It’s a time-tested fact that people trying to exercise away a bad diet are setting themselves up for disappointment. It’s commonly accepted that to get rid of one pound of fat you need to burn about 3500 calories worth of energy. The reverse is also true: to put on one pound of fat you need to consume an additional 3500 calories. When your calories in equal your calories out, you’re in maintenance mode — consuming sufficient energy to maintain your weight given your current activity level.
Doesn’t sound so bad to you? Consider what makes up 300 calories. 45 almonds (2 small handfuls). 2/3 of a single size cheese pizza. A McDonald’s cheeseburger. 2 toasts with butter. 1 cup of uncooked penne pasta (85g). Most of a Starbucks Grande Soy Vanilla latte, half of a Venti Caramel Mocha Frappuccino or 2/3 of one of their blueberry muffins. 22 Ruffles Sour Cream and Onion chips. 16 Tostitos corn chips…without any dip. And to burn that extra 2/3 of a muffin off, a 150 pound person would need to do about 25 minutes of active aerobics, run at 10mph (6 minute mile) for 15 minutes, do 1 hour of moderate gardening, play 35 minutes of tennis or get into the ring for 25 minutes of boxing/sparring. And that’s over and above the exercise you already do to keep your energy equation (calories eaten vs calories burned) in check to maintain your weight. Still sounds ok? Lets look at it a third and final way. Assume that in a given year, you were almost always eating your ‘maintenance’ amount of calories, i.e. the amount of calories you need to maintain your weight given your average activity level and base metabolic rate — what you need just to survive. But twice a week, you’d splurge on the following: 1 extra slice of whole wheat bread, 1 glass of juice or wine and 1 extra teaspoon of oil or butter. Doesn’t sound like much of a splurge does it. But how would that impact your weight? Well, you’d put on over 7 pounds of fat, or 3.25kg. You’d need to add an extra 40+ minutes of high intense aerobic activity every week just to make up for those so- called splurges. And what about the weekend pizza, some guacamole, a few tortillas or cake at a party, etc.
So what does it mean to you? Don’t ignore the fact that what you feed your body makes a huge impact on your body composition and health. Supportive nutrition and exercise go hand in hand in the fitness equation…one of them just isn’t sufficient. And for those who may have been putting on a little weight or not losing it: take a serious look at what you’re doing. Barring aside specific medical conditions, you’re either taking in too much or your exercise program isn’t working for you. Or both. You must first acknowledge something before you can change it.
It’s a time-tested fact that people trying to exercise away a bad diet are setting themselves up for disappointment. It’s commonly accepted that to get rid of one pound of fat you need to burn about 3500 calories worth of energy. The reverse is also true: to put on one pound of fat you need to consume an additional 3500 calories. When your calories in equal your calories out, you’re in maintenance mode — consuming sufficient energy to maintain your weight given your current activity level.
Doesn’t sound so bad to you? Consider what makes up 300 calories. 45 almonds (2 small handfuls). 2/3 of a single size cheese pizza. A McDonald’s cheeseburger. 2 toasts with butter. 1 cup of uncooked penne pasta (85g). Most of a Starbucks Grande Soy Vanilla latte, half of a Venti Caramel Mocha Frappuccino or 2/3 of one of their blueberry muffins. 22 Ruffles Sour Cream and Onion chips. 16 Tostitos corn chips…without any dip. And to burn that extra 2/3 of a muffin off, a 150 pound person would plac zabaw need to do about 25 minutes of active aerobics, run at 10mph (6 minute mile) for 15 minutes, do 1 hour of moderate gardening, play 35 minutes of tennis or get into the ring for 25 minutes of boxing/sparring. And that’s over and above the exercise you already do to keep your energy equation (calories eaten vs calories burned) in check to maintain your weight. Still sounds ok? Lets look at it a third and final way. Assume that in a given year, you were almost always eating your ‘maintenance’ amount of calories, i.e. the amount of calories you need to maintain your weight given your average activity level and base metabolic rate — what you need just to survive. But twice a week, you’d splurge on the following: 1 extra slice of whole wheat bread, 1 glass of juice or wine and 1 extra teaspoon of oil or butter. Doesn’t sound like much of a splurge does it. But how would that impact your weight? Well, you’d put on over 7 pounds of fat, or 3.25kg. You’d need to add an extra 40+ minutes of high intense aerobic activity every week just to make up for those so- called splurges. And what about the weekend pizza, some guacamole, a few tortillas or cake at a party, etc.
So what does it mean to you? Don’t ignore the fact that what you feed your body makes a huge impact on your body composition and health. Supportive nutrition and exercise go hand in hand in the fitness equation…one of them just isn’t sufficient. And for those who may have been putting on a little weight or not losing it: take a serious look at what you’re doing. Barring aside specific medical conditions, you’re either taking in too much or your exercise program isn’t working for you. Or both. You must first acknowledge something before you can change it.