Calorie counting: weekly vs daily

michirusan82

I am just wondering how people felt about looking your calorie intake as weekly. If eating under one day helps balance eating over another day.

stevencloser

You can do that if you want yeah.

knra_grl

I think it would be a little difficult to track and establish healthy eating habits - would you go out of your way to eat low for 4 days so you could binge for 3?

Blue801

I prefer weekly due to the flexibility it allows. It works much better for me.

GuyIncognito123

I think it would be a little difficult to track and establish healthy eating habits - would you go out of your way to eat low for 4 days so you could binge for 3?

I would :happy:

fitandfortyish

I think it would be a little difficult to track and establish healthy eating habits - would you go out of your way to eat low for 4 days so you could binge for 3?

I would :happy:

Me too!:drinker:

streamgirl

See what happens. I tried it but found it didn't work for me.

TR0berts

I think it would be a little difficult to track and establish healthy eating habits - would you go out of your way to eat low for 4 days so you could binge for 3?

Not to "binge" for 3. But to better enjoy time with friends and family, without feeling guilty? Absolutely.

FoxyLifter

I do this nearly every week and I've kept 17 pounds off. I leave about 50-100 calories M-F remaining so Saturday, I can go a little over without stressing.

invisibubble

I track both ways. I add up my leftover and overused calories each sunday and log the result in that day's food comments.

FattyFatsoMcTubby

I think it would be a little difficult to track and establish healthy eating habits - would you go out of your way to eat low for 4 days so you could binge for 3?

That's exactly what I do. If I know I'll be going high one or two days, I "save" calories. I make sure my weekly average is equal to my daily goal. I don't know if it's good or bad, but it's been working for me and I feel great.

trogalicious

a deficit is a deficit.

HappyStack

Depends how you cook and eat, really... but find a method that works for you.

When I'm on a serious no-time-but-gotta-eat cut, I cook food in batches and use the microwave a lot.

So I make a week's worth of brown rice, mixed veggies, chicken breasts, steak, and some fish and put them all in separate containers in the fridge or freezer... because I don't have a lot of space... so I just take a scoop of rice, a scoop of veggies and take "a" chicken breast, or steak or whatever and put it on the plate, warm it up and smother it with hot sauce.

It doesn't matter if I'm over/under due to portion size for the day because I know what the sum total of all that I've cooked is, and I know for the week it will even out to my planned deficit.

J72FIT

I am just wondering how people felt about looking your calorie intake as weekly. If eating under one day helps balance eating over another day.

That's generally how I do it...

knra_grl

Depends how you cook and eat, really... but find a method that works for you.

When I'm on a serious no-time-but-gotta-eat cut, I cook food in batches and use the microwave a lot.

So I make a week's worth of brown rice, mixed veggies, chicken breasts, steak, and some fish and put them all in separate containers in the fridge or freezer... because I don't have a lot of space... so I just take a scoop of rice, a scoop of veggies and take "a" chicken breast, or steak or whatever and put it on the plate, warm it up and smother it with hot sauce.

It doesn't matter if I'm over/under due to portion size for the day because I know what the sum total of all that I've cooked is, and I know for the week it will even out to my planned deficit.

Have to say that's good planning on your part :flowerforyou:

loulamb7

This is what I do and it's been working for me. My net calorie goal is 2540 daily. So I try to net 50-100 calories under for 5-6 days and then have anywhere from 250-600 extra calories on the weekend.

HappyStack

Depends how you cook and eat, really... but find a method that works for you.

When I'm on a serious no-time-but-gotta-eat cut, I cook food in batches and use the microwave a lot.

So I make a week's worth of brown rice, mixed veggies, chicken breasts, steak, and some fish and put them all in separate containers in the fridge or freezer... because I don't have a lot of space... so I just take a scoop of rice, a scoop of veggies and take "a" chicken breast, or steak or whatever and put it on the plate, warm it up and smother it with hot sauce.

It doesn't matter if I'm over/under due to portion size for the day because I know what the sum total of all that I've cooked is, and I know for the week it will even out to my planned deficit.

Have to say that's good planning on your part :flowerforyou:

One of these days I'll make a thread on how to food prep like a pro

craftywitch_63

I hope so. I went over my calorie allowance yesterday by 303 calories. Went out for sashimi which wasn't bad but the cream cheese and crab rangoons (HMMMMMM cream cheese and crab rangoons!) were calorie intense. By the time I've worked out today, I'll probably be under my calorie allowance by about 700 calories, so it should even out for me. I hope!

970Mikaela1

I think it would be a little difficult to track and establish healthy eating habits - would you go out of your way to eat low for 4 days so you could binge for 3?

I would :happy:

Me too!:drinker:

It did not work for me.

MelodyandBarbells

I think it would be a little difficult to track and establish healthy eating habits - would you go out of your way to eat low for 4 days so you could binge for 3?

Since I do a lot of cardio it naturally lays out that way. Less time exercising actually turns into more time stuffing my face. And also eating up all the earned calories right away whether or not I feel like it, just... No

MelodyandBarbells

Depends how you cook and eat, really... but find a method that works for you.

When I'm on a serious no-time-but-gotta-eat cut, I cook food in batches and use the microwave a lot.

So I make a week's worth of brown rice, mixed veggies, chicken breasts, steak, and some fish and put them all in separate containers in the fridge or freezer... because I don't have a lot of space... so I just take a scoop of rice, a scoop of veggies and take "a" chicken breast, or steak or whatever and put it on the plate, warm it up and smother it with hot sauce.

It doesn't matter if I'm over/under due to portion size for the day because I know what the sum total of all that I've cooked is, and I know for the week it will even out to my planned deficit.

Have to say that's good planning on your part :flowerforyou:

One of these days I'll make a thread on how to food prep like a pro

I'll read it!!

suremeansyes

I do this. Weekends are my high days, weekdays I try to vary my low days. On the day I do my heavy lifting I try to consume more calories.

jim180155

I'm 1000 calories under for the week. And for the right price, I'm willing to sell them.

Sjenny5891

I do it on a regular basis especially when I know I have a party or something coming up that I'll want to "splurge" on. Just leave a note in your comments section of the log so you know how much you have to work with.

I also log my meals for work when I pack my bag and anything I don't eat gets put in a container just in case I end up with the munchies later on in the week. I figure I've already logged it so it's a freebie.

ClaudiaTheNice

Oh...I hadn't even thought about that. But I think that would work for me. Specially when I switch to maintenance and don't want to be so strict all the time.

kcasey155

Yes, I work week by week. If I level it out everyday I seem to hit plateaus where my weight doesn't move. By keeping my calorire intake jumping up and down daily it seems to keep my body guessing and the weightloss steady. Plus a normal, everyday, healthy diet does not consist of everything balancing everyday for everyone.

krawhitham

This is how I eat naturally.

Yesterday I had 2700 calories. Without even trying, today and the next day I just won't be hungry and I'll probably eat 1000. Over 3 days, that's 1566 cals a day

I did this for the past 60 days, and I average 1606 calories a day. Even though some days are as low as 900 and other days are as high as 3,000

Truly, I'd prefer to just eat more evenly daily, but that hasn't happened. Maybe once I get used to counting calories I'll not have such big swings.

Sjenny5891

I think it would be a little difficult to track and establish healthy eating habits - would you go out of your way to eat low for 4 days so you could binge for 3?

I work the midnight shift and tend to be under quite a bit. I eat more on the weekends because I'm up all day.
I was sick yesterday so I was 500 calories under so I just added them to today. ( Quick count Calories -500)

MinimalistShoeAddict

I suggest trying both methods to see what works best for you!

For the record I use weekly calorie/macro targets and find it easy to maintain my ideal weight year round while doing so. If I consume 7,000 calories in a day its no big deal because I can make up for it by the end of the week

Many people in this group use the weekly method:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/forums/show/66-intermittent-fasting

michirusan82

Thanks for all the responses. I have days were just running around and by the end of the day I'm over or special occasions I want to save up for. Going to a hibachi grill tomorrow

Mav3rick54

I am just wondering how people felt about looking your calorie intake as weekly. If eating under one day helps balance eating over another day.

I've been doing that every week for four months.....works for me.