How long does it take to see physical changes through sport?

One of the questions that comes up quite frequently in coaching is "time", whether it's to tone up, get in shape for the summer season, lose weight or gain muscle, you want to get quick results.

But how quickly can you expect to see results from your diet and exercise? And, importantly, is going too fast really going well?

The downside of quick results:

People looking to lose weight would love to lose pounds—especially fat—quickly and easily. But that's not how weight loss usually works; it would be too easy.

When you change things too drastically, such as reducing your daily calorie intake from 2,500 to 1,500 calories a day or trying to run for more than an hour on your first day of training, your body's adaptations do more harm than good .

Your body senses that food is becoming scarce, and one of its possible adaptations is to conserve calories and start burning protein (i.e., muscle) for energy. Needless to say, this is not our goal at all!

Furthermore, this reduction in resting basal metabolic rate (see "Nutrition Basics") means that rapid weight loss is generally short-lived and often leads to weight regain, the infamous "yo-yo" effect . In a University of California study, approximately two-thirds of people who successfully lost weight ended up regaining all—and even more—within four to five years.

It's also important to remember that your muscles don't get stronger during your workouts. You improve on recovery days. If you train for hours every day over the medium or long term, your body will have to adapt in ways that ultimately won't be healthy. The result: you won't get the results you want . It's a bit frustrating to work hard at the gym or go for a run every day and not reap the potential benefits.

Patience is the key to a good pace in getting back in shape:

It's interesting to note that as soon as people start eating healthily and exercising, they can see physical benefits even before they lose a single pound. Indeed, reducing the consumption of processed foods, excess sodium, and refined sugars can lead to a noticeable reduction in digestive problems and a significant increase in daily energy levels , and this can happen quite quickly (in less than a week).

However, don't be impatient and don't rush things! Any visual change isn't proportional to the overall benefits occurring within your body. Your commitment to exercise and a healthy diet won't be visible in the first few weeks, but the health benefits will be enormous.

Don't be fooled by the number on the scale or even the perceived size of any particular body part. It's true that the weight might not have dropped after two weeks, but changes are happening . Fat mass is starting to be eliminated in favor of muscle mass, so while the weight may remain the same, your physiological and body composition is changing for the better, so don't give up! And in the medium and long term, since a kilogram of muscle is less dense than a kilogram of fat, people who gain a lot of muscle while losing fat will see their body size decrease.

• Set a month to observe any changes. After a month, changes (not extraordinary, but nonetheless noticeable) may be perceived.

• After three months, noticeable differences are certain.

• Then after a year you should have made progress towards the set goal.

That's why it can be helpful to measure your weight, or even your height, as well as your body fat percentage if you have access to a bioelectrical impedance analysis (BIA) scale, to get a more realistic picture of the changes happening in your body. Also, measure improvements in your endurance and strength; this is one of the clearest indicators that you're healthier than you were at the beginning. If after a month there are no changes, review your diet, your training program, or even the quality of your sleep!

Here are some ideas to intelligently accelerate your results (weight loss, muscle gain) if you're stuck:

1. Increase the intensity of your workouts and your protein intake. Several studies show that a combination of high-intensity exercise and increased protein consumption allows people to lose more fat and build more muscle while reducing calories.

2. Eat to fuel your body according to your goals.

Calorie requirements vary considerably from person to person and from one goal to another. If the resulting calorie deficit leads to excessive weight loss, this can paradoxically result in fat retention.

On the other hand, a slight calorie surplus is ideal for muscle building. Be careful not to exceed this slight calorie surplus, otherwise fat gain will also occur.

By listening to your hunger signals and filling up on whole, minimally processed foods, you will consume more fiber, avoid excessive insulin secretion and fat storage, and achieve your fat loss and muscle gain goals more easily.

3. Take time to recover.

Allow yourself at least one or two days of complete rest per week and avoid intensely training the same muscle group twice within a three-day period. Vary your workouts and their intensity to allow your body to recover. It's normal to experience muscle soreness 24 to 48 hours after your workouts, especially at the beginning. Listen to your body's signals of fatigue and don't try to rush things. As mentioned above, your body gets stronger during recovery phases, so don't neglect them!

4. Don't be alarmed if your weight loss results are not what you expected .

If your results have slowed down over the past year, don't panic.

Adaptations are slow, and you need to be patient to reach your goal. Be patient and kind to yourself; when you're motivated, it always pays off in the end.

5. Contact a professional for guidance on both nutrition and sports.

If your nutrition or training program isn't producing results, something is clearly wrong. Contact the relevant professionals to ask questions or work together to reach your goals more easily.

From a sporting perspective,

Corentin - Sports Coach