Use Calorie Cycling for Better Weight Loss

Using calorie cycling for weight loss can be a more effective way to achieve your fat loss goals than the typical consistent daily calorie deficit.

What is Calorie Cycling?

Calorie cycling is one of many methods for achieving weight loss. Instead of creating a daily 500 calorie deficit, you instead create varying days of calorie deficits mixed in with days of calorie surplus. Doing so has many benefits. Some of these include:

• Resetting of Hunger Hormones – “Hunger” hormones like leptin and ghrelin are reset after periodic refeeds.

• Psychological Boost – Being able to eat higher calorie days and feel full can help you mentally during prolonged calorie restriction.

• Improved Insulin Sensitivity – Lower calorie days can improve insulin sensitivity which can help you reap the anabolic benefits of insulin on the days you increase you carbohydrate and calorie intake.

• Acceleration of Fat Loss – When all your hormones are optimized, you have the potential to lose more fat.

Look at Your Calorie Intake Over a Week – Not Day

Most of us approach weight loss by cutting a certain amount of calories and then eating that amount every single day. When weight loss stalls, you cut them some more. Calorie cycling for weight loss takes a different approach. Instead of approaching weight loss and calorie intake on a day to day timeline, you instead look at it over a period of time – like a week.

For example, let’s say you need 2,000 calories per day to maintain your current weight. Generally speaking, cutting your calories by 500 per day will result in weight loss of 1 pound over a week (500 * 7 = 3500 calories = 1lb). Eating 1500 calories a day means we end up eating 10,500 calories over the course of a week (1500 * 7 = 10,500). How many different ways can we get in 10,500 calories over the course of a week? There are many possibilities. Some of these might be:

• 1200, 1200, 2100, 1200, 1200, 1200, 2400
• 1400, 1400, 1400, 1400, 1400, 1400, 2100
• 1500, 1200, 1200, 1700, 1200, 1200, 2500

In reality, the possibilities are endless. However, every single one of these will net you the same 10,500 calories over the course of the week. The end result on your weight could be very different from one scenario to the next because your metabolism could be a changing variable. And this is what we are aiming to achieve – a maximized metabolism so that our fat loss continues and doesn’t plateau.

How to Implement Calorie Cycling for Weight Loss

My preferred method for calorie cycling is to have 2 calorie surplus days each week. Calorie intake tends to look something along the lines of – low, low, med, low, low, low, high. When I do it, I also cycle my carbohydrate intake. To give you a better idea, here is what I do:

• Monday: 1500 calories – Protein, fat, and veggies only
• Tuesday: 1500 calories – Protein, fat, and veggies only
• Wednesday: 2700 calories – Protein, fat, veggies, and 300 grams of carbohydrates
• Thursday: 1500 calories – Protein, fat, and veggies only
• Friday: 1500 calories – Protein, fat, and veggies only
• Saturday: 1500 calories – Protein, fat, and veggies only
• Sunday: 4500 calories – More protein, more fat, and about 300-400 grams of carbohydrates

All of this averages out to 2100 calories per day. It also averages out to about 100 grams of carbohydrates per day and 1 gram per pound of body weight in protein per day. The rest of the calories are filled with healthy fats.

You certainly don’t have to cycle your carbohydrate intake when you do calorie cycling. I just feel like it works better, as I’m able to keep a better hormonal profile that is conducive to fat loss – lower insulin levels, higher growth hormone, higher leptin levels, etc.

Give calorie cycling for weight loss a try and see how it works out for you. You might just find that it fits your lifestyle better, and improves your fat loss too.