Should I eat all calories to maintain?

kfrank2793

I’ve been maintaining my weight for the past 3 years using MFP. I’m curious though, when trying to maintain my weight, should I always be aiming to eat all of my daily allotted calories? I find myself sometimes accidentally losing weight because I don’t always use them all.

Specifically I struggle with “cheat meals”. Every Saturday I tend to loosen my meal choices and not count calories, have some cocktails and maybe even a dessert. But then the following Sunday/Monday I try to eat less in order to make up for my Saturday calories. Am I supposed to eat less the following day? And by how much? I usually try to leave around 300 left over.

Tips on what to do?

sijomial

I don't understand - you have been maintaining for 3 years eating in a way you presumably enjoy so why do you feel the need to change?

What would be the benefit to you in imposing a strict daily goal as opposed to what is effectively a weekly goal that has allowed you to maintain so far?

cmriverside

If you don't want to "accidentally" lose weight, then eat more.

Pretty simple, really.

AnnPT77

In maintenance, I "calorie bank": Eat a little less than maintenance most days, in order to eat more indulgently once a week or so. That's the eating pattern I enjoy.

Now that I'm in year 4+ of maintenance, I don't always log the higher days. (It mostly depends on how difficult it would be to do so, not so much because of wanting to relax from logging - I don't find normal logging stressful or onerous . . . but if the indulgence was a potluck or Indian restaurant buffet or something complicated like that, I may not bother, feeling the time to do it isn't worthwhile for the accuracy I could achieve). As long as my weight doesn't get too high, I don't worry about it. If it gets up beyond a comfortable level, I cut back on the frequency/magnitude of indulgences.

It seems like this is basically the same thing you're doing, but you're thinking of it differently (not saying that's a good or bad thing, just pointing it out): Where I think in terms of calorie banking to save up for more indulgent meals/days, you seem to be thinking of relaxing and having a cheat meal/day and then wanting to make up for it.

It seems like it amounts to the same thing, in practical external terms . . . unless your routine is causing you to lose more weight than you want to lose.