Why Swimming Makes You Feel Hungry

Swimming is a fun, invigorating activity that comes with many appealing rewards. If you swim on a regular basis, you might also notice it makes you hungry. This noticeable twinge in your stomach telling your brain it wants food is often experienced while you’re still swimming or shortly after getting out of the pool. If this happens to you, we explain why this is likely occurring below.

Your Body Needs More Energy for Swimming

Swimming is a form of exercise that requires energy. To get the extra fuel necessary to go through the motions of swimming, your body has to generate more internal energy. This energy production boost helps the muscles required for swimming function properly. If you’re swimming several laps or doing swimming-based activities for a while, you’ll reach a point where your body needs a fresh intake of food to generate more energy. This is what often translates into feeling hungry.

Colder Pool Water Can Affect Your Appetite

When exercising on dry land, it’s more common for hunger to be suppressed. The reason is because the increased circulation to the muscles you’re using takes blood away from your stomach area. In this case, you’re not as likely to feel hungry.

With swimming, there’s the added factor of the water temperature. Because pool water is cooler, the heat generated inside your body by swimming isn’t significant enough to draw circulating blood away from your stomach area. You may then end up feeling hungry. Even though this is the opposite of what’s common with land-based exercise, you can still get a similar workout in terms of the muscles stimulated while swimming

You Assume Pre-Swim Eating Is Discouraged

It’s commonly assumed you can’t eat at all before you swim because you may get stomach cramps. In reality, there’s no clear evidence that eating before you swim has any noticeable impact on digestion, unless you have a really heavy meal. You should be fine having a light snack or meal before you swim. Taking this step can offset the hunger that tends to be related to swimming.

Be Cautious with Post-Swim Eating

The potential risk of giving into your hunger after you swim is negating the health-related benefits associated with swimming. If you do feel the need to satisfy your appetite after getting out of your San Diego pool, opt for healthy snacks or meals that fill you up without excess calories.

Switch Up Your Swimming-Related Routine

If you’re still having a difficult time managing the hunger you’re feeling during or after you swim, there are a few options to consider. One is mixing your land-based workouts with your water-based ones. This way, the appetite shifts won’t be as noticeable. The other option is to consider doing a short final swim. The purpose here is to trigger a response that counteracts the hunger response from your longer or more strenuous swim.

If you’re looking for the perfect way to boost your physical fitness levels, a pool can be exactly what you need. As an award-winning swimming pool contractor San Diego families and businesses have trusted for more than four decades, San Diego Pools can create a custom pool for you that offers a great way to exercise as well as a place to relax and get away from it all. Give us a call today at 888-707-7786.