Why You Don’t Have To Earn Your Calories In The Gym…
I chose this photo for this blog post for many reasons. Number one its what the world is doing…or at least its what the world wants you to do. Run away from the food you have eaten..or more…try and banish the food you have eaten from your body. Secondly, she has a smile on her face. This smile could mean two things:
She has realised that she doesn’t need to run anymore from the cake and ice cream, and banishing the calories you have eaten through exercise is a daft thing to suggest.
She is just enjoying movement because the movement is there to make us happy.
I fear I am being overly optimistic about the photo. I think the photo in truth was designed to promote the banishing of calories from your body.
This article arose from a TV Programme that was aired here in the UK. It was called Horizon. The tag line for this show is the following:
“Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you’ve never seen before”
This particular episode was focussing on “The Restaurant that Burns Off Calories”. All you need to know at this point is that a Doctor and a Restuarant Owner teamed up and built a restaurant full of the UK’s “favourite dishes” and built a gym behind the restaurant where there were about 40 Gym Bunnies all ready on Cardio Machines to burn off all the calories that were consumed in one service in the restaurant. The whole menu had been calorie counted, and then the figures were totalled up, and those on Rowing Machines, Treadmills and Exercise Bikes saw this figure ever-increasing and had to keep working towards the final of total of, 45,687 calories.
The show came into much criticism on Social Media as it is promoting the idea that you “have to earn your food in the gym”. Which you simply do not. And anything that promotes this notion is going to be criticised for helping push people towards very real and dangerous eating disorders.
In this article, my aim is to move your mind away from the very worrying and potentially damaging thought that you have to “earn your food”. I would also like to say right from the start, I have never had an eating disorder, and I am also not an eating disorder professional. Throughout the article, I have cited where I have got my information from, and the sources that I believe to be very credible.
My sole purpose in this article is to try and show you how all food including, cakes, donuts, crisps, alcohol, sweets and ice cream as well as exercise and training play two very important roles in maintaining both your physical and mental health. And above all…why you do not have to earn your calories.
If you have found this article, and are suffering from an eating disorder please stop reading, and seek professional and medical advice right here: https://www.beateatingdisorders.org.uk/support-services
We will go through the following:
The Dangers of “earing your calories”.
The Dangers of overtraining.
Why did the BBC Produce this TV Show? and the problems within it.
The best foot forward…
THE DANGERS OF “EARNING YOUR CALORIES IN THE GYM”
This article arose from a TV Programme that was aired here in the UK. It was called Horizon. The tag line for this show is the following:
“Horizon tells amazing science stories, unravels mysteries and reveals worlds you’ve never seen before”
This particular episode was focussing on “The Restaurant that Burns Off Calories”. All you need to know at this point is that a Doctor and a Restuarant Owner teamed up and built a restaurant full of the UK's “favourite dishes” and built a gym behind the restaurant where there were about 40 Gym Bunnies all ready on Cardio Machines to burn off all the calories that were consumed in one service in the restaurant. The whole menu had been calorie counted, and then the figures were totalled up, and those on Rowing Machines, Treadmills and Exercise Bikes saw this figure ever-increasing and had to keep working towards the final of total of, 45,687 calories.
The show came into much criticism on Social Media as it is promoting the idea that you “have to earn your food in the gym”. Which you simply do not. And anything that promotes this notion is going to be criticised for helping push people towards very real and dangerous eating disorders.
When we equate the food we eat in a direct correlation to the amount of exercise we have to do to burn it off…it is a battle we will always lose, because you cannot exercise that much. Or if you do…it will likely lead you towards very excessive behaviour patterns and destroy your relationship with what exercise is, and what your food is.
When you adopt purging behaviours (verb. to physically remove or expel (something) completely) you are treading a very very dangerous line between both your mental health and your physical health.
Here some infographics I once made:
From @thegymstarter on Instagram
As you can see from the infographics…it is merely impossible to:
Do 239 minutes of running at 6mph every time you have a Pizza.
Do 526 minutes of walking, just because you ate Christmas Dinner.
Do 24 minutes of walking every time you consume a Glass of Red Wine.
The sheer thought that you might think, when you sit down on December 25th to enjoy your Christmas Dinner that you will then be faced with nearly 4 hours of walking (depending on your weight) will suck out all enjoyment of that dinner and the true meaning of Christmas. Despite the fact, I don’t know many people that will willingly engage in that much time on a Treadmill (I ran a half marathon on a treadmill once…I do not recommend it).
So what is the other option…you purge the food away.
Every time you do this you are setting up a neurological behaviour that equates food with pain. We all need to eat food. We all need calories to survive. Without them, we will die. This is a fact of life.
And when you become overwhelmed with the idea of how much exercise you will have to do in order to banish the food from your body you will look for the shortcut…which will then lead you into directions such as:
Avoiding social situations.
Living with a feeling of shame.
Relating food enjoyment to painful behaviours.
Changing your brains chemistry to a reward system for these behaviours (1).
Engaging in compensatory behaviours can become addictive. Self-induced vomiting can actually change an individual’s brain chemistry, affecting serotonin levels and releasing endorphins.
This can result in a high that those with purging disorder might strive to recreate following a meal. Similarly, it can be difficult to cease laxative use if an individual’s body has become reliant on them to produce bowel movements (1)
Studies have shown that living on a Very Low-Calorie Diet typically less than 800kcal a day, but can be as little as 1000kcal a day it can have the same physiologically as total starvation (2).
CAN THAT MUCH EXERCISE BE DANGEROUS AS WELL?
Overtraining is a serious subject as well…and if you start walking down the path of “earning your calories” you will have to engage in copious amounts of exercise to compensate.
As I mentioned above, I once ran a Half Marathon on a Treadmill, and it was not a good decision. It took me 2 hours. And yeah…it left its mark. So much so I wasn’t able to train for 4–5 days. But that was a one off stupid incident during marathon training from someone who was very well versed in the ability to run. If I did that day in and day out over a long period of time other issues will begin to arise such as:
Increase in weight
Heavy mood swings
Constant muscle aches (different to DOMS)
Overstressing of muscles leading to frequent injuries
Fatigue and exhaustion
Sleep quality has decreased
In order to actually create a change in the body through training, it must be backed up with a very disciplined regime of sleep and nutrition. Without these two things, you will not build that body you want, and therefore you will always be chasing your tail. If you are considering your food as something you have to burn off, and you educate yourself on the calories contained in foods, then you will be moving towards poorer nutritional choices (ie too few calories), combined with a tendency to overtraining.
According to a study in May 2002, approximately 80 percent of patients with anorexia nervosa and 55 percent of patients with bulimia nervosa compulsively exercise. Female eating disorder patients who exercise report higher levels of psychological distress and psychopathological traits than non-exercisers (3).
Therefore you can see how it will begin to affect both mental and physical health.
WHY DID THE BBC PRODUCE THIS SHOW AND THE PROBLEMS WITHIN IT
A piece of research came out in 2019 from Loughborough University that stated when people know how much exercise they will have to do to burn off their food, as displayed on a food label (knowns as PACE labelling) they are likely to reduce their caloric intake by 103kcals a day (4)
An NHS Blog post (5) states this as the conclusion:
Researchers found:
1. people were less likely to buy a sugary soft drink if it was labelled with PACE information, compared to no label.
2. people selected on average 64.9 fewer calories if food or drink was PACE labelled, compared to no label or other labelling (95% confidence interval (CI) -103.2 to -26.6)
3. people ate on average 80.4 fewer calories if food or drink was PACE labelled, compared to no label or other labelling (95% CI -136.7 to -24.2)
I remember when this story broke as I was invited to talk about it on BBC Radio 5 Live. I was merely approaching it from the relationship of PACE labelling and weight loss. I didn’t really see the relationship this would then have with eating disorders until I looked into it more.
The premise is a fair one. Let's get that out the way right now. The idea that anything that reduces our caloric intake could be a win-win is always going to be a “good idea” especially when we are facing huge increases in obesity globally. But I would like to think that the first half of this article has made you realise the very serious consequences labelling food like this can have.
The show itself was very lukewarm on two fronts. One, its dietary information and the message it tried to get across, and two its understanding of the role exercise plays in our metabolism.
I could pull the show apart, trust me, I made enough notes on how sensationalist it was at times throughout the programme. But also just how sensationalist the whole premise was. Having 40 or so people, all who were not a cross-section of society in terms of their exercise habits, their age and weight working out on Cardio Machines to burn off food others had eaten is simply sensationalism. And the fitness industry has dabbled in sensationalism far too much. This is one reason why eating disorders are on the rise (6) because of Diet Culture and unrealistic expectations of what is achievable being spouted left right and centre to everyone.
Other issues I noticed with the show was that there was no given metric as to how they were monitoring how much exercise the subjects had to do. They didn’t look to me like they were wearing heart rate monitors or were going through a VO2 Max Test as they were doing it to determine truly how many calories they were actually burning.
The lack of information about how the exercise subjects output was being monitored might lead some people to jump on a treadmill and take the numbers that the machine gives you as fact. The numbers of calories burned on a Treadmill, Exercise Bike or Rowing Machine are to be disregarded at all times. They are wildly inaccurate and will nearly always give a higher reading close to 15–20% than what you actually did.
This is important to know because you will be giving it your all on a Cardio Machine, tracking that number…not seeing results that you think you deserve and then you will want to give up again.
I also felt that nearly every shot of the exercise subjects you saw, they looked downtrodden, deflated and absolutely exhausted. I mean…who wouldn't be? Having to do that much exercise.
The meals that the restaurant were serving might have been “typical” to the UK, but they are only typical to the UK when we are eating out. Something that we do not do all day every day. So to directly correlate the very stark image of that many people, looking that hot and sweaty, because of food that someone has eaten, is falsifying the truth. Home Cooked Food vs Restaurant Cooked Food is always going to have big variances in the Caloric value due to things like Oil, Salt and other flavourings that are used in the food.
One of the hosts gave a very simplified version of how your Metabolism worked, and she followed this statement up with “you can’t do much to influence your BMR”, again, which is not giving you the full truth. Which is what makes this programme so very wrong indeed. The sheer fact that the programme is telling you only what you can and cannot do in one exercise session to burn away your calories is very misguided.
The show took in no regard for what happens over long periods of time when you add muscle to your body, and how that helps you maintain your weight. The show gave reference to the fact that Muscle requires more calories to maintain than body fat…but it didn’t look into that any further — which again is giving a very imbalanced view.
It also didn’t mention EPOC (Excess post-exercise oxygen consumption). EPOC is responsible for the continuation of burning calories post-exercise. It occurs both in Cardio work and Resistance Training. However, it occurs to a greater degree in resistance training (7), although the studies I could find do say it is a small difference, and it is an incremental difference over long periods of time.
One last point on the show which I think sums the whole thing up. There was a moment when Angela a middle-aged woman who was enjoying a meal ordered a dessert. The waiter then showed her the PACE labelling for the item she ordered. Angela changed her mind to a different less calorific dessert. However the look on her face would have suggested that she was neither happy about choosing ice cream, and she seemed even less impressed that she felt guilt-tripped into having it.
She also says as her husband is eating the Cheesecake “I have pudding envy. I really wanted the cheesecake”. She was out having a nice meal and has now had her dinner somewhat spoiled by the fact that she now knows she saved 335kcals on her meal.
They went on to ask her about this and she said that she has a goal in mind to fit into a dress for a wedding…and this choice will get her one day closer to getting into that dress.
Which is a nice thought? But it won't help her. It won’t help her because she is encouraging herself to move away from the enjoyment of her food and into a place where she is having to avoid things she enjoys, simply because she is viewing her food as like for like exchange for calories, and weight. She also states later in the programme that “she isn't careful about the food she eats”.
Which brings me to my last point in this section. You can’t build good habits with food if you are building it on a foundation of sand. Shocking people into better choices will not work, because an awful lot more goes into why people chose the foods they eat each day. It's down to their emotional behaviours, their environmental factors and their relationship with themselves.
Not their relationship with their food labels.
THE BEST FOOT FORWARD AND CONCLUSION
So what should we do? If PACE labelling isn’t the answer what should we do instead?
Like with most things two words spring to mind.
Education and Balance.
The education required would be to acknowledge that Exercise is responsible for just 5% of your Daily Metabolic burn.
Read that again.
Exercise is responsible for just 5% of your Daily Metabolic burn.
Above is your Metabolism each day set out as percentages. And you can see Exercise Activity is responsible for just 5% of that.
So I ask the question…why was the show expecting people to burn off 100% of their meals?
Energy In vs Energy Out is what it is important here. And that bar in my infographic is 100% of your energy out. Therefore a keener focus on the big sections of the bar would be useful.
You can improve your BMR by lifting weights, maintaining muscle mass, sleeping better, eating more protein and enjoying the compound effect of these lifestyle changes over a long period of time will help improve your metabolism.
Increase your NEAT. This is your Daily Movement. Fidgeting, Standing, Climbing Stairs, Walking, Gardening, Dancing and everything in between.
We can even increase our Thermic Effect of Food due to making sure the food we eat has a higher Protein focus.
Add all that up and you are increasing 95% of your Metabolism. Yes, it will take time but this isn’t nor should it ever be a like for like situation. Your metabolism is a lot more complex than Exercise = Calories, and the sooner we can understand that the sooner you will start protecting your future self from increased weight gain.
If you want to lose weight and don’t want to spend all day on the treadmill just because you ate a burger …then you can need to do the above.
I would also suggest that you get yourself Calorie Educated. Spend time learning what calories are in your food, and learning how that can work into your numbers for each day. I repeat:
You do not have to earn your calories eaten in the gym.
I have a system called the Five Awesome Rules For Fat Loss Life which I outline in this video which will be a great place to start your understanding of how this all weaves together and why not equating calories eaten to time spent on a Rowing Machine is a good idea.
Did you find this useful?
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And above all remember this…for as long as you are trying your best no one can ask for more from you.
Coach Adam
References:
1.Ekern, B., 2020. Purging Disorder: Signs, Symptoms — You Need To Be Aware Of This. [online] Eating Disorder Hope. Available at: <https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/blog/purging-disorder-signs-and-symptoms> [Accessed 23 April 2020].
2. Uclahealth.org. 2020. Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD) Plan : RFO Weight Loss Program | UCLA Center For Human Nutrition. [online] Available at: <https://www.uclahealth.org/clinicalnutrition/vlcd> [Accessed 23 April 2020].
3. Eating Disorder Hope. 2020. Exercising And Eating: What Are The Risks And Effects Of Over-Exercising. [online] Available at: <https://www.eatingdisorderhope.com/information/orthorexia-excessive-exercise/risks-over-exercising> [Accessed 23 April 2020].
4. Davis, N., 2020. Exercise Advice On Food Labels Could Help To Tackle The Obesity Crisis. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/dec/10/exercise-advice-on-food-labels-could-help-to-tackle-the-obesity-crisis> [Accessed 23 April 2020].
5. nhs.uk. 2020. Exercise Advice On Food Labels Could ‘Change Eating Habits’. [online] Available at: <https://www.nhs.uk/news/food-and-diet/exercise-advice-food-labels-could-change-eating-habits/> [Accessed 23 April 2020].
6. Marsh, S., 2020. Hospital Admissions For Eating Disorders Surge To Highest In Eight Years. [online] the Guardian. Available at: <https://www.theguardian.com/society/2019/feb/15/hospital-admissions-for-eating-disorders-surge-to-highest-in-eight-years> [Accessed 23 April 2020].
7. Unm.edu. 2020. Resistance Training And EPOC. [online] Available at: <https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/epoc.html> [Accessed 23 April 2020].