It can not be denied that the past year has taken a significant toll on our bodies. If you are a few pounds up compared to your pre-pandemic weight, do not worry. Stress can easily make your body hold a little extra weight, and if you found yourself striving for comfort food during the pandemic, you are not alone. No matter how the weight gain happened, you may feel uncomfortable with the extra weight on your body and you may feel motivated to lose it. And what is the world’s response to losing weight? Exercising.
So you start training. You try to run, HIIT, pilates, strength training, cycling or any other workout that suits you. But no matter how dedicated you are to your new workout routine, you may not actually lose the weight that originally motivated you in the first place. In fact, you win.
Sounds familiar?
It’s because It has been misinterpreted that exercise will make you lose weight. When exercise is in fact only a small part of weight loss – 20% of it, to be exact. The majority of weight loss is due to your nutrition (about 80%) and sleep.
Here’s why nutrition is the most important thing to focus on when trying to lose weight compared to exercising, according to some dietitians. And for healthy recipes to be motivated, check out our list of 100 easiest recipes you can make.
“It’s pretty easy to consume enough calories to compensate for those burned during exercise, so it may be possible that someone is not creating an energy deficit with exercise that enables weight loss or even consuming the right number of calories to just maintain the same weight. , says Jinan Banna, PhD, RD.
“Realize that You probably do not burn as many calories with exercise, “Continues Banna.” For example, if you run 30 miles, you might burn about 300 calories, which can be equivalent to a piece of bread with a thick spread of peanut butter. “
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“Weight loss is 80% nutrition and 20% exercise and movement,” he says Emily Danckers, MS, RD. “If someone exercises consistently but does not change what they eat (or eats more to compensate for what they burned when they exercised), it is very possible to continue gaining weight. A common saying is: ‘You can not exercise a bad diet, “and that’s definitely true. One solution would be to focus on total calorie intake. At the end of the day, this is what causes weight loss: eating fewer total calories plus moving more. “
If you’re wondering, this is how many calories you should eat a week for weight loss.
“Your metabolism may decrease due to a calorie restriction and / or adrenal fatigue,” says Trista Best, MPH, RD, LD at Balanced One Supplements. To help with this, you may want to consider adding foods that have a greater chance of increasing your metabolism. Foods that increase the thermal effect of food (TEF) will also increase your metabolism. “Increases the number of calories burned during that time. This means you burn calories while eating. High TEF foods include dairy products, fish, meat, eggs, nuts, seeds and legumes.”
Here are 31 healthy meals that increase your metabolism for weight loss.
“My suggestion would be to pay close attention to exactly how much it is [you] eat, says Lisa Young, Ph.D., RDNand author of Finally full, finally thin. “The best way to do this is to keep a food diary for at least a week and pay attention to not only what they eat but how much they eat. People are often surprised that they eat more than they think they eat. I suggest that people reduce their portions of high-calorie foods (chips, meat, dressings) and increase their portions of high-calorie foods (such as non-starchy vegetables and fruits). It is also important to pay attention to nibbles here and there that they often do not realize. “
“Focus on incorporating enough non-calorie foods into your diet to maintain a better balance between calories in and calories out, “says Banna. This would mean enough of them fruit and vegetables which, for example, contains a lot of water and fiber and relatively low calories. Incorporate such foods in creative ways into your diet to keep you interested in eating them, such as a smoothie that involves certain vegetables. “
Here are 18 easy ways to control your portion sizes.
“On the training front, a change in your routine can increase the calories you burn,” says Young. “The body gets used to certain exercises we do regularly and burns fewer calories over time from that exercise. Changing things can often give you an increase in energy consumption. If you regularly run on a treadmill, consider for example the treadmill. Or exercise outdoors! “
Here is an important side effect of exercising regularly, says a new study.
“An exercise regimen emphasizes your muscle fibers. When it does, it causes micro-tears on your muscles, commonly called microtrauma, and some inflammation, hence extra weight gain,” says Edie Reads, RD and editor-in-chief of healthadvise.org.
Reader points out This can happen for two reasons – water weight and muscle mass.
“Your body’s response to these changes can also cause you to gain some water weight,” says Reads. “First, stress and muscle tear cause water retention. Just a small micro tear will cause your body to retain some fluid in the area to heal. During this time, your body will also give your muscles some extra energy that can also make you lay down. to weight. “
But once the original water weight has been reached, your body will make changes.
“As your muscles continue to keep pace with your workouts, they will continue to need less and less glycogen for the same energy production. So you will probably notice a weight loss,” says Reads. “You will also experience weight gain due to your lean muscle mass. This is often experienced later as you continue to train and build muscle.”
“Also, [try to get] sleep 7 to 9 hours every day so that you have a maximum healing time and keep the hormones that regulate hunger in check, says Reads. Here are 7 healthy diet changes to help you sleep.
Between changes in your eating habits and getting enough sleep, as well as a consistent exercise routine, you will likely see differences in maintaining a healthier weight once and for all.
