HIIT = ferocious hunger?

bitterbrownie
bitterbrownie Posts: 369
edited October 2024 in Health and Weight Loss
Does anyone else find that once they start including HIIT in your workout, even just a couple of times a week and for whatever length, you become much much hungrier??

i usually do lots of cardio anyway so it's not extra calories burned and i thought i had quite an appetite on me anyway but since the only thing i have changed is to add HIIT to my weight-lifting, i can only guess it's that that gives me such a ferocious appetite haha

anyone else?

Replies

  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    or maybe its just because you're not eating enough since you put your cals back down?
  • Fozzi43
    Fozzi43 Posts: 2,984 Member
    You need to eat enough when doing HIIT.
  • Ipalavra
    Ipalavra Posts: 32
    HIIT = higher resting metabolism = hunger
  • Lupercalia
    Lupercalia Posts: 1,857 Member
    How many calories are you eating and what is your exercise schedule like?

    I'm fine so long as I'm eating enough calories and making sure I hit my protein and fat macros.

    Sounds like you may need to eat more, and/or cut back on some of that cardio. You said "tons of cardio", and I have no idea what that means to you, but to me "tons of cardio" is a problem.

    Too much cardio can definitely increase one's appetite, if that's your question.
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    This happens to some people but not others. For some people exercise curbs appetite for others it increases it.

    If you are doing sufficient weight training as well you could ditch the HIIT (unless your training goals included increasing your VO2 max.)

    Alternatively you could eat more.

    It's entirely down to you or what you feel most comfortable doing.
  • Emmiejayne90
    Emmiejayne90 Posts: 40
    sorry what is HIIT?
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    sorry what is HIIT?

    High Intensity Interval Training.
  • pluckabee
    pluckabee Posts: 346 Member
    Since I started doing kettlebell training I have been MAD HUNGRY and I'm not sure what to do about it.

    My current plan is to leave 2 days between workouts, eat more on workout days (I don't eat over maintenance), eat my normal deficit the day after, then eat less than that the next day, ramping it up again on workout days.

    I've only just started this though so I don't know how well this is going to work out.
  • bitterbrownie
    bitterbrownie Posts: 369
    I do cardio approx 6 times a week. I find eating my exercise calories back to around 1600 is fine for me

    i was more just wondering if people had experienced the same effect from HIIT and if anyone knew why it causes this hunger, not a solution so much :)
  • myofibril
    myofibril Posts: 4,500 Member
    I do cardio approx 6 times a week. I find eating my exercise calories back to around 1600 is fine for me

    i was more just wondering if people had experienced the same effect from HIIT and if anyone knew why it causes this hunger, not a solution so much :)

    Lol - sorry about that. I blame it on the fact that I am a man and automatically look for solutions when none are required.

    Yes, it happens to some people but the reasons are complex, both physiological (leptin transport improving hunger cues / crashing glucose levels prompting hunger and psychological (I did 30 minutes on the treadmill so I can or deserve to eat 12 doughnuts...)
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
    I do cardio approx 6 times a week. I find eating my exercise calories back to around 1600 is fine for me

    ?
  • Joehenny
    Joehenny Posts: 1,222 Member
    It depends how much you do. I used to do like 30 mins of HIIT and burn tons of cals, then drive promptly to KFC and eat them all back like a dumb *kitten*.

    When you do too much cardio you start to run into "cardio compensation" which is the effect of doing so much cardio you feel deprived.
  • bitterbrownie
    bitterbrownie Posts: 369
    I do cardio approx 6 times a week. I find eating my exercise calories back to around 1600 is fine for me

    ?

    what?
  • bitterbrownie
    bitterbrownie Posts: 369
    Ahh OK interesting, thanks. I read about the "after-fat-burning" effects of HIIT but i wasn't sure id it was true/relevant
  • chymerra
    chymerra Posts: 212
    yes. i incorporate HIIT workouts 3x/week and sometimes i double up with weights. on those days, i'm frigging starving.
  • aniqa109
    aniqa109 Posts: 364 Member
    Yea!!!! I just started Hiit again and im starving although ive already eaten my daily calorie food!
    Not good!! Need to try and change the timings so i can eat after doing Hiit.
    dont really know what else to do!
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