It is not uncommon for athletes to feel hungrier on a rest day than they do on training days so if you find yourself in this position, don’t be alarmed, it’s completely normal!
There are a number of factors known to have an impact on your appetite such as body composition, resting metabolic rate, the body’s gastric response to ingested food and fluctuations in appetite hormones. It has been found that exercise influences all of these factors.
Still not convinced? Let us explore the concept further with five reasons why you could be feeling hungrier on rest days:
1. In the time that follows heavy training loads the body’s appetite hormones will signal to the brain to eat more food. This has the effect of increasing hunger levels.
2. When completing high intensity training sessions blood flow is redistributed to areas away from the gastrointestinal system, suppressing feelings of hunger. Once finished training a delayed compensatory response can occur hence leading to higher levels of hunger on non-training days.
3. A theory known as the Glycogenostatis Theory states that glycogen contributes to signalling to the body, letting the body know when balance needs to be restored. During training glycogen is depleted leading to the body prioritising carbohydrate restoration (compensatory eating).
4. On rest days it is not uncommon to have a biological drive to consume particular foods. This drive occurs due to the body’s need to replace the blood sugar and/or glycogen lost during training.
5. As training may often replace time which would normally be spent eating this can lead to increased appetite on rest days. This concept is based on research which found that whilst many people don’t feel hungry in the days following exercise, they do feel hungry if they miss a meal.
As you can see feeling hungry on rest days is quite a natural response for the body, often driven by the need to replace the nutrients lost during training.
If you would like to find out more information as to why you may feel hungriest on rest days you can get in contact with your sport’s Nutritionist.
– Information sourced from Sports Dietitians Australia
