Why can exercise cause weight gain?

Diet and exercise play a huge role in maintaining and reducing and gaining weight.  But the latter isn’t something people typically think will happen unless they are looking to “bulk up”.  So why can exercise cause weight gain?

Two simple reasons that exercising can make you gain weight.  The first simply, is that your muscles will increase in mass as you lift weights and get stronger.  Muscle weighs more than fat so people can experience weight gain even though they are working out and getting stronger.

The second reason is portion control. In the book, “The Body” by Bill Bryson, he explains:

“One study in America found that people overestimate the number of calories they burned in a workout by a factor of four. They also then consumed, on average, about twice as many calories as they had just burned off ... the fact is, you can quickly undo a lot of exercise by eating a lot of food, and most of us do.”

I often catch myself using the excuse that, “I deserve this donut because I went for a run today”.  One thing that help me instead of a sugary treat was a natural sweet. Simple food substitutes can help with caloric control: fruit instead of sweets, flavoured sparkling water instead of soda pop, jerky instead of chips, etc. Eating and cooking for yourself can help with calories as well because you can see the nutrition labels to what you eat.  Plus, cooking can be a ton of fun once you get into the rhythm of it. 

Happy working out and eating in,

Dr. Cole Maranger, DC