*Weekly* Net Calories

MLG010105

Hey, everyone!

I'm a very new MFP member. I'm also a paying member of Weight Watchers, and I'm seeing great success with the program. However, I'm trying to learn how to manage my own health and nutrition. Once I reach my goal weight (or even simply once I get closer to my goal weight), I'd like to manage my weight loss/weight maintenance without paying for WW.

My question is this: In order to meet my weight loss goal, I need to consume 1200 net calories per day. I was wondering if anyone translates their daily calorie goal into a weekly calorie goal. With WW, a member is given a daily minimum and then a weekly allowance. I've gotta be honest: I like being able to splurge once or twice a week. I'm wondering if anyone does this sort of thing with MFP.

For instance, I'd need a weekly net caloric intake of 8400 calories. I'm considering using my weekends to splurge (and cushion the fact that I don't work-out on the weekends) and end with a net intake of 1600 cals per day. Then, I'd shoot for a net intake of 1040 cals M-F.

What do you think? Any opinions?

EDBENAGLIO

well i never did ww but here it is very easy cal. in vs cal out 3500 each way should be a pound. now you could i guess track it for a week instead of a day but it works this was and works well. i hope this helps

i eat more every sun ( gym closed) and still lossing weight

tritta01

Wouldnt go under 1200 during the week, your body will go into starvation mode overtime. Leading it to store fat!

kmeekhof

One day of eating 1600 calories isnt going to adversly affect you and it may just help you. I wouldnt suggest going below the 1200 NET calories a day... even if you do go over 1 or 2 days a week.

MLG010105

Thanks for the thoughts!

sliceofsarah

You may want to look into the zig-zagging concept, because it is very similar in principle to what you just suggested. Basically in zig-zagging the calorie goal may vary every day of the week, but it all balances out to meet a specific weekly net caloric intake (such as 8400 like you suggested).

I think this sounds like it could be a good idea for you to try, since you will be working out during the week and the exercise calories you earn will probably boost the calories you eat enough above 1040 that you won't feel deprived.

chrisd0201

I too am a paying WW member. The way that works best for me is to track my food on here. Then at the end of the day, I use the WW calculator and figure how many points I have eaten. I usually take the weekly points and add them to each day, giving me more daily points. Then on top of that, I have WW pedomter and i am walking 11,000-15,000 steps a day. That is giving me 3-5 extra points daily. I looks like a WW point is equal to about 33.3 points. If you do the math, both MFP and WW are fairly close to each other. Hope this helps. You are welcome to friend me, if you would like to. This isn't an easy journey.

MLG010105

Hey Chris,

I've been double tracking for a full ten days now, and I'm getting an average of 45 cals/pt. It's amazing how much it can vary depending on each person's diet. I'm double tracking with a few other people, and we're each getting vastly different cals/pt values. One of us (who doesn't eat much fruit) is getting about 30-35 cals/pt. Another (who eats a lot of fruit) is getting about 50 cals/pt. I'm sort of in the middle, getting anywhere from 40-45 cals/pt. With the new PointsPlus program, you truly can't figure points according to cals.

I'd never thought about taking my cumulative numbers from MFP and translating them into Points+. I might try that this week and see what I end up with...that's a *very* interesting concept.

I'm not sure how to "friend" people on here. If you'd like to friend me, I'd be glad to accept the request. Thanks for your input!

MLG010105

I'll definitely check out the zig-zagging concept. Can you direct me to any information or posts about it? My body seems to do better if I have a few high calorie days in between lower calorie days. Otherwise, it seems to get stuck in a metabolic rut which throws me onto a plateau. (YUCK!)