No appetite after exercise

ysienkiewicz
ysienkiewicz Posts: 86 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I just started getting back into exercising. I have joined a gym and have a trainer helping me once a week. I have noticed a big decrease in my appetite on the days I exercise. (That's a good thing to a certain extent, for obvious reasons.) I'm tired and even a little nauseous. And the days when I am sitting around watching tv, doing nothing? I am starving! Am I crazy? I am trying to figure out when I am really hungry and when I am using food as a drug.

Replies

  • brynnsmom
    brynnsmom Posts: 945 Member
    Well, just here to say that you aren't crazy, I have this same issue! Exercise really suppresses my appetite, and then less active days I swear sometimes I feel ravenous. Not sure why that is but it's hard to make sense of it.
  • markrichtsspraytan
    markrichtsspraytan Posts: 89 Member
    I'm the same way. I tend to eat more later at night on exercise days to get my calories in.
  • Kalikel
    Kalikel Posts: 9,603 Member
    I don't know about whether you're using food as a drug, but I'm more hungry when I don't exercise, too. (Unless I swim for hours, then I'm much hungrier.)

    For whatever it's worth.
  • nancytyc
    nancytyc Posts: 119 Member
    This may be a thought......on days that you exercise, even though you think your appetite is suppressed, do you eat a few more calories over the course of the day? Then, on days you do not exercise, do you keep the calories lower than on exercise days. I find that I eat about 600 more calories on the days I really work out, but keep my calories low on days I can't get a workout in. On the non-workout days, my body wants those extra 600 or more calories and I have to nearly knaw my fingers to keep from overeating. Could this be the case?
  • 50sFit
    50sFit Posts: 712 Member
    I used to have to make myself eat in the mornings and after training. It was maddening! :ohwell:
    And late at night I might wake up starving. Over time our habits and desired just change, but even today I get strange food cravings right before bed. Ah, the joys of first world problems....
  • stephaniestocklas9
    stephaniestocklas9 Posts: 8 Member
    I tend to get hungry while bored. I get so bored I just want to eat. Doing something other than playing around on a computer or sitting in front of the TV usually helps me to keep from boredom eating.

    If I'm hungry before exercising and I decide to exercise, usually I'm not hungry afterwards. I think it is just because I focused on something else for the time being. Sometimes it even gets rid of cravings! So I don't think you're crazy. I think some of just eat to fill time.
  • Snip8241
    Snip8241 Posts: 767 Member
    After walking no I don't have an appetite. But swimming forget about it. An hour after swimming I will eat everything! That's when my planning must take over or I will overeat.
  • srmchan
    srmchan Posts: 206 Member
    I just started getting back into exercising. I have joined a gym and have a trainer helping me once a week. I have noticed a big decrease in my appetite on the days I exercise. (That's a good thing to a certain extent, for obvious reasons.) I'm tired and even a little nauseous. And the days when I am sitting around watching tv, doing nothing? I am starving! Am I crazy?

    I have a very similar problem. I trained this morning, tried to eat lunch a few hours later and thought it was going to all come back up. Similar feeling during dinner tonight. My initial thought was that I'm dehydrated and my tummy is fighting back because I wasn't drinking as much water as I should. Last Saturday was a rest day and I could've eaten everything in the house - but to be fair I had a lot of junky carbs for lunch. All this has occurred other days as well.
    I used to have to make myself eat in the mornings and after training.

    @50sFit - this sounds like a good suggestion. I might try to front-load my calories prior to training for a day or two to see if it helps. I certainly didn't feel nauseous before I went to the gym today; it was definitely after.

    Sam
  • brightsideofpink
    brightsideofpink Posts: 1,018 Member
    I'm not hungry after exercise. On mornings I hit the gym or run, I often skip breakfast or delay it to 10 or so when the hunger finally comes on. If I don't, I'm ready for breakfast by 8 am. On nights like tonight, I take a zumba class. Its at 6 so I don't eat before, and by the time I get home, play with the kids, get them to bed, its 8:30 before I can think about dinner and I'm rarely hungry, despite having just built a nice cushion of calories. On those nights I am usually satisfied with a bowl of granola and milk or an apple and peanut butter and can go to bed with sometimes 700 calories still on the table. I don't throw away the calories though- often I'll eat back half of the leftover calories the next day.
  • ysienkiewicz
    ysienkiewicz Posts: 86 Member
    Thanks! I was doing pretty well all day. I ate clean and healthy- oatmeal, soy milk, apple, Greek yogurt, cashews, coffee, water. I even tried to spread it out. I went to the gym at 5pm and was out at 6pm and the last thing on my mind was food! I was so tired and nauseous! I cooked dinner for the family and sort of made myself eat a little bit of everything, but boy it was hard! That really freaked me out since I ALWAYS seemed hungry before! I'm a little low on my calories today, so maybe I will front load them tomorrow AM as well.
  • RHachicho
    RHachicho Posts: 1,115 Member
    Wow really? Just thought I would comment that I am totally opposite. Exercise makes me want to much something. I can't imagine not feeling hungry. That kinda sounds like a pain as after exercise is a good time to eat.
  • SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage
    SarcasmIsMyLoveLanguage Posts: 2,668 Member
    Same here. Very little appetite after a long run or hard workout. I've stopped stressing about it and make up the calories the next day instead. I'm always ravenous the next day.
  • FitOldMomma
    FitOldMomma Posts: 790 Member
    Exercise or no exercise: I always have a healthy appetite. :)
  • MsHarryWinston
    MsHarryWinston Posts: 1,027 Member
    Nope. No food here either. I get home at 8:30am work out followed by 1/4 cup of chocolate milk then shower and go to bed. Couldn't possibly eat.

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