eating @ maintenance 1 day a week affect results?

XLMACX

Hello everyone,

Just a quick one! I was doing MFP for 8 weeks then got in to a bad cycle were some Saturdays I would binge and then cutting back the week after to compensate
Don’t get me wrong I did still lose weight doing this but its jut not healthy!

SO…this time round I was thinking of eating at maintenance on the Saturday so I don’t feel deprived and can still enjoy my wine ect without beating myself up the day after
Which would be 2300 and then carry on eating at my calorie goal the rest of week which is 1600 do It works out I’m eating 700cals more on the Saturday.

I just want to know How this will affect my weight loss I know it takes 3500cals to gain 1lb of fat so I know I will not gain,
But just wanting to know how much it will slow my weight loss Down or even if it will!?

I was losing around 2lb a week previous (this was on the weeks I didn’t binge) but I would eat at around 2100calroies on Saturday and then eat 100 less 5 days until the following Saturday to compensate.

Thanks in advance 

BigT555

i do the same, so do many others (cheat day as its commonly known), it wont effect your weightloss much other than the fact that you no longer have a deficit on saturdays
the weight that you wouldve lost in 7 months in a constant deficit will take you a month longer doing it this way, but it will be easier and you get to enjoy your saturdays

XLMACX

hmmmm interesting! i have 17lb to lose by october 9th.....so i suppose i can do this and still hit my target, like you said it does make it more easier...also saturdays are my biggest work out day too..

4legsRbetterthan2

i do the same, so do many others (cheat day as its commonly known), it wont effect your weightloss much other than the fact that you no longer have a deficit on saturdays
the weight that you wouldve lost in 7 months in a constant deficit will take you a month longer doing it this way, but it will be easier and you get to enjoy your saturdays

QFT

make sure you log it still so you can see exactly how much it is effecting your weekly goal

also 2 lbs/week with 17lbs to lose is too agressive, you should be shooting for 1lb/week or less with that goal

XLMACX

well its actually 24lb i want to lose the 17lb is just a mini target for my holiday.

i just took my TDEE off 7 sites and deducted 500cals off the number to give me my deflict results were below:

1891
1891
1874
1787
1766
1713
1575

so really my average is 1700cals, so if I stick to 1600 a day (as I find this comfortable for me and im not hungry) then that extra 100cals a day added on to my saturday treat is 700 which funnily enought totals to my maintance number of 2300…so I suppose it would be ok 

elliej

If you look at your calories as a weekly goal it shows you'll still lose.

If your maintenance level is at 2300 cals / day then weekly to maintain you'd need 16,100 calories

If you eat 1600 cals for 6 days and 2300 on Saturday, weekly you're totalling 11,900, even at 1700 it's only 12,500 weekly.

That's still a roughly 5,000 calorie deficit weekly. You'll still lose, but obviously at a slower rate than if you were eating 1600 every day. Changing your 'diet' is about a positive change to your health and lifestyle. I think your plan is a good one.

DrJenO

I've been doing weekly instead of daily calories for about 4 months now. It is rather freeing.

There is a feature on the iphone app that lets you see your weekly calorie allotment. The default setting is a revolving 7 days, but I have it set to renew on Mondays. So, by the weekend, I see how many calories I have for the rest of the week and plan accordingly.

4legsRbetterthan2

well its actually 24lb i want to lose the 17lb is just a mini target for my holiday.

i just took my TDEE off 7 sites and deducted 500cals off the number to give me my deflict results were below:

1891
1891
1874
1787
1766
1713
1575

so really my average is 1700cals, so if I stick to 1600 a day (as I find this comfortable for me and im not hungry) then that extra *100cals a day added on to my saturday treat is 700* which funnily enought totals to my maintance number of 2300…so I suppose it would be ok 

Makes sense to me and sounds like a decent plan. Only thing I would point out (and this is nitpicky and annoying, sorry, not trying to be a jerk just detailed) is that you will only be making the extra 100 calorie deficit 6 days a week since sat is your cheat day, so keep that in mind when calculating your loss. Its only 100 calories so you decide how important that is to you.

XLMACX

ah right!! no i really appreciate that its not something i thought about! thank you. do you use TDEE or MFP method out of interest?

4legsRbetterthan2

Previously MFP, started my own version of TDEE about 2 weeks ago because I am getting further in training for my first half marathon. MFP method was getting difficult because I had huge burns some days and then not much at all on rest days (counter that with running tends to kill my appetite so I have a harder time eating on run days) and my body was struggeling with the swings. So now I do TDEE with a little extra on the long run days. As long as your math is sound either way should work.

XLMACX

yes sounds about right...thank you for all your help!

LolBroScience

No, you'll still be in a deficit overall.

rodduz

Another option would be to do what I do, which is on one day through the week throw in a mini-fast. I go as low as 500 calories and sometimes have gone as low as under 200 calories. Don't get me wrong it's tough at the start but you soon get used to it, I promise you. And it completely offsets your Saturday so there is no detrimental affect whatsoever.

There's tricks to getting through the day easier and you'll be surprised how easy the day becomes. Like I won't have any breakfast, just drink black coffee to get me to lunch. Then I'll have a bowl on homemade soup, which is basically just veg boiled in water with some spices for taste. It's hot so it fills you up. Then back on the black coffee until I get in. Small meal before the gym and a small one after it an you're done.

Meals can be made filling with lost of veg, a chicken breast etc. It's easy and it works!

Week before I went on holiday, I did 5 mini-fasts in one week! Brutal but worked!

XLMACX

i have fasted before but to me i feel more like im on a diet or punishing myself if i do this...i think its a great idea for me to maybe do it the day aftera a holiday ect but for now think i will just trial my own way, but thanks for that