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What role can our previous relationship with exercise play when we start a diet? It can improve your chances of losing weight, say scientists.
You can’t have gained weight in the last two years. If not, you are the exception to the rule, because the rest of us still carry 1, 2, 3 or even more kilos. It was the “gift” left to us by the coronavirus and its lockdowns.
So, we decided to start a diet , or at least to put our diet in order, now that everyday life seems to be gradually returning to more normal rhythms. But come on, the numbers on the state-of-the-art scale don’t tell you to fall.
Can we push the situation a bit? Is there a simple and effective way to fit into last year’s jeans? Physical activity seems to be a step in the right direction.
How exercise affects the effect of a diet
Research in the journal Endocrine Society reports that people who are in poor physical condition , when they start a comprehensive weight loss program, lose less weight over time than those who are in better physical condition.
The study, which examined the relationship between fitness level at the start of a diet program and weight loss at the end of the program, involved 60 overweight and obese adults.
The program lasted 18 months and included a calorie-restricted diet, support group sessions and six months of supervised exercise, gradually building up to 300 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise per week. After the first 6 months, participants were asked to continue exercising at the same level on their own for the remainder.
At the start of the study, 33% of the participants were in very poor physical condition, and the rest were in poor or better condition. At 6 and 12 months, the groups showed no difference in weight loss. However, after 18 months, those who were less active at the start had lost about half as much weight as the more active.
Although all participants increased the amount of moderate-to-vigorous exercise they were able to do, those in the worst physical condition averaged 24 minutes a day, compared to 42 minutes for the rest.
“This particular research could help us improve the design of weight loss programs. “It also shows that adults with very poor fitness can benefit if they get exercise support during a diet,” said lead author Adnin Zaman, from the University of Colorado .
