Do you eat differently on your rest days?

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bahacca
bahacca Posts: 878 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I feel like I'm starving myself on my rest days since I don't have as many calories and then, on my days I workout, I seem to have a hard time MEETING the increased calorie allowance. I'm starting to think I need to just work out and eat like I was prior without counting the calories. I know I need to eat more calories, but the stuff I eat isn't generally high in them. I'm not going to reintroduce junk food into my diet in the name of meeting a specific calorie goal each day. HELP!

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  • shovav91
    shovav91 Posts: 2,335 Member
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    You can meet halfway; don't force yourself to eat on workout days and go over on rest days. It all evens out in the end; it's not really a day-by-day basis type thing :D
    But you don't have to eat junk to meet caloric goals; try avocado, nuts and nut butters, olive/coconut oil, flax seed, full fat dairy... you should have no problem getting a few more calories in!
  • runningathena
    runningathena Posts: 218 Member
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    I run into that problem too! Yesterday was a rest day and I was good about sticking to my calorie limit, but I still felt kind of hungry (but not starved). Tonight I have practice which is a huge burn so I didn't feel bad about eating a little more than normal for lunch. :) It'll even out in the wash!
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
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    I do, I have 1-2 rest days per week and generally eat less on those days. For one thing, having days where I have to control my intake to a low level gives me more motivation to get back in the gym so I can eat more the next day!

    There is no harm in going a little under on your exercise days and a little over on the other days though, as long as you average your intake over the course of a week and longer it will all work out in the end.

    If you are looking for things to add calories that arent junk, there are millions of options that dont require eating a truck load of salad. Its hard to give real feedback without seeing your diary, but you could try things like nuts and nut butters, avocado, olive oil/salad dressings. All very healthy and good for adding a couple of hunded cals to your intake.
  • Ariana_75
    Ariana_75 Posts: 224
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    Definitely! I restrict my carb intake during rest days. If you're feeling hungry before you go to bed, I would suggest you drink one serving of casein protein (I like Optimum Nutrition Chocolate) or a cup of skim cottage cheese. These are slow digesting proteins and will aid your body to retain it's muscle while you sleep =)
  • bahacca
    bahacca Posts: 878 Member
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    THank you so much for the help! I already eat nuts, nut butters-I even eat the all-dreaded CHEESE in moderation. I also think my issue is when i workout, I'm just not as hungry as on days I don't. Maybe I'm weird. I'll try just going over on rest days to a point I'm not starving and eating just a bit more on days I work out.
    Ariana-I'll take your advice of doing less carbs on rest days as well. Makes sense to me!
  • alabughosh
    alabughosh Posts: 132 Member
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    I have wondered about that too! I sort of came to the conclusion that when I work out my metabolism is higher because I've kicked it into fat burning mode. So on days that I exercise, I feel more energetic because I have already kick started my metabolism into converting fat into energy and I can sorta ride that train and keep it going. But on days that I don't exercise, my body isn't really giving me a lot of energy from burning as much fat and my metabolism is slower, so I feel fatigued and hungrier. This is more of my "theory"...I'm not sure how accurate that is. :embarassed:
  • Rayman79
    Rayman79 Posts: 2,009 Member
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    THank you so much for the help! I already eat nuts, nut butters-I even eat the all-dreaded CHEESE in moderation. I also think my issue is when i workout, I'm just not as hungry as on days I don't. Maybe I'm weird. I'll try just going over on rest days to a point I'm not starving and eating just a bit more on days I work out.
    Ariana-I'll take your advice of doing less carbs on rest days as well. Makes sense to me!

    Not weird at all, I have the same thing. I dont have too much trouble eating enough on my workout days (except yesterday where I had 1000 cals spare :), but I am usually ravenous on my rest days... Right now I am waiting for the clock to tick over so I can eat my lunch =D
  • chrisdavey
    chrisdavey Posts: 9,835 Member
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    agree with what's been said about averaging it out. Our bodies aren't on 24hr clocks, we just use that as a way to record intake & expenditure.

    Having said that I always eat more on workout days and less on rest days. Generally more carbs on workout days when my body can make use of them.

    Also, if you are meeting the required minimums for fats & protein & getting a variety of whole foods to get a variety of micronutrients then there is no harm in eating a bit of "junk" food to reach your calorie intake. You're body does not see food names it sees various macro/micronutrients.

    e.g. pizza is "junk" food.
    what if you ate some flour, egg, water, cheese, tomato sauce, meat & veggies. :tongue:

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