Extra hunger from lifting?

AshwinA7
AshwinA7 Posts: 102 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I recently started the Strong Lifts program about a month ago while still staying on a caloric deficit so I can lose my last 20 lbs.

So far, I've been able to consistently add weight to the bar since I started with just the olympic bar (45 lbs.)

But one thing I've noticed is that I am really, really hungry nowadays. Before, I thought I had pretty tight control over my cravings but this doesn't feel like a binge (where I'm looking for something specifically sugary or sweet). I just feel... genuinely hungry.

I mean I'm not lifting that much but is it normal to be so much more hungry?

Replies

  • dcresider
    dcresider Posts: 1,272 Member
    You need to eat if you are strength training.
  • JessicaPippen
    JessicaPippen Posts: 21
    yes you need to eat, muscle is metabolic active tissue. you must feed your muscles
  • Luke_I_am_your_spotter
    Luke_I_am_your_spotter Posts: 4,179 Member
    Your body needs energy and needs to recover. You need to feed it. :) Eating is NOT a bad thing .
  • brosis85
    brosis85 Posts: 114 Member
    Love this question ... I am having the same challenge. My lifting has recently changed and become heavier and increasingly more intense and now I feel like I am starving all the time. I already calorie cycle between 1500(low days) 1700 (medium days) and 2200(refead day) and it never seems enough!
  • ottermotorcycle
    ottermotorcycle Posts: 654 Member
    You need to eat back exercise calories from lifting. The bad part about this is that it is extremely difficult to calculate calorie burn from lifting. I use "calisthenics" because the numbers for "strength training" seem really low, but that's just my approach.

    What is your deficit like? 500 calories? 20%? You're down to your last 20 pounds (woohoo!) so maybe it's time to start losing more slowly. A slight deficit - 10-15% of TDEE or 200-300 calories off the top - will help you to build strength, retain muscle, and keep losing fat.
  • dieselbyte
    dieselbyte Posts: 733 Member
    Increase in hunger is NOT a sign that you need to eat more. Fat loss from dietary and caloric restrictions causes a decrease in leptin levels (the hormone responsible for feeling satiated from food) and an increase in ghrelin levels (the hormone responsible for feeling hungry) - thereby creating increased appetite.

    Since the OP has increased weight training while remaining in a caloric deficit, the subsequent fat loss from the increased deficit is triggering these hormonal effects. Unless you aren't achieiving your goals i.e. getting stronger or losing fat, then you do not need to eat more. Some find that having a refeed day (increasing carbs and eating at maintenance levels) to assist with overall hunger by increasing leptin and decreasing ghrelin (study the role that carbs play in both hormones while at a deficit for fat loss).
  • Chieflrg
    Chieflrg Posts: 9,097 Member
    You need to eat if you are strength training.

    Opposed to not eating?

    Being hungry during strength training is normal, nothing to worry about. This might be even more emphasized if you're not eating back some calories. Everybody is different, 2-3 calories burned per minute is pretty standard on the low side if you're wondering. If you're on a deficit & you're really hungry, perhaps increase you calories by a hundred and see how your body reacts after a couple weeks.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    I'm famished after I work out- I specfically make sure I don't eat in the morning because I work out at night- late and I want to make sure i have calories to burn.

    So I bank 500+ for evening meals.

    totally normal.
  • 12by311
    12by311 Posts: 1,716 Member
    I feel like I'm starving the day after lifting. A black hole.

    I am trying to lose weight and have actually had trouble not eating to maintenance. The past 44 days I've maintained/fluctuated the same 4 lbs because I've been eating at maintenance those 44 days (average). :-/

    I have to consciously control my hunger from lifting. It can be tough!
  • Showcase_Brodown
    Showcase_Brodown Posts: 919 Member
    It's perfectly reasonable to be hungrier now. It takes energy during the workout, and it takes energy to recover and repair. My personal approach would be to add a few hundred calories after a workout.

    If you'd rather not add any calories, make sure you are getting lots of protein so you at least keep most of the muscle you have. You can gain strength in a deficit (and some size if you are new to this), but in the future, your best results are going to come from a surplus.
  • AshwinA7
    AshwinA7 Posts: 102 Member
    People have mentioned that I need to eat more, but I've experimented with upping calories and that just simply increases my weight week on week.

    So it seems that lifting on a caloric deficit doesn't necessarily increase your metabolism but my hope is to target the fat specifically for loss at the deficit. The hunger has certainly made the dieting more difficult though and these past couple weeks I've definitely fallen off with regards to eating too many calories.

    I think I just have to continue experimenting with eating different amounts of calories at different times.

    Lunch is usually my biggest meal because I don't eat breakfast and I work out at night. I probably just have to keep enough calories left over for my late night dinners.
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,064 Member
    I feel like I'm starving the day after lifting.

    ^ This, especially after it's my upper body day. I could eat my own arm.
  • sjaplo
    sjaplo Posts: 974 Member
    I feel like I'm starving the day after lifting.

    ^ This, especially after it's my upper body day. I could eat my own arm.

    This ^^ which is funny as I don't get the same effect from running - it dampens my appetite for hours.
  • caseys29
    caseys29 Posts: 63 Member
    I'm always starving and crave carbs like crazy the day after leg day. I might eat an extra 100 or 200 calories, but I don't go nuts since I'm trying to lose quite a bit of weight.
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
    Yup, especially when it's new or I've had some time off, the first week back is torture. I think the question of whether you actually need to up calories though is going to depend on how much of a deficit you're actually running. If you've only got 20lbs left and you're working your lifting weight up, I wouldn't try for any more than a 0.5lb/week loss. If that's where you're at now then I would say give it another week or two to let your body adjust and then, if you're still starving, add 100 calories and see what happens. Oh, and of course make sure you're hitting your macros.
  • AshwinA7
    AshwinA7 Posts: 102 Member
    This ^^ which is funny as I don't get the same effect from running - it dampens my appetite for hours.

    I've definitely experienced this. Generally, immediately after lifting I'm not hungry but the day after it goes up quite a bit and then now that it's a routine, I think my baseline has definitely gone up.

    Thanks for all the replies, by the way. Hopefully my body will get used to it and not be so ravenous all the time.
  • JoRocka
    JoRocka Posts: 17,525 Member
    hmmm- I'm only starving after working out- haven't noticed a difference running or lifting. and it certainly never seemed to be a delayed day after affect.

    Just IMMEDIATE hunger- within 10 minutes- I almost always brought a snack with me since sometimes I wasn't sure I was going to make it the- gee 5 mile? 3 mile trip home. Shameful.


    I can have enough discipline to not eat things- or go to the gym at 9 PM Friday night or 7 AM saturday- or after a long shift of work- whatever- but barely have enough control to not stop for food on the way home.


    LMAO
  • caffeinefree
    caffeinefree Posts: 1
    >If you've only got 20lbs left and you're working your lifting weight up, I wouldn't try for any more than a 0.5lb/week loss. If that's where you're at now then I would say give it another week or two to let your body adjust and then, if you're still starving, add 100 calories and see what happens. Oh, and of course make sure you're hitting your macros.

    Agreed. I also found that upping my protein/fat intake and decreasing carbs (but keeping the same calorie count) helped a lot to keep me satiated.
  • lilRicki
    lilRicki Posts: 4,555 Member
    I eat after I work out, that's when I eat most of my carbs actually. I make sure I eat light during the day with lots of protein so I can save some yummy goodness for when I get home from the gym. As long as I hit my macros :)
  • QueenBishOTUniverse
    QueenBishOTUniverse Posts: 14,121 Member
    >If you've only got 20lbs left and you're working your lifting weight up, I wouldn't try for any more than a 0.5lb/week loss. If that's where you're at now then I would say give it another week or two to let your body adjust and then, if you're still starving, add 100 calories and see what happens. Oh, and of course make sure you're hitting your macros.

    Agreed. I also found that upping my protein/fat intake and decreasing carbs (but keeping the same calorie count) helped a lot to keep me satiated.

    That's what works best for me as well, but I think that's something people have to experiment with a bit for themselves. My husband might hurt people if you told him he had to lower his carb intake. I do think *most* people's cravings for proteins and fat probably go up with weight training though, but I'm not going to say all...
  • GeminiFitness1
    GeminiFitness1 Posts: 63 Member
    You need to eat some Breakfast because your body will go into starvation mode. Even if you eat a small breakfast it is better than nothing!!
  • firstsip
    firstsip Posts: 8,399 Member
    You need to eat some Breakfast because your body will go into starvation mode. Even if you eat a small breakfast it is better than nothing!!

    No.

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