Hardcore binge after the gym?

Hey everyone,

So I'm pretty new here.. I've been browsing around the message boards and have found various things about binge situations, but nothing about the particular problem that I encounter.

Does anyone else have an extreme "desire" to binge after going to the gym? This, of course, isn't to say that I WANT to run home and eat everything in sight after working my butt off at the gym, but if I come home and have a healthy snack, I just can't seem to stop eating!! Half a box of cereal, or a bag of chips, or a whole bag of popcorn.. you get the idea.

I often come home and binge on more calories than I just burned off!! Of course this leads to guilt and feeling like crap about myself for the rest of the evening..

I drink LOTS of water before, during and after my workouts.. easily 64oz.. I usually come home and have a 4oz glass of 2% milk (I can't stomach skim milk and soy makes me ill), but it does nothing for my insatiable hunger post-workout.. 

 

 Am I alone in this? Does anyone have any suggestions for combating this?

oh great! :( hubby wants to join the gym again today & that's exactly what i'm worried about!!! that's what we always did after the gym... EAT!!! a whole meal!!! like applebees or dennys or something!!!

i really don't even want to go. i'm happy with my treadmill & afraid i'll gain weight if i start going to the gym. even if i don't eat, i'll have to watch him eat :(

It makes going to the gym really discouraging..

I love the feeling I have when I leave.. but as soon as I get home, that's it. It's never 1/2 cup of cereal, it's 1/2 the damn box!

I tried getting rid of all the unhealthy things that I could stuff my face with after my workout, but I just find myself stopping at the grocery store to get something.

UGHHH!!!!!!!! Sometimes I just want to give up and surrender to being fat for the rest of my life (and I'm only a month short of 21!) but I know that's not actually something I want to do, but just the frustration talking.. 

I find myself wanting to binge after a lot of other things too :)

Usually I succeed  without overeating after a workout if I plan what to eat in advance.

My favorite  after workout meal is: an omelet with 3 egg whites or 1 egg and 1 egg white with onions and bell peppers, 100 grams of cottage cheese, veggies (celery and carrots and cucumber if I decide to skip the bread I make little sandwiches with the omelet and the veggies) and 2 or 3 slices of light bread (40 cals per slice). Then I have a cup of tea and about 2 hours later I have a yogurt with a serving of fruit.

 If I work out in the morning I have to make sure I have a snack every 2 hours and a good lunch and dinner as well (soups and rice and chicken breast). If I work out in the evening I make sure I have plans for after dinner so that the temptaion to keep eating is gone. If I know I'll be around the fridge I make sure I have diet ice cream cones, yogurt and so on...

Well thats just a suggestion I have a hard time sticking to it cause chips always look tempting but I feel so good when I do cause after a work out I feel how my body gulps up the protein... and if I succeed and actually go out the feeling of victory over self indulgence is so gooood

 

 Hope it helps

T 

Hi , What time are u working out at? try more of a protein thing or a whole grain snack instead of simple carbs. Your body is all revved up and those kind of carbs leave you feeling unsatisfied and beating yourself up. I like kashi snack bars and a glass of milk or yogurt (fat free) some walnuts and blue berries they seem to tame that beast I call hunger. Hope this helps

Do you think it's a psychological thing? Like "well I earned this" or is it just a hunger thing?  I'm eating my post-workout snack as I write and it consists of :

2 oz pre-cooked chicken

an apple with 2 tblsp of peanut butter

and a laughing cow wedge

Calorie total: 300 ish

I've found that allowing myself some variety helps me not cram everything I see into my mouth and I'm just had to stop buying things like chips, which I really can't resist. Do you eat before you workout at all? I prefer not too, unless I workout in the afternoon.  Maybe eating a little an hour or two before you hit the gym could help as well.  Overall, I'd try to identify why you might be 'bingeing' and try to set yourself some caloric limits ("ok, post-workout snack will be 400 calories of something", no more) and really try to up the self-control. Good luck. 

There seems to be tons of things on here about eggs.. like skim milk, eggs are one of those things that I literally cannot bring myself to consume. The smell, the taste/texture (no matter how they're cooked), I just can't do it..

I generally head to the gym from 1-3pm, but since winter break, the time has varied quite a bit. Once I get back to school next week, the time will be consistent again. No matter when I go, I always seem to come home and feel like stuffing my face. 

I do usually start off with some whole grain toast with peanut butter and fruit, but it just doesn't "do the trick" and I end up grabbing everything else in sight.  

 I generally don't eat much before I work out, but more out of a time constraint -- I have breakfast around 730am, and am in class from 8-1245 straight through; I usually have a piece of fruit walking from class back to the dorm, then get changed and head to the gym. I'm a music major and most of my day is spent playing instruments of singing, so eating in class isn't a realistic thing. 

I'll try having something a little bit more substantial beforehand, maybe that will do the trick..

Thanks for everyone's suggestions!!  

It seems I have the opposite effect, like one day

i had only eaten about 600 calories, not on purpose just wasn't hungry. Then I went to gym and was even less hungry, and I was literally gaging trying to force myself to eat. It was crazy. I was also taking Hydroxycut at the time, don't know if that was why I was feeling that way because I have taken H before and not had that problem.

Nowadays I try to have atleast 800 cals before I even leave work at 5pm, that way I still have enough calories in case I'm hungry, but not so many I feel like I have to force myself.

Try a appetite suppresant. I take slim quick for women, but there are tons of different ones on the market and I find they really help curb my hunger when I am not really that hungry! Or try eating something different, like proteins not carbs.

How did you like Hydroxicut? I was considering it..

 Also, do you know anything about the safety of it? 

 Same goes for the appetite suppressants.. I've considered them before.. I just don't know how safe they are..

i'm working on overcoming bulimia, and have been trying to track my "triggers" for binging. after the gym is always the worst time for me! i think its because i don't eat enough before i workout..

I've actually found a good way to supress my insane hunger both after workouts and at night, (both when I'm prone to binge). I either get a cup of coffee or ff hot chocolate, etc, and put a teaspoon of fiber sure in it. 1 tsp of fiber sure has 5 grams of fiber, and you can't taste it at all! (Trust me, I usually can't stomach any kind of diet powder!). The hot liquid puts something in my stomach and the fiber definitely fills me up. I actually was craving some cereal the other day, and just added the fiber sure to my cereal for a light snack that definitely filled me up! It's definitely worth trying!

YES!!! I was going to post this very topic today!

The other day I played basketball for over an hour and had this insatiable craving for french fries. And I got them. And the salt tasted so good at hte time (later I felt blech...). But I am right on board with you...it's not a "I'm going to reward myself" type of thing...it's a legitimate craving. I think my craving might have something to do with salt. I sweat a lot when I work out and a rigorous workout even moreso, so I'm wondering if that has something to do with it? 

I'll have to try the fiber powder thing..  I could probably use more in my diet, anyway.

 

Erin, it's interesting that you mention salt.. I often find myself scarfing down salty things too, but I didn't really give it much thought until you mentioned it. hmm.. interesting. 

weezer, that could be a dehydration thing - I know that when I don't drink enough water, I crave salty stuff like there's no tomorrow.

I drink so much water that I pee atleast once every 2 hours.. I check my blood sugar regularly (both of my parents are diabetic) and my range is on the low end of normal..  generally in the mid 60s.. according to my doctor, normal can be anywhere from ~60  - ~120

I actually find exercise to be an appetite suppresant.

I now find exercise to be an appetite suppressant also... but I DO remember a time when I'd go out for McDonalds as soon as I was done exerting. I think that was due to not eating enough calories before doing the workout. I think that if you eat a little something before the workout and stay well hydrated throughout, you won't binge. What I do now is eat a small banana and a few almonds, have an energy drink and then work out about 15 minutes later. Also, bing some headphones and great music and really get into it. I always feel great afterward.

Also, look at your meal times and calorie amounts overall and make sure your body isn't just panicking over the sudden calorie burn caused by the workout. It may be a matter of letting your body just adjust to the cals spent. It may also be pyschological: you've gone to the gym, so you expect a reward. Reward eating should be nipped in the bud.

One other note....I quit swimming as a form of exericise because I could NOT keep myself from bingeing after a swim. ALways fish & chips, pizza, burgers etc...Apparently it's common for people's appetite to go up after being in the water. I read a whole article on how hard it is for some swimmers to keep their weight down because the swimming acts as an appetite stimulant. Just FYI, that you might want to give the pool a miss and stick with the treadmill.