5. Not exercising or exercising too much
During weight loss, you inevitably lose some muscle mass as well as fat, although the amount depends on several factors .
If you don’t exercise at all while restricting calories, you’re likely to lose more muscle mass and experience a decrease in metabolic rate.
By contrast, exercising may help:
- minimize the amount of lean mass you lose
- increase fat loss
- prevent your metabolism from slowing down
The more lean mass you have, the easier it is to lose weight and maintain the weight loss .
However, overexercising can also cause problems.
Studies show excessive exercise is unsustainable in the long term for most people and may lead to stress. In addition, it may negatively impact endocrine hormones, which help regulate functions throughout your body .
Trying to force your body to burn more calories by exercising too much is neither effective nor healthy.
However, lifting weights and doing cardio several times per week can be a sustainable strategy for maintaining metabolic rate during weight loss.
