starting something new make you hungry?

  • Hmm...

    Has anyone have had this experience before?

    I've only recently in the last several days, started exercising on the stairmaster at the gym and it is a TOUGH workout, with me sweating like I have a fever in the Sahara desert (*I've been enjoying it... well, mostly since there are times during my workout, I just wanna cuss out the machine! )

    It's rare for me to be hungry in the evenings after dinner (I have about two cups of plain herbal tea after dinner/dessert which usually helps on any lingering desire to eat more, snack, or graze, etc), but last night and tonight, I was just hungry several hours after I had eaten. And I already drink quite enough fluids as it is.

    * I had already eaten my caloric intake for the day when I got hungry again And yes, I do eat more than 1,200 calories a day! *

    Does anyone find they get more hungry when starting a new, tough exercise routine?

    ~ tea
  • i know that sometimes when the scale is about to drop again i feel insatiably hungry. If i can resist it, i usually see a loss a few days later. I think it is a way that our body tries to hold on to the weight.
  • Tea - I've been having similar challenges with late evening hunger since I've increased my exercise level a bunch. Frustrating, isn't it?
  • Yes! This happened to me all last week. I upped my time on the elliptical by 10 minutes and all last week I was so hungry. Honestly, I listened to my body and ate more (healthy food, of course). I was over my weekly calorie budget by 300 calories (when usually I am under by 700), but I still lost weight at my weigh-in. After a couple of days of snacking before bed because I was so hungry, I started working in the extra food with my dinner. It worked out perfectly so that I wouldn't have that extra snack.
  • This will happen to me if I add something to my workout or if I even change the time of my workout.
    Last week I had to move my gym time from early afternoon to early morning and move my walk from a couple hours after the gym to right after the gym.
    I was ravenous all week. Unfortunately I didn't ride it out and ended up eating a LOT. Luckily I didn't gain though.
  • This can definitely happen - all kinds of things have an effect on hunger levels. I find that if I'm genuinely hungry and it's been a few hours since I ate, it's a good idea to eat something...my body is telling me it needs food, so I try to listen.
  • Just a thought...the body can't signal to us if it is hungry or thirsty. The stomach will feel like it's wanting food but it might actually be asking for beverage. Try drinking water first, then waiting for a few (like 20mins). If the "hunger" pains continue, then eat something healthy.

    I know you drink a lot, but I thought others might benefit from the info. 95% of Americans are chronically dehydrated which can lead to headaches, memory loss, fatigue, and a host of other issues.

    GL:-)
  • I've found that when I increase the overall difficulty level of my exercise that I do end up being really hungry afterward. I've also noticed when I focus one particularly muscle group, I can get hungry too. I usually have a protein shake after exercise which helps but if I'm still hungry after the shake and my usual meal/s, I will add in either another shake or a small healthy meal.

    Hmm, I just looked over my records and it seems like I added around an extra 200-250 calories on the day when my exercise difficulty is increased. It goes goes back down the next day or the day after. It stays down until I again increase the difficulty levels. Looking at weekly and monthly trends I actually seem to be at the right calorie intake. It varies month by month being slightly over or under but I'm fairly on target. Given that I've been losing fairly smoothly, I don't think it matters.

    Some people cycle their calories intentionally. I suppose that I just naturally cycle for more calories when I increase my exercise .

    MN.
  • Actually, the "chronically dehydrated" factoid isn't based in solid research. Most published medical research indicates we're actually a pretty well hydrated nation, in general.

    http://www.snopes.com/medical/myths/8glasses.asp