Calorie shifting meal plans are a basic component of calorie shifting diet programs, like the Fat Loss 4 Idiots weight management plan. Proponents of calorie shifting contend that by altering the number and type of calories you consume at each meal, you can keep your metabolism burning fat at a higher level. Calorie shifting diets offer followers many advantages, but also disadvantages.
Aspects
Calorie shifting is a weight loss technique that involves regularly changing the amount of calories you consume from meal to meal and from day to day. According to the iFit & Healthy site, by altering your caloric intake in this way, you prevent your metabolism from becoming accustomed to a set amount of calories and force your metabolic rate to continue burning fat for energy at a higher than normal level. Calorie shifting meal plans use this concept of continually changing calorie content by setting out daily menus that rotate the number of calories consumed each day -- on Monday, you might consume 2,400 calories, while on Tuesday you might consume 1,500 calories -- as well as changing the protein, produce and carbohydrates you eat daily.
Types
There are two main types of calorie shifting meal plans: plans that are designed for you by an online menu generator or plans that you design on your own, following basic guidelines. One of the few commercial calorie shifting meal plan generators is Fat Loss 4 Idiots. When you sign up for this plan, you are provided with calorie-shifted menus based on your particular food choices, your current weight and your weight-loss goals.
Calorie shifting meal plans that you create on your own require you to first determine how many calories you consume daily, a figure referred to as your baseline. You can then begin the diet by choosing two days in the diet's first week -- for example, Monday and Thursday -- when you will eat approximately 20 percent less than your baseline caloric intake. The next week, you will choose two different days, like Wednesday and Friday, to eat 15 percent more than your baseline level. It doesn't matter if you begin with an increase in your caloric intake or a decrease. The plan usually goes on for four weeks.
Typical Meal Plans
Diets that recommend calorie shifting meal plans typically advise consuming four meals a day that focus primarily on lean proteins like chicken, lean beef and fish and carbohydrates provided by fruit, vegetables and some bread. Commercial menu generators, such as Fat Loss 4 Idiots, provide detailed food choices that you pick from to assemble your meals. A typical calorie shifting meal plan consists of breakfast, lunch, a late-afternoon meal and dinner. Breakfast might include scrambled eggs and Canadian bacon, while lunch may feature salad greens tossed with low-starch vegetables and chicken breast slices. The late-afternoon meal may consist of a tuna salad made from albacore tuna and low-fat mayonnaise, while a typical dinner could be one or two hard-boiled eggs. This day of meals might be followed by one featuring chicken for breakfast, a fruit salad for lunch, a fish fillet in the late-afternoon and cottage cheese for dinner.
Advantages
With calorie shifting, you do not need to purchase supplements or weight loss aids and the plans emphasize fresh produce, lean proteins and complex carbohydrates. Unlike many weight management programs, calorie shifting meal plans do not require you to give up certain types of foods or nutrients. While you may plan your own meals and menus simply by being certain to alter calorie amounts and the foods you eat daily, using an online calorie shifting diet program can save time.
Disadvantages
Calorie shifting meal plans can be difficult to design on your own and may require you to have a wider variety of foods than you may be accustomed to keeping on hand. If you have a family to cook for, you may find sticking to your meal plan hard, especially on the days in which you are consuming less than your baseline caloric intake. In addition, calorie shifting meal plans are low in carbohydrates -- MayoClinic.com reports that low-carbohydrate diets may be difficult for dieters to stick with in the long run. The site warns that you may simply regain all the weight you lost while following a calorie shifting meal plan after you return to your normal eating habits.
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