If you want to lose weight, don't over-exercise - here's why you need to know

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If you want to lose weight, don't over-exercise

When it comes to improving our fitness, the time you don't spend exercising (often referred to as "recovery") is just as important as the time you practice and train.

You will lose weight properly with a methodical and not too much exercise

Overtraining occurs when there is an imbalance between the amount of exercise you do and the amount of recovery you have between training sessions. It can cause impaired immune response, altered hormonal activity, and persistent fatigue (usually lasting more than four weeks). But some reports and online commentary also suggest that overtraining may be the reason why some people are struggling to lose weight - or it may even cause them to gain weight. This is unlikely - here's why.

Not only is recovery important for those looking to build muscle, leaving enough time to recover between workouts is also important to avoid "overtraining" - a form of extreme fatigue that can be overwhelming. Recovery can take weeks to years.

To lose weight, you must create what is known as a “calorie deficit”. This basically just means burning more calories than you're taking in and for a sustained period of time.

There are two ways to reach a calorie deficit - whether it's changing your diet so you eat fewer calories than your body burns, or increasing your exercise intake so you burn more calories than you're taking in. into the.

On this basis, it seems realistic to expect that if someone over-exercises they will probably burn more calories than they are taking in - leading to weight loss. But some people believe that because exercise puts a strain on the body, overdoing it will put long-term stress on the body - which in turn leads to weight gain. This counterintuitive link is often related to a hormone called cortisol.

The hormone cortisol is often released in response to stress - such as emotional stress from work or school. Cortisol is also released when we complete moderate or intense exercise stress. The body does this to help prepare for the stress it will experience - so it requires the body to release some energy to help complete whatever exercise we're doing.

The stress-related increases in cortisol levels associated with exercise are usually short-lived and usually return to normal within an hour of exercise. As a result, anyone who regularly exercises at a high level will experience persistently elevated cortisol levels due to exercise-related stress.

Your stress and weight need specific understanding

Overexposure to cortisol leads to increased activation of a particular enzyme called lipoprotein lipase that exists in fat cells. This enzyme tells cells to increase fat storage and explains why excessive stress can sometimes lead to increased fat in the abdomen, face and chest area. Excessively high levels of cortisol can also make it easier for adipose tissue to regenerate cortisol in the adipose tissue itself - further increasing lipoprotein lipase activity and subsequent fat storage.

Research from my own lab has found that the cortisol response to a high-intensity stress test, 30-minute cycle exercise is reduced after a short period (11 days) of exercise. high amtitude. This, along with findings from other research, suggests that during periods of overtraining, our blood cortisol levels can actually drop in response to a stressful event - for example. like exercise.

There is some evidence that the group of cortisol-producing glands (called the HPA axis) is affected by overtraining. But much of this research shows that cortisol's response to stress is actually reduced during periods of overtraining.

This may be a protective mechanism for the body when it is repeatedly exposed to increased levels of cortisol. This means that a period of intense exercise is unlikely to increase fat storage and weight gain.

An average person's rate of overtraining

Even if you exercise regularly, it's hard to know your risk from overtraining. We know that advanced athletes are more likely to be overtrained due to their intense training needs, with studies showing that between 30% and 60% of athletes overtrain. . But research looking specifically at how often the average person experiences overtraining is rare.

So why can people experience weight loss even if they are exercising regularly? While the hormone cortisol has been linked to weight gain, the average person exercising a few times a week is unlikely to stress their bodies enough to cause the type of cortisol to spike significantly and sustainably. to do this.

If you have been successful in losing weight but find that your progress has stalled, then you should calculate if you now Do you need fewer calories? Adding some extra light activity every day - such as a lunchtime walk - can also help you burn some extra calories without stressing your body.

The reason people may experience weight loss - or even weight gain - despite going to the gym a few times a week or even daily can be due to any number of factors. Excessive stress in your day can be a cause, along with a poor-quality diet, of not running into a calorie deficit or even overestimating the number of calories you burn in the gym.

While overtraining shouldn't stop the average person from losing weight, it's important to incorporate rest days into your exercise routine to avoid fatigue and allow your muscles to recover.

 

Source: https://theconversation.com/

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