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.
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 yo’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.
>>
Click here for Tom's Burn the Fat Feed the Muscle program
About the Author
Tom Venuto is an NSCA-certified personal trainer, certified
strength and conditioning specialist, lifetime natural bodybuilder,
and author of the #1 best-selling e-book "Burn the
Fat, Feed The Muscle" (BFFM). Tom has written over
170 articles and has been featured in IRONMAN Magazine,
Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Muscle-Zine,
Olympian’s News (in Italian), Exercise for Men and
Men’s Exercise. For information on Tom's "Burn
The Fat" e-book, click
here
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