Read the newbies threads, still have one question

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stilloriginal
stilloriginal Posts: 5
in Health and Weight Loss
Very nice site you have here. After reading the stickies I still have a question about calories, diet, and exercise. It has to do with whether or not you can average these over a week.
Right now I am doing an average of 500 calories of exercise per day. This means some days I am doing 1000, some days 500, and some days 0. My maintenance calories are 2700, so with exercise 3200, so my "target" diet is 2200 right now. If I were to eat my target every day, then some days I would be at a net 1200 calories, and some days a net 2200. To complicate it a bit more, I tend to eat better during the workweek, and drink a bit on weekends, when I am working out less, so my swings might be even greater. So, some days I might be at a 1200 net day, and others maybe as high as 2700 or more.
So, my question is, am I doing it wrong?
If I exercise more, do I need to eat more THAT day? Or if I exercse less, do I need to eat less THAT day? Or, does it average out over a week? Should I always try to eat 1000 calories less than my daily expenditure, or am I over-thinking it? Thanks in advance...

Replies

  • jacksonpt
    jacksonpt Posts: 10,413 Member
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    Yes, weekly is fine.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
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    Why not figure out your average TDEE, subtract 20% and just eat the same everyday? It will make life so much simpler.
  • stilloriginal
    stilloriginal Posts: 5
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    well that is what I am asking..... the thread about "eating your exercise calories" and not going into starvation mode had me thinking that by maybe being inconsistent I was starving one day and storing the next... I am just looking for clarification on if that is the case or not.
  • 1ConcreteGirl
    1ConcreteGirl Posts: 3,677 Member
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    well that is what I am asking..... the thread about "eating your exercise calories" and not going into starvation mode had me thinking that by maybe being inconsistent I was starving one day and storing the next... I am just looking for clarification on if that is the case or not.

    You want to try to reach your goal each day, or be within 100 calories of it, but life happens and some days you'll be over it or under it by more than that. It doesn't matter as long as you are in close range of your weekly goals.
  • BarackMeLikeAHurricane
    BarackMeLikeAHurricane Posts: 3,400 Member
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    Yes, weekly is fine.
    ^
  • ToughMudderAddict
    ToughMudderAddict Posts: 290 Member
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    well that is what I am asking..... the thread about "eating your exercise calories" and not going into starvation mode had me thinking that by maybe being inconsistent I was starving one day and storing the next... I am just looking for clarification on if that is the case or not.

    You want to try to reach your goal each day, or be within 100 calories of it, but life happens and some days you'll be over it or under it by more than that. It doesn't matter as long as you are in close range of your weekly goals.

    You will not go into "Starvation mode" if you don't eat goal calories for a day. There are plenty of people, myself included, who do intermittent fasting and do not consume any calories on a given day or even longer periods of time but who then make up for those calories either the days before/after the fast or through out the week. The weekly target is a great thing to go by if that is what will work best for you.
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
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    well that is what I am asking..... the thread about "eating your exercise calories" and not going into starvation mode had me thinking that by maybe being inconsistent I was starving one day and storing the next... I am just looking for clarification on if that is the case or not.

    You want to try to reach your goal each day, or be within 100 calories of it, but life happens and some days you'll be over it or under it by more than that. It doesn't matter as long as you are in close range of your weekly goals.

    You will not go into "Starvation mode" if you don't eat goal calories for a day. There are plenty of people, myself included, who do intermittent fasting and do not consume any calories on a given day or even longer periods of time but who then make up for those calories either the days before/after the fast or through out the week. The weekly target is a great thing to go by if that is what will work best for you.

    I agree. Weekly goals work just fine!
  • MinimalistShoeAddict
    MinimalistShoeAddict Posts: 1,946 Member
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    Why not figure out your average TDEE, subtract 20% and just eat the same everyday? It will make life so much simpler.

    That is not easier for everyone. First of all exercise totals may vary greatly from week to week for some people. Secondly, setting weekly goals gives you a lot more flexibility to increase intake during days with social events, etc and make up for it by eating less on other days.

    I have nothing against the TDEE model and agree it can work well for many people. I am only stating that it does not make things easier for everyone
  • mikejholmes
    mikejholmes Posts: 291 Member
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    Yes, weekly is fine.
    ^
    ^

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