Anybody @ maintenance doing a high calorie day/lower calorie rest of the week?

For months, not sure. But I like to go out to dinner on the weekend, so I save my calories for that.

I basically do that so we can have more calorie room on the weekend. I have a set calorie goal m-f & sat I usually indulge.

I also go by a weekly goal. I don't understand why this is such a foreign concept for some. I mean, it seems like this is how people who never had a weight problem have just eaten their whole life. I highly doubt people who are good at weight management without logging food eat the SAME amount of calories every day.

Ewhip17 - Don't be alarmed if your weight fluctuates more than normal eating this way. You may see a higher than normal number on the scale after a high calorie day.

I took a peak at your profile. You have done some amazing work!

ewhip17 wrote: »

bioklutz wrote: »

Ewhip17 - Don't be alarmed if your weight fluctuates more than normal eating this way. You may see a higher than normal number on the scale after a high calorie day.

I took a peak at your profile. You have done some amazing work!

Thanks so much! I'm finding that it's a whole new mindset and just trying to get my head wrapped around it! :-)

Amazing weight loss - well done you.
Just as dieting became a habit to lose all that weight maintenance also becomes a habit - give it time. It's still the same maths game played out over weeks and months.

To answer your OP, yes I have high days and low days. High days are either because I've had a big exercise day, there's a social event involving nice food, holidays, vacations..... All the things "normal" people do (whatever normal means!).

Yesterday was going to be a low day but beer happened.
So I was around maintenance levels instead yesterday, today will probably be a low day instead. Over the course of a week (or more) it all evens out.

. Posted twice doh!

I sort of do that, my Friday's and Saturdays are higher, the rest of the week is normal. I have been able to maintain.

Same here.

If I think about it, it's what I did on a huge scale to gain an lose my weight in the first place. To gain 70 lbs, I over-ate by 245,000 calories over about 13 years. To lose it I under-ate (or exercised away) that same number of calories over the course of a year!

Now I have lost the weight, I want to be able to enjoy three courses (or at least a chocolate fondant for dessert) if I am out at the weekend! I gained weight previously was because I would do that and not compensate during the week. The great thing about being more active now is that you don't have to compensate by going hungry during the week- as other posters have said, you only need to shave off 100 calories a day to fit in a lot extra at the weekend.

I am also planning on something similar for holidays e.g. reduce by about 500 kcal/day in the run up to a holiday. And if I don't manage that, I'll just have to reduce calories after the holiday instead! CICO works the same way whether you manage it over the course of a day, a week, a month, a year or a decade. I guess the key is just finding out which way works best for you.

Eating what I want on weekends and being super strict during the week is the only thing that lets me maintain weight. I kept losing weight and then gaining it back over and over. IT kept happening until I tried to lose it a looooot more slowly than before. Now it's been off for a year and I find it super easy to keep off.

Mon-fri I avoid most carbs and have a routine for breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner that syncs up perfectly with my workday

Friday evening I usually go out for drinks, then saturday I'll go out for dinner and sunday I eat a bit more (not much more) than normal too.

I'm glad to see I'm not the only one planning to do this, though my plan is for it to be somewhat temporary.

I've only just gone from loss to maintenance but am planning on keeping my last loss allowance (where I was aiming for 0.5lb/week loss) for December as I know there will be a number of times where I'll go over. Once the holidays are over and I'll be back on a more stable schedule, I'll probably go back to a more steady intake, but trying to be restrictive at special occasions tends to stress me out.

Sure. I eat on average below maintenance but my leg day is around 4000 Calories, or more which is a small surplus. and a bit above maintenance on back day. Trying to keep my legs growing while I lose fat.

I do put most of that food around the leg workout though. Low fat, high carb before, during, and after the workout.

I add drinks and whatever I want at restaurants on my travel days/off days. But keep it around maintenance calorie wise.

Just to further this . . . I usually go over Friday by a few hundred but am always way under for the week. I've been maintaining 4 years. You can't 'average' your goal if you're always under.

I have started a plan with Mon we'd and Fri at 650, Tue Thursday and sun at 1600, and Saturdays I don't count and have a big evening meal plus desert. I have been doing this for 3 weeks to maintain. It's working so far with the added sat meal. Prior to that I kept loosing.