Exercise and Appetite

BelovedHeather

BelovedHeather

Cathlete
The responses in Nancy’s “little poll experiment” thread are fascinating to me (especially the responses by Nancy and JeanneMarie). I can assure you that I have NEVER in my life exercised to GAIN weight. In my experience, cardio (even intense cardio) is a great natural appetite suppressant. I also feel satisfied with smaller portions when I alternate cardio and circuit training workouts. As I shared in Nancy’s thread, I am an emotional eater. I need that natural cardio high to keep me from seeking pleasure in food. I was concerned about the 4-Day Split at first because I thought the heavy weight training would make me hungry all the time, but it appears that any combination of cardio and weights works for me. I am calmer, happier, and less likely to eat for reasons other than true hunger when I get my cardio fix every day. :) I was doing the “weights first” premix when I started the 4-Day Split and gained 10 pounds. :eek: Enjoying the 4-Day Split as filmed with cardio first caused me to get smaller and lighter. Hmmm.

My body needs a burst of cardio every day. On the other hand, traditional 3-day splits like the Gym Styles make me crazy hungry. When I flirted with the Slow and Heavy Series, I wanted to eat anything that was not nailed down or could not outrun me. :eek: I am not a big meat eater, but there was not a cow in Texas that was safe those few weeks. :7 Intense weight work with cardio on separate days always causes me to gain weight. I may need to save STS until I reach my goal weight for this reason unless someone can suggest ways to tame my appetite on STS days.

Nancy and JeanneMarie and anyone else who wants to respond, what kind of workouts increase your appetite? Intense workouts? Heavy weight workouts? Do you lose muscle or fat when you exercise less often?

Blessings,
Heather B.

“So whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV).
 
Weights give me the big time hungries. Between me and you their wouldn't be a moo cow left around. Although, I've also found I NEED the heavy weight work to maintain weight loss and continue to lose weight. I still have a pounds to lose. If I work out less often, I don't really lose muscle, but I gain flubber pretty easily. My solution is to keep with the heavy weights and watch what I put in my mouth. If you come to my office you'll always find a glass of water on my desk and fresh veggies or fruit on my desk as well. It helps keep me full w/out breaking the calorie bank. The one thing though I can't resist which weights REALLY give me a hankering for is a bbq bacon cheeseburger. With pickles and onions. Yummers. I eat 1 after every weight rotation, so that breaks down to about 1x a month. I order a side of broccoli and pick a few fries off DH's plate. It keeps me sane!!

Nan
 
Hi Heather,

How are you? I'm sorry I just saw this thread.

Really, any sort of working out increases my appetite. Both weights and cardio. I do both every day, so I honestly can't tell you one makes me eat more than the other. Activity just makes me eat more.

Having said that, I admit to not being a big eater in the first place. It's almost like working out gives me a normal appetite. Not working out, I eat pretty sparingly. I would say this is the main reason working out makes me maintain my weight (or gain if I've lost a few).

I can't say that it's muscle weight lost when I don't work out, because truly I don't ever go long enough without working out to lose muscle. I would say it's just overall body weight lost due to less food.

I'm not sure I was of any help to you, but hopefully so! :)
 
I think I'm like you, Heather. Slow & Heavy made me "heavy". ;) Cardio generally gives me a "healthier" appetite, in a good way. But, like you, the heavy lifting increases my appetite so much that it makes me uncomfortable.

Unfortunately, when I was growing up in the sixties and seventies, it was all about "weight". Not inches, not body fat percentages, not clothing size, not health. Just weight. As much as I try not to be bothered, I find I still become extremely uncomfortable when the number on the scale starts to rise, EVEN if my weight remains within the "normal" zone, which it usually does! I know it's not rational, but I can't seem to change my thinking. I'm still working on it though.

ETA: I guess I don't mind saying this on a public forum. When I was young, I was overweight and depressed. I had a painful adolescence. As soon as I see the needle on the scale moving upward, I'm right back there and I feel the depression starting again. Even after all these decades!! :eek:
 
When I lift heavy, I find I am not hungrier that day, but if I do not eat enough protein within an hour after lifting the next day even my desk is not safe. NOTHING fills me up. I get that way also after an endurance event if I do not eat enough calories that day.

I usually workout in the mornings before breakfast. When I do that and lift heavy, a protein shake does not cut it - it has to be a full breakfast with 15-20 grams of protein. And I have to make sure I eat a full day's worth of calories - then I am USUALLY okay the next day. And even if I am more hungry than usual, I can control it better.

When training for my half marathon, I would find on days I would run over 90 minutes I would not be hungry at all, but if I did not force myself to eat healthy, I would be starved the next day.

I think a lot of it is trying to figure out how your body responds.
 
I find that intense workouts initially curb my appetite and then cause it to go into overdrive. No matter how much protein and fiber I get, I just can't stay full. I try drinking more water and it doesn't help. Makes it very difficult to stay within my macronutrient ratios. I can have 5 egg whites, 3 slices of turkey bacon, 2 whole wheat waffles, and a grapefruit and be hungry 60 minutes later.
 
>I am hungry all the time no matter what I do. Even when I'm
>full I'm hungry. :9
You sound like me! LOL! I have a very healthy appetite, no matter what, but I would have to say that lifting weights makes me even hungrier - especially during the recovery period.
 
This is a great thread, interesting stuff!

I agree with Heather and Nancy re: cardio -- it usually suppresses. I am super-hungry after a heavy weight workout. However, if I eat the RIGHT things at the RIGHT times, I'm good. I usually have a protein shake within 30 minutes of finishing my weight work (around 7:30 am; about 25-30 grams of protein), and then I eat again by about 9:30 or 10:00 am -- something like half of a sandwich with more protein. If I am still hungry, I eat some fruit. As long as I get enough in those few hours after my workout, I'm good!
 
I am hungry constantly (whether I lift, run, lift&run, do nothing, whatever), unless I eat a relatively high-fat breakfast.

When I ate eggs, I found that 2 eggs for breakfast (with a piece of toast or veggie sausage or something) really kept me satisfied all the way to lunchtime. Now I eat a few slices of avocado with a little lime juice on whole wheat toast, or add a big shot of flaxseed oil to my oatmeal, and that makes me feel full for a longer stretch. I can eat the world's biggest breakfast with 50 grams of protein and enough fiber to make a 4-stomached ruminant happy, and I'll still be starving an hour later if it's too low in fat.

I also discovered that on days when I added fat to my breakfast, I ended up consuming fewer calories over the course of the day. Flipping through my food log, it looks like I almost always go right up to or past my calorie "limit" for the day if I skimp on fat, and clock in well under my limit if I splurge in the morning. I'm sure someone, somewhere has done a study about this.

Dee
 
Ive never really noticed a big increase in my appetite with either to tell you the truth.
I would think that long runs make me the hungriest. In the summertime when I would run outside (lone run) a few hours after I would be starving. I just thought I wasn't eating enough but perhaps i was just hungier from my run?
NOTHING made me as hungry as I was the first 3 monthes of being pregant! It was crazy! I could eat and eat and eat and nothing would touch my hungry! Not looking forward to doing that again! No wonder I gained 50 lbs!

Lori:)
 
Can someone direct me to the orignal thread? I missed it.

I think I am hungrier after weights, as when I do split workouts. I know I certainly bloat up from heavy weights! I recently upped my weights substantially for a Pure Strenghth rotation, I was able to jump from 2Olb dumbells to 25lb dumbells for chest and back work. I paid for that jump. That wasn't a smart move for me. I was exhausted, grumpy and bloated, no fun! Pure Strength is a great workout, and I do love it, but I shouldn't have gone so heavy for 3 weeks straight apparently.

I am doing a recovery week now, then going to circuits next week, I think. Then to full-body workouts.... eventually back to splits with a wiser eye to what weights to use for me.

Sandra
 
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