Does exercise actually make you hungry?

The actual act of exercise doesn't make me hungry but the calorie burn does!

Hi Martina,

directly after strenuous exercise, I do not have an appetite. But after an appropriate amount of time, my body let's me know that it is time to replenish the energy that I have expended.

Karin Singleton
www.meltnc.com

I have diabetes and I have to eat immediately before and immediately after I exercise (high protein, 10 calories

Hi Martina. A lot depends on the type of exercise and the duration. For example, if I just played a long (2-hour+) singles tennis match - yes I am hungry afterwards. If it's simply one of my usual workouts, I'm not necessarily starving after my workout, but I still eat a little something to aid in my recovery.

I hope that this helps.

LaRue, CSCS
www.lecfitness.com
larue.cook@lecfitness.com

Hi Martina,

It depends on the workout. If my workout is a 30-40 minute of strength training I'm not hungry right after, but if I engage in a longer workout, especially swimming or an obstacle race, then I'm hungry afterwards.

Best,
Harris

Your body talk to you through hunger hormones. Check out Jenna's article on Leptin & Gherlin “The Lowdown on Leptin & Gherlin ” by Jenna A. Bell-Wilson, MS, RD, LD, in IDEA Health and Fitness Source. IDEA library is a great resource for more information.

I would like to add to my previous answer that it also depends on the time of the day you do the workout and when was the last time you ate before the workout. I know some people who like to walk, run or bike to the gym or to their practice instead of driving. This could also have an impact on whether you are hungry or not and how much. And of course your metabolism plays a big part in this as well.

There have been recent studies done on this. Check out this article from Time magazine.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1914974,00.html

Exercise, especially vigorous exercise, can stimulate hunger. As your body burns more calories, it wants you to replenish them!

Other studies have found a link that the more people exercise, the more they think they can eat. Often underestimating how many calories they burned and how many they're eating. Psychologically they think that all the exercising they're doing gives them the ok to eat more! Thus, they're hungrier! This is a common problem, and often spoken about, amongst endurance athletes.

It depends on many variables as my associates have suggested. However, it is a fact that after strenous exercise we need to refuel whether we are hungry or not if we want to maintain muscle mass and energy.

The calories expended make me hungry. Usually not right after working out though. Sometimes all I can think about is that delicious steak i'm going to enjoy a few hours after my workout. That is after I take my post workout shake =)