Calorie averaging

Kotuliak

There are days when I go over my calorie limit, often by 600-700 calories. When that happens, I have two rules:

1. I always exercise on the day when I plan to go over.
2. On the day before and the day after I will try to have a calorie deficit to offset the feast day, i.e. ~400 calories each day.

The second rule assumes that metabolism understands calorie averaging and that the excesses of the one day will be compensated for by the deficit on the days before and after.

Does it work this way, or should I simply accept the fact that I have gone over my calorie limit and move on without trying to offset it?

BarackMeLikeAHurricane

As long as you have a weekly calorie deficit you'll lose weight. Being +600 one day and -600 is the same as hitting your goal both days.

DopeItUp

As long as you have a weekly calorie deficit you'll lose weight. Being +600 one day and -600 is the same as hitting your goal both days.

Basically, yes. You have to view your calorie intake over the long term; weeks or months. If you eat +600 one day you might store a little fat, and then the next day when you're -600 you'll burn that extra fat.

Having said that, just a word of advice that works for me. When I go over, I just write it off. It doesn't matter if I went 3000 over. All that means is that my weight loss will be a little slower that week. I found that if I try to constantly compensate, it becomes a sort of vicious cycle. Oh no, I ate 500 extra calories today. So I'll eat 500 less calories tomorrow, right? Except tomorrow, since I'm 500 calories short, my body will be all "WTF?!" and I'll be starving and miserable all day. Then on the third day I'll stuff myself because I starved myself the previous day. And then....well you get the point. Long story short, eating 500 calories more one day doesn't make you 500 calories less hungry the next day. Try to avoid that trap.

TL;DR - Being miserable and hungry as penance for a prior bad day is a great way to make you give up on your weight loss efforts. Long-term adherence is the key to weight loss, not random misery and suffering.

RachelGrace1

This is generally what I do, and I do it because it puts me in control. It is a viscous cycle though, but I try not to do anything too extreme. I have read that calorie cycling is a type of diet and it works to keep your body guessing without letting it get comfortable at a certain calorie intake. So hopefully it all works out in the end. Weight loss is a process, and one day won't make much difference in the long run