Exercise & hunger

So do you have any particular exercises or workouts that really get your hunger up.

Running - cycling seem to be fine with me, but when I get done swimming I always feel like I could empty the refrigerator.  I'll be more tired from a long run, or a couple hour bike ride.  But just an hour of swimming laps always leaves me starving or craving the food trough.

Anybody else have a similar experience with any particular workout?

Funny, swimming always does the same thing to me. I always thought it was because as a child, when we finished at the community pool, my grandmother would take us for ice cream but maybe there is more to it. Interesting.

Kim

Hmm, may have found the answer here
http://www.thefactsaboutfitness.com/research/swimming.htm

Specifically this section of the article

A closer look at the research reveals why...

The typical temperature range for a swimming pool is between 25.5 and 27.8 degrees Celsius.

In the first study, subjects swam in an outdoor pool where the water temperature varied between 23 and 25.5 degrees Celsius. That's pretty cold. But in the University of Utah study, the temperature of the water was 27 degrees Celsius — much closer to the temperature of most heated swimming pools.

Why does this matter?

Swimming in cold water stimulates your appetite so that you want to eat more. Many people feel extremely hungry after they've been swimming, especially if the water is cold.

As a result they simply replace all the calories they've burned with a large post-exercise meal, completely wiping out any potential weight loss benefits of the swimming.

"Many people observe that they feel like 'eating a horse' after they have finished a swim training session, and may overcompensate for the energy they have just burned," says Professor Burke.

Some evidence for this comes from a University of Florida study, where researchers examined the effect of water temperature on calorie intake after exercise [3].

A group of 11 men exercised for 45 minutes in "neutral" and "cold" water temperatures. After the workout, they were allowed to eat as much food as they wanted.

The men burned a similar number of calories in the cold and neutral water conditions, averaging 505 and 517 calories, respectively. However, calorie intake after exercise in the cold water averaged 877 calories, which was 44% more than for the neutral temperature.

I should point out that the water temperature during the "cold" condition was extremely cold (20 degrees Celsius), and isn't really indicative of the water temperature of most pools (which is usually nearer 30 degrees Celsius).

However, it does show that cold water has the effect of making you hungry and goes some way to explaining why swimming doesn’t have a great reputation when it comes to weight loss.

huh.  that's pretty interesting.... might explain how i was a varsity swimmer in high school and never lost a damn pound.  I did have some great muscles though.

 
I believe those findings to be kinda-true, but only a piece of the puzzle.  In many cases its causation vs correlation.  Colder water also forces you to expend more calories (and burn more energy) to keep warm.

As odd as it sounds, we also get dehydrated when we swim (especially at a training pace).  Unlike running, biking, etc. where we tend to recognize we are sweating and force fluids to compensate -- especially during the workout.  This is not true with swimming in many cases.  If you don't recognize you're dehydrated, you'll compensate with calories when your done.

Second, more and more research shows that exercise tends to stimulate hunger, whether its swimming, biking, running, etc.  It's starting to show why diet and caloric intake are mandatory to be successful with weight loss and exercise, while valuable for a variety of reasons is a secondary factor.  

Combine hunger with dehydration, you'll feel like you can eat a horse.

The caloric burn of swimming when you take into account the body impact factor is one of the best exercises out there.  This is especially true if you are larger and you and need low-impact intense workouts to get started.