Is a daily calorie deficit or weekly deficit what matters most?

jbrooks3645
jbrooks3645 Posts: 76 Member
edited November 26 in Health and Weight Loss
I've only been at this for 2 weeks but during the week I'm below my daily calories but over on the weekends so i was wondering is this goin to mess up my weightloss or does it balance it out

Replies

  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    edited April 2018
    Sustainability and routine for the win! Your body isn't on any sort of metabolic "clock". If I eat 2000 kcals throughout the day (14000/week) or all at once it doesn't matter as far as weight management. What matters is if I ate at a deficit, maintenance, or surplus and what my body does with this.

    The important question is why do you go over budget on weekends...and by how much? Identify this and mitigate this. Sounds like you are straying off routine and forming habits that are not supporting your goals.
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,046 Member
    jbrooks3645 wrote: »
    I've only been at this for 2 weeks but during the week I'm below my daily calories but over on the weekends so i was wondering is this goin to mess up my weightloss or does it balance it out

    I have found it most useful, personally, to look at a weekly average because, like you, I eat more on the weekends.

    I have made this a sustainable option for weight loss by "banking" calories throughout the week so that I have much more flexibility on weekends (I also have more strenuous workouts on weekends, so this works out well). So although my weekday goal is 1500 calories, my weekly average is around 1800-2100, and I have seen steady loss since I started cutting again (the last 10 days being an exception since I took a diet break).

    An important thing to remember, though, is that this will impact your weigh in pattern- you'll have a higher scale weight for several days after the weekend, but I usually show a loss around Wednesday to Friday.
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    CSARdiver wrote: »
    The important question is why do you go over budget on weekends? Identify this and mitigate this. Sounds like you are straying off routine and forming habits that are not supporting your goals.

    ^^^This 100%. You can try to balance looser weekends with tighter weekdays but I've found the most success with staying as consistent as possible and not planning for less vigilance on weekends or special occasions. I think it helps from a psychological standpoint when it comes to long-term weight management as well; eliminating this on/off, behave/misbehave sort of mindset in favor of permanent and sustainable lifestyles changes to observe regardless of the day of the week will ultimately serve us better over the long-haul of maintaining healthy weight and habits.
  • michaelwyatt8262
    michaelwyatt8262 Posts: 17 Member
    Our minds like to conceptualize calories in 24 hour periods - because that's how we understand time. But the important thing is that you're eating spending more calories than you take in over time. Hence why a 500 calorie deficit equals one pound of weight loss per week - because 500 x 7 is negative 3,500 calories. One pound is 3,500 calories. So, negative 3,500 calories per week, which is negative 500 calories per week, equals one pound of weight loss per week. I'm going to strongly advocate that you make small, manageable, deficits per day because it's way more sustainable to and easier to accomplish rather than eating a ton one day and making up that deficit by barely eating anything the next day. But all-in-all it's all about the math of calories in vs calories out. If you want more information look up "how do net calories work"
  • jbrooks3645
    jbrooks3645 Posts: 76 Member
    Thanks guys! It's so much easier during the week to stay under my calorie goal bec I'm a stay at home mom so I'm just home with my baby all week and I'll cook at home those nights but on the weekends my husband's home and we like to go out to eat and he eats 3 full meals a day and drinks beer and never gains an ounce. So I'm usually abt 5 or 600 over my calorie limit of 1400. It's only been 2 weeks but I have seen some progress I have an dial scale and weigh every day I was staying in the 185 to 190 range but now it stays between the 180 to 185 range.
  • CSARdiver
    CSARdiver Posts: 6,252 Member
    To put this into perspective: People don't gain weight from Thanksgiving...it's the daily surplus of 250 kcals that causes weight gain.

    Thursday I get together with a group - smoking pipes and drinking beer and I intentionally go over my deficit budget. I consider this as a fueling period for the next run.

    Note there is a minimum 5-7 day lead time on any biological change, so give this process plenty of time.
  • lucerorojo
    lucerorojo Posts: 790 Member
    jbrooks3645 wrote: »
    Thanks guys! It's so much easier during the week to stay under my calorie goal bec I'm a stay at home mom so I'm just home with my baby all week and I'll cook at home those nights but on the weekends my husband's home and we like to go out to eat and he eats 3 full meals a day and drinks beer and never gains an ounce. So I'm usually abt 5 or 600 over my calorie limit of 1400. It's only been 2 weeks but I have seen some progress I have an dial scale and weigh every day I was staying in the 185 to 190 range but now it stays between the 180 to 185 range.

    If you are eating 500-600 calories over your limit on Saturday and Sunday, that's 1200 calories (and perhaps more depending on how accurate you are logging/weighing). You need to figure out what to eat at the restaurants so that you can stick to your calorie goal, at least one of those days. If you have a lot to lose and have a high deficit during the week (1000 calories per day) then you would still lose. However, as you get closer to goal weight, then you are going to wipe out the deficit by overeating on the weekend.
  • PAV8888
    PAV8888 Posts: 14,303 Member
    lucerorojo wrote: »
    jbrooks3645 wrote: »
    Thanks guys! It's so much easier during the week to stay under my calorie goal bec I'm a stay at home mom so I'm just home with my baby all week and I'll cook at home those nights but on the weekends my husband's home and we like to go out to eat and he eats 3 full meals a day and drinks beer and never gains an ounce. So I'm usually abt 5 or 600 over my calorie limit of 1400. It's only been 2 weeks but I have seen some progress I have an dial scale and weigh every day I was staying in the 185 to 190 range but now it stays between the 180 to 185 range.

    If you are eating 500-600 calories over your limit on Saturday and Sunday, that's 1200 calories (and perhaps more depending on how accurate you are logging/weighing). You need to figure out what to eat at the restaurants so that you can stick to your calorie goal, at least one of those days. If you have a lot to lose and have a high deficit during the week (1000 calories per day) then you would still lose. However, as you get closer to goal weight, then you are going to wipe out the deficit by overeating on the weekend.

    It really does depend on size of TDEE and size of deficits and goal setting.

    Obviously the more you go over on one, or two, or even more days, the harder it is to balance things out.

    In fact it is rare that *I* can manage to hit anything other than maintenance when indulging on multiple days in a week.

    But it *is* individual how we each balance things out.

    My only suggestion is that you should try to avoid ever declaring a free for all and then extending that to the next and next meal.

    Planned breaks, adhered to, fine!

    Unplanned? Get back on the horse NOW; not tomorrow.
  • CaffeinatedConfectionist
    CaffeinatedConfectionist Posts: 1,046 Member
    edited April 2018
    steveko89 wrote: »
    CSARdiver wrote: »
    The important question is why do you go over budget on weekends? Identify this and mitigate this. Sounds like you are straying off routine and forming habits that are not supporting your goals.

    ^^^This 100%. You can try to balance looser weekends with tighter weekdays but I've found the most success with staying as consistent as possible and not planning for less vigilance on weekends or special occasions. I think it helps from a psychological standpoint when it comes to long-term weight management as well; eliminating this on/off, behave/misbehave sort of mindset in favor of permanent and sustainable lifestyles changes to observe regardless of the day of the week will ultimately serve us better over the long-haul of maintaining healthy weight and habits.

    I find eating less during the work week and more on weekends to be permanent and sustainable - I've been doing it for years.

    It has nothing to do with a "behave/misbehave" mentality or behaviors that I need to "mitigate" and everything to do with accepting that, for me, weekends are active and social and involve a higher caloric intake. I don't consider my eating habits on weekends to be "bad." If I tried to eat the exact same number of calories per day regardless of what's going on in life, I'd go crazy. I prefer flexibility over excessive structure.

    Consistent daily vigilance might work well for some, but it's not the best option for everyone.

    ETA that obviously it's easy to wipe out a deficit by a few days of overeating, but monitoring a weekly average is just as effective as the daily, provided you're mentally prepared for plenty of day-to-day weight fluctuations.
  • ejg1010
    ejg1010 Posts: 48 Member
    You need roughly a daily deficit of 250 calories to lose half a pound per week or 500 calories to lose one pound per week. Depending on your goals that equates to a 1,750 or 3,500 total calorie deficit per week. How you spread that deficit throughout the week shouldn’t make any difference to your loss. If it works for you, then keep going!

    I am like many other posters and tend to eat less during the week and more on weekends, but I make sure that my daily average is always the same as my goal net calories. MFP shows your average weekly intake and as long as you stick within that target you will lose at the same rate. I have lost over 40 lbs this way over the last year.
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