If you feel like you deserve an extra-long lounge on the couch after completing a strenuous workout, you are not alone. This meta-study from the University of Copenhagen shows that as people increase the amount of structured exercise, they participate in they tend to lounge about more when it comes to performing other day-to-day physical activities that are not considered to be part of structured exercise.
“In 67% of the studies, we can see that people cut back on physical activities in their daily lives as compensation for more training. This includes walking less, cycling less, and taking an elevator instead of the stairs,” says Julie Marvel Mansfeldt, a graduate student at the University of Copenhagen’s Department of Nutrition, Exercise and Sports (NEXS).
The decline affects weight loss
However, one’s level of regular physical activity plays a significant role in whether a person successfully loses weight. This decline in physical activity can result in people losing 22% less weight than expected from their training program.
“Losing weight is about changing the balance between the amount of energy you consume and the amount you expend. You can either change your diet to eat less or increase your level of physical activity,” says Julie Marvel Mansfeldt, who continues: “In theory, an energy deficit resulting from exercising more should result in weight loss. But in practice, we see that the two things are seldom linked and that weight loss from exercise is often less than expected. This indicates that some kind of compensatory mechanism must exist. Surprisingly and contrary to what many people think, we do not typically increase the amount of food we eat upon starting exercise training. This then suggests that we must be decreasing non-exercise physical activity, which refers to all the physical activities we do in our daily lives aside from the structured exercise.”
Feeling like we’ve earned it
The tendency to be less physically active outside of exercise routines is likely to be a mixture of physiological and psychological mechanisms, and it is a common response among men and women as well as among those who are overweight and within healthy ranges.
“The compensation can come from simply feeling more tired after a training session at the gym. But there is probably a psychological factor at play too, which is a kind of reward system that kicks in and makes us think we deserve to lie on the couch and skip the long walk with the dog, or take the car to the supermarket instead of cycling,” Mansfeldt explains.
Many people think that they feel hungrier and eat more after completing a strenuous workout or sporting event, however, research in this regard shows that this kind of compensation is not as common.
Engage in something that is fun and right for you
This study showed that people who experienced a positive effect from enjoying exercising such as exhibiting positive moods, joy, interest, and alertness also ate less and achieved greater weight loss than those who experienced a negative effect who did not think the activity they participated in was fun.
“This shows that the psychological aspect is important for whether or not you are successful with your training program, and further implies that you need to find the type of exercise that is right for you,” says Julie Marvel Mansfeldt.
“The number of overweight people is constantly growing. Therefore, it is important to look at what we can do to facilitate a net energy balance whereby the amount of energy a person consumes is no greater than the amount of energy they expend,” says Mansfeldt.
“Currently, weight loss programmes involving exercise always state that participants need to be careful not to eat more. But because this second mechanism also appears to play an important role, I hope that it will be mentioned to anyone who begins an exercise-based weight loss programme in the future. That they should remember to be as active on a daily basis as usual, and be careful to not give up cycling to work, walking the dog, taking the stairs, and so on.”
As with anything you read on the internet, this article should not be construed as medical advice; please talk to your doctor or primary care provider before changing your wellness routine. WHN does not agree or disagree with any of the materials posted. This article is not intended to provide a medical diagnosis, recommendation, treatment, or endorsement. Additionally, it is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, individual, or anyone or anything. These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration.
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References/Sources/Materials provided by:
https://news.ku.dk/all_news/2023/09/the-more-we-exercise-the-longer-we-lounge-around/
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13668-023-00467-y
