[Kilketay]

Has anybody here tried calorie cycling? Calorie cycling is when you plan to vary the calories you eat each day, but still stick to your set average. So, for example, I'm aiming for 1800 calories a day. If I were calorie cycling, I might plan to eat 1500 calories Monday, 1800 calories Tuesday, and 2100 Wednesday. It still averages out to 1800 calories.

I'm interested in calorie cycling for a couple of reasons. First, it seems like it might make dieting more fun by switching things up a little bit. You'll get one day when you're eating really lightly, but then one day when you splurge a little bit. Second, I've heard that calorie cycling can be a good way to get your body to avoid or get over plateaus. The argument is that since you have a day every few days when you eat more calories, your body gets "tricked" into thinking you're not really dieting, so it doesn't do that slow-down-the-metabolism thing that is a cause of plateaus.

On the other hand, I have a little bit of fear that having a higher calorie day will just give me a taste for eating more food and make it hard to go back to lower calories!

What do you think?

[LLV]

I tried it for a while. And yes, it breaks the monotony of eating the same amount of calories every day and it's nice to have one day where you can say, "hey! I can eat just a little more than usual."

I got confused with the math, though, and just went back to usual routine. But for me it didn't make it hard to go back to lower calories. In fact it was harder for me to eat MORE. I'm pretty set in my ways with how much I eat every day and there were times where I had to practically force myself to eat more food. Or I'd forget that I was having a day where I could eat a little more and just end up with my usual calorie amount anyway.

I started zig-zagging calories because I was majorly stuck on a plateau. However the zig-zagging did nothing to make a difference for me. But that doesn't mean it won't work for someone else. Some people have had great success in getting the scale to move again by cycling calories.

As long as you stay within your range, I see nothing at all wrong with cycling. As far as getting into the habit of eating more and worried that you'll get stuck there, it's simply a matter of control

[rockinrobin]

I really find there are no "tricks" to keep your metabolisim moving. The best thing I have found is to eat small amounts throughout the day and to build muscle through exercise.

As far as calorie cycyling goes, it's a great idea if you want to "spend" more calories on certain days of the week then others while keeping to a certain average. Some people like to eat a bit more on the days where they workout a lot and keep the calories a bit lower when they're not as active.

I calorie cycle without even trying. Certain days I eat more then others. Usually the weekends. We all have to find what works for ourselves and the best way to do that is through trial and error.

[nelie]

I "calorie cycle" naturally. I plan to eat out once per week. Even though I'm careful when I eat out, I know that whatever I eat is more likely to have more calories than what I'd eat at home. I don't purposefully calorie cycle though. Also if I'm a bit hungrier some days, I'll allow myself some extra calories.

[Jane]

Kilketay - I do it on purpose, and find I lose better that way. Whether it "tricks" my metabolism or just mixes things up, it helps me, so I don't really care why, lol. Although Weight Watcher's does not advocate it, some of their followers do use it, and refer to this method as the Wendi Plan. You could just give it a try for a week and see how it works for you.

[sockmonkey70]

I do this too.Kind of randomly though. If I feel really hungry one day, then I will eat a few more calories than usual.

[lynnm39]

I do this as well. For some reason, when I eat a lower number of calories, it doesn't seem to matter if I eat 900 or 1200---both feel basically the same to me. Thus, it's relatively painless to eat only 900 calories on one day. Then, I can eat 2100 calories the next (averaging out to 1500 per day). I still lose this way, and I feel as if I'm dieting only half the time.

[NurseChef]

I saw this idea with the Wendie Plan from Steels' blog. She has her whole breakdown there and it looks like exactly what you are talking about. Also, I agree with your idea of varying your caloric intake because if you incorporate this early on, you won't sit hard on one number of calories per day.

I know that you NEVER want to get below 1200 calories/day. You need a varied food intake to take in proper nutrition so the goal and the aim is to get all the food groups in there in their proper amounts.