Dealing With a Crazy Appetite!

So a couple weeks ago I got a message with a food/fitness question; I think it’s a pretty common question, so I decided to share it, along with the advice I gave her!

She wrote to me, “I’ve been working out quite a bit lately, about 5 times a week for about an hour or a little more depending on the day, mostly cardio but I try to fit in some strength training at least twice a week. Since I’ve increased my workouts my appetite has gone crazy, I’m hungry ALL the time! So I was starting to think that I was eating more than I was burning, and I guess I was right. According to my scale, I’ve gained five pounds in the last month, which I guess is not too too much but I’ve been the same weight for about a year now, so its a little scary to see. Anywho, can you offer any advice? You seem to do a great job of eating enough, and yet never being deprived.”

So I wrote her back and this is my take on the situation!

Tthe workout/HANGRY problem is very annoying, and I have been there! First, I don’t not believe in scales, I just don’t believe in them right now when I have to wedge every carb I meet in my body. I do think scales are good for holding you accountable (even though they can be depressing at times). First, do your jeans/pants still fit? Because if they do, I would be less worried about the five pounds, since it’s probably just your body changing a bit!! This is why it’s great to take measurements.

If you are gaining inches and fat, then here are my thoughts:

First, make sure you’re eating enough! This is a huge problem with young women. We are active and we need to eat!! There are a lot of good online tools for calculating how many calories your body needs, and that is a good place to start. My nutritionist told me that on days I don’t even leave my house I need 1800 calories which SHOCKED ME and on days when I do 30 minutes of cardio I need 2000. (On long run days, you don’t even want to know!) I could not believe this, but she’s right. I’m losing weight eating that much (although I am holding some water weight due to the marathon carb requirement).

Once you know how much you should eat, it’s probably best to add those cals and know that you will still be OK. The key is to plan this! For example, if you know you CAN have more calories, maybe have a bigger breakfast and lunch so you aren’t starving in the evening. It’s better to do that rather than try and be “good” and get a small cup of vegetable soup for lunch, hit the gym really hard, and be starving for the rest of the day.

Next, make the most of your calories! Let’s say you are planning to have a 200-calorie snack. You could have some Baked Lays…or you could have some fat-free Greek yogurt with fruit and a tablespoon of granola. The latter has way more protein, plus fat and fiber, and it’s going to fill you up! This is why now I steer clear of diet foods and snacks; I’d much rather eat one whole egg than three egg whites. Now, to be completely honest, it took me years to make this switch! But I really believe that’s why I don’t feel deprived now. My nutritionist also had me add more healthy fats into my diet, which is another reason I feel more satisfied…fat makes you feel full (and happy)! Covering the protein, fat, and fiber bases is very important when you want to feel satisfied.

I guess my point is, if you eat really nutritious, good real food, you may be able to be able to eat 1600 calories a day and not think anything of it. But if you’re taking in 1600 calories of processed, sugar-free crap, it’s going to be a lot harder. And if you’re trying to stick at 1200 and then do a 60 minute workout…you’re probably going to be super hungry and want to overeat later on!

The other thing is, think about the situations you get in on those long workout days. Are you more likely to go out for dinner or drinks? I know sometimes it’s easy to think, “Oh, I worked out for a really long time so this is a good day to ‘cheat’” but then you’re STARVING when you get to that restaurant so you go overboard…whereas if you had gone out to eat on a rest day, you may have had an “I don’t want to get carried away” mindset, and you could indulged in moderation. Does that make sense? You could be “earning” calories, but then entering in situations where it’s easy to go really overboard — and you’ve got the revved up appetite to make things more difficult.

And although I have a pretty good eating plan/schedule, this isn’t to say I’m never hungry; I wrote about it here, but on some days, I am just STARVING from all the running and it’s annoying. I’m really looking forward to being done with the marathon and running less and therefore eating less! I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’ve loved being “forced” to eat more, but I also know that some days it feels like too much. For this reason, I think it’s important not to do hard workouts so you “can” eat more. It pains me to say this, because I love a hard workout, but tearing it up at the gym so you can eat more is only going to take you so far. Consider this: if, for a couple days a week, you scale back your intensity a bit but up your duration — like walk for 60 instead of running for 30 — you’ll still burn the about same number of cals, but because it’s less intense you may be less hungry. And you may be less likely to give into the “Oh, I worked out so hard, I can have this donut” mentality.

How else do you guys deal with the major appetite increase that working out can bring? How do you resist that feeling of “I earned it!” that makes you want to go to McDonald’s on the way home from the gym? Please share your thoughts!

Tagged as: appetite, Diet, Exercise, Food, healthy eating, overeating, weight gain, weight loss, working out