Rest Day = Eat Everything Day? 7 Ways To Beat The Binge

#feedmeseymore

According to all the research on physique development, rest days should be lower in calories and lower in carbohydrates than training days, especially if one is losing or maintaining their weight.

Logically I know this, but my body disagrees. 

It seems that every rest day my body screams at me, "You beat me up all week! Feeeeeed meeeeeee!"

Combine that with the fact that I'm mostly off work on rest days and you get a lot of laziness combined with massive inhalation of food. And I'm not talking steamed broccoli and chicken breast.

My brain on rest days:

PB&J? Yum! 

Cliff bars are sorta healthy, right?

Banana and peanut butter!

What is that in the back of the freezer? Cinnamon Toaster Strudel? Cinnamon Toaster Strudel!

Oh, I've eaten a lot of carb. I should balance that with some protein....

I know, I'll mix protein powder and PBFit and spread it on raisin bread!

CANDY CORN! CANDY CORN! CANDY CORN!

I know there is a chocolate bar around here somewhere!!

Nothing listed above is forbidden or "bad". In fact, a lot of it is a pretty decent choice for healthy eating. The problem is I'll eat all that stuff and have 70% carb, 28% fat, and 2% protein at the end of the day. Not exactly a recipe for good body composition and performance.

(Sidenote: Sitting down with a BOWL of peanut butter, banana(s), candy corn, marshmallows and chocolate chips is rarely a good idea)

Some days lately I win the rest day battle. Other days I don't. If I overeat on sugary, carb-y stuff like the stuff above, I feel really bloated and sluggish the next day and my workouts are torturous.

The days I win I use the tips below.

1. Plan your meals the day before.
2. When you get the urge to eat something off plan, do something else. Do a load of laundry. Go for a walk. Play a game.
3. Time your meals. If your brain tells you to raid the pantry, ask yourself how long it's been since you had a meal. If it's been 3 hours or so, you might actually need real food. If it was 30 minutes ago, you are bored, not hungry.
4. Honestly, I'm more likely to overdo it when I have just been to the grocery store, so try not to grocery shop the day before rest day. 
5. Text an accountability buddy and tell them you are about to eat a 1 pound bag of M&M's all by yourself.
6. Better yet, take a picture of it and post it on social media. Tell the world you are about to eat the whole thing. Would that make you stop and reconsider?
7. Ask yourself two questions. One, will eating this help me reach my goals? Two, how will I feel 30 minutes after eating it? If the answers are NO and CRAPPY, don't do it. 

If nothing helps and you have an 'OH MY GOD I ATE EVERYTHING DAY', so be it. Move on and accept that it will hinder your goals a bit, but it doesn't have to stop all progress. No guilt and no beating yourself up. Draw a line in the sand and step over. 

Just because you got a flat tire, there's no need to slash the other three.

Come see me tonight at 7 PM at Flex Fitness! I'll be talking nutrition and doing a little Q & A!

Stay Strong Y'all!