I published a post over a year ago in response to a discussion we were having in one of my online nutrition classes. I noticed that it was in my recently popular posts, so I decided to check it out (and to add a “featured photo” so it would show up in my sidebar…the joys of switching from Blogger to WordPress!). While I shared a few different responses about the nutrition/exercise discussion, one topic stuck out to me: exercising to compensate for bad eating habits.
Maybe it’s because it drives me nuts when people obsess over calories.
Maybe it’s because some lady at work complained about the number of carbs in her smoothie (from fruit!! gah!!).
Maybe it’s because I know you can’t undo eating with exercise (you ate the cookie, it’s in your body, running will not make it disappear).
I thought I’d bring the topic back into discussion since we are in the midst of New Years Resolutions. Many of which usually concern weight loss.
If your goal is to lose some weight this year, great! Just pretty please do this in a healthy way!
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There are a lot of people who try to use the excuse that being “healthy” has to do with body weight and the way that we look on the outside.
If this were true, there would be no need to pay attention to macro-nutrients, vitamins or minerals at all. There really wouldn’t even be much of a need for Dietitians since the simple solution to losing weight would be reducing calories eaten and/or exercising more. We know this is not the case, therefore health isn’t a simple calorie equation.
In order to live a healthy life, we need balance.
We need to consume and adequate amount of whole grains, vegetables, fruits, small amounts of meats and dairy products to get the energy we need to live, as well as to obtain the vitamins and minerals that help our body to function properly. We also need to participate in activities that elevate our heart rate at least 150 minutes per week for cardiovascular health as well as strength training 2 or 3 times per week to develop and maintain healthy muscles and bones. [It’s also okay to have a cookie every now and then!]
Those who eat junk all the time and try to “burn it off” at the gym are simply fooling themselves.
One example is the phenomenon where an elite athlete or a marathoner actually dies from a heart attack or serious organ failure because although they looked healthy from the outside, they were not fueling their body properly and that lifestyle took it’s toll. If a normal person tries to simply balance their calories by working out at the gym they might find that they get sick easier or often feel very tired or even bloated all the time, because the food we eat really does matter.
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I just want to stress again that it’s not all about calories! It’s about fueling your body and exercising to improve cardiovascular and muscular strength. If you strike the right balance, I promise that your body will fall into its natural shape aka it’s happy shape (another discussion there). Go to the gym to get stronger, not skinnier!
Okay that’s the end of my rant. For now.
Tell me…
Are you guilty of exercising to burn off food you ate? To be honest, it is tempting with the fitbit I just got for Christmas!
Linking up to:
Thinking Out Loud with Amanda at Running with Spoons
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I think that I was guilty of it earlier… To count each calorie and to burn twice more? It is guilty. Thus that I ate about 500 calories in day (if felt courageous). Bad days. To that I honestly considered that calories from candy and a calorie from apple – one and too. How silly I was? I am sorry about those days because they turned me into constantly angry, upset girl. On the other hand, with such experience I already know that should be avoided in the future… So now I train for myself and I try to load the body healthy food… With chocolate segments in the evenings 😉
Calorie counting can be an addicting and detrimental thing! I’m so glad you got over it!!
And yes, when I’m hungry, I’m super grumpy and short-fused!
Love this post! And I loved it the first time too. Just had this discussion with a friend who keeps sending me his crazy workouts. I do about half (or less) of the reps that he does and I get more out of it because I don’t eat like a moron.
haha I giggle at the phrase “eat like a moron.”
PS Noticing a LOT of really nice graphics on your blog lately. I keep meaning to tell you to check out SkillShare. You’ve been improving a lot on your own, but I know that SkillShare has some basic design classes (for $20 or less). McAD has them too, but I think they’re $300+. However, McAD would be one-on-one with an actual design instructor in person, so that could be good.
Ahh I love getting design compliments from you!! Seriously they make my day! Had to check out what McAD meant haha but either would be awesome! Still have to figure out what the heck I’m doing with school…it’s on my list haha.
I’m going to guess you LOVE those “you ate it now negate it articles” in all of those “healthy” magazines, huh? HA! Me too… 😉
haha I scoffed at first, but in Shape magazine it says “you don’t have to negate everything you eat, but just to give you an idea…” or something like that. So now I don’t HATE it. 😉
Definitely used to be guilty of the ‘burning-off-the-cookie’ mentality. I thought I had a healthy relationship with food because I’d let myself eat treats, but the catch was that I’d -only- indulge if I knew I could work it off later. It’s a mindset that I’m happy to have left behind. And the ‘calorie is a calorie’ idea is another thing that I wish people would get rid of as well. I’m all for enjoying treats, but I definitely notice that I feel better when I eat them occasionally and load up with mostly whole foods.
I am so happy you got over that too! It’s pretty easy to slide into tracking calories/burning them off, but I try to focus more on my servings of fruits and veggies each day. 🙂
This is why I’m not losing weight as quickly as I could. And I know it, and you are so right!
I used to exercise in college to work off all of the weekend drinking and late night eating– now I exercise just to be healthy! Thanks for you kind words on Sarah’s blog by the way!
Yeah I think we’ve all done it! 🙂
Thanks for being an awesome blogger! 🙂
Exercise is there to help with weight loss & to improve your fitness, to tone etc. 80% food 20% exercise
Yes, it can definitely help with weight loss. My point was that it’s not all about calories in, calories out. We still need certain nutrients every day. 🙂
I’ve done this – of course. But I am HUGE believer in balance… I love that you stress that it is about being healthy not skinny – they are two different things that can go together.
Exactly! Usually by trying to get healthier you get “skinnier” but I think health should be more important. 🙂
I definitely used to do this, but lately I’ve been trying to focus on the energy and stress relief aspects of exercise. It’s working!
That is a great way to look at it! Exercise has so many great benefits besides weight loss and calorie canceling!!