Balancing calories and exercise when in maintenance

samuraidoctor
samuraidoctor Posts: 29 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I'm currently in maintenance phase and have been thinking about when best to eat my calories. I tend to try to see how much I burn at the end of the day and play catch-up in the evening with food, but is it best to do it that way, or to plan the exercise and approximate burn and more earlier in the day in preparation? Thoughts?

Replies

  • PixieAdele
    PixieAdele Posts: 102 Member
    Im in the same boat. I find it hard to eat back my cals after my works outs that are around an hour long 3 times a wk burning around 300-400 cals each time. My boyfriend reckons im doing a "slow cut" and i think hes a bit worried about me losing too much weight. But at the moment im hovering around 49-50kg (I;m 5'1"). I try not to eat a heavy meal before the gym and try to eat afterwards like you but I find it hard as I get back quite late.

    Sorry this is no help whatsoever haha!
  • Chief_Rocka
    Chief_Rocka Posts: 4,710 Member
    Just use whatever method works easier for you. You could exercise one day and not eat the calories until the next day, if you wanted.
  • BrettPGH
    BrettPGH Posts: 4,716 Member
    Trial and error. Do what you want and what you feel will work. If you notice the scale moving in a way you don't like or you're not happy with how you feel change it up.
  • zaph0d
    zaph0d Posts: 1,172 Member
    Work out your TDEE. Then eat around that many calories every day.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
    this is were you have to find out and experiment with what you like best, and with your routine.

    do you like early morning work outs? but you can't work out on an empty stomach because you'll pass out, but don't like to work out right after eating... so that means waking up at 4:30 am, eating, and then working out two hours later? damn, who has time for that???

    well, maybe then you should have a big dinner the night before so you wake up not hungry, and go right to work out.

    btw, that is totally what i do, and it took me a few months to figure out that that is what works best for me.


    maybe you like to work out in the evening, so you have a big breakfast and lunch, a snack before you hit the gym, and then just a very light dinner after your post-exercise shower.
  • auroranflash
    auroranflash Posts: 3,569 Member
    Trial and error. Do what you want and what you feel will work. If you notice the scale moving in a way you don't like or you're not happy with how you feel change it up.
    Just use whatever method works easier for you. You could exercise one day and not eat the calories until the next day, if you wanted.

    These guys know what's up.

    Don't make things complicated if they don't have to be... :)
  • HMVOL7409
    HMVOL7409 Posts: 1,588 Member
    Trial and error. Do what you want and what you feel will work. If you notice the scale moving in a way you don't like or you're not happy with how you feel change it up.
    Just use whatever method works easier for you. You could exercise one day and not eat the calories until the next day, if you wanted.

    These guys know what's up.

    Don't make things complicated if they don't have to be... :)

    This, but I also go by my TDEE and honestly don't care about the burn bc my exercise isn't going to change. However after 6 mths in maintenance I find cycling calories is what works best for me. Some days I'm low and then days like today I know I will be over. Less stress this way.
  • PixieAdele
    PixieAdele Posts: 102 Member
    Trial and error. Do what you want and what you feel will work. If you notice the scale moving in a way you don't like or you're not happy with how you feel change it up.
    Just use whatever method works easier for you. You could exercise one day and not eat the calories until the next day, if you wanted.

    These guys know what's up.

    Don't make things complicated if they don't have to be... :)

    This, but I also go by my TDEE and honestly don't care about the burn bc my exercise isn't going to change. However after 6 mths in maintenance I find cycling calories is what works best for me. Some days I'm low and then days like today I know I will be over. Less stress this way.

    Yeah this is the sort of thing I'm doing at the moment so my cals are about right to maintain throughout the wk. I try not to get hung up on daily cals. Plus I don't log one day from thr wkend now and eat what I like that day, I don't want to be logging all my food for the rest of my life!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    i agree with the others.

    i look at my weekly goal, and make sure i am a within a couple of hundred cals of that figure. so i may be slightly under each week day and then be over by 600 cals on a saturday, but it balances itself out over the week. the apps have the weekly net cal count that the website doesnt have.
  • samuraidoctor
    samuraidoctor Posts: 29 Member
    Thanks, guys! I have been working with balancing. Unlike some, I really have to eat before working out, or my body complains a lot at me. Still, I usually start relatively modest and then sit there at the end of the day,, thinking, Wow! so many calories under and so little time! I really don't want to eat junk food, but honestly, I don't have much room left and have to go calorie dense. Ah well. I guess if I can maintain for a while and not go too far up or down, my anxiety about it all will decline.

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