Work out to Eat? Eat to work out?

Some people exercise in an attempt to lose weight. Some people do so simply to stay healthy and fit or because they love the way it makes them feel. And then there are those who work out because of a llittle something called guilt. We feel guilty about eating whatever-kind-of-food-comes-on-a-stick this year at the State Fair so we hit the treadmill or the elliptical machine for an hour the next morning. Or better yet, we work out like mad in advance so we can allow ourselves to enjoy the aforementioned food-on-a-stick. Over the years I’ve found myself falling under each of these categories. It doesn’t matter which one you identify with the most, there is one thing we can probably all agree on: Working out makes us HUNGRY. But how much leeway does an afternoon at the gym really buy us? A Krispy Kreme donut burger? Hardly. (See also: Unfair.)

You may remember a little TIME magazine article published last year that caused a bit of hubub entitled, “Why Exercise Won’t Make You Thin.” My own feeling on this topic is this: Of course exercise is a great way to get/stay slim, but for a lot of us it’s the way we reward ourselves for exercising that gets in the way of our goals. Be honest. Have you ever treated yourself to something after a workout that was  hundreds more calories than you would have eaten on a day you sat around and did nothing at all?  How many times do you do this? Yes, you need to refuel after a workout. If you’re not trying to lose weight you should try to replace all the calories you burned. Sure, everyone needs a little indulgence sometimes but where do we draw the line? And how much do we burn when we exercise anyway? Well, 30 minutes on the treadmill burns roughly 300 calories (give or take depending on how much you weight, the speed at which you run, etc.) That’s about one bagel with cream cheese or a single cupcake- hardly anything extravagant at all.

So working out makes you hungry but doesn’t buy you enough calories to indulge to your heart’s content? Again with the unfairness! Well, what are we to do? First of all, don’t stop working out just because it’s not the magic bullet you need in order to fit into your skinniest of jeans. Next, make sure you re-hydrate properly post-workout right away because our brains often confuse thirst with hunger. After you’ve done that, try to choose foods that promote satiety (read: stuff that fills you up for longer) like beans, nuts, vegetables and whole grains rather than sugar-filled snacks that won’t stay with you as long or may even trigger cravings for more “bad” foods. Maybe opt for a protein drink that can fill you up and also aid in muscle repair and recovery.

Overall, estimating calories burned is hard, but if you want a ballpark idea of what you have to work with you might check out a calculator like this. Or maybe you really just want to calculate how many beers you’ve earned? Thanks to the Beer Runner there’s a handy little tool for that as well. Until we all have chips in our heads that download calorie data to our laptops though, we’ll have to do with approximations. (Can Google do that yet?) Anyway, at least this will give you an idea of whether or not you can afford a piece of that donut burger.

*Photo by Michael Newman.