No matter if you are increasing or reducing your fitness activity, you will have to adjust your eating habits accordingly. In other words, you can never ever out-exercise a bad diet, but you can avoid weight gain by reducing your daily calories when you are not able to work out.

It really comes down to simple math. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, your daily calorie intake should be 1000 at a minimum if your lifestyle is sedentary and you cannot find the time to work out due to your job and family obligations. Depending on how long and intense you are exercising, you should add extra calories to the daily base amount of 1000. Simply use this convenient online calculator to figure out your daily amount of calories needed.

Naturally, it is also important to listen to your body. With increased fitness activity your appetite will increase in order to supply your body with the needed nutrients for muscle repair and building processes, as well as to provide enough energy for all bodily functions. While it is perfectly all right to eat when you are hungry you should strive for healthy food choices at all times. Even a tough workout will never cancel out the damage from a cheeseburger with fries in terms of fat and lack of nutrients.

On the other side of the coin, you might have to ignore hunger pangs if you switch from a very active lifestyle to a very sedentary one due to a new job or injury since your body will prepare for the expected physical activity by stocking up on supplies, so to speak. Needless to say, consistently eating small, frequent meals regardless of your physical activity will help you maintain a smaller stomach. This in turn will make it much easier for you to adjust your daily calorie-intake without suffering through hunger pangs.