Many fitness and health experts tell us that one of the best ways to maintain a healthy lifestyle is with consistent exercise. In many cases, the same experts tell us that adhering to a balanced diet may be just as, if not more, important to overall health. But here’s something may not tell you: it can be difficult to limit your daily calorie intake while sticking to a daily workout regimen.
If you’re like me and other aging adults, this is a nearly unwinnable struggle. It seems the more I exercise, the more I want to eat. I can usually suppress my food cravings for a few hours after working out, but often I’m stuffing my face with anything I can find once four or five hours go by.
Overeating and gaining weight is the LAST thing I want to be doing as an aging adult. After all, I’ve spent much of life at relatively consistent and healthy weight. Why would want to risk packing on the pounds at this point in my life in order to get a little more exercise? Well, I wouldn’t. And better yet, I might not have to.
So why do I consistently negate exercise sessions by devouring excess calories later in the day?
Surely, I can’t be the alone in this struggle. Well, a study published in the Journal of Endocrinology suggests that I am in fact NOT alone and that my upturn in post-workout hunger is probably a very normal and natural result of exercise.
Studies like this one and others suggest that an increase of blood flow to the digestive system combined with an increase of the metabolic rate after physical exertion may actually make us eat more. Moreover, exercise burns up vital carbohydrates, fats, nutrients, and proteins. Anyone who exercises consistently is aware that in order to keep energy levels up and repair muscles properly, they MUST refuel their body at some point.
Now I know that working out will probably make me hungry, but this info does nothing to help with my problem. The fact remains: I exercise, I get hungry, I eat. But how do I replenish my body while also limiting calories?
Curbing your calorie consumption following your workout routine can be a daunting task for some people. I certainly fall into this category. If you do as well, here are some wonderful meal replacement drink options you may want to check out. If you do (and it goes without saying that if you do so, you should first check with your doctor), the daily battle between food and exercise might not look so impossible.