hunger pains

Have you tried a recovery shake? I make mine up with 250ml of milk, personally I like High 5 chocolate flavour but that's individual taste! It fills me up after a really hard training session and then when I eat I can make a sensible decision instead of just eating what's there. IF you are doing lots of cardio, which I do, if you are working at a high intensity you might find a carb drink will help as well so you are replenishing as you go. Hope that helps!

heelie1996 wrote: »

in the last 3-4 years I have gained around 20 pounds and all that time I have been trying to lose it. My problem is that after I work out I am so HUNGRY and nothing fills me up except cake, bagels, and cheese. I have gained muscle but my goal weight keeps getting farther away from me.
advice? I really want to be where I used to be.

How exactly are you tracking your calories, both those you are expending in exercise, and those you are taking in? You will lose weight if you are taking in fewer calories than you expend. Nailing down what you eat can be challenging; nailing down what you expend can be even more challenging, especially since MFP entries and gym machines tend to vastly overstate the calorie burn for many people.

I can stuff myself on a lot of cake and cheese if I spend a day hiking in the mountains, but if I just spend an hour in the gym, I have to stuff myself on lower calorie foods like chicken and vegetables and have a carefully measured amount of cake (rarely) and cheese (every day, multiple kinds, but measured to the gram).

It is also possible to stuff yourself with shakes, so be very careful if you can't fit it into your calorie budget.

When I get off my bike after a long, brisk, winter ride, I am ravenous, but I make sure I have food prepared ahead of time that will address my hunger and fit in my calorie goals. Otherwise it is easy to freak out and eat handfuls of cookies.

Rebecca0224 wrote: »

Other things will fill you up you just have to figure out what those things are. If carbs are filling for you then maybe have a reasonable serving of macaroni and cheese with some chicken and vegetables in it. Don't tell yourself that those are the only things that fill you up because you can find alternatives. When I exercise I either have no appetite or I'm extremely hungry, today I will exercise and I'm planning on having a bowl of macaroni after so I don't eat everything in sight. Find other foods that fill you up and eat them reasonably.

#easymac

heelie1996 wrote: »

in the last 3-4 years I have gained around 20 pounds and all that time I have been trying to lose it. My problem is that after I work out I am so HUNGRY and nothing fills me up except cake, bagels, and cheese. I have gained muscle but my goal weight keeps getting farther away from me.
advice? I really want to be where I used to be.

I wonder if you are under-eating during the day so that after you workout you are ravenous? What's your weekly weight loss goal? With only 20 pounds you should be aiming to lose a half pound per week.

Many of us make the mistake of trying to lose the max of two pounds per week when that is not sustainable for the amount of weight we have to lose. Under-eating easily leads to binging.

heelie1996 wrote: »

My problem is that after I work out I am so HUNGRY and nothing fills me up except cake, bagels, and cheese.

Cheese is filling...
cake and bagels...that would be a not filling category.

Without looking at your diary, I would suggest a big helping of protein and cut way way back on the bagels and cake...especially the cake.

Also - you have been doing this for 3-4 years - yet you are doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome? Definitely time to change things up.

Good luck!

French_Peasant wrote: »

Rebecca0224 wrote: »

French_Peasant wrote: »

Rebecca0224 wrote: »

Other things will fill you up you just have to figure out what those things are. If carbs are filling for you then maybe have a reasonable serving of macaroni and cheese with some chicken and vegetables in it. Don't tell yourself that those are the only things that fill you up because you can find alternatives. When I exercise I either have no appetite or I'm extremely hungry, today I will exercise and I'm planning on having a bowl of macaroni after so I don't eat everything in sight. Find other foods that fill you up and eat them reasonably.

#easymac

I hate powdered cheese! I make macaroni and use velveeta or homemade cheese sauce. I love pasta and could eat cheese all day.

I was just cracking up because your oddly specific cravings (two references to mac and cheese, which I agree IS delicious) sounded a lot like the guy who started this masterpiece of a thread:

http://community.myfitnesspal.com/en/discussion/10497347/easy-mac-diet/p1

You would die to see the look on my face when I take a bite of mac n cheese made with powder lol even if I don't know it I can taste the difference and the powdered cheese always feels gritty. I'm good with the powdered stuff in hamburger helper but can't do it in mac n cheese lol, I'm odd it's ok to laugh I laugh at the things I do daily.

I recommended macaroni because it sounds like the OP gets satisfied from carbs ( cake, bagels, ect) and macaroni and cheese is kinda a blank slate, you can add chicken, beef, or tuna and vegetables and make a good meal.