Is It Normal To Be Really Hungry After A Workout?
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Cheat Meals vs Cheat Days
On today’s episode of Live Lean TV, we’re answering a viewer question who asked, is it normal to be hungry after a workout?
We also discuss the idea of cheat meals vs cheat days.
This was a question from #AskLiveLeanTV Ep. 015.
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Here’s today’s viewer question:
@ZinskiKat on Twitter asks: Is it normal to be super hungry after a workout? I don’t know if my body is telling me to feed it or it’s just cravings.
It is absolutely normal, healthy, and good to be hungry after a workout.
In fact, it sounds like you have ignited the afterburn.
This is part of the reason why working out helps you Live Lean.
Working out helps to spike and increase your metabolism.
You’ll also notice that if you have a heavy leg day workout, you will be way more hungry than if you just went for a walk.
In addition to this, you’ll also notice if you lounge around for a few days, after being injured or sick, most people lose their appetite.
Should You Feed The Hunger Or Just Ignore The Cravings?
With that said, let’s answer the second part of your question.
You asked if you should feed the hunger or just ignore the cravings.
It’s a little bit of both.
Yes, you should feed the hunger, but you also can’t use it as an excuse to binge eat or completely blow out your calorie needs.
However, I would recommend that if you are feeling really hungry on a heavy leg day, that is absolutely a good day to have a cheat meal, like a pizza.
After a tough workout is the time your body needs more calories and nutrients to recover.
Having a cheat meal is a good way to do that.
With all that said, we are not saying you should have a pizza after every workout.
You’re Allowed To Want, Whatever You Want
But just because you want something, it doesn’t mean you should have something.
Although I would eat a pizza after every workout, that will not work out for me in the long-term.
Honestly, after I eat pizza, or any cheat meal, I feel satisfied that I don’t need it again for another week.
When I eat pizza, rather than having one little mini slice of a healthy variation of pizza, I will usually get a Domino’s pizza to fulfill my cravings.
That way, I won’t crave pizza the next day.
Well, maybe just after 24 hours I would start craving pizza again, but I don’t feed into that craving 😉.
Should You Have A Cheat Meal Or A Cheat Day?
This led to a conversation that Jessica and I had on having cheat meals vs cheat days.
In particular, at the point we’re at with Living Lean, how many cheat meals would it take for us to eat in a week, before we would start to notice a back slide with our results?
For me personally, I think the combination of my body fat percentage of just under 10%, and my workout style, I could get away with 2 or 3 cheat meals per week, or a full cheat day.
For example, on a Sunday, I could have a full cheat day where everything I eat, including 3-4 cheat meals, would be a cheat.
Although I would probably feel gross after a full cheat day, I think I could get away with it, without negatively affecting my physique.
However, here’s the other approach to having a full cheat day.
Rather than having all your cheat meals in one day, you could allocate multiple individual cheat meals throughout the week.
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For example, you could have one cheat meal every second day.
Regardless of how you approach your cheat meals, you have to make sure it doesn’t mess with your head, or stop you from feeling healthy.
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Now I want you to go check out this video post on my 6 rules on how to use cheat meals to lose weight and boost metabolism.
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Question Of The Day:
- Do you find working out makes you more hungry?
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Brad Gouthro is the founder of Live Lean TV, a media company focused on helping men and women “Live Lean” 365 days a year. Brad’s programs and content have helped millions of people all over the world learn how to get in shape, and more importantly, sustain it for life.
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