Same Amount of Calories on Rest Days??

ashzacher

Hi everyone! This question is similar to the 'do you eat back your calories?' thread..

For those of you that work out consistently for long periods of time, do you eat the same amount of calories on rest days as you do workout days? For example, my calories are set to 1300 to lose .5-1 pound per week. I have no problem staying at 1300 most days, but I do eat back some of my exercise calories each day. I eat mostly lean proteins, whole grains, fruits & veggies. I usually do 30 min of cardio and 30 min lifting each workout, 5-6 times a week. On weekends I may do more and I may be at the gym for 1.5 hours. So I probably eat 1500-1600 calories when I work out so that I am eating back some/most of my calories. I also try to stay within my macros - 45% carbs, 30% protein, 25% fat.

So, my question -- If you have a rest day, do you try to stay within your given 1300, or do you just eat, say, 1800 (assuming you usually burn 500 cals from a workout..) every day?

bwogilvie

My net calorie goal is currently 1400. I work out 4-5 days a week for highly variable amounts of time, from 30 minutes to 3 hours. Cycling is my main exercise, so I tend to do short 30-60 minute rides during the week, with longer 1.5-3 hour rides on the weekends (though in the winter, when I'm mostly inside, I find it hard to do more than 75 minutes on my rollers without being bored to death).

On days when I exercise, I tend to eat back most but not all of my exercise calories. On days when I don't, I usually go a little over my 1400 goal. But I don't have a hard and fast rule. As long as it all balances out at the end of the week, I'm happy. If I know I'm going out with friends, I'll eat under my net goal for a few days before, so I can enjoy myself with dessert and maybe an extra beer.

(There have been a couple days when my net calories were negative: last August 24, when I ate 3122 calories and burned 3228, and last October 13, when I ate 3260 and burned 4284. But those were all-day cycling events, and I had carb loaded before them and then ate more for a couple days after them, too.)

cwolfman13

I use the TDEE method which give me a set amount of calories per day. TDEE is not really about your day to day...it's more about what you're doing over the course of a week. I've been maintaining for about 8 months or so...and I have some days where I'm in a surplus and some days I'm in a deficit depending on the particular activity that day...but it all nets out over the course of a week or so. I eat between 2700 - 2800 calories per day regardless of whether it is a rest day or workout day. I workout 6 days per week and take 1 rest day.

If you are using the MFP method and exercise is NOT accounted for in your activity level then you would simply net to your calorie goal...which would be greater on workout days and less on rest days.

If you are including exercise in your activity level I would highly recommend using an actual TDEE calculator and customizing your goals here. To get the correct calorie goal here I have to say that I'm very active...on the TDEE calculator I use it is basically an average of light and moderate active.