To overcome body fat, can local exercise help you lose weight? Nutritionist reveals 3 myths about exercise

I'm clearly trying hard to lose weight, but why am I still overweight, or why do I gain weight again after losing weight? The key may be losing to the troublesome body fat. Nutritionists believe that exercise is the most effective way to eliminate body fat, but many people often fall into the risk of difficulty in eliminating body fat and possible health hazards due to insufficient exercise time, wrong exercise and diet concepts, or only doing local exercise.

Many people think that losing weight means "losing weight", but fat, muscle and water are all components of the human body. The reason for weight loss may be only the loss of muscle and water. If body fat is not eliminated and accumulates in the body little by little, it will lead to obesity and increase the chance of gaining weight again. To truly lose weight successfully, body fat must be controlled within a normal range.

Chen Xinghui, a nutritionist at the Nutrition Department of St. Martin's Hospital, said that the ideal fat density of the human body is about 22%. If it exceeds 27%, a weight loss plan should be adopted, including diet, exercise, regular work and rest, and exercise. Among them, exercise has the best fat burning effect, but it has certain procedures and rules. Only by understanding and then implementing them can you effectively overcome body fat and achieve real healthy weight loss.

Nutritionist Chen Xinghui recommends that each exercise should last more than 45 minutes, and cardiopulmonary endurance exercise that can last more than 1 hour is preferred.

Nutritionist reveals 3 myths about exercise

Myth 1: Exercise only needs 30 minutes each time?

Fat is a stubborn tissue that requires the body to "continuously send strong signals" to stimulate its release and convert it into energy to achieve the effect of burning fat and losing weight. Short and intense exercise will only consume carbohydrates in the body. You must continue exercising for a period of time to allow fat to replace the consumed carbohydrates, release energy, and supply the energy needed for exercise, while achieving the effect of prolonging exercise time and burning body fat.

Nutritionist Chen Xinghui recommends that each exercise should last more than 45 minutes, and cardiopulmonary endurance exercise that can last more than 1 hour is preferred. Common cardiopulmonary endurance exercises include aerobic exercise, brisk walking, swimming, sports, cycling, dancing and skipping rope, but it is not recommended for obese people to run to lose weight, so as not to increase the huge pressure on the knees.

Other muscle endurance training such as push-ups, stair climbing, sit-ups, etc. can increase muscle mass, sculpt lines, improve insulin resistance, increase the efficiency of carbohydrate utilization, and consume calories faster, thereby achieving the effect of weight loss. This type of exercise can also strengthen muscles and bones, delaying the onset of osteoporosis.

Myth 2: Should you avoid eating before exercising?

In order to lose weight quickly, some fitness coaches require students to abstain from eating before exercise, but nutritionist Chen Xinghui said that whether to eat before exercise should refer to the individual's medical history, as well as the duration and intensity of exercise. If you are a diabetic patient, exercising on an empty stomach can easily accelerate the consumption of energy in the body, causing symptoms such as hypoglycemia, fatigue, dizziness, blurred vision, etc. It is recommended that such patients eat a small amount before exercise to provide the physical strength, energy and water required for exercise, so as to avoid fainting before burning body fat.

In addition, people who engage in endurance sports such as jogging and marathons can consume a moderate amount of high-carbohydrate foods before exercise. This can avoid feeling hungry during exercise, and can also serve as a source of energy for continuous exercise, gradually breaking down sugars and body fat.

Myth 3/Can local exercise eliminate body fat?

Most people think that they are only partially obese and that they can lose weight by doing local exercises on their waist, abdomen, lower body or arms. However, Professor Bud Gaichau of Indiana University in the United States once mentioned that fat is distributed throughout the body, and fat decomposition is done by transmitting messages to cells throughout the body through hormones. If only specific parts are exercised, the muscles will not use the nearby fat, and only local muscles will become firm, but it is difficult for the fat to change locally.

Improper local movement may also cause bone diseases. Nutritionist Chen Xinghui gave an example. Many people work hard to shake the hula hoop every day to eliminate waist and abdominal fat. However, shaking the hula hoop is not an aerobic exercise and has limited effect in burning fat. In clinical practice, it is common for patients to not do proper whole-body stretching and warm-up exercises first, which often causes lumbar muscle strain. In severe cases, the spine will be compressed, leading to a herniated disc.