So, I've gotten to where I'm more or less working out regularly now (yay!) and already having to buy smaller clothes (double yay! kinda!). I'm able to do things now that would've left me in a defeated, panting heap even when I was in marching band in high school. So, that's awesome. But whenever I get really into working out for a while (like working out an hour every day or every other day or so), I end up developing the appetite of a starved wolverine. I'm eating what I think are reasonable portions. Normally if I end up actually filling my plate with food, I can't finish it. I work out a lot, and I end up wanting to go back for seconds. And sometimes I'll just end up so hungry at weird times that I'll end up snacking on Captain Crunch or whatever's close by because I just feel like I need to eat right now or I am going to get very cranky. >:| And I get weird, stupid cravings for junk food, even though I normally don't like it because I'm really good at guilt-tripping myself over eating it, and really sugary stuff makes me feel tired. What I'm not sure is, is this my body's way of saying it's not getting enough energy, or is it just trying to preserve the fat it has in case of hard times or whatever? I'm pretty sure I have a decent diet. Breakfast is usually oatmeal with some honey and plain yogurt in it, lunch a salad or a chicken pita or something similar, and dinner some sort of poultry and vegetables (orrr homemade enchiladas DON'T JUDGE ME). I try to make myself snack on fruit instead of the bread products I love so much, haha. I shouldn't be lacking some vital food group, I think. I know I'm not Captain Crunch deficient, anyway. =P Is this normal and does it go away eventually? I've been trying to ignore it, but it's annoying.
I think it's normal. I know that if I'm working out regularly I feel the same way, where I have to have food on hand wherever I go. If I'm not doing a workout routine regularly then I generally graze and eat very little in the morning and have a regular dinner. I think it's a way of the body trying to conserve energy. And I know that when you work out you build more muscle and muscle burns energy so your body is constantly trying to refuel the energy stores you burn through when you work out. Your body uses those energy stores even after you've finished working out. And your metabolism gets a bit faster if you're a regular exerciser. I know that I really crave junk after a few workouts and I think it's because your body has burned the fat and carbs you've had before hand. So it stores them back into your energy stores (in your body) waiting to be used in your next workout. I hope that makes sense... I believe that's what I learned from biology 12. It's been about four years since then. :lol:
It does make sense! Mostly I want to make sure that this increased food intake isn't counterproductive. I know being active and eating more is bound to be better than being less active and eating less, but still, I would like to actually drop this excess weight at some point. I do try to keep it reasonable, but sometimes I feel like, "Dammit, I am going to eat this little cup of captain crunch and no force on this earth can stop me." =P
It's probably partly your body going "WHOA HEY you're usin' up all my fat reserves over here", but you also might need to look into altering your diet a bit to make sure you're getting enough good carbohydrates (yes, they do exist and are in fact very important if you're working out a lot). Lots of fruit and whole grains! Nuts and seeds are also great for appetite control. I find it helps to down a smoothie (banana, honey, hemp seed, almond milk, and unsweetened peanut butter is my favourite) within 1/2 hour of working out, otherwise I get shaky and hungry pretty quickly. Also, if you're craving "bad" sugars, you may want to do a yeast cleanse and take some probiotics for a while. This made a world of difference to me. I can actually look a cookie in the eye now and say "no". In the meantime, try sweetening foods with agave nectar - it is much lower on the glycemic index than regular sugar, yet it actually tastes sweeter.
Make sure you're getting enough protein in your diet too. Have almonds around to snack on instead of captain crunch. Buy yourself some protein bars or shakes. Or buy some protein powder and add it to the shake suggested above. Otherwise - you're on the right track. Good for you! Doesn't it feel great to get into a smaller size?!?!?
I heared somewhere (can't remember where) that your muscles contain small energy stores, when you work out those get used up quickly and the body starts to use fat... or something like that (cara help me out here) but it said that if you work out then after that eat some carbohydrates (sandwhiches etc.), it increases the size of these stores, so you can go longer without having to go into the fat reserves or something like that
your metabolism is adjusting to your new workout. fluxes are normal at first. You're buring off a lot of calories and your body is demanding that you replace them, as long as you eat health meals then don't sweat it, if you get those odd craving at night like I do a piece of fruit or small bowl of cerial is find.
I personally had to retrain my body what to eat. During the week, when I'm stuck at work, I switched to an "eat every hour" diet. Which is precisely what it sounds like. Every hour, I eat something. I shoot for roughly 50-70 calories. Sliced apples, fresh veggies, a few pretzel sticks, a small yogurt container, half a package of those 100-calorie snacks. It was actually hard training myself to eat when I wasn't hungry. But it worked extremely well. I wasn't hungry at lunch time, I didn't feel the need to chow down after a workout, and it kicked my metabolism into high. I do still eat dinner like I always do. I'll eat "smart" if I'd like to lose some more weight - fish, grilled chicken - or eat "stupid" if I'm not too worried about where I'm at. (Burger and fries - yay!) Even after a "stupid" dinner, even with dessert, at the worst, I'd stay pretty much even for the day. But if I ate well, I'd drop up to a full pound. You might try giving that a try. Lex
It is definitely not going to go away. :'D But its a good indication that you are working out well if your body is craving food, just remember to keep it satiated not super full.
I've found the same thing. I prefer to exercise in the morning, so now most mornings I do my jog or workout before breakfast. When I come back from a run and I'm starved, then I have a good healthy breakfast!
So I tried this and it was totally amazing! Thanks for the recommendation. =D Totally kept me from feeling ravenous for a few hours.
