Stop Trying to Give up Your Indulgences.
Whether it’s Halloween candy, a stressful meal in election week, or an upcoming Thanksgiving dinner, we need to talk about how to react when we suddenly eat more than usual. You don’t need to burn those calories straight away with exercise or somehow prove to yourself that you “earned them.” Just enjoy your meal and move on.
Before we talk about how to deal with these occasional indulgences, however, I would like to take a moment to point out that binge eating is a condition in which overeating leads to feelings of guilt and then diet or restrictive behavior. It is cyclical, so the diet leads to even more overeating. If you experience this frequently – for example, weekly – seek professional help. Treatment can include conversation, nutritional counseling, and sometimes medication. If you’re unsure of where to start, chat, write a message, or call the National Eating Disorders Association’s hotline here .
What about the rest of us? Well, the fact that binge eating exists should probably point us to the fact that restricting food or increasing physical activity is not a cure for overeating, but rather a way to further harm our health.
Calorie counting shouldn’t define your life
You must eat well because proper nutrition keeps you healthy. You should exercise because exercise keeps you healthy. These two things are not opposed. Nutrition is not a problem that exercise solves.
But I totally understand why you might be tempted to think so. For example, it is true that weight loss diets work by changing the mathematical equation between “calories in” and “calories out”.
We also cannot forget that the manufacturers of high-calorie foods are promoting the idea of burning indulgences, because it puts the blame on you, the consumer, without reducing their sales. I’ve written before that snack makers who repeat the platitudes about “balance” are the same as those who advise each other on how to increase impulsive candy purchases .
This is the context for those horrible tables that tell you how to burn a given piece of food. We were told that one bowl of Reese takes 15 minutes of swimming . Even if this is true, is this advice helpful? Heck, these charts exist as a tool that we use to convey fear and guilt to each other. Nobody uses these schedules to plan their workouts for the week; we simply use them to masochistically destroy our ability to enjoy.
What’s really going on in your body?
So here’s the thing. Yes, there are calories in a chocolate bar. But you know what else there are calories in? Broccoli. Chicken breast. Rice. Pasta. Burgers. Coffee. Everything . The average American needs about 2,500 calories a day . If you eat five cups of Reese with 105 calories each, that’s 525 calories in total. The rest 2,000 or so could come from other sources and you will pay off anyway.
Likewise, it’s not just swimming, jogging or cycling that burns calories. Your body is constantly using energy just to exist. According to this calculator , a 150 pound person burns 119 calories in 15 minutes of swimming, but you also burn 102 calories in an hour just sitting and talking.
The combination of these two facts leads to a shocking conclusion: you can pamper yourself 100% with a high-calorie product, and then just eat normally, go about your usual activities for the rest of the day, and everything will be in perfect order . No additional exercise is required. In many cases, you will either cut calories or get close.
Worst case scenario
Okay, but what if you had a lot of candy (or beer, or pie, or whatever) and you know for sure that you ate a lot more than you burned? What if you know you ate 3,000 calories and only burned 2,000?
Don’t underestimate your body’s ability to adapt: chances are, if you ate a ton last night, you’ll be a little less hungry today. It might sound strange if you’re used to tracking every last bite, but people who don’t consciously diet can still maintain their weight over time. Our bodies sort of figure out everything.
And since it’s just one day, everything aligns. Let’s say you’ve eaten the extra 1000 calories and your body hasn’t accommodated anything else; you went on with your life eating 2000 and burning 2000 every day. Your average calorie intake for a month will be only 2,033 calories per day, which is only slightly higher than your usual one.
Do not panic
Therefore, if on some day you ate more than you planned, do not panic . You don’t need to feel guilty and you don’t need to immediately burn it.
Instead: just go about your normal healthy shit . Eat to be full. Exercise because our bodies work best when we move them regularly. Our mind works best when we exercise. Show a little compassion for yourself because your mental health will be better if you don’t constantly think of your body as your enemy .
If these indulgences are enough that you think you are actually gaining weight because of them, make a plan. Not “I’m going to spend an hour on the elliptical trainer tomorrow because I hate myself,” but rather, I’m putting together a consistent , sustainable, no-small plan for healthy eating and a reasonable amount of exercise each week. This way, you will take good care of yourself whether you eat multiple chocolate bars or not.