is doing a workout after eating a large potion of snacks (unintentionally) an unhealthy habit?

trulyhealy
trulyhealy Posts: 242 Member
in Getting Started
a general question bc i’m thinking of doing this like if i eat something i didn’t intend to like a lot of chocolate like i did today (i couldn’t stop myself ) is it an unhealthy thing to excercise after (more excerise than the norm)

just asking bc some of y’all said i’m being obsessive but i just want to make up for overeating (i has about 1,800 calories today maybe slightly more) when my aim is 1,400 at most

Replies

  • trulyhealy
    trulyhealy Posts: 242 Member
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    All of the things you're posting suggest an unhealthy relationship with food.
    before i used to eat so much and be an emotional eater. but i think a lot of that was to do with greed and when i say used to i mean a week ago sksks
  • trulyhealy
    trulyhealy Posts: 242 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    @trulyhealy I've now read several of your threads and am wondering what is your goal weight and how many grams of protein do you eat per day?

    I used to think there was something wrong with me, but it turned out when I ate more protein, like the 20% in MFP's default macros, my episodes of uncontrollable eating went way down.

    For emotional eating, regular exercise helps me immensely. I use this preventively, not punitively.

    i don’t really keep track of marcos but i just looked at it on average it’s like 15% protein and one day it was 22% and idk my goal weight, just whenever i look slim but i’m possibly losing overall 30 pounds and i’m currently 154
  • shadow2soul
    shadow2soul Posts: 7,692 Member
    I generally don’t. That said I’d be lying if I said I didn’t take a walk after a meal that had more calories than expected. That’s not to burn all the excess calories, but just to lessen the impact a bit. One day eating around maintenance or even in a slight surplus isn’t going to ruin everything after all.

    If you are doing it because you feel guilty or as punishment for overeating, that would definitely be something to be careful of.
  • LoPotion
    LoPotion Posts: 25 Member
    I hate thinking of exercise as a consequence or punishment. I'd hit the gym first - I love working out, I feel amazing afterward, and it almost always curbs whatever cravings I had going in so I can still indulge rather than over-indulge. Work, then reward (within reason and calorie limits).

    As long as you know that 20 minutes on an elliptical won't earn you a thousand calorie dessert. ;)
  • steveko89
    steveko89 Posts: 2,223 Member
    I don't know it's necessarily physically unhealthy, but breaking the transaction-based relationship between exercise and calories/food has helped me tremendously from a mental health/food relationship standpoint. The tipping point for me to realize I needed to do something different in my approach was an instance where my wife and I were going to go to our local Chipotle for dinner, she drove but I insisted on running (3 miles) so I could justify getting guac on my bowl that night. Her reaction was more than enough to make me rethink things.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    magnusthenerd wrote: »
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    a general question bc i’m thinking of doing this like if i eat something i didn’t intend to like a lot of chocolate like i did today (i couldn’t stop myself ) is it an unhealthy thing to excercise after (more excerise than the norm)

    just asking bc some of y’all said i’m being obsessive but i just want to make up for overeating (i has about 1,800 calories today maybe slightly more) when my aim is 1,400 at most

    I've heard this informally called exorecia. Obviously, it isn't taken to be mentally healthy.
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    For emotional eating, regular exercise helps me immensely. I use this preventively, not punitively.
    I just recently listened to a podcast where Matt Stranberg, someone who specializes in eating disorders, say the term emotional eating is a bit of a misused term. He felt that it is also unhealthy to pretend eating is an unemotional activity - the people that who are viewing their food only as just clusters of macros, micros, and calories are having just as much an issue. The problem as he sees it is when eating becomes a person's only coping strategy or an excessive coping strategy.
    https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/darko-botic/the-man-who-lost-200-lbs-podcast/e/54015045

    I agree with him on what the problem is, and that eating (good food, eating events like a holiday dinner, etc.) inherently evoke emotions, but I usually find that people who use the term emotional eating are not trying to deny that, and are speaking about using it as a coping strategy or to stifle uncomfortable feelings.
  • magnusthenerd
    magnusthenerd Posts: 1,207 Member
    edited February 2019
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    magnusthenerd wrote: »
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    a general question bc i’m thinking of doing this like if i eat something i didn’t intend to like a lot of chocolate like i did today (i couldn’t stop myself ) is it an unhealthy thing to excercise after (more excerise than the norm)

    just asking bc some of y’all said i’m being obsessive but i just want to make up for overeating (i has about 1,800 calories today maybe slightly more) when my aim is 1,400 at most

    I've heard this informally called exorecia. Obviously, it isn't taken to be mentally healthy.
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    For emotional eating, regular exercise helps me immensely. I use this preventively, not punitively.
    I just recently listened to a podcast where Matt Stranberg, someone who specializes in eating disorders, say the term emotional eating is a bit of a misused term. He felt that it is also unhealthy to pretend eating is an unemotional activity - the people that who are viewing their food only as just clusters of macros, micros, and calories are having just as much an issue. The problem as he sees it is when eating becomes a person's only coping strategy or an excessive coping strategy.
    https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/darko-botic/the-man-who-lost-200-lbs-podcast/e/54015045

    I agree with him on what the problem is, and that eating (good food, eating events like a holiday dinner, etc.) inherently evoke emotions, but I usually find that people who use the term emotional eating are not trying to deny that, and are speaking about using it as a coping strategy or to stifle uncomfortable feelings.
    He felt using it as a coping strategy wasn't inherently wrong - the issue is when it is the only strategy someone has.
    He also wasn't saying it should have some emotion just because of family and others, but because of the amount of time we spend in our life eating. Eat a half hour a meal, 3 times a day, should you be spending 1.5 hours per day for your entire life trying to pretend you have no emotions?
    He actually had a number of interesting things to say that were about similar subtle points, or points that need subtlety - like it is easy for people to think all people with anorexic eating patterns (avoiding food even as need) have body image issues, but he's dealt with some people that undereat because it dulls other pains like PTSD.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    magnusthenerd wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    magnusthenerd wrote: »
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    a general question bc i’m thinking of doing this like if i eat something i didn’t intend to like a lot of chocolate like i did today (i couldn’t stop myself ) is it an unhealthy thing to excercise after (more excerise than the norm)

    just asking bc some of y’all said i’m being obsessive but i just want to make up for overeating (i has about 1,800 calories today maybe slightly more) when my aim is 1,400 at most

    I've heard this informally called exorecia. Obviously, it isn't taken to be mentally healthy.
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    For emotional eating, regular exercise helps me immensely. I use this preventively, not punitively.
    I just recently listened to a podcast where Matt Stranberg, someone who specializes in eating disorders, say the term emotional eating is a bit of a misused term. He felt that it is also unhealthy to pretend eating is an unemotional activity - the people that who are viewing their food only as just clusters of macros, micros, and calories are having just as much an issue. The problem as he sees it is when eating becomes a person's only coping strategy or an excessive coping strategy.
    https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/darko-botic/the-man-who-lost-200-lbs-podcast/e/54015045

    I agree with him on what the problem is, and that eating (good food, eating events like a holiday dinner, etc.) inherently evoke emotions, but I usually find that people who use the term emotional eating are not trying to deny that, and are speaking about using it as a coping strategy or to stifle uncomfortable feelings.
    He felt using it as a coping strategy wasn't inherently wrong - the issue is when it is the only strategy someone has.
    He also wasn't saying it should have some emotion just because of family and others, but because of the amount of time we spend in our life eating. Eat a half hour a meal, 3 times a day, should you be spending 1.5 hours per day for your entire life trying to pretend you have no emotions?
    He actually had a number of interesting things to say that were about similar subtle points, or points that need subtlety - like it is easy for people to think all people with anorexic eating patterns (avoiding food even as need) have body image issues, but he's dealt with some people that undereat because it dulls other pains like PTSD.

    Well, "emotional eating" as @lemurcat2 defined it upthread was one of several unhealthy coping strategies I've successfully replaced with healthy coping strategies.

    A quick definition of "healthy" - they bring me joy rather than shame.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    @trulyhealy I've now read several of your threads and am wondering what is your goal weight and how many grams of protein do you eat per day?

    I used to think there was something wrong with me, but it turned out when I ate more protein, like the 20% in MFP's default macros, my episodes of uncontrollable eating went way down.

    For emotional eating, regular exercise helps me immensely. I use this preventively, not punitively.

    i don’t really keep track of marcos but i just looked at it on average it’s like 15% protein and one day it was 22% and idk my goal weight, just whenever i look slim but i’m possibly losing overall 30 pounds and i’m currently 154

    Ok, next time you feel the urge to eat uncontrollably (or however you define it) check to see if you have been low on protein or overall calories that day.
  • jasonpoihegatama
    jasonpoihegatama Posts: 496 Member
    Nothing wrong with eating and going for walk or run after. and at the same time it will help you keep on your calorie goal. If this suits you!
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    jasonpoihegatama wrote: »
    Nothing wrong with eating and going for walk or run after. and at the same time it will help you keep on your calorie goal. If this suits you!

    Eating then going for a run sounds like a great way to see your dinner again...
  • amy19355
    amy19355 Posts: 805 Member
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    TavistockToad wrote: »
    All of the things you're posting suggest an unhealthy relationship with food.
    before i used to eat so much and be an emotional eater. but i think a lot of that was to do with greed and when i say used to i mean a week ago sksks

    I hope I am misunderstand what you wrote above. It reads as you saying that it has been one (1) week since emotions stopped driving your urge to overeat.

    If true, this suggests to me that setting realistic goals is something to work on. It is unlikely that it took only a week to develop the whatever issue is holding you back. Expecting to instill a better habit around eating in seven days is a recipe for failure, every way I look at it.

    Good luck.
  • lemurcat2
    lemurcat2 Posts: 7,885 Member
    edited February 2019
    magnusthenerd wrote: »
    lemurcat2 wrote: »
    magnusthenerd wrote: »
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    a general question bc i’m thinking of doing this like if i eat something i didn’t intend to like a lot of chocolate like i did today (i couldn’t stop myself ) is it an unhealthy thing to excercise after (more excerise than the norm)

    just asking bc some of y’all said i’m being obsessive but i just want to make up for overeating (i has about 1,800 calories today maybe slightly more) when my aim is 1,400 at most

    I've heard this informally called exorecia. Obviously, it isn't taken to be mentally healthy.
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    For emotional eating, regular exercise helps me immensely. I use this preventively, not punitively.
    I just recently listened to a podcast where Matt Stranberg, someone who specializes in eating disorders, say the term emotional eating is a bit of a misused term. He felt that it is also unhealthy to pretend eating is an unemotional activity - the people that who are viewing their food only as just clusters of macros, micros, and calories are having just as much an issue. The problem as he sees it is when eating becomes a person's only coping strategy or an excessive coping strategy.
    https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/darko-botic/the-man-who-lost-200-lbs-podcast/e/54015045

    I agree with him on what the problem is, and that eating (good food, eating events like a holiday dinner, etc.) inherently evoke emotions, but I usually find that people who use the term emotional eating are not trying to deny that, and are speaking about using it as a coping strategy or to stifle uncomfortable feelings.
    He felt using it as a coping strategy wasn't inherently wrong - the issue is when it is the only strategy someone has.

    It's wrong for me, it's about stifling feelings and led to overeating and feeling worse later. I have other coping strategies, but sometimes it's harder to remember to use them if you are reacting in a more panicky way and you have bad habits or ingrained ways of dealing with something.

    I'll check out the podcast to see if the issue is just terminology or if I really disagree with him.

    For me, this has absolutely nothing to do with pretending I have no emotions by avoiding emotional eating but the opposite -- emotional eating was a reaction to not being able to deal with feelings, being afraid of them, being anxious and needing to drown that out. Emotional eating for me, anyway, was in fact pretending I did not have the emotions I did.

    One thing that really helped me was journaling when I felt a desire to eat at a time I had no reason to. It forced me to actually acknowledge to myself what I was reacting to and helped process it. Other things that helped were getting back into running -- I seem to think through things in a different way with running and it helps a lot with anxiety and irrational thought patterns -- meditation and some CBT type work.
  • ahoy_m8
    ahoy_m8 Posts: 3,053 Member
    edited February 2019
    I appreciate all the thoughtful comments on this thread. It's prompted introspection.

    I do this... intentionally add exercise when I want more calories for an event. I usually bank calories in advance, but sometimes unplanned things come up and I compensate for unplanned extras the following day. I especially do this in December. I didn't track at all this past December, but for a couple Decembers before that I simply planned a 4mi walk on my "rest day" (for me, 300 kcal ~ 2 glasses wine) to balance more wine than usual. I normally drink adult beverages on weekends only, so weeknight holiday parties require some kind of compensation. Walking the rest day has been an easy way to balance the added intake for me. While I'm usually adding miles for alcohol, I have added miles for extra eating, too. Not sure if one is better or worse than the other. :drinker:

    As someone else said, this approach has limited usefulness, i.e. I can't out-walk my fork (or glass). But it works for up to 300kcal of excess, which I suppose is pretty moderate, especially if deployed only occasionally.

    I don't know, OP. Compensating for 400kcal extra food with a little extra exercise sounds ok to me, but then, I do not know how much exercise you are doing to start with nor how often you plan to deploy this kind of compensation. It's probably a better use of your efforts to give thought to the unplanned eating and how to change that. Having an appropriate calorie goal to start with is the #1 dominant factor when it comes to unplanned eating. Having a macro split that is most satisfying to you (enough fiber, fat and protein) is important, too, as has been mentioned.

    Thanks, all. And good luck, OP
  • Lillymoo01
    Lillymoo01 Posts: 2,865 Member
    magnusthenerd wrote: »
    trulyhealy wrote: »
    a general question bc i’m thinking of doing this like if i eat something i didn’t intend to like a lot of chocolate like i did today (i couldn’t stop myself ) is it an unhealthy thing to excercise after (more excerise than the norm)

    just asking bc some of y’all said i’m being obsessive but i just want to make up for overeating (i has about 1,800 calories today maybe slightly more) when my aim is 1,400 at most

    I've heard this informally called exorecia. Obviously, it isn't taken to be mentally healthy.
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    For emotional eating, regular exercise helps me immensely. I use this preventively, not punitively.
    I just recently listened to a podcast where Matt Stranberg, someone who specializes in eating disorders, say the term emotional eating is a bit of a misused term. He felt that it is also unhealthy to pretend eating is an unemotional activity - the people that who are viewing their food only as just clusters of macros, micros, and calories are having just as much an issue. The problem as he sees it is when eating becomes a person's only coping strategy or an excessive coping strategy.
    https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/darko-botic/the-man-who-lost-200-lbs-podcast/e/54015045

    I have read posts from others (not here) who believe that eating should be viewed as a means of adequately fueling the body, nothing more, nothing less. My only thoughts for that was, "How depressing." Eating should also be enjoyed, and the foods you eating should satisfy not just your bodies needs but your tastes. Experimenting with different food combinations and tastes should be an exciting adventure. Looking forward to a nice meal with family and friends should be viewed as a treat and something special. Eating just to fuel the body sounds bland, boring and disordered eating.

Categories