"You Can't Out-Train and Bad Diet"

Hello, hello, everyone!

This post is inspired by this video from my one of my sports nutrition colleagues. I thought this was an interesting video that makes a good point. It's pizza versus treadmill! Fat versus fit!

(Disclaimer: I know nothing about this company, TurbulenceTraning.com, and have no connections with them. I am simply sharing their publicly posted video, as I like the message.)

The point it makes is one that's pretty simple, yet something I think we often forget. In Diet Vs. Exercise, you have to actually realized that these two shouldn't be fighting. You need to coordinate and team up diet AND exercise to fight the flab! (And fight disease, fatigue, self-esteem, toxins, etc.)

I know, I've been there - I tell myself "it's okay to gorge on this pizza - I'll go for a jog tomorrow." Or even the other way "Well, I did a decent workout at the gym this morning, I deserve that extra scoop of ice cream!" Riiiight? Who hasn't tried to manipulate themselves that way!?

In fact, I’m using writing this post as a distraction from the ice cream in my parents’ freezer, right now!! I ran this morning, don’t I “deserve” ice cream?! Maybe, if I choose that – but I know that I work hard to be healthy, and I prefer to “deserve” more energy, less excess weight, and less aging wrinkles and joint pains! :)

The frustrating thing: bad diet adds up fast! While I don’t do the counting calories deal, I do know that too much processed junk likes to gunk up the digestive system, and adds calories super fast! Fruits and vegetables are about impossible to over-indulge; so I will stick with green smoothies and fruit for now!

The video is a 5 minute clip that makes a fun view of diet vs. exercise. Competitor 1 takes 3 minutes to run as fast as he can on the treadmill (10 to 11 miles an hour! Wow! Maybe some day I’ll get there!!) Competitor 2 is downing a pizza. Who gets the greater calorie change? Well, probably pretty obviously, Competitor 2 ingests far more calories than Competitor 1 burns: 800 calories eaten in 3 minutes; 43 calories burnt. Niiiiiice.

Unless you're one of the lucky few, you probably have a mostly sedentary job and life. When you live a mostly sedentary life, it can be extra critical to keep your food intake natural and modest. And do whatever you can to increase your activity levels! Take a dance class, bike for errands, join an indoor soccer team, volunteer with habitat for humanity... just something to get you up and working in a way you can enjoy! I enjoy my gym visits, but I know that I, too, need to make activity a more regular part of my life.

Good luck, and make sure to balance activity AND a daily dose of natural health! :)

xoxox

~Katie

(if only!) :)