That is, if you still haven't cleaned up your diet. There is an old adage that still holds true, 'you can't out train a bad diet'. No matter how hard to workout, you can always eat more calories than you can possibly burn in the gym. Don't believe me?
Let's take a little test, shall we. First lets eat an extra value meal from an average fast food restaurant. A cheeseburger, medium fries and a medium soft drink will run between 1,000 to 1,800 calories!!!
So how long will you have to exercise in order to burn that many calories? First, lets start with the treadmill, going at 3.5 miles an hour. You will likely burn from 250 to 350 calories in an hour depending on your weight. That means it will take you anywhere from 3-5 hours to use up that entire meal.
But what about a stair climber you say? That will burn about 500 to 700 calories in an hour. So it will only take you 2-3 hours. Weightlifting? Try 3.5-5.5 hours. When you multiply that by 3 meals a day, 365 days a year that is 3285 hours or 131 days working out. By now I'm sure you are realizing how impossible that is. There has to be a better way you think! Fortunately there is.
It's called self control. If you are able to cut out just 500 calories a day, you can lose a pound a week(one pound equals 3,500 calories). Over the course of a year that is 52 pounds of fat. Just skipping the fries and cola should easily cover the 500 calories.
Am I saying that exercise is unimportant? No! Exercise is vital to build strength, muscle mass, cardiovascular fitness and overall health. But what I am saying is you don't want to be stuck on the 'treadmill' of exercising in an attempt to counteract your overeating.
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