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Old 05-08-2010, 09:53 AM   #1  
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Default Counting deficits over a week?

Does anybody else do this? I've always been very focused on each day and making sure I had an adequate defecit for that particular day. But I'm trying an experiment where I total deficits over seven days (Sunday to Saturday) and make sure I reach a weekly goal.

I'm aiming for 5250 for each week. That's 750 x 7 and theoretically would give me 1.5lb loss, but I know the numbers don't always figure correctly in reality.

So far it's worked for me decently, of course, I've only done it for a week. I've lost a pound over the week (I'm a daily weigher, but I was in the range of 140.6-141.6 last week, now I'm 139.2-140.4) even though it's TOM. It gives me more flexibility and takes the pressure off each day. Instead of each day being a success or failure depending on if I got my deficit, I can have more wiggle room on a day to day basis. For example, Sun, Mon, and Tues of this week I was an energizer bunny at the gym and was satisfied on a lower cal total for those days. I had 900-ish cal deficits each day. Yesterday, I got some TOM munchies and let myself splurge a bit. Consequently, I only had a 100 cal deficit, lol. But it was no biggie since I'd jacked my deficit numbers up earlier in the week, lol.

Not that it's an excuse to restrict/binge/restrict/binge as long as the weekly total adds up. I wouldn't fast for a day so I could eat two pizzas the next day or something. Same rules apply, eat no less than 1200, exercise, and aim for a good deficit each day. I think it's just a mental thing for me, it takes the pressure off each day.
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Old 05-08-2010, 10:08 AM   #2  
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That is basically my plan for maintenance - to eat the way I eat now most of the time, but then have a treat or a restaurant meal without worrying that much about it (not going completely crazy either of course!) and the idea is that the deficit makes up for the extra and overall, I can maintain. You are so close to your goal now that I think it makes sense to start experimenting with how you are going to maintain and this sounds like a great way IMO.
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Old 05-08-2010, 02:15 PM   #3  
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Exactly! This is my plan to ease into maintenance. I still have those last few pounds to go, so I'm not going to give up the deficit yet. But once I get to where I want to be (131-136 is going to be my maintenance range), then I'll start decreasing the weekly deficit until I quit losing.
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Old 05-08-2010, 04:21 PM   #4  
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Megan how did you figure your deficit? Are you basing it on your BMR?
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Old 05-08-2010, 04:30 PM   #5  
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I went to a dietitian in college and that's how she had me do it. So I would save up extra during the week in order to be able to go out drinking on the weekends! lol. Stupidly, I never figured out the maintenance thing, so I just slowly began eating more and more until I gained it all back over the years (especially when I quit smoking many moons ago). This time, I'm going to learn the maintenance--and I agree with PeanutsMom that this is a great way to figure it out. Good work!
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Old 05-08-2010, 04:36 PM   #6  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by lisa130 View Post
Megan how did you figure your deficit? Are you basing it on your BMR?
I'm a member of caloriecount.com. I plug in the food that I eat and the exercise that I do. I plugged in my height and frame size and update my weight, so it calculates my estimated burn. I have it set on "sedentary lifestyle" which I don't necessarily have. So with calories eaten, exercised calories, and guesstimated BMR, it tells me my deficit for each day. It's NOT 100% accurate, I realize this, but it's a good guideline.

Calorie counting isn't an exact science, and I don't treat it as such. Everything is estimated. But, I do have a good idea of when I'm having a large deficit, small deficit, or moderate deficit for the day.
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Old 05-08-2010, 04:51 PM   #7  
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I also look for the week's deficits. I am trying to get back to my weight last August (before injury knocked me out). So, I'm looking to always have about 300-500 cals deficit. I will need to sharpen up once I stop seeing a slow decline but for now it's working.

I also count calories. I usually round food values up and round exercise expectations down. I rarely count my walking towards my values. I like to sneak in extra exercise--like walking (we don't own a car), biking, etc. I can't take stairs 'cause of knees injury but normally I did lots of these.
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Old 05-08-2010, 05:10 PM   #8  
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I do the same thing, but I haven't done it based on deficits - more of a weekly balance of how many calories to eat. So I have a 10000 calorie budget per week, and I can balance it out how I need to. Good idea with the deficits! And by the way Megan, way to go on your weight loss.
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Old 05-09-2010, 07:33 PM   #9  
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I guess my zig-zagging is similar, and I tally for the week. So, my average is 1700-1800 a day, but my daily calories range can be as low as 1450 or as high as 2300 (for example). As long as I know my weekly tally is around 1750 I lose consistently. That is based on a 'sedentary' lifestyle too, though I do get exercise several times per week to varying degrees.

Last edited by MyBestYear; 05-09-2010 at 07:34 PM.
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Old 05-09-2010, 11:05 PM   #10  
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I use a GWF and find that even though I aim for a 1000 cal deficit per day I tend go up and down naturally during the week and it just averages out. This past week I had a deficit each day of anywhere between 600-1450 and it averaged out for 7 days to a 1053 cal loss per day.

I guess I just naturally zig-zag based on my activity/ social schedule each week.

The only problem is that I have only lost 1# in the past 4 weeks. This past week ( when I actually lost the #), I made sure to eat very balanced, drink all my water, and count all my calories very acurately. As frustrating as it is, at least I'm not giving up this time.

Yay me!
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Old 05-10-2010, 04:52 AM   #11  
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I'm totally into calorie deficits and I use CalorieCount too. I always keep a 1000-calorie deficit every day, and have had no problem hitting that target for a month now. I've lost 8 pounds this month, so I guess it is working! I thought at first that keeping that high of a deficit everyday (and I know it is an estimate, but I don't vary more than 20 calories above/under my goal) would make me feel hungry all the time, but I can still eat 1600 calories with this deficit. Pretty cool!
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