changing eating habits vs just getting exercise

A few years ago I started bicycling; my then-boyfriend-now-husband was into it, and got me cycling as well. I didn't change my eating habits, though -- they changed for me. I found that when I cycled, I didn't crave sugary foods anywhere near as much as I wanted a burrito I lost about 20 pounds in two months.

Of course, I've since put it all back on and more, mostly due to the depression, I think, of watching my husband deal with two strokes and lose the ability to bicycle anymore, or in fact do most of the things he enjoys. I haven't been on a long, hilly ride for more than three years now, and it shows. We're starting at the gym next week, and will hopefully find support in each other's companionship once more, even if pedaling away on a stationary bike is not as fun as climbing Tunnel Road.

But I'm wondering what everyone else's opinions are on this. Do you find that simply starting an exercise plan changes your eating habits for you, or that you need to change your eating habits actively?

Fri. Jan 4, 8:37pm

For me I need to actively change my eating habits. I've been dealing with anxiety/depression for about 10 years and gradually put on the weight- about 20+ extra pounds. Two years ago I finally sought help and got diagnosed. Exercised but still continued to struggle with emotional eating. But the last several months I finally stopped binge eating b/c I realized I cannot allow my anxiety to control my life and my weight controls how I feel about myself. Now I'm getting into the hang of things and in the process of getting rid of mindless eating. I'm about 1/3 from my weight goal.

Good luck!

Friday, January 04, 2008, 8:59 PM

I also found that I had to actively change my eating habits. When I exercise regularly I do crave less junk food. So, I do loss weight. However, the culture of the food industry at US sneaks in calories and junk into my body every chance it has. It wasn't untile I started to actively seek out health food options, cook more myself, and quite sugar/soda/etc., etc. that I'm finally broke my own weight barrier and got myself down to the lean body shape which I desire. I still eat a ton, never starve myself, but only healthy food.

Saturday, January 05, 2008, 3:01 AM

I think it is really hard to work at the weight loss equation from just the exercise side. Most activities burn so little calories compared to the calories in most food. On the other hand it doesn't necessarily take tremendous changes in diet to make a big difference in the long haul. I've had great success just cutting out most processed food and eating more fruits and vegetables,, basically lowering my calorie/volume ratio.

Saturday, January 05, 2008, 9:37 AM

9:37 - I agree. I have a friend who only focuses on exercise and never loses a pound. On her part, all it would take is a little awareness about portion size and she would begin to see a difference. I only have 10 more pounds to lose, so actively addressing the eating is a must for me, too.

Saturday, January 05, 2008, 9:48 AM

Weight loss is about calories. You can cut more calories by eating less and healthier than you can by exercising. You just can't exercise all day but the little cutbacks with diet really add up. Of course, exercising does burn calories, it increases your metabolism, and creating muscle burns fat so its important. Like the OP said, exercising can be a great motivation to maintain a healthy body. But I lost close to 30 pounds without hardcore exercise - just a couple 45-minute aerobic DVDs a week - because of a 1300 calorie a day diet. If I had worked out every day but eaten 2000 calories a day or more, I couldn't have lost the weight. In the end, weight loss is really about diet. Still, those that exercise have been shown to maintain their loss more. I'm planning on adding way more exercise in this year and I hope to see some great results but its not an excuse to eat whatever you want.

Saturday, January 05, 2008, 5:59 PM

5:59 - I agree. I trained for a marathon and ran 20-30 miles a week and didn't lose an ounce b/c I didn't pay attention to my diet. Subconsicously, I probably thought I could eat more b/c I was exercising so much! When I really made changes to my diet (and exercised a fraction of what I used to) the pounds fell off.

I love that the Abs Diet author/Men's Health editor validates this point by saying that a very large percentage of getting those 'abs' boils down to what we put into our bodies. We can do all the exercise we want, but if we've got that layer of fat covering it and we don't change our eating - who can tell!?

Ultimately, for me - the diet comes first. When I'm eating well I want to bolster those efforts by moving more!

Saturday, January 05, 2008, 7:32 PM

A few years ago I was walking about 7-9 miles a week and some of the time I was dieting and some of the time I wasn't. The time I was dieting I lost weight like crazy but when I quit dieting and just did the walking I stayed at the same weight.
But I think that when you exercise you subconsiously want to do better with your diet and may not eat as much as you otherwise would. At least for me that was true.
As I look at it now though I just see how important it is to put healthy food into your body to live off of. Exercise is good, exercise and diet is even better.

Saturday, January 05, 2008, 9:03 PM

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