Calorie Banking

Definition:

Saving a larger portion of your calories for one particular meal of the day or day of the week

Why/When?

This can be a useful tool to help stay on track with your total calories whilst minimising the sacrifice you have to make to your social life.

Example:

• You want to consume 1800kcal per day in order to be in a calorie deficit.
• Monday-Thursday you do this ‘normally’ by having around 500kcal per meal and a 300kcal snack.
• However, on Friday you’re meeting friends at a restaurant.
• Therefore, you don’t snack in the day and have 300kcal for breakfast and the same for lunch.
• This leaves 1200kcal for dinner and any alcoholic drinks you may have. Allowing you to have a more caloric meal such as a big pasta dish, with a couple of pints of alcohol too, without exceeding your calorie limit.

Important to note:

This tool will help ensure you lose the same amount of weight compared to spreading your calories out normally but it is may affect how much fat is lost. This is because if you’re using this tool to consume alcohol every night, then more weight will be lost from muscle tissue as oppose to fat tissue. However, using calorie banking one day per week to consume alcohol in moderation will not have significant effects on your body composition. In short, calorie bank in moderation and it can be a very useful tool for helping you stay on track with your nutritional intake.