can i bank calories?

alib510

i've got a very busy pre-christmas period full of parties with non-diet friendly food. would it work to eat very consevatively, minimum 1200 calories though, for the rest of the week to potentially bank around 1000-1500 a week to allow me a little more freedom at the parties? i don't intend to go crazy and would be happy just to maintain my weight until the new year, but would prefer not to gain any.

any thoughts?

NikkiConroy

I have been wondering the same thing FOREVER! I know they let you "bank" points on Weight Watchers. I spoke with a trainer at my gym today and she says yes, but I'd like to hear what everyone else has to say.

moriaht

I totally do that! Everyone has their own opinions though. You will get a lot of mixed responses..

Mygypsysoul

Bump. I want to know too!

Angel1066

bump

HeelsAndBoxingGloves

I do that! I judge how I'm doing based on my weekly average... that way if you're way over or way under on a day or 2 it all evens out :happy:

Marig0ld

I do it all the time. It's completely possible. Our body doesn't know the difference between a Point and a calorie, and it doesn't have a magical "reset" clock. Have at it, just make sure you get your 1200 a day!

ka_bateman

I think the way it is set up is that to lose 1 pound a week, you eat 3500 less calories. I don't think it matters when you cut back...although personally I'd eat a little more the day after weigh in instead of the day before.

knittygirl52

Unfortunately, MFP is not set up for you to do this, but that is seriously the way "thin people" live. My mother used to go out to lunch and then make dinner for all of us, and just sit at the table with a cup of coffee. She would say, "Oh, I'm far too full from lunch to eat anything." (Why don't I ever feel that way?) She was also the queen of taking the tiniest piece of cake ever and saying, "It tastes so much better when it is sliced thin." Sigh. No wonder she never had an ounce of extra weight on her!

I say, do it! It's not good to undereat over the long haul, but you are talking about a limited time frame and I don't think it will hurt you.

UponThisRock

I called my 2nd grade math teacher, she said it was ok.

tageekly

I do it all the time. It's completely possible. Our body doesn't know the difference between a Point and a calorie, and it doesn't have a magical "reset" clock. Have at it, just make sure you get your 1200 a day!

This!

I save calories for a splurge day. I tend to track my calories more as a net weekly than daily. I try to maintain a limit daily so I don't collapse at the gym, but if I have a few hundred left I'll save them.

AmythistRae

sorry i do not mean to sound stupid here but how can we do that??? your body knows energy in and energy out...if you don't give it the energy in it needs then it goes after storage and when you give it more it stores in case....once you are full your body does not need anymore energy and stores it for later.....so how to we bank calories??

cbu23

I also so go for it, just don't overdo it. Sounds like you don't intend to go overboard...just want some wiggle room!

puggleperson

So how would I do this if I am already eating 1200 calories a day? I have two parties coming up and I want to stay on track like no other. I can't cancel my parties (because what kind of life is that) but I am really stressing over the eating /drinking portion! Help!

ShaSimone

Absolutely. People do a cheat meal once a week, same thing. Others restrict thier calories for a period of time and then do a shock with a higher (not excessive) calorie intake on a particular day and then go back down. I would also try to get lots of exercise calories to have a little more freedom, that's what I did on thanksgiving by doing our local turkey trot 5K. But the way I think you are going about it while there isn't anything wrong with it, when you have those 1200 calorie days the scale will say one thing and then on a splurge weekend you will see that weight (mostly water) come back on. So if you are prepared mentally to see that up and down that we all hate during the time of splurge then do what will work best for you during this holiday season.

cmriverside

I agree with the above posters. Many call that a cheat day, WW calls it "banking calories". Thin people do this all the time. Intermittent fasting is similar. These particular holidays are no different than the many others throughout the year, and you have to allow some leeway. Just go back to your healthy eating immediately after the party, and don't use it as a springboard to eating everything in the break room the next day.

HeelsAndBoxingGloves

So how would I do this if I am already eating 1200 calories a day? I have two parties coming up and I want to stay on track like no other. I can't cancel my parties (because what kind of life is that) but I am really stressing over the eating /drinking portion! Help!

Don't stress!!! Exercise more if you can and earn some extra calories otherwise just remember that it took more that 1 day of going over for you to be unhappy with how you look so if you go over 1 or 2 days just get back on track the next day! :flowerforyou:

chrisdunford7

Yeah, I do it sometimes, especially if there's a day that I know I'm going to want to splurge.

For example, my friend is taking me to LegoLand Florida this Friday for my birthday, and so I'm trying to take in fewer calories up until then so I wont feel as bad if I splurge on over-priced park food. I did the same thing for Thanksgiving and I'll probably do the same for Christmas.

As long as I'm at least 3,500 calories under my weekly average, I'll still lose that pound.

javajunki

My opinion, I would say yes, within reason. Fasting for 3 days and then going for the All-you-can-eat buffet record is probably not a good idea. But silliness aside, reducing calories for a couple of days prior to a family dinner or public function where you don't want to "be on a diet" makes sense. My guideline would be no more than 30% reduction, and try to stay under a 100% increase the one day. That said, sometimes a short shakeup like that can also be helpful in breaking a plateau period.

sarahvive

sorry i do not mean to sound stupid here but how can we do that??? your body knows energy in and energy out...if you don't give it the energy in it needs then it goes after storage and when you give it more it stores in case....once you are full your body does not need anymore energy and stores it for later.....so how to we bank calories??

This is how I would do it. For example, if you want to have a splurge on Saturday, take a look at your food diary at the end of each day M-F. If you ate less than you were allowed, that number will be in green. So, if I had 100 calories left at the end of each weekday, I could allow myself to have a 500 calorie treat on Saturday.

It's just a way of eating an average number of calories throughout the week, some days will be higher, some days will be lower. Overall, you should get the same result as eating the exactly same number of calories per day. Actually, some people think that varying your calories from day to day helps you lose quicker.

JacksMom12

I do this. I zig zag calories and concentrate on my weekly total. On the mfp app you can look at the weekly average and as long as I end up not in the red, I am happy. I had a terrible day Monday (over by 1000 calories) but by the end of the week it should average out for me.

Artemis_Acorn

In terms of the total calorie deficit, the math works, but just be careful about where those 'banked' calories come from. In my opinion, the best is to build up your extra 'spending' calories with exercise so that you're not shortchanging your body of nutrients for several days and then eating high calorie (probably high carb, high fat) foods to use up the bank.

Good luck - I think we're all facing the social eating gauntlet of the holidays to some extent, and it's commendable to plan for it, and work your plan.

mrsdizzyd84

In theory you can so long as you don't go completely off the wagon. Your body functions in calories in versus calories out over a certain period. We usually calculate that per week (7 days). So, look at the numbers.

Let's say you are trying to lose a pound a week. That equals 3500 calories cut a week. Look at your maintenance calorie number (on MFP in the goals section). My personal maintenance calories comes to 2150 a day or 15,050 calories per week. So in order to lose my 1 pound a week I must restrict my calories by 3500. That means in a week I can consumer 11,550 calories and still drop that pound.

So, in theory, so long as you weekly calorie total is your maintenance calories minus your 3500/pound restriction you should still stay on target.

Personally, I try not to play this game. When my routine is inconsistent I have a hard time sticking with it. I splurged on thanksgiving, and it took me about 4 days (and a pound or two later) to get all the way back into my routine.

Jess5825

I believe you can. I did WW and they do that their (you have the whole week to use your exercise calories). I think, as long as at the end of the week, you have a deficit, it all works out.

EmVar

I think you can to some extent. I find the "week average" bar on the chart to be a nice portion of forgiveness if I have a naughty day surrounded by some good days. I prefer the green, don't like the red, but if the week averages about right then I try not to sweat about it.

Looking forward to that naughty pizza tonight!! Will we all be sat around going "how many calories in that slice?" "what about this spoonful of potato salad?" "is that low-fat coleslaw?" lol

xx Em

rochey1098

I do it all the time. It's completely possible. Our body doesn't know the difference between a Point and a calorie, and it doesn't have a magical "reset" clock. Have at it, just make sure you get your 1200 a day!

This.

stuffinmuffin

I always work toward my weekly net cals rather than my daily ones. I eat lighter during the week, or on days where there are no meals or social engagements and then I can enjoy my weekends without fretting too much about going over my calories.

I believe it's what you eat in a week, not a day, that counts. This has worked well for me during weight loss and now also for maintenance. : ) xx

keiraev

Since moving closer to maintenance this is pretty much how I live now.

If I go over my calories one day (and I mean by 500 or 600 not by 50!) I will try to make up for it during the rest of the week by eating slightly under my allowance or not eating back all my exercise calories.

I swear it actually makes me lose weight quicker and it means I can indulge at weekends etc

I still log absolutely everything though even on "bad" days.

When you average out your calories over 7 days you are left with an Average Net for the week & that's what i go on. Like someone else said it's not what you do ONE day that effects you it's what you do most of the time.

yaddayaddayadda

Since moving closer to maintenance this is pretty much how I live now.

If I go over my calories one day (and I mean by 500 or 600 not by 50!) I will try to make up for it during the rest of the week by eating slightly under my allowance or not eating back all my exercise calories.

I swear it actually makes me lose weight quicker and it means I can indulge at weekends etc

I still log absolutely everything though even on "bad" days.

When you average out your calories over 7 days you are left with an Average Net for the week & that's what i go on. Like someone else said it's not what you do ONE day that effects you it's what you do most of the time.

I'm TRYING to be on maintenence, and I like this idea. I feel so guilty when I go over (and I mean by 500 or 600)! I will be trying it. The holiday eating frenzy has begun, and it is so difficult to stay away from the high calorie stuff all the time...

chevy88grl

Well.. I don't call it "banking" my calories. But, then I focus more on my weekly goals vs my daily goals.

I've been known to eat lighter for days leading up to day when I know I will have higher calorie meals. Am I banking calories? Not really, but this just insures that I won't go over my weekly calorie goal.


To each their own, I say.