[JessLess]

I just had an interesting experiment. I had to eat out a lot for a week and I raised my calorie goal to maintenance level, around 1,800/day for a week. I went back on plan 1,450/day a couple of days ago. I immediately dropped two pounds.

Now I'm curious about what would happen if I raised it to 1,800/day for a few days every six weeks or something.

I'll see if the loss stays off and how it goes.

ETA: Wow, I just noticed I've been on here for a year. Thanks to everyone for helping so much!

[lin43]

It's funny that you mention that because I was thinking about alternating my calories week to week---e.g., 1200 one week, 1300 the next, 1400 the next----and so on up to 1600. There are several reasons I was thinking about doing this: 1) I figure it's good to keep "fooling" the body so it doesn't adapt to one calorie level; 2) When I finally do lose all the weight I want to lose and have to figure out maintenance calories, it might be less of a shock to my system if I've already been adding calories; and 3) In the past, I was on a similar plan (but MUCH lower in calories) that shifted calories as you're describing, and it worked well.

I'll be going on vacation soon, so it would be difficult to try it now, but I may try it when I get back. If you try this, let us know how it goes.

[christine123]

Originally Posted by JessLess

I just had an interesting experiment. I had to eat out a lot for a week and I raised my calorie goal to maintenance level, around 1,800/day for a week. I went back on plan 1,450/day a couple of days ago. I immediately dropped two pounds.

Now I'm curious about what would happen if I raised it to 1,800/day for a few days every six weeks or something.

I'll see if the loss stays off and how it goes.

ETA: Wow, I just noticed I've been on here for a year. Thanks to everyone for helping so much!

That is a type of calorie cycling, actually. Some people shift between low days, which would be your 1450 and then high days, which would be your 1800 and just alternate between those two numbers for days at a time. There are many ways to do it and be successful. This may really work well for you.

[JessLess]

Cool, I'm excited to see how it goes.

[joyfulloser]

Yuppers!

[envelope]

I alternate my cals daily depending on how hungry I am or what I am doing. I know for certain that I drop weight when I eat at home instead of out. When eating out there is a lot more sodium....which means less of a loss for me.

Just ate out tonight and I am sure I will show a gain for tomorow even though I ate with in my cal range.