The Student Room Group

Gym freak but big eater

Okay this is kind of beginning to bother me.
I joined the gym last month and have been almost obsessively going- I really enjoy it and feel like it's a huge release to exercise properly every evening. However, I still have the huge appetite I had before I joined and after I come back from the gym I usually stuff myself. It's taken a while for me to build up my stamina in the gym but I feel like I'm finally making loads of progress. However, I just cannot part with my eating habits. I'm not overweight- I'm 5'10" and weigh about 9st but I really cannot stop eating. I often eat when I feel kind of low, alone or stressed but I'm not sure why I still have such a huge appetite after working out frantically at the gym. It's frustrating because I want to lose a little bit of weight or at least tone up but I just cannot and will not change my eating habits despite my new found crazy fitness obsession... :confused:

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Reply 1
If you're doing exercise, you're burning calories. Food = carlories.

The only way to gain muscle (tone up as you say) is to have a low bodyfat, then eat slightly over your maintenance calories, so that nothing gets stored as fat, but the excess calories help towards being turned into muscle.

Good foods are things full of protein, fish, eggs, meat etc.

Hope that helps
Reply 2
Hmm...thanks for the advice.
I don't particularly want to gain muscle I just want to tone areas such as the hips and waist. I just feel like my gym workout is often a waste if I binge when I get home.
Reply 3
If you go to the gym to build muscle it's a good idea to idea loads. In fact, it's probably to even eat loads of crap rather than not that much.
Dont be silly. 9st and 5 foot ten? Thats normal id say, if not a little under. Calm down, as long as you eat healthily and youre happy with yourself, nothing to worry about! And muscle weighs more than fat too
Reply 5
Yeah at 9 stone I really wouldn't worry about it. Keep eating all you want mate!
Reply 6
It's not muscle I want! It's just a little weight LOSS and tone around the sides i.e. harden those sidehandles.
I still feel flabby. :frown: I want to lose it.
Reply 7
Ahhh... determination is all you need then! You can do it man believe me.
Reply 8
I'm a woman.... :rolleyes:
But okay lol
Reply 9
LOL why oh why have I been thinking you're a guy the whole of this thread!?

Erm... well yeah follow my advice. If anything women have more determination then blokes!

I should really look at the sex sign in future!
Reply 10
FireBird, 9 stone for a woman at her height is reasonable tbh with you. But I guess that is just my opinion, as is yours.
Reply 11
you sound fine as you currently are, but if you wish to 'tone' and not put muscle on you would need to lose a little fat, which would involve eating slightly less calories, which would require a little motivation and dedication. but the reason for you eating lots of calories afterwards is just to replenish the ones used up whilst exercising, and you are forgetting that doing all that exercise would speed up your metabolism anyway.
Reply 12
Muscular eh? That's scary how much that turns me on FireBird.LOL
Reply 13
were u gaining weight prior to going to the gym. if not then u will lose weight if u continue going as u will be burning more calories than u were before. also dont feel too bad about stuffing urself (maybe try stick to healthier stuff) as the gym will up ur motabolism so u will burn it easier anyway
My gym instructor tells me that building muscle is a VERY good way of burning fat. Think about it logically.. Bigger muscle = more muscle cell fibers = more calories burned during any other kind of exercise.
I.e. If you have bigger muscles your body naturally burns more calories to contract them ect, even of course during day-to-day walking about ect.
Since I started using weights and incorporating various resistance exercises into my routine my weight-loss had definitely accelerated.

Nethertheless, you are underweight for you height. The last thing you want to do is damage yourself.
Reply 15
little red sox that isn't true.
Reply 16
5'10" and 9st. Sounds like a pretty good, slim frame.

Big appetite...you're going to the Gym regularly. What did you expect?

If in your routine you're doing good a cardio workout, and on the whole using more calories than you're consuming, then the size of your apetite is immaterial (as long as you're careful with fat inatake).
Reply 17
Sithius
little red sox that isn't true.

actually most of what she said is sort of true, she just got a little confused. she didnt point out the biggest importance of having more muscle for weight loss, being that you burn off more calories while doing nothing due to more metabolic tissue.
Reply 18
9Stone your probably under weight, Im about 5ft 10/11 and weigh 11stone but im bulking. And I think im too skinny at that.
Your BMI is 18.1. If those things are anywhere near accurate, then you are supposedly underweight. But people vary in bone density, ratio of muscle to fat, etc, so take it with a pinch of salt.