I'm curious how people's tastes respond to exercise.

I've noticed now (this time around) and whenever I exercised in the past, that once I start exercising my body is content with healthy foods. It doesn't actually want cookies or fries or many things under the sun that are unhealthy. And this doesn't really come from a mentality of "I don't want to ruin all the hard work I've put in at the gym", because if anything my mind would take the direction of: "well you've burned off 500 calories so that means you can eat 500 calories of cake and it won't hurt you!!! "
It's the individual pounds lost each week and the "never trade in what you want the most for what you want at the moment" that answer "no" when I ask myself: "is this really worth it? Do I want it that much?" to the fries or cookies or cake, etc.

Anyone have similar experiences?

I didn't change my diet at first. I took the attitude that I could eat what I wanted if I exercised. It didn't work. Now that I'm paying attention to my diet, I find that I'm experiencing results.

That said, I do sometimes allow myself a small treat on exercise days. A small square of chocolate is only 65 calories, so its' worth it. I don't find myself wasting those calories on things that aren't as worth it (fries, store bought cookies, average chocolate, etc.).

I believe you need small treats to keep you motivated and to remind you that you shouldn't have to give everything up forever. I also find that teaches moderation so that you don't gain back a lot of weight once you stop dieting.

Andie

I didn't change my diet either when I began exercising. I am on week 7 of the couch to 5k running program. While I can tell a difference in my physical abilities, my weight has not changed. This week I started counting calories. Now that I have a limited number of calories to consume, I cannot waste them on non-filling things. I try to go for foods that have substance now.

I dont know if exercise changes my cravings. But i know that dieting in general does. I dont crave sweets at all really anymore. I will see it on tv or smell it somewhere and think, yum. But i really have no drive to actually eat it. If i am eating lots of sweets, i want more sweets. If i am eating no sweets, i want no sweets. I do have a weakness for carbs, but even that is less when i am eating healthy. I dont HAVE TO have a peice of bread with EVERY meal now days, i sure used to though. And i am not even on low carb, i am just counting calories. Works for me.