Better Off Not Exercising?!

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feathers1981
feathers1981 Posts: 69 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
OK....I know this sounds like a silly question, especially from me as I am practically addicted to exercise....

The reason for my question is that exercise makes me soooo hungry. Just generally when I am exercising regularly I am hungry. I log my exercise calories properly using a HRM and am careful with my food logging. Then I eat my exercise claories back.

The week before my wedding I did no exercise on purpose so that I could just eat my 1200 easily without being too hungry and have a fast weight loss for a week and lost 3lbs that week. When I got back from honemoon I hadn't exercised for a 3 weeks and for the first few days found it easy to stick to 1200 for a few days until my exercise regime I had been doing from getting back kicked in and I was starving on 1200 and had to eat my exertcise calories again. And if I eat my exercise calories I never lose but Im STARVING and actually feel weak and dizzy sometimes if I don't. I have a really good balanced diet and eat lots of veg and right amounts of protein.

I tried doing less exercise/less intense/less long and more weights but any cardio make me hungry.

People keep saying that its all about nutrition so is this true?

I'd find it hard to give up exercise (in fact I couldn't do it and would rather stay the weight I am!)

Just wondered if anybody else found it harder to lose when they were working out?!

Replies

  • feathers1981
    feathers1981 Posts: 69 Member
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    ps....WHAT MADE ME THINK OF THIS WHAT THAT THIS WEEK i AM RESTING TO TAKE PART IN A HALF MARATHON ON SUNDAY AND AGAIN AM FINDING IT EASIER TO STICK TO 1200.....

    :O(
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    you are right in listening to your body. someone else said it in a different thread, this is 80% nutrition, 20% exercise. Good luck.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,293 Member
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    You are supposed to eat extra calories when you workout. so if you are set at 1200 and burn 400, you should eat 1600 (1200+400) this is the amount you need to eat to 1. lose you goal amount of weight, 2. fuel your exercise return, 3. avoid burning muscle instead of fat.

    So there is no reason not to exercise, if it makes you hungry that is good as you need to eat more when you exercise.
  • Angelabec
    Angelabec Posts: 505 Member
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    Is it possible that you are over estimating your exercise cals, and that's why you don't lose when you eat them back. Could you try eating back only half of them & see if that works?
  • randa_behnam
    randa_behnam Posts: 488 Member
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    is 1200 calories right for you? if your an exercise addict like you say then 1200 cals doesnt seem much and therefore probably isnt enough for your body, which is why your so hungry.

    I would never suggest to not exercise but like you i was on a path of constant exercise and constant hunger and sugar cravings but iv had 3 weeks off due to illness and iv stuck to my calories a lot easier and found my clothes to be looser. maybe its because iv done something to my metabolism by taking this break?

    again just try to eat all the right clean foods that will keep you full and satisfied for longer x
  • AlyssaAmes3
    AlyssaAmes3 Posts: 26 Member
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    I literally just wondering the same thing. I am potty training my son right now and haven't been exercising as much as I normally do. I used to exercise 5-6 days a weekand have gone down to 2-3 days a week while potty training. Today was my weigh in day and I lost almost three pounds this week?!? I was thinking the scale must be wrong. I've never lost this much in one week. Usually while exercising I averaged about a pound per week loss. It is crazy to think that not everything depends on exercise. Much like you I am addicted to exercising! I guess sticking to a lower calorie diet, 1200 rather than 1800 with my exercises helped out a lot to drop some extra pounds. I wonder though will this start to taper out? Thanks for posting this topic. :)
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    It may be more about what you're eating than the exercise.
  • maxbrennersecretlover
    maxbrennersecretlover Posts: 9
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    hey,
    ya know what i experience exactly the same thing. im on 1200 cals a day too. i find it easy to stick to my diet when i dont exercise.
    when i do cardio which is only 3 days a week i tend to crave more sweet things, and feel heaps dizzy on these days too.
    i've been tossing up the idea to give exercise a kick for a few weeks to see what happens.
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
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    Maybe just try cutting back a little bit? You could focus on light cardio, and some strength training, or try to find something else that doesn't make you feel so hungry. I know you said your diet it balanced, but maybe its the timing of when you eat (are you getting the right things for recovery immediately after your workouts?).

    I don't think you need me to tell you that exercise is important for your health and you don't want to give it up completely....
  • jetscreaminagain
    jetscreaminagain Posts: 1,130 Member
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    Perhaps you're not losing as fast and are getting hungry because you are at the right weight and your body doesn't want to lose more. So when you burn extra it wants to make sure you eat extra.
  • sweettoothfairy
    sweettoothfairy Posts: 212 Member
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    When i read your post felt like its my story... I have been exercising since couple of months however m stuck within 3-4 lbs range, I tried eating less calories, tried eating my exercise calories back and even tried eating half of them back but nothing really worked for me, after streneous workout i use to feel hungry all the time and also after one cheat meal i always end up putting back 2 lbs overnight and i had to work my a** off for another week to lose it again, god knows why and i aint no scientist.....

    Then couple of days earlier i read a post in some other forum and thought of applying it , most of the people here might not agree and even debate on the concept, but here is what he wrote:
    when you workout for shorter duration or high intensity at your max heart rate you body tends to burn carbohydrates or energy from muscles, but if you workout with less intensity for longer duration example:brisk walk for 45-60 minutes your body tends to burn fat.

    To my surprise this logic worked for me amd i am so happy to see 2 pound loss in a week, all i am doing is eating 1200-1300 calories with an hour long walk with moderate pace. Will be updating my ticker on friday and m too excited for final weigh in.
  • Angie80281
    Angie80281 Posts: 444 Member
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    This may sound odd, but try adding an additional 100-200 calories t your diet, on top of your exercise calories. It sounds counter-intuitive, but it worked for me. When you're exercising on a regular basis, you're not only burning extra calories during the workout, but your revved up metabolism is still burning extra calories throughout the day, hence why you're hungry. Listen to your body and feed it. Eat every 2-3 hours, even if it's just a spoon of peanut butter or a handful of almonds. I'd hit a plateau about 6 pounds away from my goal, and could not drop the last few pounds. I upped my calories by 200 and lost 3 pounds within 3 days.
  • feathers1981
    feathers1981 Posts: 69 Member
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    Some really interesting replies, thank you! I am so glad to hear I am not the only one who finds that they do better when not exercising! I can't however give up exercise but I am going to try perhaps altering the type and duration of my workouts. I really think I eat the right things at the right time and use a HRM to log my calories burned but whever I exercise a lot regularly I just can't control my appetite!! I have tried eating a couple hundred calories more (and put on weight).

    Thanks for all the posts so far!
  • saltorian
    saltorian Posts: 192 Member
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    Actually, I'm the complete opposite. When I exercise, it actually helps me to control my appetite (which otherwise is apparently reset to "ravenous" every 1.5 hours).
  • ninerbuff
    ninerbuff Posts: 48,704 Member
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    When you start exercise, you gain weight because of glycogen/water storage for repair and fueling. When you stop, your body senses it and doesn't store the glycogen/water. It goes both ways.
    You don't HAVE to exercise everyday to get results. You just have to be in calorie deficit with moderate exercise.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
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    Some really interesting replies, thank you! I am so glad to hear I am not the only one who finds that they do better when not exercising! I can't however give up exercise but I am going to try perhaps altering the type and duration of my workouts. I really think I eat the right things at the right time and use a HRM to log my calories burned but whever I exercise a lot regularly I just can't control my appetite!! I have tried eating a couple hundred calories more (and put on weight).

    Thanks for all the posts so far!

    I want to clarify that when I say "eat the right things," I don't mean healthy, I mean filling (well, both!).

    Right now I'm eating a vegan stew I found a recipe for yesterday. It's basically beans, vegetables and spices. Two cups isn't 200 calories, but it's high in protein and fiber. No fat, which sometimes is helpful in controlling appetite, but I eat plenty of fat throughout the day.

    This will keep me satisfied for HOURS, even if I had worked out today (and may still do after dinner ...). It took me a long time to figure out what foods are satisfying and healthy at the same time. And it also took some willpower in learning to control my appetite and realize sometimes I was bored, but my body interpreted it as hungry.
  • mlb929
    mlb929 Posts: 1,974 Member
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    When I first loss weight, I did the Fat Flush Plan by Dr. Ann Louise Gittleman. It's mainly for woman and focuses on hormonal and other types of issues. But... she has the theory that too hard of exercise will stall or make weight loss harder. I know that when I had surgery and couldn't exercise, I dropped my last remaining 10 lbs by doing a shake diet and maintaining my bmr calories. I gained some weight back when I started exercising again. I'd not a theory I've ever jumped on to but know it's out there. I'd rather be "fit" more than "thin" imo and don't watch the scale very close.

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