{"id":571161,"date":"2026-07-06T07:36:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T07:36:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/571161\/"},"modified":"2026-07-06T07:36:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T07:36:13","slug":"longevity-doctor-explains-how-overtraining-can-slow-down-fat-loss-pushing-harder-is-not-always-smarter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/571161\/","title":{"rendered":"Longevity doctor explains how overtraining can slow down fat loss: \u2018Pushing harder is not always smarter\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"content\">When it comes to healthy fat loss, it is the everyday habits that matter. That includes following the right diet and exercising regularly. In both cases, consistency is the key, and going to any extreme is not likely to bear the desired result.<\/p>\n<p><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/pexels-photo-3837754_1783251334846_1783251359455_ecbec867-6c9e-470b-b19e-8eac575d9780.jpeg\" alt=\"Overtraining is when one works out without giving themselves time to recover. (Pexel)\" title=\"Overtraining is when one works out without giving themselves time to recover. (Pexel)\" width=\"360\" height=\"202\" loading=\"eager\"\/>Overtraining is when one works out without giving themselves time to recover. (Pexel)<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Also Read | <a class=\"backlink\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/lifestyle\/health\/is-it-safe-to-eat-raw-eggs-maryland-doctor-addresses-health-concerns-and-explains-why-cooking-is-better-101783242122046.html\" data-vars-page-type=\"story\" data-vars-link-type=\"Manual\" data-vars-anchor-text=\"Is it safe to eat raw eggs? Maryland doctor addresses health concerns and explains why cooking is better\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Is it safe to eat raw eggs? Maryland doctor addresses health concerns and explains why cooking is better<\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Taking to Instagram on July 4, Dr Vassily Eliopoulos, a longevity expert trained at Cornell University and co-founder and chief medical officer of Longevity Health, shared that working out too much might even slow down the fat-loss process.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">He explained what \u201covertraining\u201d actually means, how it affects the <a class=\"backlink\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/lifestyle\/health\/does-lemon-water-really-melt-belly-fat-fitness-coach-debunks-common-fat-loss-myths-and-ranks-them-on-a-scale-of-1-to-10-101782795671688.html\" data-vars-page-type=\"story\" data-vars-link-type=\"Manual\" data-vars-anchor-text=\"fat loss\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">fat loss<\/a> journey, and what one can do instead.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">\u201cPushing harder is not always smarter,\u201d noted Dr Vass. \u201cYou can&#8217;t out-lift, out-run, or out-discipline your biology. If your body thinks it&#8217;s under threat 24\/7, it stops optimising and starts protecting.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">That effectively means:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Fat loss stalls<\/li>\n<li><a class=\"backlink\" target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hindustantimes.com\/lifestyle\/health\/longevity-doctor-shares-5-ways-to-naturally-boost-testosterone-in-men-above-40-daily-habits-move-the-needle-101776679815557.html\" data-vars-page-type=\"story\" data-vars-link-type=\"Manual\" data-vars-anchor-text=\"Testosterone\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">Testosterone<\/a> drops<\/li>\n<li>Cortisol rises<\/li>\n<li>Recovery crashes<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>What is overtraining?<\/p>\n<p>To understand what might go wrong, it is important to be clear about what overtraining really means. As Dr Vass explained, it does not simply mean \u201ctraining a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">\u201cIt&#8217;s training with too much intensity or volume, without enough recovery,\u201d defined the physician.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Common signs of overtraining include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Plateaued strength or fat loss<\/li>\n<li>Low libido or motivation<\/li>\n<li>Poor sleep<\/li>\n<li>Anxiety or irritability<\/li>\n<li>Elevated resting HR (heart rate) or delayed HR recovery<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The effects of overtraining1. Chronic cortisol spike<\/p>\n<p>Cortisol is a catabolic (breakdown) hormone, explained Dr Vass. When the level of cortisol stays elevated for too long in the body, the following things take place:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Muscle is broken down<\/li>\n<li>Belly fat increases<\/li>\n<li>Testosterone is suppressed<\/li>\n<li>Thyroid slows down<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There is the risk of a hormone crash in the long term.<\/p>\n<p>2. Hormonal shutdown<\/p>\n<p>This happens when the stress of training adds to the stress of everyday life. According to Dr Vass, the nervous system does not separate emotional stress, physical stress, and work-life overload.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">\u201cThey all hit the same hormonal pathways. More isn&#8217;t better. Better is better,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n<p>How to avoid overtraining?<\/p>\n<p>Maintaining a healthy routine allows one to avoid the risk of overtraining. This involves:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Lifting weights three to four times per week (focus on quality over quantity)<\/li>\n<li>Eating enough protein and total calories<\/li>\n<li>Prioritising sleep and circadian rhythm<\/li>\n<li>Taking care of recovery: walks, mobility, sauna, breathwork<\/li>\n<li>Testing for cortisol and hormones if you&#8217;re stuck<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>It is better to let performance drop before your health does, noted Dr Vass.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">Note to readers: This article is for informational purposes only and not a substitute for professional medical advice. Always seek the advice of your doctor with any questions about a medical condition.<\/p>\n<p class=\"content \">This report is based on user-generated content from social media. HT.com has not independently verified the claims and does not endorse them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When it comes to healthy fat loss, it is the everyday habits that matter. That includes following the&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":571162,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[278],"tags":[162,18,96725,5138,525,135,243466,19,17,51098],"class_list":["post-571161","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fitness","tag-cortisol","tag-eire","tag-exercise-intensity","tag-fat-loss","tag-fitness","tag-health","tag-healthy-routine","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-overtraining"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571161","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=571161"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/571161\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/571162"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=571161"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=571161"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=571161"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}