Please Help Me. (Always Hungry For sweet Carbs like cereal, oatmeal)

I used to exercise after dinner and not eat anything after wards so I would be starving the next morning and post workout. I decided switched my schedule around and to exercise in the afternoons before dinner and have a post workout snack. It worked for two days and my appetite was reduced for sweet carbs like cereal and oatmeal but now I am noticing that when I work out, afterwards Im starving! I thought vigorous exercise was suppose to reduce appetite. I come home from school about 3 1/2 hours after eating lunch and I eat 10 almonds 10 minutes before I workout and its not reducing my appetite. I think one of the reasons my appetite was reduced for the first two days was because I was exercising within two hours after eating lunch and it was the weekemd. I am getting scared that I will either have to stop working out so I wont always be hungry for carbs all the time and then my thirty pound weight loss will come back. Btw, I eat 2300 calories a day.

I work out at night and I experience the same problem after I'm done. I usually just try to keep a low cal snack on hand so that I don't have to go through the torture of not eating anything at all. When you work out you're burning calories and energy, so that's why you're feeling so hungry afterwards. I've also heard that eating a healthy snack before working out is good too because our bodies are like vehicles that need the fuel for energy. So, maybe you could try eating a healthy snack before working out so that you're not so tempted to chow down afterwards. Btw, I also have a serious sweet tooth and I found these pineapple parfaits at the grocery store and they are sooo good (only 70 cals too). I know they're not carbs, but it's still something sweet and it's healthy too. Try substituting the sweet carb cravings for things like bananas and oranges. It's worked for me.

I also read somewhere that when you're craving a certain something (like carbs for instance) it's because your body is lacking in something. Try googling it and see what you come up with so that maybe you can figure out why you keep craving carbs. Whatever you do though, don't stop working out. That will definitely bring the weight back! Good luck!

Why would you be worried about being hungry for carbs? Carbs are the fuel for your workout! And of all carbs to worry about, oatmeal is the least.  Eating a cup of oatmeal every day would be great for you.  And other cereal can be very good for you, too, depending on what it's nutritional content is.

But regardless, a small snack before hand and a protein shake after workout is what works great for me.  Typically, a piece of fruit, or a small yogurt, or maybe piece of string cheese and a few berries. Something around a hundred calories or so.  And then a protein shake (150 cal) after workout.  You get the fuel you need for the workout and the protein you need for muscle repair.

I'm seconding Valcatraz on the low-cal snack idea, and sharz96 on the oatmeal idea -- oatmeal, in particular, is high in fiber, and there are reduced-sugar and sugar-free versions on the market that taste great.

However, if you're counting carbs, do bear in mind that the sugars that make oranges and bananas sweet are still carbs -- they're just more complex carbohydrates, and therefore break down more slowly than the sugars in processed snacks and sugar-sweetened drinks (in other words, they have a lower 'glycemic index').

That being said, fruit after working out sounds like a great idea -- a lot of fruits are high in potassium, which is often lost during strenuous activity; vitamin C, which seems to be good for just about everything, LOL; fiber, which helps with cholesterol levels and disgestion; and contain water, which can help with rehydration.  A protien shake can also play a lot of those roles, and some of the good ones are so good they feel like a reward instead of good nutrition :D

Maybe a couple of tangerines, an orange, or half a sweet red grapefruit would make a great post-workout snack, if you don't go for the protien shake thing.  I think I'm going to try that, actually.

"Whatever you do though, don't stop working out. That will definitely bring the weight back! Good luck! "-valcatraz

I disagree with that statement.  When I took a break from working out, I lost 5 pounds and ate 500 calories less (without trying).  Of course, that weight was probably muscle weight (I'm pretty muscular in my thighs, and afterwards my jeans were loose), hence the decrease in calories I consumed.

In reply to the main post, eat a lighter lunch and eat a protein shake after you workout.  If it's carbs you're craving, heck, add frozen strawberries to the protein shake and blend in a blender with water or milk.  That's what I do (about 3 times a day [I eat 6 times a day]).  Trust me.  I was in the same boat, and ate tons of sugar-laden cereal until I switched to my protein smoothies.

Original Post by valcatraz:

I also read somewhere that when you're craving a certain something (like carbs for instance) it's because your body is lacking in something. Try googling it and see what you come up with so that maybe you can figure out why you keep craving carbs. 

 THIS!! Though for me it WAS true but it was like all the time, not just after working out. I CRAVED sweets. I'd eat and couldn't get enough and want more even though I had eaten a healthy meal already. I went to the doctor and had my blood work done. I am borderline diabetic (have been for years but needed another reminder lol) but also i was deficient in Iron and Vitamin D. It was affecting my moods and energy levels too. I bought good vitamins and it's definitely helped. Also I have to plan my exercise where I know I'll be having a meal after too. I can't do cardio without wanting something after so I plan  for it.

Definately eat after you workout!! I'm a fitness instructor and studied nutrition in college- your body needs the nutrients to repair. Eat within the first 30 min after exercise. Try changing your pre-workout snack to something with carbs (raisins?), fat takes too long to digest and won't help as much. When you're trying to cut calories, they should not be cut from your pre and post-workout snacks/meals. You need the pre for fuel and the post for repair. Also, not eating after you workout produces stress hormones which cause you to conserve energy (aka slow metabolism)

Oatmeal is great for you! It's one of the best "sweets" you can have!

And keep up the workouts, it's better for your health.