How To Avoid Sabotaging Your Workout

Avoid workout sabotage with these 9 tried and true strategies.

Do you need help to avoid sabotaging your workout?  Are you committing workout sabotage? 

Do you run a gazillion miles and then come home and eat thousands of calories of food and drink and justify it by telling yourself you worked out? 

Do you have a food or beverage that is your absolute vice as it contains loads of sugar, fat, sugar, SUGAR, and more sugar? 

Are you leaving it all on the floor with your effort at the gym or on the asphalt yet your waist size remains the same and the scale hasn’t budged? 

If you can answer yes to many of these initial questions then you just might be committing workout sabotage.   

Stop hustling backwards

My boot camp coach tells us “Don’t hustle backwards”.  Meaning, don’t go all out at the gym with your workout and then consume the same amount or MORE calories than you burned because you are no longer in the deficit. 

Now I do believe all calories are not the same.  One hundred calories in an apple is NOT the same as a 100 calorie Pecan Sandies cookie pack.  Nutritionally the cookies can’t hold a candle to the apple.

I use the term “Don’t work backwards” often meaning don’t take 3 steps forward with your fitness and 5 steps backwards because you just can’t get that eating/drinking right.  Fitness experts tell us your fitness is 80% diet and 20% exercise. 

Given that, what we eat and drink is more than 4 times as important as how hard we push at the gym.  That’s because if the “bad” calories never touch your lips, there is nothing to work off.

Stay ahead of the calorie burn

Our bodies are smart enough to know how to use the RIGHT fuel made for our bodies.  Man-made snacks, treats and beverages are not it. 

So here are some suggestions to help you stay ahead of your calorie burn and never work backwards.

Clean out the pantry of unhealthy foods in boxes  

That suggests they are man-made, highly processed and not good for your body and therefore will have you hustling backwards after a great workout.

Read labels 

Don’t be fooled by the “buzz words” many food manufacturers are throwing out there like “organic”, “sugar free”, “all natural”, etc.  That can be trickery to entice you to avoid looking at the label only to learn there is a bunch of additives added that will undo all of your hard work.

The important label is NOT the label on the front, but the nutritional label.  Read it, understand it and make your decision from there.

Cook more 

If you search the web many people feature their food prep for the week on Sundays.  They are broiling fish, steaming veggies and packaging them in advance to minimize the urge to eat out. 

Prepare your food in advance which can help with eating less calories, eating less fast food high in sugar, fat and sodium and help you eat the food that supports your workout efforts.

Drink water

It helps with satiety and keeps you hydrated.  I keep bottled water near my bed and drink a 16 oz bottle first thing in the morning to get my system moving.  Drink at least 74 oz of water a day.

Don’t go to the grocery store hungry 

I know this has been said over and over but it is SO TRUE! Don’t do it.  I am a witness, you will begin making bad food choices. 

You do not want convenience junk food to be convenient to reach.  Keep it out of the shopping cart and out of your home.

Everything within moderation

Life won’t stop if you eat your favorite ice cream, cake, cookie, etc.  Just don’t eat as much in a single sitting.  Decrease your cake slice size, break off half a cookie to eat or only take 2 scoops of ice cream instead of three. 

Try your hardest not to let your body get hungry

If you aren’t eating multiple times a day (listen to your body because everyone is different) to the point your stomach is never empty, you will look up, find yourself starving and falling prey to a poor food choice.

Read this great article I found by Healthy ~ The New Slim on diet vs. exercise and fat loss by clicking the photo.

So there you have it, some of my tips to help you avoid sabotaging your workout.    

What additional tips would you recommend to help someone not derail their fitness goals by poor food choices?