Must-Read: Stop Being A Pig

Stop pigging out

We spend plenty of time here going over how to be fit, how to workout, what workouts are the best for you, how to get physically fit in order to attract the ladies. But we don’t spend too much time here worried about what goes into your system, which really is half the battle. And with the holidays coming up, where people will just continue to put on as many pounds as possible because ’tis the season, people have to be very aware of what is going into their body, and determine how it’s getting in there.

So today we’re heading to Men’s Health in order to get their tips for how to keep yourself from terribly pigging out. For example, among the tips they are offering that feel the most focused on us:

Celebrate wisely

Scientists have a name for my drive-thru cave-in: compensation. It’s the inclination to reward yourself for a job well done, and that feeling can fight with your weight-loss intentions. In fact, the harder your workout is, the bigger you may think your compensation should be, says Timothy Church, M.D., Ph.D., director of the laboratory of preventive medicine at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center at Louisiana State University. “When men endure a tough, hourlong workout or push through a 7-mile run, they feel a need to celebrate,” he says. “But a good workout is not carte blanche to eat whatever you want.”

The solution: Don’t rely on your willpower to deny yourself a well-earned treat. Instead, use it to ensure that your reward doesn’t outweigh the workout (literally). “Do the math: If you burned off 700 calories, keep your food intake to less than that,” says Dr. Church. It’s a pat on the back that doesn’t wipe out your hard work. Or go with a nonfood reward: Buy yourself an iTunes download every time you work out, or treat yourself to basketball tickets when you rack up 10 training sessions.

Head on over to the link for the rest of their tips to keep from eating so damn much.