Do you ever do less of a deficit on certain days?

Losingthedamnweight

I usually do a 1,000 calorie deficit but I worked out hard today and feel like I could have a tiny break. I’m thinking about just going with a 500 calorie deficit. Do you guys ever do that? I figure hey. It’s better than just totally falling off and binge eating everything in the house

MegaMooseEsq

I eat at maintenance once or twice a week. It's your average over time that really matters for weight loss, not your precise 24 hour deficit. And besides, if you're working out hard, you should be fueling that workout, right?

jennybearlv

I rarely eat the same calories twice. As long as my weekly net average comes out somewhere near my target I'm happy.

toxikon

I count any day that I'm eating under my TDEE a win. I'm not in a big rush.

HoneyBadger302

I go with my body's needs. If I'm freaking hungry, then I will go ahead and eat at (or perhaps even above if I'm THAT hungry) maintenance a day or two a week. Sure, maybe not the fastest way to lose weight, but I'd rather have the energy to do everything I want/need to do than to be too tired to get it done or have my workouts suffer!

That being said, I try not to eat just for the sake of eating, too, even if it's part of my daily intake, if I'm not hungry, then stop when I'm full.

TonyB0588

Yes. No two days of mine are exactly the same.

Wynterbourne

I average my calories weekly and have lost 130 lbs. No two days are the same and I would go insane trying to eat the exact same calories daily. Your body doesn't know when 24 hours have passed and go, "Oh, time to reset to zero and start counting again." Nothing wrong with daily differences as long as the average is where it needs to be.

lorrpb

You should eat more on days you exercise. It's generally recommended to eat back about half your exercise calories, especially since you're already in a large deficit.

RoxieDawn

By not eating your exercise calories you just increase your daily deficit further. MFP is designed for you eat back your exercise calories, start out with 1/2 of them, if you lose weight slower or faster than expected rate of less adjust them accordingly.

Tacklewasher

Losingthedamnweight wrote: »

I usually do a 1,000 calorie deficit but I worked out hard today and feel like I could have a tiny break. I’m thinking about just going with a 500 calorie deficit. Do you guys ever do that? I figure hey. It’s better than just totally falling off and binge eating everything in the house

Is your 1000 cal deficit after adding in exercise calories?

But short answer is yes. Some days I just am damn hungry or going out for a nice dinner and *kitten* it, I'm eating more. I try to keep my rolling 7 day total at or under my goal but will have a big day now and then.

Look at my last Friday for what I had while watching the Canada Juniors win Gold

bbell1985

I eat around maintenance one day per week.

Christine_72

Yesterday I was 328 calories over at the end of the day, but the day before i was 483 calories under, hence my raging hunger yesterday! My calories are never the same day in day out, but it all evens out in the end.

As someone else mentioned, I count any day under my TDEE a success I could never in a million years maintain a 1000 calorie deficit on a daily basis though, this would guarantee a binge day for me...

LightlySaltedAndrea

Oh definitely! ~listen to your body~ If my tummy is ravenous, you better believe there won't be too much of a deficit, but if for some reason my appetite is diminished, I'm making the most of that blue moon

Pootler74

Yep,

Currently, I have bigger deficits through the week and eat over maintenance at the weekend. It all averages out to a bigger deficit that I was able to cope with when I was eating the same number of calories every day. Because I find this surprisingly easier than trying to eat the same number of calories every day. Life isn't the same every day. At the weekends I want to eat and drink with friends and family. Knowing there's beer and crisps on Saturday helps me to eat yet another salad through the week.

paperpudding

Yes, my intake varies because life varies.

Like PP above, my aim is for weekly amount to be around the target.

sijomial

I lost my excess weight with five days a week at maintenance and that maintenance amount varied enormously in line with my exercise calories.

staticsplit

I try to eat closer to maintenance on days I lift and then a small deficit on rest days. I'm aiming for recomp/very slow losing.

callsitlikeiseeit

if i have a day where im ravenous.... sure. ill eat closer to maintenance. it doesnt happen often though. i eat back up to half of my estimated workout calories if i want them.

Christine_72

Somebody needs to learn what the woo button means :huh:

hesn92

Yes I do. If I’m especially hungry. Or if I’m going out to eat or something. I going on vacation all next week and I just won’t log because it’ll be too much of a pain.

LizPalen412

I definitely have days where I'm hungrier than others, so I will eat a little more sometimes. As long as I have SOME sort of deficit, I'm satisfied.. and I also have days where I don't eat all my calories because I'm just not particularly hungry that day, so I think it all evens out. Like others have said, it's your average over time, so I think it's fine to adjust your goal from day to day as needed, and it is much better than a binge and just saying F it and not tracking or something like that. Helps you stay in control.

tcunbeliever

I calorie cycle, so I deliberately eat more on the strength training days and less on the non-strength days.

MegaMooseEsq

Christine_72 wrote: »

Somebody needs to learn what the woo button means :huh:

That or they just really hate the idea of anyone ever eating at maintenance while trying to lose weight. I genuinely do not understand why some people thinks your body runs on a strict 24-hour clock. The planet doesn't even run on a strict 24-hour clock!

Slasher09

Yep. Some days I just feel literally weak with hunger. I eat more, sometimes at maint and on one or two occasion I've purposefully eaten a surplus. I'm consistently under for the week and I am losing and eating more on days I feel I need it makes me less likely to quit completely or get too strict and restrictive