IIFYM on rest days

sengalissa

It is weird. On rest days (have had only very few in the past weeks, race training) I tend to overeat. When I do not work out, and my body feels all sluggish, I am always close to throwing in the towel. Exercise is such a good reminder to myself that I feel better when I work out and eat well.

Now my race is over, and I am close to my goal weight, so I want to transition from working out 6x/week to maybe 3-4x a week. I simply need to devote more time to other things now. I was planning on lifting on 2-3 days and maybe have one HIIT day or two. The only thing that freaks me out is that with 2-3 rest days a week, I will not be able to get into the swing when it comes to my diet.

Any ideas? I could do some short, simple workouts at home instead of the full-blown gym thing, just enough to stay in the habit, but not too much so it does not interfer with recovery.

Anyone have a similar problem?

scorpiophoenix

I don't generally have that problem with the food, but once I skip a day exercising I find it hard to get back to it.. Do you keep track of what you're eating throughout the day or just tally at the end? I try to do it all through the day so I can see if I need to jump on the bike before dinner or not.

ana3067

How much are you eating on workout days? Some people find that they are hungrier on rest days than they are on workout days. FOr others it's the opposite.

I would recommend that you figure out how much food you have to eat daily on average for your goals (if it's what you're eating now then tha'ts obviously fine). And then as you move to your new schedule, eat normally for a few weeks to a month. If you notice a pattern of being hungrier on rest days vs workout days, then simply eat more on rest days than you do workout days but make sure that it's all averages out to your daily needs. So if you currently eat 2000 to lose weight, and you normally eat a few hundred above what you should be eating, then on rest days you could try eating, say... 2400, and on workout days just 1700.

And btw, IIFYM means that you are not eating whatever you want, it means you eat the foods you want as long as they fit into your macros for the day. Which means still eating within your calorie needs. Ideally you should be practicing flexible dieting daily if you choose to not be restrictive with what you eat.

sengalissa

How much are you eating on workout days? Some people find that they are hungrier on rest days than they are on workout days. FOr others it's the opposite.

I would recommend that you figure out how much food you have to eat daily on average for your goals (if it's what you're eating now then tha'ts obviously fine). And then as you move to your new schedule, eat normally for a few weeks to a month. If you notice a pattern of being hungrier on rest days vs workout days, then simply eat more on rest days than you do workout days but make sure that it's all averages out to your daily needs. So if you currently eat 2000 to lose weight, and you normally eat a few hundred above what you should be eating, then on rest days you could try eating, say... 2400, and on workout days just 1700.

And btw, IIFYM means that you are not eating whatever you want, it means you eat the foods you want as long as they fit into your macros for the day. Which means still eating within your calorie needs. Ideally you should be practicing flexible dieting daily if you choose to not be restrictive with what you eat.

I usually ate back the exercise calories, netting at about 1500. On long run days, I would only eat back part of the extra calories. I would like to even it out more. You are right, I am hungrier on rest days. Cardio makes me less hungry, and I always do some cardio (like 10 min of rowing) on lifting days, to get the same effect. But on rest days...
I do not think I am undereating. If I do not take a rest days, I don't find myself hungry, I do not binge etc. And I am not losing fast either. (More the opposite!)

Anyway, maybe I should switch a TDEE-20% approach. Some of the incentive to work out has always been to get the extra calories, so I am concerned that I might drop the exercise.

Bottomline: I am afraid of a slippery slope. Have been on that slippery slope in the last 4 days, and it does not feel good. So either I need to get a handle on managing my calorie budget no matter what, or on exercising no matter what.

sculli123

I do IIFYM every day regardless of cutting, maintaining, or bulking. If it fits your macros means actually fitting your macros, not eating whatever. The whole eat back your calories thing always bothers me and what you're experiencing is one of the reasons why. I believe in figuring out your TDEE and adjusting from their to either a deficit,, maint, or excess depending on your goals.