Can you collect your ex. cals and eat them all in one day?

I_get_fit

I say try it and see if it works for you Everyone is different. I think the idea overall is good... if the day you have high calories is controlled (meaning you count the calories and it's not a binge)

Good luck. Oh and it it works, you might want to do a post about it because I think a lot of people would be interested.

Just1forMe

Solid, YES you can do this. Think about the science of the numbers. It takes a net loss of 3500 calories PER WEEK to lose one pound. It doesn't take into account when you lose those those calories. I've done this on occasion with great continued success (60+ pounds lost).

As a second motivator, if I go over my calories on Monday by 300, then I can either do 300 calories in exercise that day(usually don't want to do this) or take off 100 calories for the next 3 days OR exercise for 100 calories burned the next three days.(and don't add it back into the eatable food for that day).

So relax and enjoy. This method is good for spike metabolism AND to give yourself permission instead of not thinking that you've failed ONE day. Average it out and enjoy your journey.

i totaly agree with you!!

Ditto...works for me. I would not actually "add up" your total exercise calories though....maybe just do one 2600-2800 calorie day.

becoming_a_new_me

This is something that will get varied answers because of the different opinions. You will find what works best for you, but it's perfectly okay to have a lazy/splurge day from time to time. I personally do not do this because I know how it will make me feel both mentally and physically. To stay on track with my plan, I like to count each day as a new day. It has been discussed that a splurge day helps to equalize your metabolism, and while I cannot find studies to quantify this, the testomonies speak for themselves.

Mary Ann
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/blog/iddreams/view/overcoming-the-obesity-mindset-194711

sirabe

Sounds like calorie cycling

LA723

in the voice of Jillian Michaels-No You Cannot!
(those of you that know Jillian-this should totally make you laugh):laugh:

LOL! It did make me laugh!

I think the jury is still out on this. I've read posts here that say one day of eating a lot is good for your metabolism and then I've read others that say it's the worst thing you can do.

I think this is an individual thing and one should try out each way & see how their body responds.

KathyWel

Cheating, at least for me, sets up craving and thoughts about what I can get away with.

Yep that's the way it is for me too!

NicoWoodruff

Cheating, at least for me, sets up craving and thoughts about what I can get away with.

Yep that's the way it is for me too!

Exactly. I know that's how it would be for me too, which is why I've never even bothered with trying it.

annabellj

I have a lot of bodybuilders that are on my friends list and they seem to have no problem eating like this. they dont cheat the entire day per se, but a cheat meal is fine. if they can look totally ripped, i think it is ok for me to have a fun meal once in a while. the key is to not go so overboard, stuffed, etc with crap that you feel like crap. Also, i am a former ww member who used to eat like this also and it did nothing to stall my weightloss. when you start looking at it as, oh its the weekend, i can eat whatever i want to, that is when you get into trouble, whatever you do, track it, no matter what you eat, put it in your diary. that way you can go back to check what you have eaten and how you feel physically after if it was worth it or not. my cheats are not planned because i never know when i will want something but i dont cheat that often anymore cuz i just dont feel good afterwards and i have a really hard time getting back on track, it is more trial and error to see what will work for you. not every person is going to have the exact same journey.

nixickle

It does always puzzle me when people talk about 'saving up' extra calories, or alcohol or other treats etc....we wouldnt dream of saving up our fruit and veg rations and cram that into one day...nor would we not exercise at all, all week just to do it all in one day!! So why do we presume we can do this with the naughty stuff? - just curious as I have never understood this!

I think this would be my worst nightmare! I am normally so hungry after any exercise, I need the extra that day!! I could think of nothing worse than feeling like I'm starving all week just to indulge for one night! (but that's also because i like treats on a regular basis!!) When I was losing weight I stayed roughly within a range (from 1200 - 1600 net) which was still below my maintenance range, and if I did indulge, the following day I would just go back to 1200. I allowed myself cheat days and now that I'm maintaining I still allow cheat days (I've just 2 this weekend) and following on from a cheat day I will lower my calories the next day for a few days before eating maintenance calories again. My biggest concern with 'saving up exercise calories' is that you are at risk of feeling light headed and getting headaches as your body does require that extra fuel. But I am a strong believer in eating all exercise calories, and I know I certainly need mine!

However you could always try this and see how you get on. If it works for you then go for it. I'm a strong believer in going with what works for you. For me personally this would be a big no-no! But we're all different!

Best of luck to you!

thankyou4thevenom

Stuff like this really confuses me when I know people who are naturally slim that eat next to nothing one day and eat like the pig the next. Yet according to a lot of people here that is a sure way to gain fat.

medoria

It totally depends where you come from. If you have had problems with bingeeating or eating disorders,
maybe its not such a good idea. And also you dont mention how much calories you want to save up.
Bing difference in saving up 200-600 and having a piece of cake on a saturday night, or saving up so you can
have a 3000+ calorie feast over the weekend including snacks, soda and what not.
Its not only about saving up, its about what your saving up for. The whole point of trying to loose weight is totattly pointless
if it comes down to saving on the weeks to spoil yourself on the weekends. Your still eating bad and poorly.

sherrirb

I have searched to see if anyone has asked this and couldn't find a query that would grab any relevant posts.

If you are set to a 1200 calorie diet - could you "save up" your exercise calories for a once a week cheat meal, or an "off" day?

You would then net under 1200 calories most days of the week, however, you would have one day where you would eat them all up, then your total calories for the week would balance to what they should be.

What would be the possible drawbacks to this? And the possible benefits?

I have been reading a lot about the "spike day" method, and I wondered if this would be a method of determining how many calories could go into the spike day. In fact, I think someone may have asked this, but I never did see an answer.

I've actually had this discussion with my husband.
Each pound of weight is equivalent to 3500 calories. My BMR (plus activity) is about 2700 calories per day. My Daily Goal is 1450 per day to lose weight. To maintain at this weight I would want to stick to around 2200 calories per day.

**You can change your Weight Loss Goal in MFP from "2lbs a day loss" to "maintenance or Maintain" to find out what your daily caloric intake would be.**

So if, on special ocassions, you would like to "splurge" a little and have a hot fudge sundae for a treat or a reward for a personal goal you reached, whatever you want it for.. as long as you are staying between your BMR and your Maintain caloric intake, you should be ok. Now, I would not make this a regular practice, only for special ocassions or you might find your weightloss halting, see a weight gain.

Also note that from what you are describing, saving all your exercise calories up and eating them all on one day.. this sounds too much like BINGE EATING could lead to a bulimic lifestyle which runs completely against all weight loss principles.

34000volts

Sorry, but no. You'll burn lean body mass on collection days, then add fat on your eat day.
NOPE!

You will be able to loose weight but I agree with the quote here the consequence is even though you loose weight you will still look flabby because of a high body fat percentage. That doesn't seem like a good trade off to me,

rockerbabyy

i wouldnt try to save ALL my exercise calories for the week for a one day binge - but i eat until im satisfied on my workout days and some times i dont end up eating all my calories. sometimes i do use those on sundays (my free day) and make sure my weekly net goal is reached. as i sit right now, with all my planned meals logged for the rest of the day, i have 1005 calories left for the week. i might use them, i might not. depends on how im feeling later.

em9371

I wouldn't go as far as saving up a whole weeks worth of exercise cals, depending how much you work out that could be a huge amount of food to eat in one day!
I generally have 1 day a week where my cals are over my allowance eg if we have a takeaway at the weekend, or a meal out, but i other days if I'm a little under it balances out over the week.
It doesn't seem to affect my loss ive done 21lbs in 12 weeks.

pauljsolie

My opinion is yes you can and no you can't. You most likely can lose weight doing this but you will also lose lean muscle mass. Do a search for "skinny fat". I saw some comparison pics of someone who weighed the same but one pic was flabby and one was toned. The flabby pic she looked like she could lose more weight while the toned pic was very appealing. Just my thoughts.

shellybean826

i think ...that instead of saving up an "x" amount of calories to use on something bad ...why not enjoy yourself, eat whatever it is that you are planning on eating and then taking the next 6 days to try and make up for it ..with exercise ? ....that way you know afterwards what you need to make up for ??? im doing weight watchers and they factor in points for you to use for "treats" and they say it works ..(ive never eaten those so i dont know) but the thing about that is even those extra points have to be tracked and there is a limit to them ..you cant just binge to your hearts content lolol ....hope this helped

LaurenAOK

in the voice of Jillian Michaels-No You Cannot!
(those of you that know Jillian-this should totally make you laugh):laugh:

I lol'd :happy:

Shell_7609

When I did weight watchers, they had banked points that you could use when you go out to eat, have a special meal, or something like that. Personally on here I look at both my daily calories and my weekly calories, I try to stay below my limit daily, but if once a week or so I have a 'cheat day/meal' I dont feel as bad about it, especially if I'm still under for the week. A personal example last Friday I went over by about half a day's worth of calories, but I still ended up under for the week, and when I weighed in on Tuesday, I was down 2 pounds

lizzys

i would say know untill you gain the muscles that will burn what you eat up your just going to go around and around each pound of muscle burns 3 times more calories than just haveing fat gain muscle frist not more fat than you can eat more that s how all are bodys work

danielle1983cov

I would love to know the actual answer to this question! Personally, I think it's ok to have a treat now and again, though surely thinking of food as a 'treat' is not really very helpful. This is precisely the reason I left Weight Watchers: I found I was saving up lots and lots points and having massive pizza, chocolate and wine splurges. Surely not good for you, and definitely not good for me mentally: I found I was always trying to figure out how much food I could eat every day to 'get by' and then have to use on rubbish! Saying that, you have to live a normal life and I will certainly just be exercising that little bit harder whenever I decide to go for a nice meal or have a few drinks. It's very confusing sometimes, though it really shouldn't be!

Divagettinfitin2011

Bump