You think the more you exercise, the more you lose weight: Unfortunately, the opposite is true

People often think that the more they exercise, the faster they will lose the extra pounds. Although intuitively this makes sense, in reality the situation is a little more complicated. More exercise means more calories burned. But there are pitfalls. Modern research shows that without an adequate approach to diet, exercise alone may be healthy, but it certainly won’t help with weight loss. In addition, excessive exercise can be harmful in some cases.

If you want to lose weight, a lifestyle change is needed in more ways than one. You simply cannot compensate for the fact that you like good food with hours in the gym. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work that way. Moreover, if you exercise too much, such a load will not be suitable for your body.

The body adapts

One of the key reasons why excessive exercise may not lead to proportional weight loss is the phenomenon of energy compensation. If a person increases energy expenditure, the body may decrease energy expenditure elsewhere to keep its overall energy budget stable.

Research shows that excess energy expenditure through exercise and other movement can often lead to the body then expending less energy at rest. For example, people will reduce involuntary movements, tap their feet less, tap their fingers on the table top, and nod their heads less. All of this has an effect on calorie burning and weight loss. A concept called Constrained Daily Energy Expenditure, promoted by anthropologist Herman Pontzer, even claims that there is a biological ceiling to which the body tries to energetically tune itself.

Exercise alone is not enough

Many people think that if they exercise, they can then eat whatever they want. But that’s not entirely true. Although you may have a large expenditure, taking in calories is much easier. It’s definitely not true that an hour in the gym makes up for having greasy fast food for lunch and a piece of cake for dessert. Moreover, your body needs healthy food at the very moment you are exercising.

That’s because it gets the vitamins, minerals and energy it needs to perform at the gym, or even on a simple walk, from the right foods. In addition, if you eat inappropriately on an ongoing basis, you will have an increased appetite, more hunger after your workout. However, appropriate foods throughout the day can reduce this problem.

Exercise and appropriate diet

It is important to remember that more exercise is no guarantee of more weight loss. Research shows that only a combination of a healthy diet and appropriate exercise can make a person feel physically and mentally well and lose weight at the same time. And in a way that doesn ‘t lead to a yo-yo effect in the short term. Heavy dieting and torture in the gym will of course help with weight loss too. But one does not feel good mentally or physically.

In addition, then often just after the end of a demanding regime the pounds come back. So the most ideal thing is to watch a healthy diet, but in addition to that go swimming, long walks, exercise in the form of fun. Something different suits everyone, so don’t force yourself into workouts that are challenging and not fun. You can also exercise as part of your hobbies.