Question about calories in/out

lauramdx4

If you are over (way over lol) calories 3 days at the beginning of the week but make a big deficit the remaining days... is that considered calories in/calories out or is that a day by day thing... I never really understood

rainbowbow

Calories consumed only really matter over a long period of time. This is why consistency is so incredibly important.

You can certainly eat less over the next few days. There are actually some diets (such as 5:2) which use this principal.

Seffell

Calories in calories out means that to lose weight you need to consume less calories than you burn. It also means that to gain weight you need to consume more calories than you burn. It also means that to maintain your weight you need to consume the same amount of calories as you burn. Not sure what you mean by is that considered calories in calories out. The question doesn't mean anything stated that way.

RoxieDawn

Trending your weight over 4 - 6 weeks is where you true loss or gain will be seen, take all the situations that occurred in your weeks leading up to your weigh in day and that will tell you spot on if any weeks you were in or out of a calorie deficit to indeed lose or gain.

This is why food consumed and what is logged in your diary need to be consistent and honest..

side note and to elaborate on @rainbowbow : 5:2 IF protocol allows you eat low calories (500 calories) 2 days a week (to create your weekly deficit) but you eat maintenance on the other alternating days. So if you wanted to take the rest of the week and fast like this for 2 days (not consecutive, alternating) it might work to even you out for the week..

TavistockToad

i look at my weekly goal... so 3 days over, 4 days under, if it evens out to hit your goal, you're fine.

trigden1991

Using a weekly average is a very useful tool.

kathrynjean_

Yes, think about your average intake over a week. Many people on here will "bank" calories for special occasions or even weekends by eating at a slightly bigger deficit during the week.

The one thing that I will say is that if you go way over on calories one day, in my experience it can be better to just eat at your goal the next day or take off an extra 100 cals or so. I find that if I have a big calorie day and then try to compensate with a really low day, it leads to a vicious cycle of bingeing or overeating. Obviously, that's not the case for everyone as many people have success with IF. But I guess what I'm trying to say is you don't need to deprive yourself if you eat over your goal. Just get back on track and move on.

crzycatlady1

I did a form of IF for my weight loss phase and focused on weekly vs daily (I was rotating between vlc days and then maintenance level days). Now, obviously if your higher days are canceling out the deficit from your lower calorie days then you're just spinning your wheels, but if you still follow the calorie deficit you need per week to meet your weight loss goals you'll be fine. Some people find that eating a few less calories during the week and then rolling those into the weekends are very helpful, that's actually what I do for my maintenance plan.

ahoy_m8

Another person who averages CICO over the week, here. "Calorie banking" is trimming calories early in the week so that you can eat more on the weekend and still stay on goal for the week. It's kind of the opposite of what you described, but same idea.

OP, honestly, my advice would be to take heart, learn about yourself from the experience, and start with a clean slate. As kathrynjean noted, over-restricting is THE FASTEST WAY for me personally to set myself up for another binge. The binge-restrict cycle is a real headache you do not need. The way to break the cycle, or prevent it, is simply not to over-restrict.