As muscle cells get smaller, fat cells tend to get bigger. After all, the muscles aren't working hard enough to burn away calories. This can lead to weight gain as soon as 14 days (or earlier) once you stop exercising, according to Men's Journal.
Gaining or losing weight primarily depends on the balance between the calories you consume and the calories you burn. If you eat healthy foods but consume more calories than your body needs, you could still gain weight, even without exercising.
No, you will not gain weight from stopping your workout for just one day. Weight fluctuations can occur due to various factors such as water retention, food intake, and other temporary changes in your body, but a single day without exercise will not lead to significant fat gain.
For relaxation, many people tend to watch TV, browse the internet or play computer games, and rarely take regular exercise. If you are not active enough, you do not use the energy provided by the food you eat, and the extra energy you consume is stored by the body as fat.
People who regularly eat and drink more calories than they burn each day are more likely to gain extra weight, including belly fat. Getting older also makes a difference. People lose muscle as they age. And the problem is worse for those who are not physically active.
If you aren't physically active, you are at higher risk for: Cardiovascular disease. High blood pressure. Type 2 diabetes.
Although adequate protein throughout the day is necessary, extra strength training is what leads to muscle growth — not extra protein intake. You can't build muscle without the exercise to go with it. The body can't store protein, so once its needs are met, any extra protein is used for energy or stored as fat.
Muscle is denser (meaning a lot less fluffy) than fat, says Dr. Calabrese. Put another way, 10 pounds of muscle takes up a lot less space than 10 pounds of fat. So, as you start working out regularly and building strength, the new muscle you build may eventually weigh more than the fat you've burnt off.
A sedentary lifestyle can significantly impact your metabolic health. When you're inactive, your body burns fewer calories throughout the day. This can lead to weight gain if you don't adjust your caloric intake accordingly.
Key takeaways: Working out can cause short-term weight gain as your muscle mass increases. Post-workout inflammation may cause temporary weight fluctuations. Workout plateaus, supplement use, and dietary changes can also stall your weight-loss efforts.
At its core, weight loss is an equation: Burn more calories than you consume. If you control those calories by staying in a calorie deficit, you can lose weight without exercising. However, that approach can easily become extreme and restrictive, just like exercise can if you rely on it too heavily.
While it's a myth that muscle weighs more than fat—after all, a pound is a pound—it is denser, which means it takes up less space in the body. This may explain why you look slimmer but the scale hasn't budged. Water weight could also be a factor, according to strength and conditioning coach Brandon Mentore.
"A lot of people feel and look less tight and toned when they stop working out," he explains. "It's more of a cosmetic thing." When you don't work out regularly, your body composition starts to change. With little physical activity, muscle cells shrink.
It can Lead to Long Term Health Consequences
It's like having a habit that could affect your body over time. Without exercise, the extra protein from the shakes might not be used well by your body. This could lead to issues like gaining too much weight or not having enough muscle strength.
Many factors can affect how much muscle you lose while in a calorie deficit. While it was once thought that the more fat you had, the less muscle you lost in a calorie deficit, this has since been disproved – with both lean and obese people losing significant rates of muscle when dieting.
Your Body Responds
After all, the muscles aren't working hard enough to burn away calories. This can lead to weight gain as soon as 14 days (or earlier) once you stop exercising, according to Men's Journal. Over time, those extra pounds can cause many problems throughout your body.
There's no hard and fast rule for how long a “break” from exercise should be. It may be as short as a few days, but it's important to realize as well that it can also be up to 1-2 weeks without any significant detriment or loss in previous fitness gains.
Water weight is not usually a cause for concern, but it can be uncomfortable and recurring. Reducing salt and carbohydrate intake, keeping hydrated, and frequently exercising are all good ways to lose water weight and prevent it from returning.