i couldn't figure it out, but for the past few weeks, i have been wanting to eat everything. i find myself snacking and binging more. i realized that it might be because i've been doing more intense workouts?

is this normal? how do i curb it?

I always find myself genuinely hungry after intense workouts, and I've found if I don't plan for it, I'll binge.

If you're a calorie/point counter, can you save some of them specifically for after the workout? This is what I do and it works well on most days.

Ever try protein shakes? I use Designer Whey....if you drink 1 shake before your workout it'll give you an extra energy boost then if you drink 1 afterwards it'll help with your muscle repair. All the protein definitely helps keep you full....give it a shot! :-)

~D~

There was an article about exercise and weight loss in the NY Times three weeks ago. It dealt a lot with how exercise can make you so hungry, it can sabotage your weight loss efforts.

I can't post links, but here's an excerpt:

'At the same time, as many people have found after starting a new exercise regimen, working out can have a significant effect on appetite. The mechanisms that control appetite and energy balance in the human body are elegantly calibrated. “The body aims for homeostasis,” Braun says. It likes to remain at whatever weight it’s used to. So even small changes in energy balance can produce rapid changes in certain hormones associated with appetite, particularly acylated ghrelin, which is known to increase the desire for food, as well as insulin and leptin, hormones that affect how the body burns fuel."

For the whole article you can go to the NY Times website and search on the terms weight loss exercise.

I have encountered this many times -- some of my worst eating days are on my best exercise days. My plan moving forward is to plan my entire day's menu in advance. Put it in writing. And not deviate. I'll let you know how that goes.

This happened to me the last time I was going to the gym. I was always ravenous when I got home and then got it in my head that I could eat more because I had just exercised, however, I'd have a total binge and blow the whole day I'm now back in the gym and, as mentioned, I am planning meals around my exercise, working them into my calorie allowance so I know I can have some good food to fill me up Also, if you plan your meals in advance you can forget about counting everything up as you eat it, feel no guilt and just chill

I ALWAYS have a high-protein snack/meal in mind for right after I'm done with my workout. I work out in the evening so I make sure to save some of my daily calories for after my workout. If I don't eat something afterward, I DO become ravenous and binge. Most of all, I've had to let go of the notion that "because I exercised, I can eat more" -- the only way I've made progress in weight loss is by letting go of that. I exercise to improve my endurance, to build muscle, to improve my overall energy.

That makes total sense, I didn't know what it was as first I just written it off as a sign that I lost to much of my electrolytes or glucose. I drink tea with honey or Emergen-C after a workout and it takes away some of the cravings and I always would have this itch for chicken or fish. lolz

Skyra and LastTrain, your posts reminded me that the trainers at my gym recommend having a snack with protein within an hour of finishing your workout. They say it helps with recovery -- maybe that whole thing about how when you exercise you get tiny tears in your muscle fibers and the healing of those tears is what makes you stronger?

Tomato Sunshine, maybe if you make sure you are getting enough protein post-workout, it will help with appetite?