I get hungry after a workout

Fivefeetandhalf

So after my workout which is mainly low cardio I get hungry after a workout. I eat breakfast before I go to the gym and I drink lots of water during my workout.
I don't understand why I feel such hunger
Any advice??

Lesscookies1

I normally pack a protein bar and nuts as a post workout snack. I eat it after a workout, and drink some water after. It really helps me feel more refreshed and not hungry.

ZRunner5Lulaica

Lesscookies1 wrote: »

I normally pack a protein bar and nuts as a post workout snack. I eat it after a workout, and drink some water after. It really helps me feel more refreshed and not hungry.

Same. I pack nuts or jerky (or if I'm feeling fancy, trail mix). It doesn't fill me up, but it helps with the sudden workout hunger.

kenyonhaff

It isn't so weird that your body wants a recharge after working out. Eat!

steveko89

Steady-state cardio always makes me hungry, especially longer-ish distances. There are a few 10ks my wife and I do every year and it's tradition for to stop at Waffle House on the way home and consume an embarrassing amount of breakfast foods. The most recent one we did was on 2/10, between the post-race samples from sponsor tents and Waffle House I racked up 2115 calories before 12pm.

WillingtoLose1001984

Fivefeetandhalf wrote: »

So after my workout which is mainly low cardio I get hungry after a workout. I eat breakfast before I go to the gym and I drink lots of water during my workout.
I don't understand why I feel such hunger
Any advice??

It's interesting how people are different. If I do a hard cardio workout, I am not hungry for a while. Intensity can make a difference in hunger. If you ate less than normal the day before you might also be more hungry after a workout. You could be due for a meal as well.

MostlyWater

Cardio makes a person hungry. That's normal and usual. You're working hard!

donnapal79

I find that eating breakfast in general makes me hungrier over the course of the day than skipping it, or at least eating it later. Do you have to have breakfast before working out? You may want to try working out in a fasted state then eating afterwards. I find this significantly lowers my appetite. But that's not for everyone.

cwolfman13

Fivefeetandhalf wrote: »

So after my workout which is mainly low cardio I get hungry after a workout. I eat breakfast before I go to the gym and I drink lots of water during my workout.
I don't understand why I feel such hunger
Any advice??

Uhhhh...that's pretty normal. You're expending energy...your body wants to recoup that energy.

megs_1985

What’s up with all the wooing?

Anyway, just eat something. Maybe lighten your breakfast so you have room to eat after the workout.

catherineg3

I think this is a pretty typical feeling. the cardio workout depletes glycogen stores and that will cause lower blood sugar after the workout. if you decide to have a post-workout snack, include some protein.

Also, this depends on what you are eating for breakfast. a typical breakfast can be very high carb and may include things like cereal, pastries, toast, hash browns, pancakes, waffles, muffins, oatmeal, milk, yogurt, fruit, orange juice. All of these will give you a big immediate rise in blood sugar and energy, then a couple hours later, which may be coincidentally after the workout, blood sugar drops to very low. I find that when I feel the most hunger, my blood sugar level is low. I would suggest trying a higher protein breakfast like eggs for a few days and see if that makes a difference. I find lower carbohydrate meals with higher protein and fat keep me feeling full longer, and keep my energy and blood sugar levels steady instead of the rollercoaster of ups and downs.

ninerbuff

Fivefeetandhalf wrote: »

So after my workout which is mainly low cardio I get hungry after a workout. I eat breakfast before I go to the gym and I drink lots of water during my workout.
I don't understand why I feel such hunger
Any advice??

Um because you reduced your energy balance by exercise? Remember when as a kid, you'd swim for like an hour or so then come out starving?

A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

stanmann571

So skip breakfast, or split breakfast, or move calories from somewhere else.

Don't punish your body with un-necessary hunger/cravings.

sijomial

I don't understand why I feel such hunger
You've burned off some energy so it makes sense for your body to tell you to replace that energy.

Any advice??
Don't make your deficit too large.
Do log and eat back your exercise calories.
Plan to take your hunger into account- if you know you are going to be hungry plan your eating around that fact.

sijomial

For the attention of the person clicking the woo button - it's a negative button to denote BS, it isn't "woo-hoo that's great advice" it's "woo - you are talking nonsense."

StevefromMichigan

WillingtoLose1001984 wrote: »

Fivefeetandhalf wrote: »

So after my workout which is mainly low cardio I get hungry after a workout. I eat breakfast before I go to the gym and I drink lots of water during my workout.
I don't understand why I feel such hunger
Any advice??

It's interesting how people are different. If I do a hard cardio workout, I am not hungry for a while. Intensity can make a difference in hunger. If you ate less than normal the day before you might also be more hungry after a workout. You could be due for a meal as well.

For me, it's the next day that I am usually ravenous...and even more so after strength training.

mfpfreedomnow

Brewing fresh ginger and drinking it with a milk helps with the hunger pangs.

StevefromMichigan

mfpfreedomnow wrote: »

Brewing fresh ginger and drinking it with a milk helps with the hunger pangs.

Ginger tea?

mfpfreedomnow

StevefromMichigan wrote: »

mfpfreedomnow wrote: »

Brewing fresh ginger and drinking it with a milk helps with the hunger pangs.

Ginger tea?

Yep! Ginger tea with a decent amount of milk.

Lesscookies1

I've recently started to pack some clementines it's amazing.

StevefromMichigan

mfpfreedomnow wrote: »

StevefromMichigan wrote: »

mfpfreedomnow wrote: »

Brewing fresh ginger and drinking it with a milk helps with the hunger pangs.

Ginger tea?

Yep! Ginger tea with a decent amount of milk.

Hmm. Don't really like it, but maybe in this case that's a plus?

goatg

Being hungry after a workout is normal. If you have a heart rate monitor, staying in zone 2 will burn more fat than glycogen, which results in you feeling less hungry afterwards. A good rule of thumb, when you're trying to lose weight, is eating back 50% of the calories you burned.

psychod787

After walking as well I get hungry! After a heavy hypertrophy work out, it takes several hours to get hungry again. I still wonder why? Sometimes my lifting will burn just as many calories as an hour of cardio?!?! Milk is not a bad post work out. It has protein and lactose sugar for recovery!

Aaron_K123

Well when you exercise you burn calories so it only makes sense that you would feel hungry as a result...pretty natural really. Honestly if you are exercising you need to eat more to compensate for that anyways so I'd say most likely you should just go ahead and eat (but track calories).

angelsja

Organise your workout before a meal I usually work out before lunch