Don't want to eat the rest of the day/night after exercise

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misskatibear
misskatibear Posts: 158 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I'm having a problem. Firstly I want to say, I LOVE food - it's the reason I'm here. So it's not like, I'm purposely not eating much or at all.

But I've found recently since I changed my exercise routine, that I don't really want to eat after I exercise. Immediately after I force myself to have a small banana (even though I really don't want it or enjoy it).

And for the rest of the day/night now, I don't really feel like eating. I'm currently aiming for 1,200 a day because I'm only 5"1 and pretty sedentary other than the exercise (rest of day I usually just sit and do nothing).

I love food, and I want to eat it :( I did 38 minutes of Couch to 5k today at midday, then a few hours later I did the 30 day shred (6pmish), now it's 9pm and I haven't eaten because I don't feel like it.

I'm worried because I know it's not healthy for me, and I want to let my body replenish from exercise. I've only eaten 780 calories today, and yesterday was roughly the same, but I ended up forcing myself to eat soup and crackers, I'm going to try again with that but I have never had to 'force myself' to eat. And no this isn't a body image thing, like I said I LOVE food!

Any suggestions? Maybe it's a phase?

*Edit - Also want to add that I've burnt 364 calories today.

Replies

  • mscrumbyy
    mscrumbyy Posts: 116
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    I know how you feel! I don't know whether it's that I don't want to eat back what I worked so hard on burning or just because I'm tired but I struggle to eat anything of real substance after exercise.
    It's not really a fix but instead I eat quite a big breakfast, a smaller lunch and a really light dinner so I'm still getting everything I need from my diet even when I don't feel like eating.
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
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    First of all, you shouldn't be forcing yourself to eat anything.

    Second, you should eat things that are more calorie dense but healthy to hit your macros. One of my favorite snacks is an avocado mixed with salsa and some tortilla chips. It's about 500 calories, but that's mostly from the avocado and is very healthy for you.

    You don't have to worry about when you eat so much as what you eat, so shoving a banana down your throat after your workout is unnecessary. If you feel you can easily hit your goals with a bigger breakfast and smaller, calorie dense snacks though out the day, then that's what you should do. Protein shakes are always a great way to get your calories and replenish after a workout.
  • purplegoboom
    purplegoboom Posts: 400 Member
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    I know how you feel! I don't know whether it's that I don't want to eat back what I worked so hard on burning or just because I'm tired but I struggle to eat anything of real substance after exercise.
    It's not really a fix but instead I eat quite a big breakfast, a smaller lunch and a really light dinner so I'm still getting everything I need from my diet even when I don't feel like eating.

    Yeah, I'll do the same thing. I'll eat a pretty big breakfast, a lunch about the same size, work out in the evenings and then have a light supper making sure there's some protein and veggies in there. I can't stand to eat big meals for about 3 to 4 hours after I work out.
  • misskatibear
    misskatibear Posts: 158 Member
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    Thanks for the suggestions! The breakfast is a good idea, but not so much if I'm running in the morning (my food takes forever to digest!).

    I think I will stock up on protein shakes though, are they full of sugar? I seem to be bad at keeping my sugar down so I don't want to add to my sugar through the shakes.

    I did just have a soya milkshake though - And that has a lot of sugar but at least I consumed something -_-
  • Cymrodan
    Cymrodan Posts: 1
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    I'd recommend the same as the above Kati, just add more calories into what you're eating already - but ideally the good types of fats. So this can be something like adding some nuts to meals (or just as a snack).

    Something I wanted to mention though was regarding eating straight after exercise. Now, I remember looking into this stuff a while back, and if I recall correctly - it's usually recommended to leave it an hour after exercise before eating. You are right that you need replenish your energy levels, but the idea is that for the hour following on from your exercise, your body is going replenish the energy through breaking down your fats. If you immediately have food after exercise, then you are kind of telling your body "don't work to turn that fat into energy, I got some fresh carbs incoming that you can use!". Soemthing to consider anyway.

    Finally, you dont want to force extra meals indeed, but the you always got to think about the long run. 700 calories a day is do-able when you're in the zone and being very cautious about what you eat. But when you get to a weight you're happy with, and decide to give yourself a more regular diet of 1500-2000 calories, then your body won't know what to do with all that extra calories. That's why in long term, under eating isn't effective - despite it allowing people to quickly shift half a stone in the short term. Sorry if you already know all this :) x
  • misskatibear
    misskatibear Posts: 158 Member
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    Thanks Dan, I'll definitely not eat straight after exercise then - I'll leave it an hour.

    And yeah I tried the whole not eating thing a few years ago and it's really not good news. And I really do enjoy food, but right now I can't even bring myself to eat a couple of nuts - I actually feel a little sick thinking about eating! It's so weird. I think I will just have to do what's suggested and eat more calories prior to exercise.
  • myfitnessval
    myfitnessval Posts: 687 Member
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    I think its important to address why you dont feel like eating. Is it your appetite? Is it guilt? Is it pure laziness? For me when I dont feel like eating its usually out of laziness because I know I shouldn't be eating crappy easy foods but dont want to get up and actually cook lol, so in those instances I make sure to be stocked on healthy snacks just in case I have a lazy attack.

    For me personally I try to exercise before dinner (usually while my oven is preheating) so that I make a healthier choice for my last meal of the day. It definitely makes me think about what I'm putting in my body after all the hardwork I just did.
  • moonlightturk
    moonlightturk Posts: 398
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    Woah that's nice...I guess. Whenever I exercise I have a tendency to go on beast mode for food........
  • AllTehBeers
    AllTehBeers Posts: 5,030 Member
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    Thanks for the suggestions! The breakfast is a good idea, but not so much if I'm running in the morning (my food takes forever to digest!).

    I think I will stock up on protein shakes though, are they full of sugar? I seem to be bad at keeping my sugar down so I don't want to add to my sugar through the shakes.

    I did just have a soya milkshake though - And that has a lot of sugar but at least I consumed something -_-

    It's way cheaper and more efficient if you can make your own shakes. Buy a tub of protein powder, bananas and peanut butter with a splash of vanilla. Or go more fruity if you like like a strawberry smoothie. This way you have complete control over what goes in your shake.
  • RainaWalks
    RainaWalks Posts: 72
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    i'm the same...but now i make myself eat...i treat it like medication...i tell myself i need to eat to live and last time i did not eat i lost a lot of my thick beautiful hair..

    i don't feel like eating now but at 6 p.m. will have dinner...it will go down into my stomach ...that is all it needs to do...
  • misskatibear
    misskatibear Posts: 158 Member
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    I think its important to address why you dont feel like eating. Is it your appetite? Is it guilt? Is it pure laziness? For me when I dont feel like eating its usually out of laziness because I know I shouldn't be eating crappy easy foods but dont want to get up and actually cook lol, so in those instances I make sure to be stocked on healthy snacks just in case I have a lazy attack.

    For me personally I try to exercise before dinner (usually while my oven is preheating) so that I make a healthier choice for my last meal of the day. It definitely makes me think about what I'm putting in my body after all the hardwork I just did.

    It's definitely not guilt, it's appetite. And it's strange for me to lose it because I do really love my food. And I love cooking so that's not a problem for me, I don't have a job so I don't really tend to feel lazy about making myself food either.

    Woah that's nice...I guess. Whenever I exercise I have a tendency to go on beast mode for food........

    I'm pretty sure I used to be that way too, a few years back I'd just eat loads after exercising. I don't understand what's changed.

    Thanks for the suggestions! The breakfast is a good idea, but not so much if I'm running in the morning (my food takes forever to digest!).

    I think I will stock up on protein shakes though, are they full of sugar? I seem to be bad at keeping my sugar down so I don't want to add to my sugar through the shakes.

    I did just have a soya milkshake though - And that has a lot of sugar but at least I consumed something -_-

    It's way cheaper and more efficient if you can make your own shakes. Buy a tub of protein powder, bananas and peanut butter with a splash of vanilla. Or go more fruity if you like like a strawberry smoothie. This way you have complete control over what goes in your shake.

    You're completely right, I also have a blender to make shakes too and my brother supplies protein powders and the like so might just be a very good idea.
    i'm the same...but now i make myself eat...i treat it like medication...i tell myself i need to eat to live and last time i did not eat i lost a lot of my thick beautiful hair..

    i don't feel like eating now but at 6 p.m. will have dinner...it will go down into my stomach ...that is all it needs to do...

    This is exactly how I'm feeling yeah! Glad I'm not the only one :/

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