10 April 2014

Indulgence

When I chose to write about exercising for fitness for this 2014 AtoZ Blogathon, I was a bit apprehensive that all of my posts would end up being ‘preachy’ Don’t do this, Don’t do that, Do this, Do that... 

This post is deliberately meant to break the trend. Continuous exercising and adhering to proper diets can become boring. In fact the restrictions and strict regimen can be a turn off and I speak from experience.  That’s when I came across this wonderful article that gave a rational point of view. As long as one follows fitness guidelines for most of the week its OK to indulge oneself once in a while. That means sleeping in late on a day or skipping a workout or even giving in to temptation of a plate of fries or fried chicken. An indulgence can be a motivator of sorts, something to look forward to. Remember to strike a balance.


Here are some tips before you indulge:

Plan ahead: If you have an invitation to a party then accordingly modify the other meals of the day to low calorie, high fibre ones. Then go ahead and tuck into the cake but be regular in the diet and exercise in following days. Trust me, whatever its benefits, the indulgence is not worth erasing days of hard work already put in.


Split: Share a serving with your friend which will reduce the number of calories you consume. Its quite common restaurant order here for one smoothie topped with icecream but served in two glasses. Its called 1X2 (one by two) or 2X3 and so on depending on the group size. Cool!

If you have worked hard, you have earned this ‘break’.   

Indulge, Profiteroles
Photo courtesy @puneribaker

Take a break: Taking a day off from exercise is actually good for the body especially when doing resistance training. This is because the muscles get a chance to rebuild so they become bigger and stronger. 

Go on. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: All suggestions are general in nature. Readers are advised to exercise caution before implementing them and seek expert advise about what is suitable for their specific needs.

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