Work Out To Eat? Eat To Work Out?

This is a common question, a convenient excuse, a hopeful reason and consistent dilemma. Do you work out so you can eat whatever you desire? OR, do you eat to fuel your workouts and your health? The holidays are here and along with them come the well-known culprits for weight gain, culminating in the years end. On average people end the year five to ten pounds heavier, due to plentiful eating threats that abound these next weeks. One tendency, is to let the day timer crowd out fitness "me time" for a variety of celebratory holiday events. A second tendency, is that we overeat and then attempt to compensate by increasing workout frequency and intensity. Neither of these is beneficial-so it's back to the question: Do I workout to eat, or do I eat to workout?

Let's be completely clear, you simply cannot out train bad nutrition. Increasing your workout frequency and intensity to compensate for poor food and drink choices generally leads to physical and emotional burnout accompanied by injury. You have to recover emotionally and physically between bouts of exercise. Additionally, exorbitant calorie intakes require time to burn off. Non- athletic persons such as we, cannot consume 8,000 calories one day, and burn it off the next day, or the day after that and so on and so on, because each day you'll eat additional calories to fuel THAT day. Holiday binges have lasting effects-what you eat is 70 percent of the fitness equation.

Start with a plan of attack to "work through" the holiday food and social barrages heading your way. First, change the mind-set of "I'll work out, in order to eat and drink what I want" (workout to pig-out) in to "I will eat and drink what I want to in order to propel my fitness forward" (workout to lean out). Shifting away from destructive thoughts of doing what you want because you work out, to doing things that align you with your goals and with your work outs, is a better mind frame. The latter is about long-term commitment, while the former is about now. "Now" fitness goals never work. "I am going to work out hard so I can party hardy and consume mass quantities"has an end date...the party. Once the parties are over, getting back on track is too challenging. Hang overs and bloated bellies don't wake you up to thoughts of "lets hit the gym." Let's face it, comebacks are hard, so avoiding them by pacing yourself with long term plans and commitments are the better angles of attack.

Secondly, attack food threats by going to events"full." Eating before puts you in charge of what you ARE eating and when done this way, allows for nibbles and samples of party fare. A pre-event full glass of water will also slow down your urge to eat by sending the signal that you are full. Going to events famished is a recipe for disaster, particularly when coupled with alcohol. Alcohol dulls our sense of taste, smell, satiation and judgment, at the same time enhancing our sense of confidence. It may be fun at the time, but the payback is hardly worth it.

Lastly, pick your sampling fare of food and drink wisely. If you have a balanced approach to things, you can eat what you want to. It's all about portion size, frequency and the quality of our food and beverage choices before and during the events.

No one is saying "NO" here. A balanced approach means moderation and recognition when you are coloring outside the lines. Abstinence creates acute demand because we all want what we can't have-it's human nature. If you have a balanced approach to your workouts; their consistency, frequency and intensity AND you keep a watchful eye on what your eat, you can enjoy the treats of the season and stay on track to bring in 2012 with the fitness style that puts an exclamation point on all of your 2011 hard-fought gains.