Still confused on " banking calories"
catmomfat
Posts: 97 Member
I was 531 under my goal yesterday. I was 149 over today . In the last week my average daily calories were 1038. So that means if one day I eat 1000 and the next 1400 they equal out right??
0
Replies
-
This content has been removed.
-
yes that is basically what it means.
Some people (including me) do look at their weekly calories rather than just their daily ones - as long as week is under you will do alright - ie some days are higher, some lower and it averages out.
What some people do as well is plan for a high day, say,on the weekend or when going out to restaraunt or a party.
So they deliberately eat, eg., 100 less Mon - Fri so they have extra 500 extra calories for Sat evening.
Or they are "banking 500 calories" for Sat evening to use that parlance.
PS: why are you averaging1038 calories per day - that seems very low??2 -
Perhaps it would help to think of it in terms of fat. For every 3500 calories you are under you lose a pound of fat, but you don't know that you have lost that pound of fat until you weigh in. If at some point you go over on calories then you regain part of that fat, but you don't know it because you haven't had your weigh in yet. When you finally step on the scales, what you see is the cumulative effect of losing fat and gaining fat.0
-
If you eat banked calories have then a few days before weigh in as more food can weigh or retain water so start plan say on a Friday if you like more calories weekends0
-
^^ I dont do that.
My higher calorie days are not on a specific day of week, it varies - but I weigh weekly every Sunday regardless.
Weight loss is not exactly linear anyway so fluctuations happen regardless of what you do.1 -
"Banking calories" is a mental device. It's a tool to let you think that you're higher order thinking skills are in control when that's not really the case.3
-
yes, though i wouldnt really recommend banking calories if your goal is 1200, as eating less than that is so little food!3
-
paperpudding wrote: »yes that is basically what it means.
Some people (including me) do look at their weekly calories rather than just their daily ones - as long as week is under you will do alright - ie some days are higher, some lower and it averages out.
What some people do as well is plan for a high day, say,on the weekend or when going out to restaraunt or a party.
So they deliberately eat, eg., 100 less Mon - Fri so they have extra 500 extra calories for Sat evening.
Or they are "banking 500 calories" for Sat evening to use that parlance.
PS: why are you averaging1038 calories per day - that seems very low??
Pretty much all of this including the PS... for those with a lower calorie target to begin with, banking calories may not be advisable because you will be sacrificing calories and nutrition with meager to spare, then saving it up for a calorie dense and nutrient sparse splurge on the weekend.2 -
WinoGelato wrote: »paperpudding wrote: »yes that is basically what it means.
Some people (including me) do look at their weekly calories rather than just their daily ones - as long as week is under you will do alright - ie some days are higher, some lower and it averages out.
What some people do as well is plan for a high day, say,on the weekend or when going out to restaraunt or a party.
So they deliberately eat, eg., 100 less Mon - Fri so they have extra 500 extra calories for Sat evening.
Or they are "banking 500 calories" for Sat evening to use that parlance.
PS: why are you averaging1038 calories per day - that seems very low??
Pretty much all of this including the PS... for those with a lower calorie target to begin with, banking calories may not be advisable because you will be sacrificing calories and nutrition with meager to spare, then saving it up for a calorie dense and nutrient sparse splurge on the weekend.
That's a good point, though I doubt that banking calories occasionally will make much difference. If someone is doing it every week then they should probably rethink their lifestyle.0 -
Banking calories seems crazy to some people but think about how naturally people used to fluctuate with their eating habits. Mon-Fri your typical adult eats pretty average healthy meals at home during the week and doesn't have dessert every night. (Not saying you can't!) this is just for context. So they eat say 1800 every day during the week when their goal is 2,000. This is not necessarily planned or intentional but it's their normal eating style. They now have 1,400 extra calorie banked for the weekend, 700 for Saturday and 700 for Sunday. This typically covers the weekend meal(s) out, two classes of wine or dessert. This person maintains their weight because they naturally eat less during the week and eat more but not a full on feast/cheat day/binging eat everything weekend. Just a few indulgences and then they eat regular 1800 again throughout the week.
I don't follow week day to weekend because I work 24 on 48 off, so every third day I'm at work. For my banking calories I eat less at work because I prepare food at home and don't have a lot of time to enjoy meals. So on some of my days off I enjoy my heartier and heavier meals that I've banked calories for on my lower days at work.
I also bank for pms. Sorry TMI but I know I'm going to overindulge chocolate and higher calorie comfort foods, so on my less hungry weeks I eat less so I can eat more when I am hungrier.0 -
Mini_Medic wrote: »Banking calories seems crazy to some people but think about how naturally people used to fluctuate with their eating habits. Mon-Fri your typical adult eats pretty average healthy meals at home during the week and doesn't have dessert every night. (Not saying you can't!) this is just for context. So they eat say 1800 every day during the week when their goal is 2,000. This is not necessarily planned or intentional but it's their normal eating style. They now have 1,400 extra calorie banked for the weekend, 700 for Saturday and 700 for Sunday. This typically covers the weekend meal(s) out, two classes of wine or dessert. This person maintains their weight because they naturally eat less during the week and eat more but not a full on feast/cheat day/binging eat everything weekend. Just a few indulgences and then they eat regular 1800 again throughout the week.
I don't follow week day to weekend because I work 24 on 48 off, so every third day I'm at work. For my banking calories I eat less at work because I prepare food at home and don't have a lot of time to enjoy meals. So on some of my days off I enjoy my heartier and heavier meals that I've banked calories for on my lower days at work.
I also bank for pms. Sorry TMI but I know I'm going to overindulge chocolate and higher calorie comfort foods, so on my less hungry weeks I eat less so I can eat more when I am hungrier.
This may be true, but people also tend to be more active on the weekend than they are doing the week. I suspect that most people would eat closer to the 2,000 during the week and then have a smaller "bank" on the weekend. It may be the increase activity that keeps them from gaining weight on the weekend rather than having a substantial bank of calories.0 -
[ Pretty much all of this including the PS... for those with a lower calorie target to begin with, banking calories may not be advisable because you will be sacrificing calories and nutrition with meager to spare, then saving it up for a calorie dense and nutrient sparse splurge on the weekend.[/quote]
With 1200 to eat, even a healthy lunch out, like a 1/2 sandwich/soup/fruit cup without dip kills your calories for the day. And that's a once a week treat for me. It's HARD to get a lunch out for less than 600 calories. which leaves me with only about 350 left for the day, IF I don't have a snack
0 -
TimothyFish wrote: »
That's a good point, though I doubt that banking calories occasionally will make much difference. If someone is doing it every week then they should probably rethink their lifestyle.
My " overages" on the weekends are simply going up from my 1050 daily calories to about 1450. Not a full pig out of 2000 calories or anything
1 -
You probably should be eating more than 1050 calories.1
-
trigden1991 wrote: »You probably should be eating more than 1050 calories.
I have to stay that low or I barely loose an ounce or two a week. The days of my twenties, where cutting back to 1200 a day and dropping 5 pounds in a week or 16 in a month seem to be gone.
0 -
trigden1991 wrote: »You probably should be eating more than 1050 calories.
I have to stay that low or I barely loose an ounce or two a week. The days of my twenties, where cutting back to 1200 a day and dropping 5 pounds in a week or 16 in a month seem to be gone.
How tall are you and how much do you weigh?
MOST people should lose weight at 1200 calories unless they are very short, very light, very lean and/or sedentary.1 -
Why would you want to lose 5 pounds in a week anyway? That's far too fast. If you look at the app on your phone and click the Nutrients button at the bottom, what is your weekly net average? Eating only 1000 calories (or just over that), a day, really isn't good for your health, long term. Perhaps you should look at alternatives for lunch too. I just had a massive salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, radish, roasted courgette plus 50g of ham with a tsp of oil as dressing) - and it was well under 200 calories. Admittedly I made it myself but, if eating out, dressings kill your calorie count. How about a baked potato with a topping such as chilli? If you have soup, does it have cream in it? Do you have bread with it? I eat out regularly and manage to keep my net average, per week, to be around 1200.0
-
5'6". 155 last Tuesday. Haven't weighed since then. Weigh day is tommorrow. Work out 5 days a week. Work as vet nurse so lightly active at work. Lots of lifting dogs/food bags and walking.0
-
[ Pretty much all of this including the PS... for those with a lower calorie target to begin with, banking calories may not be advisable because you will be sacrificing calories and nutrition with meager to spare, then saving it up for a calorie dense and nutrient sparse splurge on the weekend.
With 1200 to eat, even a healthy lunch out, like a 1/2 sandwich/soup/fruit cup without dip kills your calories for the day. And that's a once a week treat for me. It's HARD to get a lunch out for less than 600 calories. which leaves me with only about 350 left for the day, IF I don't have a snack
[/quote]
Then perhaps you should consider if 1200 is the right calorie target for you. Based on the stats you posted below, I don't think that it is, and certainly 1050 calories is not. How much weight are you trying to lose, total? What rate of loss do you currently have selected? And are you weighing all your food with a food scale?
1 -
trigden1991 wrote: »You probably should be eating more than 1050 calories.
I have to stay that low or I barely loose an ounce or two a week. The days of my twenties, where cutting back to 1200 a day and dropping 5 pounds in a week or 16 in a month seem to be gone.
You're basically already at a healthy BMI, why are you trying to lose more than a few ounces a week? With your work day, plus all of the exercise you do your TDEE is north of 2300 calories. That means (if you're accurate) that you're eating less than half of what you burn each day. This usually isn't advised for those that have much more weight to lose (like upwards of 75-100 lbs) let alone someone already at a healthy weight. Cutting at such an extreme isn't sustainable and is a recipe for crash and burn.
The accelerated weight loss (because a few ounces isn't fast enough) is coming at the expense of Lean Body Mass. This means that even though you're losing weight faster, your BF% isn't changing a whole lot because you're losing fat and muscle.2 -
I'm usually a "reverse banker." Meals are planned and logged in advance. But sometimes (like last night) I had a dinner planned, and then at the last moment we opted to order in a pizza instead. Yes, that put me over for the day, but I'll just cut back a bit today and tomorrow to compensate. Or do a little extra on the treadmill.
Life happens, and the more I go with the flow while still keeping an eye on my bottom (pun intended) line, the happier I am.
1 -
I was 531 under my goal yesterday. I was 149 over today . In the last week my average daily calories were 1038. So that means if one day I eat 1000 and the next 1400 they equal out right??
Banking calories is easy-- you set a certain amount to each day (your daily calorie goal), if you eat under or over, you adjust accordingly on other days so that by the end of the week you have reached your calorie allotment.5'6". 155 last Tuesday. Haven't weighed since then. Weigh day is tommorrow. Work out 5 days a week. Work as vet nurse so lightly active at work. Lots of lifting dogs/food bags and walking.
If you were really eating such few calories as you say, you would be losing weight. Chances are you are eating more than you realize.
Do you weigh your food? Log every single thing you eat, including sugar drinks, condiments, etc?0
This discussion has been closed.
Categories
- All Categories
- 1.4M Health, Wellness and Goals
- 393.6K Introduce Yourself
- 43.8K Getting Started
- 260.3K Health and Weight Loss
- 175.9K Food and Nutrition
- 47.5K Recipes
- 232.5K Fitness and Exercise
- 431 Sleep, Mindfulness and Overall Wellness
- 6.5K Goal: Maintaining Weight
- 8.6K Goal: Gaining Weight and Body Building
- 153K Motivation and Support
- 8K Challenges
- 1.3K Debate Club
- 96.3K Chit-Chat
- 2.5K Fun and Games
- 3.8K MyFitnessPal Information
- 24 News and Announcements
- 1.1K Feature Suggestions and Ideas
- 2.6K MyFitnessPal Tech Support Questions