More hungry the day after a big work out

kokonutmama

Hey, I know this question has a pretty simple solution; what I'm wondering is whether anyone else is in the same boat.

I work out, usually burning about 250-500 cal, about 6 days a week on no particular schedule. Since I'm watching and logging my intake and cardio, I've noticed that if I work out particularly hard one day, I feel like I'm overeating to get to the goal calories, and then the next day I run out of calories at lunch, still hungry. On the other hand, on days when I don't work out at all, I feel deprived on the eating front, and then the next day I feel like I have extra at the end of the day.

I'm thinking that the solution to this is to log exercise the day after actually doing it, so I can eat more when my body wants to. Has anyone else tried this? Does anyone have thoughts on whether it could backfire on me in some way?

Sacredmaiden

I would go ahead and log your exercise when you do it, but listen to your body the day of and the day after.

Technically, the calories burned "during" exercise are actually burned during sleep, while your body repairs your muscles from the activity. Consequently, you may not feel hungry until the day after. If you find yourself famished the next morning (happens to me all the time), make sure you fill up on good, whole foods. I usually eat scrambled eggs with loads of veggies in them. That way I get protein as well as enzymes and vitamins.

Also, keep in mind that your body is a delicate machine. Working out 6 days a week without good rest (at least 7 hours) is probably more damaging to your body than it is helpful. If you find yourself tired and/or hungry all the time, give yourself a day's rest (complete with 8+ hours of sleep!) between workout sessions and see how it helps you.

paddlemom

I do length swims in the evening 3X week and I am totally with you... the day after the swim is my hungry day! Since I don't like to work out on a full tummy anyway, I tend to plan my eating so that I eat lightly on the swimming day and basically eat those exercise calories the following day when my body is craving them.

Logging is just for personal tracking anyway, so I still log what I eat and exercise on the day it occurs. That way I am tracking what is truly my behaviour and it does keep me "honest" on the next day - so that I don't totally give my self the option to go overboard cause I am hungry, or more importantly, not hungry but eat extra calories because I "deserved to" from the day before.

kokonutmama

I actually need to work out almost every day; it's my medication for migraines. I also sleep 9 hours a night, and have been doing both for ages, so I think I'm ok there. Yes! I wake up ravenous every day; I don't know how people skip breakfast!

Anyway, I thought about it some more, and decided that it's best to log accurately rather than try to mess with the system. I very much appreciate your input and knowing that I'm not the only one out there.

I used to do long swims at night, too, when I had a pool available. Such a nice way to end a day isn't it?

paddlemom

I love my night swims...

I'm sure the rest of the girls in the changeroom think I'm nuts, cause I swim, have my shower then go home with my hair in a towel and "commando" under my track suit! When I get home, I fall into bed and lights out!!!

BrendaLee

There are days where I will burn 1000 calories in a day, and not be a bit hungry that evening, or it will end up being too late to eat- so I don't. I never force calories in. I find if I go to bed with all of those extra calories, within a day or two my body will crave them, and I'll make up for them.

Log your exercise when you do it, that way, if you want to look back at the data in the future to see what was working best for you, or maybe what didn't work at specific times, you'll have accurate data.

BrendaLee

I love my night swims...

I'm sure the rest of the girls in the changeroom think I'm nuts, cause I swim, have my shower then go home with my hair in a towel and "commando" under my track suit! When I get home, I fall into bed and lights out!!!

That actually sounds awesome.

BrendaLee

I would go ahead and log your exercise when you do it, but listen to your body the day of and the day after.

Technically, the calories burned "during" exercise are actually burned during sleep, while your body repairs your muscles from the activity. Consequently, you may not feel hungry until the day after. If you find yourself famished the next morning (happens to me all the time), make sure you fill up on good, whole foods. I usually eat scrambled eggs with loads of veggies in them. That way I get protein as well as enzymes and vitamins.

Also, keep in mind that your body is a delicate machine. Working out 6 days a week without good rest (at least 7 hours) is probably more damaging to your body than it is helpful. If you find yourself tired and/or hungry all the time, give yourself a day's rest (complete with 8+ hours of sleep!) between workout sessions and see how it helps you.

Your post made me think- this is how we should treat our bodies. Sometimes we push them so, so hard, and don't give them much back in return, and then we wonder why our bodies feel (and look) so worn down after a while.

iplayoutside19

This happens to me all the time. Not so much on days when I'm at work, where I have an office job. But when I have an off day, or on the weekends I am so active, and get such good work outs in, that it's not un-common for me to have a deficit of 2000 calories at the end of the day. I can't possibly eat them all.

What I noticed the next day, I just cannot eat enough. In that case it's Ok to get the calories back. Just remember you're shooting for a net defecit over a peroid of time; not just a 24 hours peroid. You're probably fine if you go over for a 24 hour peroid, but for a 72 hours peroid you're hitting your goals.

Also, work in some rest. By the end of my work out week, I'm sore, I'm kind of dragging. I take a few days away from anything really streanous, and after two days I feel incredible and ready to get back after it.

I know this is an instant gratification society, but our bodie's don't work like that. There's a reason The Bible, Koran and Tora tell people to rest.