Love to swim, but fuck if it doesn't make me ravenously hungry. page

[Jamie Madrox]

After almost 6 years of medical things that stopped me from swimming I started swimming again in early december. Since then i've been doing laps with reckless abandon and I love it. But it makes me crazy hungry. like i get out of the pool and I straight to the store and buy a ton of shit, usually fruit, and just eat and eat.

how do I stop this. I've started using swimming for my main cardio outlet but I feel it may be hindering me by causing me to overeat constantly.

[orielwen]

Have decent fatty stuff ready to eat when you get out? Boiled eggs in your bag maybe? Can you get home straight after swimming and fry up some meaty goodness?

But fruit's not such a bad thing to be eating really, compared with some of the alternatives. I doubt you're overeating – it's much more likely that you're needing to eat to replenish the energy you just burnt off.

[specsAreGrok]

What you describe is pretty common, swimming more than other aerobic activities tends to cause people to overeat and put on weight usually because of cold water. IIRC, often swimmers will develop a level of subcutaneous fat that is difficult to get rid of -- because it is used to keep the body warm.

[Tribal Rob]

Yep swimming does this to me, as does surfing when I can get to cornwall in the summer (or falling in the water alot as it is more correctly described)

I would reccomend working out before a meal you would eat anyway, so you are due to eat anyway, that way you arn't eating an extra meal, and if you are really bothered then work out your calorie burn for your swim and don't eat more than you've burned off (pun warning) then at least you are treading water with the weight loss if that is your goal.

[MissJecka]

Hah, I just did 1000 m today (not a lot for most of you folks, I'm sure, but this is a lot for me!) and only had a home-made date/chocolate/coconut bar before I went. I was so freaking starving when I got home, I ate a sweet potato, italian sausage, two eggs, and another one of the aformenetioned bars, along with tea (which I'm still drinking more of).

I do this nearly every time I go swimming which, like you, is my main cardio nowadays. I haven't seen any adverse effects in this. I agree with what someone else says - you're probably just refueling after a good swim and not actually overeating.

[heatseeker]

I got really into swimming last summer because I live in a place with amazing natural swimming holes. I did laps every day, building my endurance and distance ability. When I got out of the pool I would inhale food like a vacuum cleaner. I didn't lose any weight. I think this summer I'll go a little easier on the swimming.