As imperfect beings with a love of celebration, good food, good times and good health, we often overindulge during long weekends in the summer BBQ season and end up feeling guilty because of the excessive amounts of food we consume. This overindulgence is typically followed by a compensation which takes the form of over-exercising or increasing the intensity of the session immediately following the weekend.
While it is true that 1) calorie expenditure must balance out calorie intake in order to maintain weight, 2) calorie deficit elicits weight loss and 3) calorie excess leads to weight gain, it is important to note that our bodies can only handle a limited amount of training stress before the workout crosses the fine line between healthy and injury.
Put simply, people find themselves in a cycle of "Feed me all the things!" -> "That was a bad idea"-> "I need to work off this cake"->"It's been 2 days and I'm still sore, and now I can't even train."
So what do you do when you find yourself at the tail end of a binge weekend and reality sets in?
Here's a relatively foreign concept: Be thankful.
Chances are, you ate so much food because it was delicious. Not everybody gets a chance to have good food. You were eating delicious food with people whose company you enjoy. Not everybody is blessed with good friends. You, and your friends and family were gathered to celebrate something which brought all of you immense joy. That sounds like a good day to me! Why should the memory of the day cast a heavy shadow that you now must shed?
Stay positive and look for the small victories. No real, permanent healthy change comes from self-loathing. There are enough messages in the world telling you that you are not good enough and that you need to be better.
TV and Social Media:
"Steak and desert and cake are great!"
Also TV and Social Media:
"Put down that steak and desert and cake, you slob!
While you're at it, do 100 pull ups instead or else you are a drain on society!"
Why repeat those messages to yourself? Your training is not a punishment. Sure, you may be moving a bit more sluggishly; and all the salt and sugar may be slogging around in your system, but the body has an amazing way of self-correcting, especially when you've previously established a pattern of hard work and conditioning in the weeks leading up to the infamous Long Weekend of Meat, Beer,
Cake and Pies. After a reasonable workout, I promise you will begin to feel like a beast again. Connect a sequence of these workouts, in accordance with your long term plan, and I guarantee you will be back on the upward trajectory.
Play the long game. Stay the course and realize that the journey is anything but direct. The best heroes are remembered by others for their victories, but the best victories also include the struggles that no one else can see; most satisfying are the victories over the self.
In case no one ever told you, I am telling you. You are good enough, and there's almost nothing you can do that will drive you completely off the path to who you want to be without finding your way back.
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