Up and down hunger levels and eating

kpw818

I'm really trying to maintain/build muscle, but I also want to make smart overall food choices. Since adding mileage to my running (training for a half) and upping my strength training (Still only 2X a week, but I run 4 times a week), I've gained about 10 pounds total (from 105 in August to 115 this month. I'm concerned that I'm gaining fat in addition to muscle, and partly due to my crazed eating habits.

I've noticed a very consistent up and down of calorie intake. Basically:

- On harder cardio days I undereat for even my lower set of calories (1200 instead of 1570 and not with eating back what was burned). I run 6-7 miles on Wednesdays and long runs Saturday (10-14)
- On moderate effort days (Lower cardio and strength training) I tend to eat slightly over my calories or eat back what was burned (I never count for strength training).
- Typically, on days after the harder cardio, I am totally famished and eat about 200-400 calories over my allowance.
- Every few days, I get super hungry and feel like I cannot be satiated. at. all, so I eat an extra bowl of cereal, extra protein bar, etc.

Does anyone else experience this? I'm trying to force myself to eat smaller meals and make sure to refuel on harder efforts, but I noticed I still get that hunger a bit. Do I need to increase my calories overall? I find on calculators other than MFP, I am recommend to eat about 1700-1900 calories to maintain based on activity level.

PeachyPlum

I have a feeling that MFP is recommending you eat too little and you might want to increase your calories.

I'm little and I only run about 2 miles on my run days, and I still burn 2500 calories on those days (calculated by my BodyMedia Fit, which I've found to be super accurate). MFP wants me to net out at 1300 calories...

In my opinion the MFP calculator is awful for active people (I can't speak for less active people, it might be great if you're just starting out). If a lot of other calculators are recommending you eat more, I'd eat more for sure.

There's nothing wrong with feeling a little hungry now and then, but if you're hungry on a fairly consistent basis, I think MFP isn't letting you eat enough.

kpw818

Hi,

Yikes, well I'm glad to hear from someone else that MFP seems a little off. I'm never quite sure how much I burn when I work out, but I am exercising very frequently. I tend to view MFP as more for general weightloss without the exercise factor the more I spend on it, but I do love its database for food and macro tracking. I'm trying to eat more protein and fats, so being able to plug that in is great.

The hunger can be pretty intense some days, and it always comes strong after workout days (and I don't eat as much on those). I figure the yo yo effect is also throwing off my blood sugar, and I'd rather be more consistent overall.

I'm going to average around 1700-1800 for a few weeks and see if that helps. I was around that yesterday and didn't feel crazy hungry, even after doing hill repeats

Thanks for chiming in!

slaite1

It also makes sense to be hungry after a big cardio day. It may help to eat a little extra the day before or earlier the day of to make sure you're properly fueled fro your long runs.

That being said, maybe watch your weekly goals? When I'm training my hunger levels are all over the place and I am ALWAYS STARVING the day after a long run or a very heavy lifting day. I naturally eat less the day of and more the day after. It evens out

jgnatca

I am going through the same thing, though I am not as active as you. I am very hungry the day after hard cardio. I say the body is smarter than any formula.

I do try and be vigilant when true hunger turns in to habitual eating...when I'm NOT hungry. That's when I need to step away from the pantry.

kpw818

Thanks all. I've done some calculations and will work with weekly goals, spreading 1800 over the course of a week and not entering exercise calories. Essentially, that evens out my consumption over the course of a week, and I'm not going up and down as much. Since starting this experiment, I've been under 1800 every single day.

After a couple of weeks, I will see if that is too low/too high for maintenance. When I figured it up, I think that actually puts me at a deficit, but I'm not perfect with the counting, and I plan to have a couple beers, etc over the weekends--especially on a long run day

I do notice that I want to mindlessly eat when I work at home (more so than at work). Maybe I have more snacks available? If I have some coffee, I tend to forget to eat. The hunger I am referring to is pretty intense and its really bad mornings after workouts and evenings if I don't get dinner or a snack by 5-6ish.

kpw818

So something I noticed this week (on the 1800 daily and no exercise logged).

Wednesday morning I got that shaky/hypoglycemia feeling I used to get when I first started weight training (I wasn't running so I was eating maybe 1500 calories total. I would get the feeling the day after my weight lifting sessions). I had to scarf some lunch before I could do anything.

I weight lifted last night as well, ran a little over 3.5 miles this morning, and am currently getting that shaky feeling. I've eaten a decent amount today, maybe not enough for lunch and have my dinner roughly planned (having an event so planning to eat a little poorly with a couple beers, lol).

I am trying to find my true maintenance and TDEE so I can build muscle and stabilize my blood sugar to avoid extreme hunger and the shakiness. I am only 5'2 and sit about 113-116 pounds (pretty stable for the last 3 months) I figure I'm still not eating enough for my activity level, or I'm making bad choices in the mornings or days following my weight training. I'm opening up my diary to see if anyone can give some advice. Only with a password: yum!

Again, I'm logging an average TDEE of 1800 daily and not logging exercise. For an idea on my exercise, this is what I've done so far this week:

Mon: Hill repeats x 4 on treadmill, warm-up and cool down jog for a total of 3.5 miles.
Tue: Weights and Strength for 40 minutes
Wed: 6.6 mile run
Thur: Weights and Strength for 35 minutes
Fri: 3.75 mile run

On Saturdays, I run long (training for half) 10-12 miles. Sundays I rest. When I figured my average, I didn't include calories burned with weights, because I have no idea. Possibly should estimate 200 for each day?