Is it just me or is it more common for swimmers to develop a significant increase in their appetite than athletes in other sports? I usually swim in the late afternoons and evenings, 6-7 days a week, for 3,500 to 4,500 yards (60-90 minutes at 60-80% HRmax intensity) and my workouts vary from training interval workouts to straight distance workouts. I started upping my workouts from short 1,000 - 1,500 yards to 3,500 - 4,500 yards over the last three months and since then, my appetite in the evenings and during the night has gotten out of control. I still get full on moderate amounts of food but then I'm starving again 20 minutes later and continue to be starving until breakfast and after breakfast, my appetite becomes pretty stable (but I'm busy in the daytime so I may be hungry and just not aware of it). I never felt this way after other types of exercise.
I haven't given in by increasing my food intake but I also haven't lost any weight either (unfortunately). I'm a small person (5'0", 120 lbs) and my calorie burn is pretty low - my BMR is 1255 and I burn only 350-450 calories on a 60 minute workout (I can burn up to 650 on a 90 minute workout at 80-95% HRmax intensity). So, it's not like I can afford to eat a whole lot.
So, is this a swimming phenomenon or am I just weird? And if swimmers tend to be hungrier than other athletes, why?
Various studies have been inconclusive on whether swimming makes you hungry vs. any other type of exercise. But most say it depends on your overall nutrition and how much you eat before and after.
I found that it did make me hungry at first, but my hunger leveled out after about a month or two when my body got used to swimming. And I lost some weight. However, no amount of exercise will help you lose weight if it becomes an excuse to eat. I've heard that the next issue of Swim will have something on nutrition, so perhaps that will help. I'm also 5' tall, but trying to get back to 110. I was 95 lbs. in my 30s and considered myself pretty fit, but that all went to the proverbial heat wave in a hand basket when I hit my late 40s and mental pause set in. But if I could get to 120 I'd be pretty darned happy.
Various studies have been inconclusive on whether swimming makes you hungry vs. any other type of exercise. But most say it depends on your overall nutrition and how much you eat before and after.
I found that it did make me hungry at first, but my hunger leveled out after about a month or two when my body got used to swimming. And I lost some weight. However, no amount of exercise will help you lose weight if it becomes an excuse to eat. I've heard that the next issue of Swim will have something on nutrition, so perhaps that will help. I'm also 5' tall, but trying to get back to 110. I was 95 lbs. in my 30s and considered myself pretty fit, but that all went to the proverbial heat wave in a hand basket when I hit my late 40s and mental pause set in. But if I could get to 120 I'd be pretty darned happy.
