Ever experienced that moment when you’ve done your run earlier in the day, you’re back home relaxing and then bam, suddenly you are starving and want to eat everything in sight? Then you wake up the following morning, and that feeling is still there? This is actually a really common thing for runners to experience. It is so common, in fact, that runners have coined terms like ‘rungry’ or ‘runger’ because it happens that often. So if you are experiencing this feeling of being constantly hungry after running, you are most definitely not alone.

Let’s dive into some of the reasons why this happens and what you can do about it. We’ll look at how your fuelling strategy can help you get on top of this, ensuring you get all the nutrients you need for better performance and recovery.

The Science Behind Feeling Hungry after Running

That feeling of being ravenous after a run isn’t just in your head; it’s your body’s way of signalling its needs. Several key physiological changes happen during and after exercise that contribute to that intense feeling of being hungry after running.

Energy Deficit: Your Body’s Fuel Tank is Empty

Firstly, running burns a significant amount of energy. Your primary fuel source during exercise is carbohydrates, which are stored as glycogen in your muscles and liver. This is especially true of longer runs or harder speed sessions. You only have a limited amount of glycogen stored up – around 60 to 90 minutes’ worth.

While recommendations are to fuel with 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrates per hour for runs under three hours. And 60 to 90 grams for anything over three hours, this amount isn’t designed to replace all the calories your body is using. It’s simply the amount your body can process during that time. So, you will more than likely be creating an energy deficit while you are running. It can be challenging to replenish this quickly afterwards.

Hormonal Housekeeping

Exercise also triggers a fascinating dance of hormones:

Ghrelin (the “hunger hormone”): I think of ghrelin like a little gremlin running around our body, making us hungry. Research has shown that during runs, ghrelin levels can actually decrease¹. This means you’re not getting the signals that your body is hungry while you’re working out or immediately afterwards. As such, when you come back from your run, you may not think you are that hungry, and so you don’t eat straight away. This can then lead to that intense hunger later because you haven’t been replenishing your glycogen stores in line with what your body wants. However, as time goes on, that ghrelin then starts to increase again, and you start to get really hungry.

Muscle Repair and Recovery

While running, especially endurance runs, you can cause microscopic tears in you muscle fibres. These are nothing to be concerned about in the majority of cases. These micro-tears are how adaptation is created and how you get stronger and build muscle. But obviously, these micro-tears need to be repaired, and that is where the recovery comes in. If we’re not eating enough to help your body recover, it can increase your hunger levels to prompt you to eat the get the right nutrients into your body. 

Dehydration: A Sneaky Hunger Mimic

One of the other things that can play an impact is dehydration. Now, this is not to say that if you are hungry, you should be reaching for a drink because you’re just thirsty. But when you get back from a run, you need to be replenishing the fluid your body has lost. The recommendation is that you replenish this at 150% of what was lost². So, if you lost one litre of fluid in sweat, you need to be consuming 1.5 litres of water in the following hours. Adding electrolytes will help your body retain the fluid it needs. Getting that fluid in can certainly help you not feel so hungry after running.

Why Post-Run Hunger Lingers: Hunger Hours Later or The Next Day

It’s one thing to feel hungry soon after running, but why does it often creep back hours later, or even greet you first thing the next morning?

This is because of how long it can take to fully replenish those glycogen stores. When you get back from a run, especially those longer runs, the recommendation is that you consume 1 to 1.2 grams of carbohydrates per kilogram of body weight per hour for the first four hours, and then you return to normal eating. This truly kick-starts the needed glycogen replenishment. However, you might still feel hungry for up to 24 to 48 hours until you fully top up your glycogen stores and your body returns to its preferred status quo.

Practical Strategies to Tackle Post-Run Hunger

Understanding why you’re so hungry after running is the first step. Now, let’s look at practical, non-judgmental strategies to manage that hunger and ensure you’re fuelling your body optimally for recovery and future performance.

1. Prioritise Post-Run Nutrition (The Golden Window): This is perhaps the most crucial step. You want to be getting in a good source of carbohydrates and a good source of protein within 60 minutes of finishing your run. This doesn’t need to be complicated. Something like:
   
   • Greek yoghurt with fruit
   • Some toast with eggs
   • A sandwich with a protein source such as tofu or chicken
2. These options will all help get that recovery kick-started and the glycogen replenishing process underway. This initial refuelling helps to blunt the intense hunger signals that might otherwise appear hours later.
   
3. Hydrate, Hydrate, Hydrate: It’s not just about getting back from your run and kind of ignoring the hydration side of it. Make sure you are getting back in that fluid at 150% of what you have lost. Research has shown that electrolytes help to rehydrate you better than water alone.
   
4. Focus on Nutrient-Dense Whole Foods: When you’re feeling incredibly hungry after running, it’s tempting to reach for anything. However, focusing on nutrient-dense, whole foods will provide sustained energy and better satiety. Plenty of fruits, lean proteins, complex carbohydrates (like starchy vegetables, oats, sweet potatoes, whole grains), and healthy fats will keep you feeling fuller for longer and provide essential nutrients for recovery. This is the time to avoid restrictive eating. Even if you are on a weight loss or fat loss journey, you don’t want to ignore your post-run fuel, because this is just going to exacerbate that hunger later, making it even harder for you. Even if you’re in a calorie deficit, don’t skip the meal completely; have something with just a small deficit added in during this recovery phase.
   
5. Don’t Skip Meals: It’s not going to help you recover; it’s going to have a detrimental impact on your body, and it will just make things harder for you.
   
6. Listen to Your Body (and its needs): We always hear “eat when you’re hungry, stop when you’re full.” However, if your hunger hormones are suppressed when you get back from a run, you’re going to have to ignore those immediate signals and actively choose to eat something. This is actually where liquid calories can be really helpful. If you get back from your run and you’re just not hungry and can’t face any solid food, getting in a protein shake with plenty of fruit for carbohydrates and maybe even a scoop of oats is really going to help boost that recovery. Milk is also a really, really good recovery drink, especially if you can add flavour to it. Flavoured milks are excellent because they have added carbohydrates, you’re getting protein from the milk, and milk is also a natural source of electrolytes.
   
7. Have Snacks Ready to Go: Make sure you’re planning in some snacks and have them ready so that you can grab them quickly. Planning ahead really helps to avoid those low-nutrient, high-fat, high-calorie foods that won’t necessarily make you feel great or help you recover effectively immediately after your run.
8. Eat Frequently: Eating consistently throughout the day will also help manage that persistent hunger.

Conclusion

Feeling incredibly hungry after running is a natural and expected part of being a runner. Your body is simply communicating its need for energy and nutrients to recover, repair, and prepare for your next effort. By understanding the science behind this hunger – the energy deficit, hormonal shifts, and the time it takes for glycogen stores to replenish – and by implementing strategic nutritional practices, you can effectively manage those powerful hunger signals.

Making sure you get a recovery meal in within that first 60 minutes after running is really going to help replenish your glycogen stores, and then continuing to eat regularly afterwards is going to be really important to help replenish all of those stores.

If you want more advice around fuelling, download my FREE Ultimate Fuelling Guide for Runners. And if you want more help and personalised support, check out my coaching program, The Fuelled Runner Blueprint.

1. Kojima, C., Ishibashi, A., Ebi, K., & Goto, K. (2016). The Effect of a 20 km Run on Appetite Regulation in Long Distance Runners. Nutrients, 8(11), 672. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8110672
2. Maughan, R. J., & Shirreffs, S. M. (2004). Rehydration and recovery after exercise. Science & Sports, 19(5), 234-238.