Carrying cals over
vha2
Posts: 64 Member
Is it OK to carry uneaten calories over to the next day? I did a lot of exercise yesterday and couldn't keep up with food, so have a 300cal surplus from yesterday. Meanwhile I've tracked my food and exercise in advance today and I only have 285cal left for dinner. Can I give myself up to 585cal for dinner given yesterday's results? Or will that push everything out of sync?
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Replies
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A lot of people bank their calories and focus instead on a weekly goal. Especially helpful when you have big events that week!0
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I like to think if I was 300 under and was having a take away the next day I wouldn't be so strict with what I would eat. If I'm gonna have a Chinese I'm gonna make sure I enjoy it. It is a treat afterall. But I don't save them up for the week. It would balance out tho. :-D0
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I'd like to know the same thing! It's be nice if there were some kind of credible fitness/diet article talking about this.0
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I go by weekly.
For example, I was under 500 calories yesterday, so today is icecream and popcorn day
Ive lost 65lbs so far.0 -
This actually brings up an interesting question.
How exactly does the body burn the calories, via units of time?
I always thought it odd that we track calories daily, instead of hourly. Our bodies are burning every hour - not just daily.
Therefore, you may have nothing from 9am to 11am, and you will be in a calorie deficit. But then eat a big lunch and be in a surplus.
The thought of calories being able to be rolled over doesnt make sense to me.0 -
I bank/roll over my calories so I can eat 3,000+ additional calories over the weekend, and I've always lost weight from the prior week.
Seems to work fine for me.0 -
This actually brings up an interesting question.
How exactly does the body burn the calories, via units of time?
I always thought it odd that we track calories daily, instead of hourly. Our bodies are burning every hour - not just daily.
Therefore, you may have nothing from 9am to 11am, and you will be in a calorie deficit. But then eat a big lunch and be in a surplus.
The thought of calories being able to be rolled over doesnt make sense to me.
Why is that?? You use glycogen/fat stores for energy in the deficit. In the surplus those stores are replenished. It balances out.0 -
I have done this quite often. When I know I have something coming up and will be eating more calories than normal I will eat a bit less in the days before and/or after the event. I've lost almost 100lbs
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For one thing, it takes FAR longer than an hour for the body to digest food. That alone makes tracking hourly silly. Your body doesn't work hour to hour, it works on a 24 hour circadian rhythm. Trends develop over weeks, not hours. Your body constantly uses stored glycogen and fat for energy use. The food you eat doesn't get burned for energy at that time, it is processed and stored to replace the energy used by the body. The key is that overall calories consumed need to be less than calories expended over time. What happens in an hour is completely irrelevant.This actually brings up an interesting question.
How exactly does the body burn the calories, via units of time?
I always thought it odd that we track calories daily, instead of hourly. Our bodies are burning every hour - not just daily.
Therefore, you may have nothing from 9am to 11am, and you will be in a calorie deficit. But then eat a big lunch and be in a surplus.
The thought of calories being able to be rolled over doesnt make sense to me.0 -
One of the old weight watchers plans would allow you to bank points, each week the get reset. The more time you spend in deficit the more weight you will lose. That said, staying at too much of a deficit for too long will force the body to start storing fat and thus slow down weight loss and actually result in faster gain when you correct.
If you want to bank calories, go for it. As many others have said, it works for them. Just do it in moderation.
The old WW plan basically had a minimum point each day, you could then bank up to a small number of points each day (including exercise points), at the end of the week, unused points were reset. I used this plan and it worked well.
As it stands, I try to just eat healthy, stay near my goal, and if I am doing well then I don't mind a splurge now and then. I just have to be careful because it is a slippery slope for me.0 -
This actually brings up an interesting question.
How exactly does the body burn the calories, via units of time?
I always thought it odd that we track calories daily, instead of hourly. Our bodies are burning every hour - not just daily.
Therefore, you may have nothing from 9am to 11am, and you will be in a calorie deficit. But then eat a big lunch and be in a surplus.
The thought of calories being able to be rolled over doesnt make sense to me.
Why is that?? You use glycogen/fat stores for energy in the deficit. In the surplus those stores are replenished. It balances out.
Im not saying i'm right, im just saying it doesnt make sense to my brain.
If you empty your glycogen stores and take from your fat stores, thats a transaction.
Im not sure how adding to it the next day would balance that out.
But maybe it will.0 -
One of the old weight watchers plans would allow you to bank points, each week the get reset. The more time you spend in deficit the more weight you will lose. That said, staying at too much of a deficit for too long will force the body to start storing fat and thus slow down weight loss and actually result in faster gain when you correct.
If you want to bank calories, go for it. As many others have said, it works for them. Just do it in moderation.
The old WW plan basically had a minimum point each day, you could then bank up to a small number of points each day (including exercise points), at the end of the week, unused points were reset. I used this plan and it worked well.
As it stands, I try to just eat healthy, stay near my goal, and if I am doing well then I don't mind a splurge now and then. I just have to be careful because it is a slippery slope for me.
That's not true. Lyle McDonald debunked that myth a while ago. You will not start storing fat while in a caloric deficit.0 -
For one thing, it takes FAR longer than an hour for the body to digest food. That alone makes tracking hourly silly. Your body doesn't work hour to hour, it works on a 24 hour circadian rhythm. Trends develop over weeks, not hours. Your body constantly uses stored glycogen and fat for energy use. The food you eat doesn't get burned for energy at that time, it is processed and stored to replace the energy used by the body. The key is that overall calories consumed need to be less than calories expended over time. What happens in an hour is completely irrelevant.This actually brings up an interesting question.
How exactly does the body burn the calories, via units of time?
I always thought it odd that we track calories daily, instead of hourly. Our bodies are burning every hour - not just daily.
Therefore, you may have nothing from 9am to 11am, and you will be in a calorie deficit. But then eat a big lunch and be in a surplus.
The thought of calories being able to be rolled over doesnt make sense to me.
That makes sense. Thanks for the explanation.0 -
WOW thanks for all the responses, that didn't take long! OK cool as, sounds like this method has definitely been working for you guys so I won't stress about it.0
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I've lost 11kg (24.5lbs) by working on a weekly goal. Weekdays I'm 1200-1300, weekends I'm 2000-2500. Works for me!0
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