[shoppingisme]

this happened to me before when i was working out.
this time i'm only concerned because for the first time in my life, i'm actually sticking to working out and not "fading" my way through it.
so, i want to get a grasp on this if i can.

anyway, my question is, even though i eat the right portion sizes and think i'm getting enough protein, i am constantly hungry and cannot seem to feed the need.

anyone else experience this with working out -- that exercising makes you hungrier and eat more?

if so, what did you do to combat it?

i eat protein before and after working out, but still find myself hungry about an hour later. i try to eat every 2.5-3 hours (5-6 small meals a day).

[cherll]

maybe drink more water to feel fuller....

[Cristina]

How many calories per day are you eating? If you've recently become active and adopted a steady workout plan, you've "ignited" your metabolism, so to speak, and your body is asking for more food to fuel its daily functions. People would be surprised at the amount of calories they can eat and still lose weight or maintain their current weight.

Try adding in an extra 50-100 calories per day. If you're eating 1500 now, for example, add in a tablespoon of peanut butter or a handful of nuts, bringing your caloric intake to 1600. See how you feel. If you're weighing yourself, weigh in at the end of the week to see if you've gained weight (not likely). Keep playing with your caloric intake until you find the balance between feeling satisifed throughout the day (i.e., not starving yourself, yuck) and losing weight at a slow, steady pace.

[lcterp]

Try adding more fiber into your diet as well. I exercise 6 days a week and I generally am hungry ever 2-3 hours and I've found that snacks like Fiber One Yogurt w/ some granola helps me as well as having some nuts in the afternoon (personally I eat peanuts b/c while they are not the most nutritious they do help keep blood sugar more stable while delivering protein). Also, another thing is to notice if you are more hungry after artificially sweetened drinks (i.e. Diet Coke, crystal light). Some people (like myself) react to these sweeteners differently. I become so hungry about 30 min after having something like this. I read somewhere that it's b/c your body tastes sweet and is expecting calories as well and goes crazy when there's nothing there. Just something you might want to think about as well.

[hapijuliet18]

It would help as well if you list your daily intake for the day.... it would help inform us which foods you can probably exchange for something that's more nutritious.

On the workout side, what kind of stuff are you trying to do and what is your goal? If it's muscle gain, most especially, you need more protein and also a good amount of "good" carbs to fuel you through the day and your workouts. A good rule of thumb is eating carbs a size of your fist in every other meal at least, as well at whole wheats :) You need enough food to build muscle (if this is your goal).

[maybeimeow]

Same here, I get super hungry after my runs.

You mentioned you're getting enough protein, are you also getting enough carbs?

[PinkSuadeSoho]

Originally Posted by lcterp

Try adding more fiber into your diet as well. I exercise 6 days a week and I generally am hungry ever 2-3 hours and I've found that snacks like Fiber One Yogurt w/ some granola helps me as well as having some nuts in the afternoon (personally I eat peanuts b/c while they are not the most nutritious they do help keep blood sugar more stable while delivering protein). Also, another thing is to notice if you are more hungry after artificially sweetened drinks (i.e. Diet Coke, crystal light). Some people (like myself) react to these sweeteners differently. I become so hungry about 30 min after having something like this. I read somewhere that it's b/c your body tastes sweet and is expecting calories as well and goes crazy when there's nothing there. Just something you might want to think about as well.

Fiber should help. I train w/ high intensity and use heavy weights. On my off days, I never eat what I do when I work out. You do need more food for your body.

[PrincessMe]

this happens to me and having alittle natural peanut butter after exercising & between meals helped ALOT

[Lec8504]

sounds weird..but banana....

Whenever I do a lot of exercising, especially cardio then i would eat a banana whenever I get hungry. It fills you up really fast, and it's healthy for you. Usually I eat one before I run in the morning and then one in the afternoon and I'm good to go until dinner. Of course I always eat some type of breakfast, a very small lunch- more like a snack, if I don't have time then my banana is my lunch, and a decent size dinner.

[emmalawyer]

I do an hour of cardio 3x/week and I weightlift 4x/week (without ever training the same muscle group 2x in a row) and I can honestly tell you that on the days when I also limit my fat consumption I suffer pretty badly from hunger throughout the day...

I have fats added into my diet twice daily but sometimes I have to rush through the day and don't have time to prepare my food ahead of time. Those are the days I end up without my usual source of fat (almond butter in my case) and that's when I feel the hunger most intensely.

I think you're wise to eat small meals every 2-3 hours because that keeps your metabolic rate steady and makes it unlikely for your body to store fat in anticipation of some prolonged period of starvation. In my case, I need to have both carbs and proteins following weight lifting (I have 4 oz of boneless/skinless chicken breast & 8 oz of yam) BUT I also need to have fats in the late afternoon when my energy dips very low and I get hungry and cranky. That's when I have 2 salt-free rice cakes (the only ones I have during the day because low calorie value doesn't equal invitation to eat the whole bag regardless of how good that sounds) with one tablespoon of almond butter.

If I happen to do both cardio & weights the same day (which I'm sometimes guilty of because work-outs are my addiction...) then I have to throw in more calories (in the form of fat for me) or else I get extremely depleted, hungry and cranky. I usually bake a pretty big piece of salmon on those days and eat it in the early evening. Even though I usually have my meals planned down to the oz/carbs/fats/protein per day, on days when I work out in a manner that I deem personally excessive I'll just have the salmon without limiting it to X number of oz. I'm saying this just to illustrate the idea that you have to know YOUR body and what works or doesn't work for you when training.

So, I definitely think you should patiently experiment with protein/fat/carbs in whatever combinations you find appealing following a work-out and throughout the day. Eventually, you'll notice that a certain combination in a certain amount and at a certain time during the day works best for you, your body and your level of fitness. Once you find that, things will get easier for a while but you'll constantly have to notice what works and what doesn't work FOR YOU and fine-tune your diet accordingly. Don't be afraid to make adjustments. Maybe just think of all this as an experiment in getting to know your body (and what fuels it) better.

[firstnamesfirst]

i agree with the banana eater. i do the same!

[socalgrl86]

omg its awesome to know im not the only one who suffers from this!!

[Lec8504]

Originally Posted by firstnamesfirst

i agree with the banana eater. i do the same!

LMAO

[halle_nicole]

almonds.

[homebasics]

Check out this post we wrote on Assessing Signs of Hunger. Sometimes it's not always hunger you're feeling. There's some practical tips to keeping your hunger under control. Hope this helps.