I originally wrote this article back in 2012. It was one of the most popular articles I have ever written. I Hope it still resonates.
Have you ever said to yourself, “Since I just ate that giant piece of cake and have already blown my diet, I might as well just blow the rest of the weekend”? Or perhaps, “I already missed one of my workouts this week, I might as well skip my second one too.” Truth be told, we have all probably had these types of thoughts and then taken action on them at some point in our lives. However, when it comes to starting and maintaining an exercise program or attempting to clean up your diet, this all-or-none, black-and-white type of thinking is a huge obstacle in the path of your success.
To further illustrate my point, imagine you had a flat tire on your car that caused you to pull off the road, delaying you from getting to where you want to go. Would you (A) fix the tire and get back on the road or (B) go around and flatten all the tires, making absolutely sure you would never get to your intended destination? Hopefully you answered (A), that you would fix the tire and get back on the road. In my daily life, I routinely see clients, friends, and acquaintances eating something they know they shouldn’t, and instead of getting back on track with their next meal (and getting back on the road), they go on to blow the rest of the day, the rest of the weekend, and then the rest of the week.
Fitness and fat loss expert expert Rachel Cosgrove has termed this Blown Tire Syndrome: you blew one tire, so you might as well blow them all! Obviously, this is not very logical behavior, but it is precisely what so many of us do! In order to truly achieve your fitness-related goals, you need to stop beating yourself up over one blown meal. Realize that you can and should have occasional splurges without feeling horrible about it. Now, it should go without saying that you need to choose your splurges wisely. When you do decide to eat something you know you shouldn’t, be sure to enjoy it fully and then get back on track with your next meal.
I recommend to most of my clients that they eat 3 meals per day. This is a grand total of 21 meals per week. If you honestly make the commitment to eat well for 90% of your meals, you’ll most likely find that splurging for 2 meals in any given week will have little to no negative consequences. What you will find is that you really haven’t blown anything, so stop with all the obsessing and feelings of guilt! You need to realize that your diet will never be perfect 7 days a week, 365 days a year. It’s impossible. Not only that, what would be the purpose for living and all of your hard training if you didn’t indulge from time to time? So just remember that the next time you “blow a tire,” fix it with your next meal and then get back on the road to where you want to go!