Q: Calorie increase every 2/3 weeks - good for weight loss?

[RikkiHoon]

Hi everyone,

This is one for the experts:

I read in Muscle and Fitness mag. that increasing your calorie intake 'dramatically' for one day every 2 or 3 weeks can help with weight loss by 'resetting' your metabolism and restoring levels of calorie burning thyroid hormone, which declines as a result of dieting. Is this true? I don't mean to discredit this information, but I have never come across it before.

Does anyone know anything about this?

Cheers...!

[Emma-Leigh]

Hi everyone,

This is one for the experts:

I read in Muscle and Fitness mag. that increasing your calorie intake 'dramatically' for one day every 2 or 3 weeks can help with weight loss by 'resetting' your metabolism and restoring levels of calorie burning thyroid hormone, which declines as a result of dieting. Is this true? I don't mean to discredit this information, but I have never come across it before.

Does anyone know anything about this?

Cheers...!

A lot of people suggest this - and there are a lot of things that impact on what exactly is required and how much effect it will have.

However - generally speaking, having a time of increased calories every so often can help... They are known as "refeeds" and are often incorporated into diets (NOT the same as 'cheats'). It is not an excuse for an all-out pig fest - and usually it just means a much higher intake of 'clean' carbohydrates, a moderate amount of protein and a low fat intake. These types of re-feeds have the most success in terms of re-setting the hormonal changes of dieting.

But the degree to which your metabolism will slow when dieting depends on a lot of things - how lean you are, what your calorie intake is, what your activity level is... etc etc... So not everyone requires this type of thing and different people require the days at different frequencies and lengths.

Also - there is debate about just how effective a single day of refeeding would be in terms of altering your leptin/thyroid hormone - it is suggested that a few days is much better (2 days).

[RikkiHoon]

Thanks, Emma. I have heard of 'refeeds', but I never knew what they were.

Maybe I'll give it a try in a week or two. But I suppose it is relatively difficult to tell if it has had any effect, right?!

[Emma-Leigh]

Thanks, Emma. I have heard of 'refeeds', but I never knew what they were.

Maybe I'll give it a try in a week or two. But I suppose it is relatively difficult to tell if it has had any effect, right?!

It is hard to determine their exact effects on your hormone levels (and, as I said before, it depends on just how hard and long you have been dieting as to the actual hormone alterations that you will have)...

But if you actually NEED a refeed (and assuming you re-fed correctly) then you would get temperary relief of a number of signs.... For example:
Decrease in the overwhelming hunger associated with low leptin
You would probably sleep well for a couple of nights
Your body temperature would increase back towards normal (for a few days at least)
Your energy levels would come back up (you would stop feeling like crap)
You would actually give a damn about things other than food

Stuff like that...

[RikkiHoon]

Emma,

Wow! I haven't had any of those feelings yet! I eat about 5 portion-controlled meals a day and eat really healthily, don't drink (at the moment - off for 3 months) or smoke etc., so I feel bloody good right now and never crave any food , have problems sleeping or anything like that. I guess that's my body telling me that all is good and there is no need for a re-feed.
Thanks for the info. though, Emma!

[Alaric]

Thanks for the good read Emma!

I didn't realize those were refeeds. The way I've done in the past was, I'd cut for a week , then bulk for the next week, then cut, then bulk. I don't know if that's refeeding or not, but it helped me with my bulk way back (I gained 3 lbs in those 4 weeks, and I seemed leaner than I started out).

[Emma-Leigh]

Thanks for the good read Emma!

I didn't realize those were refeeds. The way I've done in the past was, I'd cut for a week , then bulk for the next week, then cut, then bulk. I don't know if that's refeeding or not, but it helped me with my bulk way back (I gained 3 lbs in those 4 weeks, and I seemed leaner than I started out).

That is not re-feeding. That sounds more like the ABCDE type principle (although I believe that is 2 weeks at a time??).

[Alaric]

I'm not actually sure myself Emma, I picked that technique up in an article posted on this site:

If you wanna know what i'm talking about