I recieved this newsletter from natural bodybuilder Tom Venuto and thought I would share it with you. It addresses 2 questions he was asked by subscribers about eating during the holiday season. The first about skipping meals to make up for holiday overeating "accidents" and the second about undereating to "bank calories" for later.
Q - Tom, I have a question which you might want to use in
your next Q and A column. I think this is especially
applicable during the Holiday season. My question is:
If you accidentally pig out or over-indulge at a meal,
(a Holiday party for example), are you better off
skipping your next meal to keep your daily caloric
intake on target, or should you just go ahead and eat
your next planned meal and not worry about being somewhat
"over" your planned calories for the day?
A - Thats a VERY good question, but I have to admit I did get a
little chuckle out of the "accidental" part!
Do you really ever "accidentally" eat anything? I think we
are all responsible for everything we eat and how much we
eat and until you consciously realize and accept this, you will
probably continue to have lots of ..."overeating accidents!"
To answer your question, after you overindulge, I do NOT
recommend skipping your next meal and I usually don't recommend
cutting back either. I simply recommend returning immediately to
your "regularly scheduled programming!"
I do suppose whether you cut back could depend on whether you've
been on low calories a long time, how lean you were already and on
whether you were in a caloric deficit already.
If you were in a calorie deficit for the day, then the extra
calories might only bring you up to maintenance, not "over"
your daily limit, which might not have as much effect as if you
were in a calorie surplus. If you were already very lean or
had been dieting strictly for a long time (as in a bodybuilder
coming off a competition), that might not have much effect either.
Your metabolism has a way of slowing down if you keep your
calories too low 100% of the time. With occasional overeating,
you'd inadvertently be using the BURN THE FAT "zig-zag" principle,
which is when you intentionally eat more on some days than
others in order to keep burning fat without slowing down
your metabolism.
However, there's a big difference between a planned high carb
or clean food "re-feed" day and a binge on junk food. Your best
bet if you're really serious about fat loss is to avoid huge
meals and avoid bingeing at all costs, especially if youre an
endomorph body type.
Regardless of total 24 hour calorie intake for the day, I'm
partial to the theory that you'll usually store fat from huge
meals, no matter what you do at your other meals the rest of
the day.
Although I do prescribe calorie levels based on daily (24 hr)
needs, I also think you should pay attention to 3 hour windows
when you're thinking about adjusting your caloric intake.
I believe calories and macronutrients (protein/aminos, carbs/sugar
and fat) are partitioned into glycogen, muscle or fat tissue or
burned for energy depending very much on present moment energy
and recovery needs (i.e., did you just work out, etc), and on
what's going to happen over the next 3 hours or so as the food
enters your system.
So if you're going to be plopping down on the couch for the
3-6 hour period after that big meal, beware - you might just want
to cut back on that next meal a little. If you just had a killer
high intensity resistance training session, or you're getting
fueled up for a 2 hour bike ride, that's a different story because
this can affect how the extra calories are used/partitioned.
Bottom line: It's okay to eat small amounts of your favorite junk
foods once in a while as "cheat meals," and it's a good idea to
eat more in general from time to time to keep your metabolism
humming along.
However, it's neve'r smart to binge or overeat in one sitting. If
you ever do, just get right back on the wagon with your next meal
and remember, the past is behind you and tomorrow is a new day.
Q - Tom, if I know I'm going to be having a big meal at night, like for
a banquet or a holiday party and there probably won't be any healthy
food there, should I cut back on my food earlier in the day?
A - What you're describing is commonly known as "banking calories"
which is analagous to saving calories like mo-ney because you're
going to consume more later.
The answer is NO - you should NOT do this!
Here's why and here's what you should do instead:
If you skip meals or eat less earlier in the day to "prepare"
(bank calories) for a big feast at night, you are thinking only
in terms of calories, but you are depriving yourself of the
valuable nutrition you need 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 in the day is much more likely to increase
your appetitite, causing you to binge or eat much more than you
thought you would at night when the big meal does arrive.
In fact, eating healthy food as usual earlier in the day is
likely to make you LESS hungry for the holiday party meal and
you'll be more likey to eat only a harmlessly small amount
of "party" foods.
I dont like the concept of "banking calories." Your body 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.
Furthermore, 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?
It's the starving and bingeing pattern that causes more damage
than an occasional oversize meal. Some dieticians might even
argue 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 enjoy yourself at your party
by treating yourself to a SMALL amount of "BAD" food.
Here's a quote from chapter 6 in the Burn The Fat ebook
***
Corollary two of the law of calorie balance:
Small amounts of ANYTHING - even junk food-
will probably not be stored as fat as long as
you are in a calorie deficit where you are
eating fewer calories than you burn up
***
That should be a big relief for you to know that When
you're at a party, a banquet, dining out or eating
at a relative's house for a special occasion, 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.
If you sincerely want to burn fat and be healthy, then
you have to have the discipline to stick with your nutrition
plan consistently and control your portion sizes, but you
dont have to completely deny yourself either.
My very best to you,
Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Certified Personal Trainer
Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Fat Loss Coach
Q - Tom, I have a question which you might want to use in
your next Q and A column. I think this is especially
applicable during the Holiday season. My question is:
If you accidentally pig out or over-indulge at a meal,
(a Holiday party for example), are you better off
skipping your next meal to keep your daily caloric
intake on target, or should you just go ahead and eat
your next planned meal and not worry about being somewhat
"over" your planned calories for the day?
A - Thats a VERY good question, but I have to admit I did get a
little chuckle out of the "accidental" part!
Do you really ever "accidentally" eat anything? I think we
are all responsible for everything we eat and how much we
eat and until you consciously realize and accept this, you will
probably continue to have lots of ..."overeating accidents!"
To answer your question, after you overindulge, I do NOT
recommend skipping your next meal and I usually don't recommend
cutting back either. I simply recommend returning immediately to
your "regularly scheduled programming!"
I do suppose whether you cut back could depend on whether you've
been on low calories a long time, how lean you were already and on
whether you were in a caloric deficit already.
If you were in a calorie deficit for the day, then the extra
calories might only bring you up to maintenance, not "over"
your daily limit, which might not have as much effect as if you
were in a calorie surplus. If you were already very lean or
had been dieting strictly for a long time (as in a bodybuilder
coming off a competition), that might not have much effect either.
Your metabolism has a way of slowing down if you keep your
calories too low 100% of the time. With occasional overeating,
you'd inadvertently be using the BURN THE FAT "zig-zag" principle,
which is when you intentionally eat more on some days than
others in order to keep burning fat without slowing down
your metabolism.
However, there's a big difference between a planned high carb
or clean food "re-feed" day and a binge on junk food. Your best
bet if you're really serious about fat loss is to avoid huge
meals and avoid bingeing at all costs, especially if youre an
endomorph body type.
Regardless of total 24 hour calorie intake for the day, I'm
partial to the theory that you'll usually store fat from huge
meals, no matter what you do at your other meals the rest of
the day.
Although I do prescribe calorie levels based on daily (24 hr)
needs, I also think you should pay attention to 3 hour windows
when you're thinking about adjusting your caloric intake.
I believe calories and macronutrients (protein/aminos, carbs/sugar
and fat) are partitioned into glycogen, muscle or fat tissue or
burned for energy depending very much on present moment energy
and recovery needs (i.e., did you just work out, etc), and on
what's going to happen over the next 3 hours or so as the food
enters your system.
So if you're going to be plopping down on the couch for the
3-6 hour period after that big meal, beware - you might just want
to cut back on that next meal a little. If you just had a killer
high intensity resistance training session, or you're getting
fueled up for a 2 hour bike ride, that's a different story because
this can affect how the extra calories are used/partitioned.
Bottom line: It's okay to eat small amounts of your favorite junk
foods once in a while as "cheat meals," and it's a good idea to
eat more in general from time to time to keep your metabolism
humming along.
However, it's neve'r smart to binge or overeat in one sitting. If
you ever do, just get right back on the wagon with your next meal
and remember, the past is behind you and tomorrow is a new day.
Q - Tom, if I know I'm going to be having a big meal at night, like for
a banquet or a holiday party and there probably won't be any healthy
food there, should I cut back on my food earlier in the day?
A - What you're describing is commonly known as "banking calories"
which is analagous to saving calories like mo-ney because you're
going to consume more later.
The answer is NO - you should NOT do this!
Here's why and here's what you should do instead:
If you skip meals or eat less earlier in the day to "prepare"
(bank calories) for a big feast at night, you are thinking only
in terms of calories, but you are depriving yourself of the
valuable nutrition you need 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 in the day is much more likely to increase
your appetitite, causing you to binge or eat much more than you
thought you would at night when the big meal does arrive.
In fact, eating healthy food as usual earlier in the day is
likely to make you LESS hungry for the holiday party meal and
you'll be more likey to eat only a harmlessly small amount
of "party" foods.
I dont like the concept of "banking calories." Your body 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.
Furthermore, 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?
It's the starving and bingeing pattern that causes more damage
than an occasional oversize meal. Some dieticians might even
argue 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 enjoy yourself at your party
by treating yourself to a SMALL amount of "BAD" food.
Here's a quote from chapter 6 in the Burn The Fat ebook
***
Corollary two of the law of calorie balance:
Small amounts of ANYTHING - even junk food-
will probably not be stored as fat as long as
you are in a calorie deficit where you are
eating fewer calories than you burn up
***
That should be a big relief for you to know that When
you're at a party, a banquet, dining out or eating
at a relative's house for a special occasion, 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.
If you sincerely want to burn fat and be healthy, then
you have to have the discipline to stick with your nutrition
plan consistently and control your portion sizes, but you
dont have to completely deny yourself either.
My very best to you,
Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Certified Personal Trainer
Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist
Fat Loss Coach
