Eat Low Calorie When It's Easiest

I was at a conference this weekend in Austin Texas…did a lot of networking, lots of learning, some drinking, and some good eating.

I experienced real Texas BBQ (brisket, pork and beef ribs)…and my first chicken fried chicken (it was a toss up between this and chicken fried steak)

Brisket, Pork Ribs and Beef Ribs...SO DAMN GOOD!

One thing I can say for sure is that I’d likely be 300lbs if I lived here for any length of time…I simply wouldn’t be able to resist going for BBQ every day!

(I’m sure if I grew up here I would have learned to eat all the food around here without wanting to overdo it as much as I did after eating it for the first time this weekend).

Being at an event like this conference definitely changes the eating opportunities and patterns from my regular daily routine. There is complimentary breakfast and snacks as well as lunch and dinner networking meetings/opportunities that cannot be passed up and frankly I don’t want to pass up.

There were so many eating opportunities that I knew I’d probably go over my calorie needs on one or two of the days so I simply use the bookend diet hack technique to make sure I don’t gain any weight (going low calorie the day before I leaving and the day after returning)

The point is that it’s much easier to eat at a calorie deficit when you’re at home in your regular routine. Might as well keep it tight and the calories low before and after your trip/event and give yourself the freedom to have a bit more when you’re there.

That way you can partake in all the eating events that are likely going to happen without having to restrain yourself or feel like you’re missing out.

John

Posted by johnbarban in Calories

Tags: Calories, Eating |8 Comments

8 Responses to “Eat Low Calorie When It’s Easiest”

clementinho Says:
September 20th, 2010 at 8:41 am
Hi John, Shawn Phillips (from strength for life) is of the opinion that discipline is the worst thing to have on a diet. This may sound ironic, but it actually does make sense. You cannot be restraining yourself 24/7 and forcing yourself away from indulgences. It’ll break you as long as you see food as more of a drug than fuel and an occasional treat. When the discipline needed at the start of the diet is translated into a lifestyle change
And a mindset shift, i.e. enjoying the process of eating less and knowing that it’s only going to be good for you and not feeling helpless in and ensnared by the presence of food, you’ll soon not need that forceful restraint. In fact, it’ll become a passive, subconscious habit.

Perhaps it would be better to incorporate the habit of eating less calories into our lives and give ourselves the occasional treat in moderation, thus changing the way we treat food, instead of enforcing a draconian restriction and then an uncontrollable binge and continuing to see food as something that controls us as opposed to a desire we have control over? I understand your premise that some people cannot control themselves when they’re in front of food, but I’m sure everyone would definitely prefer to not feel bloated and uncomfortable after a binge and still get to eat their favorite food!
johnbarban Says:
September 20th, 2010 at 11:23 am
Clement,

I wasn’t really referring to a binge nor a draconian restriction. The point is that even a few hundred calorie restriction takes some amount of ‘work’.

Also binging is typically an event done in isolation surrounded by some degree of self loathing and guilt. In this example I’m simply talking about engaging in normal social interaction that would otherwise cause weight gain if you weren’t paying some attention to eating patterns before and after said events.

In other words, the subtle overeating that happens throughout the year is largely under our conscious radar. In order to avoid gaining weight at these events there has to be some conscious undereating to counteract the effects (and working out more will never cut it)

Your comment seems like you’re thinking from an all-or-nothing exremes standpoint…I was speaking from a mindset of adjusting calories down when necessary to compensate for days when they’re up.

We’re on two different pages here.

JB
usernametooshortnowitstoolon Says:
September 20th, 2010 at 12:37 pm
It’s funny how (and I’m sure this is the same way with many people) it’s so easy to resist food when it requires money, but when the food is free, all hell breaks loose!
jasetagle Says:
September 21st, 2010 at 1:46 am
This is so true and I don’t know why people are so concerned with “getting all their meals in”…the opportunities will absolutely present themselves!

Hey John, I really like your arguments against eating to gain muscle; do you think the bulking and cutting phrases were borrowed from fringe bodybuilders who refer to “bulking” and “cutting” steroids in terms of drug cycles? In other words, this might only be relevant to drug users?
johnbarban Says:
September 21st, 2010 at 10:28 am
Jason,

Yeah it seems that it has been borrowed from bodybuilders who are using both ‘bulking’ drugs and ‘cutting’ drugs during their respective phases. In other words, you cannot ‘bulk’ or ‘cut’ without drugs.
ERV Says:
September 22nd, 2010 at 8:49 am
clementinho– Its not about binging, its about being honest with yourself and living a normal life.

Im from the midwest/south midwest. We have BBQ everywhere. I assume its not as a big of a deal in Canada. So John could either take advantage of his conference location and appreciate some local food he cant get (or cant get as good) at home… or he could go out with his friends and eat a dry salad at a BBQ joint. Or even worse, eat the BBQ and write it off as ‘Oh, its just one over-calorie day!’ and slowly but surely gain weight over time (see the ‘overeating at social events’ post).

Going to TX and not having any BBQ is the ‘draconian restriction’.

Being consciously aware of when you are going over, and cutting back at home is practical.
clementinho Says:
September 22nd, 2010 at 1:38 pm
Oh, I see where I misunderstood the article. My apologies! I agree that in a social setting it’s really difficult to decline eating out. It’d make you come across as snobbish or uptight…
oolala53 Says:
October 27th, 2010 at 1:03 am
Thin people go to places with interesting food and take advantage all the time, but they don’t necessarily overeat when they’re there. However, if a person eats a lot there, and has less desire to eat afterwards, that makes sense. It seem to me that people gain weight because they either consciously or unconsciously eat more than they really need. Forgoing using food as entertainment doesn’t seem like draconian restriction to me.

Eat Low Calorie When It’s Easiest

8 Responses to “Eat Low Calorie When It’s Easiest”

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