I gain weight even if I train, why?

I gain weight even if I train

I gain weight even if I train , what could it be? And, above all, what can I do? There are unsuspected reasons that can lead you to gain weight despite a healthy diet and workout. By knowing them and making small adjustments you will be able to lose weight better and more consistently.

Small premise: in this article we will talk about the reasons that lead healthy people without pathologies to gain weight. There are some diseases, in fact, that can lead to gaining more weight: they are metabolic diseases or diseases that involve hormones.

Often the attitude towards them is twofold: those who accuse them of being just an alibi for those who don’t want to commit and those who instead think that, suffering from it, everything is useless.

As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle: the advice is, in case of doubt, to contact a doctor and rule out any medical problems.
But if there are no physical problems, what could it be? Let’s see them together.

Does sport make you fat?

It is practically impossible for physical activity to make you gain weight. By increasing your calorie expenditure you certainly can’t gain weight! It’s also true, however, that you don’t even have to exaggerate!

Do multiple workouts at the same time or add grueling cardio sessions (running, swimming, hours of walking) or many mini workouts. it can be counterproductive because the body perceives it as a real aggression and responds to this alarm by slowing down the metabolism to limit the damage caused by too much sport.

Overtraining  , also called  over training , causes an  increase in cortisol  and therefore:

  • Insulin (the sugar hormone) increases and the storage of fat in the abdomen is stimulated. The increase in insulin in turn causes an increase in hunger. The body has burned calories and is now tired and hungry. Result? Maybe we burned 300 calories and eat for 400.
  • The metabolism slows down to defend the body from excessive fatigue
  • Increases water retention
  • Catabolism (undesirable effect of tissue turnover characterized by an imbalance between muscle demolition and consequent restoration) of muscle mass increases
  • Increases general tiredness

Always remember that, especially if you are not trained, at the beginning your muscles will retain liquids. It is often said that “muscle weighs more than fat” and it’s true! But also remember that you certainly can’t gain 1 kg of muscle in a short time!
Another important thing: don’t rush.

Muscle development has very precise phases. So don’t be scared if you initially notice an increase in volumes.

When the diet is wrong

It may seem counterintuitive but following a diet that is too strict can have the opposite effect to the desired one. Why?

  1. The body triggers a resistance mechanism to weight loss to defend itself from what it perceives as an attack on its health.
  2. If you are too strict in following your diet, it will be easier to give in to uncontrolled excesses. Also pay attention to the rather common practice of dieting during the week and allowing yourself complete freedom at the weekend: alternating fasting with binging over time causes weight gain. It is much healthier and more effective to find a good balance and follow a diet easily sustainable.

Also beware of the opposite error! I often hear people say “I eat clean and healthy” but I gain weight. This is because, although it is a decidedly irritating factor, when you are on a diet you have to take into account the calorie intake.

Consuming an excessive amount of food, no matter how healthy, still leads to weight gain. Don’t take working out as an excuse to eat more than you should. An average workout burns 200 to 400 calories, always take your calorie needs into account. Find out here how much and what to eat.

Quick meals are the enemy of the diet

The meal is not a HIIT type workout, remember this well. There are now many studies that have shown that those who eat too quickly gain weight more quickly. This is because it prevents your body from producing the hormones necessary to dampen the feeling of hunger and you don’t have time to feel the feeling of satiety.

Stress and diet

People who experience emotional distress also have a tough life on the diet front: Stress, boredom, anxiety… They all negatively influence your weight loss journey.

It happens much more often than you think: you don’t eat out of real hunger but to fill an emotional void or even just out of boredom. When you experience a negative situation, your body stimulates the production of adrenaline which, in turn, stimulates the production of insulin, resulting in you feeling hungrier!

Boredom is also no friend of diet. She rewards herself with appetizers and snacks without even being really hungry and without being able to control the amount of food ingested.

Even anxious people don’t have an easy life! This is because they have to deal with higher levels of cortisol and insulin. excess cortisol and insulin make your body struggle much more to shed excess fat. Your waistline will especially be affected.

Sleeping little makes you gain weight

To feel good physically and achieve more results you need the perfect balance between three factors:

  • Adequate nutrition
  • Training
  • Rest

Very often, the very rest that should be the most fun and easy part of ‘work’ is underestimated. Sleeping little, however, does not allow you to recover from the efforts of your workout and the next day you will find yourself training with less energy. Not to mention that very often those who do not sleep enough are victims of nervousness and bad moods which, as we have seen in the point above, do not make the diet easier.

It should not be underestimated that by sleeping little it will be easier to fall victim to nocturnal binges. And, as if that wasn’t enough, some studies have shown that people who don’t sleep enough show abnormal fluctuations in levels of hormones linked to satiety.

I hope I have provided you with interesting food for thought, have you found yourself in any position against something? If you try to make some adjustments, you will see what results!