Can we be both sporty and have a sedentary lifestyle ?

“There is no doubt about it scientifically. If we stay on a purely physiological basis, one kilo of excess fat is 7,000 kilocalories. What physical activity do you need to do to burn 7,000 calories? For example, a 70 kg man would have to play 11 hours of tennis in a row to burn off this kilo (an approximate example to give an order of magnitude). When you have weight to lose, it is usually 5, 10, 15 kilos.  It is then impossible to induce an energy deficit through physical activity for such a loss of fat mass.

Only a well-balanced hypocaloric diet – supervised by a nutritionist or dietician – will induce weight loss. Physical activity will play an important role in maintaining this weight loss over the long term, and avoid the loss of muscle mass associated with low-calorie diets.”

“Once we have filled our subcutaneous fat reserves (normal fat), we will store our fat in places that are abnormal: this is called ectopic fat. This intra-abdominal fat will surround the pancreas, the liver, position itself around the heart and prevent these organs from functioning normally.

Intra-abdominal fat will not disappear with abdominal sessions, simply because it is linked to an excess of energy intake. On the other hand, it is important to know that ectopic fat is the first fat mobilized with physical activity. The exercises are more of the endurance type (walking, cycling, elliptical…) and muscle strengthening but of the whole body. To have a good abdominal and back strap, to avoid back pain and eventually have a better appearance of your belly, nothing beats the gainage.”

“With a windbreaker, you will run for an hour, you will feel overheated, you will not perform well. You won’t be able to thermoregulate because the water (sweat) is eliminated inside the windbreaker. Thanks to your windbreaker, you may have lost 2 kilos… but you will have lost water. You will be thirsty, so you will drink and 2 hours later, you will be back to exactly the same weight. Back to square one.

First of all, you will not have lost an ounce of fat.

Secondly, you will have increased your cardiovascular risks. Because, to thermoregulate, your body will increase your heart rate to increase skin vasodilation.

Thirdly, by dehydrating you will decrease your sports performance.  As soon as you lose 2% of your water mass (water content of your body, knowing that our body is composed of 65% water on average), you decrease your sports performance by 20%. There is therefore no point in not drinking during exercise.”

“We now know very well how to measure different intensities of exercise. We are working more and more on the ” slight ” which can be measured with movement sensors. It’s a strolling type of activity: moving around, putting a book away in a bookcase… In a day, sometimes you do 3 or 4 hours of light activity.

Among patients, this is an extremely interesting activity because it is much easier to prescribe than moderate physical activity. So, any type of physical activity is interesting as long as there is a minimum duration and regularity.”

“It’s important to make the difference between physical activity and sedentary lifestyle. Sedentary habits is the time you spend sitting. To calculate the sedentary time, calculate the time you spend sitting awake (at work, on the move, on your couch…)

In France, it comes to 12 hours of sitting during the working day and 9 hours on other days. This is enormous. We know that a sedentary lifestyle increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases, obesity, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. And all this regardless of the level of physical activity.

So let’s put it another way, even if you stick to 20 to 30 minutes of moderate physical activity every day, it doesn’t protect you from the deleterious effects of a sedentary lifestyle.”

“The 10,000 steps a day injunction is a false path. This round number comes from a pedometer brand that needed an easy-to-remember marketing argument.

Numerous studies have shown that the 10,000-steps-per-day mark is not linked to any scientific reality. Among the latest studies, the Women Health Study: more than 160,000 women were followed for 10 years with a motion sensor.

This study measured the risk of mortality according to the number of steps per day. Compared to women who walked 2,700 steps per day, those who walked 4,600 steps had a 41% decrease in mortality. This mortality was even more reduced for those who walked 6,000 steps per day (-60%). But beyond 6,000 steps per day, there was no additional effect

30 minutes of moderate physical activity per day is recommended, which is equivalent to 5,000 or 6,000 steps. It should be noted that there is a significant effect on health from 5,000 steps onwards (regardless of speed). Other studies show a minimal effect from 15 minutes of walking per day every day. At this dose, there is already a 20-30% decrease in mortality.”