Exercise is not always the answer to weight loss. Did you know too much exercise can cause weight gain? And the extra pounds are not from more muscle, but from increased fat storage.
The human body is acutely sensitive to stressors. Along with surviving infection, escaping predators and not starving are priority number one. When your body is stressed, it begins to save energy and store fat in preparation to escape that hairy mastodon or survive the coming famine.
As with everything, when it comes to exercise and weight, you have to know your own body. It is tempting to use exercise to balance eating habits. It might work for a while but, after a certain point, the more you exercise the less energy your body uses. In the long run, the body will come out ahead. It has so far.
So how do you know if your are overexercising? Your pulse will tell you. Take your pulse in the morning just after you wake up for a week or so. Get a baseline number. If your pulse goes 5% over that number, cut back your exercise intensity by 50% that day. If it is 10% over baseline, replace your exercise routine with a walk, stretching or restorative yoga that day.
What if you suspect you are already over exercising? Cut back your exercise intensity and frequency by 50% while monitoring your morning heart rate trend for a few weeks. It should go down, if you have been overexercising.
Anthropologist Herman Pontzer uses the evolution of human metabolism to explain why exercise is not an effective strategy for weight loss in this video.
