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A new study published in the journal Medicine and Science In Sports and Exercise looked into the link between intense exercise and hunger, noting that a full-throttle workout reduces calorie consumption as well as burning them.
Two groups of people were monitored; one who slashed their food intake, while another took part in moderate-intensity treadmill run for 90 minutes. Both were then given an all-you-can-eat buffet to see how much they ate.
Those who had just worked out consumed around one-third fewer calories than the group who had eaten less all day, at 663 calories rather than 947.
There are two possible reasons behind this; during exercise the hunger hormone gherlin decreases, while the hunger-suppressing hormone peptide YY rises. However, dieting causes the opposite to happen, meaning you may find yourself binging at some point.
"Since ghrelin is produced in cells within the stomach, a reduced blood flow to the stomach might possibly lead to reduced ghrelin in the circulation," David Stensel, Ph.D., lead author on the study, noted.
This isn't the first study to support this idea, as previous research by Stensel's team found that intense exercise like running or a spin class reduced the hunger hormone, but moderate activities like walking didn't have the same effect.
That's not to say you can eat unhealthy food, as in order to get through full-on workouts without quitting, you want to be in rather good form. A balanced diet is the key rather than cutting down completely and remember, sometimes you deserve a treat!
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