Can you really save calories for another day?

jamiesokd

Can you really save calories for another day? Like I could be at a 200 deficit for 5 days, then eat 1000 extra calories on the 6th day and have it make no difference and/or still see a loss the next day? I get the premise of why this *should* be true, but on the other hand, it's not like your body knows how to measure a week.

cally69

Absolutely you can. It's worked for me for over 2 years now. I work my cals over a week so I can save up for the weekend. As long as you average out over the week and use up spare cals by the end of the week then it will not affect your weight loss. I also think it keeps your body guessing if you don't eat the same amount each day.
Hope this helps
X

Branstin

You could allocate calories by day or week. It is a personal preference. You will still lose weight as long as you don't go over your limit. As far as the next day, probably not but the weight will come off. For example, you save calories Monday – Saturday to eat more on Sunday. If you weigh yourself on Monday morning, in all likelihood the number on the scale will increase. This is only temporary and doesn't mean you gained weight. Sodium, water, and the fact that your body hasn't fully processed all of the prior activities will delay the correct reading on the scale. This is the reason it is more important to look for a trend than a number on the scale. If you are set to lose a pound a week and at the end of a month, you lost 4 lbs. in a healthy manner then who cares if it was a consistent 1 lb. a week or some other combination?

_KitKat_

Of course, what do you think all the fat I have to lose is.....I saved those calories so that now I can run in a deficient. :sad:

Sorry just had to....the quote below sums up the way I feel perfectly.

You could allocate calories by day or week. It is a personal preference. You will still lose weight as long as you don't go over your limit. As far as the next day, probably not but the weight will come off. For example, you save calories Monday – Saturday to eat more on Sunday. If you weigh yourself on Monday morning, in all likelihood the number on the scale will increase. This is only temporary and doesn't mean you gained weight. Sodium, water, and the fact that your body hasn't fully processed all of the prior activities will delay the correct reading on the scale. This is the reason it is more important to look for a trend than a number on the scale. If you are set to lose a pound a week and at the end of a month, you lost 4 lbs. in a healthy manner then who cares if it was a consistent 1 lb. a week or some other combination?

h7463

Of course, what do you think all the fat I have to lose is.....I saved those calories so that now I can run in a deficient. :sad:

Sorry just had to....the quote below sums up the way I feel perfectly.



^ Hahaha....that's too cute....!

I'm trying to stay as close as possible to my calorie goal, lower only if I'm not hungry. In my case, it's not been a good idea to run low during the week, because it seems to slow down my recovery from training. When I know in advance that there's a tasty cookout at a certain date, I plan ahead. My stomach can't handle a food overload of 1000 leftover calories all at once anyway. But I'm not beating myself up for one treat day. I can always train a bit harder the next week.
It all depends on the individual. Whatever works...

edit...the quote thingy doesn't work like I thought it would....it swallowed my reply, too....

PennyVonDread

Yup. I barely ate anything at all yesterday (I got called in for a 12-hr shift and the cafe was closed... so... accidentally fasted. Oops.) and all I had to eat today are cookies.

I don't recommend these particular habits, but life happens. This kind of wonky eating has been happening for me on and off since my work schedule became unpredictable and I'm steadily losing weight regardless. Even on the weeks I don't go to the gym, though less weight is lost in those weeks.

I go by my weekly intake and it works out.

2BeHappy2

Is the end of the calorie week considered to be Sat or Sun?

ravenmiss

Is the end of the calorie week considered to be Sat or Sun?

It's whatever you want it to be each week.

Iwishyouwell

Yup. I barely ate anything at all yesterday (I got called in for a 12-hr shift and the cafe was closed... so... accidentally fasted. Oops.) and all I had to eat today are cookies.

I don't recommend these particular habits, but life happens. This kind of wonky eating has been happening for me on and off since my work schedule became unpredictable and I'm steadily losing weight regardless. Even on the weeks I don't go to the gym, though less weight is lost in those weeks.

I go by my weekly intake and it works out.

There is no reason why you wouldn't be losing weight. It's a total myth that the human body needs, or even biologically prefers, to eat at set times every day. Our bodies are well built to endure radical shifts in intake. In fact one of the marks of a lot of "naturally thin" people is a leveling out; they might overeat one day, and barely eat the next. Something I'm finally discovering in my own walk to eat more intuitively.

jmkmomm

If you are diabetic this is very dangerous to do, or have other health needs like a salt restriction