Does saving calories on weekdays for weekends work?

csk0018

For me --- I try to stay within my calorie goal every day. We usually make dinner at home on the weekdays and eat out a bunch on the weekends. If I'm planning to eat more -- I'll just make sure I get in some exercise to cover for the overage. It works for me. :bigsmile:

einzweidrei

I actually do 6:1 so that I can save those calories for the weekends. I hate watching what I eat EVERY single day.

Last week I didn't do 6:1---that plus some vacation time = me going slightly over for the week. Not the end of the world---I've only gone slightly over my calories for the week twice since I started MFP in July 2013. And sometimes if I eat less than I thought from M-F, I will overcompensate on both days. I can't afford to lose any more weight.

stuffinmuffin

It worked a treat for me during weight loss and occassionally I'll use it as an emergency measure in maintenance if I have a big event coming up, but normally with a big workout I'm able to create a big enough calorie bank within the day.

So long as you don't exceed your weekly calorie allowwance you should be fine.

rwglick

It has worked for me for the past year and 4 months. I have yet to have a "week" were I was not in a deficit. Soooo looking forward to total maintenance mode where I plan to roll over 500 to 1000 a day to use on the weekends then if I don't need them I'll cut a workout or not roll over as much the following week. I agree with what others have said if I didn't have a "reward" of getting to eat something good at least once a week I don't know that I could have stuck with it. Good luck.

salvyhead

Works for me.

bongochick45

I do that. It's a practice I got into when I was doing weight watchers back in the day. As long as you don't go super crazy with the extra weekend calories you should be fine.

Wingg_

Thanks for sharing all your point of view on this issue! I guess I can now try doing that as well! I

MissBabyJane

Yep, I do that. At first it was unintentionally, but then I thought "if this works for me why not?", I was feeling so guilty for going over my calories at the weekends, especially on friday/saturday.

spoiledpuppies

This is what I did (without really thinking about it) when I successfully maintained years ago. Now I'm with a trainer for heavy lifting, and he prefers that I be consistent across days and also within a day, meaning he'd prefer that I spread my calories out over a day rather than eat any one large meal. He said that it's not the end of the world to bank calories for a big dinner--that the body will get what it needs when it needs it--but everything will be more efficient with consistency.

Wingg_

This is what I did (without really thinking about it) when I successfully maintained years ago. Now I'm with a trainer for heavy lifting, and he prefers that I be consistent across days and also within a day, meaning he'd prefer that I spread my calories out over a day rather than eat any one large meal. He said that it's not the end of the world to bank calories for a big dinner--that the body will get what it needs when it needs it--but everything will be more efficient with consistency.

What are the benefits of maintaining consistency?

Natmarie73

This method works fine for me. I work on a weekly count, not daily so as long as I'm meeting my weekly calorie goals I'm happy.

I tend to have unplanned calorie blow-outs on a regular basis and not only on weekends so I find it beneficial to have a fast day after every blow-out day where I only eat 500 calories or so. I'm effectively doing a 4:3 fasting regime lol. I do try not to eat too much over my allowance on my blow-out days either and stay with healthy(ish) nutritious food and a few glasses of wine, a dessert etc. Mainly its due to catching up with friends or family at a restaurant.

I also make sure to maintain a good amount of excersise throughout the week regardless if it is a fast day or regular day. If I have a real big blow-out I will do extra cardio to balance it all out.

spoiledpuppies

This is what I did (without really thinking about it) when I successfully maintained years ago. Now I'm with a trainer for heavy lifting, and he prefers that I be consistent across days and also within a day, meaning he'd prefer that I spread my calories out over a day rather than eat any one large meal. He said that it's not the end of the world to bank calories for a big dinner--that the body will get what it needs when it needs it--but everything will be more efficient with consistency.

What are the benefits of maintaining consistency?

I can't say for sure. I didn't ask for details. But my trainer is awesome, and I'm following him to the T until he gives me reason not to. Like I posted, he said it's not the end of the world if you "save" calories for a really big meal each day since the body is smart and will do what it needs to in order to get/use what it needs. But apparently, the body will hum along more stably if it gets consistent fuel. This makes total logical sense to me.

Disclaimer though: I'm in NO WAY saying any other approach is wrong. As I also posted previously, when I successfully maintained in the past, I kind of naturally fell into a routine of weekends being lax and tightening up on weekdays; and that worked. Now I'm just starting to work on heavy lifting and hope to set some awesome goals soon. So whatever I can do to support that, I'm in.

Wingg_

This is what I did (without really thinking about it) when I successfully maintained years ago. Now I'm with a trainer for heavy lifting, and he prefers that I be consistent across days and also within a day, meaning he'd prefer that I spread my calories out over a day rather than eat any one large meal. He said that it's not the end of the world to bank calories for a big dinner--that the body will get what it needs when it needs it--but everything will be more efficient with consistency.

What are the benefits of maintaining consistency?

I can't say for sure. I didn't ask for details. But my trainer is awesome, and I'm following him to the T until he gives me reason not to. Like I posted, he said it's not the end of the world if you "save" calories for a really big meal each day since the body is smart and will do what it needs to in order to get/use what it needs. But apparently, the body will hum along more stably if it gets consistent fuel. This makes total logical sense to me.

Disclaimer though: I'm in NO WAY saying any other approach is wrong. As I also posted previously, when I successfully maintained in the past, I kind of naturally fell into a routine of weekends being lax and tightening up on weekdays; and that worked. Now I'm just starting to work on heavy lifting and hope to set some awesome goals soon. So whatever I can do to support that, I'm in.

Thanks for providing me with something different! All for the best in finding your new goals!

Wingg_

This method works fine for me. I work on a weekly count, not daily so as long as I'm meeting my weekly calorie goals I'm happy.

I tend to have unplanned calorie blow-outs on a regular basis and not only on weekends so I find it beneficial to have a fast day after every blow-out day where I only eat 500 calories or so. I'm effectively doing a 4:3 fasting regime lol. I do try not to eat too much over my allowance on my blow-out days either and stay with healthy(ish) nutritious food and a few glasses of wine, a dessert etc. Mainly its due to catching up with friends or family at a restaurant.

I also make sure to maintain a good amount of excersise throughout the week regardless if it is a fast day or regular day. If I have a real big blow-out I will do extra cardio to balance it all out.

So you will still log your food when you're having a really big meal or shall I say cheat day or something?

hgycta

For me personally, restricting then having larger meals just messes with my natural feelings of being hungry or full, as it stretches out your stomach when you consume large portions. That being said, I have still done this before and had success. I try to avoid it though, for I hate feeling deprived at any time, especially during the week. The only time I do this is when I have a large event coming up, such as a birthday dinner out with my boyfriend and his family, or other large gathering where I know eating 500-600 calories in a single meal isn't very likely with the dessert it would be considered "rude" for me not to try. Like birthday cake, for instance. Or your best friend's secret recipe homemade dessert. Unfortunately, most things today revolve around food. So while I try to consume calories evenly on a day to day basis, sometimes it's just more realistic to save them for such gatherings, which may not always fall on weekends.
Hope that helps some But everyone is different, so what works for me may not work for you, and vice versa! This is all about the journey, finding what helps you!

Wingg_

For me personally, restricting then having larger meals just messes with my natural feelings of being hungry or full, as it stretches out your stomach when you consume large portions. That being said, I have still done this before and had success. I try to avoid it though, for I hate feeling deprived at any time, especially during the week. The only time I do this is when I have a large event coming up, such as a birthday dinner out with my boyfriend and his family, or other large gathering where I know eating 500-600 calories in a single meal isn't very likely with the dessert it would be considered "rude" for me not to try. Like birthday cake, for instance. Or your best friend's secret recipe homemade dessert. Unfortunately, most things today revolve around food. So while I try to consume calories evenly on a day to day basis, sometimes it's just more realistic to save them for such gatherings, which may not always fall on weekends.
Hope that helps some But everyone is different, so what works for me may not work for you, and vice versa! This is all about the journey, finding what helps you!

Thanks for the help! I will try it out since nowadays gatherings are all about food. I will have to find a way that suits me! Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

sarahmoo12

I don't do it but I can see how it would work. I'm kinda lucky, I have my exercise level at 0 because during the week im mostly behind a desk and just add all the exercise I do but at the weekends I work in retail and on feet all day so I count that was "walking at a slow pace" for only a few hours not my full shift. Its been working fine and I get extra weekend cals

laureneliset

This can lead to binging for some. What matters is your overall weekly intake.

This is a really important point. Yes your overall weekly intake matters, but if you are the kind of person who is prone to binge eating (like I am!) this approach is likely to be counterproductive. The best advice I was given in this regard is "eat well during the week and yes, you can relax a bit at the weekend, but don't take the piss" - i.e. a few hundred calories extra at the weekend is fine, but don't save up for a "sanctioned binge" or you will never correct the eating habits that caused you to gain the weight to begin with.

marmitenot

This method works fine for me. I work on a weekly count, not daily so as long as I'm meeting my weekly calorie goals I'm happy.

I tend to have unplanned calorie blow-outs on a regular basis and not only on weekends so I find it beneficial to have a fast day after every blow-out day where I only eat 500 calories or so. I'm effectively doing a 4:3 fasting regime lol. I do try not to eat too much over my allowance on my blow-out days either and stay with healthy(ish) nutritious food and a few glasses of wine, a dessert etc. Mainly its due to catching up with friends or family at a restaurant.

I also make sure to maintain a good amount of excersise throughout the week regardless if it is a fast day or regular day. If I have a real big blow-out I will do extra cardio to balance it all out.

I was glad to see your post. I too have calorie "blow-outs." But since I've been tracking calories (I'm losing weight-yay!!!) and eating much less, I find my stomach has definitely gotten smaller. If I have a feast, usually the next day I eat 300-500 calories (300 is sufficient for me most of the time) because I find that I'm just NOT hungry. It's like I've sent my body into shock by eating a larger meal and it doesn't ask me for food the next day. I am still losing weight, and I try not to do this, but sometimes I just give in and eat something that I really, really want (damn, damn, DAMN Taco Bell...my only weakness, really). If I find I stop losing weight I'll have to try harder, as I'm DETERMINED to shed this extra weight. I feel so much better having lost a few pounds, and I feel better on a daily basis because I'm putting healthy food into my body instead of junk (unless I have a little "lapse"). For the most part, it seems to be working for me. The worst part is the guilt I feel for not having stuck to my daily calorie count. But hey...if that's what it takes to keep me on track (an occasional binge) then I guess that's ok, huh?

WinoGelato

I don't do this every week but it does seem to happen this way a lot and it is working for me. Last week I happened to be sick with a head cold during the week, so eating didn't have as much appeal and a cup of hot tea after dinner was preferable to a glass of wine. I ended every day about 100-200 cal below my goal. This past weekend we had a fun weekend out of town and I pretty much ate whatever I wanted, and went well over my calories for those days by 500 on Saturday and 1000 on Sunday. Because I had banked some calories, I was still over my weekly allowance but only by 600 cal. Since I'm still set to lose 0.5 lb/week (transitioning to maintenance but haven't changed the numbers yet because of weekends like that!) I still had a deficit of over 1000 cal for the week. (If you use the phone app you can see the weekly numbers which I think is really helpful).

Tuesday when I weighed in I was up a little from all the sodium/water - but today I had dropped down to 0.5lb less than last week and if it stays there the next couple of days I will record that and have a little more buffer going into maintenance!

Wingg_

I don't do this every week but it does seem to happen this way a lot and it is working for me. Last week I happened to be sick with a head cold during the week, so eating didn't have as much appeal and a cup of hot tea after dinner was preferable to a glass of wine. I ended every day about 100-200 cal below my goal. This past weekend we had a fun weekend out of town and I pretty much ate whatever I wanted, and went well over my calories for those days by 500 on Saturday and 1000 on Sunday. Because I had banked some calories, I was still over my weekly allowance but only by 600 cal. Since I'm still set to lose 0.5 lb/week (transitioning to maintenance but haven't changed the numbers yet because of weekends like that!) I still had a deficit of over 1000 cal for the week. (If you use the phone app you can see the weekly numbers which I think is really helpful).

Tuesday when I weighed in I was up a little from all the sodium/water - but today I had dropped down to 0.5lb less than last week and if it stays there the next couple of days I will record that and have a little more buffer going into maintenance!

Due to the fact that my maintenance calorie is only 1640cal inclusive of my exercise cal(which I have no idea how much I burn) so I'm not quite sure if banking 1-200cal will be sensible because if I do that I will only be able to eat 1440cal a day

Wingg_

I don't do it but I can see how it would work. I'm kinda lucky, I have my exercise level at 0 because during the week im mostly behind a desk and just add all the exercise I do but at the weekends I work in retail and on feet all day so I count that was "walking at a slow pace" for only a few hours not my full shift. Its been working fine and I get extra weekend cals

It's great to hear that it works for you!

Wingg_

This can lead to binging for some. What matters is your overall weekly intake.

This is a really important point. Yes your overall weekly intake matters, but if you are the kind of person who is prone to binge eating (like I am!) this approach is likely to be counterproductive. The best advice I was given in this regard is "eat well during the week and yes, you can relax a bit at the weekend, but don't take the piss" - i.e. a few hundred calories extra at the weekend is fine, but don't save up for a "sanctioned binge" or you will never correct the eating habits that caused you to gain the weight to begin with.

You've made a very important point that! Thanks for reminding!

WinoGelato

I don't do this every week but it does seem to happen this way a lot and it is working for me. Last week I happened to be sick with a head cold during the week, so eating didn't have as much appeal and a cup of hot tea after dinner was preferable to a glass of wine. I ended every day about 100-200 cal below my goal. This past weekend we had a fun weekend out of town and I pretty much ate whatever I wanted, and went well over my calories for those days by 500 on Saturday and 1000 on Sunday. Because I had banked some calories, I was still over my weekly allowance but only by 600 cal. Since I'm still set to lose 0.5 lb/week (transitioning to maintenance but haven't changed the numbers yet because of weekends like that!) I still had a deficit of over 1000 cal for the week. (If you use the phone app you can see the weekly numbers which I think is really helpful).

Tuesday when I weighed in I was up a little from all the sodium/water - but today I had dropped down to 0.5lb less than last week and if it stays there the next couple of days I will record that and have a little more buffer going into maintenance!

Due to the fact that my maintenance calorie is only 1640cal inclusive of my exercise cal(which I have no idea how much I burn) so I'm not quite sure if banking 1-200cal will be sensible because if I do that I will only be able to eat 1440cal a day

I don't normally bank that much, that was really mostly because I was sick and didn't feel like eating. Even if you were under by 50 cal M-Th, that is 200 cal extra for the weekend.

So your maintenance is 1640 but you don't eat exercise calories back? And you are maintaining? Did you calculate your TDEE or is that just what you've been maintaining at, and if so, for how long?

I use a FitBit and feel a lot more comfortable with how much I'm burning each day and knowing that if I go over a little, I can make it up on other days.

Wingg_

I don't do this every week but it does seem to happen this way a lot and it is working for me. Last week I happened to be sick with a head cold during the week, so eating didn't have as much appeal and a cup of hot tea after dinner was preferable to a glass of wine. I ended every day about 100-200 cal below my goal. This past weekend we had a fun weekend out of town and I pretty much ate whatever I wanted, and went well over my calories for those days by 500 on Saturday and 1000 on Sunday. Because I had banked some calories, I was still over my weekly allowance but only by 600 cal. Since I'm still set to lose 0.5 lb/week (transitioning to maintenance but haven't changed the numbers yet because of weekends like that!) I still had a deficit of over 1000 cal for the week. (If you use the phone app you can see the weekly numbers which I think is really helpful).

Tuesday when I weighed in I was up a little from all the sodium/water - but today I had dropped down to 0.5lb less than last week and if it stays there the next couple of days I will record that and have a little more buffer going into maintenance!

Due to the fact that my maintenance calorie is only 1640cal inclusive of my exercise cal(which I have no idea how much I burn) so I'm not quite sure if banking 1-200cal will be sensible because if I do that I will only be able to eat 1440cal a day

I don't normally bank that much, that was really mostly because I was sick and didn't feel like eating. Even if you were under by 50 cal M-Th, that is 200 cal extra for the weekend.

So your maintenance is 1640 but you don't eat exercise calories back? And you are maintaining? Did you calculate your TDEE or is that just what you've been maintaining at, and if so, for how long?

I use a FitBit and feel a lot more comfortable with how much I'm burning each day and knowing that if I go over a little, I can make it up on other days.

I'm maintaining I calculated that my TDEE is 1648 or 1740 cal according to 2 different website. I've been maintaining for around 3month++
I thought fitbit doesn't take into account of calories burned for exercises other than walking or running?

WinoGelato

I don't do this every week but it does seem to happen this way a lot and it is working for me. Last week I happened to be sick with a head cold during the week, so eating didn't have as much appeal and a cup of hot tea after dinner was preferable to a glass of wine. I ended every day about 100-200 cal below my goal. This past weekend we had a fun weekend out of town and I pretty much ate whatever I wanted, and went well over my calories for those days by 500 on Saturday and 1000 on Sunday. Because I had banked some calories, I was still over my weekly allowance but only by 600 cal. Since I'm still set to lose 0.5 lb/week (transitioning to maintenance but haven't changed the numbers yet because of weekends like that!) I still had a deficit of over 1000 cal for the week. (If you use the phone app you can see the weekly numbers which I think is really helpful).

Tuesday when I weighed in I was up a little from all the sodium/water - but today I had dropped down to 0.5lb less than last week and if it stays there the next couple of days I will record that and have a little more buffer going into maintenance!

Due to the fact that my maintenance calorie is only 1640cal inclusive of my exercise cal(which I have no idea how much I burn) so I'm not quite sure if banking 1-200cal will be sensible because if I do that I will only be able to eat 1440cal a day

I don't normally bank that much, that was really mostly because I was sick and didn't feel like eating. Even if you were under by 50 cal M-Th, that is 200 cal extra for the weekend.

So your maintenance is 1640 but you don't eat exercise calories back? And you are maintaining? Did you calculate your TDEE or is that just what you've been maintaining at, and if so, for how long?

I use a FitBit and feel a lot more comfortable with how much I'm burning each day and knowing that if I go over a little, I can make it up on other days.

I'm maintaining I calculated that my TDEE is 1648 or 1740 cal according to 2 different website. I've been maintaining for around 3month++
I thought fitbit doesn't take into account of calories burned for exercises other than walking or running?

It doesn't. I enter those into MFP (I sometimes do the stationary bike and am trying to do more circuit training). MFP then tells FitBit about that exercise and FitBit adjusts accordingly. The two systems seem to work pretty well together, I've had my FitBit for 6+ months and I have upped my activity level in MFP and my calorie goal because I was burning more than what I had calculated on the TDEE websites. I like that FitBit knows how much I burn each day (approximately) and then it deducts the 250 cal from that for my calorie intake on FitBit, which is usually within about 20 calories of what MFP says I can eat each day.

My daily net goal for 0.5 lb/week is ~1700 cal, and I've been pretty consistently achieving that. I eat at least 200 more than that most days.

QuietBloom

As long as you stay where you want to be by the end of the week, you can eat over or under however you like.

Wingg_

I don't do this every week but it does seem to happen this way a lot and it is working for me. Last week I happened to be sick with a head cold during the week, so eating didn't have as much appeal and a cup of hot tea after dinner was preferable to a glass of wine. I ended every day about 100-200 cal below my goal. This past weekend we had a fun weekend out of town and I pretty much ate whatever I wanted, and went well over my calories for those days by 500 on Saturday and 1000 on Sunday. Because I had banked some calories, I was still over my weekly allowance but only by 600 cal. Since I'm still set to lose 0.5 lb/week (transitioning to maintenance but haven't changed the numbers yet because of weekends like that!) I still had a deficit of over 1000 cal for the week. (If you use the phone app you can see the weekly numbers which I think is really helpful).

Tuesday when I weighed in I was up a little from all the sodium/water - but today I had dropped down to 0.5lb less than last week and if it stays there the next couple of days I will record that and have a little more buffer going into maintenance!

Due to the fact that my maintenance calorie is only 1640cal inclusive of my exercise cal(which I have no idea how much I burn) so I'm not quite sure if banking 1-200cal will be sensible because if I do that I will only be able to eat 1440cal a day

I don't normally bank that much, that was really mostly because I was sick and didn't feel like eating. Even if you were under by 50 cal M-Th, that is 200 cal extra for the weekend.

So your maintenance is 1640 but you don't eat exercise calories back? And you are maintaining? Did you calculate your TDEE or is that just what you've been maintaining at, and if so, for how long?

I use a FitBit and feel a lot more comfortable with how much I'm burning each day and knowing that if I go over a little, I can make it up on other days.

I'm maintaining I calculated that my TDEE is 1648 or 1740 cal according to 2 different website. I've been maintaining for around 3month++
I thought fitbit doesn't take into account of calories burned for exercises other than walking or running?

It doesn't. I enter those into MFP (I sometimes do the stationary bike and am trying to do more circuit training). MFP then tells FitBit about that exercise and FitBit adjusts accordingly. The two systems seem to work pretty well together, I've had my FitBit for 6+ months and I have upped my activity level in MFP and my calorie goal because I was burning more than what I had calculated on the TDEE websites. I like that FitBit knows how much I burn each day (approximately) and then it deducts the 250 cal from that for my calorie intake on FitBit, which is usually within about 20 calories of what MFP says I can eat each day.

My daily net goal for 0.5 lb/week is ~1700 cal, and I've been pretty consistently achieving that. I eat at least 200 more than that most days.

Sounds great! I'm considering getting a fitbit one to get a more precise cal burned

MichaelRobinson1994

I eat more every 4 days or thereabouts, twice a week anyway, I will hit 400-500 calories over my maintenance, with a pizza or some crisps and dip etc...
Apparently it can help keep your metabolism on its toes, seems to work for me, and then I revert to a few hundred calorie deficit for a few days

ABsolute85

For me it's not a daily thing, its more of what I'm doing each week...I don't sweat it if I go over on a day, or I'm way under on a day...variety is good for your body, as it doesn't settle into a routine...