According to the book, "Crack the Fat-Loss Code: Outsmart Your Metabolism and Conquer the Diet Plateau," when your body adjusts to a certain amount of calories over an extended period of time, your metabolism also adjusts accordingly. Calorie shifting is a diet technique that aims to confuse your metabolism so that it does not adjust to any specific caloric intake. Many diets use calorie shifting systems to make the diet plan more effective. However, clinical research does not support this dieting technique to facilitate weight loss. As with any dieting technique, however, you should speak to a medical professional prior to attempting any calorie shifting.
What is Calorie Shifting?
According to the book "The Alternate-Day Diet," you can apply calorie shifting to any type of diet. First, determine your approximate caloric intake for an entire week. Using your weekly caloric intake, create a staggering schedule that disproportionately divides these calories daily over the entire week. For example, if your approximate caloric intake for the week is 14,000 calories, you may consume 1,000 calories on day one and 3,000 calories on day two. The idea is to divide the calories unevenly throughout the week without going over the weekly calorie total.
Programs
You do not need to use any specific diet plan or program to make calorie shifting work. You can apply this system to your regular eating habits. According to the book "The Alternate-Day Diet," the basic prerequisite for calorie shifting is to consume the same amount of calories every week without going over while varying your daily intake.
Confusing Your Metabolism
According to the book "Sports and Exercise Nutrition," confusing how the systems in your body adapt to a certain regimen is a popular technique used by athletes such as endurance runners, swimmers and bodybuilders. For example, the book states bodybuilders use muscle confusion training principles to support constant muscle growth. During certain training periods, bodybuilders want to increase caloric content to gain weight and build muscle. On the other hand, during certain training periods, bodybuilders want to reduce caloric intake to reduce fat and support lean muscle growth. Calorie shifting applies the same principle by confusing your metabolism. If your body does not know how much food it will receive, your metabolism will not have time to adjust or slow down. This confusion will continue as long as your food intake varies daily.
Does It Work?
Clinical evidence does not support calorie shifting for weight loss. According to a study published in the 1989 "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition," calorie shifting does not support weight loss more effectively than traditional diets that require you to eat the same amount of calories daily. Additionally, calorie shifting did not effect fat loss or result in changes to resting metabolic rates. However, the study also found that calorie shifting did not directly hinder weight loss efforts.
References
- "Crack the Fat-Loss Code"; Wendy Chant; 2008
- "The Cheat to Lose Diet"; Joel Marion; 2008
- "The Alternate-Day Diet"; James B. Johnson M.D; 2008
- "The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Evaluation of an Alternating-Calorie Diet With and Without Exercise in the Treatment of Obesity; JO Hill, et al.; 1989
- "Sports and Exercise Nutrition"; William D. McArdle, et al.; 2008
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