Fighting Hunger: Is Your Workout Making You Fat?

Is your workout making you fat? If your workout makes you hungry so you overeat or you reward yourself with junk food after five laps around the track, you can make a few simple changes.

The good news is exercise does not have to make you hungry. In his book, "The New Fit or Fat," Covert Bailey had some good old-fashioned advice about "How Hard Should I Exercise," for weight loss.

If you think your workout is making you fat, it's probably because you are unfit and exercising too hard for your level! Of course muscle weighs more than fat, but that's not always the reason the scale moves in the wrong direction.

The bottom line, according to Bailey, is that people who are overweight and unfit need long, gentle exercise to prevent insatiable hunger, while fit people can benefit from more intense exercise. Most fit people don't get hungry from intense exercise. In fact, they may even experience a decrease in appetite after exercise!

Today we have heart-rate monitors that can help us stay in the right zone. I don't think most people should stay in a lower heart rate zone forever. The key is for people who are overweight and out of shape to exercise with a long, gentle workout until they are more fit. Then they should beef it up with exercise such as the Insanity Workout, an intense interval training workout that gets your heart rate up high.

How do you know if your workout is making you fat? If you are keeping a food diary and find yourself constantly overeating even though you are trying to eat a reasonable, healthy amount, you can make a few simple changes:

No. 1: Increase the duration, but lower the intensity on your workout. Think in terms of walking. Wear a heart rate monitor. Stay at 65 percent of your maximum heart rate. That range depends on your age. If you are around age 20, don't exceed 130. If you are around age 40, don't exceed 117. If you are around age 60, don't exceed 104. Don't worry you will not stay in this zone forever!

No. 2: Drink a whey or soy protein shake after a workout to curb hunger so you don't binge eat after a workout. Try Almased blended with Amazing Grass supplement or Spiru-Tein protein shake.

No. 3: Use healthy, safe appetite suppressents. Tame your appetite by drinking an appetite suppressant tea suited for your body type. Eat Truffulls or use Sensa, the sprinkle that may help you more quickly recognize when you are full so you don't overeat.

No. 4: Exercise solo. Although weight loss competitions can be fun, don't exercise with other people who are at different fitness levels. If you are overweight and unfit, you will not benefit from exercising with a fit person.

No. 5: Avoid cheat days. It's best to eat three meals a day in addition to perhaps one protein shake after a workout. It's counterproductive to reward yourself with food after working out. You don't burn as many calories as you think!

If you think your workout is making you fat, choose the best exercise for your body type as well as for your fitness level.

Once you no longer feel your workout is making you fat, you can gradually increase your heart rate to the training zone of 65 to 80 percent of your max. The athlete training zone is 85 percent.

How long should it take? It took me a year to build up to the athlete training zone required by the Insanity Workout. People are impatient and want immediate results, but if your working is making you fat anyway, what do you really have to lose?

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Almased Diet Plan

Sensa Sprinkle Diet

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The Dinner For Breakfast or Reverse Diet

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Source

Fitness magazine

The New Fit or Fat by Covert Bailey