Is it OK to eat badly if you exercise?

No, it isn't OK to eat total shit when you're working out. Depending on the amount of exercise you're doing, your body needs more than just calories to keep running. You need the additional vitamins, proteins, etc. in order to stay balanced and healthy.

It isn't bad to eat pizza / drink beer every now and then, but doing it on a daily basis, basically screws up your achievements. Both pizza and beer contain alot of calories, which you're basically trying to burn. Due to the increased burning of calories, your body increases the intake of food(Or it tries too, you'll be more hungry because your metabolism increases).

It's ok to eat more(In fact, it's a must), but not complete crap with low vitamin / proteins and just fat and calories. Eating less will have the exact opposite: Your body lowers it's metabolism to conserve energy, and instead of losing weight, you'll only gain weight.

A great way to lose fat quickly is a combination of cardio / weight lifting: The increased muscles consume more energy when idle(Because they have more mass) and the cardio is there to burn off additional fat. To compensate, you need to increase your intake of calories and proteins, drink more water and sleep more(Muscles recover when you sleep, so the more you sleep, the faster the build up). 60% of your exercises consist of proper diet btw.

Toolmaker

Yes, i think, as long as you get all your required nutrients, vitamins and burn off all that crap that builds up in your arteries.

However, you have to be very determined to keep the fat from gaining on you.

My advice, dont join an gym, dont get a bike. Do this:

Get up right now and do as many press-ups as can until you collapse. Do the same for sit ups and whatever else you might feel like doing. Do this every day. This kind of exercising only takes 15 minutes a day. Do a little more if you have to, its still not much. Get a pull up bar. I feel that this system keeps your body active and metabolism high with minimal input. I cant back that up scientifically, it works for me. Im 23. If this isnt enough at least it didnt cost you anything.

Going to the gym takes hours, money and your motivation for going will eventually become 'because im paying for the gym' and it is quite demolorizing if you dont see an improovement after spending time/money.

Running in the summer is good fun.

edit: i would consider this a quick-fix solution. Go with toolmaker for a more robust balanced system.

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Original post by RivieraKid Yes, i think, as long as you get all your required nutrients, vitamins and burn off all that crap that builds up in your arteries. However, you have to be very determined to keep the fat from gaining on you. My advice, dont join an gym, dont get a bike. Do this: Get up right now and do as many press-ups as can until you collapse. Do the same for sit ups and whatever else you might feel like doing. Do this every day. This kind of exercising only takes 15 minutes a day. Do a little more if you have to, its still not much. Get a pull up bar. I feel that this system keeps your body active and metabolism high with minimal input. I cant back that up scientifically, it works for me. Im 23. If this isnt enough at least it didnt cost you anything. Going to the gym takes hours, money and your motivation for going will eventually become 'because im paying for the gym' and it is quite demolorizing if you dont see an improovement after spending time/money. Running in the summer is good fun. edit: i would consider this a quick-fix solution. Go with toolmaker for a more robust balanced system.

I joined a gym, and I got some pretty good results after 3 to 4 months. I gained 5 kilos in weight and quite a lot of muscle while I got slimmer(I wasn't fat, I just had a small layer over my stomach).

When I saw myself in the mirror last week when I was clubbing, I noticed I got much broader shoulders, a nice masculine chest and currently my abs are starting to show up. Sure, going to the gym costs time, but apart from the fact I'm enjoying the exercise, I also meet new people and I can ask for help / tips whenever I need.

Also, I highly recommend against training the same muscle groups daily, with the exception to abs / lower back muscles. Your muscles need time to recover from the exercise and grow. Everyone suggests to keep at least 1 day between training the same muscle groups. I visit the gym every other day and do a total work out, others go daily and rotate the groups: Back / biceps, Chest / triceps, etc.

This will allow for muscle groups to recover and grow. I went up pretty fast in the first 2 months with what I was able to lift.

Also, if you want to train at home, do series. For instance, if you can do 15 push ups before collapsing, you them all, then take a minute or 2 rest, and do another series, rest and then a final series. For your abs, try to do at least 25 to 30 repetitions in 3 series.

Toolmaker

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Original post by RivieraKid Yes, i think, as long as you get all your required nutrients, vitamins and burn off all that crap that builds up in your arteries. However, you have to be very determined to keep the fat from gaining on you. My advice, dont join an gym, dont get a bike. Do this: Get up right now and do as many press-ups as can until you collapse. Do the same for sit ups and whatever else you might feel like doing. Do this every day. This kind of exercising only takes 15 minutes a day. Do a little more if you have to, its still not much. Get a pull up bar. I feel that this system keeps your body active and metabolism high with minimal input. I cant back that up scientifically, it works for me. Im 23. If this isnt enough at least it didnt cost you anything. Going to the gym takes hours, money and your motivation for going will eventually become 'because im paying for the gym' and it is quite demolorizing if you dont see an improovement after spending time/money. Running in the summer is good fun. edit: i would consider this a quick-fix solution. Go with toolmaker for a more robust balanced system.

I don't see how this would burn calories, which must be an important factor to lose fat... make sure your usag is greater than your intake. If you could do sit-ups without stopping for 15min it would be a good cardio exercise I guess.

The thing about the gym is I just don't realistically know if I'd be bothered to keep going. There is no gym real close and having to drive is an immediate barrier. I figured a bike is good as you get to go outside and can actually use it as transport.

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Original post by Toolmaker No, it isn't OK to eat total shit when you're working out. Depending on the amount of exercise you're doing, your body needs more than just calories to keep running. You need the additional vitamins, proteins, etc. in order to stay balanced and healthy.

Sorry I should have been clearer. I don't mean only eating junk. I mean eating a reasonable level of the things you need, plus a load of crap on top of that.

Eating too much crappy food is bad for your health even if you exercise. For example, bad cholesterol (LDL) builds up proportionally to how much intake you have rather than how many calories you burn (slight oversimplification). Other food related metabolic hazards such as mercury from fish don't respond to exercise at all.

On the other hand, if you get enough exercise and eat what you want, you can look healthy, if that's all you care about.

If you learn to eat healthy and exercise now you will not have to put in the effort that I did to lose weight when you get into your late 20's to early 30's. Treats are supposed to be eaten on special occasions, not for dessert every night. Start eating fruit and nuts rather than junk food. Avoid anything with high fructose corn syrup if you can. It's in everything and your liver isn't designed to break down large quantities of it. As far as salt goes most people do not have to worry about it. Unless you have sodium related hypertension you can basically eat as much salt as you want. Within reason of course, hypernatremia can kill you.

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Original post by d000hg I'm thinking to buy a bike or join a gym, but I'm wondering if I really need to change my diet as well to lose weight. All the TV programs tell the fat people to eat well AND exercise but is it possible to drink lots of beer, eat pizza and stay in shape if you burn a ton of calories? I know many athletes eat tremendous amounts of food but does it have to all be healthy, or can my body cope with a lot of fat and salt if I burn it up?

Exercise alone won't make you lose weight. Your body will respond to the increased activity level by being hungry more. Weight control = caloric intake control.

Additionally, if you're planning to "burn salt", you may want to consider a course in chemistry.

I guess I would be hungry whether I simply lower my calorific intake, or keep it the same while increasing my use. I don't think it's physiologically possible to lose fat without creating an imbalance in calories in Vs calories out?

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Original post by d000hg I don't think it's physiologically possible to lose fat without creating an imbalance in calories in Vs calories out?

That's correct.

Doesn't that mean that whichever way I do it, I am going to feel hungry? Or can I trick my body into burning fat without thinking it's starving?

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Original post by d000hg I guess I would be hungry whether I simply lower my calorific intake, or keep it the same while increasing my use. I don't think it's physiologically possible to lose fat without creating an imbalance in calories in Vs calories out?

You should never really be "hungry", you should eat five-six small meals during the day to keep your metabolism high. You lose weight with your diet and not excercise. Sure excercise helps but you will probably never get real good results until you cut down on the drinking and bad food.

All the cardio a lot of bodybuilders do is just walking. Of course they are roided up to the gills but they get fat in the off season and its mostly dieting before contest that gets them into "shape".

Some athletes do eat a lot of fast food and junk but they train four-five hours a day so they burn it off. They also have pro trainers that make sure they get all the real food they need too.

There's been recent interest on that front. But tricking your body into not being hungry isn't nearly as useful as tricking yourself into being hungry less. Stop eating three huge meals a day in favor of more, smaller meals. Eat slowly, and stop eating when you aren't hungry.

Give up on programming and go tree planting for 2 months this summer. I lost 25 pounds in the first month, and then my weight stabilized.

Now I'm back to sedentary student/programmer life, I eat OK but also mix in a good dose of junkfood/sugar/salt. I'm not gaining weight, but I've increased my physical activity level by doing some yoga/cardio/musculation. I think if you do 10 hours a week of activity, you can eat pretty much what you want, as long as you pay at least a minimal attention to getting some good stuff mixed in. Yoga, and i think cardio too, are particularly good for eliminating toxins, so it helps in improving tolerance to bad food. This is not what yogis teach, and it's just my interpretation of it, I'm not sure how true that is.

If you want to lose weight, you will need to be a bit more serious and try to avoid the fatter foods. Focusing on cardio should be the priority. I suggest doing more then 1 different activity to make sure you use as many muscle groups as possible. Doing musculation could also help convert the fat into muscle. You would not lose weight, but you would lose the fat, which i suppose is your aim.

Yeah I couldn't give a damn about my actual weight. I wouldn't even be bothered about having some fat, if it was distributed evenly I would still be slim!

I'm thinking a bike is a good idea. If I cycle for 30min every day I'll be increasing my exercise by a factor of about 100. And since it's taken about 4 years to gain maybe a stone (14lb) I think it could tip the balance. I really don't eat that much junk, and I don't eat a lot in general, so I hope it's just the fact I do literally no exercise causing problems. Now I work from home I don't even have to run for the train any more...

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Original post by j_smith4 Some athletes do eat a lot of fast food and junk but they train four-five hours a day so they burn it off. They also have pro trainers that make sure they get all the real food they need too.

And noone cares if they have heart disease at 40 since by then their careers will have been over long ago.

Let's say you had 3 beers a day.
Let's say, on average, each beer has 150 calories.
That means you are consuming 450 calories of beer per day.
3500 calories make up a pound.
In 7.77 days, you would lose a pound if you stopped drinking the beer.
In a year, you could lose 47lbs.

Obviously, it isn't that simple ... but you can probably find a hint of truth in it.

If you are gonna have beer, cut down on the number of days. Or, cut out the fatty chips and go for some whole grain chips with salsa. It is all about the small choices. I love eating ... but that doesn't mean I can't find healthy alternatives. And that certainly doesn't mean I don't cheat every once in a while.

But I don't diet ... healthy eating is my lifestyle.

Ive been in the states now for about 5 months. I eat at least twice as much here, and my daily excercise is gone. I think i gained a pound or two, but not enough for me to really notice. I guess some people are just lucky, but then again i am only 22, who knows what will happen.

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Original post by Eelco Ive been in the states now for about 5 months. I eat at least twice as much here, and my daily excercise is gone. I think i gained a pound or two, but not enough for me to really notice. I guess some people are just lucky, but then again i am only 22, who knows what will happen.

Like all Europeans who come here, you'll definitely gain a few pounds. ;)