12 August 2014

Exercise vs Food: The Dilemma


I always get this comment (because I do eat a lot): “Anu, you can eat whatever you like because you can always run it off” (errr, not really).  Or “yeah, I’ll just burn those couple of pizza slices off tomorrow” (errr, not exactly). But listen, I learnt that Olympian swimmer Michael Phelps’ daily diet lands him a whopping 12,000 calories daily! And he’s quite lean too.

So, which outweighs which? Is it the food we eat that really matters, or can we sweat out whatever we’ve eaten? And what really counts when it comes to fat loss? Food or exercise?

It really does go without saying that Diet is extremely important. Eating clean and training dirty would be the perfect balance, but it’s always a challenge to achieve both.  There’s always a struggle and complexity that accompanies a clean and balanced diet; and even a greater struggle (more disciplinary, however) that embodies consistent exercise that counts. So let’s look at some options.

Weight and Fat Loss: I take it many of us know the Golden Rule of weight and fat loss: diet and exercise. It’s easier to lose weight by changing your diet than by exercising because it’s neater to cut out 500 calories than try to burn 500 calories. And truth be told, that’s not how the body works. Because you eat a quarter-pounder doesn’t mean that when you burn the same amount of calories as a quarter-pounder, your body has forgotten the quarter pounder. I can’t really explain it, but you’ll need to do a lot more than the calories in that quarter pounder to fool your body into forgetting it was ever consumed.
If you eat 1,200 calories a day and you’re strict about it, you will lose weight. This is why Diet is crucial for weight loss. Calories consumed are non-negotiable. Now, your body burns fat all by itself without any exercise, but you will speed up your weight loss by exercising. Even if all you do is a 30 minute walk 4-5 times a week, it’s better than going with dieting alone. From my research and interaction with people, those who don’t exercise tend to plateau quicker than those who exercise. Exercise is amazing for maintaining weight loss and for people who have naturally slow metabolisms, exercise increases your metabolism.

Reducing belly fat: I had to address this issue because I’ve gotten this question a gazillion times. You cannot reduce belly fat by doing 1,000 sit-ups daily. The only thing you’ll achieve is lower back pain and frustration from the lack of seeing visible results. If you’re looking to reduce your tummy, you need a combination of diet and exercise. Your body parts cannot and do not work in isolation—targeted fat loss is a myth. If you need to lose belly fat, you will (need to) lose overall body fat. And it goes back to diet AND exercise. But diet is the winner here – to an extent. Diet is a winner in the initial stages because the type of food you’re consuming will need to change. You’ll need more roughage, water, less processed carbohydrates and lean protein as opposed to fatty protein. To maintain, tone and accelerate the reduction, you need cardio (jogging, fast walking, skipping, jumping jacks, swimming, sit ups etc).
You’ll also need to stop eating after a certain time of the day. This one again, goes back to diet. Eating late causes indigestion and bloating. Half the time, your belly probably looks bigger because you’re actually bloated and are having a hard time digesting your food. But when your dinner time doesn’t go beyond 6pm, you have time to digest your food and have some tea (sugar and honey free) which will aid digestion and you’ll feel much lighter in the morning.

Exercise is Golden: I’m partial to exercise, so excuse me. I can confirm that exercise gives much better sleep, because you’re exhausted by the time you hit the pillow. People who have trouble sleeping should try exercise. And if you have trouble sleeping, you’re more likely to have difficulty losing weight because research has shown that sufficient sleep helps to maintain a healthy weight.
Exercise also releases endorphins which make you a lot happier. How do you usually feel after a workout? Doesn’t it give a “high”? Oh, it certainly does for me and members of my running group. We may arrive a bit groggy, but after that run, we’re stretching like there’s no tomorrow and smiling, laughing, taking photos, and even talking about the next time we’re going to run.


Sustainable Weight Loss: Try adding exercise to your Diet for ‘health best practices’. By the way, “Diet” means food. Those who have burgers and fries as their daily staple are on a diet too –albeit a detrimental one. Exercise actually burns calories, and calorie-burning leads to fat loss. You’ll maintain your goal weight if you’ve reached it, and lose weight if you’re still striving to attain your goal weight. People who exercise are less likely to put on any weight lost, too. And of course, exercise gives a hot figure!


All this being said, you are what you eat. The body needs sufficient water as opposed to sugary drinks, browner foods as opposed to whiter foods, and boiled/grilled foods as opposed to fried foods. Sometimes, I can spot the no-go areas when it comes to food by merely looking at it. When you’re consistent, it becomes easier for you to separate the wheat from the chaff.
And with exercise, you maintain weight loss, burn fat, sleep better, look better, and have more energy. Discipline yourself till you’re addicted to it :D

Till next time, 

anu

11 comments:

  1. Sigh. You are speaking to me right now.

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  2. Peju Francis Abu12 August, 2014

    Eating clean is easy for me, I've been at it since march and it's all a part of me now, no struggle nothing, exercise on the other hand has been a right pain. I try to do 30mins on my cross trainer 5days a week and also strength training every other day, but I feel my body is used to that now and I need to switch things up a bit, can't just get myself to make that move.

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    1. First off, you've done so so well with the food! I mean you look amazing. But I don't want your weight loss to plateau, so do try just the extra and try jogging. I'd say try interval training first (because you get to rest for 1 min after 2 mins; and the fat burning with interval training is amazing too). Let's see how it goes. Please update me. You're an inspiration!!!

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  3. *sigh* I made a lifestyle change 7 years ago at age 22. I was trim and super fit. Now, 30 and I still work out on average 3-4 times a week. 35-45 mins (sometimes an hour cardio). I used to say I work out to eat but that's not the case anymore because my metabolism has slowed down greatly. I eat relatively healthy. At this point, I feel I really NEED to eat extremely clean to basically lose a few pounds and look super trim again BUT I find myself failing on that end. I have a good muscle tone still but it's definitely a work in progress for me to really reel this food thing in. This has helped basically. We're all in this together.

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    1. Yes, we are definitely in this together. I can see that your exercise schedule is fantastic but what kind of workouts are you doing? Have you tried interval training? As I said to Peju above, it's amazing because you get to rest, and the fat burning experience is priceless. With food, I would start by writing down everything that goes into your mouth. When you have that inventory for about a week or two, you'll know what your weaknesses are and where they lie. Please let me know how it goes. All the very best xx

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  4. Thanks for this Anu, i think it really addressed one of the most challenging aspects of staying fit. Personally i don't have a problem exercising, i run 5 times a week and do some circuit training. However, eating clean has been a big challenge.. cant seem to stay away from all the sweet stuff and fizzy drinks. lol

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  5. I think we have the same challenge here! Mine isn't fizzy drinks, it's my penchant for "something sweet" after every meal, and my inordinate food consumption. LOL

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  6. Oohh.. I found your blog on my regular Aproko stroll on Instagram and I read this post nodding and nodding and nodding.. you know? In that yup yup she's truth talking... yup. Lol

    Long and short sha.. love it.

    I got on the FitFam lol train in February following an argument with an old friend that I was fat, born fat and would probably die fat. I even brought pictures to show... like.. Dude... see? I was 16 and seeee my arms like Mama Funlayo's own. Then he said... "Have you ever been active?" I said abeg it's not my thing. He said "Okay what do you eat?" I said I don't eat much abeg. I am fat is fat is fat! Lol. Then he said go and download MyFitness Pal. I said okay. I downloaded PURELY TO PROVE THIS KNEEGUH WRONG!!!!!!!!!

    I have lost 14kg since then and I look at myself and I'm like :O A... is this you???? No, seriously My life has changed. First of all.. "I can't do without rice" is a myth. Well, when I saw that 100gms of rice was over 100kCals and I needed like 3 spoons of that stuff to even make me know that I don chop... I had to re-caliberate that "Can't do". All my amazing little discoveries about how I have transitioned over the months need to go in a book because I keep laughing at myself. I remember when my friend said "I hope you have started running" and I said "Abeg oh... my own fitfam is brisk walking 3.5KPH. If FitFam can't manage that one then it should rest" The first time I ran hen... I felt something I'd not felt before. I can't explain it. Now, where I used to work 8.9miles just to make about 750kCals in burn I run about 5/6miles and I make up my numbers.

    Anyway, the long and short of this my many many turenchi. lol is that you were spot on in everything you said. Sleeping well. FANTASTIC skin (That comes from drinking a lot of water. I drink like 3L of waters everyday) Everyone says I don't look my age.. heheh I chuckle and tell my 33 year old spirit to enjoy her 18 year old skin, glow, exuberance and everything... because I worked hard for it. I have enjoyed every step of my weightloss/ living a healthy lifestyle journey. Instagram. YouTube. MyFitnessPal.. kai kai... they have all been helpful. Lol I am going through a Green Tea phase now *YUCK YUCK YUCK* but na me carry my hand enter YouTube look sey the store Tetley Green Tea ain't as effective as infusing the leaves... I don go buy leaves dey brew myself *more yuck* Lol but I am learning about what it does and the advantages and .. in fact lemme go and brew one cup now sef.

    I have bored you enough. Love your blog. LOVEEEE

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    1. I LOVED reading your comments and no, you have not bored me. Absolutely not. How has it been going? I really want to hear about your progress.

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    2. My comment is coming in bits. Odd. Lol. But well done and I'd love to hear more about your amazing progress. Thanks a lot for stopping by. If you'd like me to write on anything in particular please give me a shout.

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