REST DAYS & EATING ≠ GUILT
I would like to make a few points in this following post. I have been receiving NUMEROUS questions and anonymous asks regarding rest days, eating, and feeling guilty from one or both of those subjects.
I will no longer be answering questions about those two topics after making this post because everything in this post is what I would say:
Are essential for muscle repair and growth. Rest days are not only important for PHYSICAL rest but to be honest, I feel they are even more important for MENTAL rest and recovery. Why? If you are constantly going 24/7 in the gym, running, following a training plan, or anything else, it can result in feeling burnt out, lethargic, unmotivated, and over-trained. I am a college runner, and even I sometimes will go “against” my coach’s wishes about running on Sundays because I know personally I NEED a rest day, again, more to MENTALLY recover than physically sometimes.
On rest days, EAT!!!!!! Please get ANY ideas out of your mind that “less exercise means I should be eating less calories.” That is wrong. Very, very wrong. On rest days, your body and muscles, like I previously mentioned, are RECOVERING, rebuilding, and resting. This means that without proper fuel, they cannot get the proper nutrients and energy necessary to rebuild.
Your body does not miraculously gain 10 pounds on rest days. In fact, your body will not miraculously gain 10 pounds from not exercising at all unless you decide to start eating thousands and thousands of excess calories that will be stored and result in weight gain over a period of time. I promise you, your body is SMART, it knows what to do with proper fuel and nourishment.
Calories and food are ESSENTIAL to live. Literally– without food, we cannot survive. Our bodies NEED food and calories and energy just to FUNCTION. Now add in ANY activity you’re doing, whether it’s walking to the bathroom or running a marathon, you still need fuel.
Do NOT overthink or complicate the perception of food. Science, guys. Calories are units of energy, converted by our bodies for us to perform daily, from the most simple of tasks to the more complex ones.
Like I’ve previously stated regarding “rest days,” food is STILL and ALWAYS required whether or not you are having a “strenuous activity” day or not. Whether you’re sitting on your ass at a desk for hours on end or walking around exploring a city, you need food.
DO NOT equate exercise with “earning” food.
Eat. Just eat. Food is fuel. Simple. Keep it simple.
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