Eating balance calories on other days

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mornv
mornv Posts: 7
in Health and Weight Loss
Ok so just wondering if I have left over calories from one day can I shift them to another day. For instance I have been trying to exercise 5 days a week and then take off the weekends. It is hard for me to stay around the 1200 calories I get so I have to exercise to be able to eat more. But generally speaking I don't come near to eating all my calories during the week. So for me on the weekend I tend to eat out more and if I could use some of those extra calories I didn't eat during the week on the weekend that would be ideal. Thinking it will balance out??? What is your experience with this?

Replies

  • jynxxxed
    jynxxxed Posts: 1,010 Member
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    A lot of people go by weekly averages, rather than daily. 1,200 is really low either way though so you might want to reconsider checking your BMR/TDEE out.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Yes, I do this all the time. I eat light throughout the week so I can eat more on the weekends.
  • mornv
    mornv Posts: 7
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    I don't know what a BMR/TDOut means...1200 a day is only if I don't exercise with wanting to lose 2 pounds a week
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
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    Your BMR is the amount of calories you need in a day just to keep alive - run your organs, etc. You really shouldn't eat below that for the long term because it could be damaging. Your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) is what you burn during the day considering your activity level which includes specific exercise as well as all non-exercise activities(NEAT). Many people start on MFP with a really aggressive goal of losing those 2lbs a week and they will be given 1200 calories a day. Unfortunately this isn't enough for some people for various reasons but depending on how much you want to lose, 2 lbs a week is a bit much. So the suggestions are typically either alter your goals to maybe .5 -1 lb/week or use a calculator to figure out your TDEE based on your average weekly exercise levels, use the custom settings on MFP to set your goal to this minus a 10-20% deficit (again, based on how much you hope to lose) and don't eat back your exercise calories.

    That being said, yes, you can look at eating on a weekly basis if that works for you. Personally, I found that when I ate too low on weekdays I tended to go way over board on the weekends and it wasn't balance out properly. I'm a firm member of the "eat the food" club!
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I don't know what a BMR/TDOut means...1200 a day is only if I don't exercise with wanting to lose 2 pounds a week

    BMR - basal metabolic rate ..... calories needed if you were in a coma

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/bmr-calculator.html

    TDEE - total daily expenditure .... calories you use based on activity level (including) exercise

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    If you have at least 75 pounds to lose then 2 pounds a week is a decent goal. If you have much less than 75 pounds to lose, you might need to step your goal down some. When you try to lose weight too fast, you will lose muscle as well as fat.
  • mornv
    mornv Posts: 7
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    Thanks Caseythirteen...You know we don't put the weight on overnight but we want it taken off that way! lol....I really thought 2 pounds a week was a small and realistic number...I am about 50 pounds overweight right now and at that rate it will take me a little over six months to lose it if I am serious...i guess I am so tired of being overweight and unhealthy....It is so hard for me to lose weight, the older I get the harder It gets. I remember when I was younger I could drop 5 lbs in one week starting off. Now I have to exercise hard everyday, stay under my calories and the weight still wants to cling to me. I took a break from my fitness pal for that reason because I was discouraged. I didn't have time to exercise and trying to eat only 1200 a day was extremely difficult. So now I am back up 10 pounds and I could just kick myself. So tracking calories does work, it is just time consuming, so I am exercising now and that helps so I can eat more calories. I guess I love to eat so for me I need to exercise to balance it out. you look great by the way!
  • mornv
    mornv Posts: 7
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    thanks TeaBea I will check it out!
  • mandyneedtolose
    mandyneedtolose Posts: 398 Member
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    You can average your calories out. But becareful that weekends don't undo all the hard work during the week. 3500 calories equal 1 lb! Hope you figure what's best for you :)
  • mornv
    mornv Posts: 7
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    I don't know what a BMR/TDOut means...1200 a day is only if I don't exercise with wanting to lose 2 pounds a week

    BMR - basal metabolic rate ..... calories needed if you were in a coma

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/bmr-calculator.html

    TDEE - total daily expenditure .... calories you use based on activity level (including) exercise

    http://www.fitnessfrog.com/calculators/tdee-calculator.html

    If you have at least 75 pounds to lose then 2 pounds a week is a decent goal. If you have much less than 75 pounds to lose, you might need to step your goal down some. When you try to lose weight too fast, you will lose muscle as well as fat.

    my bmr is 1589 and my tdee is 2463 so if my fitness pal is giving me 1200 calories a day, that does seem low..of course it does add calories when I exercise which gives me motivation to exercsie because I love food! lol
  • mornv
    mornv Posts: 7
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    You can average your calories out. But becareful that weekends don't undo all the hard work during the week. 3500 calories equal 1 lb! Hope you figure what's best for you :)

    yeah thats why it take so long to lose a pound! 3500 calories is a lot! I love the science of it all though! It all makes sense now why it is so hard to lose weight
  • caseythirteen
    caseythirteen Posts: 956 Member
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    That's a pretty high TDEE (lucky you!) so I'm going to guess it includes your exercise. Even if you take 20% off of that for the deficit needed to lose weight, that's 1970 cal/day which is still a really good amount (you would NOT eat back exercise calories which is why many of us log it as 1 calorie). That's just under a 500 cal/deficit a day so could mean about a pound a week. Granted, that's just guesses based on statistics and doesn't work out for everyone, but that's a good guideline to start with. (As long as you put everything accurately in to the calculator too - you might want to try a few.) If you track as accurately as possible, in a month or so you should get a good idea of what is right for you. You'll have a good base of average daily calories and once you compare that to any weight change you'll know where to go. Make sure you take measurements too though - a scale is not always the best indicator of what's going on.

    It sounds like in the past you've fallen in to the cycle that many do of eating 1200 calories, losing weight, not being able to keep at it because it's a really low amount, "falling off the wagon", gaining the weight back, wash, rinse, repeat. Eating more sometimes seems counter productive but, IMO, it's the best way to go for a sustainable and not miserable experience. Sure, it may take longer to lose the weight but considering that you might be more likely to not put it back on, it's shorter in the grand scheme of things. Just some things to think about. I'd suggest doing a TON of reading on the topic - lots of great information out there!

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