Does Exercise Make You Eat More?

"When I up, down, touch the ground it puts me in the mood
Up, down, touch the ground in the mood ... for food.
I am stout, round and I have found speaking poundage-wise
I improve my appetite when I exercise." - Winnie the Pooh

There's a common belief that exercise makes people hungrier.

In fact, one of the reasons many studies on exercise imply exercise is not an effective way to lose weight, is because some people end up eating more.

But is that necessarily true?

Scientists have found different people (and their appetites) react to exercise in different ways.

Some people are “compensators” and others are “non-compensators."

Compensators convince themselves they're hungrier, or need more food, or deserve more food after exercising, and then compensate by eating more than they would otherwise.

If you're doing moderate cardio—trying to stay in the "aerobic training zone," focusing on passing the "Talk Test," or doing any steady-state exercise you can handle for more than 20 minutes —you have a greater chance of increasing your appetite and possibly out-eating your workout.

Higher intensity exercise such as interval training or what we call Metabolic Resistance Training, however, tends to decrease your appetite. You get the best of all worlds—a workout that burns more calories (during and after), leads to greater, positive hormonal response, takes less time AND decreases (or at least do not increase) your appetite.