does banking calories have an expiration date?

aniazawadzki
aniazawadzki Posts: 58
in Goal: Maintaining Weight
So I have been doing the whole bank calories through weekdays and on weekends eat what has been banked. Well I ate my banked calories the following Tuesday instead of the weekend. Would that make me gain?

Replies

  • jlynnm70
    jlynnm70 Posts: 460 Member
    Probably not - but most people use banked calories over a week.

    I know some people set a weekly calorie goal and as long as they are under for the week - you should lose. You might be up a little, just depends on how it all balances out and how much you cut thereafter, and if you use all/any banked calories on the weekend

    I don't think I'd stress about it - just move on and keep going as you were the rest of the week. Everyone has days that they go over for some reason or another - as long as more are at a deficit than a surplus, you should continue to lose.
  • rebalee8
    rebalee8 Posts: 161 Member
    Over the long-term, if you keep your deficit, no, because you ended up having a greater deficit than expected last week (because you didn't eat back calories you were planning to.

    In the short-term, you might see a plateau (more-likely) or a small gain early next week - especially if you eat more on this weekend.

    Bottom line though: If you keep your average over the next two weeks (or three or four) to whatever that deficit is supposed to be, you will still lose weight. It just might look bumpier in the middle.
  • fificrazy
    fificrazy Posts: 234
    You don't need to "bank calories". Not in gaining, not in maintence. I can see why someone might do this while dieting, as this is also referred to as restriction. Given the deficit you're literally already in (being severely underweight), you should be eating a minimum of 2,500 calories every 24 hours. If this amount of calories scares you or you're scared of gaining weight, you should probably seek professional help. Using disordered ("dieting") behaviors to manage ones weight typically indicates an issue.
  • AliceDark
    AliceDark Posts: 3,886 Member
    In another thread, you said your goal is to gain. So no, given that, banking calories will not make you gain. You don't "bank" calories when gaining. Eating at a consistent surplus will make you gain. You really do need to be in the neighborhood of 2500 minimum, every day.
  • Linnaea27
    Linnaea27 Posts: 639 Member
    I saw your other thread where you mentioned being really thin for your height and trying to gain weight (I really hope you are trying to recover!). I think you'd benefit from poking around the following awesome website, and reading the article in it I'm linking to, especially: http://www.youreatopia.com/blog/2011/9/14/i-need-how-many-calories.html

    If one was losing weight or maintaining, banking calories by the week (or, I would imagine, 10 days at most) would work. Gaining-- nope. You need to be eating enough to gain weight consistently, every day.
  • Ngolden1
    Ngolden1 Posts: 58 Member
    2500 calories is a tremendous amount for some people. I'm 5'0" and weight 105lbs. If I ate that much I would be in pain.
  • dunnodunno
    dunnodunno Posts: 2,290 Member
    2500 calories is a tremendous amount for some people. I'm 5'0" and weight 105lbs. If I ate that much I would be in pain.

    Well the op is a lot taller than you & weighs less than you do.
  • hilts1969
    hilts1969 Posts: 465 Member
    So I have been doing the whole bank calories through weekdays and on weekends eat what has been banked. Well I ate my banked calories the following Tuesday instead of the weekend. Would that make me gain?

    Your body has no concept of time when it comes to weight loss/gain, people make this far too complicated, every second your body uses energy, your weight fluctuates every second of every day by miniscule amounts, we weigh ourselves daily or weekly as a guide, over a period of time if you consume less than you expend you lose weight, we do the math daily as a convenience, your body doesn't get to midnight and start again
  • Springfield1970
    Springfield1970 Posts: 1,945 Member
    2500 calories is a tremendous amount for some people. I'm 5'0" and weight 105lbs. If I ate that much I would be in pain.

    I disagree. If you were burning a lot in exercise you would need to eat that much. It depends what you're doing activity wise.

    It's not tremendous. Don't panic the horses.

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