Advice on exercise and increased appetites

rcolwell11

I am a college student looking to lose 15-20 pounds. I have a history of both anorexia and bulimia; however, these have been addressed and fully under control for a few years. I'm looking to lose some of the 65 pounds I gained years ago in recovery.
Here's my question:

I'm an avid runner. I have recently been challenging myself with incorporating weight lifting and group high intensity classes. However, when exercising strenuously in an attempt to lose the weight I obviously become hungry for much more than my 1600 calorie goal, but do not want to overeat and essentially eat back all that I burned off. However, I also refuse to go to bed hungry after my history of doing so. I end up eating back up to about 300-400 additional calories when I burn off anywhere from 300-800.

How do you all confront your increased appetites from exercise?

protein321

I do a few things:
1: Chew gum between meals.
2: High protein intake, 1 gram/LBM - You also need this if you lift weights.
3: Green tea and black coffee.
4: I personally drink 1-1.5 gallons of water a day. (stay hydrated)

AliceDark

So what you're doing is eating back some, if not all, of your exercise calories, right? That's exactly what you're supposed to do. I would typically say to make sure you're getting enough protein, but I peeked at your diary and your protein intake looks great. It really seems like you're on the right track and you probably don't need to change much, if anything.

wonderwoman234

Try fueling your runs before you go and having something healthy and nutritious after. Then the rest of your day you should not be any more hungry. You don't need extra energy after your workout if you fuel it beforehand (with something carby) and then right after.

jaxdave0

Do you weigh yourself weekly? That way you can keep track if you are losing or gaining weight on your current calories and make adjustments accordingly. You may actualy not being eating enough or be over your maintanence calories as much as you think. Either way...great job so far!