Working out can leave you feeling high, energized and at the same time—hungry. When you are tired, like how you’re feeling after an intensified workout, it gets too easy to eat a lot as your body would want to replenish what you’ve burned during your activity. So what can you do to satisfy you hunger without ruining your workout results? The answer is to learn how to control what you intake after workouts. Learn to balance your hunger and not binge on anything lest your workout efforts be put to vain. Here are a few strategies to help you curb the post-workout hunger without going overboard.
1. Ease up a bit on your workouts
Vigorous workouts can increase your appetite for food. The harder the activity, the more taxing it is to your body. The more you use up your body’s energy supply, the more it craves for food to recuperate and replenish what it lost. So if you want to tone your appetite down, ease your workouts for a bit too.
2. Sip more
Sip more water and refuel often. When you sweat, you then thirst, and in cases like this, it’s pretty possible to mistake thirst for hunger. What you need to do is drink first before you sit down for a meal to dissipate your thirst. Reports have shown that people who drink about 7 cups of water in a day consume about 200 calories lower than those who get to drink less amounts of water per day.
3. Eat within 30 minutes
A lot of research has proven that exercising before a meal helps a lot in curbing your appetite. In studies where food or meals are served within 15 to 30 minutes post-workout, it was shown that test subjects or participants were less likely to eat more and are hesitant to pile those calories back into their bodies.
4. Recharge Wisely
If you can’t have a meal immediately after working out, then just skip the energy bar and instead eat a carb-and-protein snack. Examples of which may include 6-ounce yogurt that’s fat free laden with a half-cup of strawberries as toppings. This sample treat is great in satiating your hunger for only 97 calories.
