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Non-exercise day food question

victoria_1024
victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I work out 5 days a week. I always take off Tuesdays and Thursdays because I work long days and have 3 kids and I figure a couple off days are probably important. Currently I eat back my exercise calories on all the days I work out and I feel full and happy all day long. But on my non-exercise days, I am starving all day long. I HATE being hungry! Should I be eating more on those days even though I'm not burning anything off with exercise? I am doing great right now with my weight loss and I don't want to slow it down too much....

Replies

  • kayla_who
    kayla_who Posts: 540 Member
    What is your net calorie goal? How much are you losing each week?

    Maybe try the TDEE-% method? That way you have a higher set calorie limit everyday and just don't eat back your exercise calories?
  • Kotuliak
    Kotuliak Posts: 259 Member
    One possible strategy is to under-eat by 100 or 200 calories a day on the workout days and eat them on the rest days. As long as it averages out it works out well for a lot of people.
  • steve0820
    steve0820 Posts: 510 Member
    I'm one of those people who doesn't believe in less cals on rest days. Simply because, if my body is repairing itself on rest days, why should I deprive it of what it needs, when it needs it the most? This is especially true if you're on a bulk, if you're trying to lose weight, then I stick to maintenance, or slightly above.
  • AJ_G
    AJ_G Posts: 4,158 Member
    TDEE
  • victoria_1024
    victoria_1024 Posts: 915 Member
    Thanks! I did look into TDEE and it gave me slightly more calories than what I'm eating now, so I wasn't sure. Currently MFP tells me to eat 1200 (but there's no way I can do that). I eat an extra 200 every day because I breastfeed so 1400, and then eat back exercise calories. So typically I eat 1600-1700 a day when I exercise, and 1400 if I don't. Using the TDEE method it says I should eat 1900 a day. I'm losing an average of 2 lbs a week (some weeks I lose nothing, other weeks I lose 4). I could probably eat more and still lose, just because I've been losing so quickly.

    I've thought about maybe switching to TDEE just because I work out pretty consistently, and now I've been more active with spring and getting outside with the kids.

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