I know how important strength training is, and when I was doing it regularly (in September) I shaved 8 minutes off my 5k time. I don't enjoy it, per se. It's not the most fun thing I've ever done but the results are worth it.

The problem is that it starves me! On the morning of that 5k I was talking about, I ate breakfast (oatmeal + pb toast) and started off to the race. I stopped at my workplace to get powerade, and by the time I got there, I was so hungry I was nauseous! My work is only 15 minutes away!

I just simply cannot stay on plan when I'm lifting. It doesn't matter whether I get enough protein or not. I've read that drinking a protein shake right after helps but I haven't had the opportunity to try it.

I'm just afraid that I won't lose weight or inches through lifting because I'll be eating too much for it to do any good. This is definitely not what I want. (However, I have very vague memories of lifting regularly in 7th grade and becoming several sizes smaller.)

Any advice? Calm my fears?

20 mins a day is all that is required for exercise. Try that.

Hi! I'm certainly no expert, but I did have a personal trainer last year who had me eat BOTH a fast-acting carb and protein immediately after my strength training while I was still at the gym. I had a banana and protein drink.

But apart from that, strength training is probably the single most important thing we can do to be healthier. Your eating plan may not be allowing for enough calories if you're strength training, in which case you should adjust your plan. See Rule #6 on the Stumptuous blog. How many calories are you eating?

Hey! I've just talked myself into going to more weight training! Thanks for the help! Seriously, though, don't stop weight training. You are doing all the right things. You don't want to lose your lean tissues by not weight training. After all, I think we're more interested in losing FAT than losing WEIGHT if part of the weight is our muscle mass. At least that's the way I look at it.

CJZee - You are right, losing fat is more important than losing weight. Thanks for keeping it in perspective.

I do a plan by Joyce Vedral called "Toning for Teens." (I have the book.) I get confused quite easily so I need someone to lay it all out for me.

I know weight training is important, and I know what it can do, but the fear comes from the fact that weight loss or maintenance is 80% diet, 20% exercise. I'm still doing cardio because I love to run, so I am definitely getting that in. I would really like to throw the scale away but I think I'm kind of obsessed with it.

Ugh. I will definitely be trying banana + protein shake. Crossing my fingers!

ETA: In September, I was probably SUPPOSED to be eating about 1400 calories a day. I feel that this is too low for me at any point, but that's what sparkpeople.com said. I was probably, in reality, eating about 2000 with all the extra hunger. Right now I'm shooting for 1550-1900 and I set the sparkpeople thing on "1 pound a week." However, I'd rather lose inches than pounds (like you said) so maybe weight training will give me that, even with the hungry.

Are you eating small meals throughout the day? It is kind of amusing because the problem I had when I started running was hunger!! It may be that your body is adjusting with increased hunger. You might want to eat something small after you exercise and something small a little before you do.

I don't know if this is a possibility for you, but I do my weight training a couple hours before I'm ready for bed (I have exercise videos I do at home). After I weight train, I get a giddy endorphin rush, but soon afterward the tiredness and hunger sets in -- and then I just crawl into bed! That way I can keep my calories at 1500 AND I sleep really well. The only problem is to make sure I go to bed as soon as I feel tired, because if I don't, I'll get another burst of energy later and have a hard time sleeping. I'm not sure if this would work for you or not, but it does for me, so I thought I'd share. I too get ravenously hungry if I weight train earlier in the day.

I know everyone is different, but I really feel I get the best workout with weights when I eat right before working out (less than an hour). Cardio I can't do on a full stomach, but for weight training it works for me. I'm still full after the workout and don't get hungry until much later.

Try eating more fat and fewer carbs. Your body uses fat for energy, too (not just carbs), and fat is typically more satiating than carbs for the same # of calories.

be strong //

I do get hungrier on weight training days also, or the day after. Just eat, eat clean, eat before your workout and after...

You said : «I've read that drinking a protein shake right after helps but I haven't had the opportunity to try it. » TAKE the opportunity and try that shake and a carb after your workout, you'll see a world of difference. That meal right after your workout will feed the muscles that you've torn up fromt the workout.

Having muscles burns calories, you need those extra calories, they'll burn right off because of the calorie burning muscles... Am I making sense

Try eating afterwards, let us know how it goes...

Nelie & Sarby - Today, I ate breakfast about 30 minutes before my workout, and then lunch about 30 minutes after. (I lifted my whole body and then I ran 2.0 miles, because I was feeling AWESOME. lol) That was about a 3 hour span between them. I ate a protein and a carb! So that should help.

Skyra - Sometimes that is a possibility, and when it is I will keep it in mind. I work second shift a lot of nights so an impossibility then, but sometimes it is. My mom used to (in college) get up at 3am, workout, take a shower and go back to bed because she said it was the "best sleep ever!" and I tend to agree. It's definitely something to keep in mind.

kaw - The protein I usually take in after working out is nuts and nut butters and those have a lot of fat in them, so I am by no means starving myself off fat. I'm keeping it in mind though.

Ilene - The reason I haven't had the opportunity is because I don't have any protein shakes! Do you have a suggestion for a good one? I'm going to try to hit Walmart or the local organic grocery store (or both!) tonight and get one, because I am hearing it over and over and over - that that's the solution. Definitely keeping it in mind!


I think the best of what I've gleaned here is that I should eat a balanced meal high in carbs and proteins and good fats right after weight lifting, right? I will try the shake + banana and let you know. I've been afraid to start lifting again because of the hunger, but it's too important.

The taste of shakes is subjective, I love some but my g/f hatss it, so you have to choose my trial and error... I usually chose vanilla flavour though, it's easier to mix stuff with it...

I find nuts and nut butters are not filling enough after a workout. In addition nut butters have more fat than protein, therefore not a good choice. I like cottage cheese after a workout, or chicken breast, tuna, etc... a real protein, so to speak...

But that's only a tiny amount of protein. You need to have a chicken breast or white fish after a workout - that is that's what I would choose if I didn't have a protein shake. By the way, you asked about the protein shakes - I do drink them after a weight lifting workout but only for the high amount of easily digestible protein. They don't ward off the hunger for long, 1 hour max.

I never stopped eating red meat, although I eat less of it. If I could not have chicken breast or fish, I would go for lean red meat.

And if you can find it (or feel like making it yourself), slices of roast turkey work really well too. I buy turkey breasts and roast and slice them. Much better than the processed stuff..... I also have access to salmon and it's good cold (smoked is really good, but has some sugar from the marinade)

Yes, this. I lift after work. So what works for me is to eat a snack with protein and fat (like a boiled egg or two) an hour or two before my workout. Then afterwards I go home and just eat a balanced clean dinner - carbs, fat, protein, fiber.

I'm often very hungry the day after my workouts (a result of working out late in the day, I think) but I trust my body, drink plenty of water, and if I'm really hungry, I eat. I might eat an extra snack or two that day - a boiled egg, a sliced apple with a little cheese, some strips of broiled chicken. Lean muscle mass burns up a lot of energy while it's healing, so it's okay to eat after a workout if your body tells you to.

It's not going off plan; it's all part of my plan. The results are worth it - if you stick to your resistance training while on a restricted-calorie weight-loss plan, you will retain more of your lean muscle mass while you lose weight, and come out the other end fitter and less gaunt.

As an aside to the OP, it's interesting how different we all are about things - you talk about running a 5k, and say that weight training isn't fun for you. I'm the opposite; I love lifting and wish I could do more of it, but I'd rather stick a pencil in my eye than run a 5k.

You should be eating 5-6 small meals a day, with each meal having a protein and a good carb in it. Also, when I get hungry I eat. I make sure I'm eating the right things though. Make sure you are keeping track of your calories in and know how many calories you need to burn. If you are working out more, you're going to have to eat more...if you eat less and burn more you will not lose weight. Don't be afraid to eat when you get hungry. It is ok if you're doing the right things with your body - good diet and consistent physical training.