Food is not a reward

Just 'cause Sam worked out doesn't mean he needs that pancake piece

Yesterday (second day using MyFitnessPal app):

"Oh sweet, I burned like 850 calories on my run. I'm gonna have some ice cream! Yeah!"

Today:

"Why is MyFitnessPal saying I burned 300 less calories on today's run even though I ran FASTER during the same amount of time?"

...

10 mph and 10 minute miles are not the same thing. Right.. fixing entry now and.. yes, yes, I should not have had the ice cream.

Lesson learned:

Don't use working out as an excuse to eat food that you know isn't good for you (even if you never overestimate the calories you burn while working out). I obviously need to overcome this food = reward mentality too. If I hadn't made that entry error, I would have just skipped the ice cream, which means that I didn't actually need it. 

No one ever needs ice cream. 

For the record, I hate calorie counting, but I do believe that what gets measured gets done. I try not to pay attention to the exact numbers, but I do log my food, exercise, and weight to keep motivated to make healthy choices and get to the gym. My 10 mph vs. 10 minute mile snafu was a great reminder of how not to use trackers to justify a different poor behavior to fill my imaginary poor behavior quota for the day. 

Next time I'm faced with a calorie deficit that just happens to equal a hot fudge sundae, I'm going to make a point to remember WHY I'm working out and tracking my progress and eating clean. The point is to be a super healthy person. The point is not to toe the line to unhealthy.