Averaging out a Caloric Deficit

Nutrition Q&A [Moderated]
1

Something that’s been at the back of my mind. Let’s say my current maintenance is 2600 calories, and I want to be at an average of -500 caloric deficit. That would mean eating on average 2100 calories.

Does the body really care if I do something like 1900 calories six days a week, and 3300 on one day? Or will this effectively hinder or even stall weight loss?

The reason why I ask is because I find it more sustainable to eat less during weekdays, and then “reward” myself on Saturday with a “controlled binge”. I’ve been doing this to maintain AND slowly gain weight since last summer.

2

That would work fine in a lab or if it actually happens in the real world, but humans tend to have significant variations in their total daily energy intake and total daily energy expenditure even when they’re trained (e.g. registered dietitians) and trying to keep things the same (with cash incentives). While I don’t have good data to tell you that long-term this won’t work as well as keeping things the same day-to-day, I also don’t really see a benefit that comports with long-term, sustainable weight loss either. I don’t think it builds great eating habits either.