Calories on Non-exercise days

MomBod81

I guess this question is mostly for those who eat some/all of their exercise calories.

I usually eat most of my exercise calories during the week and I am finding it hard to stick to my calorie goal on my rest day. My calorie goal is 1460, which isn't super low, but when I am used to eating closer to 1800-1900 after exercise...it seems low on those rest days.

What do you all do on your rest days? Do you stick to that base calorie goal or let yourself go over a little? I know some people zig zag their calories, and I guess if I went over on non-exercise days it would be kind of like doing that. I just wanted to get an idea of what works for others.

Sidesteal

You can consider eating a lower portion of your exercise cals and increase on rest days. As long as your weekly average stays relatively constant it will work itself out and potentially save you the annoyance of having low rest day intakes.

shovav91

^^ Agreed!
I generally go by the "eat when I'm hungry" rule. If your body is telling you its hungry, it needs fuel! Don't deprive it.

perceptualobfuscator

Have you considered doing a gentle, low-impact exercise on your rest-day? Rest days can be beneficial when you're doing the same activity every day, because your body needs a break from that, but you can still exercise on that day - just a different type, perhaps something that uses different muscles in a gentler manner. That way you can still eat somewhat regularly without worrying about gain.

kimcat73

You can consider eating a lower portion of your exercise cals and increase on rest days. As long as your weekly average stays relatively constant it will work itself out and potentially save you the annoyance of having low rest day intakes.

Really like this idea. I find myself not wanting to take a rest day because I know the calorie goal will be low. Maybe I'll up the burn on the day before a rest day and split it:) Thanks!

DKev

I tend to do the 'save a few calories on my exercise days and use them up on my rest day' method. Works great for me personally.

Rae6503

Yeah, I pay more attention to weekly average than daily, so I think it's fine to "save" a few exercise calories for rest days.

mslh84

I try to stick to mine as much as possible, some weekends I do go over because my rest days are Saturday and Sunday, but I'm making better choices on food that will keep me full...if I think I need more...I'll just go for a walk.

_Sally_

Have you considered doing a gentle, low-impact exercise on your rest-day? Rest days can be beneficial when you're doing the same activity every day, because your body needs a break from that, but you can still exercise on that day - just a different type, perhaps something that uses different muscles in a gentler manner. That way you can still eat somewhat regularly without worrying about gain.

This is what I tend to do. I do some extra walking in doing errands, etc. (I live in a city where everything is pretty much walking distance) and that usually earns me enough extra calories to make the rest day's calorie intake comfortable :-)

Also, for a while I was zig zagging my calories, so my rest days would correlate to my high calorie days.

The important thing to remember is that it is your net calorie deficit on a weekly basis, not a daily basis, that matters most, so you can divvy up your calories as you see fit - no need to eat all your exercise calories on the same day you earn them.

maura5880

I can't deal with eating so few calories, so I don't take rest days. On my "off" day, I do a long walk so I still have at least 200 calories extra or so..