saving calories for a splurge?

abbylove08

So I've been trying to prepare for the weekend: my brother is coming to visit me at school tomorrow. we're going out tomorrow night (out=bar=drinks) and then heading to River Street on friday night (dinner, bars). So all week Ive been staying at within my calories, and also not eating my exercise calories (only ~200-300) because i'm "saving" those calories for the next two days.
is that logical? ive heard a lot of debate as to whether or not to eat your exercise calories. some people don't eat them and dont have any problems, others swear that you MUST eat the exercise cals. usually i DO eat them, but this week i've been saving.

can someone tell me if this is ok/logical?

what if one weekend i know i over-do it.. could i do the same thing (not eat my exercise calories) to make up for the extras eaten over the weekend?

thanks!

abbylove08

So I've been trying to prepare for the weekend: my brother is coming to visit me at school tomorrow. we're going out tomorrow night (out=bar=drinks) and then heading to River Street on friday night (dinner, bars). So all week Ive been staying at within my calories, and also not eating my exercise calories (only ~200-300) because i'm "saving" those calories for the next two days.
is that logical? ive heard a lot of debate as to whether or not to eat your exercise calories. some people don't eat them and dont have any problems, others swear that you MUST eat the exercise cals. usually i DO eat them, but this week i've been saving.

can someone tell me if this is ok/logical?

what if one weekend i know i over-do it.. could i do the same thing (not eat my exercise calories) to make up for the extras eaten over the weekend?

thanks!

kristie874

Some say this is bad but I have done it myself! It seems to work okay for me but I try not to do it all the time. It really is very similar to how Weight Watchers is (or was like 8 years ago...not sure if it's changed). They required that you ate your minimum points but could save between the minimum and the maximum for a special day. Say you could eat between 26 and 32 points, eat 26, then save the extra 6 for the end of the week...do it 5 times and you have 30 extra points! Just make sure not to eat too few calories daily! Have fun going out! I'm jealous!

firewalking

I am so sorry to tell you this, but no, this does not work. God I (and I'm sure everyone else in here) wishes it did work that way.

3500 calories = 1 pound of weight loss and/or weight gain.

Your best bet is to decide to go off your plan for the weekend and get ready for the consequences of that decision. It might not be as bad as you think. Working out during your splurge may help slow and/or stop the gain.

swtally80

I wouldn't call it saving. You should eat right up until that weekend and then try to be sensible on your weekend "off" and then get right back on the wagon after he leaves. Its a celebration enjoy it!

Anna_Banana

If you don't go out all the time, why not just have a splurge or cheat day. I eat all my calories everyday including my exercise calories. And I also take one day a week to eat whatever I want and not track calories. It has worked for me.

Wolfena

I am of the opinion that it's fine to save some calories for a splurge and/or add some extra exercise to work them off. I think you can go by your weekly average for calories, not necessarily day to day.... so if you eat 150 less calories for 6 days that week- or exercise that many extra off (before or after or a little of both) you'd have 850 extra for your splurge day!

heather0mc

If you don't go out all the time, why not just have a splurge or cheat day. I eat all my calories everyday including my exercise calories. And I also take one day a week to eat whatever I want and not track calories. It has worked for me.

i agree with anna-banana! :flowerforyou:

my opinion is that you take each day at a time - do what you are supposed to do for that day. when it comes time for a 'cheat' moment, you will have trained yourself to be more concious of what you are doing and you wont go completely biserk. but even if you did - its only one day! think of what you were eating before and how long it took you to gain.

we all have to live. have a good time and dont worry it too much! :flowerforyou:

MyaPapaya75

I am so sorry to tell you this, but no, this does not work. God I (and I'm sure everyone else in here) wishes it did work that way.

3500 calories = 1 pound of weight loss and/or weight gain.

Your best bet is to decide to go off your plan for the weekend and get ready for the consequences of that decision. It might not be as bad as you think. Working out during your splurge may help slow and/or stop the gain.

Ditto....I totally agree....in addition *just my opinion* but having a day where you can eat whatever you want and not track calories ...doesnt really help your relationship with food...it would make more sense to have the items you want but have correct portions and account for the calories.

gperry227

We just had a long weekend off of work ( 4 dayer). I splurged EVERY day. I lost 1/4 lb.
One wknd is not going to hurt. Prepare yourself by making it out w/ urself tht u may gain some weight.

AlterKnight

Just exercise like hell that day (like a 1500 to 2000 calorie burn)... then go wild for the evening and get back on the wagon the next day.

You only live once.

mommyof2kiddos

I agree. Why not just have a cheat/splurge day? As long as it doesn't happen often, you'll be fine!

SHBoss1673

The human body burns the calories it needs whenever and wherever they are available.

If it doesn't burn calories consumed, it stores them as... you guessed it... FAT.

the opposite is not true however. Your body needs a certain amount of calories at all times, this is call your RMR (resting metabolic rate). It doesn't slow down (not right away at least, see below for more info) if you don't feed it, and it won't retroactively burn extra if you save calories from one day and burn them the next.

If your body can't find the calories it needs from consumed food, then it will take energy from other places, fat, protein, other lean tissue. It will also begin the process of slowing down your metabolism. Now, over one day, that really won't be an issue, because it takes a while to slow the metabolism noticeably. So the saving part isn't really a huge issue over 1 or 2 days.

The problem comes in the "splurging" part. Even though you saved calories (or Banked as weight watchers used to put it, like how I slid the Bank reference in there? ) Your body won't go into overdrive once it gets the extra. It'll just use what it always uses and store the rest as... you guessed it again, your so smart... FAT.

See the problem?

This is also why it's bad to eat really big meals. Even if you stay within your calories for the day, if you eat it all at once, your still going to store some fat.

hope this helps

-Banks

gilly88

The human body burns the calories it needs whenever and wherever they are available.

If it doesn't burn calories consumed, it stores them as... you guessed it... FAT.

the opposite is not true however. Your body needs a certain amount of calories at all times, this is call your RMR (resting metabolic rate). It doesn't slow down (not right away at least, see below for more info) if you don't feed it, and it won't retroactively burn extra if you save calories from one day and burn them the next.

If your body can't find the calories it needs from consumed food, then it will take energy from other places, fat, protein, other lean tissue. It will also begin the process of slowing down your metabolism. Now, over one day, that really won't be an issue, because it takes a while to slow the metabolism noticeably. So the saving part isn't really a huge issue over 1 or 2 days.

The problem comes in the "splurging" part. Even though you saved calories (or Banked as weight watchers used to put it, like how I slid the Bank reference in there? ) Your body won't go into overdrive once it gets the extra. It'll just use what it always uses and store the rest as... you guessed it again, your so smart... FAT.

See the problem?

This is also why it's bad to eat really big meals. Even if you stay within your calories for the day, if you eat it all at once, your still going to store some fat.

hope this helps

-Banks

But what about calorie cycling/shifting? ie. spreading calories unevenly throughout the week to 'shock' the body - this is supposed to be quite effective?
there's a good website: yayfood.com that explains it...would be interested to hear ur thoughts!

heather0mc

The human body burns the calories it needs whenever and wherever they are available.

If it doesn't burn calories consumed, it stores them as... you guessed it... FAT.

the opposite is not true however. Your body needs a certain amount of calories at all times, this is call your RMR (resting metabolic rate). It doesn't slow down (not right away at least, see below for more info) if you don't feed it, and it won't retroactively burn extra if you save calories from one day and burn them the next.

If your body can't find the calories it needs from consumed food, then it will take energy from other places, fat, protein, other lean tissue. It will also begin the process of slowing down your metabolism. Now, over one day, that really won't be an issue, because it takes a while to slow the metabolism noticeably. So the saving part isn't really a huge issue over 1 or 2 days.

The problem comes in the "splurging" part. Even though you saved calories (or Banked as weight watchers used to put it, like how I slid the Bank reference in there? ) Your body won't go into overdrive once it gets the extra. It'll just use what it always uses and store the rest as... you guessed it again, your so smart... FAT.

See the problem?

This is also why it's bad to eat really big meals. Even if you stay within your calories for the day, if you eat it all at once, your still going to store some fat.

hope this helps

-Banks

thanks mr. B!

abbylove08

Regarding an earlier response, if 3500 cals is 3500 cals (meaning the deficit over the period of a week), if at the end of the week, my deficit is still 3500, as long as i eat at least 1200 net cals/day, then won't it still be 1 lb lost, keeping me on track? I'm making sure that i eat 1200 a day (including my exercise calories, i'll eat enough to bring me to 1200 net), so that this weekend, i've got a little bit of wiggle room? This definitely isn't something I do every week to prepare for the weekend, but I know I won't have the workout regimen these next couple of days that I might usually have on the weekend.

thanks for EVERYONE's thoughts and opinions! it's really helpful, and I like seeing others' points of view and tips about this whole weight-loss thing we've all got going!

gilly88

Regarding an earlier response, if 3500 cals is 3500 cals (meaning the deficit over the period of a week), if at the end of the week, my deficit is still 3500, as long as i eat at least 1200 net cals/day, then won't it still be 1 lb lost, keeping me on track? I'm making sure that i eat 1200 a day (including my exercise calories, i'll eat enough to bring me to 1200 net), so that this weekend, i've got a little bit of wiggle room? This definitely isn't something I do every week to prepare for the weekend, but I know I won't have the workout regimen these next couple of days that I might usually have on the weekend.

thanks for EVERYONE's thoughts and opinions! it's really helpful, and I like seeing others' points of view and tips about this whole weight-loss thing we've all got going!

yeah, i think that's right. there's studies showing that a day over your maintenance cals can shock the metabolism into boosting into higher gear (providing that, as you say, the deficit for the week remains the same).

SHBoss1673

While it sounds right. It's not. If I eat 1500 calories a day (well below my starvation point, my maintenance is around 2750 and my BMI is about 23.5) all in one mea, 2 things will happen. 1 I'll be burning protein for some of my extra calories which mean's I'm loosing muscle and definition and 2 I'll be gaining fat because I ate way more in one sitting then my body can burn, and those extra calories will be stored as fat. And once stored, fat is far harder (as we all know) to burn off then straight calories consumed.

Muscle is normally closer to blood flow then fat, and even though fat burns easier then protein, if you have protein close enough, the body will take some of it which means your losing muscle mass.

So the short answer is no, having a 3500 calorie deficit at the end of the week isn't good enough.

think about it this way, if you have two women, both are 5'5" tall and 160 lbs and one is 20% body fat and one is 32% body fat, which one will look better? Remember, we aren't about loosing weight, we are (or should be) about becoming healthier, and banking calories all week is not a healthy way to lose weight.

staceyw37

Mr Banks--thanks so much for the physiological/science background on this. I think a lot of people wind up with food issues b/c they don't understand the chemistry of our bodies. Your info is very helpful.
I'd like to add that big meals also cause a bigger surge of insulin which is problematic as well. It can lead to diabetes type 2 in that such bursts of insulin can cause the insulin receptors to lose their efficiency. I believe the surge also leads to more fat storage?? and of course, with the surge can come the "sugar" crash later.
So, that's all another reason not to have HUGE meals. On that note, I am walking away from the kitchen. no more eating tonight for me!:laugh:

rachwils

Please go and read my article on my blog of WHY this DOESNT work!
http://nutritionalbiochem.blogspot.com/2011/08/03-saving-calories-why-this-doesnt-work.html

rml_16

I am so sorry to tell you this, but no, this does not work. God I (and I'm sure everyone else in here) wishes it did work that way.

3500 calories = 1 pound of weight loss and/or weight gain.

Your best bet is to decide to go off your plan for the weekend and get ready for the consequences of that decision. It might not be as bad as you think. Working out during your splurge may help slow and/or stop the gain.

It works just fine for me. I do it all the time and have very good losses.