New Study Shows That HIIT Is Key to Keeping Weight Off

High Intensity Interval Training, HIIT, might very well be one of the best ways to keep weight off after a period of dieting. A new study in the American Journal of Physiology looked at data and came to this conclusion. Many dieters find themselves dealing with the fact that reduced calories can lead to reduced muscle mass. This causes the metabolism to slow, and that can create a cycle of needing to increase one’s caloric deficit to shed or keep off the pounds. HIIT counteracts the metabolic handicap, and makes the goal possible.

Key Takeaways:

When someone goes on a diet, the calorie restriction triggers metabolic changes that result in their body needing less energy.
One way to counteract low metabolism is through exercise, so the metabolism stays high enough to burn off pounds.
High Intensity Interval Training, properly done, focuses a much longer but lower effort workout into a shorter time, and is very efficient at burning calories.

“However, it’s arguable that the success of this study is mostly due to the fact that high-intensity interval training (HIIT) maintains and/or increases muscle mass—which keeps the metabolism humming.”