The exercise edition
Moving your body has lots of benefits. Weight loss is not one of them. Read on to learn why you won’t exercise your way out of a bad diet – and why you should prioritize movement anyway.
“Eat less, move more.”
“Calories in, calories out.”
We can recite these lines in our sleep, yet they go against everything the latest research shows about weight loss and nutrition. For those who still believe that burning calories through exercise is a simple way to “burn off” calories eaten, you need to understand, the equation isn’t so simple.
Calories are just one small aspect of the food you eat. It is true that calorie intake influences body weight. (If you regularly take in more energy than your body uses, you will gain weight over time.) However, the type of food you consume has a downstream effect on your health, and it can support or inhibit weight loss efforts. Ready to learn more?
What does the quality of your food affect?
This is just a partial list:
Hormone balance
Blood sugar balance
Satiation/satisfaction with meals
Sleep
Mood
Digestion
Inflammation
Stress tolerance
Chronic disease risk
Brain health
Energy levels
Skin
You’re not going to “work off” the negative effects of ultra-processed foods, seed oils, chemical additives, and glyphosate residue with any amount of physical activity. Let’s stop thinking of exercise as a punishment for eating and food as a reward for workouts. These are unhealthy associations, and we need to let them go.
We also need to change our thinking about how to refuel after exercise. It’s not as simple as eating back all the calories you burned in an activity. Here’s why:
The amount of calories needed in a day for the body to perform its basic metabolic functions is referred to as Basal Energy Expenditure (BEE). This accounts for the calories we need to consume to support normal brain, liver, gut, and immune system function; to breathe; and essentially to stay alive.
Did you know, the human body is designed to conserve BEE after strenuous activity? According to this study, “only 72% of the extra calories we burn from additional activity translates into extra calories burned that day.” The exact percentage varies by individual body composition, but the takeaway is, you don’t want to eat back all the calories you burn during workouts.
Why exercise at all?
Although exercise is not the key to weight loss, it does play a critical role in our mental and emotional wellbeing. For example, a healthy exercise routine can:
Increase energy levels
Boost your mood through increased blood flow to the brain and the production of feel-good hormones (endorphins) and chemicals (serotonin)
Improve sleep
Give a sense of control and a distraction from negative thoughts
Create higher self-esteem and a feeling of accomplishment after a workout
Build confidence in your ability to take care of yourself and feel stronger
Serve as an outlet for frustrations and processing emotions
Offer an opportunity to socialize, meet new people, and overcome the effects of isolation
Reduce skeletal muscle tension, which helps you feel more relaxed
You don’t have to do strenuous or long workouts to realize these benefits. Studies show low or moderate intensity exercise is enough to make a difference in mood and thinking patterns. The important part is setting aside time and creating ways to move your body each day. And if you exercise outside, you gain the added mood-boosting gifts that nature has to provide – sunshine, fresh air, and grounding properties.
Cardio or strength?
Unless you are an athlete who wants to optimize performance in a specific sport, you may want to know which type of workouts are best for healthspan and longevity. There is a popular misconception that cardio-intensive workouts like running, swimming, and cycling are better than strength and resistance training with weights. While it may feel good to work up a steady sweat and build endurance for these types of activities, these workouts tend to increase hunger and cravings, and the process of burning calories ends the moment you stop the workout.
By comparison, strength training - combined with adequate protein intake - helps you build muscle mass. And muscle has a higher metabolic burn rate than other tissue. This means, muscle continues to burn energy (body fat) while you are at rest, even hours after a weight lifting session is over. Squats, deadlifts, and pushups are excellent movements to learn. Your joints will thank you, too!
For specific exercises and tips, watch this episode of Rachel Gregory’s podcast, MetFlex Life: How do you build muscle and lose weight at the same time?
Should you exercise when starting keto?
Major diet changes always should be a consideration for limiting your exercise intensity, and keto is no different. In the Senza app, we recommend easing back on workouts for a couple of weeks at least, while the body gets used to a lower-carb way of eating. Gentle, lower-intensity activities are best for several reasons:
Minerals matter. Your body cycles through minerals more quickly during the transition into ketosis, and it’s common to be mineral-deficient, even for individuals who aren’t on keto. Electrolytes, specifically, are flushed during the first couple of weeks, so replenishing sodium, magnesium, and potassium takes a bit of intention. Incidentally these minerals are lost quickly through the perspiration and micro stress that accompany exercise, so minimizing extreme activity can also preserve some of these precious minerals and make the transition to keto much smoother - i.e., no keto flu!
Stress interferes. When we shift too quickly to high-intensity exercise, we also spike cortisol and shift to glucose-burning, away from fat burn which is the goal of ketosis. Mark Sisson recommends monitoring your heart rate closely to make sure you’re not exceeding your max aerobic heart rate and going out of the range for fat burning.
Protein is key. Most people new to keto aren’t used to eating so much protein, and the truth of the matter is, exercise increases your protein needs. It’s usually a better idea to dial in your protein and then layer in activity at a gentle pace, so you can increase protein as needed. This strategy preserves muscle mass, which is the weight you don’t want to lose. If the goal of exercise is fat loss, lower intensity activity and plenty of protein are the keys that will get you there.
If you’re determined to keep up a workout regimen during the transition to ketosis, we recommend functional movements (push, pull, lift, squat, carry, etc.) and low-intensity aerobic activity. Walking, hiking, cycling, stretching, yoga, calisthenics, and weight-bearing exercises are your best options. Endurance activities like running or HIIT training may be better left alone until you’re fully adapted and may still require strategic carb intake for some.
The Senza app for keto and fasting helps you refuel adequately after exercise by tracking active calories and allowing you to customize post-workout nutrition settings. Send a message in the app to ask any of our coaches for help with these settings!
Resources for learning more about exercise and nutrition
More research: Ketogenic Diets and Exercise Performance
What Type of Workout Is Best on a Low Carb or Ketogenic Diet with Thomas Delauer
Muscle Science for Women: A 12-week program with Rachel Gregory, CNS
Exercising on Keto with Anthony Gustin