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About this blog: I developed a special interest in helping seniors with their challenges and transitions when my dad had a stroke and I helped him through all the various stages of downsizing, packing, moving and finding an assisted living communi... (More)

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Eating v. Exercise: Food Always Wins

Uploaded: Feb 25, 2015

I like this chart from Dave Smith's "Make Your Body Work" blog.
There is also a crazy video on it that proves you can't exercise yourself away from the effects of a poor diet. They should post the chart at the entrance of every gym and zumba studio (I guess that wouldn't be too good for business.) This is in no way an indictment against exercising. I love exercising. I promote it as often as I can. Just a message that food-comes-first when making changes to your health, body, life. (Note: I know there is some after-exercise burning of calories that should be factored into the total number of calories you burn after various kinds of exercise, but they don't radically change the equation.)

Comments

Posted by RobertN, a resident of Midtown,
on Feb 25, 2015 at 8:54 pm

I love to exercise, too, but find that if I'm eating carbs, then more exercise leads to low blood sugar and more craving for carbs. In the last few weeks I've tried harder to limit carbs, and eat more fat, and that's working. I've lost about 4 pounds in the last 6 weeks.

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Posted by parent, a resident of Midtown,
on Feb 26, 2015 at 12:34 pm

Another way to look at this is that there is far more to healthy eating than just counting calories. Low calorie junk food is still junk food that can clog your arteries and raise your blood pressure. A higher calorie meal can still improve your health if it the calories come mostly whole grains and whole fruits and vegetables.

Regarding exercise, whole grains and whole fruits will keep your blood sugar more steady than junk foods and "sports drinks".

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Posted by Max Greenberg, a Palo Alto Online blogger,
on Feb 26, 2015 at 3:51 pm
Max Greenberg is a registered user.

Dear Parent: Your comments sound quite correct, especially regarding low calorie junk food that can clog your arteries etc.(the sugar substitutes often found in them can do a lot of harm on their own.) I think my point with the chart was that it won't work to eat a poor, junk-food filled diet, or to "treat" yourself to a snack and then head for the gym to work it off. Not a very effective plan.

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