Can you save calories?

christinekojack

I have over 500 calories left for the day and I'm going away for a girlie weekend, which I know will involve lots of eating out and alcohol!! Can I save these calories and use them at the weekend??

Reedern

Technically... NO. These are daily calories and not meant to carry over. Each day you start with a clean slate. I would suggest that if you are planning on eating/drinking more than normal, get up early and go for a run or do some form of exercise to earn the extra calories for the day.

purpleipod

Your calorie allotment is meant to be used per day, not whenever you feel like it. Besides, that would mean you were undereating by 500 calories today, which is not good.

agthorn

Technically... NO. These are daily calories and not meant to carry over. Each day you start with a clean slate. I would suggest that if you are planning on eating/drinking more than normal, get up early and go for a run or do some form of exercise to earn the extra calories for the day.

Technically wrong. Your body doesn't know if you eat something at 11:55pm versus 12:05am the next day. I shift calories around all the time as long as I'm eating at my weekly goal. There is an entire concept of "zig-zag" dieting based around this idea.

purpleipod

We're not talking about 10 minutes here though, we're talking about 4 days from now. She would be very much under her goal for the day if she did that.

katcod1522

Technically... NO. These are daily calories and not meant to carry over. Each day you start with a clean slate. I would suggest that if you are planning on eating/drinking more than normal, get up early and go for a run or do some form of exercise to earn the extra calories for the day.

Technically wrong. Your body doesn't know if you eat something at 11:55pm versus 12:05am the next day. I shift calories around all the time as long as I'm eating at my weekly goal. There is an entire concept of "zig-zag" dieting based around this idea.

as long as you have a weekly deficit...youre good to go

katcod1522

We're not talking about 10 minutes here though, we're talking about 4 days from now. She would be very much under her goal for the day if she did that.

weekly deficit to lose. One day under wont cause long term damage either.

agthorn

We're not talking about 10 minutes here though, we're talking about 4 days from now. She would be very much under her goal for the day if she did that.

The point of the 10 minute thing was directly in response to "Each day you start with a clean slate."

One day under wont cause long term damage either.

Also true.

thankyou4thevenom

Yes and no.

No. You should eat to your calorie total for the day as your body on the day you eat those extra 500 cals would store them as fat.

Yes. You should not eat when you're not hungry. So if you're not hungry today don't eat them. Then on another day if you're still hungry after taking in your calorie allowance eat the extra 500 (or as much as satisfies you).

There are many arguments on both sides. You need to decide what's right for you.

_SusieQ_

You are not going to do permanent damage to your body by being under one day. People have great success on WW which does points and Zig-zagging calories.

kateroot

Any long-term calorie deficit will equal weight loss. Daily, weekly, monthly, doesn't matter how you calculate it. A deficit is a deficit, and one day of eating significantly under your calorie allowance won't hurt, especially if most of those calories are made up later in the week. I wouldn't make a habit of it, but in this case I don't see any harm

erikjacki

As long as it isn't a regular thing- I think it should be fine. When I did weight watchers I used to "save" points all the time... and it was encouraged. Good luck!

RenaPink11

We're not talking about 10 minutes here though, we're talking about 4 days from now. She would be very much under her goal for the day if she did that.

weekly deficit to lose. One day under wont cause long term damage either.

Ditto... you just need a weekly deficit

therealangd

I'm thinking it's not a big deal and to go ahead. One or two days is not going to hurt you.

agthorn

You should eat to your calorie total for the day as your body on the day you eat those extra 500 cals would store them as fat.

Unless you are on a steady-state caloric IV drip your body is constantly going through cycles of storing and burning fat. It's the net effect of those cycles (deficit over time or surplus over time) that lead to changes in weight.

shreyaj

Ditto for the weekly deficit and I agree with the others make sure you drink plenty of water that day and in between drinks, it will make you drink less and make sure you get an intense work out before you go to get your metabolism revved up. Enjoy!! :drinker:

karah0011

I say not to worry about it! Go have a good weekend with your friends and when you return get back on it. You only live once!

TeaBea

YES, you can save calories. Call it your "cheat day." What others have said .... weekly calorie deficit.

Think of this as a learning experience for your future life "without dieting." Someday we all hope to be at our goal weight, when that happens we will have to figure out how to maintain our weight. Stuff will continue to come up ...... pot lucks, Thanksgiving meals, birthdays, vacations, etc. Everyday for the rest of my life will not be eating XX calories .... no more AND no less EVER.

sammys1girly

Technically... NO. These are daily calories and not meant to carry over. Each day you start with a clean slate. I would suggest that if you are planning on eating/drinking more than normal, get up early and go for a run or do some form of exercise to earn the extra calories for the day.

Technically wrong. Your body doesn't know if you eat something at 11:55pm versus 12:05am the next day. I shift calories around all the time as long as I'm eating at my weekly goal. There is an entire concept of "zig-zag" dieting based around this idea.

as long as you have a weekly deficit...youre good to go

I agree! I zig zag mostly every week..I have days I am under by quite a few calories and then over the weekend I'm at least a couple hundred over, and I still lose weight.

aamon17

MFP is built on a weekly deficit. 3500 calories (1 pound) / 7 days = 500 per day! That's why people make the mistake of thinking the deficit is daily. Not true at all. 2lbs? That 7000 calories or a 1000 calorie daily deficit.

You should be perfectly fine. I do it ALL the time. Run a report on your weekly Net Calories to see where you are.

purpleipod

I guess I was just under the impression that they wanted us to exercise to earn extra calories to use on higher calorie days, not hoard calories by consuming under our allotment most of the week. My mistake.

Euvangelia

i am with reedern and purplepod. The purpose of this app, and the path to lower weight involve learning to eat the proper amount for our bodies EACH DAY. Especially if we are just starting out, it probably is not a good idea to "save it up" (though the others are correct about LONG TERM weight loss).
For myself, i would stick to the correct calorie count each day in order to re-learn the self-discilpline i abandoned in the past, which caused me to be where i am today: overweight.

christinekojack

Thank you all so much for your advice,,, my pal (who is coming away with me for the weekend), is doing weight watchers, and has been saving points,, so i just wondered if i could do the same!! I'm going to try and be good and not go over my calories by too much, but also have a good time!! Thanks again you guys! xx

purpleipod

You can't compare this to WW. That program gives you a certain amount of daily points for every day use then an additional amount of weekly points for splurges, to be used whenever. You are still consuming your correct amount of daily points, not under eating.

jamielise2

As long as you're only weighing once a week, it's your net total calories in vs calories out that matter. SO, technically you might see a short term negative change on the scale but it will all balance out. Go out and have a good time. If you really want to be able to maintain a lifestyle change it has to be something you can actually live with.

katcod1522

I dont exercise to eat more..I exercise to be healthy. just sayin.

SIZEro

No,
It is not as simple as that. You have to consider your insulin levels, whenever you eat, insulin is released to regulate your blood glucose level. How does it do that? Basically by storing the excess glucose in muscle or fat cells.
Unfortuantly, a high calorie meal results in higher insulin release, and therefore more fat being stored!

500 calories is a lot. If you are planning to go by the notion that it is only the NET weekly calorie amount that matter, than I would advise you to space out your calories and not consume them all at once!

agthorn

Unfortuantly, a high calorie meal results in higher insulin release, and therefore more fat being stored!

Some people follow an intermittent fasting diet and consume ALL their calories within a small window (4-6 hours). They're not fat. http://www.leangains.com/p/bio.html and http://www.leighpeele.com/martin-berkhan-and-intermittent-fasting-interview