More Exercise = More Food = Weight Gain! =(

lace_444

I need your help!
I am not The Most Active Person Alive! but it appears that I eat like I am. I do gym in the mornings, short cardio and then weight training (Monday to Friday and occasionally on the wknd). I am doing a 30 Day Bikram Yoga challenge this month too. That happens in the evenings. My work is pretty stressful and I run high on adrenaline quite often.

With all of this, I have increased my protein intake and to include protein bars as snacks instead of the odd chocolate here and there, ok maybe everyday to "fight stress". The rest of the diet seems to be staying the same which is basically balanced.

My question is, how do I convince myself that I do not need that extra helping of dinner after "Such a Long Day!" Or that I will survive if I do Not eat that chocolate?

sijomial

If you want it badly enough you commit to your calorie goal.
Do that often enough and it becomes a habit.
Once it becomes a habit you become successful.

It starts between your ears!
My big motivator is goals, long and short term. Yours may be different.

yirara

Sorry, I can't related to that as my hunger vanishes if I work out. Are you having breakfast before your morning workout?

Springfield1970

Just keep looking at your diary and see that you've eaten enough. It's great you are exercising more. Make sure you fuel it. You will carry extra water for repair. It gets kind of confusing, so keep reading the threads. All that is important is fat loss.

TavistockToad

lace_444 wrote: »

My question is, how do I convince myself that I do not need that extra helping of dinner after "Such a Long Day!" Or that I will survive if I do Not eat that chocolate?

by reminding yourself that you want to lose weight?

gpstreet

For me it is about payback. I monitor calorie intake as much as I can. Usually I am quite careful but sometimes I go over the daily allowance. This means I need to go for a run. Ask yourself is that extra dinner worth the exercise that you have to do to stay within daily limit. For me the answer is usually no and this helps me avoid eating that chocolate bar, or having a glass of wine.

pete5602

If you are doing weight training you are going to want to eat more and you have to remember that muscle weights more then fat. Would not worry about it.

lace_444

Thank you for all the feed back. I have reassessed the diet to see where I am taking more calories than necessary and am now trying to introduce a more strict method of protein intake.

kellyjellybellyjelly

lace_444 wrote: »

I need your help!
I am not The Most Active Person Alive! but it appears that I eat like I am. I do gym in the mornings, short cardio and then weight training (Monday to Friday and occasionally on the wknd). I am doing a 30 Day Bikram Yoga challenge this month too. That happens in the evenings. My work is pretty stressful and I run high on adrenaline quite often.

With all of this, I have increased my protein intake and to include protein bars as snacks instead of the odd chocolate here and there, ok maybe everyday to "fight stress". The rest of the diet seems to be staying the same which is basically balanced.

My question is, how do I convince myself that I do not need that extra helping of dinner after "Such a Long Day!" Or that I will survive if I do Not eat that chocolate?

Which method are you using to track your calories? MFP or TDEE?

nxd10

Actually, I read several studies that showed people who exercise do tend to eat more calories afterwards than they exercise off. So you're not alone.

That said, I eat a SMALL snack right after I exercise that I find satisfying and isn't sweet (sugar makes me want to eat more). So something slow to digest like yogurt and muesli or an apple or whatever.

Then I just log that and keep going. I find if I get hungry and don't eat it's like my body doesn't trust me to give it what it needs. So I just eat a small something whenever I feel those pangs.

CrabNebula

I had to give up thinking I deserved any food reward for exercising or thinking I could eat back exercise calories. I use a lightly active tdee to figure my needs for the day and stick to that no matter what I do for exercise. It has worked for well over a year now for me.

brendak76

nxd10 wrote: »

Actually, I read several studies that showed people who exercise do tend to eat more calories afterwards than they exercise off. So you're not alone.

.

That would be me. I've run 2 full marathons and 5 halfs and gained weight training for every one of them. I did my last race in September, stopped running so much and replaced it with 1-2 hrs per day with classes at the gym. And gained weight again. All of the over exercising has messed with my cortisol and hunger levels I'm convinced. When I exercise that much I'm beyond starving all the time I feel like and I definitely overeat. I've decided to tone it down and primarily walk outside for exercise and am having no trouble eating at a deficit. And I've finally lost some weight this week.

ncfitbit

This was totally me. Before doing MFP consistently I always thought I'd burned way more calories than I actually did and felt like that meant I could eat whatever I wanted. Well, no, just no.

I also love chocolate, but I've recently decided I'd rather see the scale move than eat ALL the chocolate. Lol. I still have chocolate almost every day, but I plan to make it fit within my calorie goal. It can be done. Hershey's is not my favorite chocolate in the world, but they make these little snack bars that make me feel like I'm eating a whole candy bar. I usually eat two and am very satisfied. Last night I had a half of a whole chocolate bar (some other brand they had at the theater), but it wasn't marked in any way so I just felt deprived at not getting to eat the whole thing!

xmichaelyx

1) Figure out exactly how many calories you need to meet your goals.
2) Figure out what you need to eat in order to stay within those calories. I avoid carbs because they make me hungry.
3) (And this is where others will disagree.) Forget about "eating back" the calories you burn when you work out. There is no good method to figure out how many calories you've burned. Adjust caloric intake based on how fast you're losing or gaining over a 3-week period relative to your goals.

cheshirecatastrophe

What about coming up with alternate rewards? Instead of an extra helping after such a long day, how about investing in a shiatsu massage pillow, some kind of foot massager, or a scalp Tingler?

As far as diet goes--obviously you need to compensate, *calorie* wise, for the added protein, and you seem to like eating in the evenings (me too!). Can you shift around some of your breakfast or lunch calories to give yourself more room at night? That's what I had to do.

lynn1982

Assuming you are eating too much (I say this because I've had to realize that the number I want to see on the scale is not the number where my body wants to be), and you want to cut out that piece of chocolate, what works for me is replacing it with something else. When I'm craving chocolate at night and I don't have the calories for it, I drink herbal tea, sometimes with a splash of almond milk. For weight loss and maintenance I have that for me, finding an alternative has been key.

rosebette

I completely understand your feelings, OP. I had a small treat today ( a brownie) instead of my regular morning snack (usually yogurt and fruit, or nuts or a piece of cheese). I worked out late this afternoon, and was very hungry. Instead of checking the calories I had left, I followed my appetite and ate a whole cup of whole wheat pasta and two chicken sausages, which I should have had 1/2 cup and one sausage. But seeing just that 1/2 cup of spaghetti and one link looked so pathetic on the plate. The end result 282 over my goal, and looking at MFP telling me that in 5 weeks I won't have lost any weight. So, I just have to plan better tomorrow and see how many calories I have left to eat before actually chowing down.

JoRocka

Skip breakfast- eat more later.

I don't "do" evening hunger- I get stabby and cranky and I'm SUPER hungry at night- I eat A LOT at night.

So to compensate- I eat nothing in the morning.
I get my calories at night.
I get my calorie goals (ish)
and I lose weight as I need to (although slowly LMAO)

tomatoey

JoRocka wrote: »

Skip breakfast- eat more later.

I don't "do" evening hunger- I get stabby and cranky and I'm SUPER hungry at night- I eat A LOT at night.

So to compensate- I eat nothing in the morning.
I get my calories at night.
I get my calorie goals (ish)
and I lose weight as I need to (although slowly LMAO)

I"m similar and have been experimenting with eating less in the am. It worked *once* but I've gone over otherwise; how do you stay on track?

rainbowbow

I prefer to work out at night time for this reason. That way i come home, exhausted, take a long hot bath and then head to bed. I think "Ah, such a long day! Time to relax and sleep!"

This helps me with the "oh, i worked out so i can eat more" process that happens during the daytime if i choose to work out in the morning. Also, i get slightly naseous and DO NOT feel like eating after working out (especially hitting it hard!) so it works out.

FitPhillygirl

rainbowbow wrote: »

I prefer to work out at night time for this reason. That way i come home, exhausted, take a long hot bath and then head to bed. I think "Ah, such a long day! Time to relax and sleep!"

This helps me with the "oh, i worked out so i can eat more" process that happens during the daytime if i choose to work out in the morning. Also, i get slightly naseous and DO NOT feel like eating after working out (especially hitting it hard!) so it works out.

I'm the same way. I do my HIIT workouts about an hour and a half before taking a shower and going to bed. I sleep great every time I do this. When I get up in the morning I have a good size breakfast before going to work.