Jung Eun-ji's fitness secret: 'I exercise so I can eat'

Singer and actor Jung Eun-ji, 33, says she manages her weight and health not by severely restricting what she eats, but through consistent exercise. While extreme dietary limits can produce quick short-term weight loss, they tend to trigger intense hunger and food cravings that make the approach hard to sustain over time.

Jung recently appeared on the YouTube channel "Sul Binneun Yunjumo," where she shared her workout habits.

"I exercise so I can eat," she said. "If I want to eat something and can't, it makes me sick inside." She added that she consistently does boxing and weight training.

Diet matters for weight management, but eating as little as possible is not always the answer. A more realistic long-term approach may be to manage overall intake while increasing energy expenditure through regular physical activity, rather than cutting out all favorite foods entirely.

Strict restriction can trigger binge eating

Body weight is influenced by the long-term balance between energy consumed and energy burned. The basic principle of weight loss is creating an "energy deficit" — burning more than you take in over a sustained period.

But that does not require slashing food intake to extremes.

Eating too little, or completely eliminating certain nutrients such as carbohydrates or fat, may produce rapid initial weight loss. Over time, however, severe hunger and fatigue set in, and cravings for restricted foods intensify, making the diet difficult to maintain.

A literature review published in the international journal Nutrition Reviews analyzed 76 studies on the relationship between dietary restriction and binge eating, covering research published from 1980 to 2024.

About 70 percent of those studies — 53 in total — found an association between strict dietary restriction and increased frequency or severity of binge eating. The trend was particularly pronounced when caloric intake was sharply reduced or specific foods and nutrients were heavily restricted.

Not all forms of dietary control lead to binge eating, however. The researchers said more flexible approaches — those that maintain nutritional balance while moderating overall intake — showed relatively fewer negative effects.

That is why allowing moderate amounts of favorite foods during a diet, while managing total intake, may be easier to sustain long-term than an outright ban.

Boxing: full-body movement that burns energy

Boxing, which Jung says she enjoys, is a high-intensity workout that engages the entire body in rapid movement over a short period.

The repeated footwork and punching combinations elevate the heart rate for an aerobic effect, while trunk rotation and maintaining proper stance engage the core, lower body and shoulders simultaneously.

Research has also examined boxing's effects on adults with abdominal obesity. A study published in the international journal BMC Sports Science, Medicine and Rehabilitation had participants complete high-intensity boxing training three times a week for 16 weeks.

The boxing group showed greater reductions in body fat percentage and waist circumference than a walking group. The boxing participants' body fat percentage fell by an average of 1.1 percentage points, and their waist circumference shrank by about 4.1 centimeters.

Combining boxing with weight training, as Jung does, can also support weight management. Aerobic exercise helps increase energy expenditure, while strength training helps preserve or build muscle mass during the weight-loss process.

'I exercise to eat' doesn't mean eating without limits

That said, "exercising to eat" should not be taken to mean that exercise can cancel out all the calories consumed.

There is a ceiling to how much energy exercise can burn. Regularly consuming large amounts of high-calorie food or alcohol can push total energy intake above expenditure, no matter how consistently one trains.

Conversely, ramping up exercise while drastically cutting food intake can worsen fatigue and impair performance. Adequate protein, carbohydrates and fat are all needed to support muscle recovery after workouts and to sustain energy for daily life.

The key is not treating food as something to be punished for with exercise, but finding a sustainable balance between the enjoyment of eating and regular physical activity.

Boxing is intense — watch out for wrist and shoulder injuries

Because boxing delivers strong results, beginners should also be mindful of injury risk.

Repeated punching can strain the wrists, elbows and shoulders, while improper footwork or rotation can lead to knee or lower-back pain.

When starting out, it is better to thoroughly learn basic stances and punch-and-footwork techniques before attempting hard sparring or heavy bag work. Using proper equipment — hand wraps and gloves — when hitting a bag helps absorb impact on the wrists and fingers.

If pain persists during training, or a joint becomes swollen or loses range of motion, stop and have it evaluated rather than pushing through.

The goal of weight management is not a lifetime of denying yourself food you enjoy. What matters is consistently keeping up an exercise routine you find enjoyable while moderating the amount and quality of what you eat. Making physical activity a part of daily life — without giving up the pleasure of eating, as Jung does — can itself be a sustainable path to weight management.