partys

manu427

When maintaining weight you should eat back your exercise calories, they say.
But some days, like in partys, you eat above the maintaning calories and you get a little more fat, right? This can add up over a year.
So is it a bad idea to not eat back the exercise calories, letting some calories avaible for this days?

wertgirlfor

You want to eat enough to fuel your workouts, no matter what.
Calorie counting/weight loss isn't an exact science. You don't have 60,000 cal a year that you have to eat and if you go over by 200 you'll gain weight. Some days you'll burn more than others, some days you'll eat more. If you're under control for 90% of the time, you'll be fine.
If you gained weight, it was probably from overeating on a regular basis, not the dozen parties you attend a year.

manu427

You want to eat enough to fuel your workouts, no matter what.
Calorie counting/weight loss isn't an exact science. You don't have 60,000 cal a year that you have to eat and if you go over by 200 you'll gain weight. Some days you'll burn more than others, some days you'll eat more. If you're under control for 90% of the time, you'll be fine.
If you gained weight, it was probably from overeating on a regular basis, not the dozen parties you attend a year.

Thanks for the answer.
But it is easy to eat like 1000 cals above maintenance (this is basicaly two pieces of cake) and so you get 0.2 lb fatter. So multiply this by the dozen parties and after a year you will be 2.4 lb fatter.

jessthep1rate

But it is easy to eat like 1000 cals above maintenance (this is basicaly two pieces of cake) and so you get 0.2 lb fatter. So multiply this by the dozen parties and after a year you will be 2.4 lb fatter.

But are you eating exactly your maintenance calories each day? Just as the "over" days can add up and mean extra calories, most people have "under" days where they just end up eating less for whatever reason. I would say that you probably don't need to worry that much about it--instead of trying to purposefully eat less on some days because you overate on one day, just let it even itself out. So if you have a day with a couple hundred calories left over at the end of it and you're not hungry, just figure it's a day that evens things out, you know?

lebbyloses

I'm new to maintenance, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but this has been a festive time period for me. What I do is cut my calories down just a little if something is happening where I will want to overindulge. Like my birthday, or the vacation I am taking next week. Not by a lot--I don't want to be in a starve-and-binge pattern, but I do want to compensate just a bit for the seafood orgy I intend to have. Then just try to be active on those days too. For just regular weekend going out, I just try to fit my calories for the day like normal. But I think for the kind of thing you're worried about, just weighing yourself regularly will do the job. If you gain weight, just lose it again while it is only 2.4 pounds. But probably things will even out.

nxd10

I try to be under my maintenance goals every day, but I ALWAYS hit them for the week. (One exception since I've been on MFP ).

When I listen to my body, I find that when I go over big at a party, I am less hungry the next day or two. I listen to my body.

I also have never been over 1000 calories in a day - even though that can be one big piece of cake. I don't like eating that much any more. I eat half a piece, drink lots of water, dance up a storm, go for the veggies, and watch what else I eat that day. Just because some is good doesn't mean more is better.

Plus dancing up a storm helps.

manu427

Thank you all for the answers.