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Drastic decrease in calories burned causes weight gain?

ZB17
ZB17 Posts: 92 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Now that it's summer, I have more time to exercise and I'm hoping to burn a couple hundred calories more than I did over the school year. My concern is that come August, when I will be attending a new school with a hectic schedule, I won't have as much time to exercise and will burn maybe half of what I'll burn during my summer workouts (so maybe 300-400 calories each workout). I know that as long as I maintain a deficit I should be fine, but a part of me is concerned that, even with eating a consistent number of calories, this change in my workout schedule may "confuse" my body while it is still accustomed to burning a significantly greater number of calories and will, therefore, cause me to gain weight.
Am I crazy or is this a valid concern?

Replies

  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
    You won't 'confuse' your body. Your TDEE will decrease but to account for this you could a little eat less to keep your deficit the same, or you could continue with your calories as they are but weight loss may be a bit slower as the deficit would be smaller.

    Unless you start eating above your TDEE you won't gain weight.

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