Post Workout Starvation

melnia89
melnia89 Posts: 34 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I've been having a small issue not every time I workout, but I would say once or twice a week, where I am absolutely starving after a workout. Before my workout I will have a bowl of cereal or oatmeal and a piece of fruit or a granola bar. This is driving me nuts because it throws me off all day. Any advice is welcome.

Replies

  • XtyAnn17
    XtyAnn17 Posts: 632 Member
    Eat a small snack post workout your body probably needs the fuel
  • melnia89
    melnia89 Posts: 34 Member
    Today I had a salad and hard boiled egg and I inhaled it. I'm surprised I didn't get sick.
  • JenJenS5
    JenJenS5 Posts: 31 Member
    Its okay to be hungry after a workout! I usually am too. I have been told my personal trainers and my athletic trainer that you really need to refuel after a workout. You should have at least 15 grams of protein after a hard workout. If its pretty intense, I always go to a whey protein shake with water. My protein is about 110 calories and its great for building lean muscle mass. Oh! and it should be within 45 minutes of when the workout ended.
  • melnia89
    melnia89 Posts: 34 Member
    Its okay to be hungry after a workout! I usually am too. I have been told my personal trainers and my athletic trainer that you really need to refuel after a workout. You should have at least 15 grams of protein after a hard workout. If its pretty intense, I always go to a whey protein shake with water. My protein is about 110 calories and its great for building lean muscle mass. Oh! and it should be within 45 minutes of when the workout ended.

    Thank you. I just feel like i'm overeating :(
  • SaShmy1022
    SaShmy1022 Posts: 38 Member
    I'm not a nutritionist, but after doing lots of reading on the subject, I personally have a mostly protein snack before working out - such as; cheese, hard boiled egg or a piece of ham with veggies and hummus. Then within 15-30 minutes after working out, I have a snack that's more carb-rich that also inludes protein - such as; toast with almond butter, half a sandwich, small bowl of oatmeal with a splash of milk and some walnuts.

    This works for me and keeps me super satisfied.
  • Hbazzell
    Hbazzell Posts: 899 Member
    Lean 15 whey protein is only 100 claories per serving and tastes good! It fills me up way longer than my normal breakfast of cereal or oatmeal. MAybe it would work for you.
  • sigsby
    sigsby Posts: 220 Member
    I felt that way today. I almost never eat before a workout. Afterwards i usually have a yogurt but didn't today. I wolfed down my dinner and now I feel overloaded. That snack makes a huge difference.
  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    Try eating after your workout instead of before. I always eat after because I tend to puke if I eat before but it might work if you had a really small thing before and eat after if you want to do both.
  • 00sarah
    00sarah Posts: 621 Member
    Totally agree! Eat after.... And drink tons of water!
  • izzy2185
    izzy2185 Posts: 1
    keep going!!! (no matter how hard it gets:wink: )
  • lawtechie
    lawtechie Posts: 708 Member
    Are you tracking everything you're eating? The few days in the past week where it appeared you had a full diary, you still had 200+ calories to spare. Eat if you're hungry -- especially after a workout. Your body needs the energy :)
    Its okay to be hungry after a workout! I usually am too. I have been told my personal trainers and my athletic trainer that you really need to refuel after a workout. You should have at least 15 grams of protein after a hard workout. If its pretty intense, I always go to a whey protein shake with water. My protein is about 110 calories and its great for building lean muscle mass. Oh! and it should be within 45 minutes of when the workout ended.

    Thank you. I just feel like i'm overeating :(
  • red_road
    red_road Posts: 761 Member
    I drink muscle milk during/after a workout.
  • melnia89
    melnia89 Posts: 34 Member
    Yes, except today where I had a few crackers with nutella, I normally track everything. Guess i'm just afraid to add on calories when I burned alot :)
    Are you tracking everything you're eating? The few days in the past week where it appeared you had a full diary, you still had 200+ calories to spare. Eat if you're hungry -- especially after a workout. Your body needs the energy :)
    Its okay to be hungry after a workout! I usually am too. I have been told my personal trainers and my athletic trainer that you really need to refuel after a workout. You should have at least 15 grams of protein after a hard workout. If its pretty intense, I always go to a whey protein shake with water. My protein is about 110 calories and its great for building lean muscle mass. Oh! and it should be within 45 minutes of when the workout ended.

    Thank you. I just feel like i'm overeating :(
  • rainbowbow
    rainbowbow Posts: 7,490 Member
    Wow, this is odd to me. Working out completely kills my appetite. Completely.


    Although to be fair I eat nothing before I work out or it makes me nauseous.
  • lawtechie
    lawtechie Posts: 708 Member
    You won't be 'adding on'. If you did'nt already know, MFP builds in your calorie deficit to give you the weight loss you're shooting for. Thus the whole 'eat back the exercise calories' speel. Anyways, esp after exercise eat it you're hungry :)
    Yes, except today where I had a few crackers with nutella, I normally track everything. Guess i'm just afraid to add on calories when I burned alot :)
    Are you tracking everything you're eating? The few days in the past week where it appeared you had a full diary, you still had 200+ calories to spare. Eat if you're hungry -- especially after a workout. Your body needs the energy :)
    Its okay to be hungry after a workout! I usually am too. I have been told my personal trainers and my athletic trainer that you really need to refuel after a workout. You should have at least 15 grams of protein after a hard workout. If its pretty intense, I always go to a whey protein shake with water. My protein is about 110 calories and its great for building lean muscle mass. Oh! and it should be within 45 minutes of when the workout ended.

    Thank you. I just feel like i'm overeating :(
  • Firefox7275
    Firefox7275 Posts: 2,040 Member
    Today I had a salad and hard boiled egg and I inhaled it. I'm surprised I didn't get sick.

    That is barely any calories or protein, if you need more have it. Try a lower glycaemic index meal containing both protein and carbs before you train. It concerns me that you are afraid to add calories and concerned about overeating when you are starving, don't let yourself get obsessed or this run your life. Food provides fuel for all your cells and tissues not the enemy, don't punish your body nourish it.
  • kcannane
    kcannane Posts: 3
    I agree with JenJen, my trainers have said the same thing - refuel after workout, protein within 45mins.
    I work out first thing in the morn, by 7am I'm having a whey powder drink (half soy half water if I'm real hungry) and 8-8.30am I'm having oats for breakfast with blueberries. then I'm eating every 2-3 hours to keep metabolism churning over.
  • kapoorpk
    kapoorpk Posts: 244 Member
    You can consider either waiting at least an hour after your major meal or wait longer and have 1/2 a serving of oatmeal (i.e. 1/4 a cup) about 15 minutes before you start your workout. It will give you enough energy to get through it. However, after the workout, as another person said, only consume high quality protein ( I would suggest Zero Carb Isopure Strawberries & Cream) with a small snack with up to 15gms of carbs. That usually helps keep the muscles fueled and excess carbs out of the equation.

    Hope that helps.
  • MoreBean13
    MoreBean13 Posts: 8,701 Member
    So you don't eat back your exercise calories, and you're starving after a workout? The reason is threefold, from what I can tell -

    1) If you're doing a lot of cardio and sweating a lot, you're deficient in glucose and electrolytes. A glass of milk and a banana would greatly benefit you after the workout.

    2) Your pre-workout meal choices sound like they're all carbs. Add some protein and fat and you'll feel better. Allow a little extra time after you eat to let it settle in your stomach- the protein and fat digest a bit slower and you don't want food sloshing around in your belly.

    3) Not eating your workout calories is making your deficit too big. You already have a built in deficit (often too large to begin with) from MFP's settings, and not refueling after working out just makes a big deficit bigger. Bigger is not always better. You're looking at hormonal upsets and binge urges if you keep it up, especially since your body is already telling you you aren't getting enough food.

    The way MFP is designed, you create a deficit with your diet and your workouts are more for improving your health and changing your body than losing additional weight. Not having enough fuel for your workouts will eventually slow down your workouts and cause you to waste precious time when you could be reshaping your body.
  • FitnessPalWorks
    FitnessPalWorks Posts: 1,128 Member
    What works for me:

    1. I eat protein in some fashion an hour prior to a workout.
    2. During the workout, I drink a LOT of water... I want those toxins OUT.
    3. After my workout, I make sure to have something with protein within 20 minutes of the workout. Muscle Milk is my fav.

    I have been sick as of late (months) so haven't been able to do a workout as I would have a year ago, but that's what I used to do. Hopefully it will help you. :)
  • DavPul
    DavPul Posts: 61,406 Member
    I've been having a small issue not every time I workout, but I would say once or twice a week, where I am absolutely starving after a workout. Before my workout I will have a bowl of cereal or oatmeal and a piece of fruit or a granola bar. This is driving me nuts because it throws me off all day. Any advice is welcome.

    Eat

    /thread

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