Is Exercise All You Need?

Can you eat whatever you want if you are on a regular exercise plan?Are you just upping your cardio to make up for your cake binges or weekend cheats? Is it truly possible to exercise off the damage that you may do everyday with your afternoon latte, candy grabs, vending machine visits or happy hour appetizers and cocktails?

Some people may say yes to all of these statements, and some may say “I look at a piece of candy and I gain weight."  However, it is possible that both scenarios can cause damage to the body equally and in different ways.  

As a fitness professional and nutritional consultant working with individuals on improving their movement and choices, I find that moving your body is half the battle in improving overall health.  

What you consume on a daily basis can unravel everything that is done in the gym. Sometimes the effects of unhealthy or improper eating can be cumulative or immediate. Whether it comes in the form of weight gain or internal organ disruption, the damage that can occur with improper eating can be significant.  

Although exercise is always touted as good for you, it can also be detrimental if you choose not to maintain a healthy eating lifestyle.  

Exercise causes oxidative stress, which is caused by an imbalance between the production of single oxygen molecules and the body’s ability to scavenge and detoxify the reactive oxygen and its intermediaries. In other words, it can cause a build up of toxic chemicals in your cells.  

If you are eating properly, the nutrients, such as “anti” oxidants can carry out the toxic chemicals out of your cells. In order to recover properly from exercise you need to take in the proper nutrients.  

Although some may believe taking a multivitamin or supplements will fix everything and give you a complete balance in your diet, that is not necessarily true. When you put gas in your car it can definitely help your car run; however, if you put water, for instance, into your car but maintain your car in other ways does your car still run?

When the balance is disrupted, the cellular waste build up and oxidation can cause a chain of toxic reactions and effects. These reactions may damage fatty acid structures, DNA, proteins and the mitochondrial wall. Essentially, if you do the damage with exercise and choose not to provide the recovering nutrients back to your cells then oxidative stress could lead to diseases like heart disease, type 2 diabetes and cancer, to name a few.  

Oxidative stress can also be brought on by ingesting processed foods, chemicals in the air, stress in your life and lack of sleep, among other things. 

Take the time today to make every effort to live a healthy lifestyle rather than just adding exercise and hoping for the best.  Your quality of life will improve significantly.