“Indulging in Gulab Jamun today, sweating it out at the gym tomorrow! 💪🍬 #GulabJamunGoals #FitnessJourney” – This would make for an interesting instagram reel/story along with a pic of you enjoying the delectable, sugar-infused dessert, but would this strategy work when you are trying to lose weight? There’s no doubt you would burn calories with exercise, but can you eat whatever you want guilt free and hope to burn it all off at the gym the next day? A lot of Bollywood celebrities project this idea that they eat whatever they want because they hit the gym every single day! They present gym as the ideal place to compensate for their indulgence in guilt food. But as cliched as it may sound, you can never outrun a bad diet. Let’s find out why “gulab jamun today, gym tomorrow” strategy will not work when it comes to weight loss.
1. One gulab jamun can have 150 calories or more (without the sugar syrup), and with a decadent sweet such as gulab jamun, who can stop at just one! There are just too many red flags in gulab jamun – it is made with ingredients like maida, khoya, and sugar, all of which are high in empty calories. Gulab jamun goes through deep frying first and is then soaked in a thick sugary syrup until consumed. And that’s why we are pretty sure there are more than 150 calories in a single gulab jamun! And if you are having 2 or 3 and sipping on the syrup at the same time – say “hi” to belly fat! Also, studies say fitness trackers overestimate calorie burn by as much as 93%, so depending on your smart watch to keep track of total number of calories torched would not be a great idea.
2. Always remember that weight loss is all about 80% diet and 20% exercise, and switching the percentages will not bring about significant results.
3. Exercise can burn a limited amount of calories, hence eating without restraint in the hopes to sweat out all the calories through exercise would not work. For example, a 30-minute walk on the treadmill would torch up just 180 calories! It’s easy to believe the numbers on the treadmill and other cardio machines, and overestimate the amount of calories burnt during exercise. A study says these machines exaggerate calorie burn by as much as 20%! Research also shows we can only burn about 10 to 30% of the total calories consumed each day through exercise. Here we are not undermining the importance of regular exercise in improving health and overall well being, but when you have a significant amount of kilos to drop, there’s not much it brings to the table. Also read: “Smart Ingredients To Cut Down Calories in Sweets.”
3. The number of calories burned during a workout session depends on various factors, including the type of exercise, its intensity, duration, and not to forget your metabolism.
Summing up, hitting the gym and exercising regularly is a great idea, but without being on a calorie-deficit healthy diet, it would not take you far along on your weight loss journey. Gulab jamun can be a rare indulgence, a cheat meal, but it cannot be part of your regular diet, not that “kuch meetha ho jaye kind of a treat” you can have everyday after dinner. Switch to a good weight loss diet program, eat healthy and nutritious food, practice portion control, and exercise consistently, and see all the extra fat melt away. Access nutrient-dense weight loss diet plans on the Rati Beauty app, and lose weight successfully and fast.
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