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Can You Out-Train a Bad Diet with Exercise at AFAC Gym?

Man at AFAC gym holding a pot of candy in one hand and a dumbbell in the other hand

It’s one of the most common mantras at the gym – “You can’t out-train a bad diet.”

When most people hear it, they think in terms of calories. In other words, they hear, “Just because you go to the gym doesn’t mean you can eat whatever you want and not gain weight.”

But what about when you exercise for longevity and disease prevention? Can you eat unhealthy foods but still save yourself from serious health problems by exercising at the gym?

Some recent research attempted to answer this question. Read on to learn what science says about whether you can cancel out the effects of a bad diet by exercising at our gym in Thornton, Colorado.

Exercising at the Gym to Improve Longevity

Wouldn’t we all love to regularly indulge in a massive bacon cheeseburger with fries followed by a thick slice of chocolate pie – and then erase the negative health effects with an intense cardio and strength training workout at the gym?

Unfortunately, according to a recent study outlined in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, exercise alone doesn’t save you from a poor diet when it comes to preventing disease and living longer.

The study showed that the quality of your diet still matters even if you’re very physically active. Participants in the study who engaged in high levels of exercise and a high-quality diet had the lowest risk of death from all causes, deaths from cancer, and deaths from cardiovascular disease.

Even if you have a bad diet, exercise protects against mortality risk somewhat, but it’s much better to commit to both exercise and a healthy diet.

Details of the Study

In the study, which was conducted at The University of Sydney, researchers reviewed a large database of more than 346,000 British adults who reported their exercise habits and diet.

Participants were followed for 11 years, on average. Researchers examined how many participants died, and what their cause of death was.

Healthy Diet, Defined

Study participants were considered to have a good diet if they ate at least 4.5 cups per day of fruits and vegetables and two servings per week of fish. They also limited their processed meat servings to twice per week or less, and their red meat consumption to five times per week or less.

The study did not, however, include how often participants consumed sugary drinks, fast food, and other “cheat” meals.

Amount of Exercise, Defined

For the exercise portion of the study, participants were grouped by how many minutes per week they engaged in vigorous-intensity workouts. These are exercises that would leave them out of breath like running, spinning, stair climbing, and aerobic dancing. Researchers focused on vigorous-intensity exercise because previous studies showed this type of movement offers additional health benefits compared to moderate-intensity exercise.

We Need Both

People with the lowest risk of dying prematurely almost always engaged in at least 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity exercise per week AND consumed the highest-quality diet. These participants had a mortality risk that was reduced by 17% from all causes. They also had a 27% lower risk from death from certain cancers, and a 19% lower risk of death from cardiovascular disease.

High levels of exercise did not fully counteract the negative effects of a poor diet, according to the study.

Diet matters, therefore, even for the most active among us at the gym. We need to move our body and eat well because these habits work together to improve our wellbeing throughout our lives.

It’s not as simple as, “I can burn off that dessert by spending more time at the gym.” Regular exercise and good dietary habits go hand-in-hand when it comes to protecting your health and longevity.

Why Do We Need Both Gym Exercise and a Nutritious Diet to Live a Long, Healthy Life?

We often think of food as the fuel, or calories, we need to produce energy. If we eat too much food and don’t move enough, our bodies will store the extra calories as fat.

But food is more than just calories.

It also contains the nutrients we need to make new cells that replace the old, damaged cells. This includes protein so that our bodies can make more muscle cells in response to our regular strength training at the gym. The nutrients we eat also help our bodies produce essential hormones, move food through the digestive tract, ward off inflammation, circulate blood through the body, support brain function, and fight off illness, among many other things.

Exercise is a big part of the health equation, too. Regular exercise at the gym supports bone and muscle strength, keeps your heart pumping, improves your mental health, and balances your hormones. Exercise also plays a major role in preventing chronic – and deadly – diseases like type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and certain cancers.

But Doesn’t Weight Control Prevent Disease?

There is some debate about the relationship between diet, exercise, and health. One might argue that excess fat is associated with the onset of many chronic diseases, so the way diet and exercise promote a longer life is by helping you manage your weight.

Beyond weight control, however, diet and exercise improve many other aspects of your health that can extend your lifespan, including:

Reasons Why You Can’t Out-Train a Bad Diet at the Gym

Now that we’ve discussed why you need a healthy diet and exercise to prevent disease and live longer, let’s dive into the more common debate – can you exercise enough to eat whatever you want and not gain weight?

Unfortunately, the answer is no for the vast majority of us. But why?

You won’t burn enough calories

When it comes to losing body fat, it’s all about calorie intake vs. calorie output. A person can spend an hour at the gym burning 500-700 calories, but if they follow that by eating a 1,000-calorie breakfast, they’ll still be a few hundred calories in surplus. They’d have to workout twice as long to be in a calorie deficit, and that’s just for one meal. The harsh reality is that it’s very easy to eat a large amount of calorie-dense food, and very hard to burn it all off.

Every person does burn a certain amount of calories just to stay alive. These calories are used to keep your heart beating, lungs breathing, food digesting, and body temperature stable. The number of calories you need to lay in bed all day is known as your Basic Metabolic Rate, or BMR. Everyone’s BMR is different and influenced by a number of factors like age, height, and weight. Chances are, you’ll be surprised how few calories your body needs when you don’t exercise. Curious? This calculator can give you an estimate of what your BMR is.

You won’t perform at your best

For your gym exercise to really matter, you need to be at peak performance. But you won’t be able to hit your peak if you’re consuming an unhealthy diet. You simply won’t have the physical endurance to push through tough workouts if you don’t give your body the fuel and nutrients it needs.

You won’t feel like exercising

Exercise takes energy, motivation, and endurance. On the flip side, eating unhealthy foods can leave you tired, sluggish, and unmotivated to go to the gym. A healthy diet will give you the spark you need to get that workout in. Plus, if you miss a workout, you’re more likely to feel a moment of weakness and eat unhealthy foods.

Exercise might not boost your metabolism as much as you think

Yes, there is evidence that both cardiovascular and strength training boost your metabolism – and thus, your calorie burn – for hours after you’re done with your workout. During intense exercise, your metabolic rate increases. When you stop, your body doesn’t go back to its resting metabolic rate immediately. This additional energy expenditure after your workout is known as the afterburn effect or “excess post-exercise oxygen consumption” (EPOC). Research suggests that the EPOC effect is relatively small, accounting for only about 6%-15% of the calories used during the exercise itself. So if you burned 500 calories during an intense workout session at the gym, you might burn an extra 75 calories afterward. That’s great, but not enough to counteract the calories in a slice of cheesecake.

Neither does muscle mass

Another way to boost resting metabolism is by gaining muscle mass. The theory goes, if you change your body composition through strength training and gain more muscle mass, that muscle will burn more calories when you’re at rest compared to fat. That is true, but only to a small degree. A pound of muscle burns 6 calories per day at rest and a pound of fat burns about 2 calories per day. So even if you gained 10 pounds of muscle, that would only give you about 40 extra calories per day to play with in your diet.

Get the Training Part Right at AFAC Gym

None of us lead perfect lives inside or outside the gym. For the majority of us, it’s absolutely okay to splurge on a cheat day every now and again and order that decadent dessert you’ve been eyeing on the menu. Just make sure to choose fresh vegetables, fruits, whole grains, low-fat dairy, plant sources of protein (legumes, lentils, beans, nuts), heart-healthy oils, eggs, fish, chicken, turkey, and other lean meats most of the time.

In addition to keeping your diet on track, it’s just as important to exercise most days of the week. The ideal to strive for is a combination of full-body strength training at least 2-3 days per week plus 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous-intensity cardio (aerobic) activity per week.

The personal trainers at AFAC gym are here to help you develop an individualized exercise program that matches your unique fitness goals. At AFAC gym, our team is always here to support your efforts so you’ll see the results you’re working so hard for. That’s why we’re the best gym in Thornton, Colorado.

If you’re not a member of AFAC gym but would like more information, please stop by and speak to our team. For more information and assistance, you can also contact our gym owner, Susan, at 720-849-0245 or susan@adventurefitness.club.

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