Can I "save" exercise calories for another day?

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  • RUNN3Rmom
    RUNN3Rmom Posts: 441
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    Seriously?
    No unfortunately you can't just save calories for another day. Everything resets at midnight, Cinderella.

    Bwahhhh!! I would say if it is a one time thing then yeah, why not. I wouldn't do it over and over and becoming off track. But why not, enjoy them tomorrow :)
  • spongekitty
    spongekitty Posts: 24 Member
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    Especially considering that varying your diet can help your body keep from stagnating, sure! Just don't save them for too long.
  • JME1989
    JME1989 Posts: 1 Member
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    I don't normally eat my exercise calories back. If you're not hungry, you're not hungry, just drink water. You've probably eaten all the calories necessary for the day, and by burning some off you are putting your body in a better position. However if you have burned more calories then you have consumed in the day you have a dilemma.
  • virginiejaubin
    virginiejaubin Posts: 497 Member
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    I remember with old weight watchers, we could save some extra points or exercise points for an other day of the week. I guess it's the same thing with calories on a weekly basis and if you weight in only once a week.
  • wild_wild_life
    wild_wild_life Posts: 1,334 Member
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    is it best to eat back those calories or no?

    If you are using MFP to calculate your calorie allowance, then generally the answer is yes.
    If you are getting your calorie allowance number from somewhere else, then see what they say.

    www.shouldieatmyexercisecalories.com

    I love it!!!
  • Maurice1966
    Maurice1966 Posts: 438 Member
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    Yes you can. You're going to fluctuate from day to day but it's the long term that is important to have your eye on. Under eating one day, over another is not going to make a big difference over the longer term.
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
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    Really, it comes down to weekly totals.

    I find that when I go on my long runs (6-8 miles) I'm not very hungry the rest of the day, but the next day I am absolutely ravenous. The body will balance out. As long as you're not consistently eating a huge deficit and exercising excessively, you'll be fine.
  • phatty4dayz
    phatty4dayz Posts: 125 Member
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    is it best to eat back those calories or no?

    It depends on what ur body likes. Some will tell u to eat them back, some will tell you not to. Some will get into huge arguements & discussions about it. I do not eat them. I say just do what works best for u.

    ^^ This. I used to not eat mine back because I didn't understand how eating more would be helpful. Then I hit a plateau and I started eating back my exercise calories. Viola! The pound shed resumed (and has remained consistant).
  • bulbadoof
    bulbadoof Posts: 1,058 Member
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    Yup! I personally like to keep a "float" of a couple hundred calories for whenever I'm extra hungry or want something high in calories.
  • dward2011
    dward2011 Posts: 416 Member
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    You can see your weekly calorie (net) total using the app. Just a FYI....
  • Moana41
    Moana41 Posts: 35
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    Seriously?
    No unfortunately you can't just save calories for another day. Everything resets at midnight, Cinderella.

    lol
  • devil_in_a_blue_dress
    devil_in_a_blue_dress Posts: 5,214 Member
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    Why can't you save your calories for another day?

    No, you shouldn't store them up for weeks on end, but within a week or so is fine. What is the difference if you save 500 from today to use tomorrow or double up on your workout the day after eating a bit too much... there is none in the end.

    WW is specifically designed to help people keep track of their activity points on a weekly basis. Not that they are the gold standard -- but think about it, it helps promote a healthy lifestyle by encouraging people to plan ahead so they don't "fall off the wagon" so to speak.

    So yeah, anyway -- I lost 30 pound on WW, 14 with MFP -- I "saved" calories. So it works and won't ruin your progress.

    In addition, lots of people say that spiking their calories ( planning to eating 1,300 one day, then 2,000 the next, then 1,500 and so on) helps them lose weight faster -- my husband is one of them. He's also lost about 30 pounds.
  • SmartAlec03211988
    SmartAlec03211988 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    I bank my calories all the time, so on the weekend I can just eat whatever and still be under at at par with my weekly calories. Hasn't had any adverse affect on my weight loss.
  • taunto
    taunto Posts: 6,420 Member
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    Seriously?
    No unfortunately you can't just save calories for another day. Everything resets at midnight, Cinderella.

    Is everything ok at home dear or did you just not ate today and wanna be mean to strangers online? Everything will be OK love.

    @OP. Its perfectly OK to save them, You're fine to eat them back after a few days, your "clock" doesn't reset at any particular time. Want proof, try weighing yourself before and after you goto bed, there will be a weight difference which shows your metabolism is still working which means nothing stopped working when you were sleeping.

    Also, yes you should eat back the workout calories or any of the saved calories but donot "force" yourself to but at the same time don't make it a habit to undereat alot whether you're hungry or not. I suggest eating back atleast half your calories. If you burn big amounts of calories like I do something (2000+ calories) then eat whatever you can back and save the rest of the calories for a day when you're not gonna workout or wanna eat outside or have a desert, dangit you earned that desert!
  • educatyion
    educatyion Posts: 31 Member
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    Yes, you can save them. When I did Weight Watchers, they counted your total exercise calories for the week. As soon as your new week started, you lost them if they were not usurped. EnJOY indulging in the calories you sweat hard for this past week!
  • Kenzietea2
    Kenzietea2 Posts: 1,132 Member
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    You can, and still lose weight. BUT it is recommended you eat the calories you need on the day you do the harder work out. My dietician said it is like a calorie bank for the week, not just day to day. I really only use that if I have had a bad day or two, and then limit my calories for the next few days to make up for it. I typically don't do it the other way around, but- you CAN save calories, sure.
  • Capt_Apollo
    Capt_Apollo Posts: 9,026 Member
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    yes... in a way. do a big run on monday, and you might not be super hungry that day, but the next day you'll be more hungry. so it's ok to eat more that day. heck, if you are still a little extra hungry on wednesday, thats okay too. but if you are still eating extra on friday and you haven't worked out since monday, you're in the wrong.
  • Linbo93
    Linbo93 Posts: 229 Member
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    If you were to somehow have a 3,500 calorie deficit in one day, you would not lose a pound of fat overnight. You might lose due to water fluctuation, but not true fat loss. The calorie deficit you have over time is what causes true fat loss. If you want to average your calories over, say, 1 week, and make sure that what you averaged came out to your calorie goal, you would do fine,

    In fact, there's a whole school of people who deliberately do that just to keep the body guessing.
  • blessedsuccess
    blessedsuccess Posts: 8 Member
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    Think of your total calories, foods/variety of foods, exercise, weight loss on a weekly basis. Lots of people do well with eating less one or two days of the week and eating a little more (e.g., for a social occasion) later in the week.

    It so much less stressful this way.
  • stuffinmuffin
    stuffinmuffin Posts: 985 Member
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    Can I "save" exercise calories for another day?

    I do. I average out my calories over the week (monday - sunday). On sunday I typically eat out or make something extra yummy at home that requires calorie heavy ingredients and some desert. I typically save only my workout calories though so that the rest of the days I don't feel hungry

    I do this!!!!

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