Exercise / Hunger Quandry
 

I've been exercising more, so I'm hungrier. But if I eat more, that defeats the purpose. If I don't, I'm setting myself up to fail, because I'm doing something I can't sustain--going around hungry. And yet, they say weight loss without exercise is unsustainable. Sigh.

I've experienced the same problem, I found the solution for my was upping my low carb/low fat protein intake. That seems to be what my body is looking for and it doesn't slow down my weight loss at all.

First of all, you can lose weight and maintain weight loss without exercise. Personally, I'm an exerciser and I believe it helps, but I have read articles that say that some people find that exercise makes them so much hungrier that they end up losing control and end up gaining weight rather than losing it. If that's what is happening to you, then try dialing back on the exercise. For health reasons I wouldn't cut it out entirely, but you can reap health benefits from shorter and less intense forms of exercise that might not stimulate your appetite. Remember that you lose weight with diet, you get fit with exercise.

Thanks--hearing other people's experience helps.

I'm having the issue that with more exercise I feel less hungry, but eat protein to help with my muscles and then wait until hunger strikes and eat a meal then. Though, I have been feeling really hungry the next day, so someways I eat back my exercise calories and other days I eat half of them. Anyone have that issue?

from personal experience- when you exercise- i am talking intense cardio, HIIT, lifting, etc. Basically, rigorous exercise- you will shrink, literally shrink, because your fat will turn into muscle, and your health will improve metabilically- which means that you will burn more calories doing mundane things such as sitting.

In reality, I suffer from the hunger thing as well, which does create issues. In my experience, watch your food intake- but maybe focus on exercise if you are looking to get fit. Once you have a good routine down with the food and exercise, start analyzing, maybe cutting 100 calories or so, for weight loss- the goal is to create a caloric deficit, exercise allows you to eat more while maintaining that deficit and in many cases achieving cardiac health.

I don't personally suffer from this problem, but I have heard of people eating back half of what they burn. Figuring out exactly what you've burned is something of a crapshoot, but it might be a worthy compromise. You'll still be creating a larger calorie deficit and getting the benefits of the exercise.

Out of curiosity, what are your macros like? CanadianMomma might be on to something.

I ended up just toughing it out, and pushing through. I was surprised that I was actually able to. But exercise has become (a grudging) part of my groove. And I've finally gotten fairly firm.

Exercise makes me hungry too, I compensate by upping my protein intake.

Who says wdeight loss without exercise is unsustainable? Find me one study. I work with researchers who are experts on this - and the literature is very clear. Exercise has really only been proven to help people maintain and not gain - its not necessarily been proving to do much in terms of weight loss ( a study here and there but not systematically proven - so many studies show that it doesnt help with weight gain due to the release of cortisol and the fact that it drives many people to eat more).

That said, exercise is EXCELLENT for your health - at any weight. But for actual weight loss, its kind of a wash.

So if its not working for you - I suggest you stop it. And maybe (for your health) see if you can find something with less intensity that doesn't make you hungrier.

For the health benefits of exercise you don't need to do much. Raise your heart rate - 3x a week - for at least 20 minutes. Brisk walking accomplishes this. Key word - brisk.

Exercise is incredibly important for your health.

As for the research - it's all epidemiological studies. Correlation is not causation.

I also tend to eat more when I exercise, but on balance I think exercise does help me maintain my weight. I believe it gives my metabolism a modest boost (making me less cold and more "regular") and keeps me focused on health, which prevents me from completely losing control with food.

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Short but intense exercise is the ticket for me - it keeps my body strong and builds my lean mass, but doesn't kick up my hunger inappropriately. Fifteen to twenty minutes of body resistance exercises and strength training works wonders (in my case it is from a brilliant system called TTap).

Long bouts of cardio, though? Recipe for hunger in my case and I didn't see much in the way of returns from it - either on the scale or under clothes. I need strength, and get my cardio and endurance from huffing and puffing through a set of reps rather than spinning like a hamster on a wheel ;). Unless you really love cycling, spinning, running, or the like, I'd highly recommend picking 3-5 days a week of moderately intense strength exercises and doing those consistently. It should not take more than 20 minutes and I'd be surprised if it ratcheted up your appetite in a way a simple serving of protein couldn't handle.

I allot calories from my day for a post-workout snack. I try for either scrambled eggs with veggies, a low-calorie protein bar, or some cheese and crackers.