Damage Control for Holiday Gatherings

[cmcole]

From an e-mail newsletter I receive.

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December 7th, 2006

In the last couple of weeks, I've read numerous articles
about about how to deal with the inevitable parties,
banquets, dinners, and the large and not-so-healthy
meals you may be faced with over the holidays. Two
of them were particularly interesting.
One article was focused on "controlling damage" by
making adjustments AFTER an over-sized meal. Another
was focused on "preventing damage" by eating less BEFORE
the oversize meal (aka, "banking calories")
Both of them had some interesting and valid suggestions,
showing where there are indeed circumstances that you can
eat more than usual without setting back your progress.
For example, we know that you can eat more after an
intensive workout without storing fat because the
energy and nutrients are needed for muscle repair
and glycogen replacement.
We also know that after a few days on a reduced calorie
and or carb diet, you could "carb up" and eat maintenance
or even well above maintenance without storing fat because
the high calorie meal or day is following a period of
calorie restriction and glycogen depletion.
A third example is one I've seen among bodybuilders after
a competition, where they have been dieting strictly for
12 or 16 weeks and they have virtually no fat left on
their bodies and their metabolisms are "on fire." They eat
the ritualistic HUGE post contest junk food celebration
meal, and not only is there no damage, they sometimes
look BETTER the next day!

However, when you look at the big picture, I am not
in favor of skipping meals or other strategies for "damage
control" if they allow or encourage binge eating or they
discourage the development of consistent, positive eating habits.

In today's issue of fat Burning Tips, I've reprinted two
columns that were previously published which offer you some
advice from both angles - what to do before AND after an
anticipated big meal.
With the holidays upon us, I think you will find these columns
timely and informative.
Train hard and expect success,
Tom Venuto, NSCA-CPT, CSCS
Author, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle
http://www.burnthefat.com
http://www.burnthefatinnercircle.com
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BURN THE FAT Q & A
WITH TOM VENUTO, Fat Loss Coach
http://www.burnthefat.com
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QUESTION:
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?
Michael
Wisconsin, USA

ANSWER
Hi Michael,
Thats a very good question, but I have to admit I did get a
little chuckle out of the "accidental" part!
Do you ever really "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, and take
the time to do some proactive meal planning, you will
probably continue to have lots of "overeating accidents!"
To answer your question: after you overindulge, I definitely
do NOT recommend skipping your next meal or skipping meals the
next day to make up for it. I usually don't even recommend
cutting back either, although there may be exceptions where
you could manipulate your meal size or macronutrient composition.
I generally recommend returning immediately to your "regularly scheduled
meal programming," because this continues to encourage the maintenance
of positive habits such as eating 5-6 small meals every day.
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 be as damaging 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), a large meal or entire high calorie
day might not have any negative effect either.
Your metabolism has a way of slowing down if you keep your
calories too low 100% of the time. With occasional (planned)
higher calorie days, you'd be using the BURN THE FAT "zig-zag" or
"cycling" principle, so eating more in this context can be
a positive thing.
(Note: You can learn more about this technique in the BURN THE FAT
program at http://www.burnthefat.com).

However, there's a big difference between a planned "cheat meal"
or a planned high carb, clean food "re-feed" day and a binge on
junk food.
Regardless of total 24 hour calorie intake for the day, you could
still store body fat after heavy eating if it's done at certain times
and in a certain metabolic state. Although I do prescribe calorie
levels based on daily (24 hr) needs, I believe you should also pay
attention to 3 hour "windows" when you're thinking about
adjusting your caloric intake.
Calories and macronutrients (protein/aminos, carbs/sugar
and fat) are partitioned into glycogen, muscle or fat tissue or
burned immediately depending very much on present moment energy
and recovery needs 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 to watch football
games for the rest of the day and night after that big holiday meal,
beware - you might just want to cut back on that next meal a little,
especially starches and sugars.
Bottom line: It's okay to eat small amounts of your favorite junk
foods once in a while as planned "freemeals," and it's a good idea to
eat more in general from time to time to keep your metabolism
humming along.
However, your best bet if you're really serious about fat loss is to
avoid huge meals and avoid bingeing in the first place. ALWAYS practice
portion control - even on holidays. If you ever do slip, don't beat
yourself up, just get right back on the wagon with your next meal and
remember, the past is behind you and today is a new day.

QUESTION:
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 skip meals or cut back on my food earlier in the day?
Charles
san Diego, CA

ANSWER:
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 - I usually do not recommend this. Here's why:
If you skip meals earlier in the day to "prepare" (bank calories)
for a big feast at night, you are thinking only in terms of calories,
but skippping meals is also depriving yourself of protein (amino acids),
carbohydrates, essential fats, vitamins, minerals and other valuable
nutrients that come from healthy food, as well as the small frequent
meals which "stoke the furnace of your metabolism." Skipping
breakfast is especially detrimental.
Not only that, but eating less early in the day in anticipation
of overeating later in the day is much more likely to increase
your appetitite, causing you to binge or eat even MORE than you
thought you would at night when the big meal does arrive.
In fact, eating healthy, high fiber and lean protein 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" if it means skipping
meals or if it's used as justification for binge eating.
Even if it worked the way you wanted it to, the starving
and bingeing pattern may cause more damage than an occasional
oversize meal, even if only on a psychological level. 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.
This is supported by the 2nd Corollary 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"
It 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 ans as long as it is done infrequently.
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.
You can learn much more about calories, metabolism and fat
burning foods by visiting http://www.burnthefat.com.





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[cmcole]

http://www.canada.com/topics/lifestyle/holidayguide/fitandtrim/story.html?id=c8ef857a-3c86-458e-9b32-411c3d54703f&k=63877


http://www.canada.com/images/spacer.gifhttp://www.canada.com/images/headings/en_head_canadacom.gif Friday » December 8 » 2006
Go ahead, just take one bite
Resisting temptation takes willpower and glucose in your brain, say researchers
Chris ZdebThe Edmonton Journal
Monday, November 20, 2006

Where there's a will, there's a way, they say. Unfortunately, some of us are short on both, and the biggest challenge of the year, the season of excess, is beckoning once more.
Eat like Martin Short's alter ego Jiminy Glick, drink like Mel Gibson, spend like Elton John and be merry doing it, it says. The temptations are everywhere, and, thanks to advertising, in our faces all the time, says registered psychologist Graeme Clark. If Adam and Eve were around today, they'd surely max out all their credit cards under the pressure and they wouldn't be alone. A recent MasterCard survey of 1,501 adults found nearly 60 per cent of Canadians do their holiday shopping with no budget in mind, and 13 per cent of those who set limits on their spending admit they don't stick to them.




The researchers found that people who were able to do one act of self-control did badly in subsequent tests as if their willpower had been sapped, bad news for some of us facing long days of Christmas shopping or buffet tables loaded with caloric confections.
Such research establishing links between biology and behaviour provides a greater understanding of the relationships between the brain and the things that people do, says registered psychologist Wendy Edey. But so far, that knowledge has not made us able to jump in and chemically or in some other way stimulate the brain to make all people the same, Edey says.
"Each and every one of us has a different body chemistry, a different brain action, a whole different history so you can expose two people to the same trauma and one of them will have a much larger post-traumatic stress than the other one," says the director of counselling at Edmonton's Hope Foundation, a centre for hope studies.
"So we can talk about drops in blood glucose in terms of willpower, but just how helpful is that to the average person?"
Willpower is a complicated idea based on a

For entire article, follow link above

[jkmfrog]

thank you for posting these. very helpful advice for the hoidays and a good insight as to one of the reasons why I did fine the two days of thanksgiving, but my will faltered on Saturday at a wedding. :) Aparently my willpower tank needs to refresh itself. :cool:

[Ottawa]

I like the article although it seems to go against teh IF idea put forward earlier this year which was tested successfully on rats.

I believe that many of us here definitel had a problem with binge eating. I know that I do sometimes even with "legal foods" like a fresh ham roast. Tastes amazing, a little sweet and I would have more of it than I would of other foods. With the Christmas socials popping up all over the temptations are always just around the corner.

During my worst days (pre PP) I bought a Christmas cake with Almond icing one time meaning to take it home. Driving home I decided I would have some and pulled in at a convenience store and bought a small knife.
There was so little left that I discarded it before going in the house.
Most times were not that bad but I still associate some of the foods available this season with that type of eating.

[Bogie]

Don't eat at xmas parties.

Drink.

Heavily.

It's dark outside. We don't know if spring will ever get here. Argh.

[mcsblues]

Yes! I'm with you Bogie! It's the only thing that will get you through.

It is warm and sunny here (yes, funny that!;)) ... but I still can't wait for December 26 (yes, I hate this time of year ... bah humbug and all that! :p)

[Bogie]

When the boss' wife walks up, and offers you a deep-fried twinkie covered with chocodip, scream "Begone, CarboTemptress!"

Anyone need a tech writer/editor/photograher?

[cmcole]

http://www.sugarshockblog.com/2006/12/12_tips_to_halt.html

Friday, December 29, 2006

12 Tips to Halt Those Holiday Pounds

I'm always pleased when a member of the press writes a useful article that can help YOU. So, to that end, I invite you to check out this illuminating AP story for 12 great tips (http://galvestondailynews.com/wire.lasso?report=/dynamic/stories/D/DIET_HOLIDAY_EATING)to keep away those holiday pounds.. Of course, now that the new year is nearly upon us, these techniques could come in even more handy.
These tips are based on important research from Brian Wansink, Ph.D., professor of marketing and nutritional science at Cornell University, where he's director of the Cornell Food and Brand Lab (http://www.foodpsychology.cornell.edu/). I've mentioned Dr. Wansink several times recently to draw attention to his much-needed, eye-opening book, Mindless Eating: Why We Eat More Than We Think. (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0553804340%20/sugarshockcom-20)
If you haven't bought Dr. Wansink's book yet, you really should. It's sharp, insightful, easy to read and even brimming with catchy, fun art.




Posted by Connie Bennett on Friday, December 29, 2006 at 09:38 AM

Here are 12 simple strategies to help you breeze through those tempting, tortuous party situations:

Think long-term. Do you want to peel off five pounds? Would you like to banish your blues, mood swings, and “brain fog”? Staying focused on your goal will help you steer clear of fatty, sugary foods on that buffet platter.
Pick a party purpose. Do you want to meet three new people? Get to know your co-workers better? Connect better with your mother-in-law? Patch things up with your long-lost relative? Having some party goals can be empowering.
Prepare before the party. Get enough rest the night before. Visualize yourself passing up those sweets—and repeat this often. Get in the mood with music.
Nibble before you nosh. While still at home, politely partake of a small, healthy snack or mini-meal. Choose healthy protein (like a piece of goat cheese, a hard-boiled egg or a small piece of organic chicken), high-quality carbs (fiber-filled veggies), healthy fat (a few olives or nuts), and a piece of fruit (like a chunk of raw pomegranate.) This is your insurance policy against pigging out at the party.
Party before the party. While getting dressed for the celebration, listen to cheerful music. Lift your spirits so you’re in the mood for cheerful chit-chatting.
Bring along a “just-say-no” buddy. If you’re feeling weak of will power, come with a pal, and you can keep each other honest and loyal, so to speak.
Expect traps and temptations so you can rise above them. Go to that affair knowing that candies, cookies, and cakes may call out to you. But choose in advance how you’ll deal with this. Then tell a friend what you plan to do.
Learn if you’re a green, yellow, or red light sugar eater. Can you taste just three or four bites of a dessert or one bite of three desserts and then stop? Then you’re a green-light sugar eater, and you can slowly savor sweets at a party, if you choose. But if you’re a yellow or red lighter and find it tough to quit, then it may be best to steer clear of those culprit carbs. You’ll like yourself better the morning after!
Bring your own goodies. If the event’s not catered or at a restaurant, come to the affair with raw veggies, hummus dip, hard-boiled eggs, a fruit salad, a plain sweet-potato dish (sprinkled with cinnamon and flax oil) or other healthy foods. Just in case, also bring almonds or soy nuts to slip into your handbag or pocket.
Pay attention to the people, not the food! You’re there to make new friends, reconnect with old ones, etc. Food shouldn’t be your focus. If you zero in on the people, sugary desserts will lose their allure.
Be a fetcher for others. Put their coats away, get them a sparkling water, take dishes to the kitchen, etc. My fitness trainer Gina Allchin points that while this isn't exactly a work-out, doing these things will get your mind off food.
When in doubt, nosh on veggies. If you feel you have to eat something, then nibble on those high-caliber carbs such as raw celery, jicama, radishes, broccoli, and carrots.As you dash off to that celebration, remember why you’re there. ‘Tis your time to play! And you don’t need food to do that!