Ever heard someone say (or even said it yourself - yikes!) “I’ve done a spin class today, so I can eat
this cake!” Or how about this one? “I haven’t done
a workout today, so I won’t have a glass of wine
tonight.” This type of relationship between food and
exercise makes what is or isn’t consumed a reward
for exercising or a punishment for not exercising.
Both are unhealthy attitudes that could lead to you oscillating between bingeing and restricting diets and exercise habits, leaving you nutrient poor and feeling burned out physically.
We need to employ the ‘B’ word... no, not Boring - Balance! It would be boring, though, if we never had a piece of birthday cake again or a pudding on a special occasion. An equal balance is of course 50/50, but in this instance, to make sure we keep our waistline measurements in check, we need an 80/20 ratio between eating healthily the majority of the time whilst the remaining 20% gives us a little leeway to indulge in the things we enjoy every now and then.
Both are unhealthy attitudes that could lead to you oscillating between bingeing and restricting diets and exercise habits, leaving you nutrient poor and feeling burned out physically.
We need to employ the ‘B’ word... no, not Boring - Balance! It would be boring, though, if we never had a piece of birthday cake again or a pudding on a special occasion. An equal balance is of course 50/50, but in this instance, to make sure we keep our waistline measurements in check, we need an 80/20 ratio between eating healthily the majority of the time whilst the remaining 20% gives us a little leeway to indulge in the things we enjoy every now and then.
That doesn’t mean to say we have to be
literal about it and eat rubbish for two days every week; see it as more of a buffer zone that’s there
for when parties, holidays and weddings come
along.
The other aspect of balance here is to see exercise as something we do to remain healthy, acknowledging all of its benefits and not something you do because you over-ate at the weekend. Look for a type of exercise you really enjoy; this may mean thinking outside the box a little; for instance, if you hate the gym but love being out in nature, get a dog with lots of energy that needs plenty of long walks, or, if you prefer to swim but find lane swims dull, challenge yourself to try open water swimming.
The options are endless but, ultimately, remember we need exercise regardless of what we’ve eaten and vice versa!
The other aspect of balance here is to see exercise as something we do to remain healthy, acknowledging all of its benefits and not something you do because you over-ate at the weekend. Look for a type of exercise you really enjoy; this may mean thinking outside the box a little; for instance, if you hate the gym but love being out in nature, get a dog with lots of energy that needs plenty of long walks, or, if you prefer to swim but find lane swims dull, challenge yourself to try open water swimming.
The options are endless but, ultimately, remember we need exercise regardless of what we’ve eaten and vice versa!
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