By Tom Venuto, CSCS, NSCA-CPT
Suppose you’re on a diet and you have a banquet or a holiday party
coming up. You’re expecting a big meal to be served for dinner, and
there will be open bar with lots and lots of “party snacks.” You’re not
sure if there will be any healthy food there, but you are sure that
you’re going to be in a festive, partying mood! What should you do?
Should you cut back on your food earlier in the day to make room for
the big feast?
What I’ve just described is commonly known as "banking calories,"
which is analogous to saving calories like money because you’re going
to consume more later, and it’s a very common practice among dieters.
If you’re really serious about your diet and fitness goals however,
then the answer is no, you should NOT “bank calories! Here’s why and
here’s what you should do instead:
First of all, if you’re being really honest with yourself, you have
to agree that there’s almost always something healthy to eat at any
gathering. You know those tables you see at holiday parties that are
covered with yards of chips, dips, pretzels, cookies, salami, candies,
cheese, punch, liquor, and a seemingly endless assortment of other
goodies? Well, did you also notice that there’s usually a tray full of
carrot sticks, cauliflower, celery, fruit, turkey breast and other
healthy snacks too?
No matter where you are, you always have options, so make the best
choice you can based on whatever your options are. If nothing else, you
can choose to eat a small portion of "party foods" rather than a huge
portion, thereby obeying the law of calorie balance.
If you skip meals or eat less earlier in the day to bank calories
for a big feast at night, you are thinking only in terms of calories,
but you’re depriving yourself of the valuable nutrition you need all
day long in terms of protein (amino acids), carbohydrates, essential
fats, vitamins, minerals and other nutrients that come from healthy
food, as well as the small frequent meals required to stoke the furnace
of your metabolism.
Not only that, but eating less early in the day in anticipation for
overeating later is more likely to increase your appetite, causing you
to binge or eat much more than you thought you would at night when the
banquet does arrive.
Eating healthy food earlier in the day is likely to fill you up and
you’ll be less likely to overeat in the evening. High fiber foods,
healthy fats and especially lean protein, tend to suppress your
appetite the most.
I don’t like the concept of "banking calories." Your body just
doesn’t work that way – it tends to seek equilibrium by adjusting your
appetite to the point where you consume the same total amount of
calories in the end anyway.
Even if it worked the way you wanted it to, why would you eat less
(starve) in an attempt to burn more fat, then overeat (binge) and put
the fat right back on? Why allow yourself to put on fat in the first
place?
A starving and bingeing pattern will almost certainly cause more
damage than an occasional oversize meal. Some dieticians might even say
that this kind of behavior borders on disordered eating.
A better approach is to stay on your regular menu of healthy foods
and small meals through the entire day – business as usual – and then
go ahead and treat yourself to a "cheat meal," but sure to keep your
portions small.
It should be a big relief to know that on special occasions, whether
it’s a party, restaurant meal, banquet or holiday dinner, you can eat
whatever you want with little or no ill effect on body composition, as
long as you respect the law of calorie balance. However, you CANNOT
starve and binge and expect not to reap negative consequences.
To burn fat and be healthy, you don’t have to be a "party pooper" or
completely deny yourself of foods you enjoy, but you do need to have
the discipline to stick with your regular meal plan most of the time
and control your portion sizes all of the time.
Your friend and coach,
Tom Venuto
About the Author:
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified
personal trainer (CPT), certified strength & conditioning
specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best-selling e-book, "Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle"
Tom has written more than 200 articles and has been featured in print
magazines such as IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding,
Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise, as well as
on hundreds of websites worldwide.
For information on Tom’s Fat Loss
program, visit: www.BurnTheFat.com
