Does Working Out Make You Eat More? | Women's Health

Considering that you torch mucho calories when you totally kill it in a cycling class, you’d expect your body to respond with crazy-intense hunger pangs that lead you directly to the refrigerator (or nearest drive-thru). But actually, the opposite appears to be true: A new review of previous studies published in the journal PLOS ONE determined that, contrary to what many gym-goers believe, no evidence shows that working out makes you eat more.

That’s awesome news for exercisers motivated not just to shape up but also to slim down. If burning lots of calories won’t leave you hungrier than usual, then you’re less likely to undo your calorie burn after a workout by going on a food bender.

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So what keeps you from craving a post-gym energy fix? The researchers behind the new paper didn’t address it, but previous studies shed some light: A 2013 study from the International Journal of Obesity showed that tough workouts were associated with decreased levels of the hormone ghrelin (which fuels hunger) and higher blood sugar levels (which can stave off cravings).

Working out may also affect the way the brain processes food cues. A 2012 study from Brigham Young University found that women who viewed images of food were less interested in actually eating the food they were shown if they had worked out that morning. What’s more, the women didn’t consume any more food on workout days than on non-workout days. This lead researchers to suggest that being active changed their neural functioning enough to decrease their motivation to eat. Good to know!

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