Does saving calories on weekdays for weekends work?

That's what I do and it works for me. I eat at about a 200 - 300 calorie deficit on weekdays and eat a 1000 - 1500 total surplus on a weekend. It fits my lifestyle and I've been maintaining my weight lost two years doing this.

I have people on my FL that do this as well. I can not. I do stay within my calorie deficit for the week, which gives me a little room. It's just that eating a bigger amount of food is counterproductive to me right now. I am losing and re-learning how to eat correct portions. For me, a big cheat meal on the weekends might undo what I have worked so hard to do for 22 months. Maybe someday.

I eat at a slight deficit during the week and go over during the weekend. I've been maintaining a little over one year doing this with ease. Over the weekend I don't crazy and eat all day but I do plan my meals/treats, still look at menus online before going out to eat etc. During the week I fit in a small treat here and there along with a small dessert after dinner.

What usually happens is that I gain 1 - 3 pounds of water weight over the weekend. I work it off during the week and repeat the next weekend so my weight is maintained...I don't gain or lose.

On the flip side I have a friend that tried this and he found it a little too restrictive so he ended up binging over the weekend so it's better for him to spread out his calories all week. For me though it's been great and something I can sustain.

Edited to add...I completely agree with the comment above about not weighing on Monday. I weigh on Friday mornings to keep my stats consistent. I will be up on Monday for sure. That drove me crazy before I learned the science about water weight. I don't overeat over the weekend...it's the sodium.

Yep! I've done it for over a year.

I eat at a 250 deficit on my Fitbit account, log food here, and eat more at w/e. I don't go mad but do relax it a lot!

I plan my food each night and set a 1500cal minimum M-F then add in any extras I've earned on the day, so maybe some choccie in evening etc. I generally hit 1700ish in week which is enough and worth it for the time off earned. I log food at w/e and up my activity as more time to do so but still let my cals spill over into the pre-earned deficit.

I probably only feel brave enough to do it because my Fitbit is tracking activity so I know whether I've burned what I've earned as it were.

I weigh daily with my official one on Sat am to prevent me adding a Fri night into the "days off" category. It won't work if you can't face the Mon morning wt jump lol but it goes again by Friday. On hols I eat freely all week then get straight back to business after and it soon goes again.

Monday to Friday I eat at a deficit and not on the weekends. However, I also do weights(3 x W) and cardio (2 x W) M-F and always eat my exercise calories back. The end result being that, for the week ,I try to get 1800 to 1900 total calories and on the week end I don't usually go to the gym so I "cheat " at 2000 or so calories.
Point is, if you eat back your exercise calories it feels like every day is a cheat day:)
I am losing between 1 to 1.5 ponds a week doing this and never, ever feel like I'm on a "diet".

You need to try different approaches to come up with what combination works for you. It has taken me years to finally find the sweet spot for my particular weight lose journey, good luck

I do this. The only thing you have to watch is your overage. Because mine tend to correspond with night's out, it's easy to overdo it on the "cheat" days. But yeah, I've maintained and even lost doing this.

I can not. I do stay within my calorie deficit for the week, which gives me a little room. It's just that eating a bigger amount of food is counterproductive to me right now. I am losing and re-learning how to eat correct portions. For me, a big cheat meal on the weekends might undo what I have worked so hard to do for 22 months. Maybe someday.

^^^This^^^ I found as I lost weight and ate smaller protions my stomach capacity shrank and I like it that way since I now feel satisfied by eating less. I do eat more frequently but much smaller portions.

I think if the "eating over" method works for some people, no problem. It's hard to argue against success. Good luck!

I can not. I do stay within my calorie deficit for the week, which gives me a little room. It's just that eating a bigger amount of food is counterproductive to me right now. I am losing and re-learning how to eat correct portions. For me, a big cheat meal on the weekends might undo what I have worked so hard to do for 22 months. Maybe someday.

^^^This^^^ I found as I lost weight and ate smaller protions my stomach capacity shrank and I like it that way since I now feel satisfied by eating less. I do eat more frequently but much smaller portions.

I think if the "eating over" method works for some people, no problem. It's hard to argue against success. Good luck!

I don't always have bigger meals though, just allow myself more cals/freedom. If I try to eat large portions these days I have to sleep upright with 2 pillows because it feels like I've eaten a sofa sideways lol.

I don't do this. I really prefer to consider each day a clean slate and work off DAILY cals/macros instead of trying to keep track of weekly and work within that. For some people, it seems to work well. For me I really think it would be a bad idea and a slippery slope into eating too few calories Mon-Fri and too many on weekends. In fact, I think that's kind of how I ate (not knowingly) before I joined MFP. I would eat almost nothing for lunch and a light dinner Mon-Thurs and then Fri/Sat night I probably had 2,000 calories just for dinner. I could be totally wrong but I think that confuses our bodies. JMHO.

I try to stay within cals during the week -but because I go skating on Sundays - and that seems to log a lot of calories, I eat what I want - within reason that day. A hot dog and nachos at the rink - or if Sunday family dinner (all the kids come home) I want a glass or two of wine, or it isn't the best low-cal option (because cooking for the masses sometimes is a high carb meal) - I dont' sweat it. Seems to be working so far.....I'll keep at it for now.

This can lead to binging for some. What matters is your overall weekly intake. That being said, it's counterproductive to have massive caloric swings from day to day. For example 1500 and then 3000, 1500, repeat.

If you are ultimately in a net deficit position, why would it matter? Purely from an energy standpoint, it doesn't. My biggest issue with this is people who do heavy exercise and then save up those calories rather than providing the body the nutrients it needs to recover and repair. The harder you're training, the more you are breaking down your body thus requiring more energy and nutrients for recovery and repair.

Try it for four weeks and see how it goes for you. Technically it will work but it's a mental thing for most people and if your brain is telling you it's not working, well, then it won't work.

Personally I count calories based on a weekly total (Fri-Thu). When not training for a race, I typically don't work out on weekends and do save calories from weekdays (though weighing on Fridays it's more like catching up during the weekdays) but I still set a daily limit for Sat/Sun. When training though my long run day is Sunday and I pretty much stick to daily counting with Friday being more of my binge day for the week. Never had a problem either way.

I also eat at a deficit during the week. I have MFP set to 1/2 loss, that allows me to go over 1750 during the week (80% of which happens during the weeknd). This allows me to not be so rigid. I know if I ate to the total 1570 that it gives me each day come the weekend, I would need to stay at that also and with the meals we eat going out after church, that wouldn't work.

I do this to an extent but I have to be careful with how much of a deficit I create during the week. If I don't keep to at least close to 2000/day during the week then I start to get really hungry and the weekend ends up worse. So it's a minor deficit during the week to allow for what I know will be over on the weekend. That being said, I will often end up decently over on the weekend especially if both days involve social situations. That usually ends up to averaging a bit over what I think is maintenance but then that balances out with the weeks with fewer social obligations so it's more like a monthly balance. I just feel too restricted on the weekends if I try to keep to a constant calorie limit and that doesn't work for me.