Eat the bacon and *gasp* DON’T “work it off”

What the hell Mama? Isn’t that the whole idea of exercise and moderation and all that good stuff?

Nope.

Allow me to elaborate.

Eat the bacon. This part is self explanatory.

Unless bacon isn’t your thing for non-meat eating reasons, eating bacon is a good idea because it’s freaking delicious. The smell of it, in my opinion, is a heck of a lot better than “folgers in your cup”. But bacon here is really just a metaphor for whatever it is you find terribly delicious that isn’t at all a “health food.” Eat your proverbial bacon and enjoy it for enjoyments sake. Make it the best bacon ever. Stare at it, smell it, get all weird and intimate with your food if you want. Revel in it. It’s good right? And you are choosing to eat it because its down right tasty and a part of living a full life.

Now, if you want to go work out because that is next on the agenda- do it. Awesome. Proud of you. But- and here’s the kicker- don’t go to “fix” the evil of having eaten the bacon. Don’t make food bad and exercise it’s cure. Eating is not a disease. You don’t have to cure it.

Bacon, for that matter, is not evil. My husband was a vegetarian for four years and woke up one morning to his brother cooking bacon and without thinking said “Fuck it” to being a vegetarian and ate the bacon. I find this hilarious. I often ask my vegetarian friends if they ever miss meat. 100% have answered in one word: bacon. Now if that isn’t straight from the heavens, I don’t know what is.

I suggest a small change in thinking here. Exercise because you like it. I know, I know, who the hell likes doing lunges? But you do it because you must like something about it. Maybe it’s the way you feel afterwards, maybe it’s the results or maybe it’s the hot guy at the gym who you conveniently find a machine behind. Whatever it is- make that the reason you do it. Not to remedy your nasty habit of enjoying food.

If you are trying to lose weight or just be healthy: bacon shouldn’t be your go-to meal. I don’t think you should start your day with bacon and eggs, lunch on a bacon wrap, dinner with bacon wrapped bacon followed by bacon alamode. Duh. I’m talking about indulging. I’m talking about your favorites. I’m talking about your sometimes choices.

In an effort to live a “balanced” life, I do a very non-scientific self survey- about weekly- of my diet and exercise. Separately. I think about how much effort I’ve put into exercise that week, what kind of performance gains I’ve seen (or not) and use this information to do better (or scale back) depending upon how I feel. For food I think about simple things, have I indulged more frequently than usual, have I been eating my vegetables- basic, basic, basic things- again, planning for the next week accordingly.

Live a full life. Enjoy exercise. Enjoy food. Don’t take away from any of life’s pleasures by labeling it naughty. (Ok, I’m talking about otherwise not terrible things, I obviously don’t mean don’t worry about that nasty meth habit- lets be reasonable).

Eat the bacon. Do the lunges. These things don’t have to do with one another. I think once your mentality shifts in this way you will find healthier you!