Skip to content
Exercise and Hunger
Rich Weil, MEd, CDE posted:
Hi Everyone,

Based on studies over the past few decades it's been shown that the effect of exercise on hunger is equivocal, that is, some people will get hungry after exercise and some will not. But more recently a few studies have shown that aerobic exercise made people more full than people who did not exercise, and furthermore, resistance exercise did not make people more full than people who did not exercise.

How about you? How does exercise affect your appetite? Does aerobic or resistance exercise make you hungry or full?
Nevergivup responded:
I don't get hungry after workouts or running. Feeding my body 2 hours before a workout might be the case with me.

I think the proper thing that alot of people don't know is that if you are doing any kind of excersise you should make sure you have some (healthy food) 2 hours before your workout.
Rich Weil, MEd, CDE replied to Nevergivup's response:
Yes, this is a good point. When someone reports to me that they are hungry after exercise I ask them to look at what they ate before working out and how long before they worked out did they eat. If it's been more than 3-4 hours since they've eaten, then it's possible they're going to be hungry even if they didn't exercise, so adding a bout of exercise to an already hungry body is most likely going to make you more hungry. If you did have a snack within an hour or two before working out, then you want to look at what was eaten. If there isn't any protein in the snack, then that could be the problem. A snack before exercise, within an hour or so, will help decrease post-exercise hunger if it has a mix of protein and fat, and a little carb to help with energy. Energy bars, peanut butter on bread (on half a bagel), or yogurt are good snacks.
CSpot09 replied to Rich Weil, MEd, CDE's response:
CHIA SEEDS (2-4TLBS) (if in a hurry) w/ 8oz H2O
Caprice_WebMD_Staff responded:
Another good topic and I had to respond!

I do aerobics most mornings and it tends to make me less hungry. I'm not sure if it's an actual physical shift or whether it's psychological in that my brain is thinking "I'm doing something healthy for myself, let's keep it going". Either way, it works for me. Besides, exercising wakes you up and helps you feel better day to day which means less fatigue and pain (I have a chronic pain condition) which means better/healthier choices when it comes to foods and, of course, can mean better sleep which helps it all as well.
lindaam responded:
I I used to think that exercise would make me more hungry and was scared to exercise after I started my low carb diet. But once I started exercising i had no problem with feeling hungry after exercising.
Robert0747 responded:
I do a combination of aerobic and resistance exercises first thing in the morning. I do not eat beforehand and am not hungry afterwards.
Luckyscooter responded:
I do aerobic exercise every day. Some days are fine, don't feel hungry immediately and sometime I get low blood sugar while exercising,.
Anon_42357 responded:
A typical weekend workout for me is a morning bicycle ride for 1.5-2 hours, average heart rate approx. 80% of maximum, before breakfast. I do not feel hungry during the ride (thirsty, but not hungry -- and I carry water to drink), nor afterwards. My blood glucose level is generally elevated (approx. 20%) after the ride, compared to my typical morning reading. I suppose that's why I am not hungry: my glucose levels seem to rise with such exercise. Maybe those who are hungry after exercise are ones who experience a reduced serum glucose level.
RPLife responded:
Thats a great one from you. I have been in a depressed state of condition for a while now ; you know, constant fatigue, mindless eating etc. Good thing is, I keenly observe whats happening in life, I take life as it comes and so have definitely learnt a lot. I have always been in the fighting mode. So, whenever I win the depression over, I am not hungry. Otherwise, I am, be it aerobic or resistance.

I have some more questions about exercising.

What is meant by engaging 'body parts" while exercising? We tighten a particular part and engage it?

I have a plenty of laptop time. So, just curious about using it up.

-My upper arms are bulky. Do I have to do only intense resistance work out to tone my muscles? What if I do some mild movement resistance exercises several times a day? Will that help?

When it comes to upper body exercise, especially aerobics, can I sit and do something (sitting stretching my legs and bending towards front so that my head touches the knees) to raise my heartbeat?!. Again if I do it several times a day will that count to be a work out?
Rich Weil, MEd, CDE replied to Caprice_WebMD_Staff's response:
Hi Caprice.

It could be a combination of both biological and psychological. For some, the biology can either incresae or decrease appetitie, and psyhologically, some people think they can eat more, while others do as you, whichis, they ask themselves why they would not stay on their food plan if they took care of themselves with exercise. Whatever the reason, it works for you! Keep up the good work!
Rich Weil, MEd, CDE replied to lindaam's response:
Hi Lindaam.

That's good news. Exercise probably has something to do with it, and then the higher amount of protein decreases appetitie too by increasing satiety. I'm glad it's working for you. Rich
Rich Weil, MEd, CDE replied to Robert0747's response:
That's good to hear Robert. I suppose you could do an experiment by eating a little something before your workout and see if your performance/energy is enhanced with food in your systee. That might be interesting to do. If you do, please post back and let us know what you find out.
Rich Weil, MEd, CDE replied to Luckyscooter's response:
Hi Luckyscooter. If your blood sugar is truly dropping with the exercise to the point of hypoglycemia, then you ought to look at some of the factors I mention in my response to Nevergivup about timing of meals, etc, before your workouts. Hypoglycemia with exercise will negatively affect performance, but it's treatable once you look at the calorie and nutirent intake beforehand. If you have more questions feel free to post back. Rich
Rich Weil, MEd, CDE replied to RPLife's response:
Hi RPLife,

I hope you experience many more days of feeling better. As for engaging body parts, it means to focus and connect with the muscles that you're interested in working. I like to suggest to people who are new to lifting to close their eyes, do the lift, and see where they feel it. The question to the trainer shouldn't be, "Where should I feel it?", but rather,to listen to your own body and know where you feel it. Then with time, you can "engage" the muscles you want to work and know that the exercise you're doing is working them.

You don't need to do intese lifting if you don't want yourmuscles to get bigger than they already are. You could lighten the weight and do more reps (12-15), and not increase the weight, and will prevent significant incresaes. And of course, you could do more frequent exercises during the day, also at low resistance, and that willw ork too to keep you toned and strong.

I'm not sure I understand what you mean about upper body exercises and aerobics. Sure, you can do seated exercises to raise heart rate, like biking or rowing, but I'm not sure I know what you mean when you describe a stretching exercise like sitting and touching your toes. Can you clarify that and then I'll get back to you? Thanks Rich

Helpful Tips

Water aerobics
Was this Helpful?
17 of 17 found this helpful

Related Drug Reviews

  • Drug Name User Reviews

Report Problems With Your Medications to the FDA
