I'm curious. How did you set up your calorie cycling? I've always heard really good things about calorie cycling an I'm surprised that it didn't work as well for you.

Let us know how it goes... I'd definitely be interested in knowing myself! :)

From what I've read and seen... it seems to me that everyone's body is different anyways and will react differently to different things. :)

I guess it also could depend on your true BMI and all those calculations too....

As to the zigzagging... I've read a lot of accounts saying its better to do that then just stick to one calorie amount daily because it seems to keep your metabolism guessing or something? :lol: Whatever.... I just know it's workin for me!!!

Good luck! :)

I also do better with more calories and zig zagging. I stick between 1500-1600 on most days but one day a week, I jump up to 1800 or so, and one day a week I drop down to 1200. It works for me and it gives me a bit of a leeway on what I can have. SOme days, everything goes perfectly well, meals are planned and executed. Some days, actually MOST days, I eat on the fly, so I typically need a bit of padding once a week.

I've zig zagged in the past and it DOES worth... rather well. I think it was I dropped my calories and upped my exercise all at the same time... I'll give 1700 3 or so weeks... and if that does not work then I'll drop to 1500... I'll keep experimenting till this slowdown picks up ;)

Well calorie counting for me right now is super hard because nutritional labeling is not required in France! But when I was calorie counting I lost about 6 lbs in just one month at 1500 and once I got here and started eating(and moving!) more I have lost 10 lbs in just a few weeks. I would estimate that I am eating around 1800 calories on the typical French diet, but I have no idea.

Last week I wasn't feeling all that great. We were unsure if it was overtraining or illness coming on, so the decision was made for me to stay away from the gym for 5 days and rest at home. I did pretty good with that. I also upped my calorie count from ~1500 to between 1700-2100 depending on the day. Each day I still had some where between 500-1000 calorie deficit. I ended up losing 5 lbs for the week. Granted now that I'm back on program in terms of the gym, I'm keeping my food closer to 1600 this week, I expect not to see a loss or possibly even a pound or so gain. It was just weird to loss so much in one week. Trainer stated, rest is good for the body. She agrees about the possibility of a no loss or even gain week.

We are also changing up my gym routine - gonna be interesting to see what my body does with it.

We are about the same height and weight. Now of course I'm nursing and you aren't, but I eat about 1800-2000 a day and have been doing really good with that. Now I haven't been exercising, though that is my Sept goal for myself, I still have a hard time trying to get it in before everyone else is up.

Mama--First--Congrats on your surgery! I am so relieved to hear it is finally done. Whew. :carrot:

Second, other things than food and exercise are related to weight--you know this. Stress is a big one. I'd say you were under a lot of stress this summer. Sleep deprivation, too. That can lead to a complete slow-down of your metabolism. Now that you aren't subject to agonizing pain for random hours at a stretch, I'd say those pounds will come off a little more quickly. You don't really want to stress your body with the weight loss itself, right now, so keep that in mind. I think that upping your calories for a bit is a great idea for that reason alone. Your body has been through a lot. Treat it well--as I know you will.

:hug:

Hey CF! I think it could be a combination of things and you just need to experiement a little to see what works for you.

1. You've lost a great deal of weight! At some point it's highly likely to slow down.
2. May need to bump up exercise.
3. Stress and hormones can cause difficulty with weight.
4. May need to increase calories.

Etc, etc. You know that our bodies sometimes do crazy things!!!

I can totally relate. I pretty much stalled out from June-Aug. Just floating up and down a few pounds. I kept up with my 6-7 days per week of exercise and stuck to 1,800 calories per day. My trainer has been hesitant to drop my calories because he doesn't want me to lose too much muscle. He'd like to see the nice and steady 1-2 pounds a week. So would I, but it hasn't been happening lately. So, last week we agreed that I'd drop to 1,600 calories and really evaluate what I've been eating. I did that and I've dropped 5 pounds in just over a week! I think I just shocked my body back into the groove. I don't expect such dramatic losses at this stage in my journey, but I won't turn them down either.

Depending on what happens over the next few weeks I may stay where I am or slowly increase my calories again. Only because I'm also looking at my lean mass vs. fat measurements with my weight training.

Don't let this little blip frustrate you! You are doing AWESOME!!!!

:carrot::carrot::carrot:

Well I'm walking 12-15 miles per week... and I don't really want to increase that ;) I think for now 1700 will be good. I don't expect that I'll gain weight on it but it might nourish my body that much more so it will be willing to devote some of it's energy to weight loss again ;) Or else that's the hope.

And honestly? I'm not going to pile on weight eating 1700 calories a day, walking 15 miles a week, active ALL DAY and still being 234 lbs. It's not going to happen... or at least I hope not! It's all an experiment.

RRobin: I know I know. I just FEEL healed so I want to keep this moving along you know! Patience... not a strong point of mine.

Barb: I'm probably going to do the 1700 for 3 weeks or so and then drop again. But I do feel like I need these calories right now.

And honestly... I'm tired of calorie cycling right now. I just want to eat the same amount every day for a bit and be done with it.

Maybe you're thinking too hard about it? Enjoy the changes and allowable variety that calorie cycling can give you.... :)

As for amount of calories I ate a day at your weight... umm... pretty much what I'm still doing now.... which would be 1400 to 1800, give or take-ish. ;) :)