Working Out to Eat

I heard a female celebrity talking about why she works out so hard and looks as incredible as she does. I can't for the life of me remember who it was, but I remember her words well. She said she works out "so that I can eat." She said she loves food way too much to cut out certain foods or food groups, but that it's important for her job that she looks a certain way. Solution? She works out like a fiend, daily.

I remembered her words because that's how I feel about it too. Listen, I'm never going to be the girl that gives up carbs or dessert or butter chicken. Just not gonna happen. And at one point in my life I could eat whatever the heck I pleased (and that was A LOT) and stay a beanpole. Hard to believe NOW that I was once one of the smaller, skinnier kids in my class. Suddenly as a teen, it caught up with me for a year or two. And then I started university and walked everywhere, and it fell off again.

And then I started work in daycare and it came back on. And then I had kids. And now, here I am. And I've FINALLY realized that if I want to eat the way I do, then I have to exercise. Preferably daily.

The good news is, I enjoy it. I do feel better when I exercise. And I look forward to it (most days) and the euphoric feeling I get afterwards.

The bad news is, for some reason, after I exercise, I come home and eat like I've never eaten before. I'm not sure why that is. It's like Pavlov's dog. The sound of the treadmill stimulates the hunger pains and I'm immediately starving. This, of course, troubles me. What's the point of busting my ass to workout and then coming home and eating from a trough? And why does that happen anyways? What the heck is WRONG with me?

So, here's my theory. It's twofold. Part A says that it's just a learned behaviour that I need to train myself to step away from. Part 2 says that in actuality it's NOT hunger but thirst and when I get home I need to drink as much water as I can and see if that does the trick. (I do drink water while working out as well)

So that's what I'm trying this week. Well, I shouldn't say this week because here we are at Wednesday and I've worked out and pigged out the last two days. How about "from today forward."

I'll let you know how my hypotheses pan out. Or how much chocolate and chips and dip I actually consumed by weeks' end. This might get ugly. Sigh.