Daily Count versus Weekly Count

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ZhaoWei76
ZhaoWei76 Posts: 37 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I apologize if others have posted this before, but are there many people out there who do a weekly total for calories, as opposed to a daily count?

Since I started in January, I've been doing about 1250 calories a day... But I've been wondering lately about the practice of having a weekly limit instead... For example, if I'm under calories today, can I apply those calories tomorrow...

Granted, I wouldn't be under very often, because I already set my number so low (and I try not to be too low each day), but for when I know I'll need it, I'd consider leaving some room for the next day.... For example, I'm going to the Fair tomorrow... Might get a nice snack, cuz - Fair Food... But I don't want to go over if I don't have to, and today, if I don't over snack, I'd maybe have a couple hundred calories left over (plus I have calories from earlier in the week from exercise)...

In general, anyone utilizing weekly totals instead of daily totals, and if so, is it working for you? Thanks in advance for any information ya'll can provide...
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Replies

  • KylaDenay
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
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    Many people like to follow a weekly goal, such as myself. It makes it easier.

    Sometimes you can eat less during the week, so that you do have a larger calorie allowance on the weekends for fun stuff.

    As long as you stick to your weekly goal then you can calorie cycle throughout the week.

    Also your cell phone app has a weekly goal page under the nutrition tab.
  • dont_tap_my_aces
    dont_tap_my_aces Posts: 125 Member
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    the body works more in a weekly time frame as opposed to daily. so just make sure your weekly total is in line with your goal.

    the daily aspect helps many people stay on course, but unless you are crazy OCD like me or need that daily check to stay consistent, just go with weekly.
  • StaciMarie1974
    StaciMarie1974 Posts: 4,138 Member
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    I think alot of people look at the bigger scale #s.

    Personally I track/aim daily but always try to have my goal deficit (now 250/day) plus another 100-150 to 'spare'. For accidental errors and such. And occasionally I'll have a day where I just aim for maintenance. That way I can have the odd 'high' day but its easier for me to think of things day by day. Going from a weekly budget would be easy to get to the end and be out of calories for the day.

    And when I know I'm going to have an unusual meal, I will log/plan in advance the entire day.
  • middlehaitch
    middlehaitch Posts: 8,485 Member
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    Hi, I lean towards doing a weekly calorie count.
    My other half is away mid week so I can do a lower count for two days and leave a few calories extra for wine and cheesecake at the weekend.
    It is a modified 5:2, I suppose, and it works for me.
  • LeonCX
    LeonCX Posts: 862 Member
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    This is the first time I am hearing about this concept. So for tracking weekly calorie goals, do you enter all your weekly calories into one day in the diary? sorry if this is a dumb question.
  • Project2015
    Project2015 Posts: 43
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    I understand what you're saying, and it makes sense hypothetically. But your body timer resets overnight [whenever you sleep] That's why calories reset daily. But our bodies need new sets of vitamins and nutrients everyday. My consideration for you is to raise your calorie intake, and make sure you work out several times a week. you burn 1200 cals a day by breathing and bodily functions. if you eat too little your body will go into starvation mode, and you will begin to gain weight. its a natural body reaction to not getting properly fed. please keep that in mind, though the choice in general is up to you. a net of 50 calories a day is not safe, it may work for a little while, but eventually you will stop losing and start gaining as your body begins to turn everything into lipid cells which group together and become fat cells.

    but again just based on your question, your body isnt at&t and you dont typically get roll over calories
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Awesome, I didn't know phone app had that feature. Good to know, thanks:smile:
  • SandyBVTN
    SandyBVTN Posts: 367 Member
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    I generally have been thinking of calories as a weekly thing! I'm also dabbling in 5:2 fasting though, so having higher and lower calorie days works for me. Also just lifestyle wise, I like to indulge especially on the weekends and feel better about it when I balance the scales with a super low cal day or two during the week.

    But like everything else in this new way of eating for me, I will continue to do it this way as long as it works for me for my lifestyle, and as long as I'm losing weight. If the scale starts not moving, or I feel like crap energy wise, I'll change things up.
  • GBrady43068
    GBrady43068 Posts: 1,256 Member
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    Let me start by saying: This is ANECDOTAL...this has been MY PERSONAL experience.

    An occasional overdose of calories during the week so long as it is isn't superoutrageous (read:more than 3000 caloies OVER my daily budget) will not affect my weight loss. I went over the week after Thanksgiving last year and still saw a drop in weight. As long as I am at or under my budget for about 5 of the 7 days, I see a drop.

    Would I PERSONALLY find it easy to think weekly instead of daily in terms of caloric/nutrition goals? Not really...but if it works for you, what the hay...

    TLDR version: Occasional bad day no big deal but I need the daily accountability to keep from going crazy.
  • ksy1969
    ksy1969 Posts: 700 Member
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    I understand what you're saying, and it makes sense hypothetically. But your body timer resets overnight [whenever you sleep] That's why calories reset daily. But our bodies need new sets of vitamins and nutrients everyday. My consideration for you is to raise your calorie intake, and make sure you work out several times a week. you burn 1200 cals a day by breathing and bodily functions. if you eat too little your body will go into starvation mode, and you will begin to gain weight. its a natural body reaction to not getting properly fed. please keep that in mind, though the choice in general is up to you. a net of 50 calories a day is not safe, it may work for a little while, but eventually you will stop losing and start gaining as your body begins to turn everything into lipid cells which group together and become fat cells.

    but again just based on your question, your body isnt at&t and you dont typically get roll over calories

    Starvation mode alert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    Your whole response just became irrelevant.

    I generally don't condone 1200 calories a day type diet, but I do know some people have to eat at that level for various reasons so I wouldn't question that without more information.

    Also, for many people basing your calories on a weekly cycle works really well. There is nothing wrong with eating light for a couple days if you know you have an event coming up that you will need more calories. I know some people on here that eat at 1250 calories during the week days, because it is easier for them to restrict then. This way they have more calories to work with on the weekend. This process has not stopped them from losing weight. In fact I have done it in the past and would still lose weight that next week.

    Your body does not have a 24 hour clock built into it that says, "it is midnight, time to reset your calorie counter". that is ridiculous.

    Edited because of my mad typing skills :drinker:
  • sodakat
    sodakat Posts: 1,126 Member
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    I understand what you're saying, and it makes sense hypothetically. But your body timer resets overnight [whenever you sleep] That's why calories reset daily. But our bodies need new sets of vitamins and nutrients everyday. My consideration for you is to raise your calorie intake, and make sure you work out several times a week. you burn 1200 cals a day by breathing and bodily functions. if you eat too little your body will go into starvation mode, and you will begin to gain weight. its a natural body reaction to not getting properly fed. please keep that in mind, though the choice in general is up to you. a net of 50 calories a day is not safe, it may work for a little while, but eventually you will stop losing and start gaining as your body begins to turn everything into lipid cells which group together and become fat cells.

    but again just based on your question, your body isnt at&t and you dont typically get roll over calories

    ?? Where are you getting this info, because it seems very odd. For instance, I'm positive the body CAN store nutrients. Vitamin D can be stored for a few months for example (think winter months when sun is not high enough to produce UVA/B rays. Also the idea of a healthy, overweight person going into "starvation mode" is just plain silly.

    Weekly amounts are what all reports from Fitbit are based on. You can compare your weekly deficit with your weight loss to see if you are logging accurately.

    Something I read in a post recently, which I thought was brilliant, was pre-logging a pint of ice cream by adding 1/4 the calories for each of the next 4 days. That way they can eat however much they want in the next 4 days without having to worry about weighing the ice cream or having exactly one serving.
  • Liftng4Lis
    Liftng4Lis Posts: 15,150 Member
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    Tons of people do the weekly thing. The phone app itself shows you your weekly total and deficit.
  • TheVirgoddess
    TheVirgoddess Posts: 4,535 Member
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    I understand what you're saying, and it makes sense hypothetically. But your body timer resets overnight [whenever you sleep] That's why calories reset daily. But our bodies need new sets of vitamins and nutrients everyday. My consideration for you is to raise your calorie intake, and make sure you work out several times a week. you burn 1200 cals a day by breathing and bodily functions. if you eat too little your body will go into starvation mode, and you will begin to gain weight. its a natural body reaction to not getting properly fed. please keep that in mind, though the choice in general is up to you. a net of 50 calories a day is not safe, it may work for a little while, but eventually you will stop losing and start gaining as your body begins to turn everything into lipid cells which group together and become fat cells.

    but again just based on your question, your body isnt at&t and you dont typically get roll over calories

    Are you intentionally trying to fit all the terribly inaccurate weight loss myths into one post? Or was that an accident?

    Starvation mode as you've explained it doesn't exist. Your body will not "create" fat cells if you don't eat enough. If you don't eat enough, you'll lose weight still. You'll be unhealthy, but you will still lose weight.

    You don't burn 1,200 calories a day by breathing. 1,200 is a common caloric guideline for women (1,800 for men), but what you actually burn by breathing and being a human being depends on what you actually eat.

    And finally, there is no difference in aiming for a daily caloric deficit or a weekly caloric deficit. Both are perfectly fine, acceptable and healthy ways to approach weight loss.
  • SDkitty
    SDkitty Posts: 446 Member
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    Your body does not have a 24 hour clock built into it that says, "it is midnight, time to reset your calorie counter". that is ridiculous.

    Thank you for saying this, I was just about to :drinker:
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
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    This is the first time I am hearing about this concept. So for tracking weekly calorie goals, do you enter all your weekly calories into one day in the diary? sorry if this is a dumb question.

    Some just keep track of the extra or debt calories, and just track normally on a daily basis. For example if your goal is 1500 and you ate 1300 today, 1400 tomorrow and 1600 after tomorrow that's 300+100-100=300 extra calories you can eat on day 4 (have 1800)... etc.

    Personally I have prepared a spreadsheet for myself to make things more automated. Here is what it looks like:
    i1z2ia.jpg

    I'm currently maintaining for a bit, and I was successfully able to with only 193 calories more than I should have had. It was spot on for me because I did not gain or lose.
  • bcgirl55
    bcgirl55 Posts: 17 Member
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    Weightwatchers lets you account for extra calories by allowing you extra points each week that you can apply throughout the week, or to any one day. I find it works well, and you don't get really upset when I am over, because I have that extra leeway!:drinker:
  • LeonCX
    LeonCX Posts: 862 Member
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    @amusedmonkey ah! I finally got an answer. THANKS!! It's kind of a similar to what they do in Weight Watchers where you can "bank" calories.
  • Joanjett88
    Joanjett88 Posts: 87 Member
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    This is the first time I am hearing about this concept. So for tracking weekly calorie goals, do you enter all your weekly calories into one day in the diary? sorry if this is a dumb question.

    Just pre-log for the week. Enter in what you plan on eating for each day so you can get an idea of what your weekly total will look like. This is what I do so I know what I've got to work with.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
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    I prefer to do the weekly count. It's a lot easier because some days (like yesterday) I go over... but other days, especially days when I'm really busy, I end up quite under! It's too exhausting to get upset every time I go over my daily goal, or worry every time I come in too low. Much better in my opinion to look at the week as a whole and make sure I'm generally on track.

    Anyone who does the same, feel free to send me a FR! OP, I'm sending one your way.
  • KylaDenay
    KylaDenay Posts: 1,585 Member
    Options
    I understand what you're saying, and it makes sense hypothetically. But your body timer resets overnight [whenever you sleep] That's why calories reset daily. But our bodies need new sets of vitamins and nutrients everyday. My consideration for you is to raise your calorie intake, and make sure you work out several times a week. you burn 1200 cals a day by breathing and bodily functions. if you eat too little your body will go into starvation mode, and you will begin to gain weight. its a natural body reaction to not getting properly fed. please keep that in mind, though the choice in general is up to you. a net of 50 calories a day is not safe, it may work for a little while, but eventually you will stop losing and start gaining as your body begins to turn everything into lipid cells which group together and become fat cells.

    but again just based on your question, your body isnt at&t and you dont typically get roll over calories

    So much false information here....OP just ignore this

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