Even though I could write about whatever I wanted to on each of my blogs, I choose to only write about concepts that will empower people, entertain them, or help them with their health, diet, and weight loss efforts.

That being the case, I am constantly being exposed to people's beliefs about what is effective and what is not, especially when it comes to weight loss.

As is always the case, I lean on my experience in controlling my own weight, as well as my training and experience as a personal trainer in order to balance out the scales when it comes to deciding which methods are going to help people to actually see sustainable results.

One of the reasons why I personally got involved in an exercise program to begin with was so that I could enjoy diet transgressions without feeling guilty, but while still maintaining a high level of overall health, including a low level of bodyfat.

After all, it doesn't matter what type of diet you are on, or what type of exercise program you are using, the formula for success always has been (and always will be), Energy In vs. Energy Out. In other words, if you want to lose weight, you have to burn more calories than you ingest, and if you want to gain weight you have to ingest more calories that you burn.

Given that age-old (and repeatedly proven) fact, you can then plug in that formula in order to come to the conclusion that if you exercised consistently enough and intensely enough in order to burn off enough calories, you could pretty much eat whatever you wanted to.

So, before I get into some more details of how that might work, take a moment to ask yourself: Would you be willing to exercise in the proper manner if it meant that you no longer had to be concerned about what you eat or don't eat?

Personally, I answer that question with a resounding YES! However, there are other considerations, and some of them point to this being a good idea, while others do not.

Nutritional Intake

There are basic nutritional needs that have to be met in order to survive, while at the same time, there are things that people presently ingest (sometimes in large quantities) that the human body could easily live without.

In the realm of things that we must have, your basic supply of protein, carbohydrates, and dietary fat are included in that list, as is maintaining an adequate level of vitamins, minerals, and water. 

In the camp of things that we could easily live without, substances such as processed sugars, chemicals, preservatives, and saturated fats could be dropped from the human diet completely.

The reason why this is important to this particular discussion is because the following question is raised: 

Even if you were exercising enough in order to burn off the calories from a high-calorie diet, would your body be able to also eliminate all or most of the excessive amount of non-natural substances such as those listed above?

That is a question that I will admit to not having a thorough answer for, although I will put up a fact that may shed some more light:

Most people who regularly eat very unhealthy foods do not actually eat that high of a quantity of those foods. The average person who eats at fast food restaurants or who eats a lot of processed foods in their home does so because they do not make the time to eat foods that are more healthy.

For most of those same people, that lack of time means that they only eat 3 times per day, and sometimes even less than that. Unless you have a truly HUGE stomach, which most people don't, it is only physically possible to take in "x" number of calories per day if you only eat 3 times each day.

Given that scenario, if you were to add in a truly intense exercise program - especially one that included working out at 2 different points during the day - I imagine that if the proper intensity, duration, and consistency were applied to the exercise program, that the body could filter out all or most of the harmful ingredients of even the most unhealthy foods.

Exercise Program

By this point you might be thinking that this sounds pretty good. If it were possible to eat all of the unhealthy junk that you love so much, yet offset the harmful side effects - both from a bodyweight perspective as well as a health perspective - then you might be interested in doing so.

In fact, the type of exercise program that would power your ability to eat unhealthy foods would have a host of other benefits as well, not just the burning off of excess calories.

One of the benefits of exercise that fitness junkies are well aware of, but that your average person who wants to lose weight rarely thinks about, is the amazing benefits to both your musculoskeletal system as well as your cardiovascular system. 

From a musculoskeletal standpoint, pushing and pulling on your bones, tendons, ligaments, and muscles is simply a good idea on every conceivable level, not the least of which being the maintenance of normal mobility, even well into the elderly stages of life.

In addition, the body's muscles are the mechanism for powering our metabolism. The more efficient your muscles get from being exercised frequently, the higher your metabolism will be. A higher metabolism means the ability to burn through more calories both during exercise and during rest periods, as well as having a higher level of energy, which is an exercise benefit that many people list as a reason for exercising to begin with.

From a cardiovascular standpoint, frequent intense exercise means a stronger heart, significantly lessened chance of heart disease (the #1 killer in the United States), and the added side benefit of a dramatic lowering of blood pressure.

So, forgetting (just for the moment) about the potential weight loss benefits of exercising intensely, there is a very real chance that the massive health benefits might even outweigh the risks associated with a less-then stellar diet.

All of that being said, what kind of exercise program are we talking about here?

Well, in a word - difficult. Or challenging. Maybe intense would be another good word to describe it. After all, you can't expect to be able to stuff down cheesecake, bacon, potato chips, and candy without have a very strong-handed effort on the other side of the equation in order to balance out the bad nutrition.

For the workouts themselves, you can expect a minimum of 60 minutes per day, although 90 minutes would probably be more like it. You can also expect brutal exercise sessions that leave you drenched with sweat, weak, and seriously in need of shower, and possibly a nap!

In addition, if you really wanted to cover all of the bases, you would divide up that daily workout time into 2 exercise sessions. One that was done early in the morning before breakfast, and another that was done in the evening, approximately 12 hours later.

Conclusion

Now is your chance to chime in. Do you think that a program like this could work? Is it really possible to give up the diet by engaging in a consistent and intense exercise program?

Even if it is possible, do you think it is a good idea? Do you agree that the intensity and the consistency of the workout regimen might be able to eliminate or minimize the health risks associated with eating unhealthy foods on a regular basis?

Share your thoughts! Start or join in the conversation by contributing in the comments section below, or just send me a private email letting me what you think.

I am seriously considering putting together a workout program that this lifestyle would be built on, and I would love to hear your thoughts!

p.s. - In the meantime, you need to eat healthy and exercise everyday. Just thought I'd throw that out there… :)