Banking calories
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For weight loss, this can be a habit some find easy to get into. However, be cautious, because once you move into maintenance, it's much more difficult to maintain when you are yo-yoing calories up and down. you'll do better by learning to keep everything in a moderate level. Enjoy what you like and keep it at a constant, without binge levels or deficit levels.0
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For weight loss, this can be a habit some find easy to get into. However, be cautious, because once you move into maintenance, it's much more difficult to maintain when you are yo-yoing calories up and down. you'll do better by learning to keep everything in a moderate level. Enjoy what you like and keep it at a constant, without binge levels or deficit levels.
Why would it be more difficult during maintenance?
If I maintain on 1800...maybe one day I eat 1500...one day 1800...one day 2100...I still have averaged 1800 for those 3 days.
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I guess it depends on what you're doing exactly for your fitness. If you're working hard, your body needs calories and nutrients to recover and rebuild what has been broken down...it needs those calories now, not in five days. Failure to properly fuel your fitness can lead to recovery issues not to mention performance issues and fitness gains.
I hit the weight room pretty hard and ride a lot...I would have major recovery issues if I banked all that nutrition for 5 days or whatever.0 -
For weight loss, this can be a habit some find easy to get into. However, be cautious, because once you move into maintenance, it's much more difficult to maintain when you are yo-yoing calories up and down. you'll do better by learning to keep everything in a moderate level. Enjoy what you like and keep it at a constant, without binge levels or deficit levels.
Why would it be more difficult during maintenance?
If I maintain on 1800...maybe one day I eat 1500...one day 1800...one day 2100...I still have averaged 1800 for those 3 days.
As I said, maintenance works much better if you learn before you get there how to eat in moderation and stay within calorie goals. Eating above goals one day and not the next is not staying within goals, and will eventually lead to a habit of more days of eating above goals.... and weight gain.0 -
Hmm... never really thought about "saving" underages for the weekend, but the premise makes sense. I tend to map out my whole day in the morning and if one of my meals is high cal, I eat less at the other two to make up for it. Like today - I'm having pasta and meatballs for dinner and my better half requested rice pudding for dessert (getting about half my days' calories in those two meals), so I ate my normal breakfast (which isn't very big to begin with) and a very small lunch and afternoon snack, to mitigate the large dinner and dessert. If it works on a meal-to-meal scale, I'm sure it would work over the course of a week. I just don't know if I have the patience to bother going back and tallying up the underages. The way I see it, if I eat less than what MFP suggested, I'll just lose weight faster. I can "make up" for weekend splurges by eating less at other meals that same day.0
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I do IIFYM and a weekly deficit. I get 2100 during the week, and 3750 during the weekend, so I can go out and be social and have fun (drink. I mean drink.
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tlflag1620 wrote: »Hmm... never really thought about "saving" underages for the weekend, but the premise makes sense. I tend to map out my whole day in the morning and if one of my meals is high cal, I eat less at the other two to make up for it. Like today - I'm having pasta and meatballs for dinner and my better half requested rice pudding for dessert (getting about half my days' calories in those two meals), so I ate my normal breakfast (which isn't very big to begin with) and a very small lunch and afternoon snack, to mitigate the large dinner and dessert. If it works on a meal-to-meal scale, I'm sure it would work over the course of a week. I just don't know if I have the patience to bother going back and tallying up the underages. The way I see it, if I eat less than what MFP suggested, I'll just lose weight faster. I can "make up" for weekend splurges by eating less at other meals that same day.
I don't really "save" any calories...I just eat at different levels based on what day it is.
Mondays I am never very hungry so I eat at a lower set calorie goal. Tuesday I will have an additional 250 calories. I continue alternating through the week and then on Saturdays (the day that I like to eat out...maybe have a larger than normal treat) I eat at a higher level. At the end of the week...I have consumed the same number of calories that I would have if I had of just eaten at the same number each day.
I don't however save any unused calories...that is just too much to keep track of. If I have 50 unused calories...then I just lose them.
Others might not agree with this method...but it works for me and while I am still in the weight loss mode I plan on living this way once I reach the maintenance mode.
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Kimberly_Harper wrote: »Way to throw a wrench in the whole way I think about this haha!! I had no idea you could bank calories...that doesn't even make sense to me. (that doesn't mean it's wrong) At what point does our body know when to gain weight from too many calories? One day doesn't matter then if we eat under enough days in a row to make up for it? I have been wondering about how does our body know when we ate under or over our calories and when does that register or kick in?
Our bodies are constantly burning calories. There's nothing magical about accounting for calories on a daily basis v. a weekly basis. Weight gain and loss is a continuous process. Most people burn 1800-2200 calories per day just being alive and going about our day. Exercise burns even more calories. Because we need energy from food (calories) to live, our bodies are remarkably good at storing excess food calories as fuel. When you eat more calories than your body can use right away, your body will store that excess fuel--typically as some combination of glycogen, fat, and muscle. When you eat fewer calories than you burn over a period of time, your body will tap into it's storage tank of glycogen and fat (and muscle if need be).
So, if you do decide to account for your calorie burn and consumption on a weekly basis (weekday excess deficit and weekend surplus) you *will* lose body mass during the week, and gain (some of) it back on the weekend. How much you gain and lose depends on how much energy debt you incur and replenish, just like when you account for your calories on a daily basis. It may be hard to measure, though, because of other, non-calorie-induced weight fluctuations (like water retention/dehydration).
This makes sense. Thanks.0 -
I don't really save calories, however, I do take a wholistic look at my diet. So Saturday night I may know I am going to eat out and have a drink, extra calories. I will be stricter during the week to allow for it.
The biggest problem with saving calories though is that it can make you feel like you are allowed to Binge. In otherwords, I can eat extra now and if I go over I can eat less tomorrow. This thinking does not work.
However, last week I had a stomach virus. Well my body not only didn't take in calories, it didn't absorb anything. I also didn't workout. From being locked in the house, once I felt better, I got active. Well since I hadn't had enough feul, I was still tired. I definitely ate way more than I normally would have. However, my weight is still down. My body finally completely recouped today. I am no longer starving or sluggish. Took a full week of eating again before my body was fueled back up. So sometimes you need to eat a little more, but you also don't want to say like i did Sat night "I can eat those fries" I should not have eaten the fries because i needed the right fuel.
All in all be careful with the banking mentality, but its ok to splurge and go over every now and again, just watch how far you go.0 -
I don't bank calories, but I do notice that if I eat under my calorie goals one day (usually not eating back much of my exercise calories) then the next day I will eat a larger portion of my exercise calories back. It all works out.0
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Never thought of saving calories for the weekend but I might start doing that for a couple glasses of wine. Personally I like eating at the same time everyday with close to the same amount of calories - my body gets into a habit and then it is hard to get out of which is always good.0
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