"Earning your treats" mentality?

besaro

it helped me in the beginning in two ways. one it got me out away from the frig and snacking and it got me out walking.

Francl27

I workout so I can eat more as a whole. My diet after that is not directly related to the exercise I'm doing.

emmycantbemeeko

For most people I think it's not a productive way to view things. It can both contribute to overeating (from overestimating how much you've "earned" from exercise) and to disordered eating/thinking.

I eat what I enjoy within my calorie budget, which generally means I have something "treat" like about once a day. More than that I tend to get hungry and feel not-great from not eating enough protein (since most of my treats are just carbs). Less than that and it becomes hard to stick to the plan due to cravings. If I earn extra calories through exercise, I eat back around 50% of them (sometimes more if I'm hungry), but usually the extra calories are more nutritionally dense food- I don't eat twice the ice cream because of going for a run.

I try not to associate the two with each other. If I know I'm going to have a high-calorie day or not be able to track accurately for some reason, I try to increase my exercise to minimize the damage, but I really try not to link the two- exercise and indulgence- mentally very closely. I think that way a lot of potential problems lie.

pluto2626

The whole time I am running, I think about the delicious food I get to enjoy! No shame!

KathyApplebaum

I use it to play a mind game with myself. "Before you have this cookie, you need to run for at least 30 minutes today." By the time I've run for 30 minutes, I've forgotten all about the cookie, which I probably only wanted because I was stressed or bored.

Conversely, if I did a 10 mile run in the morning, I've got plenty of calories left for the cookie at night so I eat it while giving myself a high five.

MalkinMagic71

I do this sometimes.

Today I've done almost 2 hours of cardio on the bike. This gives me a buffer to enjoy the huge *kitten* steak and cheese hoagie and firies I just ordered for delivery and not have to worry about being over for the day.

I workout because I like it. Honestly I love how I feel after I work out, but there are times like today where working out is to not only feel good but to enjoy guilt free the food I'm going to eat later because I know I've worked my *kitten* off today.

laurenjennifer1987mfp

I've been fitting my treats in to my calorie allocation (2 weeks in, its going well), but today I deliberately took a 90 minute hilly walk in the attempt to slightly offset afternoon tea at a baby shower. (I also ate a bit lighter for breakfast and tea). I think it's more about working with what you have, exercise gives me a bit more wiggle room to accommodate extra calories where they are wanted / needed... and I feel better after doing it.

Larissa_NY

Like anything else about dieting, it's fine if you can do it rationally and responsibly. If you can't... well, that's where all the threads about "I washed dishes for ten whole minutes today, how many calories can I reward myself with?" come from. Activity becomes nothing more than a way to game the system so you can stuff as many calories down your throat as you can get away with and still have the numbers come out right at the end of the day, forgetting that the relentless pursuit of any and all excuses to eat was a big part of the reason the person wound up on a weight loss board to begin with.

amclain93

I think it depends on your own state of mind. I've always had ED tendencies, so I try to stay away from that mentality before I start needing to 'earn' every meal. But I know it works for other people without getting out of hand.

CrazyMermaid1

Exercising for extra calories is the only way I can keep it up long term.