Any swimmers out there?

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SarahBJane
SarahBJane Posts: 24
in Fitness and Exercise
So this is a question for swimmers, hence the title. So I used to be a competitive swimmer when I was younger. I have gained a lot of weight since then and have taken up swimming again. I swim about a mile in 45 minutes, not so great but it's a start. My problem is that I am extremely hungry when I am done vs other classes I take at the gym like zumba. Does anyone else experience this and if so, what do you do or eat to help keep your hunger at bay? I love swimming and I can swim 2 miles a day when time permits but should I be doing something else so that I am not so hungry? Thanks for any responses :bigsmile: !
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Replies

  • Eve23
    Eve23 Posts: 2,352 Member
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    I am certainly not competitive nor am a great swimmer, however I have been doing the water aerobics and the lap swims that we have at our pool. I find I am starving when I am finished so I would love to hear what others do.

    So far I eat an apple with sunflower butter afterwards. I also find if I eat before going, something that is a little heavy helps.
  • scottaworley
    scottaworley Posts: 871 Member
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    It might be that you're burning more calories. As long as you are staying around your goals calorie-wise do what you enjoy.
  • RebeccaHite
    RebeccaHite Posts: 187 Member
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    Beef jerky.Nuts,apples,chicken salad,half a sandwich....Swimming does that I do 15-20 min in cardio,20-25 in weights,and 10-20 in swimming laps and I feel like I'm starving after.Beef jerky rocks it's low fat high protien snack and ties you over til your next meal..the other foods listed are more ideas.
  • RebeccaHite
    RebeccaHite Posts: 187 Member
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    Listen to your body not your head and you'll be fine
  • SarahBJane
    SarahBJane Posts: 24
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    Thanks ladies! I will say that I have started to eat a little something about 20 minutes before I swim so that I am not ravenous when I leave the pool and it has helped a little. I just notice when I swim, I eat about 400 calories more that day, over my goal. It's still a deficit bc of how much I burn and my goal is already set at 1000 calories less then I should eat to lose 2 lbs a week. It just annoys me to be hungry all of the time.
  • GGDaddy
    GGDaddy Posts: 289 Member
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    I usually swim a half mile in 22-23 minutes after my workouts, and get so hungry sometimes I don't think I'll make it home!

    A couple of Nature Valley granola bars before the workout usually help. I also plan out dinner before heading to the gym so once I do get home it isn't more than 10-15 minutes until I can eat.

    When I workout on weekend afternoons, sometimes I'll swim a whole mile (~48 minutes), Even after breakfast & lunch, sometimes the exercise calories will net out all of my food intake and I'm negative for the day (until I get home and attack the fridge). I don't know if the timing of your workout might be making your net calories negative at any point, but that really can be adding to hunger if you do...
  • lithezebra
    lithezebra Posts: 3,670 Member
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    I'm not a very good swimmer, but I just ordered goggles and a nose clip so I can refresh my skills. Swimming used to make me hungry too, now that I think about it.
  • DancingMoosie
    DancingMoosie Posts: 8,613 Member
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    I've just taken up lap swimming this summer. I find that I am very hungry after, or even the next morning. I think, being that it is a full-body resistance type cardio exercise, we just burn more calories swimming than compared to something like aerobics or zumba. I log it as fast/vigorous if I find myself gasping for breath at the end, and mpf gives me a lot of calories for it. Adding a few extra, if you feel ravenous, is justifiable. I try to get in a protein bar or some almonds, right after my exercise, so I won't be starving before my next meal.
  • NiagaraCheryl
    NiagaraCheryl Posts: 56 Member
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    Now that the local pool is open for hte summer, I've started swimming again. I also find I'm really hungry after a swim. Swimming is great for burning calories. According to MFP, an hour of swimming is about 600 calories. So if you're eating an extra 400 calories, you're still 200 calories ahead.
  • ebr250
    ebr250 Posts: 199 Member
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    I have the same issue. Chocolate milk or a cheese stick usually helps me make it home to dinner.
  • SarahBJane
    SarahBJane Posts: 24
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    @GGDaddy, when I swim I am never negative bc I am so hungry. Even when I swim, I try to stay around 2,000 calories but more if I swim 2 miles in a day. I swim in the morning usually and it seems to make me hungry all day long. If I swim after dinner, which is my biggest meal, I am usually not hungry afterwards. I can only swim at night, Friday and Saturday, otherwise, I will not be able to go to bed. Kind of sucks bc I am obsessed with swimming.
  • Dogwalkingirl
    Dogwalkingirl Posts: 320 Member
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    I was also competed in swimming most of my younger years (from about 8-24 years old). I am also just getting back into it. I should add you to my friends list. Swimming burns a lot of cals..you will be hungry. I use to always eat something 30 minutes or so before I swam. Other cardio workouts I can do on an empty belly but I always felt like vomiting in the pool at 5am if I didn;t have a little something beforehand. See how you go doing that and you may not be an hungry after.

    However listen to you body...if you are hungry then eat..just dont binge and over eat and eat something good for you. A banana after, nuts, chicken, a smoothie etc.
  • charissh
    charissh Posts: 91 Member
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    I tend to do about a mile in an hour then eat a banana or some oatcakes, it burns so many calories (though I think MFP might overestimate slightly lol) that I think it's a well deserved snack x
  • SarahBJane
    SarahBJane Posts: 24
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    Also, I do think MFP overestimates calories burned. With that being said, I have been putting in light/moderate on swimming when I do swim to get a more accurate read on calories burned. Do you all think that is a fair estimate? I weigh more so if I swim for 2 hours or so, it will say I have burned like 1500 calories doing breast stroke.
  • andysport1
    andysport1 Posts: 592 Member
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    Hope this helps,
    when you swim in a heated pool (27 degrees normally) the heat dehydrates you and the chlorine washes off the salts on your body so your internals send out more salts to the skin causing even greater dehydration.

    As a competitive older swimmer I need to drink at least 1 litre of water 2 hours before then 10ml of sports drink (salted squash) per minute so a 300ml bottle for half hour swim have it on pool side stop and take a gulp every 10 minutes or so.

    Another good tip I was given when I went back to swimming but was overweight was;
    Pull in your stomach muscles before you get in the water don't release them until you get out
    It is a brilliant workout I can be on the brink of being sick after 1 hour swim because I've worked so hard.

    Thanks for posting the question, I need to start swimming again.

    Good luck
  • avababy05
    avababy05 Posts: 930 Member
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    Peanut butter and apples because the protein staves off hunger but what I really crave after a swim is heaps of pasta!
  • me_monster
    me_monster Posts: 98
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    I try to swim when I can, and I get friggin starving when I'm done so I'll try to eat a banana or something before hopping in. I also bring a bottle of water with me because I know I get dehydrated from all of the chlorine.
    I'm not as awesome with specific answers but maybe that'll help!
  • Dogwalkingirl
    Dogwalkingirl Posts: 320 Member
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    In my opinion MFP WAY overestimates the cals burned. I actually have a Polar Heart Rate Monitor that can be used while swimming. It is a little bit of an investment and its not going to be 100% but its better then the estimate on here. I use it for all my workouts now and it has been WONDERFUL!
  • GGDaddy
    GGDaddy Posts: 289 Member
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    Sarah--you could be experiencing what absolutely kills me on weekends... if you're swimming 2 miles in the morning, is that ~90 minutes? For me (6'4" 218 lbs) mfp says 90 min would burn about 1,000 calories for light/moderate swimming.

    Whatever you would burn in 90 minutes (1,000 calories? 800?) if you likely haven't eaten that much yet when getting in the pool in the morning, by the time you get out have you already burned more calories than you've eaten for the day?

    Whenever I get into that state, my hunger skyrockets & my energy plummets until I've "caught up" and my Net Calories (counting as you go, not for the day) on mfp is positive. Could be what you've experiencing?
  • GGDaddy
    GGDaddy Posts: 289 Member
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    Also, I do think MFP overestimates calories burned. With that being said, I have been putting in light/moderate on swimming when I do swim to get a more accurate read on calories burned. Do you all think that is a fair estimate? I weigh more so if I swim for 2 hours or so, it will say I have burned like 1500 calories doing breast stroke.

    I do the same thing. I log light/moderate, but the effort I put in (HR at 70-75% of max) implies to me at least the actual effort is higher. Since mfp overestimates generally I figure it balances out...

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