I play sports and I get fat: how can I avoid this phenomenon?

First reason: muscle gain

The first is musclemass gain. By exercising regularly, we certainly lose fat mass, but we also develop, at the same time, a dense muscle mass. But muscle weighs more than fat: 1 cubic centimeter ofmuscle weighs 1.058 g, against 0.9 g for adipose tissue. In other words, when you play sports, it is possible that the gain of muscles compensates or even exceeds the fat loss. Automatically, we gain weight. As such, the BMI of top athletes is not estimated in the same way as the BMIof an average individual. Where the norm is between 18.5 and 25 in ordinary mortals, it is 26 to 28 in people who regularly practicea sport.

Second reason: sport increases hunger

The second relatestohunger. Becauseweight regulationis not only “mechanical”, it also happensat the cerebral level… And when we increase our energy expenditure, via sport, the brain automatically sends signals of “demand” for greater food intake. Thussport increases the feeling of hunger, and we naturally tend to eat more when we have exerted. As such, a study conducted in 2015⁽¹⁾ showed that in some individuals, sport did not lead to weight loss or loss of fat mass, because the additional energy expenditure is often compensated by greater food intake.

Third reason: the role of metabolism

Finally, the third is metabolictag. Indeed, in some individuals, we would observe aslowing down of the metabolismAfter Physical Activity: a paradoxical phenomenon, and yet real. It turns out thatfor some, exercise tends to slow down their basal metabolic rate, because their body adopts an “energy saving” reflex, so fat loss is less. An adaptive phenomenon which, however, does not occur in all people (it all depends on thetype of metabolism ), but which would explain weight gain despite sporting activity…

Weight, a figure that does not say everything