Closed Thread
 
Thread Tools
Old 02-21-2008, 08:11 PM   #16  
Meg
Senior Member
 
Meg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 1999
Posts: 8,974

Default

I've found that carb cycling is another effective way to cycle, but without changing daily calorie totals. I do well eating five equally sized meals a day of about 250 calories each and never could figure out how to take my calories lower than they are (for the low days). So I tried cycling grams of carbs instead of calories, with great results.

I picked a range of 60 to 160 grams of carbs per day and started with 60 grams, adding into 20 grams per day until I hit 160, then dropped back down to 60 and started over. Since my calories stayed the same, I ate more protein and good fats on the lower carb days to compensate for the missing carbs.

So if anyone wants to try a different way to cycle than by changing calories, maybe think about carb cycling?
Meg is offline  
Old 02-21-2008, 08:14 PM   #17  
Senior Member
 
Sheila53's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Idaho
Posts: 4,735

S/C/G: 261/158/below 160

Height: 5'8" (Dang, I shrank an inch!)

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by PurdueGal View Post
I would like to do calorie cycling, because there are days where I eat 1100 calories or so and feel fine. But I am a little hesitant because I am afraid that during my planned day to be lower in calories I will be extra hungry- and feel unsatisfied.
I think most people who calorie cycle do so in the range of 1200 calories and above. Going below 1200 calories on a regular basis often means you're missing out on nutrients that you need. So 1200 would be a low day, and, for example, 1600 might be a high day. Also, eating small meals frequently could help with hunger issues on lower days. I try to eat small meals every three hours (sometimes less) every day because I don't like being hungry, and I like to maintain a stable blood sugar.
Sheila53 is offline  
Old 02-21-2008, 08:16 PM   #18  
Senior Member
 
Sheila53's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Idaho
Posts: 4,735

S/C/G: 261/158/below 160

Height: 5'8" (Dang, I shrank an inch!)

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Meg View Post
Since my calories stayed the same, I ate more protein and good fats on the lower carb days to compensate for the missing carbs.
How do you get enough fiber when you eat more protein? That's something that I've been wrestling with.
Sheila53 is offline  
Old 02-21-2008, 08:19 PM   #19  
Meg
Senior Member
 
Meg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 1999
Posts: 8,974

Default

SF Metamucil (psyllium) and tons of veggies. On a lower carb day, all my carbs are from fruits and veggies and not grains.
Meg is offline  
Old 02-21-2008, 08:22 PM   #20  
Senior Member
 
Sheila53's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Idaho
Posts: 4,735

S/C/G: 261/158/below 160

Height: 5'8" (Dang, I shrank an inch!)

Default

Okay, I gag when I think of drinking metamucil! (I also gag when I think of drinking gatorade or pretty much anything that isn't water or wine) I guess I'm just going to have to start gnawing on broccoli every waking minute. . .
Sheila53 is offline  
Old 02-21-2008, 08:32 PM   #21  
Meg
Senior Member
 
Meg's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 1999
Posts: 8,974

Default

As for supplements, FiberCon makes pills you swallow and Benefiber can be stirred into any liquid, even wine!
Meg is offline  
Old 02-21-2008, 09:01 PM   #22  
Meowsah
 
Noelani's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Chandler, AZ
Posts: 48

S/C/G: 317/239.4/150

Height: 5'6"

Default

I have planned days in which I go over my calorie goal for the day. Usually when I choose to eat out with friends or family. But I do try to make up for it by working out a little extra that day.

My calories tend to fluctuate from day to day, but I always try to keep in my goal range of calories.

I think if you're needing to do something to jump start your weight loss or get out of a plateau rut then it could be something worth trying. But I do think that the planned higher calorie days should increase your calorie intake by eating a little bit more of healthier foods, not just junk. I know if I allowed myself to increase my calories on a planned day with junk food then I'd probably very easily fall back into old habits that I'm trying to avoid.

Just my two cents..

Noelani is offline  
Old 02-21-2008, 09:25 PM   #23  
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: The Deep South
Posts: 4,445

S/C/G: 237/165.8/130

Height: 5'4"

Default

Seems like there are actually 4 things being discussed here:

1 - Active and planned calorie cycling (using a predefined range)
2 - Unplanned / natural calorie cycling (also using a range, just not as planned)
3 - Occasional balancing of calories (not planned or within a range, just "making up" for off days)
4 - Binging/Starving to try to lose weight w/out really working on healthy eating.

I would think that the first 3 are probably pretty healthy. The third one is obviously not anything that anyone should aspire to.

.
PhotoChick is offline  
Old 02-21-2008, 09:33 PM   #24  
Recovering Pizza Addict
 
hafowler's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Upstate New York
Posts: 94

S/C/G: 273/235/150

Height: 5'4"

Default

I do WW Flex, and I know that averaging out the weekly points by eating more on a few days and less on a few others (but always keeping in that weekly total and eating On Plan) broke me through a plateau I thought was going to last forever. It is NOT binging and starving -- it's simply keeping your metabolism on its toes so it doesn't hit a set point and stop burning as many calories.

With WW, it's called The Wendie Plan, and for me, it works. Here's a run down from right here at 3FC!

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=99187
hafowler is offline  
Old 02-21-2008, 09:34 PM   #25  
Senior Member
 
Tonia's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 1999
Location: Central Valley, CA USA
Posts: 411

Height: 5'8"

Default

Wow...I have been doing this all along and didn't realize it. While I think many of you wise women made great points I think Rhonda said it best when she said:

I've taken charge of my weight loss and have not chosen to let food control me...and, I've done so in a very healthy manner.

If I know I am going out to eat I am going to eat less the couple of days before and a couple of days after - probably overkill as I do try to make wise choices but maybe not (i.e. a turkey sandwich at Chili's is 1050 calories - just the SANDWICH!) and the reduction in calories is a preventative thing.

Also, during my TOM I tend to eat more so I will eat less coming off of that...or going into it...whatever. But, for the first time in my life I AM IN CONTROL and one day is not going to make or break me.
Tonia is offline  
Old 02-21-2008, 09:49 PM   #26  
Senior Member
 
Purplefirefly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 2,102

S/C/G: 257/219/145

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by PurdueGal View Post
I would like to do calorie cycling, because there are days where I eat 1100 calories or so and feel fine. But I am a little hesitant because I am afraid that during my planned day to be lower in calories I will be extra hungry- and feel unsatisfied. Then I might say "Well I'll eat higher calories today, then do the lower tomorrow." But then that lower day would never come...

How do you calorie cyclers avoid this?
You are probably extra hungry because you are going too low. Your body needs the food to keep you gonig, esp. during exercise. Your lower limits shouldn't go under 1200...but I find it very hard to do that even, I get really hungry when I exercise and only take in 1200.

I avoid the lower days never coming by working the calorie limit for the week, then splitting it out the very first day of the week. So every day I know what I am working with and make my choices accordingly. This also allows me to make lower calorie days on lighter exercise days, and give more calories to social situations or high activity days when I'll need more to keep my energy up. It would be too hard for me to just say "I'll eat more today and less tomorrow" because you're right, the next day I would put it off again. That's why planning it out and not leaving it to a whim works for me .

I use Jillian Michael's book Winning by Losing to work out my weekly calorie limits. It's easy, takes about five minutes or so and I have my weekly plan It also helps me to save some "extra" calories that can be used whenever i want that week.
Purplefirefly is offline  
Old 02-21-2008, 09:53 PM   #27  
Senior Member
 
Purplefirefly's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: North Carolina
Posts: 2,102

S/C/G: 257/219/145

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Meg View Post
I picked a range of 60 to 160 grams of carbs per day and started with 60 grams, adding into 20 grams per day until I hit 160, then dropped back down to 60 and started over. Since my calories stayed the same, I ate more protein and good fats on the lower carb days to compensate for the missing carbs.
That is very interesting. I never thought about that! How did you come up with the 60 to 160 grams, is that a healthy range or you just guessed? I wonder if this could be done with fat grams because that really is my problem right now. I eat a lot of protein and all healthy carbs (veggies and whole grain if I do eat grain) but I feel my fat intake on a lot of days is too high...and it might speed up my loss even more if I got that down. Anyone know what a healthy amount of fat is? I might try cycling my fat, very interesting Meg!
Purplefirefly is offline  
Old 02-22-2008, 06:12 AM   #28  
Eating for two!
 
jillybean720's Avatar
 
Join Date: Feb 2005
Location: Northern VA
Posts: 6,018

S/C/G: 324 highest known/on hold/150

Height: 5' 5"

Default

I've done calorie cycling, both intentionally an unintentionally, and it definitely worked for me. No, my higher calorie days were not filled with cheeseburgers, cheesecake, and ice cream--I just ate more of the foods I would normally have, or I replaced some of my regular foods with more calorie dense foods, like nuts, grains, avocado, more fruit, etc.

When I was doing it purposely, I would plan ahead of time which days would be higher and which days would be lower so I would KNOW I would have a good average daily calories at the end of the week. I usually had higher cals on Fridays and Saturdays, then low on Sunday and Monday, maybe a normal Tuesday, high Wednesday, low Thursday. Something like that.

When I did it unintentionally, I was following a sort of fad diet food plan, and some days called for higher calorie foods than others (some days were just protein and veggies, while some days had a banana smoothie or nuts), so while I was just following a food plan, that plan likely worked as well as it did because of the varying amounts of daily calories.

And, to agree with most and clarify for some, calorie cycling is NOT bigeing and starving, nor is it a free-for-all eat-whatever-you-want on the higher calorie days. Calorie cycling is VERY healthy when done properly and does NOT enforce bad habits.
jillybean720 is offline  
Old 02-22-2008, 12:22 PM   #29  
Taking life by the horns
Thread Starter
 
BrandNewJen's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: Western New York
Posts: 517

S/C/G: 302/ticker/215

Height: 6'1"

Default

oh my GAWD--- I am SO OFFENDED by one of the previous posts who had the audacity to act as if a 3000 calorie day is a BINGE. ARRRRGGGGH!

PurpleFireFly: " I saw a mention of 2000 or 3000 calories in a day here there shouldn't be a day that high in calorie cycling."

Many of the 300+ women on here are DIETING DAILY on 1800-2000 calories per day!!!! Don't be so obtuse!!!!

I don't know about the rest of you, but I got to almost 300 pounds not by living on 2000 calories a day... and GOD FORBID I eat :gasp: 3000 calories?!!?!?

Oh noooooo! Seriously? One of my binges doesn't even come CLOSE to 3000 calories. The day I was talking about before, I racked up 3000 calories by eating an apple for breakfast, a banana for lunch, and then going out for dinner and having a sensibly-chosen entree coupled with a shared appetizer and dessert. FAR from what I would call BINGING! Holy crap!

Try waking up and eating 3 pancakes loaded with butter and syrup accompanied by a side of bacon and a huge glass of orange juice. Have 2 double cheeseburgers and a large fry at McD's for lunch (maybe with a milkshake too!), and for dinner split a large pepperoni pizza and a "side" of 20 chicken wings dipped in blue cheese. And then later, make yourself a HUGE sundae out of a half of the 1/2 gallon container of ice cream, smothered in fudge, and covered in peanuts.

Go to your precious little calorie trackers and type all that in and see what you get. You'll learn very quickly what a "normal" life for some fat people is... they certainly wouldn't gape in horror at "3000 calories"..... (by the way, breakfast ALONE racks in 2300 calories, with the whole day coming in at 8200 calories).

A 3000 calorie BINGE?!?! Check your words wisely, b/c that is soooo offensive to some of us here.

Last edited by BrandNewJen; 02-22-2008 at 12:35 PM.
BrandNewJen is offline  
Old 02-22-2008, 12:37 PM   #30  
Former Quitter
 
GirlyGirlSebas's Avatar
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: Atlanta
Posts: 5,500

S/C/G: 310/310/180

Height: 5'7

Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by BrandNewJen View Post
oh my GAWD--- I am SO OFFENDED by one of the previous posts who had the audacity to act as if a 3000 calorie day is a BINGE. ARRRRGGGGH!

Don't be so obtuse!!!!

Go to your precious little calorie trackers and type all that in and see what you get. You'll learn very quickly what a "normal" life for some fat people is... and they certainly wouldn't consider it binging. And they certainly wouldn't gape in horror at "3000 calories".....

A 3000 calorie BINGE?!?! Check your words wisely, b/c that is soooo offensive to some of us here.
Personally, I'm offended by your personal attack on Purple. I've always loved the 100lb club because of our ability to discuss different ideas about weight loss in a mature and non-confrontational manner while maintaining a supportive atmosphere. For me and many of us here, a binge would be more than 2000 calories for the day. That's our reality. I'm truly sorry that you find that offensive.
GirlyGirlSebas is offline  
Closed Thread


Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Trackbacks are Off
Pingbacks are Off
Refbacks are Off



All times are GMT -4. The time now is 12:10 PM.


We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Copyright © 2024 MH Sub I, LLC dba Internet Brands. All rights reserved. Use of this site indicates your consent to the Terms of Use.