Is this normal?

neffyworld

I used to have a personal trainer working out with me 2-3x a week, and at least 50% of the time I would buy fast food afterwards. I had trouble controlling my cravings, and ignored the fact that I had just worked really hard to burn off calories. As a result, I didn't lose any weight.

I'm thinking about getting a personal trainer again in the future if my financial situation changes. Would it just be a waste of money for me?

Is this something lots of people do after working out? How do you stop this destructive behaviour and focus on your goals?

cmriverside

Only you can answer the personal trainer question.

I lost 80+ pounds in 2007-08 and have kept it off and don't even have a gym membership (so no trainer.) I guess it depends on your personal goals.

I used to swim for two hours and then go to Subway, but I knew that meal would fit into my plan, and I loaded that sandwich with every vegetable they had and didn't have dressing or chips or a drink. I think the sandwich was like 450 calories? Normal meal for me anyway.

I'd say maybe have a pre-prepared snack in your gym bag or buy a protein shake at the gym.

springlering62

I always make it a point to have a good lunch before going to see my trainer. If I don’t want something super heavy before hand, I’ll eat part before I go, and the rest afterwards. Like maybe a chicken sausage on white bread before, and another or a big salad afterwards.

Or I will save several of my breakfast pancakes to eat as a snack between my morning workout and the early afternoon training session to tide me over til I can have the big lunch.

If you’re struggling that hard with grabbing something afterwards, consider drinking a large glass or bottle of water as soon as you’re done working out. Our bodies often mistake dehydration for hunger. By the time you’ve settled in the car and headed out, water might have settled and stave off the hunger.

At the very least, have a healthy snack on hand.

It’s not particularly healthy, but I bought a case of Oreo candy canes and keep one handy.they taste good, last a long time, and sometimes that little 45 calorie sugar hit is just the ticket before or after a training session.

I also keep a small bag of hard lemon or ginger drops in my yoga bag for a quick 5 calorie refresher between classes. This works for me because I’m not a fan of hard candy, so there’s absolutely no risk of me going hog wild.

sijomial

Is this something lots of people do after working out?
No idea, I've never seen this before. Not sure it matters if others do it or not though?

How do you stop this destructive behaviour and focus on your goals?
For me gym workouts just fit in my normal day and normal eating patterns.
(Different for multi-hour bike roads though which demand targetted nutritional strategies.)
Plan better? If you know you will be hungry think about what you really want to eat. Or eat before you go perhaps or plan and prepare what you want to eat afterwards?

Ultimately it comes down to making choices, you might have an impulse to visit a fast food outlet but following though on that impulse is optional and you can choose not to.
As is what and how much you buy at that outlet a choice if you do decide to go there.

I would add your focus on the gym for burning calories isn't helping your persepctive, in reality the gym is for exercise benefits and not weight loss. If you eat what you burned you are still improving your fitness - I wouldn't regard that as a waste of time and money but rather as investing in your health.

rosebarnalice

Maybe considering what you order will lead you to a clue. After a long swim, what I would crave would be cheap chicken nuggets and fries. I tried packing a handful of peanut-butter filled pretzels as a post-workout snack figuring that what my body wanted was salt,quick carbs and protein. Worked like a charm!

The big water is a key as well. I definitely experience the thirsty-not-hungry phenomenon. Sometimes 40 oz of water is all I need to kill any post-workout cravings

wunderkindking

Honestly? My solution is just plan it and pre-log it - whether it's a post-fairly-intense activity or just busy. I plan on going, pick my specific location, pick my order, put it into MFP and just... eat it and otherwise stay within my calorie goal.

Otherwise I don't plan it, log it after, haven't rearranged my other eating for the day around it, and it's a problem and I feel bad. When I just decide I'm doing it, pick an order that reasonably fits my nutrition and weight goals and then eat it, it's not a big thing.

And doesn't do any harm to my goals even if it's a three times a week thing. Also when done that way it doesn't feel as 'fun' (or as likely to set up a cycle of eating it, feeling guilty, arguing with myself, eating it again, etc) because I've already committed to my order that's probably not the huge meal. So, I eventually decide I don't really WANT that thing all that much and I might as well go home and eat some oatmeal (or whatever).

Onedaywriter

When I first started working out I found that if I worked out in the morning I’d be hungry all day. So I started working out right before dinner. I’d have dinner ready and waiting- learned how to use the on/off timer on my oven or did crock pot or instant pot stuff. This worked great for me. I’d workout, then eat a healthy dinner as soon as I got home (often before showering - gross).

I guess what really worked was knowing I’d want food- quickly- and having something decent ready.

Now I can pretty much workout anytime of day without the ravenous hunger immediately following. I guess I just had to get used to it.

csplatt

I agree with the poster who told you to pre plan and pre log your post workout meal. I don’t use one on one trainers but I like group directed workouts like boot camps or OrangeTheory. If you wear a heart rate monitor you can guesstimate your average calorie burn per session and use that number to pre plan your meals for the day. Working out doesn’t make me want fast food. I feel so strong afterwards that it motivates me to eat well the rest of the day (while also enjoying a few extra calories)

spiriteagle99

To some extent, it's about creating new habits. Instead of rewarding yourself with junk food after a hard workout, find other ways to reward yourself. If you're starving, find other foods that will fill you up that are quick and easy. At first it's a matter of discipline, saying no to the bad choices. After a while it gets a lot easier because you get used to saying no to the junk.

Yesterday I did an 8 mile run from the grocery at lunchtime. When I finished, I was starving. Going to the grocery was torture; I wanted to eat anything sweet to get some quick energy. But, because I have learned how to exert some control, I did my shopping, drove home and ate a turkey sandwich instead. If I really hadn't been able to wait, I had bananas and apples in my cart.

SnifterPug

I would discuss this with the personal trainer. I have found that money spent on a personal trainer is rarely wasted if, and ONLY if, the trainer is any good.

Now you know of this propensity it may be that the exercise you did before was of a type that really ramped up your appetite. So it may be better to do a different type. For instance I am at my hungriest after swimming and at my least hungry after heavy weight lifting, even if the swim was a leisurely 30 mins burning few calories and the weightlifting was 90 minutes of absolutely beasting it and burning a lot more calories.