“You will need to exercise for X amount of hours to burn the Y food you ate.”
Y can be, for example, all the dessert and deep-fried finger foods you ate on Christmas.

This can be the title of any articles you’ll find online during the holiday seasons. These articles always make me feel so uncomfortable.

Because that’s not how our energy system works. It’s a lot more than just doing the calorie math.

In the process of losing fat and building muscle, there are many critical factors involved:

🔅Nutrient density
🔅When you eat
🔅Training intensity

Your smart watch or calorie tracker can only give you a rough number, if anything. They are not 100% effective when it comes to losing weight in a smart way. Besides, most available tools/formulas online, even though they seem science-based, are targeted for men’s bodies, not women’s.

If you get a little anxious over the holiday binge, you should take detailed records of your emotions, sleep, digestion, and menstruation.

Rather than beating yourself up for loosening a bit during the holidays, you should:

🔅Thank your body for sending you hunger signals.
🔅Work out only because you enjoy training, not because you want to burn off the calories or guilt feelings.
🔅Eat that cookie so that you have the energy for exercising and preventing injuries. Enjoy the festive atmosphere stress-free.

May enjoying eating be the first step of practicing self-love, with no guilt.
May we all treat our body in the most loving and healthy way, with loads of love.