David Carrizo, MD: "Muscle increases, fat decreases, insulin improves... but the weight may not budge."

Exercising improves your metabolic health from day one, even if the scale doesn't immediately reflect it . This is how metabolic medicine specialist David Carrizo explains it, sharing an Instagram video with his reflection on the real impact of physical training beyond weight gain. His approach emphasizes the invisible clinical benefits that often go unnoticed in the first few weeks of a routine.

Many people who begin training with the goal of losing weight may feel frustrated when they don't see rapid changes on the scale. However, Carrizo maintains that this doesn't imply failure, nor does it mean the body isn't responding. In fact, she argues that real change occurs in metabolism before it occurs in visible body image.

The effects of exercise that are not seen in the mirror

“ Exercise isn't always going to lead to immediate weight loss, but that doesn't mean it's not working ,” says the doctor. Among the immediate positive effects of physical training, he cites improved insulin sensitivity, mitochondrial activation, and a reduction in chronic inflammation. “ It also protects your liver ,” he adds.

The key is body recomposition : “ Lose fat, gain muscle, and improve clinical markers, even without noticing it on the scale ,” explains Carrizo. According to his analysis, muscle is denser than fat and weighs more , which can cause overall weight to remain the same or even increase, despite a significant improvement in overall health.

A medical treatment that transforms from within

“ Muscle is generally denser, weighs more than fat, which has more volume and expends more energy at rest, ” he emphasizes. This change not only influences body composition but also key parameters such as triglycerides, blood pressure , and lipid profile . In addition, a sustained improvement in daily energy and sleep quality is observed.

For Carrizo, physical training should be considered a medical intervention with clinical impact: " We're going to consider it as a medical treatment, and not every treatment is visible in the mirror, but in your general analysis ." Therefore, he encourages people not to give up the habit of training even if their weight doesn't change: " Your body is already changing even if you don't see it ."