Calorie Cycling MFP Style

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JulieBoBoo
JulieBoBoo Posts: 642
in Health and Weight Loss
So I hit a plateau a few weeks ago and got stuck. The first thing I did was change my activity level from sedentary to lightly active because I wasn't as sedentary as I'd been before. The second thing I did was look into calorie cycling. So I went to the calculator that everyone posts a link to and it looked pretty easy but when I came back here to log I wasn't sure how to proceed since it would mean that some day's I'd be under my calorie goal by a lot and other days way over it. I didn't want to confuse myself or my support team so this is what I did.

In the comments section of my diary I indicate what my goal lost for the day will be. So on Monday it'll be 1lb/week, on Tuesday 1.5lbs/week, Wednesday 2lbs/week, Thursday 1.5lbs/week, Friday 1lb/ week Saturday .5/lb a week and then Sunday 1/lb a week.

Then every morning when I plan out my menu (and yes for me it is ESSENTIAL to plan my meals in advance every day), I also change my goal settings so I make sure that I'm hitting the right calorie intake for whatever that day's goal is.

So far I'm back to losing 2-4lbs a week which makes me very very happy. Just thought I'd throw it out there for people who might want to calorie cycle but still do it using the tools MFP has given us. Good Luck!

Replies

  • cocodp
    cocodp Posts: 164
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    thanks for posting this...it helps!
  • sculley
    sculley Posts: 2,012 Member
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    Thanks for the advice if i get hung up I will look into this.
  • mommaski4
    mommaski4 Posts: 305 Member
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    I was trying to figure out how to do the cycling on here. I was just content to be over/under. I will look into changing my 'goals' as a way to change my daily calorie goals. Thanks!
  • heathersmilez
    heathersmilez Posts: 2,579 Member
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    Good plan!

    Here’s the site for people who still need it.
    http://www.freedieting.com/tools/calorie_calculator.htm

    Basically 2x a week are higher than average. So Wednesday and Saturday eat 1500-1600 calories the rest of the week eat 1200-1300. That’s based on my age/gender/weight and using no exercise/desk job as my exercise level. If I put it at a more realistic/accurate level of 5x a week the numbers just change to 1800-2000 on Wednesday and Saturday and 15-1600 the rest of the week and that’s too high for me so I’ll stick with the “desk-job” category.

    If setting the goals on MFP is getting difficult, try it the easy way, just eat 300 cals more than your usual 2x a week.

    Good luck everyone!
  • amenadenine
    amenadenine Posts: 14 Member
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    This is a great idea! Thanks for posting!
  • crackerjack345
    crackerjack345 Posts: 129 Member
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    So do you just note it in the comments, or do you actually change your goal settings each day so the calories will show correctly? I have been trying to incorporate this, but it's definitely harder to track it.
  • Missevanston
    Missevanston Posts: 361 Member
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    Hey Jules! You must have read my mind..I have had a hard time of it this week. I find that it is definitely harder to eat more calories. I like the idea of changing your actual number every day. I didn't do that and as you said I was over or under, but more importantly I wasn't hitting those high days and sometimes even the low days in my net. So I am gonna keep tweaking! Thanks for sharing...and You are doing great!
  • JulieBoBoo
    JulieBoBoo Posts: 642
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    I actually go in and change the goal every day so I know exactly what to aim for.

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