I’ve recently started trying to lose weight and get a bit healthier, and for the first time in ages I’ve actually found a form of exercise I enjoy , which is swimming. It feels manageable on my joints (I do struggle with joint pain, which rules out a lot of other types of exercise), and I can feel that I’m working harder than I was before. My heart rate is up, my watch shows I’m burning calories, and generally it feels like a positive step.
The problem is the hunger afterwards. I come out of the pool absolutely starving, not just a bit peckish, but properly hungry in a way that’s quite hard to ignore. I am trying to stick to a calorie deficit, so it feels a bit counterproductive if I end up wanting to eat everything in sight after a swim.
Before this, I was fairly sedentary, so I suppose it’s a good sign I’m actually moving.
But I’m finding it quite difficult to balance - I don’t want to undo the benefits of exercising by overeating, but equally I don’t want to feel miserable and hungry all the time.
Has anyone else experienced this with swimming (or exercise in general)? Any tips on how to manage the hunger without derailing weight loss would be really appreciated.