Theory on Zig Zagging calories

  • I've been shifting calories on and off for a couple of months now, everytime I feel a plateau. It really does work for me since sticking to a typical 1500 calorie diet to me is boring and impractical.

    Here's why I think it works. You know how they all tell us that we humans are biologically programmed to hold on to fat and store it? They say it has been this way since prehistoric times and doctors still haven't figured out how to work around these glitches in order to provide us with an effective and painless weight regulation.

    My belief is that prehistoric man zig zagged his calories everyday, all his life. I mean you can't expect that they would hunt and kill sabertooth tigers everyday right? They probably existed on a diet of nuts, fruits, and small animals if they were lucky to catch them (low calorie days) and only once in a while would eat big protein meals. However when they did have bountiful prey you would assume that they would gorge on it because 1. who knows when they would hunt it down again and 2. they didn't have the means to store it for very long.

    In conclusion, man's body adapted to an inconsisted daily intake of calories. Could this be the reason why calorie shifting works so well for so many of us today?

    ***Disclaimer, I am not a scientist or a doctor, I am just posing a theory***
  • Wannabeskinny, I personally believe that it's essential to turn to scientific research to understand how a diet affects the body and why (but then again, as a scientist I'm quite biased ). The problem with relying on our own intuition or common sense is that... it's often wrong. I should mention, though, in this case your theory is a pretty darn good one, and is consistent with much of the scholarship that has focused on this issue!
  • Wannabeskinny, I tend to agree with you as well. Cycling has worked well for me in the past before, and for DH.
  • Wow, thanks! I'm backed up by a scientist!!!
  • I cycle naturally, and it does work for me. Both during my weight loss journey and during maintenance