"Banking" calories during the week to allow for planned overage

Dreysander

I've heard about people doing that. Does it actually work?

WinoGelato

Weight loss doesn't happen on a 24 hour clock, there are many things over the course of a week, month, etc that impact your weight in the short term (water retention, hormonal fluctuations, etc). It's the overall calorie deficit and trends over time that add up to long term sustainable weight loss.

To answer your original question, yes you can bank calories and still lose weight. I often eat 100-200 cals under my goal during the week because I have an event or know I will be eating more on the weekends. That gives me a buffer of 500 to 1000 extra calories if I do it every day and use them on the weekend.

Now with that said, I think if you had a lower calorie goal to begin with (1200 for example) going under that regularly would not be advisable since you may have difficulty getting in adequate nutrition on the lower days.

_Figgzie_

yep the idea is to calculate your weekly caloric requirements and average it out to give yourself some eating freedom.........for instance if you eat 2000 calories per day for maintenance, you could eat 1600 one day/2000 the next/2400 the next and you would still average 2000 for those 3 days. You could also have a very low calorie day at 1000 one day during the week and then eat 3000 one day later during the week to still average 2000 per day. It does work and it allows for some much needed flexibility.

dutchandkiwi

I am with @WinoGelato on this one. I don't bank really, but if I know something special, like a birthday, is coming up I ensure that during the week before and after I stay a little lower so I can have that piece of cake to celebrate if I want to. It is almost second nature now.
What I do do is export my data to Excel and analyse them. I make a graph using moving average over 7 days - a week) and as long as that line stays nicely within my goal I am happy.

sijomial

Yes it works - a great way to make your diet fit your lifestyle rather than feel resticted all the time trying to make your lifestyle fit your diet.
It's really quite a strange concept to try and eat the same every day!

ElizabethOakes2

Kinda like my real-life financial habits, I don't bank for rainy days, but instead work harder to 'pay off' my debt later. If it fits your lifestyle, and you feel comfortable with it, do it. As others have said, it's your total balance that will make the difference in the long run, and if you deny yourself treats, it will only make you want them more.

HardcoreP0rk

It's an excellent plan that is full of win. It totally works. Just don't take the financial analogy too far... I mean you don't want to bank for weeks or anything...

rankinsect

As long as it isn't psychologically problematic, it isn't physically problematic. Some people can end up in unhealthy cycles of binging and restricting by following this sort of plan. As long as that isn't a problem for you, go for it if it helps you.

MelaniaTrump

I love doing this to allow for my drinking night. And, if unexpectedly I go out and overeat, I subtract the calories from my next 3 days of eating. Ex: Add Calories -500 and keep carrying it over until its 0.

toe1226

rankinsect wrote: »

As long as it isn't psychologically problematic, it isn't physically problematic. Some people can end up in unhealthy cycles of binging and restricting by following this sort of plan. As long as that isn't a problem for you, go for it if it helps you.

this! I say never bank more than 100 cals in per day. no treat is worth being hungry over for days. Also, if you're exercising (which I know you are!) then, a treat or bigger day won't mean so much in a week of eating at TDEE and exercising...