However, recently I have been just regular ol' hungry. Yesterday and last Monday (both involved long swims) I have eaten all day and never been full. I have only experienced this four other times recently- the days of my two sprints, the day of my 10k and 5k combo, and the day of my 15 mile MTC run. All of these day left me with the same feeling. After each one of those races I ate all day and was never full.
As I wrote the other day I have been pondering calorie counting again, but this time to make sure I am eating enough. I plan 3 decent meals and 3-5 snacks everyday. I always have a snack at 10 am and another at 3 pm, the other two typically depend on workout length and meal times. Yesterday I was on my normal (new normal-I'll discuss later) schedule and had my snack at work and before dinner- but I even snacked in between my snacks. Just to list a few things for the day I had yogurt, apple, banana, grapes, salad, grilled chicken breast, ribeye steak, rice snack cakes, cheerios, potato chips, and more.
When I totalled it up on the BT.com nutrition screen I had close to 3,000 calories. This is a ton from me. This rivals my days of 3 trips to Wendy's in a day. The funny thing is I never remember being full and even think I was hungry when I went to bed.
I enjoy looking at this calorie count in a retrospective manner. I went from 3,000-5,000 calories of crap a day, to 1,300 low carb calories a day; then I lost a bit of weight, started working out more and tried to stay under 2,000 with no carb counting (just being smart); and now I have days like yesterday when I eat ALL day, but mostly smart foods, and total 3,000 calories. It is really interesting for me to see things come full circle, in a way.
Just in case anyone is reading this thinking i am having a down-on-myself moment, I am not. I do not think I over ate, I think I could have eaten more. AND BT.com agrees because even with everything I was at a 500 calorie deficit for the day.
Oddly, I just ate lunch an hour ago and ate my afternoon snack with it. I am already hungry again and I have a hour ride and 30 minute run tonight so I am planning to eat a bowl of cheerios first. Maybe with honey.
Has anyone else gone through this when they made an increase to longer training sessions?
15 comments:
Running makes me really hungry.. You seem to be doing a lot of exercise at the moment so it's probably just your bodies way f telling you it needs to be refuelled.
OMG, i could not concentrate on your post, too busy drooling over the cheddar cheese rice cakes ....must. go. buy. some. NOW....will continue reading after i get my fix!!!
I am hungry all the time, the worse is after swimming, nevver swim on an empty stomach, worse mistake you will make that day and put a serious dent in what in your fridge. I learned 2 things, protien and lots and lots of veggies. Protein to curve the appetite and veggies to fill you up with dense rich calories
iF THE BODY SAYS EAT, THEN EAT.As long as yournot bloating and storing fat, get your eat on.
@BDD Thanks! I am glad to know it is not just me. I'm more hungry after those two swims (on an empty stumach) then after my long run.
I agree with BDD, swimming makes me want to eat my own arm.
I also find with the BT.com calorie counter, it underestimates quite a bit with me... (if you're not using a HRM) If I wear my HRM for exercise, (example) this morning it says 430, BT said 367.
As long as it's good quality food, then I figure it's ok to eat when I am hungry. Even if I feel like a bottomless pit :)
I'm with BDD on the protein. Another triathlete friend of mine has really been focusing on his protein intake and has noticed a difference.
I've definitely noticed a difference in my appetite after longer or harder (trail vs road) runs.
As active as you are you can take in more calories and come to a deficit. Funny thing is that the more we eat the more we crave; well I should say that applies to me. Burning calories helps curb unnecessary eating for me too but not always. I think the quality of food has allot to do with what I crave & how hard I crave it too. Ok I admit to blabbering here as I have lost sight of what point I wanted to make. Hungry is not necessarily a bad thing as long as deficits are still happening, right?
The best thing about quality food is that it is usually lower in calories, so eating more is still like eating less compared to the prior junk food.
funny you showed those rice snacks, i just ate those on our drive from utah to colorado (en route to virginia...) yesterday.
anyway, i'm surprised no one has mentioned the first thing i thought of to help with your incessant hunger.... PROTEIN. oh just kidding. i didn't see BDD or Kate's comments. way to go, mackenzie.
greek yogurt, cottage cheese, protein bars, protein shakes, egg whites, tuna, etc. i am amazed at how full i am when i focus on eating protein rather than carbs.
I don't count calories but have a pretty good idea. Like you, I ALWAYS have a morning and afternoon snack. Keeps the metabolism humming. I eat mindfully with some treats thrown in every once in awhile. I guess I can do that when I workout 6X per week.
I haven't started longer training sessions, but I am worried about what it will do to my appetite, sprinting sessions usually suppress my appetite.
You seem to be eating super healthy though, so I think you should be alright ;) You're probably hungry bc you need it!
Swimming always makes me hungrayy though :)
holy cow, I was so hungry when I was marathon training, I didn't gain weight, but I didn't lose it either. If you're hungry, eat : )
As active as we all are, I think it's easy to still overestimate our carbo needs, especially if there is a need to burn off the holidays. BDD, Kate, Kovas, all good points.
BTW, be careful with eating after swimming. The hunger is in part due to the physiological effects of being in cool water as opposed to being truly low on fuel...
I lived this out in a very bad way over the past few months. Though I increased my mileage, I thought it gave me license to eat more. Instead, I ate much more and the wrong stuff. Now, I am reaching for those rice cakes for some flavor and veggies for hunger cravings.
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