EXERCISING DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN EAT UNHEALTHY!!

bregrig

I have been asked this question over and over again from clients 'Can I eat what I want now that I am exercising and burning it off?' You all know this is wrong... but I want to shed light on why it is... and why I have found myself on this site because of this exact thinking.

From personal experience, I love exercising. I feel powerful and strong and like pushing my body to it's limits. It is fun and exhilarating. But I also love eating. And when I used to have a hard workout, I often feel like I can eat whatever I want because 'hey, I burning the calories so I can be more slack with my food!'

But I was wrong. Four years ago I decided to train for and run a marathon. I had been in excellent shape at that point, running 6 miles daily with regular boxing and weight training workouts. I also was very VERY strict with what I was putting in my mouth, only allowing myself unhealthy items 5-10% of the time. I weighed 131 pounds when I started training for the marathon. 5 months later on the day of the race, I weighed 170 pounds. I had GAINED 40 pounds in 5 months from eating whatever I wanted. I dumbly thought that 'wow, I am running 40+ miles a week, I must be burning a ton of calories so yay pizza!!'

To put this into perspective, someone that is around 150 pounds burns about roughly 300-350 calories in 30 minutes of running (10 min/mile). In a large slice of cheese pizza there is about the same amount of calories. It takes me maybe 5-10 minutes to eat a slice of pizza. Right there takes away your exercise deficit. It is SO EASY to overeat when we regularly workout because a) we think we burn more calories during our workouts than we actually do and b) we are hungrier when we are more active! at least I am

Just remember that abs are built in the kitchen exercise is only 20% of weight loss... it is actually monitoring what we put in our bellys that we will see the best results, and especially not negative results! Regular exercise is not an excuse for poor eating (what I have done my whole life). Is this something you all struggle with? Let's conquer the hunger with nutritious foods and see amazing results from our hard-earned workouts!!

Showcase_Brodown

Well, "unhealthy" is a pretty loose term, but I understand what you mean. It's very easy to negate the hard work by letting yourself eat whatever you want with the false idea that you've burnt off all those extra calories.

I've head it said many times that it's easy to out-eat your exercise routine, but it's impossible to under-exercise a proper calorie intake. Attention to Calorie intake is undoubtedly the thing that makes the biggest difference.

RGv2

Calories In ---- Calories Out.....

bregrig

Well, "unhealthy" is a pretty loose term, but I understand what you mean. It's very easy to negate the hard work by letting yourself eat whatever you want with the false idea that you've burnt off all those extra calories.

I've head it said many times that it's easy to out-eat your exercise routine, but it's impossible to under-exercise a proper calorie intake. Attention to Calorie intake is undoubtedly the thing that makes the biggest difference.

Sooo true, and that is a great way of putting it: it's impossible to under-exercise a proper calorie intake. Thanks for your input!

_Zardoz_

What's Healthy? Its a pretty random and subjective term. To LCHF people lots of fat is healthy to me it's not. You didn't put your weight on because of 'unhealthy foods' you put your weight on because of too many calories of the foods you were eating if you classed them as healthy or not.

manicautumn

I've lost weight eating a ton of "unhealthy" food and walking for exercise.

It's not necessarily about eating "unhealthy", it's about making sure your calories are still in line.

lemur_lady

10 mins to eat a single slice of pizza? I must inhale mine then :laugh:

I get what you are saying but I do burn cals so I can have treats. I am honest enough with myself now to know I am going to eat 'bad' stuff whether I think I should or not. I have extremely low self control around food. If ive had a stressful day the fact that I am alrady at my calorie goal wont stop me from reaching for the comfort food. To make sure I can still lose weight and not go insane by cutting those foods out I exercise to allow myself to continue eating them.

I dont go overboard with the exercise or the food. I tend to workout 3-4 times a week, burning maybe 200-300 cals a time. Not massive amounts. But it allows me the leeway to fit in the treats I like. If I didnt do it then I doubt id still be here with my ticker reading 102lbs loss.

bregrig

What's Healthy? Its a pretty random and subjective term. To LCHF people lots of fat is healthy to me it's not. You didn't put your weight on because of 'unhealthy foods' you put your weight on because of too many calories of the foods you were eating if you classed them as healthy or not.

You are right, though 'unhealthy' foods have so many more calories than 'healthy' foods. Even 'healthy' foods such as nuts and nut butters, some lean proteins, avocado etc have a lot of calories in a small serving. For me, because I have a food addiction, I couldn't allow myself just one slice of pizza or one scoop of ice during this time. Since I was being super (almost overly) strict before marathon training, once I allowed myself just a nibble of my 'forbidden' foods I binged because I hadn't quite acquired moderation skills. Just a thought, and thanks for clarifying

bregrig

10 mins to eat a single slice of pizza? I must inhale mine then :laugh:

I get what you are saying but I do burn cals so I can have treats. I am honest enough with myself now to know I am going to eat 'bad' stuff whether I think I should or not. I have extremely low self control around food. If ive had a stressful day the fact that I am alrady at my calorie goal wont stop me from reaching for the comfort food. To make sure I can still lose weight and not go insane by cutting those foods out I exercise to allow myself to continue eating them.

I dont go overboard with the exercise or the food. I tend to workout 3-4 times a week, burning maybe 200-300 cals a time. Not massive amounts. But it allows me the leeway to fit in the treats I like. If I didnt do it then I doubt id still be here with my ticker reading 102lbs loss.

That's really inspiring and great insight! I do see your point with allowing some treats and exercising to allow those treats, it just has to be in moderation... I still struggle with that term

GiddieGrl

I too had to chuckle and think to myself.... 10 mins to eat a single slice of pizza?

bregrig

I too had to chuckle and think to myself.... 10 mins to eat a single slice of pizza?

haha in New York slices were as big as my arm!

usmcmp

What do you define as eating "unhealthy" because that's pretty broad. If you meant someone not eating vegetables, fruit and lean meats I would agree.

I maintain weight (as a female) on 2600 calories a day before adding in any cardio. Pretty sure eating half a pizza is okay for me. Granted I will turn around and eat fruits, vegetables and lean meats to fill my macros and micros. Moderation means different things for different people. When I'm cutting for a bodybuilding competition I can't afford to eat half a pizza and make it fit my macros/micros.

Exercise (more specifically lifting) is the reason I can eat half a pizza for dinner. If it wasn't for lifting I would be stuck on 1900 calories.

felonebeats

You can't out train a bad diet

bregrig

What do you define as eating "unhealthy" because that's pretty broad. If you meant someone not eating vegetables, fruit and lean meats I would agree.

I maintain weight (as a female) on 2600 calories a day before adding in any cardio. Pretty sure eating half a pizza is okay for me. Granted I will turn around and eat fruits, vegetables and lean meats to fill my macros and micros. Moderation means different things for different people. When I'm cutting for a bodybuilding competition I can't afford to eat half a pizza and make it fit my macros/micros.

Exercise (more specifically lifting) is the reason I can eat half a pizza for dinner. If it wasn't for lifting I would be stuck on 1900 calories.

That is an amazing maintaince caloric number! How many hours/days a week do you weight train if you don't mind me asking? I think it is safe to say most people can't eat half a pizza and still fit in their micros and macros, but it is awesome that you have gotten your calorie intake so high and not gain fat due to strength training. And I should have clarified eating unhealthy to me was just stuffing myself with whatever I wanted until I was uncomfortably full.

Jacwhite22

... stuffing myself ... until I was uncomfortably full.

In.......because I am really just a 10 year old boy at heart.....

SharonCMach

So true, thanks for this post. I'v been making this mistake alot lately and it's time for me to get back on track before I start gaining weight.

usmcmp

What do you define as eating "unhealthy" because that's pretty broad. If you meant someone not eating vegetables, fruit and lean meats I would agree.

I maintain weight (as a female) on 2600 calories a day before adding in any cardio. Pretty sure eating half a pizza is okay for me. Granted I will turn around and eat fruits, vegetables and lean meats to fill my macros and micros. Moderation means different things for different people. When I'm cutting for a bodybuilding competition I can't afford to eat half a pizza and make it fit my macros/micros.

Exercise (more specifically lifting) is the reason I can eat half a pizza for dinner. If it wasn't for lifting I would be stuck on 1900 calories.

That is an amazing maintaince caloric number! How many hours/days a week do you weight train if you don't mind me asking? I think it is safe to say most people can't eat half a pizza and still fit in their micros and macros, but it is awesome that you have gotten your calorie intake so high and not gain fat due to strength training. And I should have clarified eating unhealthy to me was just stuffing myself with whatever I wanted until I was uncomfortably full.

I've been a binge eater for a long time. It's easier to control now.

I used to lift (and prefer lifting) 5 days a week. I'm currently lifting 4 days a week. It took two years of very hard work (and lots of eating) to get to this point. I give credit to my trainer for a full year of pushing me harder than I usually push myself.

RllyGudTweetr

You can't out train a bad diet

Reasonably sure there are several regulars of MFP who are living proof this is wrong. . . but it probably depends on what you're calling 'a bad diet.'

litsy3

I had been in excellent shape at that point, running 6 miles daily with regular boxing and weight training workouts. I also was very VERY strict with what I was putting in my mouth, only allowing myself unhealthy items 5-10% of the time. [...] I dumbly thought that 'wow, I am running 40+ miles a week, I must be burning a ton of calories so yay pizza!!'

Hang on, if you were running 6 miles a day before that's already 42 miles a week. If your marathon training wasn't actually that much more (how much is the + in '40+ miles'?) it's not surprising eating loads more food made you gain weight!

dwh77tx

Were your clothes getting tight? Your story is also why I stopped distance running. I did a 1/2 marathon in March, and I gained a couple pounds during the 9 months I trained for it. I didn't give myself a "license" to eat whatever, but the fuel I needed to do my training runs, and the ravenous hunger I got from running made me eat more. No more running for me, I prefer HIIT and cross training with weights.

bregrig

I had been in excellent shape at that point, running 6 miles daily with regular boxing and weight training workouts. I also was very VERY strict with what I was putting in my mouth, only allowing myself unhealthy items 5-10% of the time. [...] I dumbly thought that 'wow, I am running 40+ miles a week, I must be burning a ton of calories so yay pizza!!'

Hang on, if you were running 6 miles a day before that's already 42 miles a week. If your marathon training wasn't actually that much more (how much is the + in '40+ miles'?) it's not surprising eating loads more food made you gain weight!

True! The plan I followed had me running my long run on the weekends and then having two off days or crosstrain days, 2 sprint days, and 2 Fartlek running or tempo running for 3-6 miles. I would step away from my 15 mile or 20 mile run on Saturdays and be like ok, now I can eat whatever I want for the next week because I just burned hella calories! But of course, when you broke it down, it wasn't much more running... it just seemed like it when a lot of the running was put into a couple of days.

bregrig

Were your clothes getting tight? Your story is also why I stopped distance running. I did a 1/2 marathon in March, and I gained a couple pounds during the 9 months I trained for it. I didn't give myself a "license" to eat whatever, but the fuel I needed to do my training runs, and the ravenous hunger I got from running made me eat more. No more running for me, I prefer HIIT and cross training with weights.

I so agree with you on this. Anaerobic workouts seem to burn more fat on my body than long distance running.

PikaKnight

Ummm...what? What are you defining as unhealthy?

AND WHY ARE WE YELLING?


ETA: And exercise is for fitness. If you are concentrating on losing weight, then you should be focused on eating less than your maintenance.

nomorebingesgirl2014

Bump

Valrotha

So true. I keep hearing the same numbers over and over from folks who know what they're talking about.

80% of the fight is diet based and 20% exercise based.

segovm

I exercise to eat unhealthy every day. I plan my bike rides to fast food joints so I can grub up along the way. It probably isn't ideal for someone with your goals in life but for me it works. Don't really see the point of getting all healthy and living forever if I can't enjoy the glutenous pleasures of life at least occasionally.

apriltrainer

I no longer run AT all. But when I ran a marathon in 2010.. I gained 20 lbs. I found that when I ran a half marathon I didn't gain. I also thought I could eat whatever I wanted when I ran a marathon, wrong. I did and well, I think the reason I didn't gain with the half marathon is because I wasn't so darn hungry after my long runs..I'd end my marathon training sessions with breakfasts at Ihop, all you can eat burgers....etc.

I also ran with a group for the marathon so there were alot of social events. When I trained solo for the half my weight came off. I ,didn't end my half marathon training sessions with bagels or pizza or beer and burgers every run. Anyways..I learned my lesson. I also learned,aside from eating healthy even when doing marathons.. that shorter workouts were better for hunger control than long ones and helped me eat better.

bregrig

Ummm...what? What are you defining as unhealthy?

AND WHY ARE WE YELLING?


ETA: And exercise is for fitness. If you are concentrating on losing weight, then you should be focused on eating less than your maintenance.

Haha apologies for the caps. And I should've clarified unhealthy as being eating whatever you want with no concept of caloric intake. My b! And exercise isn't just for fitness.. paired with diet is great for weight loss. Weight training boosts metabolic rate and allows for aided fat loss. Intaking less calories and not using exercising as an excuse to eat whatever you want was the point I was kind of trying to make with the post. Thanks for the feedback!

eternalsepicsanctuary

I agree... exercising does not mean you can eat unhealthy. I mean you can and you can still lose weight or maintain if you have same amount of cal intake and it's appropriate but think what it does to your body! if you read on all the nutritious values on good food and eating right. Now look at eating crap.. what are you depriving from your body and how does your body keep stamina and in great shape Depleted! sure we can all not drink water and drink other things juice and tonic all day long.. but read about what water does for you. It's about Health not about skinny!!!!!!!!!!! of course, I think most of us aim for both but some end up consumed on getting skinny kick and then some even end up not healthy! so if you gonna go for one thing go for health and skinny will come along with it. I don't eat perfect first 2 monthes I think I did awesome! but lately not so good... but I still whether good or bad not think so much on skinny how I think how my body is not oiled up and working at it's max. I also notice some foods are not as good tasting after I've trained myself to hold back and learn about food and the body.. or maybe my taste buds are changing more. Some foods have tons of salt and sugar when I was eating that ALL THE TIME I never really noticed HOW MUCH. Guys healthy is the new skinny.

PikaKnight

I agree... exercising does not mean you can eat unhealthy. I mean you can and you can still lose weight or maintain if you have same amount of cal intake and it's appropriate but think what it does to your body! if you read on all the nutritious values on good food and eating right. Now look at eating crap.. what are you depriving from your body and how does your body keep stamina and in great shape Depleted! sure we can all not drink water and drink other things juice and tonic all day long.. but read about what water does for you. It's about Health not about skinny!!!!!!!!!!! of course, I think most of us aim for both but some end up consumed on getting skinny kick and then some even end up not healthy! so if you gonna go for one thing go for health and skinny will come along with it. I don't eat perfect first 2 monthes I think I did awesome! but lately not so good... but I still whether good or bad not think so much on skinny how I think how my body is not oiled up and working at it's max. I also notice some foods are not as good tasting after I've trained myself to hold back and learn about food and the body.. or maybe my taste buds are changing more. Some foods have tons of salt and sugar when I was eating that ALL THE TIME I never really noticed HOW MUCH. Guys healthy is the new skinny.

If you are eating crap, I'd suggest getting some professional help. I hope no one is eating crap.

Jelaan

But I really shouldn't have eaten that half a bag of twizzlers when I got in from work, but I was tired and depressed and it seemed like a good idea. Usually eat healthily and followed my macros with treats allowed and feel so much better.