Maintenance By The DAY, Not The WEEK

Why do people calculate macros on a weekly schedule? It’s obvious that a 200lb lifter doesn’t need 4,000 calories to sit on his ass on an off day, but he might need it during a 2hr leg workout + conditioning.

Why does nobody seem to take this into consideration?

Fairly sure a lot of people do take this into consideration? Look at the chobbs and marzouk logs, Zara has them eating less on their off days.

Pretty sure anyone who cycles Carbs fluctuates in calories from day to day.

carb cycling

also I like to get in carbs the day before anything big planned

[quote]karite36 wrote:
he might need it during a 2hr leg workout + conditioning.
[/quote]

What about the off/recovery day AFTER a 2hr leg workout + conditioning?

Personally, if given the choice, I will eat less carbs and less in general on a leg day just so that I’m lighter and have less in my stomach. I’d save them all for after, or even the day after, and possibly night before.

Hmmm yeah. But I mean it seems that most tutorials on this site and others that have you “find you maintainence” seem to not take that into consideration. Of course people that carb/calorie cycle would fluctuate.

It just seemed like a thing that was odd. Or even having “training day” and “off day” macros when an arm day obviously requires less than a leg day.

I’m a bit of a numberphile.

Every tutorial or calculator I’ve seen that finds your maintenance also accounts for lifting days/cardio. For example: Light/Medium/Heavy Intensity Lifting or Light/Medium/Heavy Intensity Cardio and for how long you do it on those days.

[quote]karite36 wrote:
Hmmm yeah. But I mean it seems that most tutorials on this site and others that have you “find you maintainence” seem to not take that into consideration. Of course people that carb/calorie cycle would fluctuate.

It just seemed like a thing that was odd. Or even having “training day” and “off day” macros when an arm day obviously requires less than a leg day.

I’m a bit of a numberphile.[/quote]

Well you can make adjustments based on the intensity of the workout, body parts worked.

Maintenance is not really what to eat to maintain your weight daily, but just a number that if you consistently eat over a week’s period to keep your weight steady.

I think the difference in eating 3000 cals 7 days a week

vs

eating 2000/3000/4000/3000/2000/3000/4000 really matters too much

If you, on average, eat what the calculator says is maintenance then you will theoretically maintain. If on average it is above or below then you will gain or lose…

[quote]karite36 wrote:
Hmmm yeah. But I mean it seems that most tutorials on this site and others that have you “find you maintainence” seem to not take that into consideration. Of course people that carb/calorie cycle would fluctuate.

It just seemed like a thing that was odd. Or even having “training day” and “off day” macros when an arm day obviously requires less than a leg day.

I’m a bit of a numberphile.[/quote]

It’s just easier and often it doesn’t seem to matter in terms of results. There’s an explanation.

(I’m not saying that carb cycling is useless but it’s a slightly advanced tool)