. eat less, exercise more? no way! .
I came across something the other day that made my left eye start twitching uncontrollably – as it tends to do when I get extremely frustrated/annoyed.
I was glancing through some old fitness magazines, when I came across this little gem:
Don’t snack back the calories you burn?
As in… eat less and exercise more? As in… don’t refuel your body properly?
As in… set yourself up for complete failure in the long run?
It’s no wonder that so many women have disordered eating/exercising habits when they’re constantly being bombarded with garbage advice like this by all of the popular fitness magazines – the same fitness magazines that advocate adhering to a strenuous workout schedule and a 1400 calorie a day diet.
Fail, fail, fail.
Thankfully, there are actually some sources of good advice out there…
… they’re just not found in the popular media.
I know that I’ve been mentioning The New Rules of Lifting for Women a lot lately, but that’s because I honestly adore this book – especially the chapters about nutrition. The authors don’t promote any kind of “lose 7 lbs. in 7 days by eating 1200 calories a day” quick-fix garbage that only ends up screwing you over in the long run, but they offer advice that’s meant to increase your strength, your health, and your metabolism…
Mmm. Advice after my own heart…
I used to buy into the whole “eat less and exercise more” mentality, and while, sure, you may see results quickly, they’re probably not exactly the kind of results you want… especially in the long run…
Your body adjusts to starvation, which basically means that the more you restrict, the more you keep having to restrict in order to get the results that you’re essentially killing yourself for.
You also have the pleasure of experiencing the oh-so-pleasant side effects of starvation, including fatigue, depression, decreased performance, and hormonal imbalance.
Fun times… Except, not really.
So why are we still being sold that kind of advice? And why are we still buying into it?
Instant gratification.
We want to see results, and we want to see them yesterday – nevermind the consequences. And there are consequences… saying goodbye to delicious food being one of them…
Steel cut oats topped with banana slices, wild blueberries, and coconut butter.
Cookie and Muffin messes…
English muffin with cream cheese/jam & almond butter … Banana bread over yogurt
I eat, and I eat a lot, which consequently gets me a lot of funny looks. It used to make me self-conscious, and question if maybe I was eating too much, but any less and I feel like absolute garbage. I know what I need, and if other people want to be miserable on their starvation diets, that’s their prerogative. As for me, I’ll continue to eat like a horse and enjoy the metabolism of a cheetah, thank you very much.
. – . – . – .
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the whole “eat less, exercise more” mentality, as well as any experiences you have with properly fueling and exercising 😀
. running with spoons . 
Gosh exactly! These magazines and articles make me feel like i should be eating WAY less no matter that four mile run I did this morning. Ugh it’s so hard. Not to count calories and ect. Do you have any tips to stop? I can’t even tell if I am hungry anymore. I don’t know what hunger feels like. It stinks. Do you have any times/ideas to help with recovery? Because I am trying to “listen to my body” but what if my body is not audible right now? Should I stick to a meal plan? Thanks so much!
It’s not too easy to give advice when I don’t know anything about your current situation, but if you have a hard time feeling hungry and you need to gain weight, then I’d suggest sticking to a meal plan until your hunger starts kicking in. Intuitive eating is the goal, but a big part of recovery means you have to go against intuition.
Thanks so much for your input. I tried just to quit calorie restriction and go to inituitive eating. I was actually given a meal plan a few weeks back and told to gain weight but i heard that intuitive eating was best so I threw it out the window.. Today I am sticking to the meal plan and NOT counting calories. Thanks. Your blog = total lifesaver!
Excellent post! I totally used to think that was the way to go… It got to the stage where I was eating a crazy low amount of calories, and only just maintaining my weight..it was scary how slow my metabolism was! It’s no wonder people gain weight back so quick after being on silly diets.
Now I eat so much that I get comments too! I need alot of food to fill me up, but it’s the right amount cos now my metabolism is functioning as it should be!
BTW, your pictures never fail to make my belly rumble 😛
I hate when I come across an article with the whole eat less, exercise more mentality! It drives me insane and makes me feel like a real hippopotamus since I thankfully inherited my fathers speedy metabolism. I love that you brought up this issue, I love to know that I’m not the only one who find them extremely annoying!
People are idiots and don’t know how to eat. LOL.
definitely used to believe that I could workout for 2 hours and eat a salad for dinner – YEA RIGHT!? I think back at that and I wonder why I was so crabby/hard to be around! ha!
random – do you make your own jam? It looks wonderful!
Hehe no I buy it. I like Crofter’s, and my favorite are their Superfruit North America blend, or just the wild blueberry.
amen sista!
Calorie Restriction Society? Is that for real or some sort of joke? I suppose I could google that and answer for myself…and google says: it’s real. *facepalm*
I love all the advice in that book. It really does look awesome! I’ll have to check it out. That and Born to Run are on my list.
My favorite diet advice? “Drink water when you’re hungry!”
Right. Because water has a lot to offer when you need food…
I’m really hoping they didn’t mean it like that. Some girls i’ve worked with do think that b/c they are working out they can have a ginormous dessert daily or eat lots of extra goodies that they wouldn’t touch if they werent working out. So in that respect, the extra sugar they’re woofing down is not going to help them stay healthy. but in total agreement with you, extra snacks or heathly components added to meals (calorie dense or not) are things we should not restrict ourselves of if our body is asking for it! so while I want to give the mag the benefit of the doubt.. its hard too b/c they didnt take the time to explain themselves enough to actually help the girls they are “reaching” and i’m gonna team up with you and say “grrr! magazine! poor form!” =)
keep stimulating that metabolism girl! your body knows what it needs =) mwah!!!!!!
ok and if that was a hot mess i’m sorry. paul is playing with my first ever big girl camera and firing off the flash in my eyes. so i’m all cah-razy town =) luff yew!
This is such a great post. I love that you included information from your book. I am actually going to go get that book from the library/bookstore sometime tomorrow because I keep hearing about how great it is and I want in on the information!
Thanks for being NORMAL and eating a lot and exercising a lot 🙂 That’s the way it should be.
I LOVE THIS POST! I eat so much food…my friends during undergrad used to make fun of me. I’m always hungry and I cannot deprive myself! I think part of the problem with the whole eat less, exercise more thing is that people who are obese do need to do those things- but when you use those rules for people that are of a normal size it screws us up. Stupid! I seriously love your blog, your posts are awesome and thought provoking :).
amanda, hi.
i am just popping in to say thank you once again. you always seem to post the most helpful posts right when i need them! i struggle with overexercise, restriction, etc with my eating disorder and today in particular i have been struggling with refueling. in addition to walking around in the sun all day, i was up at 4 am and i ran 4 miles! that means i need fuel. and lots of it, considering i am a growing 16 year old with a pretty fast metabolism.
thank you, you are amazing. keep eating like a horse! i used to be horrified by such a prospect, but i’d much rather be an athlete who eats a ton than a wimpy anorexic any longer. i need to eat to get there. thank you!
xoxo
alexandra
oh and for the record, i am currently having a healthy snack. you inspired me to do the right thing, as always.
Awwr that’s so great to hear, love. Thank you ❤ Enjoy your snack 😀 I just finished up some nightly noshing, too.
I love this Amanda!! I seriously need to get that book NOW it sounds amazing! And magazines that preach stuff like that bother the crap out of me! UGH! It only makes sense to snack after to work out…..other wise we would all waste away to nothing!!!
I have a copy that I am wanting to sell. Interested? 🙂
Seriously, health and fitness magazines make me so mad. I refuse to even buy them anymore because they give such horrible advice to women. What makes me even more mad is that so many millions of women read those magazines every day. I must get that book you are reading right now – it sounds right up my alley!
I have a copy that I want to sell. It is a GREAT read and has some awesome workouts in it.
Exactly!! When you exercise, your body needs food to build up a strong lean body 🙂
Women need to realize that caloric restriction does nothing for you other than leave you exhausted, dizzy, and unhealthy!
LOVE LOVE LOVE this message! I actually just wrote up tonights blog post about why I don’t like those magazines anymore. I often slip into this mindset where I’m like “oh, I only eat when I’m hungry and my appetite is dead after my workout, so I guess I won’t eat so I can “save” my calories” which is always a bad idea. The only way to get stronger is to eat food! Otherwise the exercise is just killing you.
I am officially convinced I need to buy this book. I’m currently reading two other books but I’m going out to buy this. I think I need it.
I just want to show this post to the entire world!!!!! My friends wonder why they are always tired and I’m so energetic. They eat like once a day. Literally. And they all wonder how I eat all day long and don’t weigh 400 pounds. They don’t understand it’s because I eat all day long! And then I have so much energy I can exercise and actually enjoy myself. Gahhhhhh!!!!
I use to be one with more of the mentality “exercise to eat more” Haha!
I’m much more aware that anyone working out and really sweating it out, needs to fuel themselves A LOT. It’s a message that more people need to realize too!
I used to restrict so much, and just as of a few weeks ago I broke off the weight watchers program and started just fueling my body. I stopped counting points and started eating more. If I was hungry I ate and if I want chocolate, I’ll eat it. Honestly, I need to give you and your blog a ton of credit for my life changes. Thanks lady! 🙂
I agree, but I have a question too. In your experience, is it better to increase calories slowly, say but like a hundred calories a day or so, until you reach a higher level and stay there or to just go for it one day and increase all at once?
If you’re underweight and you’ve been eating a really low amount of calories for a really long time, I’d increase gradually to avoid any kind of symptoms of refeeding.
It’s no wonder that so many girls struggle with diets and weight loss. The way that fitness magazines want us to live is almost impossible. It’s a quick fix and an unrealistic lifestyle to live.
I’ve done the whole eat less, exercise more deal and I have never felt worse in my entire life. I was irritable, depressed, tired, and anxioulsy awaited my next meal because I was always STARVING. Yes I was skinny, toned, and lean…but absolutley miserable. Why did I think that I had to look like a chiseled statue with a flat stomach, sleek arms and not one dimple on my butt? Oh ya..because the Media says so.
NEWS FLASH!!! Most woman can’t look that way unless they devote their entire life to meal planning and exercise, which most of the time results in an Eating Disorder of some sort.
I have since learned to pay attention to my hunger cues and eat foods that both energize and satisfy. I allow myself to eat whatever I want in moderation, and fill my diet with nutrious meals and fresh ingriedients. I now have my cake and eat it too 🙂
That’s what I love to hear 😀
I was just reading Jilian Micheals Making the Cut and she recommends eating by your daily cals by calculating your BMR and staying at the number. This is the number your body needs just to run itself while doing nothing. Mine is 1,400 cals. She says to try to stay at that BMR number!! I would be dead eating just 1,400 cals a day. I can understand eating that much if all you are doing is sitting down all day and don’t work out. She excepts you to eat at this level with her high intense workouts. I usto eat way below maintance. For the last year or so I have upped my cals. Yes I am not 110 pounds anymore, but at the same time I have more muscle and I am able to workout longer and stronger.
im ALREADY in love with that book! im so glad u mentioned some of the things it says.. honestly that made my day.. for the first time. something RIGHT
Ahh that was my FAVE chapter/section of the entire book!! It dispels so many false rumors about women and exercise, I adore that book 🙂 I don’t think I could even fathom going back to 12-1400 calories a day, I’d die. It’s hard to believe I actually lived on so little during my ED, no wonder I was always so cranky haha
Haha I can totally relate to that. I look back at how little I used to eat and have no idea how I managed… There’s no way I’d be able to do that again.
For two whole years my whole life revolved around exercising as much as possible while eating as little as possible. And it was magazines like those that made me believe this was a healthy and normal lifestyle. It really wasn’t until I started reading blogs that I clued into how unhealthy it really was. I love how blogs can give people a glimpse into what REAL people eat in a day – unlike those totally restrictive 1200 calorie diets that magazines promote. UGH. Those kind of articles totally make my eye twitch too. 😛
wow that IS terrible advice! i was looking through self magainze the other day and it was so sad. almost the entire magazine was focused on how to lose weight! i saw meal plans in it and it was total restriction, i couldn’t even imagine adding exercise on top of what they were suggesting. in my experience, if i even tried to not snack around working out, i’d get physically ill. or not snacking to refuel (because a diet coke after a work out does NOT count) would lead to bingeing later on.
also, pumpkin hummus?! that sounds AMAZING! where did you find this?
and i totally feel you on the “eat like a horse” bit. if i get off my meal plan, i feel it! people always comment on how much i have and ask why i’m eating so much. but i know i’m just getting in what my body needs… and enjoying every bite of it 🙂
I actually just make the pumpkin hummus by combining a few spoonfuls of canned pumpkin with a few spoonfuls of hummus 🙂
I definitely used to buy into the whole “eat-less-excercise-more” thing. It was the only way I knew to lose weight. I felt awful all the time, and I was not happy because I was hungry all the time. For a while, I was unable to find a middle ground between going all out and binge eating, and eating much less calories than I needed.
i’m finally figuring out what my body needs for fuel, and what I need to be satisfied. I may have to invest in this book…
You’re totally right about how magazines and sorts tell you that a 1500 kcalorie diet is the most optimal diet you can have – while exercising 5 days a week. I guess it makes sense if you “needed” to lose weight, meaning you are clinically overweight. The thing is, I thought these magazines were about being “fit,” not “weight-loss.” Just think about how teenagers (like I, myself was) would be influenced by these articles.
Same thing goes with the whole “Boost your Metabolism” thing. When I follow the tips they suggest, I get hungry more often end up eating more; thanks to my fired-metabolism. It’s hilarious how they expect you to lose weight by boosting your metabolism. With high metabolism, it’s normal that you eat more. If you refuse to, while your stomach is grumbling like crazy, then there’s a problem.
This is the best post EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AMEN!!!
Couldn’t agree with you more! I have a semi-similar post set to publish tomorrow morning. I’m sick of judgement and people not listening to their own body cues. There’s too much crappy and WRONG info out there.
I hate seeing those kinds of tips floating around. Every time I see something like that it makes the little voice in my head go “am I doing something wrong? Should I be eating less? More? Exercising more?”. I really try not to question my habits. I do my best to make healthy decisions while maintaining what’s right for me and listening to my body. I hate that those little tidbits set off an alarm in my head that makes me question what works for me!
I LUZ THIS! (LUZ = love…I’m a nut…)
When I used to follow that “rule” I would find that I would eat more on days when I didn’t exercise because on days when I did exercise, I’d feel as though I had to eat less…if that makes sense. DAMN THESE PEOPLE!!!! We need to make magazines that sit next to those “health” ones on the shelves that say “I’m with stupid” on the cover. Seriously!
Luz you 🙂
xxx
I hate it how people consider it strange or even “unacceptable” when girls eat “a lot” (whatever “a lot” may entail), but they don’t consider it abnormal at all for guys. I’m skinny, but I can pack away HUGE amounts of food and not feel bloated or overly full whatsoever. I don’t “eat like a bird.” At Whole Foods, I fill those salad bowls or boxes to the brim–and if I get stares, well, I’m enjoying my meal too much to notice. It used to really bother me, though, and at one point, I only felt comfortable eating alone in the privacy of my dorm room at university instead of the cafeteria (whose food was pretty gross anyway, so ultimately, I wasn’t missing out, haha). People just need to mind their own business and their own metabolisms. We are all different!
I’m so glad you raised this point and posted it! I’m totally guilty of having done the whole eat less, exercise more thing. Boy was it a bad idea. We REALLY do need those wholesome calories in order to exercise well. If we don’t eat we have no energy and with no energy our workouts are actually kind of just a waste time and energy (which we don’t have since we didn’t eat). We need food to function!
Girl you nailed it!!! I couldn’t agree more with you!!! That sort of mentality sets people up for FAILURE and if I ever have a day that I haven’t eaten enough I last 2 minutes with my workout therefore getting a crappy workout. Pretty sure everyone in the entire world should read this post of yours!
Gah that ‘move more, eat less’ makes me cringe! I think they need to add “processed foods” at the end of that piece of advice! Move more and eat less processed foods is a surefire, and healthy, way to lose weight! I blame mags like this for making me think it was normal to sustain a 1300-1500 cal/day lifestyle! Thank goodness I had these sense (and advice from blogs like yours) to break free! Food is fuel, not something trivial which we have to spend hours on end thinking about!
youve got me intrigued by this book because i TOTALLY agree with what it says! i’ve also been pretty self-conscious about how much i eat in the past esp because sometimes my friends (And now even people at work) will comment on how much I eat (me being about 5’3″) – but yeah, i’ve tried to just laugh it off and not be sensitive to it anymore – every one is different and i gotta do what’s best for my body and my mind!
I lovelovelove this post! I can so relate, and I still buy into these advices on a regulary. Even though I know they are so so wrong! Thank you for being a great role model, and telling the truth!
And, I’ll continue to eat like a horse and enjoy the metabolism of a cheetah, made me smile so much! That is really the way to go 😀
Love you!
YEASSSS I loove that chapter of the book!! Just read it and it’s definitely made me feel so happy!! I think EVERYONE should read this book- there’s really nothing like it!! It does sadden me when I see that in mags, especially in ones I love like Runners World, which should definitely be encouraging eating RIGHT.
And personally since I started eating MORE I know that I look better, and I FEEL so much better too! Haha I could NEVER go back now to restricting myself!! Eating what I want is too awesome 🙂
I’ve written my thoughts on the book ready to post soon and I definitely highlighted that bit! And I can’t WAIT to start the plan yaaaay! 😀
I hope this post gets a lot of search hits, because it is necessary. Back in February, when I first started running, I was attending a “boot camp” and I asked the instructor how many calories I should be eating. KNOWING that I was running 4x a week, she still said I should only be eating 1200 calories. Or maybe it was 1100. Either way, I was fortunate enough to have friends/do research and realize that that’s not only not okay… but could’ve been dangerous.
That said, these days I don’t worry about calories. Maybe I should be, cuz I don’t tend to reach for healthy foods like you do, but I think I’ll survive the way I’ve been going.
1200 calories running 4x a week? Omg. People shouldn’t be eating that little even if they’re NOT running 4x a week. That’s just insane.
I used to go by the exercise more eat less whole philosophy and you just realise it leaves you moody grumpy and not good at all! Way better to ust eat responsibly and regularly!
Well, at the beginning it really works. You have the perfect metabolism and the weight just falls off. It’s like a month later you’ll have the killer body you’ve always wanted but then the fun part ends because your body refuses to play your self-destructive games and you face all the ugly consequences of the quick fix diet delusion. Been there, done that. Now I think it’s much better to give my body the energy it needs to function and let it decide what to do with it. As for magazines, I try to avoid them as much as possible.
Oh gosh, been there done that. Just yesterday I remembered how few years ago, I had lettuce and cottage cheese for dinner after my karate practice. Not eating the calories I’ve burned during the hard practice. Awful. Now I know better. I eat a ton, probably more than a lot of girls my age, but who cares. Do I workout every day? Nop. Don’t have the time or the energy for that. But fueling myself properly every day, regardless of the workouts, is making me pretty happy and healthy. I am glad I’ve realized that.
And, hun, your eats are always looking so yummy, and inspiring 🙂 Because of you, I’ve tried so many great combos, and made so many great yogurt messes. Thank you for that 🙂
IYou raised some good points here 🙂 I always hated that “eat less, exercise more” approach. It leaves you drained, tired, unhappy, and what´s the point of having a slender figure when you don´t have enough energy to walk, talk, have fun and enjoy yourself? Of course, I have been there to. I exercised a lot and thinks like pre-workout snack or after-workout snack didn´t ring the bell in me. I was constantly tired and exercise was no fun. Now I really enjoy my workouts and I enjoy my meals as well. I also often get strange looks when people se how much I eat, but when my body needs it, my body gets it – I´ll take care of it 🙂
Oh girl, seriously, just every single post you do just makes my heart sing. I refuse to buy magazines about diets and exercise because I know that these kind of ridiculous things are in them. There was a time when I was over-exercising and restricting throughout the day and making myself incredibly miserable. There would be days where I would actually be crying whilst working out because I was so depressed…doing this for a long time ended up in me binging every night, not going to bed until after midnight because I was too busy uncontrollably stuffing myself until my stomach hurt because my body was crying out for food and couldn’t take it anymore. I was so unhappy and it just wasn’t a life. Now I fuel, re-fuel and man I eat like a horse! I actually don’t eat in front of my friends out of fear of them judging how much I eat throughout the day because I’m embarassed. I guess I shouldn’t be and I should take pride in how much I eat now compared to my dark ED past but I don’t know..it’s something I still need to overcome. I honestly don’t know how women can workout and eat 1200 calories because it’s torturing their bodies…they must feel so depressed inside too.
Such a fab post! What a load of tosh that magazine is! I ran 13.1 miles yesterday and I made sure I ate those calories back by eating a massive chocolate and nut butter filled smoothie. I hate how the media automatically assume we are all wanting to lose weight, I’ve lost weight and now I’m trying to maintain so I have to make sure I’m fueling and re fueling myself correctly as I really don’t want to lose any more. I think your post has also just pushed me over the edge and on to Amazon to order that book! 🙂
Excellent post! You raise a lot of good points. I have a friend who is on a ‘diet’ and the more I hear about it, the more I think “uh, terrible idea”. I remember thinking that 1,200 was enough and I HAD to exercise to maintain. Bad things happened. Now I know my body needs more, don’t restrict and make sure your body is fueled with good wholesome foods. I’m a scavenger so I eat throughout the day (5-6 meals). It’s embarassing since I eat when others don’t (i.e. snacks), but I know that’s what my body needs. It’s sad to think of the torture some bodies go through by not refueling properly.
Awesome post…in my experience eating less and working out more makes everything suffer – including the quality of my workouts. I have trouble feeling hungry right after the long run sometimes, but boy is it fun to “snack back” the calories I burned
amen sister!! I think that idea is complete garbarge! we dont want to ruin our bodies, but make them stronger 🙂 I love the line about eating like a horse, having the metabolism of a chetah ahahaha (same her though gurl, same here!!)
Hormonal imbalance? I think I’ll pass 😉
Anytime I hear eat less, I get turned off. I’m totally in love with food and could never starve myself.
oh my goodness I’ve been LOVING this book hardcore. I haven’t started the workouts yet because I want to really read and understand what they’re talking about. It’s such an inspirational book. The way he writes is hilarious and yet so informational.
I can’t believe how little I used to eat a day. Now I can’t stop grazing and munching on foods.
I can honestly say whenever I have a bedtime snack and a breakfast before my workout I feel SO much better and I have a great workout. Food is fuel and it is necessary.
Great post!
I’ve never understood half the stuff that Shape & Self magazines put out there. Eat 1200 calories a day and work out super hard.. your body needs fuel and clean, whole foods as well as healthy fats and carbs! No fat/no carb/low calorie diets do get you pretty instant results but you start depriving yourself so much that eventually you get tired of telling yourself no and you break.
That book looks really interesting and I’m gonna have to pick it up. I love books that have sensible info on nutrition.
I agree with you 100% on the topic! The other month, my favourite women’s running magazine had the advice of eating 1200 cals a day, and doing at least an hour exercise (mainly running, mind). I was furious! That is a starvation diet! REAL nutritionists wouldn’t even say go below 1500 cals, for weight loss, WITHOUT exercise, so to see 1200…arhghghghg. I tweeted them and was like ‘boohiss, shameful folk’ but they didn’t reply. I haven’t bought the magazine since!
good post. i just posted on the topic of orthorexia and an excellent book for those with it…i have limited access to internet now so can’t write more on it just yet, but must, the book is really eye-opening and relevant to bloggers (more than they realize).
wish i culd do something. big failure. honest. most people take a few months off. me? a few years….a short walk is my exercise..and i think its just me being depressed and lazy. ridiculous.
Amen woman! Yet again we posted something very similar at the same time! know I you wrote this last night, but I talked about the need I feel to exercise constantly too! Ughh such an annoying and relentless though but one that can be overtaken
SO glad I found your blog, my posts are usually similar to this! my whole take on this eat less excerise more thing is that you can eat a lot of food and still be physically fit its just a matter of WHAT you are putting in your body and if you are waiting 2-3 hours inbetween each meal to eat. I need neeed need to eat every 2 or 3 hours but I make sure I eat the right foods that are going to keep me feel full and satisfied. I usually eat large meals full or lettuce spinach tomato avocado chicken peppers (all good for you stuff) then I eat lots and lots of fruit a couple hours later. I find that this combo helps me feel full quickly but my metobolism begs for more of these good foods only a couple hours later. The result? well I weight 113 lbs and workout 5 ot 6 times a week. I dont stay in the gym for over and hour and half ever. So i tend to eat more than I excerise but like i said its just a matter of putting good for you food in your body and waiting 2-3s between each meal.
To me eating right you need to put quality food in your body and then the quantity of the food will not matter, as much. One huge type I have for being such a low weight that I am (113) is to eat fruits and veggies as much as possible. It’s what I live off of… I do however pair my veggies with chicken tofu or fish. Pairing meat with veggies is a key to my lunches and dinners. Snack usually include some fruit because the high water content makes me feel like I ate a lot even though the caloric count of fruit is so low!1
You go girl! I eat a lot too. And had to get over the self-conscious about eating a lot thing too. Media is really good at making it seem like a girl should never be seen eating, let alone eating full sized meals numerous times a day. To hell with that. I’m damn proud of how much/often I eat. In fact, every time my hunger rolls around I want to thank my body for having an awesome metabolism. I just wish everyone else felt the same!
what the hell, thats actually insane. Seriously the media can be so bad when putting messages out there, and they dont seem to care the damaging effects it can have upon people.
Food is good; i’m learning that, and it upsets me when media do things like this, because it makes you feel like your going against the norm. So thank you lovely, for putting the message out there, that eat less, exercise more, is not right, nor should anyone else believe it.
By the way, the oats mmmm look so good. 😀
Love Jess xx
Very well said! I think the moment that I realized how ridiculous “eat less, exercise more” is was when I was worried about an upcoming race. I was a bit heavier than I had been during the last two years and I didn’t want my time to be slower. Come to find out, I ran my fastest time ever and felt strong during the whole race! Even though I was heavier, I was healthier! Now I eat what my body needs and don’t worry about staying a certain weight!
Magazines are the print version of the infomercial. It’s all about instant results for the low, low cost of starving yourself.
BTW, your food photos are awesome!
You probably know exactly what I’m going to say about all that stuff… I bought into it so deep! Even before I developed a true eating disorder, I honestly believe that in order to loose weight, I had to burn off not only the calories I ate but MORE than what I ate! (you know, to create a “deficit”… because bodies CLEARLY don’t need calories to, you know, SURVIVE or anything…) I would bike (the only thing I could do, because, to make matters worse, I was recovering from a career-ending riding injury) for 5 hours everyday. From the moment I got home from school, until 8 PM. Then I would have a bowl of lettuce and chicken breast (for the proteins so I wouldn’t lose muscle!) and go to bed. Ugh. I was DUMB.
Looking at that caption you found in a magazine made me sick. What kind of message are healthy people sending to other healthy people? Food = fuel. DUH! It makes me almost NOT want to even read those magazines any longer.
Taking in adequate calories and fueling properly is key, no doubt there! But if your goal is weight loss than it is important to watch your portions/snacking. I think a lot of people don’t have a good grasp on proper portions and overestimate the amount of calories they are burning during exercise – and then they dont see the results they are looking for!
Ps… I’m not advocating exercising hard and eating 1200 calories a day -obviously that’s not enough!
Holy Hell! I need this book! Dang it! Why do I not have it?!?! It sounds like some stuff I could really use to read. So sad I don’t have it.
Can I just say amen? So many magazines fill their pages with articles that are misleading – especially to young and impressionable girls. On the other hand, this books sounds amazing (and right on point) – I need to pick it up! 🙂
I could not agree with you any more! I think it is so often put out there that we need to eat less, but it is just so stupid! Calories fuel us, our metabolism, muscle growth, EVERYTHING!
I’m a little bit confused.
I know that for me, I absolutely have to refuel if I’m exercising more. My body just can’t afford to lose any weight. I inherited my dads genetics, so I’m lucky in the sense that I can eat A LOT and not worry about gaining. On the other hand, my mom and my brothers are overweight- and if there not eating less and exercising more, then how will they lose weight? I feel like calorie restriction is more sensible than say, some ridiculous low carb, high protein diet…but is it just as bad?
Oh, and let me just point out that I am soooo not criticizing your blog. I actually really love your blog, and I’m asking you because I really respect what you have to say 🙂
I eat about every 3 hours starting at 6am. People think I’m absolutely crazy for eating all the time and are shocked by how I can stay fit eating oh so much. Properly fueling your body … requires FUEL! I always feel so bad for my family/friends/coworkers who are starving themselves trying to loose weight.
DIETS DON’T WORK – end of story.
Cheers to you for providing your body proper nutrition, we should create the “I eat 6+ times a day club” 🙂
How do you lose weight if you eat the calories you burn?