exercise calories

viadelorosa03
viadelorosa03 Posts: 65
edited September 20 in Food and Nutrition
Ok so I know we are supposto eat our exercise calories, but do we have to eat them on the day we generate them or say can I wait and splurge on a specific day. My anniversary is coming up so If I say "stock up" calories all week and use them up on the weekend would that still make my body go into starvation mode that quickly or can I just make sure they even out within the week.

Replies

  • I would just make sure to eat at least 1200 calories everyday. Don't go under that and you should be fine.
  • CindyWard4u
    CindyWard4u Posts: 40 Member
    depending on your current weight and what your goals are will determine how many calories you should be eating....with that being said if you are strict on your nutrition regularly then splurging for a weekend probably won't hurt you immensely...but I would warn you to NOT get on the scale for at least a week after you get back to your normal eating/exercise routine. ;)
  • SHBoss1673
    SHBoss1673 Posts: 7,161 Member
    I disagree with liltommysmommy. That 1200 is a generic number put out as an average of ALL women, and should not be regarded as a hard floor for all women.

    In truth, the amount of deficit depends mostly on how much you have to lose. There are many other factors that go into it as well, such as fat distribution, fat age, genetic disposition to fat burning, resting metabolic rate, calorie ratio, times and amount of calories consumed (I.E. when you eat, and how much you eat at any one meal), exercise amount, exercise type, age, sex, VO2 Max, respiratory efficiency...etc.

    While most of these are difficult to gauge, many can be averaged because the differences from the mean represent small amounts, but for some of these, the differences are rather large and mean that you can't just rely on 1200 being the right floor for you.

    1 thing you need to check is how much you really need to lose to be in the healthy range, the less weight (fat) you need to lose, the smaller your deficit should be. Yes, I realize a smaller deficit means a longer time to lose the weight, but that's just a fact of life.

    So to the OP, my answer is, no you can't really bank calories. The body doesn't work that way (not really), fat stored isn't burned the same way as food consumed, and thus you can't think of food not eaten as extra calories you can eat all at once.

    But on the other hand, IMHO your diet should never be so strict that you can't bend it a bit for a special occasion. As long as special occasions are special and kept at a reasonable amount (say once a month or so) and you don't go overboard for each one (I.E. eating 400 or 500 extra calories 1 day a month will do very little or no damage in the long term, no need to adjust the rest of your schedule, in fact, adjusting will only cause you more problems in the long run!)
  • arewethereyet
    arewethereyet Posts: 18,702 Member
    Ok so I know we are supposto eat our exercise calories, but
    do we have to eat them on the day we generate them or say can I wait and splurge on a specific day.
    My anniversary is coming up so If I say "stock up" calories all week and use them up on the weekend would that still make my body go into starvation mode that quickly or can I just make sure they even out within the week.

    To answer your questions from using my experience in the matter.
    Stocking up calories really doesnt help. Your body doesnt know it is going to get some food on Saturday if you eat 500 on Monday. Your body needs to be fueled each day.

    When I have a special occasion, and I am working in a deficit (dieting :laugh) I do a few things.
    The week before the event I try to eat as clean as possible. No processed foods, and def not carry out.
    I eat losts of salad and spinach and grilled chick/fish/turkey.
    Then I exercise EXTRA the day before and the day of my special occasion.

    Now I do all this for the psycological issues associated with over eating on that day. My mind feels so guilty I cannot enjoy that yummy cake.

    I just did this for my anniversary and ate a lovely meal and a HUGE cupcake (it was also my "I aint 50 yet birthday!") I never thought twice about the meal.

    Oh and BTW...........I lost a pound that week!!

    Have fun and enjoy your day sweety!
  • Thanks for the insight. This is my first time dieting in my life so i'm very new at this. So far so good though.
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