Would re-feeding days help me stay a healthy weight?

jemscalar7

I really struggle to eat enough during the week and go to the gym at least twice, and walk 2 miles a day to college and back. Because I'm so busy in the week and stressed out with exams I worry I'll loose weight, but came across this idea of re-feed days. I know this is normally used to help people LOSE weight, but I wondered, if I felt I'd overdone it and not eaten enough at school, if eating a few extra carbs on Satruday, like a couple of bowls of cereal or something, might just help keep me from losing weight. I'm hoping it would perk me up for the weekend and give me energy for the next week by re-filling my glycogen stores ect.
I'm just not sure if this would actually make me start to gain? I'm quite happy where I am, and I don't want to count calories, because that's just one stressy thing I don't need. Is this a viable maintenance strategy?

logg1e

If my weight is getting a bit too low or has dropped a bit too fast I find that my body is ready for a bit of a feast.

ana3067

Just look at how many cals you have left for the whole week based on your weekly consumption, and eat more on the weekend to accommodate for any lacking calories. Otherwise, pre-log food so you are always eating at your maintenance needs.

If you don't want to count calories, then you need to figure out another way to estimate how many calories you are eating so that you meet your weekly needs. If you need 2500 a day to maintain, then that's 17500 a week. So if you eat 2000 on weekdays then you need to eat almost twice that on weekends (3750).

Otherwise weigh yourself regularly and eat more if you are losing.

A refeed means you are eating at your maintenance needs or a bit higher... so assuming you already eat at maintenance, this is not going to change anything. If you undereat on weekdays then one or two days eating at maintenance won't help you reach your weekly maintenance needs.

keefmac

I'm not far off maintenance now, my plan is to eat as I have done now during the week then I can have a weekend of enjoyment to bring my total up!.

A full pizza is around 2000kcal or more (yummy!).

pkw58

To be honest, I eat less in anticipation of "celebration" meals that I know have wickedly high dense calorie foods. You know, like weddings with the feast and cake and drinks. Or if I was in college again, football games and stadium food.

But I do log calories every meal every day. I want to make sure I hit my protein requirements as much as my calorie min's and max's.

Logging makes me feel confident, not obsessed. I don't see the difference between logging and keeping a calendar.

jemscalar7

Thanks, I think I should just let hunger be the guide, and weigh myself now and then to make sure I don't get anymore underweight.