What?! Your workout is causing you to GAIN weight? Did you read that correctly? Yes. But ok we may have scared you a little, exercise is going to help you stay fit and healthy, 90 percent of the time. However, there is a chance that the type of exercise you’re doing isn’t optimal because of how it affects your hormones. If so, you need to switch that up so you don’t end up gaining weight and causing hormonal chaos.
What do you mean?
For most people in most situations, exercise makes you feel better. But there are cases in which intensive and frequent exercise should be limited, because it’s negatively impacting your hormones and can cause weight gain.
Some people workout everyday because they’re committed to losing weight and use it as a stress reliever from work. But they’re actually starting to feel more tired, more stressed and they’re definitely not shifting any weight. In fact, quite the opposite.
Let’s talk about cortisol
Cortisol and adrenaline spike during times of stress which as a result can shift your body into a fat storing mode, holding onto all calories rather than using them as fuel. It is not unusual for an individual who is chronically stressed to have more visceral abdominal fat, even if they are of a healthy weight, as found in a study conducted by Yale University.
Certain types of exercise and training frequencies increase cortisol, adrenaline and glucagon levels and cause a catabolic response – the breaking down of muscle and fat tissue. Over time, this results in:
- A decline in your metabolic rate
- Inflammation and stress
- Increased blood sugar
- Increased fat storage
- Glycogen and protein breakdown for fuel
The types of exercise that increase cortisol include low intensity steady state (LISS) cardio like long distance running or cycling, or training too frequently and not properly recovering between sessions.
Effects of High Cortisol
Studies show that chronically high cortisol levels promote fat storage, particularly in the face and abdomen, and more drastically among women. It alters the production of ghrelin and leptin, two hormones associated with hunger and satiety, leaving you feeling perpetually hungry and unsatisfied.
Plus, when you workout for long periods of time, you convince yourself that you deserve that slice of cake – whether to congratulate yourself, plain old hunger or because you’ve ‘worked’ for it. However, it’s almost impossible to outwork a bad diet, no matter how much exercise you do. This habit may be contributing to any unexplained weight gain you’re experiencing.
It’s also important to bear in mind that an hour long jog may have burnt less than a ten minute HIIT session. Despite the spike in your hunger hormones, ghrelin and leptin. Shorter, intense bursts of exercise have been shown in research to have less of an affect on your hunger hormones – so factor that in!
The Takeaway?
If you want to lose weight, it’s important to understand how your hormones change as a result of the exercise you do. Work with – rather than against – your hormones to accelerate fat loss. Try to cut the LISS sessions, start strength training and fully recover between sessions.