Eat Exercise Repeat

A newspaper article about drinking non-alcoholic beverages and exercise recently captured my interest.

The Coca-Cola Company is introducing two commercials touting the guiltless pleasure of drinking sugar-laden, high-calorie Coke drinks. There is nothing wrong with the practice, the ads state, as long as an individual leads a well-balanced life and exercises the calories away.

Check out one of the commercials:

So I thought the best way to capitalize on this epiphany – eat and then exercise away the calories – was to develop a chart of my favorite foods, the number of calories contained in these dishes, and activities I could do to exercise away the calories absorbed.

A real Coke contains 140-calories.  I would have to walk almost 40 minutes to lose those calories. I guess I could walk while drinking the Coke…

I should do what nutritionists’ recommend and maintain a daily 2,000-calorie diet.

I created the chart below listing some of my favorite foods, calories per item, and activities to exercise those calories away.

So far so good. But I have one BIG problem. Portion control. I have no concept of eating portions that will keep my intake within the 2,000-calorie guidelines. Maybe it is my upbringing, my fondness for cooking, eating, grocery shopping – who knows.

Here is one example.

The reference I used to create the chart below stated one ounce of commercially prepared cheesecake is 91 calories.

Let’s get real. Who are we kidding?

Who eats one ounce of cheesecake?

Who eats one ounce of anything? A baby eats more than one ounce of whatever it is babies eat – formula, Mom’s milk, applesauce, baby food – everything. Attempting to eat one ounce of cheesecake is similar to eating one potato chip. No one eats only one potato chip. No one.

So here are some foods I eat and ideas on exercising away the calories:

Favorite Food	Calories	Suggested Activities to Lose The Calories
Thomas’ English muffin with Smucker’s strawberry jelly	170	Walk 47 minutes or Iron 65 minutes or Weed 36 minutes
Plain bagel with cream cheese	450	Walk 125 minutes or Swim 37 minutes
Two slices cheese pizza	280	Walk 76 minutes
Three Whole wheat 4” pancake	276	Walk 75 minutes or Backpack w/10 lb. pack 30 minutes or  Cross Country Ski 40 minutes
Two eggs	140	Walk 38 minutes or Jog 16 minutes
One hamburger roll	117	Walk 32 minutes or Cycle 18 minutes
One hamburger patty, 90% lean, 10% fat	175	Kickboxing 15 minutes or Double Tennis 30 minutes
One 4.2 oz. chicken breast	142	Walk 39 minutes or Swim 12 minutes
One cup brown rice	216	Step Aerobics 30 minutes or Scrub the Floor the floor 30 minutes
Tuna fish (canned in water) sandwich w/light mayo	360	Walk 120 minutes or 60 minutes low-impact aerobics or 40 minutes high-impact exercise (rowing machine, basketball, tennis)

I am exhausted just reading the list of activity suggestions.

And I did not include any fun foods – like chocolate.

In conclusion I must spend an excessive amount of time exercising away excess calories imbibed. When do I get a chance to cook the food I want to eat? Clean the house - not that I want to but someone has to do the job. Write blog posts? Go shopping? Talk to friends on the phone? Check e–mail? Spend time with family and friends?

Luckily I do not drink Coke the real thing; I drink Coke the low-cal, chemical-laden alternative. All those chemicals surging through my system cannot be good, but that is another story, or future blog post…

Food is a major part of my life. Holiday get-togethers, family meals, shopping, cooking. I make food decisions based on emotions, habits, pre-conditioning, experimentation, and the behavior of those around me.

I admit it. I am weak.

Eat, exercise, and repeat.

I do not think the system will work for me. I would have to spend the entire day walking, jogging (no way), swimming (a possibility, but not every day), cycling (I enjoy riding, but do not go out everyday – especially in bad weather or cold weather), or doing more strenuous exercise like aerobics or tennis, in which case I would collapse after an hour or so.

I will just have to go back to my old eating habits, not count calories and hope for the best.

And forget about drinking Coke the real thing.

I am not the only one who does not always eat the most nutritious, healthy meals. The following clip is one of Bill Cosby’s classics. It is long (9:22), but you can fast forward to about 3:40 for the heart of the monologue.