trying to increase exercise - increased snacking - HELP

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caroline_mason42
caroline_mason42 Posts: 83 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hi I am after some advice, I am a full time working mum and my day usually starts at 4:45 with 50 minutes on the cross trainer (fat burn around 5.5 miles run), then drop the little ones at school - off to work then back and finish around 20:00....so I am averaging around 21000 steps per day but the issue is with an early start, a relatively late tea and over 10 miles walked / run per day i am so hungry i am snacking and ruining the exercise i have done........any ideas to keep the hunger at bay, I cannot go hungry as low blood sugar makes me a grumpy mummy which is not good at all :-)

Thanks for any advice

Replies

  • Paizzaz
    Paizzaz Posts: 33
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    I tend to get really hungry after I work out so I just plan on it. I hate exercise in a fasted state so I just split up what I'll be eating. For example, scrambled egg whites before a morning work out and a bagel after. If I go to an evening class I just plan on eating a late dinner that night. I might end up eating an extra snack but this helps me maintain my deficit.
  • caroline_mason42
    caroline_mason42 Posts: 83 Member
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    I need to try that as I am sure I end up eating more with a crisp here and there, the odd bit of chicken, the odd sweetie etc than if I saved it up and had a proper snack :-)
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
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    Nothing wrong with a snack, so long as you fit it in to your daily calories. Maybe keep pre-portioned snacks in the car/in your purse so that you're getting more satisfaction than the odd sweets and nibbles? I am desk-bound for work, but I keep Fiber one bars and fruit on hand so that I don't succumb to the vending machine. Bagged nuts can also be good, just make sure you weigh them (30 grams of walnuts are 195 calories- a handful could easily be more).
  • caroline_mason42
    caroline_mason42 Posts: 83 Member
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    Thank you, you are right I just need to be more organised but when hunger bites then the quick fix i think is my downfall - Oops
  • PJPrimrose
    PJPrimrose Posts: 916 Member
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    Being hungry is pretty much a good sign that you are not eating enough calories to maintain your exercise levels. I work out HARD. My burns are anywhere from 700-800 as close as you can get to accurate. Sparing/drills in Martial Arts burns up a tremendous amount of energy. I was eating 1600-1700 calories a day to lose and never felt hungry. I lost 9 pounds in a month. (My goal) I now eat 2000-2300 a day to maintain.

    A lot of folks on here have problems with being hungry, bingeing, not feeling like working out (lethargy) and fight their bodies working out hard while barely surviving on 1200-1300 calories a day. This is especially true with women. If you are working out you need energy to make muscle!

    Check to make sure you are eating enough:smile:
  • tibby531
    tibby531 Posts: 717 Member
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    Being hungry is pretty much a good sign that you are not eating enough calories to maintain your exercise levels. I work out HARD. My burns are anywhere from 700-800 as close as you can get to accurate. Sparing/drills in Martial Arts burns up a tremendous amount of energy. I was eating 1600-1700 calories a day to lose and never felt hungry. I lost 9 pounds in a month. (My goal) I now eat 2000-2300 a day to maintain.

    A lot of folks on here have problems with being hungry, bingeing, not feeling like working out (lethargy) and fight their bodies working out hard while barely surviving on 1200-1300 calories a day. This is especially true with women. If you are working out you need energy to make muscle!

    Check to make sure you are eating enough:smile:

    this. :)
  • Mischievous_Rascal
    Mischievous_Rascal Posts: 1,791 Member
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    Being hungry is pretty much a good sign that you are not eating enough calories to maintain your exercise levels. I work out HARD. My burns are anywhere from 700-800 as close as you can get to accurate. Sparing/drills in Martial Arts burns up a tremendous amount of energy. I was eating 1600-1700 calories a day to lose and never felt hungry. I lost 9 pounds in a month. (My goal) I now eat 2000-2300 a day to maintain.

    A lot of folks on here have problems with being hungry, bingeing, not feeling like working out (lethargy) and fight their bodies working out hard while barely surviving on 1200-1300 calories a day. This is especially true with women. If you are working out you need energy to make muscle!

    Check to make sure you are eating enough:smile:

    QFT.

    Your life sounds busier than mine, and I know cross training burns more calories than my routine, and I maintain on 2500 total intake day. What activity level did you use when you set up your account? You may need to change your settings to a more active level, and make sure you're eating back your exercise calories. MFP sets you up with a healthy deficit, but it's only as accurate as the info you put in. Also, the goal is to reach that calorie level, not to be under it. That would be undereating, right?
  • ftrobbie
    ftrobbie Posts: 1,017 Member
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    It depends on why you are eating. Personally I found it difficult to differentiate between hunger and boredom. So I logged why I was eating. However I have found planning eating little and often works for me keeping the hunger pangs at bay. I used to be a big early breakfast and a late bigger dinner man, with plenty of unplanned snacking in between. As suggested earlier I prep lots of snacks and tend to eat them every two to three hours. I know I can keep going for the last hour before the next feed. This has turned me a 4000 cals a day man to somewhere between 1800 and 2100 depending on exercise whilst maintaining a 1000 cal deficit a day. I have found it to help me
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
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    Not eating enough is a good possibility. Your diary is closed so I can't even make that determination. It could also be WHAT you eat. If you are filling up on foods that are digested quickly its easy to take in a LOT of calories and still be hungry.

    If you ARE eating a good amount then I'd recommend making sure that your first meal of the day ( when ever it occurs) has a good mixture of carbs fat and protein (especially protein) I am also up at 4:50, at the gym by 6:30 for 1.5 hours, I don't eat until I get to work around 9. Breakfast is 372 calories, 52 carb, 4 fat & 35 protein (my diary is open if you want to see). That usually keeps me going almost until dinner ( I have salad for lunch and snack on veggies and fruit in the afternoon)

    If you find you are starving by the time you get home then have some cut up veggies in the fridge to snack on - this will avoid you eating anything in sight while you are making dinner. Be prepared! Don't be scared to snack - just make the snacks good choices and you will be fine ;)

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