Calorie shifting is a type of diet that works under the assumption that you can boost your metabolism by constantly changing your caloric intake. Proponents of this diet contend that the body eventually adapts to the limited number of calories often seen in standard weight-loss plans. This leads to a plateau where weight loss ultimately stops. By shifting the number of calories you eat each day, it's thought to keep the body guessing and subsequently prevent the metabolism from slowing down.
Diet
Calorie shifting starts like any other diet. On the first day, limit your caloric intake and on the second day, reduce it even further. On the third day, diverge and eat more calories than the day before. From there, continue to shift your caloric intake, consuming more or less calories than the day prior.
Along with the shift of calories, you also increase the frequency of your meals by eating four to six smaller meals throughout the day of varying caloric values. Like shifting, this is thought to keep the body guessing, tricking your metabolism to stay high to burn the excess fat.
Exercise
Besides shifting calories, you also increase your level of physical activity. Most calorie shifting diets ask you to get at least 30 minutes of moderately intense cardio most days of the week. This can be any activity of your choosing. Walking, biking, swimming, jogging or taking part in an organized sport, such as tennis, racquetball, soccer or basketball, can all serve this purpose. The increase in physical activity helps you burn the calories you can't cut from your diet, thereby making weight loss that much easier.
Results
When done right, calorie shifting can help you lose weight. Just shifting your caloric intake from day to day won't cause you to lose weight. You still need to generate what's known as a caloric deficit. It takes a deficit of 3,500 calories to lose 1 lb. of fat. If you don't reach this deficit, you won't lose the weight, regardless of what you do to boost your metabolism.
Metabolism
While your diet can affect your metabolism, shifting calories won't likely do much to increase the calories you burn at any given time. In fact, your basal metabolic rate, which accounts for 60 to 75 percent of the calories your body burns, isn't easily changed, notes MayoClinic.com. Constantly shifting your caloric intake won't change how you metabolize food or use the energy from this food. This isn't to say calorie shifting won't work, because it can, but it won't likely boost the metabolism.
References
- Diets In Review.com: Calorie Shifting
- Men's Total Fitness; Calorie Shifting; Matt Fischer
- MedlinePlus; Tips for Losing Weight; October 2009
- MayoClinic.com; Metabolism and Weight Loss: How You Burn Calories; October 2009
- MayoClinic.com; Metabolism: What's the Best Way to Boost It?; Katherine Zeratsky; January 2010
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