anyone doing calorie shifting or cycling? eating different calories on different days? is it working

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tlmeyn
tlmeyn Posts: 369 Member
in Food and Nutrition
is anyone eating different calories on different days? is it working for you? you know.. 800, 1200, 1800, 2100 for example?

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  • stephanieluvspb
    stephanieluvspb Posts: 997 Member
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    sorry, no input but curious myself, I work three 12 hour night shifts a week, so this might be something for me to look into.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    Is there a reason you want to do calorie cycling or that you think it will provide results for what type of goal?

  • tlmeyn
    tlmeyn Posts: 369 Member
    edited April 2015
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    I want to try calorie cycling because I am hoping it will fool my body out of plateau mode. If i keep eating less and less my body will burn less and less to survive. My body is VERY starvation efficient, so I am thinking calorie cycling will fool it into not going into "calorie saving" mode

  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
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    Nope.. to your first part of last response.

    And this starvation mode it a total myth...

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    tlmeyn wrote: »
    I want to try calorie cycling because I am hoping it will fool my body out of plateau mode. If i keep eating less and less my body will burn less and less to survive. My body is VERY starvation efficient, so I am thinking calorie cycling will fool it into not going into "calorie saving" mode

    No. If you've spent a long period of time in a large deficit then a week at maintenance won't do any harm, but a plateau is more likely just from water or inaccurate logging, not metabolic damage.
  • GlennS18T
    GlennS18T Posts: 13 Member
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    You're better to look at you're calorie deficit over the week rather then day to day. If its the same intake over the week/ month it won't matter what days are higher and lower cal. However For me carb cycling had proven to be beneficial. Low/ no carb on off gym off days. High on gym days. Also look into refeed days. Good luck.
  • tlmeyn
    tlmeyn Posts: 369 Member
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    Thanks for the responses. I am going to give cycling a shot

    As for starvation mode being a myth...maybe I should re-phrase that as metabolic slow down, which is VERY real. it can make the different between losing a pound a week and half a pound a week. big difference.

    Otherwise calories in and out would be totally consistent weight loss for each and every person and losing weight would be easy and systematic, but it's not...
  • kpkitten
    kpkitten Posts: 164 Member
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    I calorie cycle I guess, because I use a Fitbit to adjust my goals each day, and I have an average difference of about 1000 calories between my highest and lowest days in a week. In the time I've used my Fitbit, I've had almost 2000 calories difference between the all-time highest and lowest intakes!
  • lemurcat12
    lemurcat12 Posts: 30,886 Member
    edited April 2015
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    Lots of people do forms of Intermittent Fasting, one form of which is low calories on 2 days, higher (maintenance) on 5 days.

    Also, lots of people follow the MFP plan, which has you eat more on workout days.

    And plenty of people maintain a weekly deficit where they have certain higher calorie days (often weekend days).

    I am currently doing a modified version of the MFP plan where I eat a base level calories when I don't work out and add 500 (typically mostly carbs) when I work out.

    I don't think this has anything to do with starvation mode (or even metabolic slow down), but some find it easier to maintain than consistent calories, so if you want to change things up, why not try it? I find changing things up from time to time can get me motivated again, which is usually the broader problem when I'm stalling. (The recent change I made was related to that and seems to be working, but too soon to say.)

    As for the other arguments in favor of IF or calorie or carb cycling, I don't know, but if you want to try it I don't see why it would hurt.
  • yesimpson
    yesimpson Posts: 1,372 Member
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    I eat different numbers of calories on different days so that I can 'afford' treats like big dinners with friends or drinks on a night out. So I might eat less the day before or after, or on lazy days. I don't do it because I think it will give me any metabolic advantage though. It just means my calories average out over a week. So I might do 1500/1800/2200/1900/1750/1800/1850, but it all reconciles in the end.
  • Camo_xxx
    Camo_xxx Posts: 1,082 Member
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    I suppose I calorie cycle ( by adding additional carbs ) in as much I eat more on training days then rest days to replenish my glycogen.

    As far as fooling your body out of a plateau, sounds more like bro science fooling you into eating more.
  • tlmeyn
    tlmeyn Posts: 369 Member
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    Thanks for all the insight..I'll try anything to get the scale moving again when it stalls.
  • Christine_72
    Christine_72 Posts: 16,049 Member
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    Check out this calculator. It is the most comprehensive one I've found, and I believe it was created by one mfp's members :smile:
    It includes a section on zig zagging calories, it will work out all the numbers for you.
    http://www.weightloss-calculator.net/ultimate-weight-loss-calculator-metric/
  • tlmeyn
    tlmeyn Posts: 369 Member
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    thanks for that, the was one brutal, but realistic counter. making 5:2 look better and better :)
    christinev297 wrote: »
    Check out this calculator. It is the most comprehensive one I've found, and I believe it was created by one mfp's members :smile:
    It includes a section on zig zagging calories, it will work out all the numbers for you.
    http://www.weightloss-calculator.net/ultimate-weight-loss-calculator-metric/

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