You can't out-exercise a bad diet

Many people think exercise is the only thing that will help weight loss issues. Many people start a new exercise routine normally see results because it is a shock to their system. They start believing that they are the “special ones” that don’t have to worry about their diet. Then they hit a wall. The progress has come to a stop. They get upset, blame their trainers and will most likely stop exercising all together. These people didn’t see results because they didn’t change their nutrition. Here is a big secret….

“You can’t OUT-EXERCISE a bad diet”

Ever heard of that before? It is one of the most common pieces of advice I would hear from my friends and family. Eat this Kathy because lord knows you work out enough to burn it off. So not true! Most people think that if they work out they can eat whatever they want. This statement could not be more false.

For years I believed in that statement! I would work out, leave the gym and turn around and eat whatever I wanted. What I thought was "I did the time and now it is time to reward myself." What I didn’t realize is that I basically just deleted my workout session by consuming crap.

I burn about 600-700 calories an hour running. This may change depending on how hard I push myself and even the weather. (Everyone’s calorie burn is different; a heart rate monitored is the best way to get accurate numbers.) After an hour of running I believed I should reward myself with 4 Tagalogs Girl Scout cookies. Do you know how many calories are in those four cookies? 300 calories and 16gs of total fat. By rewarding myself I have lost half of the benefit from my hour run in basically eating empty calories. You can see how one minute of pointless eating can erase 60 minutes of a hard solid workout.

Here is a perfect example of “You can’t out-exercise a bad diet.”

“You are what you eat.”

This statement is so true! If you are like me you probably love to people watch. It always amazes me what people put in their mouths. The fit people always have something healthy, while the unfit people are eating crap food full of bad fats and empty calories. I am NOT perfect! I too eat that crap food but I have a good balance in my life to know it is okay to have a splurge every now and then.

What kills me the most is when I see a child who is overweight. Do you think that child had control over what he or she puts in their mouth? My bet is that same child probably has overweight parents. Parents control what children eat and Parents control what kind of foods they have in their home. I could go on and on about the effects of childhood obesity, but I will leave this for another day.

The way your body looks depends 90% of your diet. Aside from body fat, you skin texture; hair, nails and mood are all affected by what you put in your mouth. Don’t get me wrong exercise is important to maintain a healthy body composition and it too is part of the equation to living a healthy lifestyle. But don’t think you can eat whatever you want because you busted 60 minutes in the gym today.

Nutrition is a crucial part of the weight loss game. If you are working out 60 minutes a day and are not seeing results…it is time to start looking at what you are putting in your mouth. Eating healthy and getting in your exercise is the only recipe for long-lasting, successful weight loss.