Managing increased hunger when adding in cardio
I'm primarily a weight lifter and have been for years, but I usually do 1-2 days a week of high intensity cardio (spin class or a hike at altitutde) and I've noticed it's really hard to control my carb cravings on those days. I'm not wearing my CGM right now but I don't know if it's hypoglycemia or something else, I just am soooo hungry after cardio, and when I get that hungry it's harder for me to make the choices that adequately serve me.
Does anyone else experience this? Do you do pre- or post- workout snacks? Meal prep? Skip high intensity cardio altogether?
I am not doing extreme carb restriction to begin with (on an average day I manage about 100-150g a day of primarily complex carbohydrates, including at least 38g of fiber -- I've been down this road before and have realized that anything close to keto is not adequate fueling for the kinds of workouts I do) but cardio days are a real test. When I lift weights, I feel like I'm not having such extreme cravings or hunger, it's just way easier to manage on the day to day. I just like some of these high impact activities and want to keep doing them!
Posted Aug 4, 2025, 4:26 PM UTC