Fit versus Fat

I've always been under the (perhaps mistaken) impression that I could eat pretty much whatever I wanted if I was doing enough exercise to cancel it out. I have now learnt that this is most definitely not the case! Even if it was, it would take a hell of a lot of physical activity to burn off my current calorie intake. Anyhow, my attitude towards food/weight loss has also taken a massive u-turn. I wish I could pretend I've suddenly decided that the quest for skinniness has no place in my life however, unfortunately, it's more a case of having fallen off the bandwagon so hard I don't quite know how to get back on.

Training (I use that term loosely) for the half marathon has also had an impact on my eating habits. I'm starting to view this as something I have to do well, a bit like studying for an important exam (that's a lie, I was never this committed to my degree!), and am therefore prioritising it ever so slightly over other areas of my life. Don't get me wrong, I'm no fitness freak (this will be illustrated on the 27th March when I stagger across the finish line about an hour after everyone else!) and I'd never choose running over social interaction on a regular basis, however I've definitely put my new hobby above watching what I eat. I'm unlikely to even be exercising enough to justify eating more however running definitely works up an appetite (perhaps it's because I spend the majority of the session thinking about what I'll have for dinner but that's besides the point). I know you can increase your calorie intake healthily however I think I find it difficult to be disciplined in two areas of my life so one of them had to go! In other words, if I'm going to force myself to run alone on a cold February's night then I bloody well will enjoy overindulging in the chocolate throughout the day!

I know in the grand scheme of things this shouldn't really matter. I'm not unhealthily overweight (I don't think...) and I'm probably the fittest I've been in a long while, however being such a shorty it's easy to look a bit on the chubby side. I also miss how eating healthily made me feel (the sense of smugness as I reached for an apple as opposed to a chocolate bar is a distant memory!). I guess it's all about achieving some kind of balance, which is pretty tough when you're more of an 'all or nothing' kind of person. Unfortunately at the moment this has taken on the meaning of 'all of the biscuits and none of the self control!' Bring on the running I say, surely it has to at least count towards balancing out my shameful diet?