Balancing diet and exercise

funkygas

I'm struggling a little with the fine balance of eating and exercise and would like to know your opinions. For example, if I have eaten a little more than I should have, often the advice given is to work out a little harder the next day, or that afternoon or whenever. But when does this become compulsive and obsessive? If I know that I've overeaten, and I plan to work out just that little bit harder the next morning (i.e. run 12km instead of 8km), is this starting to become dangerous eating disorder territory?

Obviously the ideal situation is to eat proper portions of nutritious food, and exercise to keep the body moving, I'm just worried that I'll get into the mind-set of 'oh no, I ate too much cookie dough, now I need to run for 20km to wear it all off'.

Any thoughts?

kagevf

as long as you are on deficit 5-6x/week and workout 3-4x/week 1/week over eating is all good.

i eat less to lose weight. i workout to be fit.

eat anything in moderation and its ok to go over once a week

no need to be obsessive bout it

funkygas

Thanks - anyone else?

DancingMoosie

I think it becomes ocd when you do it every day, or multiple times a day. If its happening here and there, don't worry about it.

Pinkranger626

its one thing if you just adjust your workout schedule to something a little bit harder to burn a few more calories. When it becomes something that can be a problem is when you start punishing yourself for eating something by exercising for it. If your mind set is that you were bad and exercise is your punishment that can become a problem. If you're also doing it more than every once in a while that can indicate a problem. Especially if it's starting to affect other aspects of your life, like not allowing yourself to go out with friends because you're scared that you'll over eat, or working out for long period of time and not allowing yourself to stop until you reach a certain calorie burn even if you're form is bad and you're tired.

mamahannick

Try not to view exercise solely as a way to be able to eat more, or to compensate for what you've eaten. Look at it as rewarding your body with the benefits of exercise. And food is the fuel that keeps your workouts strong.

Admittedly, it takes a while to shift your mindset and I am a work in progress but this is what I am striving for.

SueInAz

its one thing if you just adjust your workout schedule to something a little bit harder to burn a few more calories. When it becomes something that can be a problem is when you start punishing yourself for eating something by exercising for it. If your mind set is that you were bad and exercise is your punishment that can become a problem. If you're also doing it more than every once in a while that can indicate a problem. Especially if it's starting to affect other aspects of your life, like not allowing yourself to go out with friends because you're scared that you'll over eat, or working out for long period of time and not allowing yourself to stop until you reach a certain calorie burn even if you're form is bad and you're tired.

I have to agree with this. Realizing you're going over goal and using exercise as a way to compensate *every once in awhile* is fine. Working out nearly every day so you have the luxury of more calories to consume is fine. Viewing exercise as punishment for overindulging is a very bad road to go down. It's really all in the way you present it to yourself. If you think exercise is atonement or punishment for being "bad", pretty soon you're going to hate it and you'll stop doing it altogether. It's all a mind game in the end.

Weight loss is really 80% nutrition and 20% exercise. There are plenty of overweight half marathon runners out there as testament to that. You can't "run off" bad eating on a regular basis. If you have a bad day, you might be better off chalking it up as a bad day and moving on. Also keep in mind that your calorie goal has a deficit built in. If you occasionally overeat a little, you're not going to gain weight, you just won't lose it as quickly.

MinnieInMaine

Depends on your deficit and how much you've gone over. If you're set to lose 1 pound per week, that's a daily deficit of 500 calories so if you go over by say 400 or so, you won't lose but you shouldn't gain either (basically maintenance). If you're heavy enough to lose 2 pounds per week, that's a daily deficit of 1000 calories so going over by a few hundred calories shouldn't affect your weight loss by too much because you'll still have a deficit.

From what I can tell on your profile, you're pretty much at goal so assuming you're only set to 1/2 a pound (I guess that would be 1/4 kg?) per week as you should be (any higher is unrealistic), going over a bit just means you'll maintain so it's not really a huge deal and something you need to worry about. if you're over by 500 or so, maybe try to workout a little but I wouldn't even worry about that too much. Just try to eat a little less the next day or get a bit more time in on your workout.

If you happen to go over a little or under a little now and then, it shouldn't affect your weight much. Your body doesn't have a 24 hour reset. Some days I can't get to the gym and really want pizza so I go over goal by 500 calories. Some days I get a really good workout in and am too busy to eat all my snacks so I come in under goal by a few hundred calories. In the end, it all works out.

funkygas

Thanks for the replies - I'm not compulsive obsessive about it yet, I guess I'm just worried about my tendencies to often take things too far. I did overeat a little yesterday on cookie dough, and I did go for a longer run this morning, but I haven't tried to significantly restrict my food today.

It's all mental!!

suremeansyes

Yay: "I work out, so I get to eat more calories!"

Boo: "I ate more calories, so now I HAVE to work out."