“It’s all about balance.”
Right. Heard that before. But what is that really?
How many sit-ups do I need to do, to balance out a few glasses of wine? If I workout in the morning does that cancel out the pizza I plan on having later? Can I even have pizza, like ever?
My fitness tracker said I burned 300 calories, does that mean I can eat 300 calories now?
How is it that some people can eat whatever they want but still look good?
These questions, among others regarding balance, come up quite often when discussing the do’s and don’ts of health and nutrition. The purpose of this article is to help you navigate through these challenges when understanding balance, and also what that balance might mean for you.
What balance is not…
Sometimes the best way to find an answer is to work backwards through the problem, and because balance can mean many things, it might be easier to establish what it shouldn’t be.
Balance is not a volatile pattern in your routine
One of the most common (and destructive) mistakes we see during the phases of dieting, or attempting to diet, is the process of binge eating followed by a subsequent caloric deprivation or severe restriction. Often times the subsequent restriction is outlined by an elimination of foods that can be both unnecessary and unreasonable, making the restrictive part of the cycle that much more difficult. Which, inevitably, is equivalent to the perfect pitch for a caloric grand slam. Thus, the cycle repeats itself:
The restrictive part of this cycle can come in many forms such as time restricted eating or fasting, the near complete removal of a macronutrient group like carbohydrates (keto), or variations of limited foods. Which, aren’t necessarily or inherently bad options, however the unfortunate downside is not all of the decisions that structure the restrictive part of the cycle come from credible sources and are often formed by the individual’s own bias on what they think is best— or what worked for a friend. This can be detrimental to both your progress as well as your mental and emotional health, especially when you’re trying to navigate through these challenges without the proper guidance.
To make matters worse the constant stress on your body of volatile caloric patterns, along with caloric-dense, not nutrient-dense, foods only exacerbate what can be a constant mental state of disappointment, guilt, self-doubt, body image issues (body dysmorphia) and many other destructive psychological patterns. The more challenging the process becomes both physically and mentally, the less likely you’ll stick to it. The good news is there is a happy medium here, and if you continue reading you’ll find out what that entails.
80/20 is not all-or-nothing
It seems obvious, but it must be said. Yes, there are some people that can pull off a very restrictive diet for long periods of time, but a majority of us just don’t live that way. We like to live a little. We enjoy the birthdays with cake, the achievements with alcohol, or a day off after working all week with some pizza— you name it.
80/20 is not crushing it during the weekdays and having a free-for-all on the weekends, either. Essentially, this would be the same volatile pattern as mentioned above just not as frequent. Why can’t it work this way? Well, it’s not impossible, however you still have to consider your caloric intake and expenditure. If your caloric expenditure on weekends (or days off) drastically decreases while also simultaneously increasing your caloric intake, this can bring your progress to a screeching halt, or worse, even go backwards. It’s not uncommon to have such a high surplus in calories over the course of a weekend that the caloric deficit you worked so hard for during the week, may very well average out to be a surplus instead of a deficit.
You still need to make sure you’re considering energy balance. That is, calories in vs. calories out. And if you’re overdoing it on your days off, it could ruin your progress even if you have several great days in a row.
What balance might look like for you
Start with the easy stuff. These are the simple tasks you know you can control and maintain. That could mean aiming for 7+ hours of sleep each night, drinking enough water each day, and getting at least 30 minutes of exercise or movement in daily.
It may mean setting a personal rule that if you track your food for an entire week, or two weeks, and hit your activity goals, you allow yourself a reasonable treat. Yes, that could mean pizza, just not an entire box. That could mean a glass or two of wine. It could mean many different things, and these are completely fine.
Once you can manage one goal, expand on it. Either add another or figure out how to best improve what you’re doing now.
The trick is, you have to keep in mind if you’re actually staying in the 80/20 zone or if you’re falling more into the 50/50 zone— because that’s where we don’t want to be. The last thing we want is to work hard and not physically see any of the hard work we’ve put in.
Consider it this way: you want to earn your treats. Really earn them. Not just kind-of earn them, or convince yourself you did when you know you didn’t.
Introspectively reflect on what challenges you run into
We all face different challenges when it comes to navigating throughout the day. While there are some broad principles you can implement, like structure, to help navigate through these challenges, there are still very specific things we must do to find solutions. If you’re one of those types to work for hours on end and forget to eat because you’re so busy, perhaps it would be best to set reminders on your phone/calendar to get up and eat. Or instead of relying on take-out each day, take an extra 5-10 minutes the morning of, or night before, to make a lunch.
Maybe you struggle with drinking enough water throughout the day. Perhaps the solution here is to purchase one of those fancy jugs with time indicators on them serving as a reminder that you should drink up to a specific amount by a given time. Or, without being so specific, use small water bottles and every time one is finished, grab another- which might also give you more reason to get up from your desk and get some steps in.
The point is- we have to really understand the small and easy tasks that we must implement to overcome the small obstacles throughout the day. Which, in the end, all add up to making your journey that much more attainable and sustainable.
Avoid free-styling your way throughout the day
We operate better with structure. Chances are, whether it’s a company you own or a company you work for, the operations for that business are structured. There are different positions to fulfill specific roles that are required for efficiency & operations of the business— and the most successful businesses have a defined structure to operate like a well-oiled machine.
Well, you are that machine, and how you structure your day to manage responsibilities, stress, nutrition, training and more all influence just how well that machine (you) operates.
So, plan ahead.
Work on the small stuff, and once mastered, expand on it.
Don’t make volatile changes to your eating habits.
Be patient.
Don’t give up.
And remember…