Calories too low for rest days?

slondro

I apologize if this has already been posted, but I wasn't able to find much on the topic.

I've been lifting weights and regularly doing cardio for several months, but just started with MyFitnessPal in order to have a better handle on what my body needs. Since I have a desk job, my base calories are quite low; however, I burn hundreds of calories on my workout days, generally 5 days a week. For that reason, I'm able to eat decently on workout days, but I'm fairly certain my body needs more nutrition than the default value on rest days (by virtue of the fact that I'm fairly muscular and my body's recovering from workouts).

What's the best way to deal with this? Should I spread my calories out over the week? It seems like MFP would report that I'm going over on all my macros on rest days, and I'd really like to get a streak going. Perhaps I should change the default level of activity setting, even though my actual job involves very little physical activity?

Liftng4Lis

TDEE -20 might be a better option for you.

malibu927

What was the deficit you went with? Your ticker says you only have 10 pounds to lose, so you shouldn't be trying to lose more than half a pound a week. That will give you 250-750 more calories depending on what you chose.

Going over your macros is fine if you're under your calories. Many people look at fat/protein as minimums to hit. And the MFP streak is the number of days in a row you log into the site or the app. It doesn't have to do with logging your food (for instance, I didn't log my food around Christmas, but today was day 400 for me).

slondro

malibu927 wrote: »

What was the deficit you went with? Your ticker says you only have 10 pounds to lose, so you shouldn't be trying to lose more than half a pound a week. That will give you 250-750 more calories depending on what you chose.

Actually, that's a good point. I set it so that I would lose a pound a week, but I suppose there's no rush. I've lost the majority of my excess weight, but have struggled with the last 10 or so pounds--and perhaps that's because my diet's been too restrictive, and I'd always overeat on weekends. Thanks so much for the tip!

malibu927 wrote: »

Going over your macros is fine if you're under your calories. Many people look at fat/protein as minimums to hit. And the MFP streak is the number of days in a row you log into the site or the app. It doesn't have to do with logging your food (for instance, I didn't log my food around Christmas, but today was day 400 for me).

Sorry, I was actually referring to calories as well. But perhaps if I focus more on fat/protein on rest days, I won't be so hungry throughout the day.

slondro

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

TDEE -20 might be a better option for you.

That's something I'll need to look into--thanks for the tip! Out of curiosity, if one were to go with TDEE - 20%, what would be the best way to handle input on MFP?

jenglish712

slondro wrote: »

Liftng4Lis wrote: »

TDEE -20 might be a better option for you.

That's something I'll need to look into--thanks for the tip! Out of curiosity, if one were to go with TDEE - 20%, what would be the best way to handle input on MFP?

I just quit entering my exercise into MFP. It lets you custom set any calorie level.

It was annoying to me anyway to have macros go up by percentages, and the calorie burns were way over. It also feels more natural and I felt like exercising to eat more was setting up a bad relationship with food.

slondro

jenglish712 wrote: »

I just quit entering my exercise into MFP. It lets you custom set any calorie level.

It was annoying to me anyway to have macros go up by percentages, and the calorie burns were way over. It also feels more natural and I felt like exercising to eat more was setting up a bad relationship with food.

You don't say! That sounds like something to try, and it'd definitely level out my calories on rest days as well. Thanks for the pointer.

You know, I feel a bit ambivalent about the concept of exercising to eat more. It does add to my feeling of accomplishment after I get through a nice cardio session, but perhaps frames healthy food as a "reward," when in reality it's a fundamental need.

jenglish712

I still tell myself I am adding calories to my whole week by being active. I just feared the direct reward of eating a set # of calories by doing more cardio sounded a bit eating disordered. I like to think I am eating to exercise rather than the other way around. But don't let my overthinking things bother you if it's not an issue.