"I feel like a Snickers, so I'm gonna run 2 miles..."

Snickers Bar Calories
A standard size Snickers bar, which weighs 52.7 grams, has 250 calories, including 110 calories from fat. The amount that one Snickers bar makes up of your daily calorie intake depends on the number of calories you consume. The Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion recommends that, on average, women consume between 1,800 and 2,400 calories daily. This number varies according to your age and level of activity.

Running Calories Burned
The number of calories you'll burn while running depends on the speed of your run, the length of your run and your weight. Harvard Medical School reports that a 155-pound person will burn 298 calories during a 30-minute run at 5 mph, while a 185-pound person will burn 355 calories during the same run. If, for example, you weigh 155 pounds, you'll need to run for about 26 minutes to burn off the calories you consumed while eating the Snickers bar.

If I ran out to burn off a Snickers bar and when I got back it turned into a slice of Key Lime Pie, I would consider that a result!

I will run for treats and have run for treats (mint chocolate ice cream for example)... Or there are days where I will look at something that I may eat just because it's there...then I will think to myself, how long do I have to run to burn off these calories? Usually that does the trick and I walk away from the donut or cookies or whatever junk is on the counter at work that our elderly patients bring in daily!!!

I don't see things this way. I pretty much assume I'm going to have a treat every day, so I'm more active so I can afford it.

But no, I'm not going to go for a run specifically so I can have a snickers later.

I think it's ok depending on the situation. Obviously if you're exercising to burn off every calorie you eat that day then it's not healthy. But if you're hitting your calorie allowance for the day and want an extra treat on top of that? There's nothing wrong with being a little extra active to balance it out. I think it's great to appreciate what kind of work it takes to burn off something small like a Snickers.

Boy... Some of you took me super literally with the Snickers. It was more of a metaphor.

I see lots of people saying if it's for a small treat or snack or moderation, it's ok. But what if I want a real binge day? Let's say I don't want to borrow from other days, I just want my 1500 budget to be a 3000 budget for the day. Does a 15k morning run validate or negate my afternoon binge? Or have we crossed some undefined threshold?

My personal opinion, it works well if the person doing this has some idea of how much they're eating and how many calories they can expect to burn. Like you said in your OP, probably everyone has done it from time to time. When I first started tracking here, in that first month, several times I had to go workout to 'earn my dinner' if I got home from work with only 200 calories left for the day. It was actually helpful because I learned to eat more mindfully so i wouldn't have to do that.

But, if we're talking about the person who says "I can't lose weight" and they justify binging all day long because they plan to walk their dog for 20 minutes that evening, then that plan falls apart.

Boy... Some of you took me super literally with the Snickers. It was more of a metaphor.

I see lots of people saying if it's for a small treat or snack or moderation, it's ok. But what if I want a real binge day? Let's say I don't want to borrow from other days, I just want my 1500 budget to be a 3000 budget for the day. Does a 15k morning run validate or negate my afternoon binge? Or have we crossed some undefined threshold?

I don't see the two as very different, you just want a whole crate or snickers instead of one. If you're okay with running to work it off, then do it. If you don't want to work it off, then be okay with your fitnes goals slowed down. You can still rearrange your meal plans, or just shrug and move on.

It would work for me only on a small level. I am in poor physical condition (but slowly improving) so there is NO way I can work off much food. I physically couldn't hold up to it. That may sound wussy to some of the gym rat types, but I'm not fit enough to do an extra hour workout to burn off something.

I also would worry that it could, for some, equate exercise to punishment or food to punishment which is an unhealthy mindset.

in terms of health, if you're burning off the excess calories and you're getting the right balance of macronutrients and all the micronutrients you need, then going running to be able to eat extra so-called "unclean" foods isn't going to harm your health.

It's misleading to classify foods as "healthy" or "unhealthy" - instead classify diets as balanced or unbalanced. Eating so-called "junk" food every meal without restraint will lead to an unbalanced diet - too much fat and carbohydrate, not enough protein, fibre or micronutrients. However, if you generally eat a balanced diet, and you're getting your protein, essential fatty acids, fibre and micronutrients, and you're not overeating on fat or carbs, then eating some "junk" food in moderation really will not do you any harm at all. And if you do more exercise so you can afford the calories to indulge in these foods (after you're sure you've got enough of all of what your body needs) the health benefit from the extra exercise actually makes it better than just sitting at home having not done the extra exercise or eaten the "junk" food you did the exercise to earn. We evolved in an era where you had to do pretty strenuous exercise before you could eat *any* food at all....

So yeah, my vote is to go for it.

I'm in a similar boat as MadDog... I will never have a normal relationship with food. For me, it's like an addiction, so the term "moderation" has no meaning. It's either zero donuts, or a dozen donuts... No in between. I realize many may not get that, but a heroin addict cant just have a little heroin once in a while...

So I just don't keep any of the "junk" in the house. Even buying a single candy bar is tricky, because it starts a pattern of buying another and another, etc.

I've learned to control my demons and eliminate 98% of the junk from my diet! and I'm in a good place. I can afford to eat "worse" at this point, but it would be opening a Pandora's box. However, given how tightly I track everything, and given that I do not want to live a life of deprivation, I am curious to try the approach of allowing myself the "junk" contingent on me working it off (above and beyond my normal routine). My hope is that I either end up deciding that the junk is not worth the extra work, and that's great. Or it is worth the extra work, and I can hold myself accountable. I just want to make sure that even though it is win-win in theory, it would be the same in application.

I used to have this problem, i.e. certain foods I just had to eat ALL of it and couldn't stop

I broke this mentality by ceasing to classify foods as "good" or "bad"... I'm a "forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest" kind of a person. Not being allowed something makes me want it all the more. Once I gave myself permission to eat whatever I wanted, then most of these foods lost their appeal, and I found I could eat them in moderation. Previously I was in a mindset that as this was a forbidden food then I had to eat it ALL right now, because there might not be another chance to eat it... that was pretty much learned in childhood (not being allowed sweets etc all that often) and I unlearned it when I realised that this was the mindset I was in, and that by giving myself permission to eat what I want when I want, I could have these foods any time I wanted to, ....so it didn't have to be right now. And I could take them or leave them, because I knew I *could* have them later if I wanted to.

Also, this may take some practice... you have to forgive yourself for slip-ups along the way... you can always do extra exercise to burn of some of the additional calories........ one thing I don't recommend at all is to restrict your calorie intake the next day to compensate (if you happen to not feel hungry and end up under your usual calories without being hungry that's fine, but don't force yourself to not eat when you're hungry and under your calories)... instead just carry on as normal, because excessive restriction can lead directly to overeating, in fact this is a normal survival response to undereating. So while doing extra exercise after overeating (not directly after or you'll puke!) or doing extra exercise to eat extra food you want to eat is a good idea... going hungry the next day or later the same day is a bad idea.

I exercise because it makes me feel good and look good.

I try to fit what I want to eat into my daily calories and macros regardless of whether I've exercised or not. Yes, the exercise gives me some extra calories, but I don't really exercise so I can eat that treat, I work my day around it.

I think it's much healthier to have exercise a part of your life with or without treats, and to work treats into your calories for the day, than to workout so you can have that snickers bar, or feel like you need to run off a slice of pizza. The latter runs the risk of setting up a reward/punishment mentality between exercise and so-called bad foods.

We've all said something like that before. Either proactively or reactively.,, we've run off a slice of pizza after the fact, or worked out ahead of time in anticipation of a snack or meal.

Is this healthy and effective for a maintenance lifestyle? No facetiousness.

I would imagine that if you are measuring and hitting your marks with these adjustments, then it's fine. I also would think that the thought process of action/consequence as it relates to junk food and exercise is a good balance. Yet... I dunno... Something about the philosophy seems almost unnatural.

Do you subscribe to this approach? Has it made you snack more? Have you maintained? Any thoughts to add?

One of my favoirte past times is going to a movie theater and eating "movie food". Normally I have:

2 hot dogs
Small popcorn (no butter)
Nachos with cheese
Milk Duds
Diet Pepsi/Coke (to save those last few calories!)

This usually adds up to about 1600 calories. The day I go to the movie, I usually do a 30 minute run and some other cardio for another 30 to help offset the calories a little. Is it a big help? Eh. I save maybe 700 calories from the exercise, but I DO feel better about scarfing down all that food.
I've done this for YEARS and my weights stayed within 10lbs-15lbs give or take.

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

I earn my junk food. Yeah it seems like it's hard to follow with the philosophy, but I'll feel guilty if I indulge with way too much food without earning it. I'm trying to cut off a lot of weight so it'll be way hard to do if I don't earn my snacks.

You sound like me, only I am 66 years old, and constantly crave chocolate! Over the last 10 years, I have gained 35 lbs and now have diabetes. I am trying to lose the weight to avoid more meds. I love water exercise, but it doesn't really help me lose weight, only firm up. At my age, I also struggle with physical issues. I think this app will help me if I just stick with logging my meals.