Can Quitting Gym Cause Weight Gain?

“Can Quitting Gym Cause Weight Gain?” ……. Now this is a million dollar question, which I am sure all of us, would like to know the answer to. As we all know, exercising on a daily basis to maintain our weight can be quite difficult. And for some of us, an injury or an accident can cause us to forgo exercise completely for some days. Someone who is working out in a gym on a regular basis has increased fitness level and strength/stamina. Regular gymming helps in building muscles and improving the overall health of a person. However, what happens if someone quits gym?

Quitting the gym or stopping to exercise will definitely cause you to go a little out of shape and put on some weight. However, a person who has quit gym will not develop a pot belly or flabby muscles overnight, but there will be a definite decline in the fitness level of anyone who has stopped going to the gym. The amount of weight gain and the rate of the decline in the fitness depend on the level of fitness of the person before quitting gym, the duration of gymming, diet and the lifestyle followed after quitting the gym.

We can often see athletes and other people putting on weight and going out of shape after they have quit gym or retired from professional sports.

Quitting the gym or stopping to exercise can cause a series of physiological changes in a person’s body one of which is of course weight gain. Given below is a detailed description of what happens to a person’s body after quitting gym:

It is important to remember that though you have quit going to gym, you have not quit eating. When a person is exercising regularly, then their metabolism is also increased, which leads to more calories being burned. After quitting the gym/exercising, a person continues to consume food and extra calories and the body also burns lesser calories than previously. This leads to weight gain after quitting gym. Exercise leads to higher metabolism, which decreases after stopping exercise, and the body uses less energy and starts converting the extra energy into fat. So, one should bear this in mind that weight gain is a potential side effect of quitting gym.

Anyone who exercises and goes to gym regularly will have a healthy heart and good cardiovascular fitness. All this will gradually decline after quitting the gym. Slowly the cardiovascular health decreases. Higher level of athletes loses their cardiovascular health faster, and low-level athletes will retain their good heart health for a little longer time. After then they will lose it, as gymming and exercising lead to good heart health and after quitting gym, the cardiovascular health declines. In highly trained athletes, there is a rapid and dramatic decrease in the level of their cardiovascular fitness in the initial three weeks after quitting gym.

Working out in the gym naturally increases one’s strength. However, once a person quits gymming, then there is a decrease in the strength and fitness level of that person. Depending on the duration of strength training, people who have undergone training in gym for a long time will maintain their muscle tone and strength for a few days. However, there is gradual loss of muscle thickness seen after quitting gym, especially if a person also does not take sufficient protein. The stamina will decrease after quitting gym and energy levels are down where a person will find himself/herself tiring easily after doing a little amount of work.

Athletes who are highly trained can retain their muscular strength for a few weeks to months along with maintaining a higher level of fitness even after quitting gym and lifting weights when compared to those people who are new to gym and strength training. Some people who are new to gymming and then quit after a few weeks of strength training will lose their muscles more quickly.

Individuals who go to gym daily will develop strong immune system. Daily exercise and consuming healthy food makes a person’s immune system strong and the person falls sick very less. However, after quitting the gym, the strong immune system slowly gets back into its former state. After quitting gym, a person also tends to stop following a healthy diet. Due to lack of proper nutrients and exercise, the immunity of a person decreases. In a nutshell, a person will have a weak immune system after quitting the gym.

When a person goes to gym regularly or follows a regular exercise schedule, then he/she feels and is very active. They don’t find getting up early in the morning a daunting task and are able to complete their tasks early and on time. Exercising increases a person’s productivity and creativity. When a person quits gym, he/she tends to feel lazy and wake up late and sleep late in the morning. This type of schedule drastically ruins a person’s daily life. Quitting gym also can also cause stiffness in the body.

Quitting gym or any type of exercise is definitely not a good option. However, if a person has to quit gym for reasons, such as an injury, then there are some steps, which can be undertaken to cut down on the ill effects of quitting gym on a person’s health. One should continue to eat a healthy diet even after quitting gym. It is also important to consume sufficient protein to maintain the muscles which are developed. Some exercises at home, such as sit ups and pushups, should be done on a regular basis. Other than this, a person can do non-gym aerobic activities such as jogging, walking, riding, running, jumping rope or swimming.

A person should also stretch regularly and try to stay as much active as possible. The calorie intake consumed daily should be decreased to avoid weight gain after quitting gym. As mentioned before, after a person quits gym, there is of course weight gain along with decrease in the immunity, strength, muscle tone and cardiovascular fitness. This process is known as detraining or deconditioning. There can also be an increase in the blood sugar level and also blood pressure.

It is important to remember that you are only quitting gym, but not a healthy life.