Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

by Melissa Bosslet, RD, LN, CPT

Time Magazine summarizes what every dietitian already knew - eating right is 85% of winning the battle against the bulge. The article is well written, so you should read it and escape with insight into your post-exercise indulges. I dare you, add up those calories. In the meantime, here is a quick summary.

Just because you exercised does not mean...

• You should be sedentary the rest of the day. Lesson learned - take the stairs!
• You can't "exercise" again. If you spent some time at the gym, it is still beneficial to go for a walk, garden, golf, throw the ball around with the kids. It all adds up.
  
• You should eat whatever you want. Greater calories in than out still equals weight gain (or lack of weight loss). Also keep in mind what you are eating may be changing your hormones or creating stress on the body which will also prevent optimal health.
• You shouldn't exercise differently. Doing the same exercise every day for multiple years will not create weight loss. You must change to see results - the body responds to change, both in exercise and in food choices.
• You should drink a sports drink like Gatorade or Vitamin Water. Save sports drinks for very warm days where you exercised over 1 hour. Most likely you will replace the sugars and electrolytes you lost while exercising within your next meal.
  

Exercise still ...

• Has cardiovascular and disease fighting benefits.
• Has anti-aging properties. It keeps are bones and muscles strong and our brains sharp.
• Is calorie expending, which means you are burning calories. Just make sure it is a calorie deficit if you are trying to lose weight. Also keep in mind cutting calories too sharply will put your body into starvation mode and you will conserve body fat. Maintain a 300 to 500 calorie deficit.

I know eating right and exercising works. I see it every day with my clients and with myself.

My favorite post exercise meal instead of pizza or a doughnut? Salmon (anti-inflammatory and full of good quality protein for muscle building), quinoa (a low glycemic grain balanced with some protein to replace carbohydrates), a dark green leafy salad with kale and tomatoes (anti-oxidants to repair damaged cells), water with lemon (hydrating + vitamin C for immunity), and steamed broccoli (contains quercetin which has anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidant properties). See ya at the gym!

Glaceau's Vitamin-less Water

Ever had the brightly colored liquid Coca-Cola calls Vitamin Water thinking you were doing your body a favor? Hardly. You might as well have picked up that Coca-Cola with the amount of sugar Glaceau's drink carries. Each 20 ounce serving packs in nearly 8 teaspoons of sugar (33 grams), about 75% of what the USDA suggests should be our sugar limitations, and pretty similar to the amount of sugar in a soda (39 grams for a 12 ounce can).

Vitamin Water may harvest a few extra vitamins, but the catch is the sugar. Sugar actually leaches the vitamins out of the body as it is digested, leaving the body in a state of stress. The words that the company's marketing department uses to describe the drink- "defense," "rescue," "energy" - have earned the company large profits, leaving consumers with a false sense of health. Now Coca-Cola is being sued by the Center for Science in the Public Interest for their "multi-v" health claims.

Next time you exercise and reach for your hydration, make it water. Save yourself 100 calories (equivalent to over 10 minutes on the rowing machine!) and give your body what it really needs.