Ok - Almost 8 weeks post-op - everything is going extremely well. Have had 2 fills and felt great - eating very little and only twice a day - consistently losing 2 lbs per week. Last week I started to go back to the gym - nothing crazy - but about 40 minutes of cardio/weights. Now my eating is OUT of whack - I am starving after the gym, which makes sense to me so I have a Protein shake and I assume the rest of the day will be normal - but its not. I feel hungrier than normal all day - I have headaches if I don't eat more. I feel completely messed up - on top of that, in the last week - I have not lost any weight.

I know that exercise is good for you - and I know that I will not stop. I just need some advice on how to handle my hunger. Do I get another fill? I can't be burning more than 250-300 calories in the workout - so the 200 calorie Protein Shake puts a lot of that back. So what gives??

Try eating a harder protein like a hardboiled egg and cheese or meat, it will stick with you longer and give you the protein you need. It happens to me, too, probably because of what is referred to as the "after burn" effect where the metabolic fires are stimulatd by the exercise for a few hours after the work out.

Good luck.

Mimi

Hey Office Mate -

How many calories appx are you eating a day?

Hey Office Mate -

How many calories appx are you eating a day?

Office mate...I like that

Ah... about 1000-1200 per day. 1200 with breakfast/protein shake. Yesterday however I ate 1400....

Eating very little and only twice a day is barely enough fuel to keep your body going, much less fueling a workout. So you need to add some food. (preferably a whole other meal.)

It's ok-- the weight that you're NOT losing is just because your body is holding onto Water (probably)- especially if you're doing some weight training. It helps with the repair work of building muscle tissue. (which is good). It'll go away.

If possible, try to workout right before you'd eat a meal anyway, and eat that meal within an hour of your workout. Make it a well-rounded one-- lean Protein, veggies and some whole grain carb.

Office mate...I like that

Ah... about 1000-1200 per day. 1200 with breakfast/protein shake. Yesterday however I ate 1400....

That sounds like a little bit of calories for someone who is 100 lbs over weight and working out . Did you meet with the nutritionist when you went to get your fill ?

Though protein shakes are good, they really aren't enough to hold you over if 1. you're only eating twice a day 2. you're drinking it after you exercise.

You need a denser protein to keep you fuller, especially after you do cardio. I'd also try to add in another meal or at least a small snack. My dr stresses eating 3 times a day. I actually eat 5 times a day now with the exercise I'm doing.

When I started doing p90 I stalled because I wasn't eating enough. I stalled last week, probably because I'm not eating enough, so my advice, eat more, more often. Snacking is NOT a bad thing if you're doing it to fuel yourself and if it's healthy.

If you're doing high intensity cardio without much stopping I'd say eat more. Keep an eye on your calorie levels as well as your protein levels.

That sounds like a little bit of calories for someone who is 100 lbs over weight and working out . Did you meet with the nutritionist when you went to get your fill ?

I did! They told me to stick to around 1000 calories per day... but I wonder if they say that assuming that people underestimate how many calories they take in. I track it religiously so I know exactly what I take in on any given day. My body is saying EAT - so I guess I need to listen.

This is totally new though - because before I started working out last week, I was coasting along - no hunger between meals. I had a cup of coffee in the am and then lunch and dinner - and I would not get hungry for like 5 hours after I ate. Now this....

The other thing you need to consider with the fact that you are not losing any weight is that since you are exercising that you are gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat. You may actually gain some weight so sometimes when are are beginning an exercise regiment you should bypass the scale and look more at your measurements and how your clothes are fitting.

I also agree that you need to increase your Protein and Water intake. Two meals a day is not enough. You may want to start to eat more often. Meaning, eat some protein every 2-3 hours, but dont eat more in the course of the day than you would have with the two meals. It will level out your blood sugar levels and keep your body fueled steadily.

Eventually your body will realize it is beyond starvation mode and you will start to drop the lbs.

Again, dont fret...keep the exercise going!

Have you looked at active.com? They have a sports nutritionist who talks about being hungry after a work out. Here is a link.

Active Expert: Nancy Clark RD CSSD: When should I eat after a long, hard workout? | Active.com

You could try not having one long hard workout and instead a fast walk, jog or lunges in 15 min intervals 2-3 times daily. This way you will burn just as many calories, but but not at once so you might not notice the increased hunger. Another thing to consider is that muscle weighs more than fat. So maybe you should focus more on inches than weight. Good luck!

The other thing you need to consider with the fact that you are not losing any weight is that since you are exercising that you are gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat. You may actually gain some weight so sometimes when are are beginning an exercise regiment you should bypass the scale and look more at your measurements and how your clothes are fitting.

While muscle does weigh more than fat, there is no way that she is gaining so much muscle that it is making the scale go up. She's losing fat at the same time and she's definitely burning more fat than she is building muscle.

I find that harder exercise deadens my appetite - try throwing some intervals into your cardio where you go all out, REALLY exhaust yourself and you might find you're not hungry. Works for me. Lighter exercise like walking makes me hungrier, for sure. Not that I dont do it, its great for you, but I find that harder stuff really makes me not feel like eating for hours afterwards.

I am doing a bootcamp 3 days a week (burning 450-600 per session and only eating 900 calories a day in total). I was having the same issue so I took a power protien shot (from Target, GNC, Rite Aid etc.) before my work out the other day and drank a protein juice drink in my water bottle during the boot camp and I was not hungry afterwards. It was the magic bullet.

coffee for breakfast is a bad idea. eating in the morning helps control your appetite later. i'd also reccomend smaller meal portions and healthy snacks rather than only eating 2-3 times a day.

I eat an hour before my workouts. My fav. thing to eat to fuel me is non fat plain greek yogurt (protein), Bob's Red Mill Muesli (carbs) and some berries (bue or red, ie strawberries). This amounts to just about 200 calories and holds me from 7am till noon. I do a minimum of 90 minutes (30 min stretching and 60 of pretty intense cardio) on this breakfast.. up to 3 hours ( 1 hr weights and 2 hours cardio).

How long has it been since your last fill? If eating some breakfast doesn't take care of the hunger after workout issue, I'd schedule an appt to go in and talk about more fill.