Women's Health Magazine - Robin Hilmantel, July 12 2013
High-intensity exercise may actually decrease food cravings, according to new
research published in the International Journal of Obesity.
For the study, researchers from The University of Western
Australia had 17 male participants rotate through four groups: one that didn’t
work out at all, one that worked out at a moderate intensity for 30 minutes,
one that did an interval workout for 30 minutes, and one that did a more
intense interval workout for 30 minutes. While doing any type of workout
decreased the number of calories participants ate later during a test meal, the
biggest difference was between the most vigorous interval workout (participants
ate 594 calories on average after that) and the group that didn’t work out at
all (which ate 764 calories). What’s more, participants took in fewer calories
for more than 24 hours following the most intense workouts, says study author
Aaron Sim, a PhD candidate at the School of Sport Science, Exercise and Health
at The University of Western Australia.
Researchers aren’t sure why particularly tough sweat
sessions might decrease your appetite—even long after you leave the gym—but it
may have something to do with the fact that, after the most intense workouts,
participants had lower levels of ghrelin, a hormone that stimulates appetite.
The study also linked super-hard routines to higher levels of blood lactate and
blood glucose, both of which make you feel hungry when they’re too low.
I'm pretty sure -- no, I AM sure -- that I knew this already from long ago (six, seven, eight years ago...?) that intense exercise reduces appetite, and, dare I say, cravings. As for the cravings, at least it seems to work that way for me.
These first couple weeks of the new year, I've been crazy busy with work, leaving little time for exercise. Add to that these frigid cold temps, that even if I COULD squeeze in the 30-40 min window for getting my butt to the gym, I've been talking myself out of it with the argument:
"Seriously? You REALLY want to get all bundled up and go out in these stinging frigid temps? Expose your already-dry skin to that biting air? Worry with all those layers? Can't you just wait and do it tomorrow?"
And yes, with each day that passes, I find myself getting sluggier and sluggier. (Spellcheck doesn't like that word. That's too bad. It's exactly the word I'm looking for -- it's MY new word.) And, add to that, hungrier and hungrier. At least I've convinced myself that I'm hungrier. I wake up hungrier, my inner Hungry Clock goes off more often now. Lots more grazing. And increasingly sluggier.
Today I was determined to go to the gym. I had only made it there once last week. Sad. Very sad.
Enough. No excuses today. I get layered up. Grab my Kindle (to get through the cardio), water bottle, and gym bag, and head out to scrape my windshield. And off I go. Not liking it a bit, wondering why I'm doing this when I could be inside in a warm house with a cup of coffee, proofreading.
Upon returning, galvanized and on top of the world -- as usual -- I made myself a protein shake -- oh, and by the way, I've discovered a new concoction. It's a mixture of one part Vanilla Trutein and one part Mocha Trutein. Oh, yes. PERFECTION. But I digress. So yep, made the shake and grabbed a half cup of blueberries. And from the minute I began making the shake, it became painfully obvious to me, I didn't feel at all hungry. I'd only had about 250 cals with coffee for breakfast around 8 a.m. this morning while proofreading transcripts, and it was then 12:30 p.m. Not at all hungry.
If this were yesterday, I would have already had 500 cals or more (way more?) down, and would have continued with the mindless grazing.
I remain convinced. Intense exercise really does lower your appetite.
That settles it. Again! I really must get myself to the gym more often. Hell or high water ... or snow ... or frigid temps.
Just go, T. And you'll reap the endless rewards!!!
