddie_72 Posts: 719 Member
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    ...and I still get to enjoy the things I like...

    I think I enjoy them more. When you eat "junk" all the time, it becomes ordinary. Man, when I have a really GOOD burger, I enjoy the hell out of it now. Before it was just a little better than the crappy burger I had at lunch. lol
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
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    ...and I still get to enjoy the things I like...

    I think I enjoy them more. When you eat "junk" all the time, it becomes ordinary. Man, when I have a really GOOD burger, I enjoy the hell out of it now. Before it was just a little better than the crappy burger I had at lunch. lol

    Yeah, I think this is definitely true for me as well. Familiarity breeding contempt and all.
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    I eat more on weights workout days (about 1000 calories more) and less on others following a 'lean gains' style routine.
    Though, as I eat back my cardio calories and that's often around 1000 calories anyway, it often equals out to similar both days.

    Seems to be working for me generally; both physiologically and psychologically.
  • Tanya949
    Tanya949 Posts: 606 Member
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    personally, i calorie cycle so i have high and low calorie days. meaning for instance on monday, wednesday, friday i eat 1400 and tuesday, thursday, saturday i have 1700 . this allows me my "cheat day" on sundays cuz it basically takes the extra 300 every low day and adds to my basic day on sunday. i do believe that this is good for your metabolism because it keeps it guessing.. but at the same time it can still stall. which is why i do three weeks of high/low and then a week of all high.

    i came to this idea because of chris powell (extreme weightloss tv show )'s book choose to lose. he introduces CARB cycling. but i just do CALORIES.

    but as stated, it might just mean the person's cheat day but they dont want to call it cheat day because some people get their panties in a twist when you refer to it as a cheat day.. cheat day, reboot day, whatever.. same idea.

    I see you've lost a lot of weight. (Congrats!) Have you been calorie cycling all along or is it something recent? I just wonder if it will work for the duration of a weight loss period. Im just 2 weeks in this time (lost 20 lbs last year to start) and am thinking of trying this to see if it would work for me.
  • MapleFlavouredMaiden
    MapleFlavouredMaiden Posts: 595 Member
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    Yup, that's why someone would do that. I calorie cycle as well. So I do three low days, two medium, and two high. The average calorie intake over the week is still TDEE - 15%, it's just spread out differently every day.
  • Doxeydoxie
    Doxeydoxie Posts: 75
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    OK
  • tycho_mx
    tycho_mx Posts: 426 Member
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    For some of us, it is just a factor related to exercise.

    Weight loss is not my primary motivator - athletic performance is. I know I am currently heavy for best performance but I won't lose weight if it detracts from training and racing (bicycles, in my case). I aim to be at my optimum weight/composition when my target races are due - one in June, one in August.

    So, my approach is to keep a caloric deficit of 500-1000 calories. Some days it means consuming 1700 calories (1/2 hour very easy ride). Some days it is 3500 calories (3.5 hours, riding hard). That would be a "high calorie" day. It keeps the slow weight loss, without affecting the quality of my training too much by averaging it all out during the week.
  • Followingsea
    Followingsea Posts: 407 Member
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    I eat more on weights workout days (about 1000 calories more) and less on others following a 'lean gains' style routine.
    Though, as I eat back my cardio calories and that's often around 1000 calories anyway, it often equals out to similar both days.

    Seems to be working for me generally; both physiologically and psychologically.

    Yeah, but there's a difference (for me at least) between "I worked out really hard today, I should adjust my goals accordingly" and "my girlfriends are over and I made a pitcher of margaritas and the nachos are in the oven". I wouldn't class the former as a cheat/treat/high calorie day, but I would for the latter.
  • TAsunder
    TAsunder Posts: 423 Member
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    It's a life pattern thing for me. I eat more on weekends. And it's harder for me to meet my caloric target if I try to maintain the same calorie deficit every day of the week. So instead I have a larger deficit monday through thursday in order to buffer a bit for friday and saturday. With sundays now being my long runs, I am usually ok on sundays.
  • Doxeydoxie
    Doxeydoxie Posts: 75
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    justcrystalxo I'd like to know if this is how you've lost so much and done so well! Congrats on your great loss!
  • geebusuk
    geebusuk Posts: 3,348 Member
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    A year and a half ago I went from 225lb to 160lb with deficit, cardio, manual work and some body weight stuff. (Oh, and rock climbing.)

    After working away a bit in the summer, life generally going 'wrong' and so on, I got back up to 216lb, though I was doing weights again towards the end of that. That was 1st December. Now at 183 about 2 1/2 months in. I'd say working the way I have been has seen much more consistent deficit - I can build eating a fair bit into the plan, which means more consistent weight loss without cheat meals that end up being cheat days or weekends. Weight lifting has contributed I suspect - I'm losing similar weight, but eating more on average.
  • Kristygirl_RN
    Kristygirl_RN Posts: 9 Member
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    Great! Thank you!
  • Kristygirl_RN
    Kristygirl_RN Posts: 9 Member
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    Okay. Thanks! Totally makes sense! And that's kind of what I was thinking.
  • Kristygirl_RN
    Kristygirl_RN Posts: 9 Member
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    Yup, that's why someone would do that. I calorie cycle as well. So I do three low days, two medium, and two high. The average calorie intake over the week is still TDEE - 15%, it's just spread out differently every day.

    Perfect. Totally makes sense!
  • Kristygirl_RN
    Kristygirl_RN Posts: 9 Member
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    A year and a half ago I went from 225lb to 160lb with deficit, cardio, manual work and some body weight stuff. (Oh, and rock climbing.)

    After working away a bit in the summer, life generally going 'wrong' and so on, I got back up to 216lb, though I was doing weights again towards the end of that. That was 1st December. Now at 183 about 2 1/2 months in. I'd say working the way I have been has seen much more consistent deficit - I can build eating a fair bit into the plan, which means more consistent weight loss without cheat meals that end up being cheat days or weekends. Weight lifting has contributed I suspect - I'm losing similar weight, but eating more on average.

    Cool! Thank you!
  • Kristygirl_RN
    Kristygirl_RN Posts: 9 Member
    Options
    personally, i calorie cycle so i have high and low calorie days. meaning for instance on monday, wednesday, friday i eat 1400 and tuesday, thursday, saturday i have 1700 . this allows me my "cheat day" on sundays cuz it basically takes the extra 300 every low day and adds to my basic day on sunday. i do believe that this is good for your metabolism because it keeps it guessing.. but at the same time it can still stall. which is why i do three weeks of high/low and then a week of all high.

    i came to this idea because of chris powell (extreme weightloss tv show )'s book choose to lose. he introduces CARB cycling. but i just do CALORIES.

    but as stated, it might just mean the person's cheat day but they dont want to call it cheat day because some people get their panties in a twist when you refer to it as a cheat day.. cheat day, reboot day, whatever.. same idea.

    Thank you! This is pretty much what I was thinking. :smile:

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