Friday Question #52
By kilax, January 9, 2009 9:19 am
Is it harder for you to eat healthy or get exercise?
Last week a friend told us he had lost 40 pounds since the last time we saw him. We asked if he changed his diet and started exercising, and he kind of laughed, saying he was just eating healthier, not exercising.
Of course, that got me thinking…
Whenever I start on one (ha) of my healthy lifestyle quests, I always start by eating healthier. For me, that is easier. I can’t even begin to think about exercise until my body feels a bit healthier/lighter.
Even now, if I eat something crappy during the day, I feel awful when I am exercising at night. That’s kind of where I am right now, getting my diet back on track so I can start exercising 5+ days a week again.
Themocracy
Eating well is definitely easier. I eat regardless, it’s just swapping out food. Exercise is an additional task in the day and that gets trickier. Factor in commute time and, as you know, if you’re going to the gym you may get home just in time for bed! I know logically that exercise is supposed to give me more energy and thus I should be able to cram more things into my day, but…that never seems to be the case. :p
yup, I agree with diane. much easier to swap out the junk food for the healhy food. I don’t find eating to be a chore; but exercise is very much a chore for me.
I’m with you. It’s much easier for me to eat healthy than exercise.
If you would have told me that when I was 18 I wouldn’t have believed you.
Oh how we change. 🙂
i agree, eating healthier is much easier!!!! although once i decide to eat healthier it seems i’m craving nothing but the “bad” foods… lol… go figure!!! i’m still having hell trying to get myself to exercise… last night i had the choice to go to the Y and workout or go home and clean… i chose to go home and clean… ugh, what choices!!! but that does tell you where exercising ranks!! i wish i got the “i love to exercise and i get so much energy from it” feelings!!!!
=^..^=
One fuels the other for me and I can go either way. But I need both.
Currently it’s hard to do both, but usually it’s a million times easier for me to exercise than eat healthy. I can eat moderately healthy, but not enough to lose a lot of weight alone, so I find it easier to exercise and not go crazy over calorie counting.
Given my recent bump-in-the-road issues with my exercise program, eating healthy is much easier. For the last 8 years, I’ve mostly eaten healthy, trying to reduce the amount of junk food I ingest into my body.
With some small exceptions, I’ve never liked eating junk food.
Having both in sync is the best option.
Both are hard for me. I love chocolate and junk food. I am lazy. But I manage ok, just have to make myself.
i’m the total opposite! i have NO willpower when it comes to food/eating, but i don’t mind working out. and i see better / quicker results from exercise, so it’s easier for me to convince myself to do it. then, once i start working out, i want to eat healthier so i don’t “waste” my workouts 🙂
I find it much easier to exercise than to eat healthy. I bake a lot and I have a hard time resisting yummy food. Excercise to me is no big deal.
You know I didn’t start losing weight until I didn’t focus on it. Weight wasn’t in my birthday goals anywhere and I have lost 12 pounds since then (and that was with vacation). I think I have learned the key to my sucess is eat healthier but not to “deny” myself anything (for me it makes me want it more).
But I am with you, the eating is alot easier than the exercising.
SO interesting. I’m exactly the opposite. For me, it’s waaaaay easier to exercise. I’d rather exercise more so I don’t have to worry about what I eat. (though, that’s been a big fail in my life recently – maybe it’s time to reconsider).
For me it’s not a matter of which is harder to do, I just have a harder time with exercise right now because I’m having knee problems….again. I can do Chi-Gong and upper body stuff easily enough, but anything using the knee to bend or even just moving it alot seems to make it worse. Hopefully I can slowly work it back into shape. I really need to get back full speed. I’m really missing doing step aerobics.
It is easy for me to eat healthy when I see bananas floating in the air.
It’s not tough to eat healthy or get exercise, initially. For me, the toughest part is sticking with either of them.
I like to do a mix—so i will eat healthier most days and feel okay skipping a workout, or if i eat heavy one day, I exercise twice as much as I normally would.
I think this works well to maintain your weight, but obviously it’s not working as a weight loss plan! 🙁
Eating well is harder for me. I have the biggest sweet tooth, and I love big huge bagels, and pizza pies! It’s so hard for me to resist my favorite foods!
diane – I totally agree with you. Right now, eating healthier is easier for me, because I don’t have much time to exercise. It was a different story when I was in college and had a more open schedule. I would sometimes exercise twice a day!
Gina (Mannyed) – Eating is definitely NEVER a chore! 🙂
ajooja – It’s sad how physical activity becomes replaced with functional tasks as we get older. We don’t give it the priority it deserves anymore!
CourtneyInControl – I wish that “I love to exercise” feeling came naturally, right when you start to exercise! I hate that we have to build up to it, and choose to clean and do other things instead. I am the same way. I want to get my chores done first.
sizzle – It’s kind of a cycle right? Once you get on track with both of them, they do fuel each other, back and forth.
Jenn – I hope that someday, I can replace all the calorie counting and just focus on getting exercise and not stuffing my face! It seems I am still learning though, and not to that point yet 🙁
martymankins – That is good that you do not like junk food! It’s really easy to get addicted to. Over Christmas, I ate so much sugar that I had sugar withdrawal symptoms afterward! Hopefully, I will build up my distaste for junk food again.
Cheryl – I am back at the point where I have to make myself too. Make myself, as in, have arguments in my head about why I should or should not do something.
Alice – So you start with exercise! I should try to be like that – so I don’t make excuses for myself like “Oh, I don’t have to exercise because I ate like crap today.” Yeah. Awesome excuse.
tori – You DO bake a lot! I I am happy you are able to balance the two things. I can tell you would be missing a huge part of life if you could not bake.
Felicia – It seems like sometimes, when you focus on it, you make it even worse! Because it is ALL you think about… congrats to you for being able to not think about it, but still eat healthy and lose some weight!
SoMi’s Nilsa – I am too afraid to exercise and let myself eat more. I know eventually I will have to with the half marathon training, but I just can’t let myself do it right now. So I just eat more, and don’t exercise. Great….
Vicki – I didn’t even think about physical limitations. I am happy you have found something to do while you recover. I hope your knee problems get better!
Christina – Don’t you wish you always had a floating bonana with you?!?!
kapgar – Yeah, it takes awhile to form the habit, doesn’t it? 🙁 That is probably the hardest part!
kaylen – But hey – maintaining is better than gaining. And sticking to eating healthy and exercising sometime is better than never at all!
Marissa Kristal – I hear you on the sweets – I don’t know what my deal is with them! It’s a curse!
I ALWAYS start by modifying my food intake. Exercise? Ish! I wait until I can keep my eating under control and than add that. It’s overwhelming to think of doing it all at once. Good Friday question!!! — sorry I didn’t get to it until Weds morning- and whoah Nellie- what’s going on with the header pic?
You should update! 🙂
bdbdbdbdbdbd 😛
SPAM!
Much easier to exercise than eat healthy, for me at least!
http://www.headinknots.com/2009/01/friday-answers.html
JavaQueen – It is overwhelming. Just changing your diet is overwhelming. The header pic… hmm. That’s me and Steven and my sis and her bf – Kyle. We have this funny joke about bananas, that comes from this video – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFCSXr6qnv4 – so I suggested we take a banana photo… and voila! 😉
Christina – I finally did!
Steven – bdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbdbd! bdbdbdbdbd! 😛
Christina – NO, don’t SPAM me!
Amy – I sometimes wish I was that way!
I’m struggling with both right now. The holidays slowed my momentum, and I’m having trouble getting back on track. Some days I’m perfect, other days I’m terrible. It’s frustrating.
SJ – I got totally messed up too 🙁 Only this week, have I been able to eat healthy and exercise 4 days in a row. That is my longest streak since the beginning of November! That’s awful! I wish we were able to resist, and not let the holidays push us back so far 🙁 Good luck to you!