Lifting and Hunger

Penthesilea514 · June 2017

So I have been doing a beginner weight lifting program (thanks PsuLemon!) for about a week now and I love it

But I have noticed something immediately- I am ravenous afterwards (even into my rest days). My diet schedule has been working great for me so far when I was doing cardio/full body bodyweight conditioning 3-5x a week, but damn I have not felt this hungry in a very long time. My current schedule is 3 days weight lifting, 2 days yoga, and daily walking step goals. I aim for 0.8g/lb goal BW at the moment (120g, and I average 110g, w/100-120g range). I am trying to lose weight at a 1lb a week and have been averaging slightly higher rate (1.2 lbs a week) but I have a lot left to lose so I chalk the slightly higher rate up to my current obesity. With that as my protein goal, my current macros are C 50%, P 30%, F 20% and I eat 1720 calories + 25-50% of my exercise calories.

Anyway- I assume this means I need to adjust my protein more. Should I go up to 1g/lb? I assumed this was more for people trying to bulk (which I know I can't "really" do at a deficit, but I will take mini-newbie gains if they come) but is that okay to go that high without gainz as the specific goal (I guess what I mean is, should essentially a non-athlete eat at more athlete levels)? I want to fuel my workouts without overeating, and I assume being this hungry means that I am not getting quite enough nutritionally for lifting. I guess I could also try going up in fat too, but I am not sure if there are guidelines for fat consumption goals.

Also, just wanted to add: New people, don't be afraid in the weight room! I have been elbowing my larger than average butt onto a bench even during prime time and working out with comically small weights compared to others and guess what? No one GAF. You can totally do it.

rybo · June 2017

You don't necessarily need more protein. It may help with hunger but that's not a given. You can try running a smaller deficit to see if that helps. Foods high in fiber can help with satiety too. Lifting always made me ravenous. Fortunately I was almost always trying to bulk.

Penthesilea514 · June 2017

rybo wrote: »

You don't necessarily need more protein. It may help with hunger but that's not a given. You can try running a smaller deficit to see if that helps. Foods high in fiber can help with satiety too. Lifting always made me ravenous. Fortunately I was almost always trying to bulk.

Okay, thanks. I didn't really want to go much higher in protein at this point, but I will try increasing more of my fiber intake to help with satiety (high volume veggies could be good). I just want to make sure I am at least eating enough to fuel the workouts, which I think I am. I may try to distribute my calories a little differently too (I may add a small morning snack).

MelanieCN77 · June 2017

I definitely found this, too. I tried the 'protein immediately after' but I was still hungry. I'm trying fruit and cheese instead now and I think it's better. I'm also just kinda resigned to the fact though that I'll be feeling that hunger all day after a heavy session.

SonyaCele · June 2017

lifting makes me super hungry. In order to not add a ton of calories and not feel starving , i eat pounds of non starchy vegitables, like cauliflower, salads, beets, cabbage, zucchini, cabbage, etc. And i know they say timing of what you eat doesn't matter, but i always allocate a small meal with protein and carbs to eat as i'm walking out the gym door. It helps me to stave off the hunger until my mind gets on something else. then when i get home i have a giant salad and a bottle of water. I'm currently on a 500 cal deficit and dont want to add calories or change my macros, so i just make the calories i'm allowed really count.

Penthesilea514 · June 2017

MelanieCN77 wrote: »

I definitely found this, too. I tried the 'protein immediately after' but I was still hungry. I'm trying fruit and cheese instead now and I think it's better. I'm also just kinda resigned to the fact though that I'll be feeling that hunger all day after a heavy session.

SonyaCele wrote: »

lifting makes me super hungry. In order to not add a ton of calories and not feel starving , i eat pounds of non starchy vegitables, like cauliflower, salads, beets, cabbage, zucchini, cabbage, etc. And i know they say timing of what you eat doesn't matter, but i always allocate a small meal with protein and carbs to eat as i'm walking out the gym door. It helps me to stave off the hunger until my mind gets on something else. then when i get home i have a giant salad and a bottle of water. I'm currently on a 500 cal deficit and dont want to add calories or change my macros, so i just make the calories i'm allowed really count.

Well I am glad to know that this is expected and something I will experiment with to figure out how to balance my calories better to minimize the hunger a little throughout the day. I like those frozen steamer bags of veggies- I will make sure I have those readily available, plus my salads and other veggies.

canadianlbs · June 2017

i've had this experience too. once i got used to it, it just turned into 'welp, guess i'm just going to eat all day then.'

idk if it always adds up to that much actual extra, since i don't log or count calories. but during the week i sherpa my day's food supply with me to work and on post-lifting days i seem to spend the whole day eating whatever i brought, as opposed to dividing it into more discrete 'meals'. at least while i'm chewing i have the idea that i'm 'doing something' about the hunger, so that helps in a way that might be more psychological than physical.

or . . . i'll just make a trip to the closest nando's and eat a whole chicken or something like that.

cherrypalmosa · June 2017

I presumed that after a rigid exercise , our appetite seems to crave for food since more calories are burn and more energy are being used. Its really what i usually experience though whenever i finished my workout routine, i always feel hungry and i ended up eating too much. Later on, i just kept on worrying if i just returned the calories i burned and seems like the efforts i made were wasted.

aettinger448 · June 2017

I recently started using a protein shake to replace the high calorie coffee creamer I was using. That in combination with increasing my water intake during lifting has helped me. A friend swears that a light cardio cool down also helps, which makes sense to me since cardio makes me less hungry in general.

Penthesilea514 · June 2017

cherrypalmosa wrote: »

I presumed that after a rigid exercise , our appetite seems to crave for food since more calories are burn and more energy are being used. Its really what i usually experience though whenever i finished my workout routine, i always feel hungry and i ended up eating too much. Later on, i just kept on worrying if i just returned the calories i burned and seems like the efforts i made were wasted.

I had been working out cardio/conditioning for a many months now and sure, I was bit hungrier on those days but something about lifting has made me far more hungry than usual. I am working out because my long term body goals align with a more athletic build and I want to maintain my muscle mass, not for weight loss. Working out does make me focus more on nutrient-dense food types because of this hunger though- I need to use my calories wisely to feel full and stay within my calorie limits. I guess it is something I will work to get used to like @canadianlbs said.

aettinger448 wrote: »

I recently started using a protein shake to replace the high calorie coffee creamer I was using. That in combination with increasing my water intake during lifting has helped me. A friend swears that a light cardio cool down also helps, which makes sense to me since cardio makes me less hungry in general.

I do supplement with protein shakes on days I work out, and I make sure to drink 2-3L of water a day. I actually do light cardio as a cool down too, so that's good if it helps.

Edits for spelling >.<

kmaf2018 · June 2017

I too find that on lifting days I am super hungry or more hungry the next day, I just thought it was in my head but seems I'm not the only one :-)

amyinthetardis1231 · June 2017

Yes! I started eating low carb before I started lifting, and it was great for weight loss and satiety, but sometimes lifting feels easier with some carbs in my system. But carbs make me hungrier (I have insulin resistance), and lifting makes me hungry, and I want to eat all the food.

FatWithFatness · June 2017

You could try casein protein, takes longer to digest, but at the end of the day it comes down to mind over matter.

Penthesilea514 · June 2017

KMAF00 wrote: »

I too find that on lifting days I am super hungry or more hungry the next day, I just thought it was in my head but seems I'm not the only one :-)

Definitely not the only one :-)

amyinthetardis1231 wrote: »

Yes! I started eating low carb before I started lifting, and it was great for weight loss and satiety, but sometimes lifting feels easier with some carbs in my system. But carbs make me hungrier (I have insulin resistance), and lifting makes me hungry, and I want to eat all the food.

I did try to make sure I had a pre-workout snack 1 hour before lifting yesterday that was a good mix of protein, fat, and carbs and that helped me out a bit. I also ate a large amount of steamed broccoli with dinner, which also helped a great deal (increased volume made me feel full).

FatWithFatness wrote: »

You could try casein protein, takes longer to digest, but at the end of the day it comes down to mind over matter.

Yeah, it helps that I know it is something I need to work with and adjust for, I was a little surprised by it at first. I think small snacks during the day and working on fixing my pre-workout nutrition is helping and knowing to expect the hunger later on.

Lifting and Hunger

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