You join a conversation, and a very commonly heard or discussed thing is: “I don’t really care if I ate six slices of pizza or had a big bowl of ice-cream or a vadapav, I’ll just go walk for 5-6 kms or hit the gym for 2 hours instead”??

Or “I did two hours of Zumba and Pilates in the morning, I certainly deserve a huge treat today!”

The fact is that physical activity cannot really compensate for overeating. Even if you exercise “round the clock” you can’t transform your body if you constantly give in to cravings and treat yourself to processed foods, refined carbs and sweet delights.

How many folks do you see out there that work out all the time, but still can’t lose that body fat?

Let’s meet Mr Sharma (name changed) who is pleasantly plump, except for his giant poking belly, and has high cholesterol. His doctor has advised him to exercise and lose some weight. As Mr Sharma has not exercised for several years, he decides to start with a 5 km walk every morning.

Now, Mr Sharma takes this new walking habit (which by the way he is doing only 2-3 times a week) as a license to not worry about his food intake anymore. He has now started rewarding himself daily with a bar of chocolate or a vadapav for that 5 km walk he does only every other day.

Now, his 5 km walk in 60 mins helped him lose 275 calories, while one vadapav helped him gain 300 calories. That too the wrong kind of calories from refined carbs and sugar. Even if he had consumed an additional 500 calories of salads, fruits, nuts, meat etc it would have actually aided in better health and weight loss. And that’s exactly the problem  –  most people look at exercise as a punishment and food as a reward for enduring that punishment. The concept of calories in calories out is not always true. It only works if the type of calories are accounted for.

So you see, how his walk DID NOT even earn him a vadapav.

Net result – You guessed it right! Mr. Sharma worsened his overall situation and put on more weight. He was actually better off not walking and sticking to his old diet.

So basically what we are trying to put across here is that you will see more success on a good diet paired with 30-40 mins of light exercise every day, than on a bad diet paired with 2 hours of intense exercise daily.

Learn how to moderate and balance your food intake to keep it in tune with your level of exercise. By eating a well-rounded diet and exercising regularly, you won’t have to worry about the occasional indulgence.

IT DOESN’T MATTER HOW LONG YOU EXERCISE IF YOU DON’T CONTROL WHAT YOU PUT ON YOUR PLATE, AND EVENTUALLY IN YOUR MOUTH.

• by Team bon happetee