I have upped going to the gym to 4 or 5 days a week (with my saturday yoga as a day of rest). I like it. But, when I go more than twice a week, I get very, very hungry. Its like my metabolism is on hyper speed or something, I absolutely am starving. I am trying to balance every meal out with protein, but I just cant keep the knawing hunger away. Its physical too, Im really hungry, not just having the munchies. I can ignore it, really I can, but when you are physically hungry it means your body needs something right? What am I doing wrong? Maybe I need more calories in general? Im not doing anything low fat or reduced calorie (except my mayo), Im eating a ton of veggies . . . so plenty of fiber . . .

And tips? Foods that seem to keep you full after a workout?

I think Im just a hungry person and that is why I weigh as much as I do lol

Me too! I noticed that my appetite went up when I was working out -- not the same day, but the next day, the munchies would be INTENSE.

I basically did no exercise yesterday, though I did the day before -- I struggled to stay on plan yesterday, but today I'm breezing through. No food? No problem.

Our bodies are smarter and more stubborn than we give them credit for...

i've heard many people say this. when i feel ravenous, like you are describing without fail something extremely filling like lentil soup will do it for me. tons of veggies, chicken broth not meat, i can basically eat the whole pot and not feel guilty. sometimes there's wild or brown rice in there too. something with legumes. keeps me full for HOURS. if i'm lucky, 5 or more. salmon also seems to be more filling and lasting than other foods.

What is your current calorie intake level, and what sort of activity are you doing at the gym? Like you said, another thing to possibly consider is whether or not you're feeling hungry all the time because your body needs more calories going in. Are you just feeling hungry, or is it a combination of hunger/lacking energy?

When I started, I was only exercising a little and eating around 1300 calories a day and losing at about 2 pounds per week. Over the last two months I have incorporated more and more exercise, so that now I'm going to the gym for about 1 - 1.5 hours per visit about 5 times per week (doing strength training and cardio).

In order to support my gym habit and not suffer from a somewhat similar increase in hunger as you described, I've had to increase the number of calories I consume... I've upped to around 1600 - 1700 per day, and I'm still averaging about 2.5 - 3 pounds per week right now. If you're putting a lot of energy into your workouts, you're going to naturally need more energy readily available to keep you sustained through your workout. Plus if you've been strength training, the increased muscle mass is supposed to increase resting metabolism, increasing the number of calories you're burning all the time. So maybe your metabolism has gone hyper (hooray!), and you've made a significant change in your daily calorie deficit.

I'm always starving after a workout! I noticed to that I eat more as well but it has to do with the energy and the nutrients your body needs to be able to continue on with high intensity workouts. (thats what my trainer basically told me) I'm suppose to eat 3 full meals and 3 light snacks a day in total and range from 1500 -2000 and she tells me not to go under 1500 calories.

I do a little over a half hour of cardio and then the rest of my hour I do strength. (I can suck in my tummy now, havent been able to do that since having my 2 year old lol!) I do about 360 calories of cardio, then who knows with the rest, but I know I get my body really going because I sweat like crazy (Im one of those gross sweaty people at the gym, I really need to bring a hand towel). I havent been focusing TOO much on calories, other than reading how many the things Im eating have to help me decide what a better snack would be, but I think its around 1300-1400 maybe. Im thinking that at my weight, I might need a little more with these workouts.
Today is my hour of yoga, so I dont think I need to worry about it today, but I will try to throw in some extra protein tomorrow morning (maybe an egg with my Os) before going to the gym. And the soup sounds yummy, do you have a recipe? I have no idea how to cook lentils. I can make veggie soup but am clueless when it comes to beans!
Thanks ladies

For me, the difference has been adding more protein - like, a lot more protein. I just started actually weight training about a month or two ago, and I would find myself ravenously hungry for a few days after a hard workout. To combat that, I eat more beans, eggs, turkey, etc, and it seems to be working. I'm going to experiment with protein shakes as well, since it can be difficult to eat as much protein as my body seems to want!

For the beans and lentils, I love Progresso's soups (even though I know they're probably loaded with preservatives and I could probably make a way better version at home). I also love to mix some tomatillo salsa in with half a cup of black beans and some shredded chicken, let that sit over night, then warm up and eat over a salad. Very yummy

That sounds SO yummy! I love any kind of salsa, I use it instead of dressing on salads . . . mix it with my eggs, put it on wraps mmmmm. Do you buy canned beans or dried beans?

I work out pretty hard and I get starving after my work out! I have some tricks that I use that might be helpful (I hope!)
-drink lots of water during the workout
-drink lots of water on the way home from the work out
-have a snack when I get home, usually a low fat yoghurt
-time your workouts more smarterer! I have been having my workouts before the time where i would usually have morning tea, and about 2 hours before lunch. But in the past I have timed them so that they are just before dinner
-always have a good breakfast before working out if you are working out in the morning. I like to have an egg on toast or some muesli with low fat milk

I hope thats a bit helpful!

Canned, but I'm lazy Dried would be a cheaper way to do it.

the lentils are actually way easier to cook than reg. beans. no soaking needed.

i've never seen canned lentils, just the soups such as the progresso lentil soup. there's a huge amount of sodium in that, so if you have to, i would add a ton of veggies to help even it out. plus, it tastes way too salty, at least to me without the veggies. i add in handfuls of spinach(frozen also works), carrots, or whatever you have on hand.

to make the lentil soup i just basically do the same as for veggie soup.

i saute the veggies in evoo.

(onions, garlic, any green veggies like spinach, collard greens, carrots, stewed tomatoes,
peas, peppers, just anything i have on hand. try to make it colorful.)

add in the water and broth cube, or chicken stock if you can. it tastes better.

when it's boiling, add in the lentils. this is a good time to put in wild/brown rice, if you are using it, they take about the same amount of time to cook as the lentils. the lentils need to cook for about 30-45 min. i often cook it closer to an hour. (the rice i get needs close to an hour)

to add extra flavor, i like to add curry seasonings or paste. it also adds lots of great color, makes it more appetizing.

if you are a great fan of curry, like i am, you could also try adding lentils to a healthy chicken and veggies curry. or chickpeas. also very filling, and smells awesome!

note- for either dish, if you plan on freezing it, potatoes don't freeze well. any other veggies you have on hand will work that i can think of.

i think you could make the lentil soup or chicken curry in a slow cooker if you have one.

Thnks SMISEN! Im going to buy some lentils and try it out. I dont usually put potatoes in my soup (unless its potato leek soup, which is the most amazing thing everrrrrr!) so that wont be an issue I made some homemade "salsa" last night, and added a can of black beans and a handful of cilantro to it, so tasty! Im going to try to get my extra protein through beans I think, the extra fiber cant hurt either.

Im excited lol, its like entering in to uncharted territory. I love beans, just havent ever worked with them.