Times Article - Exercise

thecrossfitter
thecrossfitter Posts: 424 Member
edited October 2024 in Fitness and Exercise
I actually wanted to start a discussion on this article, and I saw in the search results this one existed from a few months back - but it didn't go far and I think some people missed the take home points. I'm curious to know your thoughts on this article.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914974,00.html

The thing is (and seriously, read the article before you respond) it isn't actually saying burning calories from exercise won't help create a defecit make you thin. What it is doing is taking a pragmatic (realistic?) view; it says that for many individuals, when they exercise, due to psychological reasons - they deserve it etc - they actually end up eating back what they burned AND THEN SOME.

I'm curious what works for you. I love to exercise - cardio and strength (crossfit specifically). I workout 5 days a week and then keep my diet clean and in check. Actually, exercising keeps me motivated to eat well! But in the past, I've done the thing where I exercise (read: I ellipticaled for 30-60 minutes) and then go get a bagel with cream cheese at panera on the way home that I wouldn't have had otherwise.

We call this a fail.
(Nothing wrong with an elliptical, nothing wrong with wanting a bagel... but do you see the issue?)

So here is my question: What do you find works for you? Does your eating worsen when working out? Do you play those 'tricks' in your mind on yourself? (And I'm not talking about eating your exercise calories back when MFP already has you on a deficit. I'm talking about having no net deficit at the end of the day). Or does exercise actually encourage you to eat better? Do you do better to fix your eating FIRST and THEN add in exercise? Share stories!

Replies

  • n_unocero
    n_unocero Posts: 445 Member
    i think my eating is bad regardless!

    even if working out wont make me lose weight it's definitely going to make me stronger, faster, healthier, and damn if it doesnt make me feel like a million bucks after i put everything into a workout.

    the article talks about strictly weight...but it doesnt seem to mention anything about body fat or muscle toning. if i stopped working out and just ate my limit of cals i would lose more weight then if i worked out...but i'd be soft looking. so even if that number on the scale was lower i wouldn't be happy.
  • n_unocero
    n_unocero Posts: 445 Member
    aaaand i feel like working out reduces my stress when i do happen to go out for wings and a beer! i don't worry about the extra cals because i feel like at least i've made the attempt to cancel them out. (whether i really did or not...well, that's another story)
  • kraz4fun
    kraz4fun Posts: 32 Member
    I agree with this article and the theories behind it. I do get hungrier after a good workout. I typically try to drink 20-32oz of water after my workout is complete (in addition to what I have consumed while working out) and then have just a teaspoon of reduced fat peanut butter. You should have come form of protein after your work out HOWEVER I do enter the calories for the peanut butter on my tracker and consider it just the same as eating something on a day I did not work out. Personally, I do not count the water I drink while working out but I do count what I drink after. For me doing cardio makes me feel healthy and definitely puts me in a better mood and in turn, I want to make better food choices. I feel clean and healthy and then processed foods just don't sound appealing at all. I completely understand how people would think "Well I worked out so now I can have this..." but I do my best not to think of it any different than a non workout day. It's a conscience decision for me every time. I enter my workouts on the tracker and if I decide to use the additional calories it gives me, I try to make sure they are of fruits, veggies or chicken. If I'm using the calories at least I'm getting good nutrition with it.

    That's just what I have found works best for me and keeps me on track.
  • thecrossfitter
    thecrossfitter Posts: 424 Member
    even if working out wont make me lose weight it's definitely going to make me stronger, faster, healthier, and damn if it doesnt make me feel like a million bucks after i put everything into a workout.

    the article talks about strictly weight...but it doesnt seem to mention anything about body fat or muscle toning. if i stopped working out and just ate my limit of cals i would lose more weight then if i worked out...but i'd be soft looking. so even if that number on the scale was lower i wouldn't be happy.

    This was an issue I took with the article as well. I wish it would have discussed the difference in fat loss vs. weight loss (because it's actually fat we want to lose), and how exercising can help maintain our lean muscle mass as we lose fat. Not to mention the mental health benefits I get from exercise! (read: I feel like wonder women when lifting!)

    I'm just curious as to if anyone finds working out leads to poorer eating decisions or actually encourages them to eat better! Again, I do eat more on days I work out, but not SO much more that it "undoes" a calorie deficit. Not to mention after burn business from strength and HIIT stuff (but that's a debate for another thread :-P )
  • rileysowner
    rileysowner Posts: 8,338 Member
    I think the issue is two fold, first some people are made hungry following exercise. Secondly, most people have no idea how many calories they burned (most over estimate burn) or in the food they eat (most underestimate). Exercise combined with calorie counting it quite different than exercise not combined with calorie counting.

    For example many people consider getting a coffee and a muffin a snack. The problem is most muffins are going to be 400-700 calories. That is not a snack, that is a meal. When a person starts seriously counting calories and finding out how many calories they are burning in exercise, suddenly that muffin or bagel with cream cheese following a workout doesn't look as appealing, but a protein shake for a couple of hundred calories makes much more sense.
  • honu18
    honu18 Posts: 294 Member

    I'm just curious as to if anyone finds working out leads to poorer eating decisions or actually encourages them to eat better! Again, I do eat more on days I work out, but not SO much more that it "undoes" a calorie deficit. Not to mention after burn business from strength and HIIT stuff (but that's a debate for another thread :-P )

    It can either effect on me. If I work out a LOT, I feel a bit more lenient in what I can eat that day and sometimes then I do have that candy bar and stuff..simply because I have leftover cals/macros, I don't want to eat too little, and hey, I love candy and sweets. But oftentimes, working out motivates me to eat healthier. I've found on days that I don't work out I tend to gravitate more towards the junk food and want to eat nothing but chocolate and such. I feel like this is probably because I'm often in a more down mood (gotta love those endorphins) and all I do is think about food all day and staying low because I didn't work out and give myself more wiggle room. But when I do work out, I usually want to eat fruit, salads, and lean protein and stuff to give my body back what it needs!
  • UponThisRock
    UponThisRock Posts: 4,519 Member
    This logic of this article is one of the reasons I stopped doing cardio
This discussion has been closed.

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