Is it okay to think of calories more on a weekly than daily basis?

[jgreenhaus]

Is it okay to think of things in more of a weekly basis, as in to be in a surplus some days but a larger deficit other days, as long as at the end of the week you are meeting your goal of either a total surplus or deficit?

[PedroAntonio]

It might lead to inconsistency in your training if you dramatically drop your calories in order to fit your weekly target. I find it a lot easier to stick with the tried and true fixed intake every day. Any specific reason why you'd want to do that?

[chevro1et]

Overall, its best to hit your target minimum protein and fat macros on a daily basis. If those are met, a little calorie cycling to allow for a night out or a big bash on the weekend should be fine.

[jgreenhaus]

Just how things tend to workout for me, slight surplus on training days then large deficit on off days. In the end if at the end of the week if i met a goal number of a caloric deficit would it really make much of a difference?

[mattypoole]

Just how things tend to workout for me, slight surplus on training days then large deficit on off days. In the end if at the end of the week if i met a goal number of a caloric deficit would it really make much of a difference?

Not really.

Best way to be sure though is to look a the scale/waist measurements.

[PedroAntonio]

It should be fine as long as you keep it controlled and don't make a huge surplus on training days/huge deficit on offdays, try not to have a dramatic variance between them.

Are you bulking/maintaining/cutting?

[RubenOlivares]

Just don't be too drastic with the variations between days if it is going to negatively effect your training performance and you'll be fine.

[chevro1et]

Are you bulking/maintaining/cutting?

I'm guessing on a cut, based on

slight surplus on training days then large deficit on off days

[PedroAntonio]

I'm guessing on a cut, based on

You're right, missed that one

If I were you I'd eat at maintenance at most on workout days. I see no reason to starve yourself on offdays so you can eat more on training days, you'll probably end up shooting yourself on the foot with that approach.

[BloodySalad]

Is it okay to think of things in more of a weekly basis, as in to be in a surplus some days but a larger deficit other days, as long as at the end of the week you are meeting your goal of either a total surplus or deficit?

There is nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

The only thing I'd watch for is consistency - it's easier to miss your targets if you're not going for them on a daily basis.

[jgreenhaus]

Im actually not in a large deficit calorie wise on off days, i create a large deficit those days through cardio. ( run 4 miles outside ) With the pace and the hills i burn 600-700 calories

[chevro1et]

There is nothing wrong with it whatsoever.

The only thing I'd watch for is consistency - it's easier to miss your targets if you're not going for them on a daily basis.

^agree. Daily protein and fat minimums should be priority, along with micronutrient and fiber sufficiency.

Im actually not in a large deficit calorie wise on off days, i create a large deficit those days through cardio. ( run 4 miles outside ) With the pace and the hills i burn 600-700 calories

^lolwut? If you create a deficit, then you are indeed consuming at a deficit, regardless if its through increasing energy expenditure (ie. cardio) or reducing caloric intake. Deficit is deficit, cal in vs cal out.

[jgreenhaus]

^agree. Daily protein and fat minimums should be priority, along with micronutrient and fiber sufficiency.


^lolwut? If you create a deficit, then you are indeed consuming at a deficit, regardless if its through increasing energy expenditure (ie. cardio) or reducing caloric intake. Deficit is deficit, cal in vs cal out.

i meant not in a large deficit due to diet, so it's easier to hit set macro points

[ggfusion]

Is it okay to think of things in more of a weekly basis, as in to be in a surplus some days but a larger deficit other days, as long as at the end of the week you are meeting your goal of either a total surplus or deficit?

My only issue with that is making sure you have the right amount of macros before working out.

[theonegoku]

Theoretically, it sounds like a good idea, not only having 2k calories or whatever your goal is. But in all actuallity, it's not going to happen as you plan it. Think of it like this:

You give a guy 1000 dollars and tell him that it has to last him a week.

Then give another guy about a hundred and fourty five dollars every day for a week and tell him to go have fun.

9 times out of ten your going to end up with the first guy broke on the 5th day and just not spending money on the last days, while the second guy does good, might spend all of his money by noon, but all he has to do is survive the night.

This isnt going to work with calories, sure 14k calories on the first day looks amazing, and you feel on top of the world, but when the 5th day comes and your down to 200 calories, there is no "well, ill just eat really small/not at all for these last two days" because then you have successfully ruined everything.

And on a last note, I know I said nine times out of ten the guy will lose all his money too early, so there is that ONE guy that managed to make it last all week...unfortunately that was the guy who was spending his money wisely and averaging out how much he could spend a day to make sure he didnt go over...and by then your right back where you started

[lee__d]

Theoretically, it sounds like a good idea, not only having 2k calories or whatever your goal is. But in all actuallity, it's not going to happen as you plan it. Think of it like this:

You give a guy 1000 dollars and tell him that it has to last him a week.

Then give another guy about a hundred and fourty five dollars every day for a week and tell him to go have fun.

9 times out of ten your going to end up with the first guy broke on the 5th day and just not spending money on the last days, while the second guy does good, might spend all of his money by noon, but all he has to do is survive the night.

This isnt going to work with calories, sure 14k calories on the first day looks amazing, and you feel on top of the world, but when the 5th day comes and your down to 200 calories, there is no "well, ill just eat really small/not at all for these last two days" because then you have successfully ruined everything.

And on a last note, I know I said nine times out of ten the guy will lose all his money too early, so there is that ONE guy that managed to make it last all week...unfortunately that was the guy who was spending his money wisely and averaging out how much he could spend a day to make sure he didnt go over...and by then your right back where you started

Maybe he has self control.

[anonymous]

i mess around like this. i'm currently maintaining and its been working for me. i know i can manage a few days at super low cals without being cranky all day and still having energy to work out and this allows me to not be a social retard when i go out for meals/drinks/etc

[SLO]

Im actually not in a large deficit calorie wise on off days, i create a large deficit those days through cardio. ( run 4 miles outside ) With the pace and the hills i burn 600-700 calories

If you're relying on this supposed calorie burn from your run to create your deficit (and not your diet) don't be surprised if you aren't losing fat at the rate you'd expect. How long does it take you to run 4 miles and what sort of hills are we talking about?

Are you running those 4 miles in 30 minutes? 25 minutes? Because your estimate of 600 calories is 20 calories/minute if it takes you 30 minutes and that rate of expenditure is roughly double what most reasonably fit people can sustain for that long.

I wasted a year spinning my wheels because I thought my expenditure through lots of running and basketball was higher than it really was. And I used to hammer out 5 miles in just over 31 minutes about 5x/week. It ended up not being a terrible thing because I basically ended up recomping when I thought I was cutting.

[cldillmann1]

This is how i am looking at my cals now. Caloric Cycling does exist, i do 3 highs of about 2800, 2 Mods of 2200, and 2 lows of 1700. I average below maintenance and use those high days for days I work out the major muscle groups.

[leibowski]

I tend to go for a weekly count. I love to leave my Saturday for some boozey indulgence and whatever I feel like eating without worrying so I'll keep mon-fri fairly lower, and Sunday will be around maintenance. Still hit my protein numbers, though. I usually weigh in on Saturday mornings to make sure everything is staying consistent week to week.

[SexyBack1]

IMO i try to keep differences to minimum but the differences for me are usually in macros i can go abit lower on P or F on a day and make up for it on otherday but in term of caloric surpluse or defect i think that would be a big error, i mean.. are u telling me i can do 300 caloric defect for 6 days then do 3.5k caloric surpluse on last day and i end up being on a clean bulk " ~ 250 caloric surplus " ? .. let alone the training inconsistency

i could be wrong tho.

[Nexxus]

yes it is ok.

If you eat 1000 calories over maintenance one day, then in the next day or next couple days you can eat slightly under maintenance to make up for it and no you won't see any difference at all over the long run.

I don't see why performance in the gym would change either tbh.

[jgreenhaus]

Thanks for all the helpful posts, it seems it is definitely alright
I always hit the macros regardless of the calories, and i dont ever feel it effects my training performance. So i think i will continue to go very low maybe 3 days, moderately low 1 day, and then have a nice big number for the other 3 days. Helps me stay social and gives me options to hit cravings hard certain days.
Repped a few of you