CALORIE CYCLING HELP

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ninja_in_pyjamas
ninja_in_pyjamas Posts: 21
in Health and Weight Loss
Hello! I am worried that with my calorie deficit of 1000/day, I might reach a plateau after a month or a few weeks. I wanted to know if calorie cycling would help!

e.g. example would be
Mon- 1200
Tues- 1200
Wed- 500
Thurs- water fast
Fri- 500
Sat-2500
Sun- 2500

Have any of you done something like this and has it helped you avoid a plateau?

Thanks!!

Replies

  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    The way you avoid the mythical plateau is to eat at a calorie deficit. That's it is that simple no fancy fads just a plain eat less than you burn. You need to find something sustainable and what you're suggesting looks anything but that. Are you going to do this for the rest of your life?. You may lose weight doing it but I would bet that you'd put the weight back on. Your calories average at 1200 a day you have 33 pounds to lose so in all likelihood you can eat more than that and lose weight. Have a look at the links and you don't have to suffer or starve to lose weight


    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1175494-a-guide-to-get-you-started-on-your-path-to-sexypants?hl=guide+to+sexypants&page=1#posts-18361594
  • kazzsj0urney
    kazzsj0urney Posts: 57
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    I do do calorie cycling but I never would if eating only 1200 calories if thats going to be what you eat I would eat a minimum of 1200 calories a day(and I have no idea if that is enough or not for your goals). I do 1500 calories a day...the lowest cal day is 1300 calories and highest is 1800 calories, a lot of people dont believe in it but it does seem to work well for me, it helps me mentally as well.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Calorie deficit = weight loss. Why do you feel you need to do otherwise? A plateau is 6-8 weeks. Has it been this long?
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,626 Member
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    I kind of cycle naturally, due to being hungrier some day days and less hungry on others.

    A lot of people swear by calorie cycling, but I don't think you need to go so very low (and nothing on one day) in order to do it. How are you going to eat 2500 calories of healthy food? And two days in a row?! I'm thinking you're going to starve yourself and then eat junk.

    I don't know. It sounds like a wacky, fad diet and possibly an unhealthy one, at that.

    You should totally ask a doctor about this before doing it.

    Good luck.
  • cajuntank
    cajuntank Posts: 924 Member
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    Your body is not in a daily clock, it is the overall deficit over time. If you are "saving" your calories for some weekend fun, I can see your logic to a certain degree (not agreeing with you on the huge disparagy between, but I can see why you think this way)...but if you think this is hacking the body into better weightloss than the overall deficit dictates, then you are wrong. Also, your body needs calories to fuel your workouts and severely restricting your calories during the week (assuming you are doing some form of training during the week), will impede that training, thus less calories burned, less metabolic capacity, and the other millieu of that consequence.

    The sexypants link the other poster provided will give you a great place to get started on basic nutrition and weightloss. Also, if you don't have much to lose, then your deficit need not be that large. Shoot for .5-1% bodyweight loss on average per week. Lower side if you are leaner, higher side is ok if you still have a lot of bodyfat.
  • ParkerH47
    ParkerH47 Posts: 463 Member
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    while I am not an expert on calorie cycling. I think you could remain with the concept but go about it in a more common sense way.

    The way I see it you have a couple options - if this is the route you want to take.
    1) Alternate days of 1000 and 2000: it may seem high - avg of 1500. But it seems more likely to have a positive affect on your body because in your example, there are more days that you are very low than days where you are high - this has the potential to have the opposite effect of what you're looking for because your body is needing fuel, and might hang on to nutrients instead of burning them.
    2) try more of a 5:2 fasting regime. people seem to have success with this model. I have never tried it, but metabolically speaking it seems it would be safer and more effective because 2 days/week you eat 500-600 calories and the rest of the days you are eating "normally" or I guess in our environment - at maintenance calories.

    In both of these examples your body is receiving enough nutrition more days of the week, and you would be more likely to repair your metabolism. where as in the example you gave 5 out of 7 days your body would be getting sub-optimal calories and thats when you're likely to see your body holding onto more fat. Not only that but you would likely feel exhausted and completely drained of energy.

    Hope that helps. I have not tried these methods so I cannot speak to their effectiveness necessarily but they seem more appropriate than the example you gave. I think calorie cycling could be a viable method to "break a plateau", as it makes sense in theory, and in the examples I gave shouldn't do any harm to metabolism, so worst case scenario is you tried it and it didn't work.
  • Remo_Williams
    Remo_Williams Posts: 73
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    Calorie Cycling is generally tied to exercise. Eat more on days when you workout (especially weight training) and less on the other days. Unlike other on here, I don't see a problem with a weekly fast. Many people fast for religious reasons, and also some people fast for life extension. The issue I see here is that from Wed. - Thurs. - Fri., you are going too low and will be absolutely starving.
  • ParkerH47
    ParkerH47 Posts: 463 Member
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    Also, can I ask how much you are looking to lose? If you're trying for those last 5-10 lbs it could simply be that your body is at its happy point. You are also very young, so you have to consider: are you getting enough nourishment for your brain and natural development? 1000 cals/day on average is too low for someone your age unless you have +100lbs to lose.

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