What a cheap trick putting a donut shop so close to the gym though!
My struggle is mostly salty, crunchy treats. But almost always, after dinner I CRAVE one tiny sweet bite of something and its a bitch to avoid. I used to keep bags of Maynards Swedish berries in the house and pop just one after a meal. But JUST one is difficult to maintain when there's a whole bag.
In all fairness to the developers, what is now a Planet Fitness was once an Office Depot. My bet is that Dizzy's probably makes more money now that it's next to a fitness club if for no other reason than so many of us fool ourselves into believing that we just worked off a thousand calories, and hey, two donuts won't matter. Not only did we NOT work off a thousand calories, the two donuts do so much damage we actually go backwards.
I've used that for thousands of calories which I have just had to lose. That argument no longer holds for me- but I agree, for me, my pity party equals pounds.
I had an a-ha moment reading an interview with a bodybuilder who said she ate a Snickers before her workouts. She uses it. Am I going to use it? That idea was helpful to me.
I would take that comment with a massive block of salt. Most of us who have been bodybuilders for years, and next year for me makes 51, would likely eschew candy and go for good natural foods and energy boosters. There is NOTHING about ultra-processed food that is healthy. Zero. Nada. Big OH. It tastes good at the expense of our brains and organs. That said you can find any number of people who claim that eating X (braised snail assholes with a sprinkling of squirrel irises) gives them the power of Thor. Frankly, BULLSHIT. The science doens't back most of it. While sugar can indeed give you a temporary energy boost, and I have used products like that while climbing Kilimanjaro and other speed bumps, I would hardly make it a habit. Once in a while is fine. You and I would likely be far better off looking at quality protein, carbs, all the macros before a workout.
The helpful part of her idea is that she consumes calories before burning them but even that is questionable, because it comes down to what kinds and how close to a workout. I used to eat a Snickers after every work out and it tanked all the work I had just put in. The research simply doesn't support this as a habit. Consider this: https://www.eatthis.com/7-unexpected-foods-you-should-avoid-before-exercise/
From that article:
"If you're the kind of person who likes to immediately head to the gym to burn off an indulgence, you should know that grabbing a Snickers bar isn't going to help you power through your workout. You're better off waiting until later in the day. Sure, the sugars in candy will give you a quick initial boost, but you'll end up crashing mid-exercise, says Gary. And it all boils down to how the body processes sugar. The second the sweet stuff hits your bloodstream, your blood sugar spikes, causing an immediate sugar high, explain Lakatos and Lakatos Shames. In turn, your body kicks out insulin to shuttle the sugar out of your blood and into your tissues. Once the sugar's been expelled from your bloodstream, your energy levels crash. Plus, since exercise itself sends the sugar in your blood to the muscles, some might experience a double whammy of an energy crash."
But that's just me, Jonathan. At 70, having slung weights for five decades, I've seen a lot of dumb fads come and go. Basic good nutrition wins out every single time. Candy is shit food and a bad regular habit. But what do I know?
Julia, I appreciate your nuanced reply. What was helpful for me about my initial realization was that I can get bogged down and thinking about all this stuff. Is it processed? How processed is it? What does āprocessedā even mean? Having a simple question like, am I going to use this? avoided the overthinking trap and enabled me to make a healthy decision in the moment without shaming myself, for no reason. Like, maybe I didnāt have a healthy choice at the time, but I probably had a choice that was healthier than the others.
I so agree with the shaming ourselves piece of this Jonathan. We can inner-talk ourselves into Gordian knots. The best way to understand processed is if it had a label. If so, it's been processed. That said, frozen peas are processed, but they are frozen fresh, and therefore just fine. Understanding the sometimes very fine and important differences can save our brains and bodies. Flash fresh frozen produce is fine. Chips made from avocados are still ultra processed food. It isn't the food itself, it's what's been done to it before we ingest it.
I've had to make similar decisions when overseas, when the only food available was a small bowl of white rice. Would I choose that at my house? No. But that was all we had and therefore, you eat it. Which goes to your last sentence.
What a cheap trick putting a donut shop so close to the gym though!
My struggle is mostly salty, crunchy treats. But almost always, after dinner I CRAVE one tiny sweet bite of something and its a bitch to avoid. I used to keep bags of Maynards Swedish berries in the house and pop just one after a meal. But JUST one is difficult to maintain when there's a whole bag.
In all fairness to the developers, what is now a Planet Fitness was once an Office Depot. My bet is that Dizzy's probably makes more money now that it's next to a fitness club if for no other reason than so many of us fool ourselves into believing that we just worked off a thousand calories, and hey, two donuts won't matter. Not only did we NOT work off a thousand calories, the two donuts do so much damage we actually go backwards.
That "We've earned it!" mindset is a tough one to break!
I've used that for thousands of calories which I have just had to lose. That argument no longer holds for me- but I agree, for me, my pity party equals pounds.
I had an a-ha moment reading an interview with a bodybuilder who said she ate a Snickers before her workouts. She uses it. Am I going to use it? That idea was helpful to me.
I would take that comment with a massive block of salt. Most of us who have been bodybuilders for years, and next year for me makes 51, would likely eschew candy and go for good natural foods and energy boosters. There is NOTHING about ultra-processed food that is healthy. Zero. Nada. Big OH. It tastes good at the expense of our brains and organs. That said you can find any number of people who claim that eating X (braised snail assholes with a sprinkling of squirrel irises) gives them the power of Thor. Frankly, BULLSHIT. The science doens't back most of it. While sugar can indeed give you a temporary energy boost, and I have used products like that while climbing Kilimanjaro and other speed bumps, I would hardly make it a habit. Once in a while is fine. You and I would likely be far better off looking at quality protein, carbs, all the macros before a workout.
The helpful part of her idea is that she consumes calories before burning them but even that is questionable, because it comes down to what kinds and how close to a workout. I used to eat a Snickers after every work out and it tanked all the work I had just put in. The research simply doesn't support this as a habit. Consider this: https://www.eatthis.com/7-unexpected-foods-you-should-avoid-before-exercise/
From that article:
"If you're the kind of person who likes to immediately head to the gym to burn off an indulgence, you should know that grabbing a Snickers bar isn't going to help you power through your workout. You're better off waiting until later in the day. Sure, the sugars in candy will give you a quick initial boost, but you'll end up crashing mid-exercise, says Gary. And it all boils down to how the body processes sugar. The second the sweet stuff hits your bloodstream, your blood sugar spikes, causing an immediate sugar high, explain Lakatos and Lakatos Shames. In turn, your body kicks out insulin to shuttle the sugar out of your blood and into your tissues. Once the sugar's been expelled from your bloodstream, your energy levels crash. Plus, since exercise itself sends the sugar in your blood to the muscles, some might experience a double whammy of an energy crash."
But that's just me, Jonathan. At 70, having slung weights for five decades, I've seen a lot of dumb fads come and go. Basic good nutrition wins out every single time. Candy is shit food and a bad regular habit. But what do I know?
Julia, I appreciate your nuanced reply. What was helpful for me about my initial realization was that I can get bogged down and thinking about all this stuff. Is it processed? How processed is it? What does āprocessedā even mean? Having a simple question like, am I going to use this? avoided the overthinking trap and enabled me to make a healthy decision in the moment without shaming myself, for no reason. Like, maybe I didnāt have a healthy choice at the time, but I probably had a choice that was healthier than the others.
I so agree with the shaming ourselves piece of this Jonathan. We can inner-talk ourselves into Gordian knots. The best way to understand processed is if it had a label. If so, it's been processed. That said, frozen peas are processed, but they are frozen fresh, and therefore just fine. Understanding the sometimes very fine and important differences can save our brains and bodies. Flash fresh frozen produce is fine. Chips made from avocados are still ultra processed food. It isn't the food itself, it's what's been done to it before we ingest it.
I've had to make similar decisions when overseas, when the only food available was a small bowl of white rice. Would I choose that at my house? No. But that was all we had and therefore, you eat it. Which goes to your last sentence.
So true, Julia. To get what we want, we have to give up other stuff. I like that!