Calorie shifting -- works or doesn't?

I'm a recovered/recovering ED-NOS girl and had a long period of anorexic tendencies -- which seems to be par for the course for a lot of people on here, but my question is, does the calorie shifting strategy work long term and has anyone tried it with success? I ask this based on the old stand-by of 2468 that a lot of people used to recommend in pro-ED forums (ewwww, sorry to even bring that up). It's also been recommended by sites like "FatLoss4Idiots".

[Edit]: Wait, this may require a bit of explanation: calorie-shifting is where you eat a different number of calories each day and then repeat the cycle in order to keep your metabolism from plateauing, as 'twere. Like eating 1100 calories one day, 1300 the next, 1500 the next, 1700 the next, and then starting over.

It's called zig zag around here.  And how anyone anywhere eats exactly 1300 cal per day is beyond me.  Some days I'm over and some days I'm under by as much as 200 calories.

How long have you been doing it?

I zig zag and have been for the past 9 months and I have lost almost 80 lbs.   I really do think that I can do this forever because I am never deprived and when i really want to eat something I just go ahead and eat it.  I zig zig by eating really well during the week and slipping up on the weekends.  Some times I go two straight weeks eating only 1600 calories or so a day. Some times I go three straight days eating 3000 calories a day.  it just depends on what I have going on.  They say you can not save up un-used calories but that is exactly what I do.  I just pay really close attention to what my average daily calories are over the past 7 days and for the month as a whole.  Some times i have to eat really low calorie for the last week of the month but to make sure I am under my average that I have set.  I lost 11 lds in the past 30 days and I was positive that i did not lose any weight because of a 4 day eating and drinking bender that I had over the 4th of July.  My metabolism has no idea what I am doing at all times so even though this sounds ridiculas I think that when I have a bad three or four day stretch I actualy lose more weight because my body just gobbles up those extra clories and spits them out.  And right when it thinks I am going to consume that many calories again i go ahead and eat only 1600 calories for 5 days.  I also try to eat really high fiber and protein no matter what day it is.

I love it, this really works for me

Original Post by coatesuwyo:

They say you can not save up un-used calories but that is exactly what I do.  

I believe that with Weight Watchers' point system you can save up "points" but I've never done WW so I'm not sure.

Also, to the original poster, out of curiosity . . . what did you mean by the "standard 2468" plan? If it's pro-ED then I'm assuming it's not healthy, I just don't know what it is.

Original Post by acerria:

Also, to the original poster, out of curiosity . . . what did you mean by the "standard 2468" plan? If it's pro-ED then I'm assuming it's not healthy, I just don't know what it is.

 I was curious too and I googled it. It actually brought me right back here.

http://www.calorie-count.com/forums/post/1769 2.html

OP: Yes, I have found that calorie shifting, or zig-zagging, works pretty well for me.