Question about calories

fernie8787
fernie8787 Posts: 31 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So I am curious to know if anyone has tried calories swings for weeks and have lost weight? What I mean is some days you go by the calories mfp gives you if you want to lose 2 lbs a week and other days you go by maintenance calories. What were your results doing this? And how long you went through this trend?

Replies

  • 142jmh
    142jmh Posts: 87 Member
    There was a thread a few years ago that talks about this, and links to some articles. Its very interesting! Turns out that diet breaks are actually a really great strategy for long term weight loss.
    Here is the original thread: https://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10604863/of-refeeds-and-diet-breaks/p1

    Personally, I do have breaks where I eat at maintenance calories for a week about once a month. That works for me and where I am currently at in my journey.
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,093 Member
    I have taken breaks where I ate at maintenance. I have even taken breaks (usually vacations) where I knowingly and without guilt ate above maintenance. My results were pretty much what you would expect. When I ate at maintenance, my weight generally stayed the same. When I ate above maintenance, I gained weight -- usually a lot more weight than you would expect based on calories, because water, but the water weight generally dropped off quickly when I went back to a deficit, and the real weight gain (fat) dropped off at the rate expected based on my calorie deficit.
  • dviolin1982
    dviolin1982 Posts: 17 Member
    Last week I ate exactly at maintenance for one day unintentionally and the rest of the week I was way under my goal, I did lose weight but I'm trying to be more realistic now. So no, unless it's a holiday like christmas, I try not to eat at maintenance. I need to leave some space for over-inflated calorie numbers or exercise totals.
  • corinasue1143
    corinasue1143 Posts: 7,464 Member
    Yes. I figure my maintenance calories and try to always eat under that. Some days a little under, some days a lot under. I am losing very slowly, which is ok with me.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,399 Member
    If people don't get hung up on the day to day smaller changes, any balance shift either up or down will determine the trend. And for a lot of people this is probably easier to handle, as they get a break from the norm when they want to.

    Do what works for you. If you need a break, take a break, just don't lose sight of the long term goal.

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