Sunday 14 June 2015

Calorie Banking - Good or Bad idea?

So last week I thought I'd try a technique I've heard about before, and have heard quite a few people trying it. Calorie Banking.

So what is Calorie Banking?
Calorie banking is when over a couple of days you reduce your calorie intake to bank calories for an upcoming event, i.e a BBQ - for example; you'd save up calories over a few days before the event to then use without feeling "guilty" of blowing your diet.

How did I find doing this?
I didn't like it if I'm honest. It left me feeling absolutely starving even after eating a meal and drinking a tonne of water (I even drank Pepsi, due to the fizzyness to try and fill me up). I got stomach cramps from being that hungry. For me personally, I found myself being extra stringent on the Calorie's for my meals - I ended up eating off of a tea plate and felt like I was eating the portion of a 5 year old which definitely did not satisfy me enough after a 2 hour long walk & rhythm boxing as well as completing 13,000 steps. I also ended up skipping breakfast to reduce my intake further.

How did you work out how much to bank per day?
I first of all worked out my daily calorie intake (with a huge thanks to my MyFitnessPal app) mine was 1,870 kcal per day (without exercise added calories) I'd then say I'd want to save 400 Kcal's so I'd simply take that off my daily total and reduce it to 1,470 Kcal's. I also made things worse for myself by saying I wouldn't use my exercise calories which I normally allow myself to use half of once exercise has been completed, only if I feel hungry or need to use them.This made the challenge 100x worse for myself (damn me for being cocky if I'm honest).

I had to become inventive with my Salad's
When banking my calories and skipping breakfasts, my 2 meals of the day were Salad's - they were delicious and filling (thank god)... for about an hour and a half, and then I was hungry so reverted back to drinking a tonne of water to see my through till 7am the next morning.

Could it work for the right person?
Maybe. I wouldn't say an right out yes, but if you have more willpower (and not a huge lust for food) unlike myself then you might be able to pull it off.

Would you recommend this method?
Absolutely not. For me personally, I'd rather spend 4 hours running, walking, boxing, swimming and anything else to burn off the meal then try this method again. Its not the best way to lose weight and to me personally in my opinion, I find its where you are more likely to slip up and make mistakes on a diet, especially if done regularly.

The hunger can cause you to want to blow your diet and your strictness on yourself, because your stomach is shouting for you to re-fuel but your head says no - I felt like I was having a mind vs stomach battle! I nearly crept for the biscuit tin and larder for the crisps in the middle of night but thankfully I fought it out and didn't.

I also found that when it came to the event for the calories I saved - I actually didn't enjoy it at all. I felt bad for nearly starving myself for days just to enjoy one meal? It sort of didn't make sense to me - I'd rather have 3 satisfying meals, and control my intake at an event then to calorie bank ever again.

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