“I worked out today so I can eat this.”
“I biked _____ miles today so I can drink these beers.”
“I ran 15 miles today so I can have this pizza.”
Sound familiar? This phrase is uttered thousands of times a day by people all over this country attempting to validate their eating habits.
I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to validate anything. Your eating habits don’t need to be offset by burpees or miles. You don’t need to put in more work on a Monday after a weekend of less than stellar food choices.
Food is food, workouts are workouts. There is no Google Translate for conversions between the two.
We largely used to be calorie conscious which was cool and all (at the time). However that proved to be inconsistent and besides, what real control did we have? It was all based off shady labeling and guesstimates. A solution seemed to be to use workouts/ exercises/ miles as a form of currency and way to balance out poor food choices. A simple breakdown would equate to the worse you eat, the longer you need to workout.
1 donut = x crunches
1 glass of wine = x miles to run
1 scoop of ice cream = x burpees
It’s not fair to science to identify with that thought process. Biology is much more complex than a simple scale. It may be ideal to visualize a whole donut just melting off your body but that’s not how that happens. It’s also not fair to your own mental health to buy in to such a process.
By all means, get your workouts in and challenge yourself. Don’t use the food you eat as motivation to push harder or an excuse to lighten up.
I understand the reasoning, I really do. You may have eaten a little heavier dinner than normal the night before or had one too many french fries off your kid’s plate for lunch. Don’t look to punish yourself for such things.
No more punishment. Burpees suck enough as it is. No need to associate them with the fact you had a bite of dessert after dinner.
Quite honestly, I’ve seen enough people tear themselves apart over the food they eat and use fitness as the reaper to come and finish the job. I’m advocating a dissociation between the two in the sense of using one to right the wrongs of the other.
Eat because you love food. Exercise because it makes you feel better.
Just don’t exercise because of your love of food.
For the video version, give this a watch!
PB & Gainz 
Absolutely love this and am so in agreement with you!!! I’m so tired of people doing two-a-days or stressing out over the small stuff and not enjoying life. Working out has become a form of punishment instead of something we love and enjoy because it’s good for us. Love all of this Ben! Keep it coming!
Thank you Leticia!
Someone, somewhere along the way devised this particular set of victim mentality and then perpetrated it onto fitness folks. Push it back, we don’t need it anymore.
Burpees can’t outrun your diet anyway. We know this. So why do we still use victim language to beat ourselves up for choosing pleasure for a meal or two?
ENJOY the pizza and beer (once in awhile).
Enjoy the occasional glass of wine. Truly.
If you’re going to choose something that is counter to your goals, then you might as well do yourself the favor of reveling in the deliciousness of it…
Wholeheartedly agree.