Are visions of sugar-plums dancing in your head? While our children wait with bated breath for their presents and treats on Christmas day, those of us trying to control our calories quake.
You know it as well as I do: Eating fewer calories than you burn is non-negotiable in a season of weight loss. It’s how our bodies know to use and burn the fat we’ve stored away.
Of course, other strategies are just as important for weight loss, like balancing your macros, improving your sleep, and strength training. But cutting calories is usually the habit that hurts the most…that is, until you learn a little strategy called Calorie Cycling.
This is the hack to handle high calories on Christmas Day. It makes cutting calories doable even while you enjoy Christmas dinner (and dessert)!
Why You Need to Know About Calorie Cycling
Eating in a caloric deficit every day is hard. But what many of us don’t realize is that you don’t have to be in a deficit every single day. Weight loss is actually determined by your caloric intake across the entire week.
Calorie Cycling gives you flexibility and balance throughout your life so you can stick with your goals and see long-lasting results! With this tool in your weight loss toolbelt, you can eat according to your hunger cues or save up a bank of calories to enjoy on the weekend.
What is Calorie Cycling?
Calorie Cycling is a method of eating that allows you to have a few higher-calorie days while still maintaining your overall caloric deficit. With this method, you can eat a little less throughout the week to make space for more calories on the weekend or follow your own hunger cues.
Hunger changes day to day. If you’re not as hungry on Monday and Tuesday, you can hit your protein goals, eat until you’re full and satiated, and save those leftover calories for days your hunger is stronger.
Let’s look at an example:
During a season of weight loss, imagine you’ve set your personal calorie intake to 1800 a day. Because of weekends, travel, holidays, and events, sometimes it’s really hard to stick to that specific number.
So, using the strategy of Calorie Cycling, you only eat 1600 calories a day on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. That means that you have 800 calories in your caloric bank that you can utilize throughout the weekend and still be in an overall caloric deficit that week.
Instead of eating 1800 calories, you can consume 2200 calories on Saturday and Sunday! At the end of the week, your caloric intake average is still 1800 per day.
That’s the power of calorie cycling! You can use this tool no matter what your personal calorie and macro goals are. Here’s a simple visual of how Calorie Cycling could look if your caloric goal is 1600 per day.
Tips for Successful Calorie Cycling
Like all tools, there are right and wrong ways to use them. Take these four tips into consideration when you use calorie cycling during a season of weight loss.
- On lower calorie days, make sure you’re full and satisfied! No one needs to go hungry to lose weight. Foods that are lower in calories but higher in volume, fiber, and protein ensure that you meet both your caloric goals and your body’s need for satiation!On the other hand, low volume, low protein, high calorie foods can consume all your caloric budget and leave you hungry at the end of the day. Try some of my favorite low-calorie, high-protein foods on your low-calorie days.
- Cycle your calories, stick with your protein. Our bodies can adapt to lower calories on some days and higher calories on others. We can’t, however, adjust to vascilating protein intake. Our bodies do not store extra protein. If you eat more protein than your body can use in one sitting, the excess protein will be broken down and discarded.That means, if you eat too little protein one day, you can’t make it up the next day. For most of us, anything over 40 grams of protein per meal will be discarded. In order to see the best results, stay in a caloric deficit, but make sure you are eating the optimal amount of protein. Your daily protein needs never change!
- Don’t play calorie deficit catch-up. We do a lot better balancing our calories throughout the week and making healthy food choices when we plan ahead versus when we look back. Compare these two stories:
- You went ahead and ordered that second cocktail at happy hour with your girlfriends. The next day, you checked the menu, and found out that those two margaritas put you over your caloric goal by almost 1500 calories! You vow to cut back on your calories for the next five days to make it up.
- At the beginning of the week, you note that you’ll be going out with the girls on Friday. You quickly scan the menu, pick a delicious entree and a cocktail or two that won’t blow past your macros. Yes, the girls night will put you over your daily calorie limit, but you can adjust your calories in the days leading up to Friday. For Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, you plan to eat your favorite lower calorie breakfasts and lunches, giving you that extra room in your calorie bank for Friday.
Which scenario sounds healthier and more sustainable to you? Calorie Cycling is best done when we work ahead. Resist the urge to use it in order to make up for past decisions.
- Aim for balance, not binging. Undereating and overeating aren’t healthy patterns for our bodies. Use Calorie Cycling as a tool to provide more flexibility and balance in your life, not a strategy to starve then binge. If you notice that Calorie Cycling leads you into an unhealthy cycle of restricting then binging, then Calorie Cycling will better serve you as a tool to help you honor your hunger cues. As long as your weekly total is creating a caloric deficit, you can eat a little less or a little more day-to-day depending on your appetite.
How to Calorie Cycle Christmas Week
Starting today, follow this plan and set yourself up for success on Christmas Day.
- Double check your calorie goals: Peak at this free guide to make sure you know how much you should be eating for optimal weight loss.
- Determine your weekly calorie goal: Multiply your daily calorie goal by 7 to determine how many calories you should eat each week.
- Plan Christmas day: Make a rough plan for what you’ll eat on Christmas day, and tally the calories. (Check out these 22 macro-friendly Christmas recipes!)
- Spread out the deficit: How many calories will you likely go over on Christmas day? Divide that number between the other week days. For example, if you think you’ll eat 2600 calories on Christmas, and your daily goal is 1800, plan a menu for Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday that reaches about 1600.
Should You Try Calorie Cycling?
If your goal is weight loss, learning how to live in a caloric deficit is crucial. Strategies like Calorie Cycling, which allows you to have a little less throughout the week and a little more on the weekends, will make cutting calories so much easier.
If you’re struggling to be consistent with your caloric deficit because of the weekends, holidays, travel, and nights out, try Calorie Cycling. See if you’re able to find better management along the way.
For more tools to make weight loss easy and sustainable, join LEAN! I’ll teach you the exact strategies that gave thousands of people like you these surprising results!
