If you stop exercising will you gain weight?

If I am not wrong you want to ask that if you stop going to the gym which includes lifting weights and cardio will you gain weight?

Because this is something which I hear very frequently at the gym.

And if you are one of them who thinks that stopping exercise will make you fat you have completely misunderstood this topic and, in this article, I will try to explain the logic behind it.

Hey, guys, it’s me Gympanzie, and I have received this question from one of my WhatsApp group members.

You will gain weight if you stop exercising but let’s see what changes you made while you were trying to lose weight…

When you first start exercising you make a lot of lifestyle changes.

You start eating healthy, take a diet which is low in calories which helps you to lose weight.

What happens if we stop exercising or going to the gym?

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Now if you stop exercising or going to gym your Basal Metabolic Rate will decrease.

Basal metabolic rate is the number of calories your body requires when it is at rest to perform vital functions such as breathing, maintaining optimal body temperature, etc.

Working out and exercising regularly helps you to slightly increase your BMR as you gain some lean muscle and your body naturally requires more calories to maintain them.

This is how you get a boost in your metabolism.

You can read this article to understand this better CAN I LOSE WEIGHT BY LIFTING WEIGHTS ONLY?

After you stop exercising your body will start losing muscles that you’ve gained over time in the gym as your body have no reason to keep them.

Your body would not burn the same number of calories as it was burning before.

To understand this better let’s take an example:

Earlier when you’ve started exercising you were eating around 2000 calories to lose weight and if you stop exercising you now only need 1600-1700 calories to maintain your current weight.

What will happen if you still eat 2000 calories?

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Let’s understand this in a simple way, in an Indian household this is what we eat daily:

I have given this example as there are three big meals which people consume mostly breakfast, lunch & dinner.

Let’s assume you add 2 tablespoon oil in each meal, you get will get 700 calories approximately.

Remember one tablespoon of oil contains:

Protein – 0 grams

Carbohydrates – 0 grams

Fats – 14 grams (approx.)

Calories – 119 calories (approx.)

If you add some fruits, roti, daal, biscuit, milk, rice, tea, coffee, etc you simply will be consuming more than 2000 calories per day.

Eating the same number of calories that you were eating before will obviously lead to weight gain because now you are not burning those calories.

Think about it!!!

It will be stored in the form of fat in your body.

After some time you will also start craving for junk food as you have no reason to keep up with the old healthy lifestyle.

You will lose motivation and have no control over what you are eating…

Now, most of you diet and workout so hard to shed those extra kilos that after you stop exercising you think now it’s time to relax and start eating emotionally.

And without even knowing you will start eating more or binge, you can read more about it over here HOW TO STOP EMOTIONAL EATING AND LOSE WEIGHT

Can you lose fat cells or only shrink them?

Another question which I would like to add is can you lose fat cells or only shrink them…

Hmmm now, this is something interesting!!!

The point is when you start exercising and eating a diet low in calorie you start losing fat along with water weight and muscles.

Fat is stored in the form of triglycerides in your adipocyte cells.

Whenever you start losing weight you have to burn more calories than you consume…

Your body starts breaking down these triglycerides as a source of energy.

Which makes fat cells to shrink but this doesn’t eliminate them completely.

The bad news is if you start consuming more calories or overeating, your fat cells can grow again and maybe even larger in size.

How can I maintain my weight after leaving the gym or stop exercising?

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So the best way to stop gaining weight is to stay active and reduce the number of calories you were eating before.

For this, you can use a free calorie calculator at the very end of this article and enter your current weight, age, and height.

It will tell you exactly how many calories you have to eat to maintain or lose weight.

Start eating foods that will make you consume fewer calories while keeping you full for a long time.

Food that contains a good amount of fibers and protein should be your preferred choice like lentils, beans, oats, quinoa, yogurt, whole wheat or multigrain roti along with some good sources of lean protein like eggs, fish, chicken, paneer and some good fat sources as well including nuts, seeds, oils, etc.

Use a calorie calculator application such as CHRONOMETER to track your daily calorie, protein, carbs, and fat intake.

Track your weight on a weekly basis to make adjustments in your diet.

Conclusion

• Overtime your metabolism slows down so will your calories.
• Your fat cells never go away, if you eat the same number of calories you had when exercising those extra calories will be stored as fat.
• In order to maintain your weight, keep your calories under check.
• Eat food that is filling and lower in calories.

And if you are still confused how do you lose weight?

Read this article and clear your doubts once and forever!