Planning Meals/Snacks Around Workouts!

katiepaulag

Normally I'm pretty good with this, but today has just been so weird!

Had my normal 300cal breakfast - was hungry halfway through my first lecture today so snacked on a Larabar. Came home, did a small workout, then had a decent lunch. Was hungry again about 1-1.5hrs later! Had my snack and I'm still not satisfied. So irritating!

What do you people find through experience - small snack before working out or working out on an empty stomach? Bigger meal after working out? Or is this something I should just experiment with over this week to figure out what works best for me now?

4legsRbetterthan2

katiepaulag wrote: »

Or is this something I should just experiment with over this week to figure out what works best for me now?

This. In my experience meal timing really varies from person to person. I like 3 big meals a day. Some people love 6 small meals. Some eat breakfast. I find breakfast just makes me hungry all morning.

Good luck!

apullum

I eat a piece of fruit before I work out, sometimes with a little peanut butter, and something more substantial after--anything from a protein bar to a meal, depending on how hungry I am. If I eat too much before a workout, I feel sick, so I'd personally not do that. If I'm feeling hungry despite having eaten, it's often because I'm eating a lot of carbs and not a lot of protein. Are you getting a proportional balance of macros from your food so far?

katiepaulag

@4legsRbetterthan2 Thanks for your input! I'm a 3 meal with a couple snacks if necessary kinda gal, but workout days I might have to try something different. Looks like it's going to be a fun week of experiments!

@apullum , I don't usually track my macros that intently, but I do try to eat a decent mix of protein/carb/fat. I think today I might've been a bit carb heavy so that might've also done it. I looked back on what I ate today and that's probably the culprit. Definitely gonna have to adjust accordingly tomorrow!

LiveLoveFitFab

I suffer from low blood sugar a lot of the time.
As a result, I like to graze on little things all day and have a substantial dinner and I try to save more than 350 calories per day for my bedtime snack because that's when I'm really hungry.

I try to time my workouts so that they are right before dinner because working out makes me hungry!

I like a piece of toast with peanut butter before going to the gym, or something similar with complex carbs and healthy fats. Otherwise I get hungry in the middle of a workout and I can't seem to finish it, or if I do I wimp out from low blood sugar. I'd rather eat 250 calories before going to the gym and then be able to burn off 500 than go on an empty stomach and struggle to burn 300 calories.

When counting calories, it often isn't enough to just stay in budget. Just like money, you kind of have to figure out how to budget those calories so you can get the most out of your day and workout. We all have times of day that we are hungriest at, and those times are individual to each person, so what works for me might not work for you.

It sounds like you are one of those folks who either gets hungrier because they ate breakfast or are really hungry in the mornings. If you are hungrier because you ate breakfast try fasting until lunch time. If you are just a morning hungry person, try filling yourself up with complex carbs, healthy fats and protein in the morning and use maybe 1/3 or so of your daily calories to do so. If doing so helps you go for most of the day and you are satisfied with a snack in the afternoon and a sensible dinner, you will have found the right combination.

You just have to experiment. We are all different. Some people exercise on an empty stomach, which I could never do. It's all personal and all part of being unique!