Exercise is a key ingredient in a weight-loss program, but it can lead to putting on, rather than taking off, the pounds. The reason behind a weight gain during exercise can be your own habits or your body's adjustments. Once you figure out why exercise is making you gain weight, you will have the solution you need to stop the gain and go forward with your weight-loss goals.
Hunger
Exercise makes you hungry. Once you start an exercise program, you could end up eating more than you would if you did not exercise. Although you're burning more calories with exercise, you might still be consuming more than you burn. A 30-minute low-impact aerobic workout, for example, burns about 182 calories if you weigh 160 lbs. If you eat because you're famished after your workout, you can consume those 182 calories pretty easily. A single bagel, for instance, can pack at least 300 calories, even without butter or cream cheese. Stress and a lack of sufficient sleep can also lead to hunger and overeating.
Entitlement
A killer workout can make you feel like you deserve a reward. Grab that bagel -- with a rewarding dollop of extra cream cheese -- and your reward can negate the calories you just worked so hard to burn. Likewise, exercising and eating healthy foods all week can lead to a weekend free-for-all as a type of reward. Such so-called rewards can easily sabotage your weight-loss plans.
Program
Your workout program might be falling short as a weight-loss plan. You need at least five medium- to high-intensity aerobic workouts each week coupled with strength training at least twice a week. Even the most stringent plans can take weeks or even months to show significant results. Also make sure you are eating enough calories. If you start eating too few calories, your body will adjust by burning fewer calories to halt weight loss.
Plateau
If you repeatedly follow the same exercise routines, your body gets used to them and adjusts itself to work more efficiently. When your body becomes more efficient, it burns fewer calories, causing a weight-loss plateau. A workout that used to work for weight loss can therefore lose its effectiveness. As your weight drops, your body also needs fewer calories to sustain it and even fewer to lose weight, since a lower weight burns fewer calories during exercise.
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