Busting Myths for Fun Series – If you binge on junk food, you need to exercise for longer the next day

It’s common knowledge that if you exercise you burn calories. So, if you exercise more, you burn more calories. So, you would think that you need to exercise for longer the day after eating junk food to counteract those calories. Well, you don’t really need to. Not at all.

Instead of calculating your calories on a day to day basis, calculate them on a weekly basis. This way you can claw back any excess calories you have eaten on a single day in a steady, more responsible manner. So, if you go over your calorie allowance for a day by 1000 calories, then over the next 5 days aim to be 200 calories lower than usual. This can be achieved by increasing exercise slightly (not significantly), or by reducing your calorie intake slightly. Or you could combine both.

Look at the bigger picture.