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Does Exercise Really Reduce Activity?
Have you ever questioned the phrase, “You can’t out-exercise a bad diet”?
It’s one of those sayings thrown around, and for good reason — it holds a lot of truth.
The idea is straightforward: Burning off the calories from that loaded burger and fries through exercise alone is a tall task.
But here’s the kicker — what if there’s more to the story than counting calories in and out?
Sure, we’ve been told that if someone’s hitting the gym religiously but not minding their nutrition, shedding those extra pounds might still be a struggle.
But what about those who are conscious about exercise and diet yet face an uphill battle in achieving their fitness goals?
Enter the concept of the “compensatory effect.” It’s this curious behavior where folks consume more calories post-exercise due to increased hunger from energy expenditure or the feeling of having “earned” extra indulgence.
This behavior has been playfully dubbed the “workout, pig-out cycle.” It made sense, right? But, the evidence supporting this was more sturdy than initially thought.
Recent research has sparked a shift in perspective. It proposes a new angle to our fitness equation:
