Will under-eating for a day or two ruin my gains?

julianpoutram
julianpoutram Posts: 331 Member
in Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
I am fairly consistent, I can eat a lot, there are no concerns there. I aim for just over maintenance, but on days like today where I've done a lot of walking and gone to the gym to lift, am I jeopardising my chances of making gains from the workout I did today? Or will my body continue as normal and add muscle. My point is, how fast can your body realise you're eating at a deficit? Will it affect things every day continuously? Or only if I were to do it over a few days or weeks? My protein intake for today was high, but my cal intake is lower than usual.

I hope that makes sense, it did in my head!

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • Graelwyn75
    Graelwyn75 Posts: 4,404 Member
    I do not think the odd day of eating below maintenance will jeopardise your gains. You would have to do it for longer than a few days, I believe, for it to have any impact.
  • ndj1979
    ndj1979 Posts: 29,136 Member
    you will be fine…look on the bright side, you can eat more tomorrow to even out. I always try to look at how I am hitting my weekly calorie average and macro targets. Last night I over ate by a few hundred calories, so do I will under eat by a few hundred to balance it out..as long as my weekly average is 2850 then I am good to go ...
  • mustgetmuscles1
    mustgetmuscles1 Posts: 3,346 Member
    Even if you missed one day of net muscle gain you are talking about a very small amount of new mass.

    Say you are fairly new to lifting. You are eating optimally and on a good program. You might gain a pound of new muscle in a whole month. (this is being generous). One missed day of gains would be like 1/30th of a that potential pound.

    Not even worth worrying about.

  • SrJoben
    SrJoben Posts: 484 Member
    Probably not even a detectable difference either way. Largely because you don't build the muscles in the gym, that's where they get broken down. You build them in the ensuing days as your body patches them up stronger than before.

    If you're lifting and maintaining a week to week surplus you're probably building muscle.

    That said *shrug* why not eat a little more on days you lift? It always makes me hungry anyway.
  • julianpoutram
    julianpoutram Posts: 331 Member
    I'm actually aiming for maintenance now, I gained too much too quick on a bulk. On workout days I'll eat a little over, but other than that I'm going for about 2500 cals a day.
  • Falcon
    Falcon Posts: 853 Member
    I took a quick peak at your diary. I wouldn't worry about it. You're good.
  • mitch16
    mitch16 Posts: 2,113 Member
    Just like being a handful of calories over on rare occasion won't hurt losses, being under shouldn't hurt your gains.

    Have an extra spoonful of peanut butter, a small handful of nuts or seeds, an egg, some cheese, or some avocado to quickly add a few extra calories...
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    does over eating every once in a while ruin months of losing?

    pro tip: no.

    same applies in reverse.

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