Junk food while cardio affects fitness?

[jonathan4210]

I’m not really worried about the calories in vs out for losing weight. Im more focused on how junk food affects cardio’s benefit for the heart and overall energy.

Im sure eating foods with high levels of sodium or fat can affect your performance in the cardio workout of that day, but will it ruin my “long-term” progression for trying to be more fit and energetic, as well as improving my heart health? Im worried that if I have a sugary and fattening snack before I do cardio, my goal to become more fit is being ruined regardless how much I push myself during the cardio.

[SuffolkPunch]

Only if it causes you to meet your calorie target before you've met your nutrient needs - protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, essential fats, phytonutrients etc.

Which is highly likely unless it only forms a small part of your intake.

[jonathan4210]

Only if it causes you to meet your calorie target before you've met your nutrient needs - protein, vitamins, minerals, fiber, essential fats, phytonutrients etc.

Which is highly likely unless it only forms a small part of your intake.

Yeah I still try to eat healthy for the most part. I’m talking about extra snacks that are fatty, not eating fatty 24/7 lol. Like if I eat lean meats, veggies, etc, but about 2 hours before doing cardio I eat for example, chips and a slice of cake. Would that hurt my cardio progression in the long-run?

[Jcart159]

Yeah I still try to eat healthy for the most part. I’m talking about extra snacks that are fatty, not eating fatty 24/7 lol. Like if I eat lean meats, veggies, etc, but about 2 hours before doing cardio I eat for example, chips and a slice of cake. Would that hurt my cardio progression in the long-run?

Only if it impacts your performance. If eating the chips and cake before you do cardio makes you feel sluggish and thusly decreases your performance, then it will lead to a decrease in progress but through correlation not causation.

If you perform the same on chips and salsa as you do on chicken breast on broccoli then your good2go.