Counting Calories for the Week Vs Each Day

Bump because I am curious as well.

I also track weekly, as well as daily. I save calories for a weekend when I know I'll have a family outing or something. I try to eat all my exercise calories back but I'm never that hungry. I eat a good portion back, though.

I look at it this way: I didn't gain weight in a day, so I won't lose weight in a day, therefore it's more about not going over my calorie allowance for the week.

Well first, they say to only weigh once a week, so looking at your calories for both daily and weekly shouldn't hurt anything. When you look at weight watchers for instance, you have points for the day, and extra points for the week (I forget what they are called) but you can use those extra points in one day or spread them out for the week. So I would think that you are okay to look at it that way. I know that when I splurge one day, I try to better the next day or the next couple of days to make up for it. You are not going to gain 10 lbs in one day, it is a cumulative effect, so as long as you don't go continually crazy, you should be fine. I wouldn't suggest that you eat way over every day in the week and then eat way under on the weekends, but I would look at it both ways.

Well that's called a calorie zig zag, and it is extremely effective for some people, myself included.

I average for the week, that way I "save" calories for a nice cheat meal at the end of the week.
Many fitness/bodybuilding programs use this technique as well and call it calorie cycling.

http://breakingmuscle.com/nutrition/calorie-and-carb-cycling-breaking-through-your-diet-plateau

For me its about being accountable for myself, and I find it more helpful to track everyday. I also weigh myself everyday, sometimes a couple times a day, not because I feel like I "have to", more because I want the instant gratification of knowing I stuck to my plan and I'm were I think I should be.

But at the same time tracking for the week might work for some people too, I don't know if I could be that focused without having to check were I'm at all the time. And I see alot of people "saving up" for cheat days. I have mixed feelings about that, I feel like the reason you set a calorie goal for the day is so that you hit your mark, and what your body needs to balance your life/workouts, but if you are under cutting to save calories for alter are you really giving your body what it needs that day.

I've been using the "zig-zag" method with good results for some time now. At the moment, I've been banking my calories for the weekends when I have a tendency to go over due to everyone being home, but overall, I'll eat more on some days and less on others purposefully so my body doesn't get used to a set amount of food. That being said, I have plateaued, but when I do, I just change something up and I start losing again.

tl:dr - Zig-zagging has been very beneficial for me.

Well that's called a calorie zig zag, and it is extremely effective for some people, myself included.

And me. I've been doing it for 9 ish years - first to lose and then maintain. Some days my body really wants 2,500 - 3,000 calories other days 1,500 does the job. A lot depends on how much sleep I've gotten and how busy I was at work. I just go with it.

bump this is good info

I think in the end we all have to find what works best for us. I have read several differnt blogs about what one person does v another, and I say if it is working for you go with it. I personally have to hold myself accountable per day. If I went to a weekly accountability I would definatly overeat for the week. I just jknow how I am.

Good luck with your journey!

My daily calorie goal is 1300 which would give me a weekly goal of 9100 calories (net). I've started looking at my week as whole rather than just daily so that if I go over my calories on a day I can balance out the rest of the week and still only net 9100 calories per 7 days.

My question is: Is this still an effective way to track or am I doing myself some sort of metabolic disservice by going over some days and under on others? I generally eat more on work days and less on weekends which would be my balance out time to make up for days I went over during the week.

I do eat my exercise calories back.

Thanks. Feel free to ask me questions if I'm not explaining this clearly enough.

I've heard it is a really good way to track. For me personally, I've been confused of why my weight hasn't been going down at the rate it's "supposed to" and it "used to".

Just yesterday I logged in on my phone using the MFP app and saw that over the past four weeks I've been overeating my weekly goal by a lot. And up until then I'd thought that I was only getting one "cheat day" a week! Turns out that if you eat within 50 calories of your goal and then blow it once or twice by a few hundred on a day or two, you're not actually eating at a deficit.

What is your weekly weight loss set to because this doesn't sound right. At all.

I log daily, but I am more concerned about staying within my calorie goal for the week vs. the day. This allows me the flexibility to live life normally -- if I go out to eat, or it's a holiday, no big deal, I just make sure I stay within target for the week.

I'm quite proud that I've never gone over my weekly goal since I started logging. This could be a big part of why I've been able to maintain successfully for over a year!

TDEE does kinda the same thing you eat your total weekly cals, same number each day regardless if you workout or not. So on days you don't workout your deficit is really small, but on days you do it would be much larger but by the end of the week it would be the same or similar.

say MFP gives you 1450 calories to lose 1 lb/week, and you plan on exercising 5x/week for an average of 400 cals per workout. well MFP will tell you to eat 1450 on the days you don't workout and 1850 on the days you do whereas a "professional" or TDEE calculator may tell you to eat 1700 everyday regardless if you workout.

So for the week MFP will have you eat 12,150 (1450*2+1850*5) whereas doing it the other way will have you eat 11,900 (1700*7) almost the same number of cals for the week (250 dif).

My daily calorie goal is 1300 which would give me a weekly goal of 9100 calories (net). I've started looking at my week as whole rather than just daily so that if I go over my calories on a day I can balance out the rest of the week and still only net 9100 calories per 7 days.

My question is: Is this still an effective way to track or am I doing myself some sort of metabolic disservice by going over some days and under on others? I generally eat more on work days and less on weekends which would be my balance out time to make up for days I went over during the week.

I do eat my exercise calories back.

Thanks. Feel free to ask me questions if I'm not explaining this clearly enough.

I've heard it is a really good way to track. For me personally, I've been confused of why my weight hasn't been going down at the rate it's "supposed to" and it "used to".

Just yesterday I logged in on my phone using the MFP app and saw that over the past four weeks I've been overeating my weekly goal by a lot. And up until then I'd thought that I was only getting one "cheat day" a week! Turns out that if you eat within 50 calories of your goal and then blow it once or twice by a few hundred on a day or two, you're not actually eating at a deficit.

that's basic math. if you only have a 50 calorie deficit 5 days a week then you have a 250 calorie deficit for those days. If you then go over by 200 calories 2 days a week you have a 400 calorie surplus for those days. Net 150 calorie SURPLUS.

I am very confused, are we talking about being 50 calories from the MFP calorie goal to lose say a pound a weight or 50 calories under her TDEE? If you are under 50 calories from your MFP goal 5 days a week and you are set to lose 1 pound per week, then going over 200 calories twice a week, shouldn't do much to inhibit weight loss.

wait . . . wut?

That's basic math. If you have a 50 calorie deficit 5 days a week then you have a 250 calorie deficit for those days. If you then go over by 200 calories 2 days a week you have a 400 calorie surplus for those days. Net 150 calorie SURPLUS.

:huh: It's not a "surplus" unless her daily goal is set to her TDEE and I assume it is not. If you are set to lose one pound per week, your weekly deficit should be 3,500 calories, she'd have a deficit of 3,350 per week with your numbers. Her weight loss shouldn't be dramatically impeded.