Weird appetite decrease after starting more physical exercise

[Sascha6990]

I try to listen to my body and so I didn't give much thought to this at the beginning. I assumed it could be due to the low stress lifestyle I'm currently experiencing but the lower calorie intake combined with the increased activity has started to affect my sleep.

I always eat during exercise, I usually have orange juice with salt and/or other minerals, raw milk and chocolate cookies.

During the day I eat fresh cheese, beef meatballs or rice noodles with beef, nitrates-free cold cuts, eggs, orange juice, jam, honey, raw milk...

I am quite healthy, my energy is through the roof, temp and pulse have always been great (37.5/80 during the day, temp not dropping after eating).

Thing is I don't want to force feed myself. Could this be some adjustment period and then my body will realise it needs more calories and give me a bigger appetite?

 

[Logan-]

Could this be some adjustment period and then my body will realise it needs more calories and give me a bigger appetite?

Your body does realise it needs more calories due to the stress you put on it, it gets them by activating catabolic processes. That necessarily means you are aging faster.

Also, there are studies that show a causative relation between exercise and increased intestinal permeability. Theoretically, you eating those right before or during exercise can lead to food intolerances that can become allergies, and increased systemic inflammation.

The last thing your body cares about, when you are exercising like that, which activates fight or flight response, is digesting your food properly and getting nourishment from it.

 

[TheSir]

How is your sleep being affected? Are you merely sleeping less or do you also feel more tired? Sleep and caloric needs will lessen naturally the more your fitness increases.

 

[Sascha6990]

Your body does realise it needs more calories due to the stress you put on it, it gets them by activating catabolic processes. That necessarily means you are aging faster.

Also, there are studies that show a causative relation between exercise and increased intestinal permeability. Theoretically, you eating those right before or during exercise can lead to food intolerances that can become allergies, and increased systemic inflammation.

The last thing your body cares about, when you are exercising like that, which activates fight or flight response, is digesting your food properly and getting nourishment from it.

So what's your suggestion? I can't quit exercising because my energy levels are very high.

 

[Sascha6990]

How is your sleep being affected? Are you merely sleeping less or do you also feel more tired? Sleep and caloric needs will lessen naturally the more your fitness increases.

I don't know exactly, sometimes I feel tired after not sleeping well, other times not. I think high energy after not sleeping might correlate with high stress hormones.

Are you sure caloric needs lessen as you get more fit? Fitness means more muscle mass and that is metabolically expensive.

 

[TheSir]

I don't know exactly, sometimes I feel tired after not sleeping well, other times not. I think high energy after not sleeping might correlate with high stress hormones.

Are you sure caloric needs lessen as you get more fit? Fitness means more muscle mass and that is metabolically expensive.

By fitness I don't mean muscle mass but the conditioning of your breathing. As your co2 tolerance increases your metabolism becomes more efficient, allowing it to achieve more with less and be subject to less damage in the daily life.

 

[Sascha6990]

By fitness I don't mean muscle mass but the conditioning of your breathing. As your co2 tolerance increases your metabolism becomes more efficient, allowing it to achieve more with less and be subject to less damage in the daily life.

Wow, that's cool, I didn't know. How could I measure my fitness level? The only thing I can think of is how fast I become out of breath if running (I don't usually run). Is that a good test?

 

[TheSir]

Wow, that's cool, I didn't know. How could I measure my fitness level? The only thing I can think of is how fast I become out of breath if running (I don't usually run). Is that a good test?

That could work to an extent. A slightly more objective way is to do a control pause test, in which you measure for how long you can delay an inhale after a regular exhale before the pause starts to feel stressful. In Buteyko the optimal measurement is 60s, the medical norm is 40s and the average person will get 10-20s. The 60s is seen as being similar to 98.6 body temperature in that it's the level at which the body functions best. At that level you'd only need 4-6 hours of sleep to wake up refreshed.

 

[Sascha6990]

That could work to an extent. A slightly more objective way is to do a control pause test, in which you measure for how long you can delay an inhale after a regular exhale before the pause starts to feel stressful. In Buteyko the optimal measurement is 60s, the medical norm is 40s and the average person will get 10-20s. The 60s is seen as being similar to 98.6 body temperature in that it's the level at which the body functions best. At that level you'd only need 4-6 hours of sleep to wake up refreshed.

Ah, yes... I remember doing it at some point, I think I was able to do 40-something. Will test again. Thank you!

 

[Jonk]

When I was younger I was always super hungry, relaxed and tired after working out. I wouldn't say that's simply because of the exercise, but it's rather a good sign that I was metabolically healthy enough to switch between activity and rest and digest. I think Ray cautioned against working out because it takes not only energy to work out but to also to relax. If you can't relax properly, you're maybe not as "energetic" as you think, in terms of proper cellular respiration.

 

[Sascha6990]

When I was younger I was always super hungry, relaxed and tired after working out. I wouldn't say that's simply because of the exercise, but it's rather a good sign that I was metabolically healthy enough to switch between activity and rest and digest. I think Ray cautioned against working out because it takes not only energy to work out but to also to relax. If you can't relax properly, you're maybe not as "energetic" as you think, in terms of proper cellular respiration.

That's very plausible, I had parasympathetic nervous system issues since I was little