Know the difference between balance, and eating whatever you want

Balance doesn’t mean going meal for meal or day for day with on plan/off plan choices. It doesn’t even mean taking a free meal every week or bi-weekly. Some people can do that and still progress nicely, if that is you then great! If it isn’t you, you’re not alone. So where is balance for the majority? It is in timing. You have to accept the reality that there is a time to keep your diet tight day in and day out for long periods of time, and there is a time to relax a little and not worry about not making any progress. These are maintenance phases. Sometimes they last for several months and sometimes they are only a bi-weekly or two. A vacation or a string of holidays. These are times to relax on occasion. Tuesday night happy hour? Not so much. 

There is something that has to be said about balance. Eating whatever you want when you have a fitness goal is not balance. Balance is only achieved when there is something opposite and opposing on the other end of the scale. 

That means that you have to work hard in order to play. While it is fun to have treats in the name of balance, try and keep in mind what is on the other end of the scale and what you stand to lose if that scale gets tipped too far in the opposite direction of your goals.