Sweat: How Exercise Supports Metabolism, Mental Health, and Strength

Dr. Chelsea Anorma
Dec 24, 2025
12 min read

What regular movement actually does for your body and mind—and how little it takes to see benefits

The starting gun rang out.

Dozens, no hundreds of bodies surged forward in the hot Puerto Rican sun as the 5K officially was underway. Dr. Gio was one of them, joyfully speeding down the path with his camelpack strapped on, prepared with water. You could tell he was so excited and just raring to go.

He ran past me, along with the surge of other runners. Men, women, old, young, all shapes and sizes. A lot of ladies who looked like me, but fit and trim in their fashionable workout clothes.

Meanwhile, I watched from the sidelines as they disappeared around the bend, one baby in a stroller and another strapped to my chest. I felt hot, tired, and weighed down in more ways than one.

I used to be a runner, back when I was studying for my PhD in Illinois. I remembered being able to run for miles without stopping and get good times in the 5K races that Gio and I used to do together.

But now, I felt very far away from that version of myself. Although my body had mostly gone back to normal after the babies, I still didn't feel like myself. I felt weak and out of shape, even though I was eating right and lost weight.

That's because health is so much more than what we eat, as we've been discovering in our series of Health Beyond the Plate.

Sweat: The Third S of Sustainable Wellness

That experience made something very clear to me.

On paper, I was doing everything right. I was eating well. My weight had mostly come back down after the babies. From the outside, it looked like my health should have been fine.

But my body told a different story. I felt weak, easily exhausted, and disconnected from what I knew I was capable of.

What was missing wasn’t another nutrition tweak. It was regular movement—the kind that challenges your body, raises your heart rate, and yes, sometimes makes you sweat.

That’s why the third S in the 6 S’s of Sustainable Wellness is Sweat.

Sweat represents intentional movement that activates your body and helps regulate energy, blood sugar, stress, and mood. It’s the piece that often gets overlooked when we focus exclusively on food.

Sweat activates the systems that regulate energy, blood sugar, and strength in a body built to move.

If you’re like me on that hot summer day by the 5K, you probably already know that exercise matters. Maybe you have a goal of losing weight, improving fitness, or simply feeling stronger in your daily life.

And yet, knowing you should exercise isn’t the same as knowing how to start.

For many people, exercise feels overwhelming or all-or-nothing. It can seem like you need hours in the gym or a punishing routine to see results. When life is already full, that barrier alone can keep you stuck on the sidelines.

What surprised me (and what the science clearly supports) is that the most powerful benefits of exercise don’t require extreme workouts or endless time.

Beyond changes in weight or appearance, regular movement creates deep shifts in how your body functions. It changes how you process energy, how stable your blood sugar is, how resilient your nervous system becomes, and how strong you feel—both physically and mentally.

In the rest of this post, we’ll look at what exercise actually does inside your body and brain, and how much movement it really takes to access those benefits. The answer is far more achievable than most people expect.

Why Exercise Transforms Your Metabolism

After the race, I slowly started to incorporate more movement into my routine, but I didn't just see the number on the scale drop. In fact, the scale barely moved at all.

What changed was how my body worked. I stopped slowly regaining weight, my muscles started to come back, and my clothes began to fit better again.

That’s because exercise doesn’t just burn away pounds. It changes how your body handles energy at a fundamental level.

One of the biggest shifts happens through muscle.

As you exercise, especially when you include resistance or strength training, you build and maintain muscle tissue. Muscle is metabolically active. It needs more energy to maintain than fat tissue, which means that as your muscle mass increases, your resting metabolic rate increases too. You burn more energy even when you’re not exercising.

There’s also what’s often called the “afterburn effect,” or Excess Post‑Exercise Oxygen Consumption (EPOC). After a challenging workout, your body continues using extra energy as it repairs muscle fibers, replenishes glycogen, and restores normal physiology. That elevated energy use can last for hours after the workout ends.

But some of the most important metabolic effects of exercise have nothing to do with calories at all.

Regular movement has a powerful impact on blood sugar regulation. When your muscles contract, they can pull glucose out of the bloodstream and into muscle cells without relying on insulin. This is one of the reasons exercise is so effective for improving insulin sensitivity and lowering the risk of type 2 diabetes.

Your muscles also act as a storage site for carbohydrates, holding glucose in the form of glycogen. The more muscle you have, the more room your body has to store incoming energy safely, rather than shuttling excess glucose toward fat storage or leaving it circulating in the blood.

Exercise also improves what’s known as metabolic flexibility—your body’s ability to switch between burning carbohydrates and fats depending on what’s available and what’s needed. With regular activity, your cells become better at accessing fat as a fuel source, especially during lower‑intensity movement.

Just as importantly, exercise counteracts the metabolic effects of prolonged sitting. Long stretches of inactivity can suppress enzymes involved in fat breakdown, making it harder for your body to access stored fat (1,2,3). Breaking up sedentary time with movement helps keep those pathways active (1,2)

Infographic titled “How Exercise Transforms Your Metabolism.” It shows a stylized human figure in motion at the center, surrounded by illustrations explaining metabolic effects of exercise. On the left, muscle icons describe building a better metabolic engine, including increased resting metabolism from muscle and the afterburn effect (EPOC) after workouts. On the right, diagrams show improved fuel management, including muscles absorbing glucose without insulin, increased carbohydrate storage capacity in muscle, and enhanced metabolic flexibility between burning carbohydrates and fats. — *Exercise reshapes metabolism by building muscle, improving blood sugar control, and increasing the body’s ability to use fuel efficiently.*

All together, these changes explain why exercise is such a powerful tool for improving metabolic health. Your body learns how to process fuel (your food!) more efficiently.

The Mental Health Benefits You Didn't Expect

One of the most surprising changes I noticed after I started moving more had nothing to do with my body at all. It was how my mind felt.

Exercise has profound effects on mental health, and this is one of the areas where the science is especially strong.

Large meta-analyses and systematic reviews show that regular physical activity significantly reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression (4). For depression specifically, some analyses comparing head-to-head treatments find exercise can produce symptom improvements similar to established psychotherapies (6). This doesn’t mean exercise replaces therapy or medication for everyone, but it does mean movement is a powerful, evidence-based tool for mental health.

At a biological level, exercise directly changes brain chemistry. Physical activity increases the release and sensitivity of neurotransmitters involved in mood and motivation, including dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. These are some of the same systems targeted by many psychiatric medications.

Exercise also helps regulate the stress response system we discussed in our first blog on Serenity. Regular movement improves signaling along the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis, leading to lower baseline cortisol levels and greater resilience when stress does arise.

Beyond neurotransmitters and stress hormones, exercise actually changes the structure and function of your brain. Physical activity increases levels of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), a growth factor that supports the survival of existing neurons and the formation of new neural connections, particularly in brain regions involved in emotion regulation, learning, and memory (5).

Infographic titled “Move Your Body, Boost Your Mind: The Brain on Exercise.” It shows a stylized human figure running toward a brain, with illustrations representing mental health effects of exercise. On the left, images depict reduced symptoms of anxiety and depression and note that exercise can be as effective as psychotherapy for some people. On the right, diagrams show what happens in the brain during exercise, including increased dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, regulation of the HPA stress axis and cortisol levels, and increased brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) that supports brain growth and new neural connections. — *Exercise supports mental health by regulating stress hormones, boosting mood-related neurotransmitters, and promoting brain resilience.*

Over time, these changes help explain why people who move regularly often report feeling calmer, more emotionally resilient, and better able to cope with daily stressors—even when life itself hasn’t gotten any easier.

Building Real Strength (Physical and Mental)

Finally, exercise makes you stronger.

This might seem obvious, but it’s one of the most underestimated benefits of moving your body.

Strength changes how daily life feels. Carrying groceries, lifting kids, climbing stairs, getting up off the floor, hauling a suitcase, moving furniture. When you’re stronger, the ordinary demands of life stop feeling like a workout.

And strength isn't just a "nice to have" for now. It also protects your future.

As we age, we naturally lose muscle mass and strength. That process is called sarcopenia, and it’s one of the biggest drivers of frailty and loss of independence.

To put real numbers on it: in one large meta-analysis, older adults with sarcopenia had about double the risk of falling and about a 70% higher risk of fractures compared with adults without sarcopenia (7). In a separate meta-analysis of community-dwelling older adults, sarcopenia was associated with a roughly 60% higher risk of death during follow-up (8).

The good news is that this decline is not inevitable. Resistance training is one of the most effective interventions we have. In randomized trials, strength training improves muscle strength and physical function in older adults with sarcopenia (9). And zooming out even further, higher muscular strength itself is associated with a lower risk of all-cause mortality across large populations. For example, in a meta-analysis pooling nearly 2 million people, those with higher muscular strength had about a 30% lower risk of death during follow-up compared with those with lower strength (10).

Along with physical strength often comes something less visible, but just as important: mental strength.

Infographic titled “Build Strength, Build Your Life.” The left side, labeled “The Physical Payoff,” shows illustrations of everyday tasks like carrying groceries, climbing stairs, and lifting children becoming easier, along with diagrams noting that strength training helps fight sarcopenia, reduces fall risk in older adults, and is associated with about a 30% lower risk of mortality. The right side, labeled “The Mental Edge,” shows illustrations representing increased confidence and self-trust, greater resilience, and a mindset shaped by trusting the body’s capabilities. — *Building strength improves daily function, protects long-term health, and supports confidence and resilience as you age.*

When you trust your body and know what you are capable of, it creates confidence and ease in how you move through the world. You carry a quiet knowledge that you can handle what life throws at you.

My Journey Back to Movement

Over time, I began to experience those changes for myself—not all at once, but gradually, in ways that were easy to miss day to day.

That day at the race, when Gio came back glowing and happy with a medal, I decided I was going to take that first step, even if I wasn't sure what it was just yet.

As a mom, I knew it was important to regain that strength and confidence so I could be fully present for my babies as they grew.

There were false starts.

I went too hard on some of my early runs and workouts and ended up sore. I tried joining a running club, which turned out to be logistically impossible with two toddlers.

So I took a step back and sat down with Dr. Gio.

Thankfully, he is both a certified personal trainer and a physician. Together, we created a plan to train consistently and get me ready for a 5K in December—just a few months away.

How Much Exercise Do You Really Need?

The key was doing just enough.

You don’t need hours in the gym every day. You need a realistic, consistent goal you can commit to.

Over hundreds of studies, scientists around the world have landed on remarkably similar recommendations for how much to exercise. To see most health benefits, adults need about 150 minutes per week of moderate‑intensity exercise, or 75 minutes per week of vigorous‑intensity exercise, ideally spread throughout the week (11,12).

Infographic titled “The Optimal Dose of Exercise for Maximum Health Benefits.” It shows two complementary pathways: aerobic exercise and resistance training. The aerobic side highlights heart health, metabolism, and longevity, with recommendations of about 150 minutes per week of moderate activity or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, along with improvements in insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular markers. The resistance training side emphasizes strength, bone density, metabolic health, and resilience, with a recommendation of strength training at least two days per week. The center message shows linked chains, illustrating that combining aerobic and resistance exercise provides the greatest overall health benefits. — *The greatest health benefits come from combining regular aerobic movement with strength training, even at modest weekly doses.*

That might sound abstract, but it’s far more achievable than many people assume! Put simply, moderate intensity means you’re breathing faster and your heart rate is up, but you can still talk in short sentences—think brisk walking, an easy jog, cycling on flat ground, or a steady workout where you’re working but not gasping. To get enough exercise with this intensity, you just need about half an hour a day.

Vigorous intensity means your breathing is much heavier and talking more than a few words at a time is difficult—like running, fast cycling, uphill walking, or a hard interval or HIIT workout. If you're on a busier schedule, upping the intensity means that you can get what you need in about 15 minutes a day.

For me, it meant exercising six days a week for about 25 minutes a day (less than half an hour!) My runs were short jogs up and down the hills near my house. This fit in the quiet mornings before Gio had to leave for work, and I didn't have to worry about getting the babies out of the house.

Strength training matters too. Most guidelines recommend including muscle‑strengthening activities at least two days per week, because many of the benefits we’ve talked about—metabolic health, resilience with aging, and long‑term independence—depend on maintaining muscle mass (11,12).

In my case, that looked like a couple of sets of dumbbells in my living room and some 30‑minute YouTube workouts. Nothing fancy, just consistent. And my babies loved watching along, ready with the high fives!

At first, it felt kind of boring.

Picture stacking a pile of papers one sheet at a time. Laying down those first few sheets of paper may feel like nothing is happening, but eventually each sheet builds on top of the others and you can make a pile as high as you want. Exercise works the same way.

On any given day, I ran slowly and walked often. I tired quickly and couldn’t lift heavy weights for long.

But after many frustrating days, things changed.

I needed fewer walk breaks on the hills. I moved up to heavier weights. One day, I looked up and realized everything had changed while I thought I was standing still.

Making Movement Fit Your Life

Consistency is key. But the important thing to remember is that consistency does not mean sameness.

You don’t have to find the perfect routine or lock yourself into one way of moving forever. Instead, think of movement as a series of small experiments. Try something. Notice how your body responds. Keep what works. Adjust what doesn’t.

One of the most freeing discoveries for many people is that movement doesn’t have to happen in one long, dedicated workout to count.

Earlier, we talked about how long periods of sitting can slow down the body’s ability to handle energy efficiently. The flip side of that is good news: breaking up sedentary time with short bursts of movement can help re‑activate those same metabolic pathways.

That might look like a five‑minute walk between meetings, a few squats or stretches while dinner cooks, or a quick lap around the block with your kids. These small pockets of movement don’t need to feel like “exercise” to be meaningful.

Some days you might have the time and energy for a longer workout. Other days, movement shows up in scattered minutes. Both count. Both matter.

The goal isn’t to optimize every session. It’s to keep coming back to movement in ways that fit your life as it is right now.

And the benefits add up quietly. You don’t have to wait decades to feel them. For me, just three months made a huge difference.

Crossing the Finish Line

Fast forward three months from that hot summer day on the sidelines.

Now it was a fresh December morning by the beach. Instead of watching from the outside, I stood in the crowd moving toward the starting line.Dr. Gio was right beside me, pushing our two little ones in a wagon.

When the starting gun rang out, this time we moved forward together.

It was my first 5K in many years.

My legs burned. My lungs wanted all the air in the world. But I kept going.

After years of stopping early and giving up, I barely needed to walk at all.

When the finish line came into view, I pushed forward and flew—hand raised high—feeling like myself again for the first time in a long time.

Woman running in a 5K race alongside other runners while a man pushes two young children in a stroller. The runners are on a paved road lined with greenery in Puerto Rico. The woman is smiling and wearing a race bib and athletic clothing. — *Running alongside Gio as he pushed our kids, learning how to move forward even when it felt hard.*

Woman wearing a race bib crosses a 5K finish line with one arm raised in celebration. Other runners and spectators are visible in the background along a road near the coast in Puerto Rico. — *Crossing the finish line three months later, feeling strong, capable, and fully present in my body again.*

Afterward, I jogged straight into the ocean. The salty water and sea breeze cooled me down. I felt alive and deeply aware of what my body could do.

If you're waiting for your moment, this is your signal.

Breaking a sweat and moving your body impacts nearly every area of your health. It is one of the highest-impact ways to add Health Beyond the Plate.

If this story resonates with you, and you’re feeling unsure where to begin, you don’t have to figure it out alone.

We offer a free Discovery Call where we can talk through your goals, your constraints, and what movement could realistically look like in your life right now. With Dr. Gio’s background as both a physician and certified personal trainer, we can help you think through a plan that feels supportive rather than overwhelming.

It's time to feel like yourself again!

Smiling woman with glasses in a blue blazer and white shirt. Black background.

Dr. Chelsea Anorma, PhD, NASM-CNC

Certified Nutrition Coach and Chemical Biology PhD helping overwhelmed women regain energy and confidence through sustainable, science-backed wellness coaching.

Learn More

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