Too much jogging can cause a loss of appetite due to overtraining. Exercising harder than your body can handle leads to problems, including unexplained weight loss, gastrointestinal disturbances and overuse injuries. Strenuous exercise such as running marathons may even cause heart damage over time, though the evidence is inconclusive, according to a New York Times blog post in March 2011. See your doctor if you suspect that you are exercising too hard.
Appetite
A loss of appetite is a common problem with overtraining. Although exercise generally increases appetite, too much can depress your body's hunger. Unexplained weight loss despite eating your regular diet is a related symptom. Jogging and other physical activity causes blood to flow to the muscles used during workouts, which takes blood away from the gastrointestinal tract. This may not cause problems immediately, but in the long run reduced blood flow to the gastrointestinal tract inhibits your body's ability to absorb nutrients. Speed work and increased training to prepare for a meet may make you especially vulnerable to appetite loss.
Signs
Jogging too much may cause more signs and symptoms than just appetite loss. It is normal to feel somewhat sore and fatigued after a long run or hard workout, but excessive soreness may be the result of overtraining. Another strong indicator of overtraining is the inability to jog at your usual pace. You may notice decreased performance, loss of coordination and longer recovery periods. Elevated heart rate in the morning and a higher than normal resting blood pressure also indicate overtraining. Overtraining puts you at a greater risk for headaches, sleeping problems, infections and musculoskeletal injuries.
Treatment
Eating frequently can be as beneficial as drinking liquids during exercise. You lose water through perspiration just as you burn calories when you jog. For strenuous exercisers, hunger is not necessarily an accurate indicator that your body needs food. A high intensity jogging routine may require that you eat every two to three hours. Even high level athletes must eat on a schedule. Eating often supplies your body with fuel for running workouts. It also can help you get your appetite back, according to a "Chicago Tribune" article published in June 1995.
Progression
It is possible for runners to continue to progress without overtraining. Slowly increasing your time and distance reduces the likelihood of overdoing it. Your body needs time to adapt to the new demands of jogging longer or faster. Decrease your rate of increase if you feel you are overtraining. Once you feel that you are running with 100 percent effort, maintain your level and be patient; do not try to force yourself to work harder. Continuing at your current level over time safely builds up your ability to cover more miles as your body becomes smarter and jogs more efficiently.
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