Recognising your body's need for fuel.

I had a bowl of wheat cereal and milk for breakfast with some coffee. I went out and mowed the lawn (rider&push) which takes an hour. Then i got the garden pick out and proceeded to dig weeds out for about 90 minutes. About an hour in to that job i start feeling not like i'm hungry but that i need to give my body energy and it wants it right now. Had i ate a higher then 250ish cal breakfast that was full of carbs (not protien). Chances are i could of went till lunch before getting hungry.

You see there is a major difference between hunger and your body letting you know it needs energy to continue the task at hand. So you ask why didn't it just draw from body fat. It doesn't work that way. Your body manages your fat use and not you. Otherwise we could just work out at full energy until we had 10% or less body fat. Energy provided by fat stores is not enough to get you through physical demands.

I ate a protein bar after my workout because my body needed a fuel refill. Depending on meal size before a work out, more then likely i wouldn't have needed the bar. With that being said exercise in itself does not give reason to eat just because you performed physical activity. Some people eat/drink a protein substance for no reason other then they think they need it after a work out. Some think its ok to eat exercise calories just for the sake that somebody said they can or even advised them to.

We should eat balanced sustainance meals and snacks to remain in a given caloric intake window for what we desire. Generally speaking if you consume a good amount of calories pre-workout you wont need to eat after your workout or more at days end. Endurance athletes have to preload carbs at extreme levels to per say go distance in a marathon or triathalon. They usually have less then 5% body fat. They coudn't finish the event without eating per say an entire pound of spagetti pre-race, Michael Phelps consumed 10-12000 calories a day during the Olympics. He had to eat that much so his energy level was unquestioned. I doubt on that caloric level he felt hunger at all yet his body demanded that energy for him to be able to be the best swimmer in the world.

The point in all this ? If you understand your body and how to listen to it, It will tell you when it needs extra fuel above and beyond your daily meals and snacks. There is no reason whatsoever to just eat more because you exercised unless your body demands it.but you do need to fuel it if your body starts crying out for energy to continue.