Hangry Rest days?

You've been there: You had an amazing workout with Natalie and had no problem eating healthy, well-portioned meals even after Muscles and Mimosas. But the next day, your much-deserved rest day, you're suddenly ravenous. Instead of that veggie- and lean-protein-packed salad you planned to eat, you can't stop thinking about all the other delicious things around the office or around town running errands: pizza, burgers, tacos...you get the drill. You start to feel foggy-headed and irritable. This is known as Hanger, an often comical combination of hunger and anger due to the hunger. And this is not a fun state of mind to be in. So why is it so freaking hard to stay on track on the days when you're not working out? And is it all in your head, or is something else going on?

Long story short, it is not your imagination playing tricks on you when you feel hungry on rest days. As it turns out, there are quite a few factors that could be at play. Read on for 6 reasons and 6 tips for dealing with hangry rest days.

1. Your hunger hormones are affected by exercise. When you exercise, you create an energy deficit. If you're not eating more to replace that deficit (like when you're trying to lose weight), it's only natural to feel hungry. Sometimes people may feel less hungry on days when they have heavy training loads due to blood flow being distributed away from the gut into extremities. When this is the case, your body may regulate itself in the following one to two days post-exercise to compensate for the food that wasn't eaten after exercise to make up for the energy deficit. This means you see an increase in the hormone ghrelin (which makes you feel hungry) and a decrease in the hormone leptin (which makes you feel full and satisfied).

1. High-intensity exercise can suppress your appetite. High-intensity exercise can serve as an appetite suppressant due to the accumulation of lactic acid. It can take a while for your appetite to return afterward, which is why you may find yourself eating less in the hours after a super tough workout. Eventually, this effect wears off, and you start to feel hungry again. (So if you work out in the evening, hunger may set in the next day.) Once your body starts to recognize the lactic acid and works on breaking it down, your body starts looking for energy for healing and clearing away the lactic acid. This kicks your hunger hormone ghrelin up a notch.
2. You may not be eating the right macronutrients. It can take up to seven to 14 days for a muscle to fully recover after a difficult workout, and this largely depends on the type of fuel you are giving your body. Your body uses carbohydrates to refuel the glycogen stores used during your workout, as well as protein to build and recover muscles. If you burn calories and strain muscles in a workout and then don't eat enough to assist with healing, not only will you have extended muscle fatigue, but you will also feel hungry. If this muscle fatigue continues over time, your fat stores will eventually release fatty acids for gluconeogenesis and create energy to refuel your glycogen (the whole premise behind the popular Keto diet). However, this take a long time, 6 weeks at the minimum to see a measureable difference. In the meantime, you will experience major hunger and mood swings.
3. You're focused on strength training. Some types of exercise can make you feel hungrier than others. Strength training makes you the most susceptible to a larger appetite on rest days because your metabolic rate is increased for about 36 hours after the activity as your body is trying to recuperate the strained muscles.
4. You may feel more inspired to eat well after working out. Often people eat better on days they exercise because they feel they are hitting their goals and they don't want to ruin the work they are putting into exercise. Similarly, this means you're more likely to want to go for the junk food on days when we haven't exercised.
5. You feel like you've "earned it." On the other hand, people may believe that they have earned a big eating day because of the previous day's training efforts. Depending on your goals, however, it may very well be true that you need to eat more the following day because of your workout, but talking about food in terms of "earning" and "deserving" it can lead you down a slippery slope of black-and-white thinking. 

How to Deal
If you don't have a specific caloric or macro goal for the day, then the solution to being hungry on a rest day is simple: Eat more. If you're someone who is trying to maintain your weight, then you should eat more to make up for the calories you burnt off after intense exercise. If not, you will lose weight unintentionally, which can hinder your athletic performance.
But if you do have a reason to limit your food intake on rest days, such as weight loss or body composition goals, here are some strategies to try:

1. Fuel your workouts properly. Look at what you are eating on the days you are exercising and pay attention to the macronutrients consumed. A person who is undereating carbohydrates on exercise days will have a significant increase in ghrelin, and therefore be hungrier the next day. And if you're not eating enough protein or fat, you may never feel satiated. Be sure to calculate your macros and track your food to reach your goals.
2. Be sure you're hydrated. You should also be sure to get adequate fluids (especially water) throughout the day. Oftentimes people may feel like they are hungry when in actuality they simply have not had enough fluids throughout the day.
3. Gauge how hungry you really are. If the hunger is just a feeling that you could eat and you're thinking about craving something, that's mostly psychological. If you're hungry to the point that you would eat anything put in front of you with no questions, that is true hunger. Never allow yourself to go to the point of hunger where you can't focus, are dizzy, have a headache, or feel faint.
4. Distract yourself. If you decide that you're not truly hungry but more just thinking about food, try doing something else for a while. When feeling hungry on rest days, try staying active in non-exercise ways, such as hanging with family and friends, or running errands. Sometimes we just feel hungry on rest days because we are bored.
5. Be strategic about your rest day meals. Make sure to get protein in each of your meals, never going longer than six hours at a time during the day without it This will keep a constant stream of amino acids in your blood to not only maintain your muscle mass but to help you feel satiated throughout the day.
6. Consult an expert. Eating for a specific goal can be complicated. Sometimes, you just need a little help figuring it all out. Check in with a registered dietitian about your rest day hunger pangs. Better yet, join an accountability group such as Natalie’s online coaching program for more tips and support to help you figure out what is best for your body.

Bottom Line
When in doubt, there is truth in math. Have your nutrient needs calculated and plan you macros. Be sure to incorporate enough protein especially on your rest days for muscle recovery and to keep you satiated enough to truly relax and enjoy your hard earned rest days.

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