I’m getting on the fat side after months of bulking (around 18% fat). Still, I don’t want to diet down yet as I am in the middle of I,BB. The problem is that I’ve lost my appetite completely. Every meal has become a struggle lately. It’s like my body is actively trying to prevent me from getting fatter or more muscular for that matter.
Has anyone else here experienced this? In case you have, how did you solve it?
I’m actaully tempted to start cutting just so that I can put the fork down for a while, but it would ruin I,BB, so I guess I’ll try to stick it out.
And please don’t suggest that I “lean bulk”. That just doesn’t work for me anymore.
Learning to ‘hide’ calories was a big thing for me back when. I’d put peanut butter or cheese on everything, and go out of my way to eat more nutritionally dense foods. Also, if you’re mid meal and starting to fade, grab a cookie or some other simple sugar and watch as you can magically eat a bit more.
First of all, this sounds like a problem that I would like to have. Second, I’m not sure running in the morning will help increase appetite. I’m not an expert on the subject, but I’ve read quite a bit that running and weight training affect hormones that control appetite, such as Leptin. From what I’ve read running can increase Leptin, which effectively tells your brain that you are full when you may not be.
I have, on the other hand, read some statistics that show that swimming can increase appetite. They think it has to due with the body being submerged in water with lower temperatures than the body produces, therefore increasing appetite. For whatever reason, I’ve found this to be true. When I go for a long run, I usually have a light meal afterwards. When I swim 1+ miles, I end up starving when I’m done and crushing a huge plate of food.
[quote]zraw wrote:
Steady state cardio in the morning on an empty stomach
will
control fat gains
increase your appetite[/quote]
+1
30min for chubby guys
15min for “hardgainers”
I have a terrible appetite too. My last resort method is to eat 2 meals a day for a couple of days and stay as active as possible. Calisthenics, bodyweight stuff, regular gym stuff, maybe jogging. After a couple of days of that I feel like Im starving all the time and then Im able to eat a lot again. I figure that 2 days of eating a little food is better than being miserable trying to force food down indefinitely.
[quote]ethanwest wrote:
First of all, this sounds like a problem that I would like to have. Second, I’m not sure running in the morning will help increase appetite. I’m not an expert on the subject, but I’ve read quite a bit that running and weight training affect hormones that control appetite, such as Leptin. From what I’ve read running can increase Leptin, which effectively tells your brain that you are full when you may not be.
[/quote]
Are you saying that weight training decreases appetite? Because I don’t know of a single person (myself included) who didn’t get hungrier since they started heavy weight training.
[quote]ethanwest wrote:
First of all, this sounds like a problem that I would like to have. Second, I’m not sure running in the morning will help increase appetite. I’m not an expert on the subject, but I’ve read quite a bit that running and weight training affect hormones that control appetite, such as Leptin. From what I’ve read running can increase Leptin, which effectively tells your brain that you are full when you may not be.
[/quote]
Are you saying that weight training decreases appetite? Because I don’t know of a single person (myself included) who didn’t get hungrier since they started heavy weight training.[/quote]
I would tend to agree. My appetite has definitely increased with weight training, but there have been some studies that show weight training can increase Leptin which supresses appetite for a few hours after working out. I feel this is true for me. When I work out, my typical post-workout meal is usually pretty light because I can’t stomach a huge meal. I usually have to force down a protein shake because I’m typically not in the mood for a meal.
I would tend to agree. My appetite has definitely increased with weight training, but there have been some studies that show weight training can increase Leptin which supresses appetite for a few hours after working out. I feel this is true for me. When I work out, my typical post-workout meal is usually pretty light because I can’t stomach a huge meal. I usually have to force down a protein shake because I’m typically not in the mood for a meal. [/quote]
I don’t know what Leptin is. I do know that since I haven’t been able to work out for a few weeks due to surgery, my appetite his literally been cut in half. I lost 15 lbs in 3 weeks. I’m back in the gym now, and it is recovering with every workout. The idea that being active in weightlifting and/or running decreases your appetite just flies in the face of common sense. The more active you are the higher your metabolism and the greater your appetite makes sense to me and is what I’ve observed my entire life. Isn’t it obvious that the more work you do and energy you expend, the more amount of fuel you’ll need to compensate?
[quote]captaincalvert wrote:
I’m getting on the fat side after months of bulking (around 18% fat). Still, I don’t want to diet down yet as I am in the middle of I,BB. The problem is that I’ve lost my appetite completely. Every meal has become a struggle lately. It’s like my body is actively trying to prevent me from getting fatter or more muscular for that matter.
Has anyone else here experienced this? In case you have, how did you solve it?
I’m actaully tempted to start cutting just so that I can put the fork down for a while, but it would ruin I,BB, so I guess I’ll try to stick it out.
And please don’t suggest that I “lean bulk”. That just doesn’t work for me anymore.[/quote]
Are you eating the same exact foods every day? Mix it up a bit if so. I also use Stu’s idea of having something sweet to help move the meal along. I’ll have a pudding midway and the meal moves along much smoother. I put sour cream on stuff like ground beef or chicken as well. Other guys on this site do shots of olive or put macadamia nut oil their shakes for extra calories. I still have to force foods down every now and then to break through a plateau but once I’m past the sticking point it’s not as bad.