Exercise And Weight Loss

I exercise, so I can eat what I want, right? This thinking has led more than a few exercisers to despair and give up.

Outeating Fitness

All that sweating at the gym, all the miles you left behind on your running course, they have to count for something, right? They do, but you can easily outeat your cardio and workouts, as our bodies are so darn good at doing stuff with the least amount of energy needed.

Let’s look at what some typical fitness activities burn if you are a 25 year old man, 5’11″ (1.80 m) tall, weigh 170 lbs (77 kg) and do each activity for one hour:

 
In comparison, here is a variety of foods, their calories, and how long it probably takes to eat them:

 
In In 5 Minutes, Out In 60

The activity burning the most calories, jogging, burns 543 kcal per hour, yet it takes you only around five minutes to consume the same amount.

Or even more drastic: If you managed to eat one Big Mac per five minutes and keep that up for an hour, you would eat around 6,912 kcal, but you would never manage to burn as much in the same time, even if you ran while lifting weights, playing on a tambourine with your teeth and carrying your five year old niece on your back.

It’s really easy to overestimate how many calories you burn and underestimate how many you consume. If you can’t lose weight or even gain some despite your exercising, it’s a worthwhile idea to keep closer tab on how much really goes in and out.

Picture courtesy of “lululemon“.