“I can have dessert because I’ll burn the calories in training tomorrow. That’s why I like to do lots of exercise–so I can eat anything.” It’s a culture, and not a surprising one given that people in the developed world are hedonistic eaters. In general, people eat to feel good. When you do feel good your body’s reward system encourages you to repeat the behaviour that’s providing the pleasure.
So you keep eating, whether it’s too much good food or lots of bad food. You know that even too much of a good thing can be bad, but it feels so good that you just “can’t” stop. But that’s okay, because you’re training! As long as you expend the same amount of calories that you consume you’ll be good, right?
Not quite. The calories in versus calories out equation is far more complex than that. More importantly, your body needs nutrients to function healthily. So all the training may be offsetting some of the calories you consume while making you fitter, all the bad calories are affecting both your health and body composition.
It’s similar to the effects of too much steady-state cardio coupled with insufficient food. In that case you end up slimmer but with a high percentage of body fat. In both cases, dietary habits outweigh the effects of training, leaving you with a less than ideal body composition and lacking in health. Those sorts are pretty easy to spot in the gym too. You’re either looking at a slim athlete who crushes bodyweight and endurance based workouts but gets crushed by any form of load. Or a well built athlete with a big engine, and a beer belly!
I’m in favour of eating for pleasure too. You’ve got one, short life so you best live it well. But you want to live it well for as long as you are around, and that’s why health and fitness are placed on the same continuum. You can, and should, be both fit and healthy. And you can enjoy food while still being fit and healthy. It comes down to your mind set.
Eat for health and performance, instead of training so that you can eat. Give your body the quality fuel it needs to support your levels of activity while not supporting body fat, and do so most of the time. You won’t be able to out-train a shitty diet for very long.
