If You Find Joy in Exercise, You Are Less Likely to Seek Joy in Food.
It can be hard to love exercise , but now there are more reasons to start looking for ways to enjoy it as much as you enjoy playing video games, shopping, or petting your dog. Why? Because it will help you make healthier food choices.
A 2014 research review published in Marketing Letters looked at three studies that examined the relationship between diet and exercise for weight loss . Interestingly, the review looks at the link between people’s perceptions of exercise as entertainment and their subsequent food choices. He concluded that those who perceived exercise as fun (rather than just a lot of effort) were less likely to make up for it with unhealthy food after exercise.
In the first two studies, participants performed exercises that were described as either exercise or entertainment and were later served food: an all-you-can-eat scenario with desserts and “normal” food in the first study, and M & Ms. … from the self-service container to the second. Results from both studies suggest that people who thought exercise was “fun” made fewer unhealthy foods during these meals. Likewise, the runners who had fun during the race in the third study tended to choose the healthier option of two snacks.
These results appear to support what Precision Nutrition calls “hedonic compensation,” in which if people feel they’re deprived of pleasure in one place, they compensate by seeking pleasure elsewhere (for example, “I had a hard week, I deserve to relax and have a beer. “
So how can you view exercise as fun? Well, it won’t happen overnight, but you may find ways to make it more enjoyable. Listen to your favorite music, do what you’re waiting for (for example, don’t run on the treadmill if you hate the treadmill ), exercise with friends or family, go outside for a hike or bike ride, or make it a friendly competition, or social event. I myself love to play Ultimate Frisbee. This is an amazing workout, and to me it feels more like a game than an exercise.
Basically think about why you like what you call a hobby. While exercise is beneficial , it should be a hobby, not a chore.
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