**Dear Judy,
“I have been trying to lose weight. I’ve been going on the treadmill every day or second day for 15-30 mins a day. The problem is, the more I exercise the more hungry I get, and I’m always craving sweet followed immediately by savoury. I never seem to be full. Can you tell me why that is please?”
— Ely**
Dear Ely,
Firstly, well done for taking up exercise and doing it with such frequency and discipline. Did you know that running on a treadmill for 30 minutes burns off approximately 1000 kilojoules? And, even without sticking to a weight loss diet, provided you don’t eat more than normal, with this exercise regime you could lose as much as 1kg in a month.
It’s interesting that you say you get cravings straight after you exercise as most research suggests that exercise helps to suppress cravings.
There are a few reasons why this might be:
Are you exercising with reluctance?
If you drag yourself up to the treadmill tell yourself you dislike it, focus on the discomfort, and wish the 30 minutes was over even before you have started, the sweet cravings may be a psychological form of reward after the “torturous experience” is over.
If this sounds familiar you will have to practise positive self-talk. Instead of thinking negatively before you start, focus on how much fitter you are getting, the benefits, your weight loss goal, and the euphoric feeling you have at the end. You may need to look for other types of exercise you enjoy more.
Is your body crying out for nutrients?
Some scientists believe that food cravings are a result of the body crying out for missing nutrients. Now that you are exercising regularly and boosting metabolic activity, your body may be demanding more nutrients. It’s very important, therefore, to eat a balanced diet.
Include five serves of veggies and two serves of fruit each day and combine them with wholegrains such as brown pasta and rice, oats, wholegrain and rye bread, protein from lean meat, eggs, fish, beans and lentils, and some amount of good fat from avocado, olive oil, nuts and seeds. As well, be sure to include some low-fat dairy for calcium. If your body is getting what it needs it may crave less.
Are you craving sugar to replace lost energy?
Fitness guru and former iron man champion Guy Leach believes when we burn energy through exercise, our body naturally wants to replace the lost energy by eating sweet-tasting high-GI carbohydrates that the body can convert quickly into energy. Unfortunately, when weight loss is the goal, you simply have to ignore these cravings. Instead, have a large glass of water or fresh vegetable juice.
Are you thirsty?
Your cravings may simply be due to thirst. It’s more common than you would imagine since few people feel thirsty when they are dehydrated. As well adequate amounts of water (6-8 glasses a day) help transport water soluble vitamins through the body and ensure nutrients from food are transported through the blood cells to various parts of the body.
At this point, others reading this may well be thinking, if exercise is making you eat more, why exercise at all?
Without physical activity, an energy-reduced weight loss diet can reduce the metabolic rate by 15 to 30 per cent. Without getting too technical, this means that, to lose weight, you have to eat much less and even then there’s no guarantee of weight loss. Nature’s way is to store food for energy in the event of famine, so unless you eat regularly with exercise, weight loss is hard to achieve.
When to exercise
The best time to exercise is always when it’s most convenient for you, although research shows we are physically stronger and have more endurance in the afternoon.
Having said that, research also shows that early morning exercisers are more consistent and likely to stick to their regime. It makes sense — especially if you don’t really like exercise. You can just get up and get on with it, without the gnawing reminder that you have to do something you’d rather not later in the day. As well, in the afternoon/evening it is easy to sabotage exercise plans with excuses.
Exercising the morning is also the perfect solution to your food cravings. Once you have exercised and showered, you can sit down to the legitimate meal of breakfast.
Satisfy your sweet craving with fruit, and the savoury one with an egg on wholegrain toast with grilled tomato. I can’t think of a better reward for your hard work.
— Judy
