EXERCISING DOESN'T MEAN YOU CAN EAT UNHEALTHY!!
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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
Neither pizza nor ice cream are unhealthy. Eating them at a reasonable amount does not make you ill, modify blood markers or so how reduce life expectancy. The fact that you could not control the amount, suggests that you need to work on your mental relationship with food and the cause for overeating but not that these foods are intrinsically unhealthy. I eat about half a small pizza for dinner every two or three weeks - not unhealthy.
Plus,I would suggest you stop using "I have a food addiction" it somehow sounds like you are empowering an external force for the lack of moderation - it's not me, it's the addiction. If it's an addiction take methadone or see addiction counseling, otherwise it's your responsibility to manage. "I have difficulty moderating with certain foods" shows a more responsible, self-reliant attitude. And yes, I personally have difficulty moderating with certain foods (especially if I skip meals, cut too much or don't get enough sleep).0 -
Life is too short to always worry about what you eat. I get where you're coming from but life revolves around food. Now that doesn't mean you need to eat an entire pizza or eat 10 candy bars a day but you should enjoy the things you love. I've kept this weight off for several years now and I do so by eating well 6 days a week with Saturday as my off day. By that I mean I eat what I want, how much I want and I don't log calories although I do still workout. I'm a marathoner, off and on cross fitter, cyclist, I'm 45 and incredibly fit. I actually had this conversation last Saturday on a 40 mile bike ride. My friend and I talked about food and the part it plays in our lives. We know people who worry TOO much about what they eat and people who don't worry enough about what they eat. There is a happy medium and for me personally I've found it 0
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I agree... bump to read more fully later0
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Pizza gets such a bad rap. Send all your pizzas to me,I shall dispose of them properly.0
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If you don't eat the right amount of calories even while exercising you won't lose weight. Why would anyone want to waste all that hard work by eating the wrong amount.0
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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.
This 100%. I've been maintaining on whatever I want to eat at about the same calorie amount or more for the past month with no exercise at all (I'm recovering from surgery). I've been hitting my macros and micros while eating foods you would term unhealthy. We all just need to find our own balance and figure out what's healthy for us (both what we physically put in our mouths AND how we relate to it mentally) without making blanket statements meant for everyone.0 -
All relative.... Calories in vs calories out.... I've lost weight exercising and eating strickly 'healthy' foods, I've gained weight eating 'healthy' foods by not exercising enough. I've also lost weight by exercising and eating whatever I wanted, as well as gaining wieght by eating whatever I want but not exercising....
Sure the healthy options make sense, but for me I've found the journey to be more successful by allowing myself to eat whatever I want and not deprive myself of the foods I enjoy. I just treat it as a reward.
MODERATION...... Calories in vs Calories out....
Slinking back to my corner to lurk some more.....0 -
mind blowing huhSo, what I took away from reading that is you ate more than you burned because you weren't keeping track of what you were eating.
What you said doesn't match your title. It's not about eating healthy or unhealthy. It's about eating too many calories overall.
Yep what this title should read
EXERCISING DOESN'T MEAN YOU DON'T HAVE TO TRACK YOUR CALORIES!!0 -
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Haha ahhh yes. Didn't think this would lead into such a debate. Thanks for the feedback, sorry for wording the title incorrectly, etc etc etc.
This post is from my personal experience as what I encounter with the majority of my clients. Not everyone is exercising hours a day or training for events or even cares to know about macros and micros like we fitness fanatics. The average person just struggles to get off the couch and into the gym and has dozens of pounds to lose and for MOST people that does not come by exercising for 30 minutes a day (what is recommended and done by a lot of beginners) and then going home and being slack with the amount of calories they consume for the rest of the day. That is the reason the AVERAGE client I have trained do not see weight loss because they make excuses with their food intake; as I have said, I have been one of them in the past and still struggle with excuses. MOST people cannot eat whatever they want because it can equal thousands of calories in a day when they are perhaps just doing the recommended exercise.
I never said to not eat what you want in moderation (again, I AM SORRY FOR THE WORDING OF MY TITLE). I clearly state in my post that when I was healthy and fit I was eating what I wanted 5-10% of the time (cheat meal once a week, usually pizza or tempura sushi). So before I read something else that seems to be misunderstanding what I posted, I NEVER said to not enjoy yourselves, MOST of this population is overweight due to over consumption of calories and no activity so clearly I am not reaching out to those that ARE marathoners or triathletes and counts your macros and micros and are in competitions (btw kudos to you guys because that takes a lot of work and discipline) because generally your metabolisms ARE higher than the general American who sits at their desk for 8 hours and then comes home and watches TV with their family and overeats snacks at night and does not FEEL like being active. Because THOSE are the people I get in my gym as clients and they struggle with justifying eating hundreds of more calories a DAY (not just a cheat meal or occasional indulgence) because they are exercising 30-45 minutes a day 5x a week.
Hopefully that clears things up. I am not making blanket terms, it is just what I see in my profession.
Also, I will continue to say I have a food addiction rather than 'I struggle with moderation' because I have used food for comfort, happiness, out of boredom, etc etc. I have had counseling for it plus have specific goals I work on with people close to me to overcome that addiction. Many people have addictions to food and the way it makes them feel during that initial binge. I am ashamed of it but am slowly overcoming it... not going to apologize for opening up about that.0 -
and this... yes! love it.0 -
Bump to read later0
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I THINK MAYBE IT WAS IN REFERENCE TO YOU
and this... yes! love it.0 -
I THINK MAYBE IT WAS IN REFERENCE TO YOU
and this... yes! love it.
Yes, I think I got that, thanks 0 -
Haha ahhh yes. Didn't think this would lead into such a debate. Thanks for the feedback, sorry for wording the title incorrectly, etc etc etc.
This post is from my personal experience as what I encounter with the majority of my clients. Not everyone is exercising hours a day or training for events or even cares to know about macros and micros like we fitness fanatics. The average person just struggles to get off the couch and into the gym and has dozens of pounds to lose and for MOST people that does not come by exercising for 30 minutes a day (what is recommended and done by a lot of beginners) and then going home and being slack with the amount of calories they consume for the rest of the day. That is the reason the AVERAGE client I have trained do not see weight loss because they make excuses with their food intake; as I have said, I have been one of them in the past and still struggle with excuses. MOST people cannot eat whatever they want because it can equal thousands of calories in a day when they are perhaps just doing the recommended exercise.
I never said to not eat what you want in moderation (again, I AM SORRY FOR THE WORDING OF MY TITLE). I clearly state in my post that when I was healthy and fit I was eating what I wanted 5-10% of the time (cheat meal once a week, usually pizza or tempura sushi). So before I read something else that seems to be misunderstanding what I posted, I NEVER said to not enjoy yourselves, MOST of this population is overweight due to over consumption of calories and no activity so clearly I am not reaching out to those that ARE marathoners or triathletes and counts your macros and micros and are in competitions (btw kudos to you guys because that takes a lot of work and discipline) because generally your metabolisms ARE higher than the general American who sits at their desk for 8 hours and then comes home and watches TV with their family and overeats snacks at night and does not FEEL like being active. Because THOSE are the people I get in my gym as clients and they struggle with justifying eating hundreds of more calories a DAY (not just a cheat meal or occasional indulgence) because they are exercising 30-45 minutes a day 5x a week.
Hopefully that clears things up. I am not making blanket terms, it is just what I see in my profession.
Also, I will continue to say I have a food addiction rather than 'I struggle with moderation' because I have used food for comfort, happiness, out of boredom, etc etc. I have had counseling for it plus have specific goals I work on with people close to me to overcome that addiction. Many people have addictions to food and the way it makes them feel during that initial binge. I am ashamed of it but am slowly overcoming it... not going to apologize for opening up about that.
You don't have to be sorry for sharing what you feel What it really is about is balance. People seem to struggle with finding a good balance of exercise, diet and life in general. I'm lucky in that I seem to have found that balance and have been able to stick with it for years. I understand food addictions, I had one and I am not immune to my own week moments. The majority of us use food for comfort because like I said, our lives revolve around food. When we celebrate, we eat, when we mourn, we eat, when we get together with family....we eat :happy: I don't think there is one perfect answer because everyone is different. What works for me might not work for you because we are not the same. What we can do is say here is what we do, how we do it and hope it helps people start their own journey. 0 -
You don't have to be sorry for sharing what you feel What it really is about is balance. People seem to struggle with finding a good balance of exercise, diet and life in general. I'm lucky in that I seem to have found that balance and have been able to stick with it for years. I understand food addictions, I had one and I am not immune to my own week moments. The majority of us use food for comfort because like I said, our lives revolve around food. When we celebrate, we eat, when we mourn, we eat, when we get together with family....we eat :happy: I don't think there is one perfect answer because everyone is different. What works for me might not work for you because we are not the same. What we can do is say here is what we do, how we do it and hope it helps people start their own journey.
You are so right! Everyone has a different journey and what works for some doesn't work for others. And that is awesome you have lost over 100 pounds! wow!0 -
Haha ahhh yes. Didn't think this would lead into such a debate. Thanks for the feedback, sorry for wording the title incorrectly, etc etc etc.
This post is from my personal experience as what I encounter with the majority of my clients. Not everyone is exercising hours a day or training for events or even cares to know about macros and micros like we fitness fanatics. The average person just struggles to get off the couch and into the gym and has dozens of pounds to lose and for MOST people that does not come by exercising for 30 minutes a day (what is recommended and done by a lot of beginners) and then going home and being slack with the amount of calories they consume for the rest of the day. That is the reason the AVERAGE client I have trained do not see weight loss because they make excuses with their food intake; as I have said, I have been one of them in the past and still struggle with excuses. MOST people cannot eat whatever they want because it can equal thousands of calories in a day when they are perhaps just doing the recommended exercise.
I never said to not eat what you want in moderation (again, I AM SORRY FOR THE WORDING OF MY TITLE). I clearly state in my post that when I was healthy and fit I was eating what I wanted 5-10% of the time (cheat meal once a week, usually pizza or tempura sushi). So before I read something else that seems to be misunderstanding what I posted, I NEVER said to not enjoy yourselves, MOST of this population is overweight due to over consumption of calories and no activity so clearly I am not reaching out to those that ARE marathoners or triathletes and counts your macros and micros and are in competitions (btw kudos to you guys because that takes a lot of work and discipline) because generally your metabolisms ARE higher than the general American who sits at their desk for 8 hours and then comes home and watches TV with their family and overeats snacks at night and does not FEEL like being active. Because THOSE are the people I get in my gym as clients and they struggle with justifying eating hundreds of more calories a DAY (not just a cheat meal or occasional indulgence) because they are exercising 30-45 minutes a day 5x a week.
Hopefully that clears things up. I am not making blanket terms, it is just what I see in my profession.
Also, I will continue to say I have a food addiction rather than 'I struggle with moderation' because I have used food for comfort, happiness, out of boredom, etc etc. I have had counseling for it plus have specific goals I work on with people close to me to overcome that addiction. Many people have addictions to food and the way it makes them feel during that initial binge. I am ashamed of it but am slowly overcoming it... not going to apologize for opening up about that.
I think that most of us here get what you're trying to say despite the title. What you should have done was reach out to the average person who isn't counting calories and macros. Continue to do what you do with your clients and encourage them to try to count their calories, even if it's temporary, just so they can see where they're at and what they can do if they're not losing weight even though they workout. :flowerforyou:0 -
its really quite simple...you can't out-train a bad diet. What you eat/drink is super important for fat loss. Exercise is more important for overall cardio health and body composition. They work together, to some degree, for fat loss...but if you don't have the nutrition figured out, you're not going to lose weight.
I love Craig Ballantyne's diet vs. exercise videos for a clear, somewhat humorous demonstration of this concept:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dY8THxAHs7M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paiTcS6iZVAhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=paiTcS6iZVA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y03iHo4DGdU 0 -
Wrong. You CAN eat unhealthy foods (in moderation) as long as you are eating at maintenance.
A better title for this thread would have been: "Exercising doesn't mean you still shouldn't track your calories".0 -
"Healthy" = nutrient dense
"Unhealthy" = delicious
Is this what you really mean?0 -
Can I just...can someone PLEASE just bring me some pizzas??? I live in a teeny, tiny town. NO pizza joints. NO PIZZA. Crickey. Now I want pizza.
<
Me. When I eat pizza.0 -
Wrong. You CAN eat unhealthy foods (in moderation) as long as you are eating at maintenance.
A better title for this thread would have been: "Exercising doesn't mean you still shouldn't track your calories".
yes exactly what I meant, title was wrong0 -
Since nutrient density and unprocessedness determines healthiness of what we eat, and broccoli is a very nutrient dense food with minimal processing, I'm going to start eating 2000 calories of broccoli every day for maximum health.
Brilliant!
I'll report back in four months with my amazing success story.
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Hey Op, I know what you meant too..ignore the snarky comments.
I gained weight running a marathon because I ATE alot of unhealthy stuff but I also ate ALOT of healthy stuff. I just ate too darn much because "I earned it." Which..I did not.
After the marathon my appetite had not yet caught up(or shall i say dropped down to match) my lack of activity. I gained more weight after I ran a marathon. What was I going to do, sign up for yet another marathon to keep it off? Yup, that's exactly what I did. Eventually I saw the light because I got burnt out.
I am glad I went through that. I got to also learn, longer and more exercise doesn't always mean weight loss..it can mean a crazy out of control appetite. I do shorter sessions because my appetite will get out of control. And I refuse to be one of those people that uses exercising just for food.
What about training for performance goals? Not just using it for eating?
I now just mainly do ONE barbell lift 3 times a week(squat,op/bench, deadlift) and after I do my one barbell lift, I'll do kettlebells (usually kettlebell training is only 20 min sessions, 3 times a week) for conditioning. That' s it. And I now only train for performance goals and try to keep the eating part to maintain weight, the exercise to get better at competing in my sport(kettlebell sport). I try not to even think of exercising as burning calories. It's not for burning cals for me anymore. This way I don't get suckered into eating as much as I want just because I exercised today.
I train to get better at my lifts.... eating is SEPARATE for me.
I may eat more for additional energy but that's as far as it goes. I am not trying to lose, not trying to put mass on. I won't use exercise as an excuse to eat pizza. If I eat pizza..fine. I won't EVEN try to out exercise it. I eat it because I want it. Done. Move on. My training won't be used to punish myself ANd yes, I enjoy food..but I will enjoy my pizza or doughnuts without thinking I have to run it off, or in my case, kb snatch the weight off.
,
.0 -
Hey Op, I know what you meant too..ignore the snarky comments.
I gained weight running a marathon because I ATE alot of unhealthy stuff but I also ate ALOT of healthy stuff. I just ate too darn much because "I earned it." Which..I did not.
After the marathon my appetite had not yet caught up(or shall i say dropped down to match) my lack of activity. I gained more weight after I ran a marathon. What was I going to do, sign up for yet another marathon to keep it off? Yup, that's exactly what I did. Eventually I saw the light because I got burnt out.
I am glad I went through that. I got to also learn, longer and more exercise doesn't always mean weight loss..it can mean a crazy out of control appetite. I do shorter sessions because my appetite will get out of control. And I refuse to be one of those people that uses exercising just for food.
What about training for performance goals? Not just using it for eating?
I now just mainly do ONE barbell lift 3 times a week(squat,op/bench, deadlift) and after I do my one barbell lift, I'll do kettlebells (usually kettlebell training is only 20 min sessions, 3 times a week) for conditioning. That' s it. And I now only train for performance goals and try to keep the eating part to maintain weight, the exercise to get better at competing in my sport(kettlebell sport). I try not to even think of exercising as burning calories. It's not for burning cals for me anymore. This way I don't get suckered into eating as much as I want just because I exercised today.
I train to get better at my lifts.... eating is SEPARATE for me.
I may eat more for additional energy but that's as far as it goes. I am not trying to lose, not trying to put mass on. I won't use exercise as an excuse to eat pizza. If I eat pizza..fine. I won't EVEN try to out exercise it. I eat it because I want it. Done. Move on. My training won't be used to punish myself ANd yes, I enjoy food..but I will enjoy my pizza or doughnuts without thinking I have to run it off, or in my case, kb snatch the weight off.
,
.
what an insightful post!! honestly I rarely ever trained for performance, just to make up for the calories I ate and to also eat more. I love exercising but never had that focus or direction. I am going to start trying thinking of my workouts as performance and challenging myself and not associating it with food at all. Thank you for your advice, much appreciated0 -
Can I just...can someone PLEASE just bring me some pizzas??? I live in a teeny, tiny town. NO pizza joints. NO PIZZA. Crickey. Now I want pizza. <
Me. When I eat pizza.
I have extra Hawaiian leftover from supper tonight. Willing to share if you bring chocolate.
OT: OP would likely go Jillian Michaels on me if she saw my "unhealthy" diet.0 -
Hey Op, I know what you meant too..ignore the snarky comments.
I gained weight running a marathon because I ATE alot of unhealthy stuff but I also ate ALOT of healthy stuff. I just ate too darn much because "I earned it." Which..I did not.
After the marathon my appetite had not yet caught up(or shall i say dropped down to match) my lack of activity. I gained more weight after I ran a marathon. What was I going to do, sign up for yet another marathon to keep it off? Yup, that's exactly what I did. Eventually I saw the light because I got burnt out.
I am glad I went through that. I got to also learn, longer and more exercise doesn't always mean weight loss..it can mean a crazy out of control appetite. I do shorter sessions because my appetite will get out of control. And I refuse to be one of those people that uses exercising just for food.
What about training for performance goals? Not just using it for eating?
I now just mainly do ONE barbell lift 3 times a week(squat,op/bench, deadlift) and after I do my one barbell lift, I'll do kettlebells (usually kettlebell training is only 20 min sessions, 3 times a week) for conditioning. That' s it. And I now only train for performance goals and try to keep the eating part to maintain weight, the exercise to get better at competing in my sport(kettlebell sport). I try not to even think of exercising as burning calories. It's not for burning cals for me anymore. This way I don't get suckered into eating as much as I want just because I exercised today.
I train to get better at my lifts.... eating is SEPARATE for me.
I may eat more for additional energy but that's as far as it goes. I am not trying to lose, not trying to put mass on. I won't use exercise as an excuse to eat pizza. If I eat pizza..fine. I won't EVEN try to out exercise it. I eat it because I want it. Done. Move on. My training won't be used to punish myself ANd yes, I enjoy food..but I will enjoy my pizza or doughnuts without thinking I have to run it off, or in my case, kb snatch the weight off.
,
.
Fantastic post.0 -
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!!
I agree that exercising doesn't mean you can eat unhealthy. If anything, you should be eating healthier to provide your body with the necessary nutrients for recovery and repair. Running is not the best exercise for weight loss and/or maintenance because your body adapts giving a less effective calorie burn. It also increases cortisol which increases fat storage. One of our kids run along with a group of friends and despite the amount of running they do, they don't lose weight. If anything they gain a little.0 -
That's very interesting! If not running, what exercises do you suggest are best for maintenance/weight loss?0
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