Can You Work Out Enough to Counteract a Bad Diet? An Orange County Trainer's Answer

By Kelsey Kennedy

In high school, you could eat everything you wanted and maintain your ideal weight. Unfortunately, you're not 17 anymore and even if you exercise nonstop, giving in to cravings, fatty foods, and sugary snacks will prevent you from changing your body. The truth is that if you keep an improper diet, no amount of cardio or crunches will be able to shape a slim figure. Flat abs are actually produced in the kitchen.

Why a Poor Diet Can't Be Out-Trained

Consider recalculating how many calories you're actually burning in relation to the calories you're consuming, if you frequently use the excuse that you need to eat fried chicken or pasta because you have an intense kickboxing class the next morning. The majority of people are not serious athletes, thus they don't need the same kind and quantity of fuel as the elite.

Eating a calorie-dense, high-carb supper or snack makes sense for a competitive cyclist before enduring a 100-mile road race, but it doesn't make sense for someone before doing a two-mile jog around the block.

Save the pasta for a post-race lunch and choose a healthier type of chicken, like grilled or poached. Yes, it's acceptable to indulge occasionally, but try not to do so on a weekly or even biweekly basis. It's called a cheat meal for a reason, so don't try to rationalize it with an earlier vigorous workout.

If you are eating the incorrect foods in excess, you won't be able to perform at your best

Intense exercise is necessary to effectively alter your physical appearance and maintain muscle. If your nutrition is inadequate, you won't have the physical stamina to persevere through challenging workouts.

Reese's Pieces and Pepsi may give you a sugar rush that you mistake for energy, but they won't offer you the energy you need to set a personal record while sitting on the bench or running around the track. To recuperate after an exercise, you'll need a combination of carbohydrates and protein, as well as enough carbohydrates beforehand.

If you aren't eating enough, you won't have the energy to workout

Unhealthy food choices might make you feel sluggish and less motivated to exercise, whether you're consuming too much fat, too many calories, or not enough of either. Diet and exercise are a feedback loop, you're inspired to move when you eat well, and you are more motivated to eat well when you move.

For instance, a low-carb, high-fat diet may diminish training adaptations, impair performance, and even cause a hangry state. You won't have as much motivation to visit the gym.

Your target areas won't be able to be toned

Having trouble developing washboard abs or a better butt? These problem areas are where extra calories go when you eat more than you can burn off through exercise alone. It depends on your particular body type, but generally speaking, women tend to acquire weight in the hips and thighs, whereas males tend to put it on around their waist. Therefore, even if you have added muscle to these regions, a layer of fat will still hide it. Additionally, a study in the Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research found that just doing ab exercises won't reduce your body fat percentage or abdominal fat.

Maintaining a healthy diet will be beneficial to achieve true toning, you must simultaneously grow muscle and burn more calories than you take in. If you don't start out by treating yourself to nachos or ice cream, it will be simpler to do so.

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