Rest day calories on a cut

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justinkimcentral
justinkimcentral Posts: 127 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
So im currently on a cutting diet trying to lose body fat and so i was wondering how much i should eat on rest days which is saturdays and sundays. So some people say you should eat less because of inactivity, but some people say to eat the same deficit or even higher because muscles are repairing but that was countered because one guy said that muscles recover in sleep or something. So what is the conclusion... should i eat in a more deficit or stick to my normal deficit or eat maintaince or eat slight surplus

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  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    I tend to eat less, as I net my calorie goal, so on rest days my goal is less.
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    Honestly do whatever makes you feel best and keeps you in a deficit at the end of the week. I eat less on rest days and cardio days because I love having more fuel and carbs for my lifting sessions.. I find it aids in my performance. But you may want to do it differently.
  • ljashley1952
    ljashley1952 Posts: 273 Member
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    I'm having a rest day today and I'm eating Mexican. Definitely more calories.
  • GrumpyHeadmistress
    GrumpyHeadmistress Posts: 666 Member
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    I don’t have rest days but I definitely eat less on days where I do lower levels of exercise.

    Saying that, your body doesn’t really work accurately enough to know whether it’s 12 midnight or 2am. It’s more of a “big overall picture” machine. So if you go over your calories a bit on a rest day and under another day, it evens out overall for your body.
  • GrumpyHeadmistress
    GrumpyHeadmistress Posts: 666 Member
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    justinkimcentral wrote: »
    So is it just the overall balance?

    Yes. And no. Lots of people take a week view of calories - ie make sure that their calories balance out over the whole week.

    Some people take a longer view, balancing over two weeks or even longer.

    Some people like to just go day by day.

    Try different techniques and see what works for you. But give each technique a chance to work eg a leash 3-4 weeks. Don’t keep changing between plans each week!
  • sardelsa
    sardelsa Posts: 9,812 Member
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    justinkimcentral wrote: »
    So is it just the overall balance?

    Pretty much. But again for me it's about optimal workout performance. Maybe experiment and see what works best for you.

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