Has anyone had success with the concept of calorie cycling?

[nottaken101]

Has anyone tried calorie cycling. The idea appears to be that weight loss plateaus happen because the body gets used to having a certain level of caloric intake a day. 

Therefore if you figure out the maximum and minimum number of calories you can eat per day and alternate high calorie and low calorie days, your body shakes itself out of a weight plateau.

This idea seems akin to interval training whereby you intensify and de-intensify (I know that's not a word) your activity levels so that the body doesn't just figure out how to burn calories more efficiently. 

I like the idea of calorie cycling but can't find much concrete evidence that it works or doesn't work. 

[gerrymcd · Accepted solution]

I've not read anything about it.  But, if your body can get used to a certain level of calories a day couldn't it  also quickly get accustomed to cycles of high-low calories?   

[nottaken101]

Excellent point! I've seen calorie cycling touted as a way to break-through plateaus yet it sounds like you'd be back at square one after getting through the plateau. 

I don't suppose it hurts to experiment with it. Thanks for the feedback.

[DanPamperin]

I have not read about calorie cycling either.  However, I currently carb cycle, and I've had pretty good success with that.  The concept is similar to P90X and muscle confusion -- the body can get accustomed to the same workout.  Carb cycling takes that concept and applies it to your carbohydrate intake.

In any case, I've found eating clean to be the best for me.

[Heybales]

Bunk.

What it usually ends up doing is allowing someone to eat more than normal - exactly what the body was likely wanting because prior level was too low and body adapted.

If you want true calorie cycling, figure out your average TDEE for the week, and eat that daily.

Then each day, your workouts are taking so many of the calories right off the top for purely mechanical movement, leaving different amounts left for all the other things the body wants to do.

So rest days are a lot left, big workout days are little left.

But what would be better is to take a diet break every 6-8 weeks purposely before your body causes you to have an extended one anyway. Just one week off, eat what Fitbit says you burned.

Because some bad news, if that plateau has been a month, then your current level of eating is your new TDEE, not what the Fitbit is reporting. That is the definition of maintenance or TDEE - no gain or loss.

The question is, is it suppressed TDEE, or your logging of intake is bad enough you are in reality eating more than you think?

Couple simple ways to find out.

Are you still losing inches by measuring many spots? If so, you are losing fat, and body is making other improvements at the same time. You are likely at potential TDEE or maintenance. Cut some calories.

If you are not losing inches, then probably not. Body isn't going to make improvements that require more energy if it thinks it's not getting enough already.

Easy test for either point.

Eat 250 extra calories daily for 2 weeks.

If you gain 1 mere pound slowly over that whole time - your prior level was your real TDEE. (and if strength training, won't even be all fat)

If you gain 1 or more pounds faster, then you were eating at suppressed TDEE and your body just added some more glycogen stores, which always go with water. So water weight.

Hopefully by eating more your body will adapt back up.

Also, that idea of interval training to prevent the body from burning calories more efficiently, totally bogus too. Your body will become more efficient, but because on intervals you push as hard as you can, as you get better, you go harder, so you actually burn more, if your weight stayed the same. You make improvements with interval training too that makes it harder and harder to actually obtain it. Since you don't make muscle in a diet, that point is reached when your current level of muscle can't push you any harder, but your weight is dropping. Now you are burning less calories doing it.

[slysam]

It depends what you mean by calorie cycling. I don't like to intentionally do "cheat days", but I will often take a "diet break" once a week when dieting where I eat to maintain that day. I don't do this for any magical reason, but it is mainly to make my weekends a little more enjoyable as I like to eat out with friends or family and enjoy a glass or two of wine. I can do that (with moderation) with my maintenance level allowance but not when eating at even a modest deficit (but my BMR is low and am fairly close to goal). Also, I think it may help with metabolism, but am not sure. Sometimes I will do this two weekend days and to make up for it have a slightly larger deficit one day in the week. I find for medium-to-long term loss it seems to be more about the weekly deficit than the daily. So I guess that is calorie cycling. I think it is more a personal choice than anything. I also take diet breaks where I just maintain for a while. part of the reason I do this si I get tired of dieting and at some point results stall so I can't stay motivated. I don't want to undo my hard work, so instead of going all out I just try to maintain for a while. Usually when I go back to dieting, the stall has ended. I still weigh myself when taking a break and still exercise.

[slysam]

One thing with the type of "cycling" I sort of naturally do (eating to maintain once or twice a week and possibly eating with a larger deficit once a week). Long term it seems effective for me so I am not overeating, but my day to day fluctuations are a bit more than if I do a straight deficit or am just maintaining. Usually my weight seems lower after the larger deficit day and it is almost always a bit higher after the maintenance level eating day. I've been on a maintenance break since before Christmas and am surprised how little my weight fluctuates day to day compared to when I am dieting. I often weigh myself daily so I notice the ups and downs. With cycling my ups and downs are usually within a 3 calorie range and I typically log the low weight of the week as my "official weight" so only count a loss when the weekly low decreases. I think varying intake seems to cause a little more variation in fluid retention and release for me--though it may be that my maintenance days are usually eating out and likely involve more sodium than I usually eat.

[sarakalex]

I dont do this exactly. But I do. I watch my calories pretty carefully and log them on fit bit. I may be perfect for a few days but then if I want something i will have it. I dont overdue it or take a full binge day but when I am hungry I eat or when I want something i get it. I think depriving the body is what creates the plateaus. I have lost 4 pounds since may of last year without anything more intense than my fitbit and counting. 

[TandemWalker]

I don't believe in dieting, and I don't believe in cycling. I eat what I want, when I want; and if I happen to consume more than what my food plan calls for, then I catch up by burning more, either the same day or the next.

The following link offers an explanation of some of the concepts discussed here. Albeit very short, I think it nails the definitions down pretty nicely - Controlling weight.

Cheers!