You're sure that fitness will help you lose weight. But on training days, your appetite flares up so much that you start craving forbidden buns and greasy pizza! What's the reason for this? Let's figure it out!
According to a number of studies, physical activity suppresses appetite. They affect the levels of hormones – ghrelin and peptide YY. The first plays an important role in regulating biochemical processes related to digestion: it stimulates appetite. The second, on the contrary, weakens it. As a result of training, the level of ghrelin in the body decreases, and peptide YY increases.
All this together leads to the fact that, after leaving the fitness club, you may not want to eat right away. However, after some time, your body will definitely require “refueling”.
The more intense the workout, the more likely it is to kill any desire to snack at first. This is because during periods of serious physical exertion, the body strives to provide the muscles with the maximum amount of nutrients and oxygen. Blood rushes to them and drains from the stomach, so the digestion process inevitably slows down. And after an intensive fitness session — after about an hour — you are much more likely to feel ravenous. To combat the “side effects” of training, you need to properly plan your snacks before and after fitness.
Fraudulently
After working out, do you reward yourself with something tasty for your success? Next time, think about whether you are wasting all your efforts.
You think, “Working out has revved up my metabolism, this slice of pizza will burn easily.”
- In fact, the post-workout effect occurs when your body uses energy to return to a resting state. However, even very intense workouts burn less than 100 extra calories.
- Solution: Start skipping your post-workout snack and you'll save up to 500 calories in five days.
You think, “I burned so many calories during my morning workout! And I can eat whatever I want.”
- In fact, participants in an experiment conducted at the University of Ottawa burned 200 calories while walking, but believed they had consumed 800 calories. And in the end, they overate by 350 calories.
- Solution: If you want to know how many calories you burned, use one of the online calorie calculators.
You think, “I had such a hard workout! I should reward myself.”
- In fact. Rewarding yourself with your favorite fatty pork or pastries will not help you lose weight. Running for 40 minutes at a speed of 15 km/h will burn about 470 kcal, and drinking a cup of coffee with an eclair will restore this loss with a surplus.
- Solution: Find other ways to motivate yourself. Get a pedicure or talk to a friend on the phone for half an hour.
You're thinking, “Chocolate before a workout? Why not! It'll burn out anyway.”
- In fact, according to research published in the Journal of Nutrition, women who preferred foods with a high glycemic index (chocolate, cakes) burned 55 fewer calories during exercise than those who chose low-GI foods (oatmeal, yogurt).
- Solution: Eat sweets in moderation and not before a workout.
It has been proven that women are more likely to overeat after a workout than men. This is due to physiology: the level of hormones that provoke hunger attacks increases faster in women. This is how nature protects women from exhaustion in case of pregnancy.
Eat to lose weight
So, we found out: what you eat before a workout can affect the result. Don't complain that there is less than an hour left before the workout and you simply don't have time to eat. Even in this case, you can find a perfectly acceptable option to “refuel.” So, how long do you plan to train?
Less than 60 minutes. Low-intensity workout.
During the class, you can talk without straining (stretching, yoga).
- There's less than an hour until the workout. And since it's going to be easy, you can skip the rush to eat: your energy reserves are unlikely to run out in time. But don't go to the gym dehydrated and hungry, otherwise you'll get tired quickly. The best choice. Half an apple and water.
- It's more than an hour before your workout. You'll probably have time for a small snack: a combination of low-fat foods with a low glycemic index. The best choice. Yogurt with rye bread and pieces of fruit.
Less than 60 minutes. High-intensity workout.
You cannot utter a word during exercise (running, cycling).
- Less than an hour before your workout. During exercise, your body redirects blood from your stomach to your muscles, slowing down your digestion. If you eat too soon before your workout, the fermentation of undigested food can cause discomfort and pain. Didn't have time to eat? Grab a snack with simple carbohydrates. A slice of white bread with low-calorie jelly or a sports drink are the best choices.
- It's more than an hour before your workout. You need foods with a low glycemic index to optimize fat burning. A serving of turkey with brown rice is a good choice.
Are you hungry on your way home from the gym? Buy a small bottle of 2.5% fat kefir and warm it in your hands: a warm drink with moderate fat content will satisfy your hunger better than fruit with low-fat cheese!
More than 60 minutes. Low-intensity training.
- It's less than an hour until your workout. It's a good idea to get some food, as you're going to be working out for more than an hour. However, you probably won't enjoy doing inverted yoga poses or pulling your abs on a full stomach. A couple of whole-grain breads and a slice of cheese are a better choice.
- It's more than an hour until your workout. So that you don't get tired after a workout, eat a meal that combines grains with proteins and fats. All of this is digested at different speeds, and you'll be full all the time. The best choice is a cup of muesli with milk, a hard-boiled egg.
More than 60 minutes. High-intensity training.
- Less than an hour until training. Dangerous situation! And there is no time before the lesson, and the work is supposed to be serious. The solution is simple carbohydrates, which you will need in larger quantities. Eat a dish with 150-200 kcal. The best choice is a cup of cereal with raisins or a few bread rolls with jam.
- More than an hour before your workout. Eat a 400-600 calorie meal that is 60% low-GI carbs and 40% protein and fat. A good choice is a whole-wheat bagel with 1 slice of cheese and 2 slices of turkey, or 1 cup of oatmeal with skim milk and 1/3 cup of raisins.
What types of fitness suppress appetite?
Some types of fitness suppress appetite, while others, unfortunately, only fuel it.
Running or cycling.
With prolonged cardio exercise, the body's energy reserves are depleted: creatine phosphate and glycogen in muscle cells. And the body requires these reserves to be restored. The fastest way to do this is with carbohydrates. If the body does not receive them in the first half hour after exercise, it will begin to recover at the expense of its own resources, destroying muscle tissue. For a snack at this time, choose complex carbohydrates, for example, cereals.
Swimming.
A type of fitness that really stimulates the appetite. When you exercise in the pool, you spend energy not only on the movements themselves, but also on maintaining body temperature. Take a hot shower or drink hot tea after exercise – this will slightly suppress your appetite. However, if the workout was long enough, it will not be easy to completely suppress this feeling.
Strength training.
Such training significantly reduces the level of the hunger hormone, so that, having put down the dumbbells, you are unlikely to immediately want to eat. After a heavy strength training, the appetite is noticeably reduced. However, recovery processes occur regardless of our desires, and our task is to give the body the necessary building material (protein) and glucose (carbohydrates). Within an hour after training, eat an egg with grain bread or 100 g of low-fat cheese.
Yoga.
According to a study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association, yogis are more likely to eat healthily and gain less weight. The practice teaches them to remain calm in difficult situations, whether it's an inverted pose or stress that would make someone else eat a lot of cookies.
Note
The above article is based on a serious scientific base of studies that study the relationship between physical activity and appetite.
Studies published in the American Journal of Physiology and the Journal of Applied Physiology confirm that exercise affects levels of key appetite hormones — ghrelin and peptide YY ScienceDaily American Physiological Society.
A meta-analysis published in Sports Medicine (2014), which included data from 20 studies and 241 participants, showed that exercise suppresses levels of acylated ghrelin and increases levels of PYY, GLP-1, and PP Acute exercise and hormones related to appetite regulation: a meta-analysis — PubMed.
A study by the University of Ottawa confirmed that people overestimate energy expenditure during exercise by 3-4 times, and their post-exercise food intake exceeds actual energy expenditure by 2-3 times. Normal weight men and women overestimate exercise energy expenditure — PubMed.
A classic study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (1992) showed that failure to lose weight is often associated with significant errors in reporting food intake and physical activity Discrepancy between Self-Reported and Actual Caloric Intake and Exercise in Obese Subjects | New England Journal of Medicine.
A study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Association (2009), demonstrated a strong link between yoga practice and mindful eating, showing that middle-aged people who practiced yoga gained less weight over a 10-year period. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center ScienceDaily.
Джерело: ukr.media
