You're trying to lose weight and in doing so you've upped your workouts. Good for you! The only problem is all this exercise is making you hungry... and frustrated! How are you supposed to lose weight when you end up eating more? What's the point of exercising if it's just going to make you consume more calories and undo all your hard work?

First of all, besides just aiding in weight loss, exercise does so much for your health and well being. Exercise helps prevent disease, enhances heart health, improves mental health and cognitive ability, and many other things wonderful things.

Ya, ya, ya you're saying. I just want to lose weight. How do I combat my hunger? In a word, PLAN. You must fuel your body (food & timing wise) like it's a machine. On the days you work out you must eat a little something an hour before your workout and no longer than an hour afterward. If you don't, you're just setting yourself up for some serious hunger pains that could get out of control and cause you to eat too many calories. Good food choices are high in protein, with a little complex carbs. Examples: hard boiled egg with tomato slices, cottage cheese with a few berries, chicken breast with some carrots, cheese stick with a few almonds.

But won't that mean just more calories added to my over all total? Not if you do it right. If you eat snacks, like the ones I recommend, it will only be an additional 200-300 calories. That's where the planning is involved. If you workout in the morning, the pre-workout snack is basically your breakfast. The post-workout food intake is your mid-morning snack. Eating these small meals will keep your blood levels stable so you won't be as hungry. So if you plan accordingly, you won't take in any extra calories. And I can't stress enough the importance of protein. It will keep you satiated longer. Protein takes longer to digest and the body burns more calories to digest it than carbs.