If you exercise; brilliant, you are doing an amazing thing for your health and function as a human.
If you choose to eat well; fantastic, you are doing an amazing thing for your health and function as a human.
If you combine the two, you can achieve amazing things.
The problems begin when one becomes the reason, punishment or reward for the other.
In my injury clinic, I treat so many people who have let their diet become the equivalent of the bin outside Scholars on a Sunday morning.
They have an injury and can’t train properly, “so what is the point of eating well”. The fact that great nutrition supports the healing process is the aim reason to try harder on your diet when training is going well.
I’ve certainly done it myself.
Then there’s beasting yourself in the gym because you ate an extra slice of cake / pasty / bag of crisps / insert your own guilt.
Or the opposite, rewarding a good gym session with a bar of chocolate / take away / glass of wine.
To achieve consistent results you need consistency in your fitness training and food consumption.
I’ve found not comparing them is the best option.
Last night, I spent 90 minutes getting my ass kicked at BJJ; I was quite literally spent when I got home. Total calories burned 569. That’s a bag of crisps and a chocolate bar at lunch time.
I have nothing against a bit of chocolate and I can’t personally imagine a life where I feel pressured not to eat cake. However, I find a way to fit it in to my weekly targets. If that means I have a meal with no carby sides, that’s ok; I’ll take the cake.
Find the calorie target that gives you the goal you want to achieve without feeling like you’re starving all the time. Hit that target over the week / month, don’t worry too much about the day.
If you eat too many calories on Saturday, have less on Sunday or over the next few days.
Find a form of exercise you enjoy and helps to strengthen your body and increase your mobility. If you get a bit sweaty and breathless, that’s a bonus.
But please stop trying to exercise your way out of poor food choices, you won’t win if you are not a teenager.
Darren “decades away” Checkley
