A study diet of 1500 calories or mix things up?

cfpcyclist
cfpcyclist Posts: 30 Member
edited November 17 in Food and Nutrition
I've been under my net calorie goal of 1500 (I am ~6') for the past 24 days (every day since I started tracking).

:)

Would it be better to mix things up a bit, have a 2400 calorie day every now and then to 'confuse' the body?

Replies

  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    edited May 2015
    Your body doesn't get confused. But cycling carbs/calories is fine
    1500 seems very low for someone so tall though... And I don't know how you're eating less than that! If be starving.
  • whmscll
    whmscll Posts: 2,254 Member
    Yes , mix it up. Your body will eventually adapt to a lower calorie intake by lowering your metabolism if you keep your intake consistently low. If you have a periodic higher-calorie day and then immediately go back to your lower intake your body will not know what to do with that and you will lose weight more consistently and hit fewer plateaus.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    whmscll wrote: »
    Yes , mix it up. Your body will eventually adapt to a lower calorie intake by lowering your metabolism if you keep your intake consistently low. If you have a periodic higher-calorie day and then immediately go back to your lower intake your body will not know what to do with that and you will lose weight more consistently and hit fewer plateaus.

    Your body doesn't get confused...

    OP, if doing that works for you and you're within your weekly goal, then it's fine. Some people work well with cheat days/meals. But as stated above, 1500 is very low for a man. I'm six inches shorter and eat more than that a day. You can probably eat a couple hundred calories more a day and still lose.
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    Eat the 2400 calorie days. You can think of your calories as averaging out for the week.
  • cfpcyclist
    cfpcyclist Posts: 30 Member
    Once I started logging everything, it wasn't an issue to stay below 1500. Most days I am well below 1500 calories gross, and when I can ride, that burns ~800 calories/hour.

    Seasonal allergies have caught up to me at the moments, and I think I'll 'feed a cold' to try and shake this.

    The jury seems divided on the steady vs. mixing it up plan.
  • Ninkyou
    Ninkyou Posts: 6,666 Member
    IMO you should be eating more than 1500 calories, based on your height and that you are male. I eat 500 calories more than you, am a woman, 5'2 and breastfeeding. That should tell you something...

    So I'm going yo say yes, have a 2400 calorie day.
  • Asher_Ethan
    Asher_Ethan Posts: 2,430 Member
    I definitely feel you need to be eating more. Are you weighing everything you eat? Are you sure it's only 1500 a day that you're eating? I'm a 5'9" female and I have to eat 1800 - 2000 a day or I get cranky.
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