Anyone else crazy hungry after HIIT?

stacicali

I've been doing LCHF (under 100 g of carbs per day) since Feb and have been pleased with the results and lack of hunger. I've mostly done 30 minutes of strength training 2-3 times per week with no hunger problems.

The last week or so, I've incorporated HIIT (high intensity interval training) once or twice a week and am struggling with carb cravings for the first time since changing my diet. Has anyone else run into this? I've read HIIT is so good for me, but I question if I should keep going if it makes me this hangry.

sammyliftsandeats

I do HIIT only once a week and I don't find a problem with being super hungry. I actually find that lifting makes me hungrier.

Maybe because you are exerting so much energy in a HIIT workout that your body wants food? I'm not too sure though. Sorry I'm not much help!

Foamroller

If I'm in anaerobic zone, I lose hunger due to a cocktail of "high" hormones. It could be you're exercising out of comfort zone but not doing HIIT? To get the benefits reported by HIIT protocols, one needs to be totally heaving for breath, panting hard, heart racing. I do not recommend doing this intensity for more than max 2x/wk, cause you need to rest the muscles properly in between.

But any exercise is better than nothing! It's also stepping stones.

Exercise in general is known to be appetite inducing, due to increased demand.

Edit: When doing anaerobic zone you enter "flight" response. So the hormones are different than in normal exercise.

FitToLead

I don't know about HIT. For most exercise, weights, gym sessions, cycling, even tipping 85-90% of HR max, the hormones or something just give me such a high I don't want to eat, til the next day and I seem to need higher carbs for a day.

KenSmith108

Weird Science
If I start hungry usually at the end of walking I'm not hungry anymore.
Start fasted & I'm ready to eat the whole cow when I get home.

or

KnitOrMiss

stacicali wrote: »

I've been doing LCHF (under 100 g of carbs per day) since Feb and have been pleased with the results and lack of hunger. I've mostly done 30 minutes of strength training 2-3 times per week with no hunger problems.

The last week or so, I've incorporated HIIT (high intensity interval training) once or twice a week and am struggling with carb cravings for the first time since changing my diet. Has anyone else run into this? I've read HIIT is so good for me, but I question if I should keep going if it makes me this hangry.

@staciali I would guess that if you aren't fully fat adapted for the "sprint-equivalent" of HIIT, you're still sugar-burning at first, and that's leading to excess hunger. I'd focus on fat adapting OR loading with fats or a small bit of your already assigned carbs right before your workout so that you burn through it before the stored glycogen, etc. Personally, I'd probably focus on fully fat adapting before getting back into HIIT...longer term gains there.

tinywonder25

Anytime I'm in beast mode , lifting, hiit for longer than 15 min or intense cardio, I get incredibly hungry. I have to think conservation . What's going to burn calories but not exhaust me. I've gone from gaining to losing with that mentality because when I'm in a ravenous state I make TERRIBLE food choices and eat back my calories.

Working2BLean

I can get hungry and even hungover after an all out HIIT interval session of only 24 minutes.

HIIT that is at 100% HRM is something I may only do once every two weeks. It is just taxing on the body. Granted it is great for breaking plateaus, but it comes at a cost of exerting extra will power the next day. I seem to think that when I am run down if I eat it will go away.

Intervals at 90% HRM will make me hungry at night. Actually anything will make me hungry... I think eating a higher fat and protein diet is the only thing that slows my appetite.

Exercise does nothing to my appetite!