So... this past week I've been going to the gym almost every day. I just got an ipod and now I LOVE to do cardio... Ive been doing an hour the past couple days. I also lift weights and do abs for about 30mins. Why am I SO HUNGRY!!! I mean I expect my appetite to increase a bit, but Ive found myself eating all the calories I just burned The scale has basically stayed the same and Im tired of being at 130.0 (not to mention I usually hit a plateau at 160, 150, 140, etc.) Any suggestions?

I know what you mean. I have been working out a lot lately, and I feel hungrier for it. It helps if I eat something right before I go, and then right after... I take a meal, and I split it in half and eat the first half before and the second half afterwards. I always make sure it has protein in it, and I drink tons of water before and after. I also just try to stuff myself with veggies to take up space in my stomach, lol. I am sure none of these are new tips... just letting you know what I have been doing to try to combat the hunger. Good luck... I know how hard it is to smash through those barriers. I have had the hardest time trying to punch through the stupid 150 line.

Thanks a bunch... I never thought of splitting a meal in half... Very clever!!! GRRRR hopefully I can get thru this.. Ive been gaining .2 then losing .2 over the past MONTH! Ill definately try the split meal tomorrow!

I have the same problem! I usually work out about an hour after breakfast, and I found that I have to be eating every few hours after that or I'm famished throughout the day. I also have to eat high volume meals and more protein to stay within my calorie range.

It would probably help if you posted a typical day's menu so we can see what you're eating now and how you can tweak it to help with the hunger.

Ehh... I dont really count my calories I just try not to eat around 1200, recently ive been eating around 16-1700 I have some Jenny Craig food and then some of my own. The bad thing I did this week was eat about 1/2 jar of peanut butter... its definately my weakness... not by itself but with Jenny craig sweets.... luckily tonight I threw the almost empty jar away!

I find that if I eat a yogurt about 30min before a workout I feel better. Then after my workout I'm ready for dinner. Of course I work out in the evening. But during my morning walk I don't eat until about 30-45min after I am done walking. I was eating about 1200 and I lost but I think that for my weight I need to be closer to 1400 that way if I plateau I can drop a little in cals.

Blonde
I have pre breakfast before I workout and then breakfast afterwords. Have pre lunch and then lunch and then pre dinner before I workout and then dinner. If it is a day I do three workouts I workout after my pre lunch. First, because I eat 6 times a day instead of 3, I am never real hungry. Second, I also don't have tons of time to snack in between meals. I always have a piece of fruit before I workout and then protein after I workout.

I do a Kashi Go-Lean protein bar before my workout.. it amazes me how it keeps me going through the work out,.. and eliminates my wanting to overeat when i am through.

I highly suggest those bars... they are all natural products as well. I order them by the case from Amazon to save $$$.

I have a friend who drinks Muscle Milk before her work out... it does the same thing for her... though it has a bit more calories but a ton more protein.

That happened to me yesterday, I took my first kickboxing class yesterday and when I got home I had my regular dinner and 30 min later I was really hungry again!!! not just eating to eat but my stomach actually rumbled!!! This never happened when I did my reg cardio workout ..I had to have a 100 cal Jell-O pudding snack....I guess I am going to have to keep something in my car for the ride home from the gym from now on....

I was having a similar problem, although I work out at night. I could eat my dinner afterwards and about 30 minutes later feel so hungry like I hadnt eaten anything at all!! My friend told me about South Beach protein water drink mix. For 30 calories, I just mix it with my water bottle at the gym. It keeps me full through the work out and an hour later. Then, if I feel hungry, I eat my dinner, but without those cravings 30 minutes later. Protein is the cure you have mentioned, and this is a low cal way to get some extra.

Hope this helps...and they have good flavors too...one tastes like a pina colda. Yum!

Blond -- just looking at your ticker, 5'5" and 130 might just be your healthy weight, and there's nothing wrong with that!! You know your body and of course you know what your goal is, but I'm just suggesting that your body may be unwilling to let go of any more weight because it needs it!!
Good luck with your weight journey, wherever it takes you!
S

One thing I was once told that really helped me when I was in your position - maybe you're thirsty, and not hungry. The body has a way of tricking us. I had the same problem that I felt so hungry afterwards, so I asked a friend of mine who's fitness training and she told me to drink a bottle of water during and a bottle of water after my workout. I tried it and it helped SO much, I no longer felt that hunger.

Like suggested, splitting your meal in half is also a great idea.

Thank you for all of your wonderful suggestions!!! I really looked at what ive been eating because I havn't really been counting cals. Well... I think I just have to cut my calories back... They really do add up!!!

I was just talking about this with one of my co-workers...it's so frustrating! I'll have to try some of these suggestions

When you start increasing your calorie expenditure your body releases ghrelin (a hormone that makes you hungry) because it thinks you need the extra calories. That's why the first few days/weeks of dieting are usually the toughest. Plus, you look like you're down to the last few pounds and they're usually the toughest to lose because your body likes to hang on to a little bit of extra fat in case you go into a period of starvation or something...

Once your body gets used to the extra exercise you'll probably stop feeling so hungry. Maybe you want to keep an eye on calories for the first few weeks to make sure you're getting enough/not too much? Hopefully it'll resolve itself soon.

P.S. How much are you loving the iPod?