BMR and calorie cycling - can it be true?
 

I wonder quite a bit about trying calorie cycling, it seems quite a logical eating pattern.

So I found a site that said what you should do is
take your BMR baseline and subtract 300, to get a medium point.
subtract 200 for a low day
add 500 for a high day

So, according the Harris Benedict formula my sedentary BMR is 1900
That would mean a 1600 medium
a 1400 low
a 2100 high

and then eat low, high, low, medium, medium, high, medium

It seems an awful lot!

Has anyone any experience of using these kind of multiples?

Should I perhaps have taken my 'comatose' BMR of 1600 as the baseline? I guess that would make more sense. Sorry, just trying to work it out as I type.

It's called zig zagging and it's a fabulous way to eat.

I also use the comatose BMR as my baseline but I don't up my calories by 500 on any day. I don't think I could eat that much.

But zig zagging is a good idea.

Unfortunately, calorie calculators, like the Harris-Benedict, are just estimates of what the normal body of that size would burn. All of us are individuals, with individual metabolisms. I have never found a calculator that accurately tells me what I burn (they're ALL too high...by a lot).

The best way to know if it is right for you is trial and error. Try that calorie level for a week. Losing? Leave it where it is. Super hungry but losing? Try upping it a bit. Not losing? Lower it by 100-200 and leave it there for 2 weeks to see if that is a better level for you.

You'll find your ideal level in a few weeks, and can go from there.

Hmm...my Harris-Benedict BMR is 1436. So 1136 is supposed to be my MEDIUM day? I don't THINK so!