The less I exercise, the more I eat

alaliberte

Does anyone else find that when they don't exercise during the day (exercise other than walking) that they are hungrier? I'm in this cycle of hard core exercise one day (80+ minutes) and rest the next...I almost never eat all the calories from my day of exercise, but the next day (rest day) I'm ravenous!

MFP doesn't account for the fact that you ate much less than you should have the day before, and the extra calories don't "roll over." But my body is saying it needs to catch up!

What do you all do about that? Thanks!!

frugalmomsrock

I have been caring for a sick baby this week and haven't been to the gym... I've been walking, but it isn't helping. I am eating like mad... I think it's just boredom, but I'm used to working out 90 minutes (or more) per day! It's driving me CRAZY!!!

*I also eat a lot the day after not eating enough net calories...

theosardar

i know what you mean the same happens to me!

i find eating lots of vedge helps as it fills you up and had few calories. try raw carrots as a snack as there slightly sweet and fill you up, or normandy fromage frais, as this can be had with homey or fruit and has soo few calories

hope this may help a little.

Elleinnz

Yep - that is exactly why you need to make sure that you eat more on the days that you workout....
If I dont eat properly on my training days I get terrible, uncontrollable munchies the next day....

If you are working out plan your day, and make sure you start eating more right from breakfast, bigger lunch, protein rich afternoon snack etc, so you dont have to eat over a 1000 calories at night

DaniellePF

I know how you feel 100%. I tend to have that "all or nothing" attitude, so on days I don't work out I am not as motivated to eat healthy--partly because 1200 calories (my daily limit on MFP) is not realistic for me and I feel defeated before I start. On days I work out, I think: "I got myself to the gym today, I'm going to make darn sure I didn't ruin my efforts with food choices!" That's why I don't take rest days anymore, just days where I might do a little less.

Venice34

I would advise no full rest days. Just meaning do a lighter workout break a sweat & stop so you get the endorphine rush ( I think that's what it's called) but it suppresses appetite naturally. Hope this helps!! Good luck!

DaniellePF

I have been caring for a sick baby this week and haven't been to the gym... I've been walking, but it isn't helping. I am eating like mad... I think it's just boredom, but I'm used to working out 90 minutes (or more) per day! It's driving me CRAZY!!!

*I also eat a lot the day after not eating enough net calories...

Oh, I feel for you so much! I hate it when my daughter is sick! It really does take a toll on your fitness as well. :-(

killagb

It's not a big deal to "rollover" your calories from the day before. It's easier to think of it in terms of the entire week. I just had a day a couple days ago, where I ran and ended up late at night with almost 1100 calories to go and I was completely not hungry, which I normally manage just fine. I just figured forget staying up just to eat and went to bed and enjoyed the next day by using some of the calories I didn't eat the day before, I went over by 500 calories that day, and I very well might try to go over by 500 today too, to make up for it.

eta: It's very much just like zig zagging your calories, it's about your net calorie deficit for the week.

kellyscomeback

MFP doesn't account for the fact that you ate much less than you should have the day before, and the extra calories don't "roll over." But my body is saying it needs to catch up!

The cals aren't suppose to roll over. If I eat back most of my calories I'm fine the next day because I didn't, in a way to put it, starve myself. If you were to eat back most of the cals during your intense day's you will probably find yourself less hungry the next days.

deathstarclock

You're hungry because you're body is in a state of recovery. You need energy to rebuild all those muscle fibers that were stressed during exercise. So naturally you'll want to eat a little bit more. That and many other factors will affect your metabolic rate. There's no such thing as "roll-over" calories. Those kinds of ideas influence terrible eating habits.

taqefu

I don't agree with all the posts saying, "rolling over calories" is a bad thing. You should look at your caloric intake on a larger perspective, say, weekly. Just make sure to do your math and not just estimate your weekly intake.

I am maintaining my weight for over a year now. I exercise 2-3 times a week (strength and cardio), usually burning around 600kcal. Since I go to the gym in the evenings I usually don't manage to eat up my exercise calories, leaving me with a deficit of, say, 400-600 that day. I tend to eat a little more the next day (usually it's around 200-300 extra calories I need to be satisfied). I have learned to listen to my body - it just needs some extra energy for recovery and building muscle!

You may have noticed that these eating habits leave me with some extra calories to spend each week. I use them on the weekends or special occasions, i.e. for a nice dinner on saturday. This works perfectly for me, even without tracking everything I eat.

So, instead of stuffing yourself on exercise days, listen to your body's signals and just allow yourself a little more food the next day. Of course - make sure you don't overeat and stay within your long-term limits. You might also think about what kind of food you're giving to your body. Generally speaking, you will need some carbs before exercise and some protein afterwards.

There are even diet plans that recommend to vary your daily caloric intake in order to spike your metabolism. Just google "caloric cycling", this actually describes pretty good what I've been doing naturally without any plans.

funkycamper

I don't agree with all the posts saying, "rolling over calories" is a bad thing. You should look at your caloric intake on a larger perspective, say, weekly. Just make sure to do your math and not just estimate your weekly intake.

I am maintaining my weight for over a year now. I exercise 2-3 times a week (strength and cardio), usually burning around 600kcal. Since I go to the gym in the evenings I usually don't manage to eat up my exercise calories, leaving me with a deficit of, say, 400-600 that day. I tend to eat a little more the next day (usually it's around 200-300 extra calories I need to be satisfied). I have learned to listen to my body - it just needs some extra energy for recovery and building muscle!

You may have noticed that these eating habits leave me with some extra calories to spend each week. I use them on the weekends or special occasions, i.e. for a nice dinner on saturday. This works perfectly for me, even without tracking everything I eat.

So, instead of stuffing yourself on exercise days, listen to your body's signals and just allow yourself a little more food the next day. Of course - make sure you don't overeat and stay within your long-term limits. You might also think about what kind of food you're giving to your body. Generally speaking, you will need some carbs before exercise and some protein afterwards.

There are even diet plans that recommend to vary your daily caloric intake in order to spike your metabolism. Just google "caloric cycling", this actually describes pretty good what I've been doing naturally without any plans.

Exactly! This is what I've been doing and it works great. It helps that the Android app gives me my weekly average including telling me how much under my weekly deficit I am. Don't know why the website doesn't do that, too. Since the week is from Sunday to Saturday on the app, this means that I can bank calories to eat more on the weekend when there are social activities and know how much more I can eat without going over my weekly goal. This doesn't mean pig out on lots of junk but just allowing myself a little extra here and there.

I fell into this accidentally as I was frustrated because I, too, on my more intense exercise days was finding it impossible to eat enough. Searching around for an answer led me to posts about calorie cycling or zig-zagging calories. Since I also want to boost my metabolism and since they claim zig-zagging can help do this, I'm all for it.

alaliberte

Thanks all, very good suggestions!!

swimmchick87

I'm the same way. Theoretically, I know my weight is a lot more dependent on what I eat than excercise. However, I've always just found that excercising puts me in that "healthy mindset" and I simply don't overeat when I excercise, even if all I did was walk for 30 minutes on the treadmill. As soon as I stop excercising, I feel like I'm "being unhealthy" so I end up getting way off track with my eating as well.

alaliberte

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