Does fluctuating daily calories help?

napilibay
napilibay Posts: 121 Member
edited December 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hi All, I looked back at the week I lost the most and I noticed some days I had 1300 calories, others 1500, and one day 1600. Do you think that helps with weight loss or am I crazy?

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,458 Member
    It's really hard for me to eat exactly the same number every day. Some people do it effortlessly.

    As far as it being helpful or not for weight-loss: doesn't matter, as long as you are taking in less than your body uses you will (over time) lose weight.
  • GaleHawkins
    GaleHawkins Posts: 8,159 Member
    I do not know where it helps or not but fluctuating calorie counts are a way of life in my case.
  • CasperNaegle
    CasperNaegle Posts: 936 Member
    No I do not think it helps with weight loss.. It's simply a matter of being in a deficit and letting the body do it's thing. My weight fluctuates all over the place day in and day out. Just track your progress over time and go from there. Use more than a scale.. Use a tape measure, calipers, etc.
  • Clawsal
    Clawsal Posts: 255 Member
    For me it helps. Some days I eat nutricious foods with low calories so that I can have treats other days - such as a 500kcal dessert.

    But I do believe that it is average that counts. So for some people it can help to eat the same amounts every day.
  • MsRuffBuffNStuff
    MsRuffBuffNStuff Posts: 363 Member
    You aren't crazy. It's called cycling :-) I do it all the time and it does help.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
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  • endlessfall16
    endlessfall16 Posts: 932 Member
    napilibay wrote: »
    Hi All, I looked back at the week I lost the most and I noticed some days I had 1300 calories, others 1500, and one day 1600. Do you think that helps with weight loss or am I crazy?

    You are not crazy. I'm against eating daily at a fix number. We're not a pet nor can we have or measure a precise calorie output. It's very helpful that you eat according to your energy spending (more or less) which you seem to have done.
  • nosebag1212
    nosebag1212 Posts: 621 Member
    edited October 2016
    Not directly it doesn't, your overall deficit at the end of the week/month determines rate of fat loss. However indirectly it can, e.g. if you eat more cals/carbs on days you lift you will have more energy and might burn more overall calories during your workout than you would have otherwise, but the act of calorie zigzagging doesn't do anything by itself.

    Edit: Actually it can be useful in specific cases of very lean people trying to get ultra lean e.g. males trying to go from 10% bf to 6% they might do depletion/carb manipulation diets to burn the very last lbs of fat (Lyle Mcdonald's Ultimate Diet 2.0 is an example of this), but for 99% of people here who are just trying to lose weight it is inconsequential.
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