Decide your post-workout snack early: Study
Arigorous workout session is almost always followed by an unbearable urge to eat something. A lot of people may give in to unhealthy bingeing to reward themselves. According to a recent study, simply committing in advance to a post-exercise snack may increase the odds of eating more nutritiously.
A STUDY SAYS PEOPLE WOULD BE MORE LIKELY TO CHOOSE HEALTHIER SNACKS IF THEY DECIDE BEFORE THEY STARTING THE WORKOUT
Koehler, lead researcher of the study said, “If your goal is to lose weight, then I would say our findings support that you’re better off making the choice... not when you’re hungry after your workout, but instead before you go to the gym.”
That recommendation and the data undergirding it, echoes broader research on the dynamics between timing and food choice. Prior studies have consistently shown that people are more willing to indulge when making immediate dietary decisions than when thinking ahead, said Gustafson, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics.
The study’s design also put two other theoretical models to the test. One, known as compensatory eating, suggests that people consume more calorie-dense food after exercise to make up for calories expended during a workout. Yet the other model, exerciseinduced anorexia, proposes that exercise can suppress appetite-related hormones and lead people to eat less.
Despite the seeming contradiction, the team found indications of both. Though modest, the 6% increase in brownie choice between the pre- and postexercise groups supported the notion of compensatory eating. And the evidence for exercise-induced anorexia was clear — The 12% fraction that declined a snack in the pre-exercise condition rose to 25 % in the post-exercise group.