exercising and famished

[hlao23]

I started an aerobics class a little over a month ago. It's twice a week and combines step work and toning. Anyway, I feel intensely hungry way more often now. I'm not sure if working out increases my appetite (I had been a complete slug since the cold weather hit) or if my sad little brain is just going "Aha! Now I have an excuse to eat more." Any ideas? Would only two days per week worth of exercise make my nutritional needs change?

[emilycat]

If you increase your muscle mass, your metabolism gets a kick, and you burn more calories all day long, not just during exercise. This is because muscle burns calories more efficiently than fat. And of course if you're burning more calories, your body needs more fuel -- just be sure not to over- or under- compensate!

[SusanD]

Emily's right - muscle burns calories faster than fat so your metabolism is higher. Whenever my husband gets into one of his "power workout" kicks, he turns into a bottomless pit.

[lindrusso]

I too have been famished! This new weight routine I've been doing is much more intense than what I've done in the past. I actually can get very hungry when I'm in the middle of lifting! That's never happened before! I haven't really figured out what works best for me as far as eating beforehand goes - I don't work out until 9 a.m. at the earliest or 3 p.m. at the latest, so I've already had breakfast and/or lunch.

[This message has been edited by lindrusso (edited 02-20-2001).]

[aggie94]

I'm new to this BB, but I'd love to jump in on this one. I exercise frequently (2-4 days a week of cardio kickboxing and another 2-3 days a week of cardio machines & weight lifting), and I eat all day long. I'm always hungry and I find myself snacking all the time (partly because I understand that smaller, more frequent meals boost metabolism and weight loss more than fewer, bigger meals). It's not always convenient, though -- for example, I had a hearing last week that started at 8:30 in the morning. I left my house at 6:45 because it was about an hour away, so I ate breakfast (bowl of cereal and yogurt) at 6:00. We took only a few water and restroom breaks throughout the morning and went through lunch so that we could get done. We finally finished at 1:30 in the afternoon, and I was passing out hungry! Now, I always carry some convenient snacks with me in my briefcase (granola bars, handful of nuts, piece of fruit, etc.). You never know when you could get stuck somewhere without food!

[cindyluwho]

I remember when I used to play field hockey in high school, and our coach used to run us into the ground during practice in the afternoons. Once in awhile, I hadn't eaten lunch because I'd been too lazy to prepare my lunch in the morning and didn't have any money on me, which was not a good thing because by the time I got home, after having exercised very intensely for 2-3 hours, I would be utterly famished. I would literally devour just about everything in sight. Even when I had eaten lunch earlier in the day, I would still be extremely hungry when I got home and would eat alot of food. My mom was a bit worried and even took me to the doctor, but he said I was just fine. I think it's fairly normal to be hungry when you've exercised. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[cindyluwho]

I remember when I used to play field hockey in high school, and our coach used to run us into the ground during practice in the afternoons. Once in awhile, I hadn't eaten lunch because I'd been too lazy to prepare my lunch in the morning and didn't have any money on me, which was not a good thing because by the time I got home, after having exercised very intensely for 2-3 hours, I would be utterly famished. I would literally devour just about everything in sight. Even when I had eaten lunch earlier in the day, I would still be extremely hungry when I got home and would eat alot of food. My mom was a bit worried and even took me to the doctor, but he said I was just fine. I think it's fairly normal to be hungry when you've exercised. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif