Do you justify binges with promises to hit the gym on Monday to 'burn' it all off?
My clients do!
I often hear clients say, "I must workout today because of the dessert I ate last night!" Or "I must burn at least 300 calories today because I am going to a party this weekend." The simplicity is so appealing. Have your cake and eat it too!
Make the numbers match!
Create a deficit of 35,000 calories and you will lose 10 lbs of fat.
But it isn’t that simple...
Focusing on calories eaten and burned might make the scale drop temporarily, but it won’t give you the leaner healthier life you are after. Have you tried this approach? Chances are you still struggling with your weight too.
Not only does this tracking-each-calorie process completely suck the fun out of eating right and exercising (and life in general!), it...doesn’t...work.
Tracking our food can be a great “reality check” of what you are doing, but it makes for a horrible lifestyle. Same with scale obsession! See a previous post on why focusing on our scale can hold back our success with losing weight.
Success starts with making good food choices and getting regular physical activity, not to cancel each other out or to make the scale change, but rather to enhance your life both physically and mentally. Changing the reinforcement from negative to positive will drastically improve your long term motivation!
We can’t use bursts of food and exercise to make up for big or chronic bad choices. Science has repeatedly shown that burning fat and staying strong simply doesn't work like this. Running on the treadmill for forty-five minutes one time will not remove virtually any of the fat stored from last night’s indulgences.
Food and fitness are like railroad tracks. Our bodies are the engine and it needs two separate parallel rails to get anywhere. One rail is nutritional, and the other is fitness. Progress stops if either rail is damaged, and you can’t bypass the damaged side by only using the other. You need both to gain steam towards success.
The good news is you don’t need perfect tracks to progress steadily, but you also can’t make up for a de-railed diet with bursts of aerobic exercise.
Learn to make mostly good choices, and then results will come.
Some simple ways to stay on track:
1- Don’t overeat, like ever. Delicious food is all around us, all the time. Save whatever you want, save it for when you get hungry. You will feel a lot sexier when you aren't stuffed too!
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2- Keep “junk” to around 20% of any meal. Make it delicious and make it count! Have 20% absolutely delicious and 80% absolutely nourishing foods. You will satisfy the need for “yum” but still get the benefits of a healthy diet. (Listen to the podcast's series on appetite for more ways to comfortably and consistently eat less while being satisfied.)
With this month's focus on love and commitment, mark this Valentine's Day for being more committed to yourself. Get off any bandwagons and get on the right track. Get nourished, de-stress, and exercise for a life filled with energy and longevity.
As you do you get healthier, stronger, happier. You will feel like you have life more abundantly, to share and enjoy with those you love.
Your special someone will thank you.
Rachel Saunders
NASM CPT, CPR/AED