Why You Can’t Out-Exercise A Bad Diet
Why would anyone in Pittsburg, CA, want to change their diet when they only need to exercise to get into shape? Nobody would want to if that were true, but it isn’t, or you’d see people jogging with a donut hanging out of their mouths. You can’t out-exercise a bad diet. No matter how much you exercise, there are consequences for an unhealthy diet. You’ll still gain weight, have health issues, or be unable to build muscle mass. Eating healthy builds the foundation for a healthy body.
Exercise is important for weight loss but won’t burn enough calories.
You may be running 20 miles a day, but if you finish your run by eating a small meat lovers pizza and two beers, you’ll gain weight. You burned less than 400 extra calories on your run but consumed over 1600 calories in just one meal. Add a couple of triple chocolate brownies for dessert, and you’ve eaten a day’s calorie allowance or more in just one meal. Not only will you gain weight if you eat too many calories, unless you eat more nutritious meals the rest of the day, but it can also affect your health.
Poor eating habits may wipe out all the health benefits you receive by exercising.
Both diet and exercise are important for a healthy lifestyle. Nutrition is the foundation. A nutritious diet provides the building blocks necessary to be healthy. If you’re eating junk food, you’re eating empty calories. In other words, junk food is junk. Highly processed food and food with added sugar fall into that category. If you aren’t eating a wide variety of whole food—less processed food—you increase your risk of chronic diseases.
It’s not just what you eat that makes a diet healthy, it’s what you don’t eat, too.
Unhealthy diets involve more than just consuming too many calories. It can increase your intake of sugar, trans fats, saturated fat, and sodium. All those things can lead to more than just obesity. They can lead to high blood pressure, a poor cholesterol profile, and an increased risk of stroke, heart disease, and diabetes. Food with added sugar causes inflammation that can cause clogged arteries, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease. It can shorten your life and negatively affect your quality of life.
- You need more than the macronutrients, protein, fat, and carbohydrates to prevent problems. You also require micronutrients, such as vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Whole foods provide the nutrients in the right amounts to work in synergy.
- You don’t have to overeat to have a bad diet. A restrictive diet can also affect you. Eating too few calories or making poor choices can cause a loss of muscle mass and a lack of energy.
- A bad diet can also affect your athletic performance. It provides the materials to build muscles and keep the body functioning at optimal performance, and exercise enhances how the body functions.
- Both a healthy diet and regular exercise are part of a healthy lifestyle. Both are important. Choose a colorful array of fruits and vegetables, a lean protein source, and healthy fat to be your fittest.
For more information, contact us today at Thrive Fitness!