After swimming, a particular kind of hunger strikes. Not the calm, controllable kind you experience following a strenuous run or spin session. Something more pressing. more basic. Before you’ve even finished toweling off, you’re mentally going through every food option in a half-mile radius.
Even if they are unable to describe it, the majority of swimsuits are familiar with this sensation. It turns out that the explanation has surprisingly little to do with how hard you worked in the water and is more fascinating than most people anticipate.
It goes without saying that swimming burns calories, which your body wants to replenish. That is partially accurate. Because water is almost 800 times denser than air, each stroke requires a lot more muscular effort than the same movement on land.
Breaststroke, butterfly freestyle all require sustained force against a resistant medium. There is a significant and actual calorie burn. To be honest, though, that isn’t even the most significant part of the story.
Temperature is the more compelling factor. The majority of pools are kept significantly below body temperature because water removes heat from skin much more quickly than air. Your body’s chemistry changes when your core temperature falls. The cold sets off what scientists refer to as a thermogenic response, in which the body uses more energy to produce heat.
More importantly, it seems to attenuate the hormonal cues that typically tell you to stop eating. The twin appetite regulators, ghrelin and leptin, appear to be affected by prolonged exposure to cold water. The “I’ve had enough” message is either delayed or arrives with less clarity than usual.
Even when the exercise itself was the same, a study conducted in the early 2000s discovered that individuals exercising in cooler water consumed significantly more calories afterward than those in warmer water. An appetite swing that no one had previously really measured was explained by the temperature variable alone. The swimming community may have been undervaluing this impact for a long time.
Coventry University researchers conducted a more controlled comparison in which recreational swimsuits and cyclists were given unlimited access to pasta after completing matched sessions of equal perceived effort.
Compared to the resting control group, swimsuits consumed an average of 142 more calories. Although the difference was smaller and statistically questionable, cyclists also consumed more food. Overall, both groups were still burning more calories than they were consuming, but the difference was noticeably smaller for swimsuits.
Another aspect that is frequently disregarded is dehydration. You perspire when you run on a hot afternoon. Fluid loss is completely hidden by the water in the pool, so you don’t notice it at all. It has been demonstrated that mild dehydration, even at 1%–2% body weight, increases the perception of hunger.
Uncertainty surrounds the ways in which the body confuses signals of hunger and thirst. Unbeknownst to them, a swimmer who is already somewhat dehydrated at the end of a session might be misinterpreting their thirst as hunger.
All of this does not imply that swimming is an ineffective kind of exercise or that it is somehow harmful to you. Improved blood pressure, cholesterol blood sugar regulation are well-established and significant cardiovascular benefits.
For those with joint problems or injuries, it’s one of the most comprehensive types of exercise that humans have created it’s frequently indispensable. It’s important to have reasonable expectations about what will happen after a swim session, especially if weight management is one of the objectives. The ensuing hunger is not a sign of weakness. Physiology is cold, mechanical self-organizing.
Making plans in advance is the practical solution. After a swim, the appetite spike is usually lessened by protein and healthy fat than by carbs alone. A meal that consists of eggs, salmon, avocado, yogurt nuts prolongs satiety and gives the body something to work with. It also lessens the possibility of overcompensating later if you arrive at the pool well-fed rather than hungry. Rarely do runners need to give their post-workout diet this much thought. Swimsuits do.
i) https://www.formswim.com/blogs/all/why-does-swimming-make-you-so-hungry
ii) https://swimgym.com/fast-lane/why-does-swimming-make-me-so-hungry
iii) https://soulcap.com/blogs/editorial/does-swimming-make-you-more-hungry-than-other-sports