Donating Blood

sarahmichelef
sarahmichelef Posts: 127 Member
edited November 18 in Food and Nutrition
Any ideas about how to track on a day when you're down a pint of the red stuff? They told us that donating burns about 600 cal. Shall I may log that manually? I definitely need to eat them back.

Replies

  • AllOutof_Bubblegum
    AllOutof_Bubblegum Posts: 3,646 Member
    edited May 2015
    It burns about 600 cals over the next few weeks as your body regenerates new blood cells. You definitely do not need to eat all that back, especially not all at once. It could be good to give yourself an extra 100 cals or so for a week or two, but don't fool yourself into thinking you can eat like a whole pizza and still be at a deficit. That's not exactly how it works.

    Source: phlebotomist :smile:
  • earlnabby
    earlnabby Posts: 8,171 Member
    that 600 calories is spread out over the 6-8 weeks it takes to completely replenish your blood, so don't log it. Just follow your usual daily plan and make sure you drink more fluids starting a few days before you donate up to a couple of days after.
  • Curtez
    Curtez Posts: 62 Member
    Such an isolated incident. Id ignore it
  • alysme
    alysme Posts: 81 Member
    But make sure you have a good meal after and post donation tea and biscuits don't count (you don't want to faint walking out the door)
  • andrikosDE
    andrikosDE Posts: 383 Member
    What if I donate blood daily?
    Can I then eat back the 600 calories?
  • ashmarie1083
    ashmarie1083 Posts: 55 Member
    you need to wait a few months between donations
  • ObtainingBalance
    ObtainingBalance Posts: 1,446 Member
    andrikosDE wrote: »
    What if I donate blood daily?
    Can I then eat back the 600 calories?

    If you donated daily you'd lose blood quicker than your body could regenerate new blood cells...
  • DoneWorking
    DoneWorking Posts: 247 Member
    edited May 2015
    For curiosity sake only (Because that's the kind of person I am). Could a person calculate how long it takes to regenerate those cells and average it?
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