Do I have to restrict myself to be fit?
I like to eat out. There’s no lie there, no avoiding it, or way around it. Yet, I want to be “fit”. I think that when one is first inducted into the world of health and fitness, a word that pollutes the mind is restriction. Don’t do this, don’t do that, don’t eat too fast, don’t eat at all…
I want to first say that health, wellness, and fitness are a very individualized experiences. There are common strategies that are effective, there are well known facts backed by science, and there are cultures that are wealthy with knowledge and tradition on what we should and shouldn’t put in our bodies. It is within your right to choose for yourself.
Over the years, I’ve sharpened my relationship with food while battling how much my weight fluctuates. I’m proud to have arrived at a place of balance where I don’t restrict what I want, but I act within means. Previously working in the food industry (Sarabeth’s, The Modern, GATO, etc.) until landing my first full-time job post grad, food essentially ran my life. It actually still does. I write Yelp reviews and have a section for food in my blog… yeah, not escaping it anytime soon. I don’t want to though, and this is what the fitness industry should make more space for. I have a serious respect and love for the art of cooking. On top of that, food just tastes good. It feels good.
I genuinely love putting on a fit, planning what drinks I will order, experiencing that first taste of the appetizer, the “Oooo” and “Mmmm” of something that literally goes straight from your mouth to the dopamine pleasure receptors. It’s amazing. Every cuisine, culture, and city has a signature, and being an explorer of that is something that I enjoy. This is why I appreciate Youtubers like Linda Sun who give me so much love and energy. She just gets it.
“Love your legs not for their size, but for the mountains they helped you climb. Love your stomach not for the waist band number around it but for the many experiences its digested for you.”
Linda Sun
Please visit her channel. Just watch 1 video. She’s disciplined, honest, and real. Linda reminds me that even though there’s so much that I don’t enjoy from living: the bloating, the love handles, the fupa, and the guilt, there’s so much more beyond that. She says “being a human is hard not because you’re doing it wrong. Being a human is hard because you’re doing it right,” and that hit me deeply.
Cost and Compensation
I say build a balance. Understand that everything in this world costs, and budget that cost. Personally, I budget the “life cost” for the following: eating out, sleeping in occasionally, skipping the gym occasionally, avoiding a to-do list item, and not calling my mom back when she calls me. Each of these things are things that I KNOW I do no matter what.
Restriction breeds guilt, and life happens. We are sometimes forgetful, sometimes lazy, and I think that the goal is to be mostly disciplined with some flexibility in spending for what you know costs and what you know may happen. Eating out not only costs me money, but sometimes costs me loss on progress. My solution: compensate for that. Moment for scientific fact: you can’t out train a poor diet. Life fact: if you work out consistently and really maximize your time in the gym, work hard, and invest in your health most of the time, you can eat out that once in a while. I train 5-6 times a week, and therefore, I can body some good food from Madame Vo.
Garlic Noodles 
Bu Luc Lac
This food was amazing. Their drinks were delicious. I didn’t feel a lick of guilt because the next morning, I had all that carb and protein power for a leg day. However, I also knew that I was eating some hard boiled eggs and oats the next day and minimizing my fat and sugar intake to compensate for my enjoyment. Balance. Some might say “well you’re still restricting,” and I see your point. Yet, I don’t consider it to be restricting because I allow it when I want it, and practice healthy, focused habits all other times.
There’s a million and one diets you could try, ways you could train, and hours of the day that you can eat: make it work for you. What works with your needs, what works with your life styles, and what works for your goals each goes into considering the experience that you want to live everyday. I know as I become more serious about my fitness goals, I’ll likely eat out less, but never stop completely. I may eat out differently (order a protein and green instead of noodles and broths) before I say no eating out at all.
Give yourself some space, flexible spending, and protocol for enjoying life.
