Throughout yesterday and today, I have had something repeatedly come to mind. I've been thinking about how much we can underestimate our metabolism and daily activities and think that our daily calorie burn is much less than the reality. Yesterday I didn't get in a formal workout, but I know my leisurely hike got my body moving. Today, I spent a little over an hour cleaning our downstairs. I also did laundry and chased after Makenzie while she "helped".

When I came to the end of my cleaning spree, I know I probably burned close to what I did during my morning spin class. But how easy is it to just ignore that fact? And think that the only activity that "counts" is what you put in at the gym, on the pavement, or with a Jillian Michaels/Cathe/Turbojam DVD?

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Before I go any further, please note that I do not try to tally how many calories I burn in a day. I actually don't care. What does sadden me though, and leads me to this post, is when I see people focused on a reaching a calorie burned goal during a workout or equating how much they worked out with how much they should eat for a day. There is so much more to our activity than our workouts.

Everything burns calories. From breathing to digesting to studying to running to sleeping to laughing. It all adds up. We need to begin focusing on our lifestyles as a whole. Our daily workouts probably only account for about 20%  of our total daily burn. That is 80% from other factors. We need to recognize those other factors so as to give our body adequate fuel. Underestimating what we need to maintain is only detrimental to our health. Who wants a lower metabolism when they could have a higher one? Who wouldn't want to be able to eat even more of their favorite healthy meals and provide more nutrition to their body?

LOTS o' Good Food

I used to be in the same boat. I swore up and down that my maintenance calories were around 1800. Then, I got to borrow a nifty little contraption from a friend. It's called the Go Wear Fit and it is an armband you wear that calculates your activity, calorie burn, sleep, etc.

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While I don't care for this item anymore because I prefer being intuitive and not worrying about any numbers, it was interesting information to see. Turns out I was burning close to 2300 calories....on my rest days. Workout days were closer to 2800. And then when I got to more intense training days for the competition (two-a-days) I was generally always over 3000. Now, I consume on average 2500/day. That is a guesstimate since I don't track and just figured in my head around how much I eat on any given day. I easily maintain my weight of around 135 lbs. And I am happy to provide my body with more fuel because I know it can handle it and needs it.

I want to be clear that I understand some have more sedentary jobs and their workouts are a big part of their activity for the day. I am not saying formal workouts are unnecessary. I also am not saying that what I found for my body applies to everyone. What I am saying is to be aware of all that your body does for you and fuel it properly. Your body is an amazing machine. It needs ample food supply to work efficiently. Give it what it needs. Recognize ALL the ways it works for you, not just when sitting on a spin bike. Honor your body, your health, and your hunger and eat up as much as you possibly can. 🙂

Before I get to the title of my post, I want to do a quick recap of how my day is going. It has been a pretty low-key one. I, of course, spent a good bit of time hanging out with this gorgeous girl...

And also did some reading. I finished this book...

Weight of Silence

And what is a finished book without a review for those of you who enjoy reading. The story is about  two little girls that go missing one day and how the day unfolds. Each chapter is from a different character's perspective, which makes it very interesting. In all honesty, not a lot happened and I expected it to be more of a mystery and suspenseful novel. Despite all that, I could not could not could not put this book down. It kept me wanting to see what would happen next and learn more about the characters. The story was pretty emotional and the stories of each character are very intriguing. I give it 4/5 🙂

The remainder of the day will consist of heading to the gym for a full body workout and some cardio. While planning out my workout for today, I realized that I will not be able to do my usual Friday workout tomorrow as I have a Mom Group visit in the morning and then have to get prettified and head out for a wedding rehearsal dinner in the afternoon. I took yesterday off, per the usual of my 5 day workout schedule, and when considering that I began to feel a pang of guilt. I could have still gotten in 5 workouts this week if I planned ahead. Well, I quickly got over it because my only focus right now is to live a healthy lifestyle and 4 days of workouts in a week is still pretty darn good if you ask me. However, that quick pang did get me thinking. How many of us women who aspire to be fit and healthy feel guilt over a missed workout?

I know in the past I would flip out over a messed up workout schedule. I felt like was failing and would ruin all of my progress by not staying on plan. Years ago, I would push myself to work out every day for at least 1.5 hours/day. What results did that get me? Honestly, nothing because of other negative things going on in my mind and a very bad (binge) relationship with food. But that's a whole other topic 😉 Today I was sick to my stomach remembering that time of my life. I was not a happy person and putting so much emphasis on fitness ended up with me not even being fit and healthy. How is it healthy to participate in negative self talk because of not making it to the gym or on that run? How healthy is it to push yourself to do something and ignore an injury, an obligation to someone/something you care about, or your body's need to rest?

What does it mean to live a healthy lifestyle? In my opinion, a healthy lifestyle is one that is balanced. It is about physical health, but also (and more importantly) it is about mental and emotional health. What benefit can guilt possibly have? I see it causing unnecessary stress and anxiety. I see it making a fit lifestyle unenjoyable because who wants to workout to avoid feeling guilty? Where's the fun in that?! I see it keeping someone from getting the adequate amount of rest needed for proper muscle recovery. I see it as something that will keep a person from spending time with friends and loved ones because they have to get that workout in. I see it hindering emotional ties because the life of the person revolves around being 'perfect' with food and training. I've been there and lived it.

If you never missed a workout and never felt guilty because you were always 100% on your game plan, I don't think I would envy you that. Things happen and can get in the way - through illness, other obligations, exhaustion, different opportunities, etc - that it is basically impossible for someone to NEVER miss a workout. It's called life and I don't know about you, but I like having one outside of the gym. By no means am I saying that being disciplined is a negative thing. It is, in fact, a very admirable thing and something we should all strive for. The difference is in how we react when things don't go our way and part of our plan doesn't get to happen. Do we make the best of it, adjust if possible, and move on? Or do we dwell, sulk, feel poorly about ourselves, and think we have failed? I think we MUST look at our week/month/year as a whole and how our lifestyle is. If you can say that you exercise regularly, then there should be no hard feelings for taking a day, a few days, a few weeks if needed off. Guilt won't get you anywhere in the long run. So take pride in being fit and healthy...which means having no guilt and smiling because you make the best out of your LIFE and not just your workouts. 🙂

Do you feel guilty when you miss a workout? How do you overcome it?