Why oh why

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rayvynn5374
rayvynn5374 Posts: 272 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Explain to me why after a run (yesterday was 3 miles) I crave salt. in this case I opted for ramen (yes bad I already know) and immediately I want sugar, chocolate to be precise. Lucky for me there was no chocolate in the house. I had wheat toast with apple jelly instead. But what makes my body want these things?

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  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
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    If you sweat a lot and replace the water but not the salt you lost, it makes sense that your body would crave salt afterwards. You'll also need some carbohydrates after excersise.
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    This is what sounds logical to me, it may be completely off but here goes anyway.

    You are craving things your body needs?

    Everyone is quick to tell you that eating too much salt is bad for you, will cause you to retain water due to your electrolyte balance but surely the opposite is true? If you work out hard then you sweat, when you sweat you deplete salt so to me it makes sense that the body craves it.

    Chocolate is the same, running is going to deplete the glycogen stores from you muscles and your body wants to replace it and that means carbohydrates, so sugars. Chocolate, while quite high in fat is our go to sugary snack of choice :-)
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
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    Your body actually triggers cravings for things it needs to replace... after a run you are low on glycogen from burning energy and sodium from sweating most likely so your body wants to replace those things.
  • a_stronger_me13
    a_stronger_me13 Posts: 812 Member
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    This is what sounds logical to me, it may be completely off but here goes anyway.

    You are craving things your body needs?

    Everyone is quick to tell you that eating too much salt is bad for you, will cause you to retain water due to your electrolyte balance but surely the opposite is true? If you work out hard then you sweat, when you sweat you deplete salt so to me it makes sense that the body craves it.

    Chocolate is the same, running is going to deplete the glycogen stores from you muscles and your body wants to replace it and that means carbohydrates, so sugars. Chocolate, while quite high in fat is our go to sugary snack of choice :-)

    Yeah, what that guy said. Sorry was typing and checking facts while you were probably posting this.
  • _Terrapin_
    _Terrapin_ Posts: 4,301 Member
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    bump
  • rayvynn5374
    rayvynn5374 Posts: 272 Member
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    Thanks all! Good to know I wasn't just falling into a "oh let's just eat trashy" type of pitfall! I have been running for about 1.5 years did 4 half marathons last year but some days are just horrible with the cravings
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    This is what sounds logical to me, it may be completely off but here goes anyway.

    You are craving things your body needs?

    Everyone is quick to tell you that eating too much salt is bad for you, will cause you to retain water due to your electrolyte balance but surely the opposite is true? If you work out hard then you sweat, when you sweat you deplete salt so to me it makes sense that the body craves it.

    Chocolate is the same, running is going to deplete the glycogen stores from you muscles and your body wants to replace it and that means carbohydrates, so sugars. Chocolate, while quite high in fat is our go to sugary snack of choice :-)

    Yeah, what that guy said. Sorry was typing and checking facts while you were probably posting this.

    I am just glad you backed it up, sometimes it sounds sensible when you are typing but you never know lol
  • ChrisM8971
    ChrisM8971 Posts: 1,067 Member
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    Thanks all! Good to know I wasn't just falling into a "oh let's just eat trashy" type of pitfall! I have been running for about 1.5 years did 4 half marathons last year but some days are just horrible with the cravings

    I don't know if this a requirement but saw it somewhere so will ask just for information really, do you carb load an hour or so before going running?
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
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    I can't stand plain water and am not a fan of salt under normal circumstances, but I LOVE the MIO fit stuff, it has electrolytes in it already, I definitely notice if I haven't had any that I will want the salts from those after a run, but if I've had enough salt, then I'll just start craving plain water. This is almost certainly a case of cravings trying to tell you what you need. I also start craving burgers if I haven't had enough protein, but the french fries if I need more carbohydrate.
  • rayvynn5374
    rayvynn5374 Posts: 272 Member
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    Thanks all! Good to know I wasn't just falling into a "oh let's just eat trashy" type of pitfall! I have been running for about 1.5 years did 4 half marathons last year but some days are just horrible with the cravings

    I don't know if this a requirement but saw it somewhere so will ask just for information really, do you carb load an hour or so before going running?

    This morning prior to run i had wheat toast with peanut butter. Typically it is a banana and granola bar. But somebody put bananas in fridge and I can't eat them cold.
  • LexiMelo
    LexiMelo Posts: 203 Member
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    I add salt to my smoothie after a run to replenish…if you don't replace those electrolytes you can have some serious side effects. Sodium is essential to keeping your body going. It's been a challenge because I don't drink sports drinks but if you google around the internet for post workout electrolyte replacement recipes you should find some good ones :)
    (or if you don't mind the ingredients, you can just drink gatorade/powerade)
  • rileyiscool
    rileyiscool Posts: 3
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    After a hard workout I crave salt too. I also crave sweets. Today after my workout I had a nice salad with an egg, and on the side I had an apple with a tablespoon of peanut butter. It did the job (and was so good!)

    That's also why people drink Gatorade while working out/ running. They drink it to replace the lost salt, electrolytes...etc. If you drink Gatorade while running, you might not get those cravings.
  • bobf279
    bobf279 Posts: 342 Member
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    I had a bowl of bran flakes about an hour before I went for what ended up a short run. After 2 miles it felt as if all my energy had drained away and I was running on fumes. Another half a mile later those feelings went away and I finished comfortably but had already shortened my route so only managed 4.75 miles as a result (Sunday is normally my long slow run of around 10 miles). I don't normally eat before I run and feel fine so no carb loading for me.

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