Eating is one of the greatest pleasures that we can enjoy as humans. From breakfast to lunch to dinner and every snack in-between can be heaven on earth. For the most part my post-workout meals are boring. It consists of a large plate of white rice. Now, do I love this meal? Not really, but this is what works as my post-workout meal.
At times I feel left out because I always hear everyone saying how much they can eat after a workout, or “I can have a nice big steak with some corn, muffins, and an apple pie to wash it all down”! Like really? If I had an appetite like that, bulking would definitely be easier!
Anyway, one of the reasons I brought this up was because I found out that exercise can actually decrease your hunger for food after an exercise session.
The study that I found this information was actually published by Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, so legitimacy is no question. In the final results of the study they found that exercise depresses the area in the brain that affects your motivation to consume food.
In addition, the scientist saw an increase in physical activity with the decreased motivation for food which was a major surprise! The results were the same across the board whether the individual was at a normal healthy weight or was considered obese.
After seeing this study you would think it should be easier to lose weight, right? If a person is exercising more and eating less due to decreased appetite, shouldn’t weight just fall to the waist side? Not necessarily. The down fall of having a decreased appetite can cause a person to under eat which can lead to a slower metabolism, and in return cause a potential weight gain.
I am not trying to disregard this study at all, but trying to bring light that this study is only showing part of the results. You still need your metabolism at full throttle, and by doing so you need to maintain balanced meals.
The best way to make sure you are not over/under eating during a healthy lifestyle change is by sticking with your normal diet. Once you add exercise to your daily routine you should slowly cut away from your diet. Slowly cutting away gives you room to see what works and what needs to be changed to achieve that better version of yourself.
-Phil