One common issue that most dieters face at some point or another during their weight loss program is a very intense degree of hunger. When the body is on a reduced calorie intake for an extended period of time, eventually it’s going to try to fight back and it does this by dramatically upping the sensation of hunger.
When you’re struggling to make it through the day on your small portion sizes and limited food, this takes the process of dieting up a notch. Therefore, to help yourself succeed with the weight loss process, it’s important that you do what you can to reduce this strong sensation of hunger you’re feeling. Typically various dietary techniques are used for this such as adding more fiber to the diet, boosting the protein and fat content while cutting back on carbohydrates so the insulin-blood-sugar-hunger cycle isn’t stimulated, or taking one of the appetite suppressant supplements available.
Stimulation Of Hunger
One other technique you may also want to think about is looking at the role exercise plays on the stimulation of hunger. If you’ve ever put in a hard effort during your weight lifting session or completed some HIIT training, you likely will have found that you do experience a corresponding increase in appetite. In some cases this appetite may not occur immediately after the workout (for some people intense exercise kills the appetite), but it’ll come back later on during the day with a vengeance.
Research
Researchers from the Loughborough University recently assessed the impact of walking on appetite level to see what the connection was there. They had fourteen healthy young males complete two eight-hour trials where they performed brisk walking for sixty minutes and then rested for seven hours. During the trial, buffet meals were offered to the subjects twice and appetite was assessed at 30 minute intervals throughout the rest period as well as acylated ghrelin, glucose, insulin, and triacylglycerol.
Results
The results of the study indicated that despite the fact that the walking did create a net energy deficit (more calories were expended than taken in throughout the day), it did not significantly increase the appetite level of the subjects, the calorie or macronutrient intake or the ghrelin levels in the blood. The subjects participating in the study did not replace the calories that they burned off during the walking with an increased intake of food, indicating that this walking exercise proved to be effective for increasing fat loss without increasing the appetite level.
Things To Remember
So before you rush off to perform another very intense session of cardio, you may want to reconsider. There is no doubting the benefits that intense interval training provides for fat loss purposes, however, if your hunger level is starting to get out of control and causing you to just consume the deficit that you create from the exercise, this may not be the most beneficial method for provoking fat loss to take place.
Finding the right combination of exercise to create a calorie deficit and hunger control will be your best bet to not only succeed while on the diet but also make the process as tolerable as possible.
Author: Shannon Clark
Reference:
Broom, DR. et al. (2009). The Influence of Brisk Walking On Appetite, Energy Intake, and Plasma Acylated Ghrelin. Med Sci Sports Exerc. Nove 23.
