Do you eat with your hands?

Hey legend, have you got your Christmas shopping done yet?

​

After blitzing it this weekend I've gone from 0% to 100%.

​

I won't lie I feel very smug right now 😂

​

Anyway, we're smack bang in the middle of 'silly season' and the xmas parties are in full swing.

​

You might be reading this knowing all too well that you've got a handful of them to attend this week, putting your nutrition plans on shaky foundations.

​

So, incase you're not aware of it already, here's...

​
A life changing nutrition strategy

That strategy is none ofter than 'calorie banking' or simply put, calorie manipulation.

​

It's not as cool as it sounds. It's simply a nutrition strategy that can make periods like this time of the year a little easier to navigate.

​

So what is calorie banking?

​

First, take a look at the image below.

This is calorie banking 101.

​

The goal is to essentially save calories for use at a later date. It's the very same way you look at money in a bank.

​

You save it up and then one day you use it to buy a house.

In this instance, the house could be a Christmas party on Saturday night.

​

You save up your calories by reducing your intake on other days. Then you end up with a big old kitty of calories to spend at the party.

​

Now, there are a few different ways you can approach this.

​

Option 1: Reduce calorie intake, maintain energy expenditure.

Option 2: Maintain calorie intake, increase energy expenditure.

Option 3: Reduce calorie intake, increase energy expenditure.

​

All of these options will give you a 'calorie buffer' that you can then use for a later date.

​

Personally speaking, I like to eat so I'm never going with option 1.

​

But find what works best for you, which is especially important at this time of the year.

​

The very last thing you want to do is add a bunch of extra stress on top of an already stressful time.

​

Calorie banking is a very simple strategy to apply and the results really do speak for themselves.

​

By looking at your calories from a weekly overview, rather than daily, you're able to manipulate your calories like pieces on a chessboard.

​

Tactically moving your calories around throughout so you can stay on track.

​

Few important points to remember:

​

- Never reduce calories from protein. Your protein intake should always stay the same. Cut calories from either carbs or fats but never protein.

​

- Don't punish yourself with exercise for eating certain foods. You deserve to enjoy this time of the year, without feeling guilty for doing so. Get around this by keeping your levels of NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) high and cutting back on 'unnecessary calories' where possible.

​

- If you have several events throughout the week you need to be laser focused with this. Decide on what level each event requires. Is it going to be a heavy calorie night or a relatively light calorie night? This gives you the ability to plan with more assertiveness.

​

I've consciously used this strategy for years now and I promise you that it works a treat!

​

Perfect example this last weekend.

​

I had fried chicken on Friday night and another take out on Saturday night, not exactly calorie friendly meals.

​

But, have a look at my step count 👀

​

​

On Friday I hit over 18k steps and was just under 23k the following day. Add in Sunday at 12k and those 3 days come in at 53k steps!

​

I ate all the fried chicken I wanted safe in the knowledge that my energy expenditure was going to be high enough to offset any potential 'damage'.

​

This is how you manipulate your calories so you can enjoy life with all your favourite foods and drinks.

​

I'm such a big fan of calorie banking that it's one of the first nutrition videos clients see in my 'Members Lab', which FYI is packed full of educational content.

​

Fancy getting access to it? The link is at the bottom of this page 👀

Using your hands to eat

No, I'm not advocating for you to eat like an animal. Even though if you speak to my fiancé she might liken me to an ape.

​

Honestly I don't see it but I've been wrong before 😂

​

But using your hands is actually a terrific strategy for managing calorie and macronutrient intake.

​

I'll be honest when I first learned about 'hand portion guides' as a possible way of tracking calories I was sceptical to say the very least.

​

But in the last few years I've started using it with a few clients and the results have bee remarkable.

​

I had one client lose over 10kg of body fat using solely their hands track their nutrition.

​

No calorie apps, just their hands.

​

That's pretty epic ain't it?

​

Now, instead of me explaining what it is with words, I think an infographic does a much better job of it.

​

​

Roughly speaking:

​

• Protein amounts to 20-30g per serving
• Carbohydrate amounts to 20-30g per serving
• Fat amounts to 7-12g per serving
• Vegetables? Well you can eat as many of them as you want.

​

There are a few reasons why it works so well:

​

• Hands are portable. They come with you to work lunches, restaurants, social gatherings, etc.

​

• Hands are a consistent size, providing a consistent reference.

​

• Hands scale with the individual. Bigger people need more food, and tend to have bigger hands, therefore getting larger portions. Smaller people need less food, and tend to have smaller hands, therefore getting smaller portions.

​

• Hand-size portions can help you track food choices, nutrients, and energy simply and easily. This saves time-consuming and often unnecessary weighing and measuring, which most people don’t need.

​

• Lastly, it can allows those individuals who have a difficult relationship with food, a means to tracking that doesn't involve a calorie tracker. This point alone has been extremely helpful for me as a coach.

​

If you combine these two nutrition strategies I guarantee you that your waistline will thank you one the festivities.

​

As always if you have a question please don't hesitate to ask it.