To reach this goal, many start intense exercise programs that incorporate too much exercise, leading to fitness burnout and injuries.
Overtraining can actually prevent you from losing weight.
Energy and exercise
The truth is that you can’t simply expect to exercise a poor diet and lose weight (if that’s your goal).
Humans are very good at saving energy and are consumed by exercise by consuming more calories later in the day or by being less physically active throughout the rest of the day. Explain the calories.
That said, you can-and should-use exercise to help you lose weight and maintain your weight loss. However, it is not to offset the calories burned.
If you are looking to lose weight, the only way to do that is to control your calorie intake.
The best and most effective way to do that is to limit the consumption of super-processed foods (typical “junk food” and fast food diets).
Even if you’re not trying to lose weight, reducing the consumption of super-processed foods can help your mental and physical health.
Regular exercise can easily do this by improving the brain and cognitive processes that help regulate junk food consumption and reducing stress.
And the best part is
A quick walk of just 20 minutes can have beneficial effects.
Reasons for overdose of junk food
We know that you shouldn’t overeat candies, cookies, cakes, chips, or drink sweet soda. A diet high in these super-processed foods will increase our weight. But they are very difficult to resist.
Super-processed junk food is designed to be as delicious and rewarding as possible.
Exposure to media ads and real food (for example, the chocolate bar in the grocery store checkout lane) increases local brain activity associated with reward processing.
Brain activity associated with this reward results in increased appetite and willingness to eat, even when we are not hungry.
The brain region, known as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), reduces activity in these reward areas to reduce food cravings and initiates the cognitive processes necessary to consciously control food choices. Both by doing, it helps to limit the consumption of super-processed foods.
When examining brain responses using functional brain imaging, neuroscientists find that increased activity in dlPFC controls food cravings by reducing activity in the reward area of the brain, making them healthier. Showed to help you choose the right food.
Conversely, when dlPFC activity diminishes, it struggles to resist the temptation of attractive junk food and consumes more snack food.
Exercise helps regulate food consumption
Exercise increases the plasticity of the brain. This is the ability of the brain to adapt its functions based on new inputs.
By increasing the plasticity of the brain, we can easily change our habits and lifestyles.
More and more evidence shows that regular physical activity can enhance prefrontal cortex brain function and improve cognition.
Increased prefrontal cortex brain function and cognition evoked by these exercises facilitates regulation or restriction of junk food consumption.
And you can see the effect with 20 minutes of moderate intensity exercise.
After 20 minutes of moderate intensity exercise, the consumption of super-processed foods such as chips and milk chocolate is low (in our study, this is 5.6 per hour on a slightly sloping treadmill. It was a lively walk of ~ 6.1 km).
Studies have also shown that
Both a single session of high-intensity interval training and a 12-week high-intensity aerobic exercise program can reduce your preference and appetite for high-calorie junk food.
Similar effects can be seen with moderate aerobic exercise and strength training.
The important point here is
Regular exercise can reduce the number of people who want junk food and improve their ability to resist the temptation of these attractive foods by improving brain function and cognition...
This makes it easier to limit the consumption of these foods to achieve healthier eating and weight loss goals.
Exercise also helps reduce stress
When people are stressed, the body releases a hormone called cortisol. This activates what is known as a fight or flight or reaction.
When cortisol levels are high, the brain thinks it needs more fuel and increases its thirst for super-processed foods that contain sugar or salt.
Participation in regular or single exercise reduces perceived stress and cortisol levels.
Exercise also helps reduce the consumption of unhealthy drinks and food when people are under stress.
Stress can also affect brain function.
Studies show that looking at food photos, stress can reduce prefrontal cortex activity and increase activity in the reward area of the brain.
This makes it difficult to resist the temptation of attractive junk food.
By offsetting the effects of stress on prefrontal cortex brain function, exercise makes it easier to maintain your goal of reducing the consumption of a healthier diet or junk food.
A 20-minute active walk helps restore the prefrontal cortex from temporary changes in activity, such as those seen when people are under stress.
The next time you feel stressed, try walking for about 20 minutes. It can prevent you from eating stress.
What kind of exercise is best?
Researchers are often asked what is the best exercise and how much exercise should be done.
At the end of the day, the best exercise is something you enjoy and can sustain over time.
High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT), aerobic exercise, meditation and mindfulness, yoga and strength training are all effective in improving your diet by targeting frontal lobe brain function and reducing stress.
If you’re starting a new exercise routine this year, make it easier, be kind to yourself, listen to your body, and keep in mind that a little can help a lot.
(This article is syndicated by PTI of The Conversation)
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