Find out why post-workout hunger occurs, is it worth eating after the gym, and how carbohydrates affect your body. You've probably felt hungry more than once after training. Today we will talk about the reasons for its appearance and tell you how to deal with it.
Why is there hunger after exercise?
This problem is especially relevant for novice athletes. Many of them say that the lesson has not yet finished, but they are already hungry. Most people prefer to endure, as they believe that eating food immediately after training will reduce its effectiveness. One of the main reasons for post-workout hunger is a poorly adjusted diet.
Most often, people, deciding to lose weight or pump up, purchase a gym membership and begin to do a lot of exercises. As a result, they return home exhausted and it is quite obvious that the desire for a snack in this case is simply enormous. Such a system will not bring you the desired success. In order not to feel hunger after training, you need to eat well two hours before the start of the training. As a result, the desire to eat will appear in you 40 minutes after training.
First, we need to find out who does the fasting workout:
- deciding to train in the morning;
- if after work you need to attend classes;
- losing weight, confident in the effectiveness of this approach.
However, you must remember that such an approach to organizing the training process is not only incapable of bringing positive results, but can even harm the body. Let's look at two situations.
The first example would be a morning run. The man did not eat until eight or nine, and there is no doubt that he will have a strong appetite upon returning home. In addition, people often wake up with a strong feeling of hunger. If in such a situation you do not have breakfast, but immediately go for a run, then hunger after training cannot be avoided.
In the second case, the person goes to the gym immediately after the working day. This suggests that between four and six o'clock in the evening, he did not eat. We will not focus on those processes that are activated in the body during training. We only note the fact that already at the twentieth minute of the session, the body does not have glucose reserves and at the end of the training the body requires to replenish them in a short time. The most dangerous thing about feeling hungry after class is not the appetite itself, but the fact that you can eat unhealthy foods.
How to get rid of hunger after training?
As we said, first of all, you should eat before the start of the training:
- If the lesson is held in the morning, then you should at least drink a glass of juice (freshly squeezed). The body will quickly process it and increase its glucose stores.
- When you visit the gym after work, at the end of the day, you should eat foods containing complex carbohydrates, such as porridge. Fruits are also good.
Exercising in relatively low temperatures can also lead to hunger after exercise. This is possible at that moment if you train at temperatures less than 15 degrees. The situation is similar with the lessons in the pool. The body must spend energy not only on performing movements, but also to maintain body temperature.
If you swam in the pool, then you know that after a workout you really want to eat something, and preferably with a high energy value. If you prefer to work out in the fresh air, then you should choose your clothes responsibly. When you have swimming plans, do not spend more than 30 minutes in the pool.
Severe hunger can appear after a high-intensity workout. The reason for this is quite obvious - the high consumption of glycogen. The more actin you exercise, the more energy your body has to expend. Avoiding hunger after a high-intensity workout requires a compromise. When playing sports, it is important to have a sense of proportion, for example, train for 30 minutes, do not use high intensity, take fruit or cottage cheese with you.
What if you feel hungry after training?
Let's see what to do if you feel very hungry after training. To begin with, your occupation should not be the line after which you need to deny yourself food. Moreover, it is even necessary to have a snack. When the body receives nutrients after physical exertion, the regenerative processes are accelerated. Glycogen stores are quickly restored, and after that, the restoration of microdamage to muscle tissue begins.
To get rid of the feeling of hunger after training, we recommend that you do the following:
- chicken breast (boiled);
- egg white omelet without adding yolks;
- low-fat cottage cheese;
- squid (boiled or steamed);
- vegetable salads, seasoned with olive oil, but in small quantities.
Of course, the correct organization of nutrition in general and after training in particular has a lot of nuances. Do not forget about the individuality of the body of each person. For some, it is normal to consume a glass of kefir after exercising, and another athlete says that at this time fermented milk products are not absorbed in his body.
Some people compare hunger with thirst, arguing that if you drink enough water throughout the day, you will not drink more than your body needs. We can definitely say that water is needed after training, but hunger may not immediately disappear. We can recommend that you conduct an experiment and determine what is best for you.
Fasting and sports
Today there is a lot to be said about the intermittent fasting system. If you analyze the reviews about it, you get the impression of a fairly high efficiency. Let's try to figure out how sports can be associated with fasting.
Benefits of Intermittent Fasting for Athletes
Let's start with the benefits that fans of this technique are talking about:
- Insulin sensitivity increases, and the body responds better to carbohydrates from food.
- Research has found significant improvements in health that affect every system in our body.
- Metabolic processes are accelerated.
- The body synthesizes norepinephrine more intensively, which leads to an increase in energy reserves.
- The production of somatotropin is accelerated, which leads to the restructuring of energy metabolism to use fats, and protein compounds are used exclusively for solving plastic problems.
- Appetite decreases, although many are sure otherwise. If you starve wisely, your appetite will not increase.
- Convenient from a practical point of view, because there is no need to carry food containers with you.
Quite often, you can hear the complaints of athletes that fractional nutrition does not allow them to reduce their appetite and everything happens exactly the opposite. Not every person can be satisfied with small portions of food and it may be better to eat less often, but eat many foods at once. Obviously, there is only one thing in this matter - each person must find the optimal diet for himself.
Is it necessary to exclude carbohydrates from the diet?
The impact of hunger on human performance is directly related to evolution. Our ancestors did not have the opportunity to refuel with carbohydrates before hunting or collecting plants. They were forced to alternate periods of fasting with times when food was plentiful.
However, it is necessary to look for food on an empty stomach, because otherwise it is impossible to survive. Scientists are confident that our genetics have not undergone major changes since the time of the caveman. This suggests that we can still do a lot of work today without additional carbohydrate replenishment.
To obtain energy, the body is able to use not only carbohydrates, but also fats. In the body of an average person, the supply of carbohydrates is about 500 calories, but fat stores can be much larger. For example, your weight is 75 kilograms and a quarter of this mass is fat. Thus, the body's energy reserve will exceed 160 thousand calories.
Aerobic loads activate the processes of utilization of adipose tissues and, first of all, it is fats that are burned. The body is able to adapt to physical activity and the person becomes stronger, faster and more beautiful. When you are starving and training against this background, the body begins to more efficiently use the fat reserves it has. Once again, we come to the logical conclusion that exercise, combined with a carbohydrate deficiency, can help you lose fat. The situation is similar with the intermittent fasting system.
The body creates glycogen stores from carbohydrates supplied with food. Moreover, they are stored not only in the muscles, but also in the liver. If muscle glycogen is needed only to provide energy to the muscles, then a substance located in the liver is used to nourish the brain.
There are a ton of studies showing the importance of consuming carbohydrate sources before, during, and after a class. In this case, it is necessary to consume enough carbohydrates during high-intensity training. In this mode of operation, the body primarily uses carbohydrates. Fats become the main source of energy only if you make leisurely movements.
When an intense workout is done for more than an hour, scientists recommend taking 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates every 60 minutes. One of the main reasons for the lack of progress in weight loss is the high frequency of carbohydrate replenishment. For example, to burn all the calories in a regular bottle of sports drink, you may need about 30 minutes of leisurely exercise on a stationary bike or treadmill. If, after training, you eat right away, then you may well gain weight.
If you have heard about the intermittent fasting system, then you probably know its basic principle - you starve for 16 hours, and for the remaining 8 you eat three times. It should be noted that this technique is actively used not only for weight loss, but also for gaining muscle mass. If you do not trust the reviews that are on the official website of the intermittent fasting system, then there are the results of a scientific experiment. It was conducted by British scientists and confirms the fact that during fasting, growth factors are activated and it is easier for an athlete to gain muscle mass.
