Counting calories per week rather than per day

missNYR87
missNYR87 Posts: 7 Member
edited November 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Hello everyone,

I am curious as to whether anyone on here has tried counting calories by the week as opposed to by the day? There are some days when I eat more than others (like everyone else I'm sure) and I'm wondering if anyone else has tried doing this and how they've made out with it?

I'm not really talking about intermittent fasting, or barely eating anything on certain days. I'm just talking about banking up 100-200 calories here and there for days where I'm going out somewhere and would like to indulge a little bit more. I tend to overthink it and when I end up going out and didn't allow calories for it, I end up flying way off track. It's how my brain works unfortunately. Believe me, I've tried other methods before and I'm just trying to find something that works with my lifestyle.

Obviously I know that I would want to weigh myself only once a week by doing this as my weight would fluctuate a lot more on a plan like this.

Thanks in advance!

Replies

  • DemoraFairy
    DemoraFairy Posts: 1,806 Member
    It's a pretty common approach, lots of people carry calories over across days. I spent most of my diet doing this (never noticed a difference in daily fluctuations between doing this or sticking to my goal each day), I find it much easier.
  • hamlet1222
    hamlet1222 Posts: 459 Member
    It sounds good in theory, and I think a lot of us do this anyway with cheat meals, and eating less the following day etc. If it were me doing this I'd aim for a 2500 calorie weekly deficit.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    I do both. And by both, I consider the week much more important than the day, but I try not to go over for the day anyways.

    My week starts on Monday. I am almost never over on Monday so it is a good start to my week. Friday/Saturday/Sunday are my most likely days to be over as I'm more likely to go out or graze on snacks, so by the end of the week I know how much I can eat without going over my weekly goal.
  • Unknown
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  • kaylajane11
    kaylajane11 Posts: 313 Member
    I am going to start doing it this way as well, as I always tend to go over on weekends but am pretty good at staying under during the week.

    Just out of curiosity, how do you all track for a week? Is there a way to look at weekly totals on MFP, or do you keep track of it elsewhere?
  • missNYR87
    missNYR87 Posts: 7 Member
    Thanks everyone!
  • missNYR87
    missNYR87 Posts: 7 Member
    kaylajane11 wrote: »
    I am going to start doing it this way as well, as I always tend to go over on weekends but am pretty good at staying under during the week.

    Just out of curiosity, how do you all track for a week? Is there a way to look at weekly totals on MFP, or do you keep track of it elsewhere?

    There's no way to do it automatically that I'm aware of, but you can set your calorie goal each day manually. I just figured that out this week and that's what I've been doing. Adding what is left over from my previous day to my allowance for the current day.
  • nordlead2005
    nordlead2005 Posts: 1,303 Member
    edited October 2015
    kaylajane11 wrote: »
    I am going to start doing it this way as well, as I always tend to go over on weekends but am pretty good at staying under during the week.

    Just out of curiosity, how do you all track for a week? Is there a way to look at weekly totals on MFP, or do you keep track of it elsewhere?

    If you have the phone/tablet app there is a "nutrition" tab. Under there you can look at the weekly view. It really sucks that the website doesn't have many of the useful features that are in the app.

    My daily goal doesn't change, I just check to see how much I'm over/under for a specific day and for the entire week with that tab.
  • rankinsect
    rankinsect Posts: 2,238 Member
    edited October 2015
    missNYR87 wrote: »

    There's no way to do it automatically that I'm aware of, but you can set your calorie goal each day manually. I just figured that out this week and that's what I've been doing. Adding what is left over from my previous day to my allowance for the current day.

    You could make a calorie bank food and log positive quantities when you "deposit" into the bank and negative quantities when you withdraw. You still need to keep track of your weekly balance.
  • tiffkittyw
    tiffkittyw Posts: 366 Member
    I actually prefer to calculate a weekly deficit versus a daily deficit. I think that by eating different amounts of calories each day your body never adjusts and you won't plateau. I pre log all my meals for the week that I plan to eat and use my fit bit to calculate my calories out. Right now I'm eating approx (I don't weigh food) 9,051 calories a week which is an average of 1,293 per day. With exercise I've been losing 1-2 lbs a week.
  • CJsf1t
    CJsf1t Posts: 414 Member
    Yeah, its more easier to do it weekly. What I do is make sure I am within 100 cals +/- of my goal cals each day and that net cals at the end of the week are in negative.
  • missNYR87
    missNYR87 Posts: 7 Member
    tiffkittyw wrote: »
    I actually prefer to calculate a weekly deficit versus a daily deficit. I think that by eating different amounts of calories each day your body never adjusts and you won't plateau. I pre log all my meals for the week that I plan to eat and use my fit bit to calculate my calories out. Right now I'm eating approx (I don't weigh food) 9,051 calories a week which is an average of 1,293 per day. With exercise I've been losing 1-2 lbs a week.

    I'm using the fitbit too. I've found so far that the weekly plan is helping to motivate more to use it. I've had days when I'm like "eh, I know I won't be eating too much today so I'm not going to exercise as much"... which I know some people will argue that that's not a good way to look at it.. but that's how my brain works. This way, I'm more motivated to earn because I can "save them up" That's also a good point about how it can help you not to plateau.
  • Bshmerlie
    Bshmerlie Posts: 1,026 Member
    edited October 2015
    Yeah...I also consider the weekly goal more important. I also tend to eat more on Friday and Saturday so I save up calories for that time. I eat roughly 1200-1300 on Sun-Mon-Tue-Wed-Thur and then 2000-2300 on Fri and Sat. I average out to about 1500 per day over the span of 7 days. But this allows me to have pizza on the weekend or go out to a movie and have some popcorn. It just gives you more flexability.
  • kaylajane11
    kaylajane11 Posts: 313 Member
    nordlead2005 wrote: »
    kaylajane11 wrote: »
    I am going to start doing it this way as well, as I always tend to go over on weekends but am pretty good at staying under during the week.

    Just out of curiosity, how do you all track for a week? Is there a way to look at weekly totals on MFP, or do you keep track of it elsewhere?

    If you have the phone/tablet app there is a "nutrition" tab. Under there you can look at the weekly view. It really sucks that the website doesn't have many of the useful features that are in the app.

    My daily goal doesn't change, I just check to see how much I'm over/under for a specific day and for the entire week with that tab.

    Awesome tip, thank you!
  • loiscoles
    loiscoles Posts: 39 Member
    Yeah i do this all the time. If I overeat one day, then I'll eat less the next. Or if I know I'm going out for a meal the next day, then I'll eat less that day if I'm not hungry in order to compensate. I usually follow the average number at the end of the week on the graph on the app to make sure I'm meeting targets than the pure numbers of each day.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    edited October 2015
    I tried sticking to the same number of calories every single day and it sucked. I'd be eating more than I wanted one day, then go to bed hungry another day. After a little while, I decided that eating that way was just unenjoyable craziness. I wanted to eat more to my hunger than to a number.

    Since I don't plan to weight every bite of food I take and log the calories online forever, it was probably a good idea to start learning to eat to my hunger, anyway, so the Eating To Numbers thing came to an end.

    I eat normal amounts of healthy food and I eat them when I'm hungry, not when the numbers say it's "time" to eat more or less. I had a tendency to undereat, calories-wise, when I didn't look at the totals, so I look at all the days and the weeks and months to see how things are going and to make adjustments where needed.

    It's a long road, flipping my diet from one of total crap to one I can live healthily and happily with forever. Lots of big changes and loads of little ones, too. I tweak as I go. :)

    The Eating To Numbers thing works well for some people! Everyone has to find what works for them.
  • missNYR87
    missNYR87 Posts: 7 Member
    I'm really glad to see that so many people are doing this same thing and that they're being successful! It boosts my confidence in the system... Thanks everyone!
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