While you are unlikely to lose all the fitness gains through a steady gym or fitness regime, most of us fear gaining weight after we quit the gym routine. When a person works out regularly, maintaining a disciplined exercise regime, they also tend to stick to steady dietary habits. The weight gain when they stop working out has to do with both these aspects going awry, say experts, leading to regaining fat, or weight in general.
Why do you gain weight after leaving the gym?
The formula for weight gain, once you leave a regular gym routine, is simple: most people tend to take in more calories than they burn.
Most tend to continue to eat the same quantity of food (calorie intake) that they formed a habit of while working out. However, when a break in training happens, the body’s requirement of energy is much less and the excess calories, which are not utilized, get stored in the body as fat.
Loss of muscle mass exacerbates the situation. “If one stops exercising, there can be a reduction of muscle mass in the body,” says Lavanya Parashivakumar, physiotherapist and exercise physiologist at Even Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Bengaluru. “When the quantity of the available muscle tissues reduces in the body, the metabolism also becomes sluggish which further encourages fat accumulation or deposition.”
When you are consistent with your exercise routine, the body is used to being in a catabolic state. It breaks down the food for energy during physical exertion, utilizing the stored calories. Once the routine is stopped, this process slows down. Excess calories from food, subsequently, gets stored in the body as fat.
“A person goes to the gym at 5pm after having lunch at 2pm,” elaborates Dr Sakshi Shrivastava, general physician at Apollo Clinic, Bengaluru. “The body gets used to the fact that it’s going to require extra energy at 5pm. The body breaks down and absorbs food for energy utilization. But when a person stops going to the gym all that extra energy from the food that the person consumed gets stored. This leads to weight gain, at times exponentially.”
What happens when you stop exercising?
When you stop going to gym or working out, the body’s composition will slowly start to change. Muscles go through atrophy and become weaker.
“The stamina starts to take a hit,” says Dr Shrivastava. “When a person is exercising, their breathing, and heart rate is in control and in the optimal range. The whole body and the psychology are controlled too. But once they stop going to the gym the heart gets affected, they become tired faster, thus affecting their stamina.”
Parashivakumar elaborates on the immediate and long-term effects that can happen when a person stops working out.
“As an Immediate effect after stopping exercises can lead to loss of muscle mass, detrimental changes or negative changes in the mood state, and increased blood glucose levels,” says Parashivakumar. “When exercise cessation occurs for a long period it can lead to loss of mobility of the joint and flexibility of the muscles, loss of strength and loss of energy throughout the day, disturbances in sleep cycles [for a few]. In women, a rapid loss of muscle is seen, along with decreased metabolism and mood disruptions.”
Sudden breaks in an exercise routine can also lead to chronic metabolic disorders in some, adds Parashivakumar. Also, the muscle mass/muscle tissue shrinks in size. At the same time, the fat cells increase in size, and the total body fat percentage increases.
How to prevent weight gain after leaving the gym?
Diet plays a huge role when exercises are put on hold. Apart from diet, being active throughout the day, even if you are not working out, is one of the ways to stop gaining weight. Remaining stagnant or sedentary is a strict no.
“Doing pranayama multiple times in a day helps in keeping the breathing constant and helps lose calories because the muscles are worked,” says Dr Shrivastava. “The idea is to continuously be on the move.”
Adjust the calorie intake according to the new or changed lifestyle. If the energy output or burning capacity is less due to inactivity, adjust the calorie intake accordingly.
“It is okay to take a break from the gym but not the exercise practice/physical activity routines,” says Parashivakumar. “Go for walks, cycle around, jog at a low intensity, perform body weight exercises at home, and be physically active throughout your workday too. Adopt an activity that you love and can be consistent with for better success to keep the health on the right track.”
Takeaways
- Weight gain is a common issue faced by those who stop working out or leave the gym.
- The primary reason for it is the disproportionate intake of calories compared to the amount of energy consumed by the body doing physical activities.
- To maintain a healthy weight and avoid weight gain after leaving the gym, keep a tab on calorie intake and remain active throughout the day.
