Do Diet and Exercise Really Make You Fat? Experts Respond to the TED Talk People Are Buzzing About

In hisΒ recent TEDxΒ Talk,Β Jay CardielloΒ argued that when it comes to our health,Β we’ve got it allΒ wrong: β€œDiet and exercise makes you fat,” the strength and conditioning coachΒ toldΒ the audience. And the health and fitness industry? β€œIt’s a complete lie.”

Cardiello, who has trainedΒ both professional athletes andΒ stars likeΒ Sofia Vergara andΒ Jennifer Lopez, went on to highlight the misconceptions the industry creates.Β Dietitians who devise complicated weight-loss strategies (β€œthey swap this food for that food, you eat this, don’t eat this”)Β are confusingΒ people, he said. Labels like β€œall natural” and β€œgluten-free” on packaged foods are designed to trick us. And wellness brands are out to profit fromΒ our health problems.

Take fads like juice cleanses, for example. TheyΒ leave people undernourished and fatigued, not fit. β€œThe industry plays upon our emotions,” Cardiello said.

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Health’sΒ contributing nutrition editor Cynthia Sass, RD, MPH, agrees with some of Cardiello’s grievances. She says it’s important that consumers be skeptical of products and plans that aren’t backed by science. But calling the entire industry a farce isn’t fair either.

β€œThere are many qualified nutrition and fitness practitioners that are motivated by helping people live healthier lives,” Sass says. As for food labels, Sass agrees they can be misleading: β€œGluten-free” doesn’tΒ automatically make a food healthy, for example.Β β€œGluten-free foods can contain refined grains like white rice, added sugars, and lack nutrients.”

β€œBut not every food labeled β€˜gluten-free’ falls into this category,” she adds.

There is one diet plan that CardielloΒ does recommend:Β β€œEat as if you have one day to live, or there’s a health scare.” In his TEDx talk,Β Cardiello made the case that staying healthy is simple as long as we get enough sleep, drink water, eat vegetables, surround ourselves with people that believe in us, and give to others.

And fitness isn’t about push-ups and squats, Cardiello adds. β€œIt’s about the quality of life that you’re living.” 

Los Angeles-based celebrity trainer Mike DonavanikΒ is only half on-board with that notion: β€œI agree that everyone strives for a better quality of lifeβ€”but doing exercises like push-ups and squats is what will give you that,” he says.Β 

Cardiello goes so farΒ to say β€œthe answer to fitness is walking”—a claimΒ DonavanikΒ strongly disagrees with.Β β€œWalking is not going to be enough,” the trainer told Health. β€œIf you want more out of life, you have to work out hard and put in the effort,” he says. β€œThere’s just no way around it.”

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