Donating blood

NaweedKhan
NaweedKhan Posts: 1 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
If I donated a pint of blood today, would it count as an exercise of some sort?
What are the effects on the body and how would I factor in such a thing on this app?
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Replies

  • nuffer
    nuffer Posts: 402 Member
    NaweedKhan wrote: »
    If I donated a pint of blood today, would it count as an exercise of some sort?
    What are the effects on the body and how would I factor in such a thing on this app?

    I would not count it as exercise. Yes, you've reduced your weight, but it's going to come back over a short amount of time.

    You will notice that after donating whole blood you will be more tired. You will have reduced strength and endurance for at least 24 hours. I have experienced this and it's not fun. When they say "avoid strenuous exercise for 24-48 hours", pay attention.

    I did not notice nearly the effect on cardio endurance from donating platelets. Takes much longer than donating blood, but not nearly the hit to your system.
  • zdyb23456
    zdyb23456 Posts: 1,706 Member
    Hmm.. I donated a little over a month ago and didn't feel any different afterward. I even worked out the next morning.

    Although, a girl who donated at the same time said she usually passes out afterward.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    Yeah, I wouldn't log it. But I am usually hungrier the day I donate, and I eat at maintenance level for the day just to make sure my body gets whatever it needs to recover. I've heard estimates all over the map for how many extra calories your body burns.
  • kaylajane11
    kaylajane11 Posts: 313 Member
    ekat120 wrote: »
    I usually just don't log the (reasonable amount of) cookies and juice I have afterward and hope it evens out :)

    Exactly what I do!
  • Bianca42
    Bianca42 Posts: 310 Member
    I try to time my donation after my day's workout and with a rest day the next day. I ignore the juice and snack I eat and other than drinking more water I don't adjust my calories one way or the other.

    Thank you for donating. I donated Saturday morning and was surprised at how busy it was for a holiday weekend.
  • sllm1
    sllm1 Posts: 2,130 Member
    I count 500 calories. It lets me eat a bit more, and it doesn't happen very often. No biggie.
  • mysticwryter
    mysticwryter Posts: 111 Member
    edited June 2016
    Never really thought about it. You're body is working extra hard to be able to make more blood so on a technical, science side, sure. I just don't know how you can add it to your diary, lol.
    I looked it up, it burns about 650 calories.
    Make sure to have a snack afterwards for your blood sugar.
  • Joanna2012B
    Joanna2012B Posts: 1,448 Member
    I don't log it as exercise and I do log the cookie and juice, but it usually isn't that much. I am one of those that needs to reduce my strenuous activity the following day, but then it's back to usual!! I donate on a run day, because I run so early...I can then rest afterwards and take a nice walk the next day.
  • janejellyroll
    janejellyroll Posts: 25,763 Member
    Based on what I've read: yes, it "burns" 650 calories, but not all at once. It's over the period of subsequent weeks while your body replaces the blood volume. Because it is a very low number of actual calories per day, I don't eat those back -- I just make sure to have my snack afterwards and drink plenty of water.
  • MalkinMagic71
    MalkinMagic71 Posts: 1,433 Member
    I get a pint of blood taken out of me every 3 to 4 weeks(thanks thick blood). I've never logged it as exercise or extra calories. I figure the apple juice they make me drink and the snack would always kind of even itself out. I try to rest the day it gets drawn(like today), but I have exercised the same day afterwards and haven't really felt awful.
  • fr33sia12
    fr33sia12 Posts: 1,258 Member
    Do you still have to eat beforehand giving blood? I used to give blood (before I had low iron levels) we were supposed to make sure we had food before giving blood, but I didn't always as I was dieting and nearly passed out a couple of times. So make sure you eat beforehand too.
  • cecsav1
    cecsav1 Posts: 714 Member
    I don't log it. (And I don't have any cookies or juice afterwards either.) Big props for donating!! I had to have several blood transfusions when my daughter was born. Thank you for taking the time out of your day to save lives! :)
  • krazy1sbk
    krazy1sbk Posts: 128 Member
    I don't log it and then don't log my cookies afterwards - they cancel out! Just make sure you drink lots of water the day before and the day of.
  • vczK2t
    vczK2t Posts: 309 Member
    NaweedKhan wrote: »
    If I donated a pint of blood today, would it count as an exercise of some sort?
    What are the effects on the body and how would I factor in such a thing on this app?

    NO, it's not any type of exercise. point blank. i donate platelets regularly, which is a 30+ minute process. i don't count that as exercise, since i am not moving. donating blood is, at the MOST, 15 minutes and you aren't moving. So, it can't be counted as exercise.
  • vczK2t
    vczK2t Posts: 309 Member
    nuffer wrote: »
    NaweedKhan wrote: »
    If I donated a pint of blood today, would it count as an exercise of some sort?
    What are the effects on the body and how would I factor in such a thing on this app?

    I would not count it as exercise. Yes, you've reduced your weight, but it's going to come back over a short amount of time.

    NO you haven't reduced your weight. where are you people getting your blood donated??????? on a treadmill??? gimme a break. do your good deed, drink the juice and eat the cookies, and move on. NOT EVERYTHING can count as exercise, even cooking isn't exercise. unless you are a chef moving constantly.
  • erinc5
    erinc5 Posts: 329 Member
    No. Don't log it as a workout. If you have a reasonable deficit, just keep doing that for the day (or maybe add 200-300 calories). If you feel dizzy or tired or hungry, then eat something or drink some juice without worrying about calories. And, I agree with others. Be careful about working out afterwards. Even if you feel fine before working out, it will probably hit you during or after. Drink lots of water before and after and get a good night's sleep!
  • Packerjohn
    Packerjohn Posts: 4,855 Member
    The actual donation is just your base metabolic rate (lying still). The 650 calories is what the body uses to regenerate the blood over 6-8 weeks (or 10-15 calories a day).

    Thanks for donating, but don't count as exercise.
  • StacyChrz
    StacyChrz Posts: 865 Member
    I donated about 2 weeks ago, for the first time in a long time. I ate a little more that day and while I remained active I didn't actually work out that day. I did feel a little 'drained' (pun intended) for a couple of days afterword. I noticed my workouts were a little tougher. I made sure to stay at the top end of my calorie allotment including exercise calories.
  • jlahorn
    jlahorn Posts: 377 Member
    Unfortunately, that 650-calorie burn is old information and is no longer assumed to be true.

    Years ago, the Mayo Clinic web site stated that in their facts about donating blood, and every blogger on the internet quoted it. I believed it and ate a cheeseburger after every blood donation :) Mayo has long since removed that information from their web site because it was not backed by any kind of verifiable data, but the internet is still full of "The Mayo Clinic says..."
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    edited June 2016
    vczK2t wrote: »
    NO you haven't reduced your weight. where are you people getting your blood donated??????? on a treadmill??? gimme a break. do your good deed, drink the juice and eat the cookies, and move on. NOT EVERYTHING can count as exercise, even cooking isn't exercise. unless you are a chef moving constantly.

    Well to be honest, as a smallish female with low blood pressure, it used to take @ 30 mins when I used to donate whole blood, and I am usually hooked up for @ an hour and a half when I donate platelets. There are several variables that can affect the time frame, and I think you are lucky enough to be on the lower end time-wise.

    It's not really about "counting it as exercise". We constantly tell everyone that accuracy and consistency is the key to weight loss, so I think it's good to understand how something you do affects CICO. And the typical way you add to Calories Out on MFP is to log exercise. So if someone is regularly donating blood or blood components, I think it's good for them to ask questions about how it affects their equation. Having said that, I agree no one should be logging 650 cals of exercise for it! Just my 2 cents :drinker:
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
    I just go for a maintenance day when I do it, mostly because afterwards you sit down in the little kitchen area and they feed you milkshakes, homemade sausage rolls, cookies, cheese and crackers, mini Mars bars, jellybeans etc.
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    misskarne wrote: »
    I just go for a maintenance day when I do it, mostly because afterwards you sit down in the little kitchen area and they feed you milkshakes, homemade sausage rolls, cookies, cheese and crackers, mini Mars bars, jellybeans etc.

    Oh, man. Where are you??? I just get Pop Chips, Lorna Doons, and apple juice :(.
  • misskarne
    misskarne Posts: 1,765 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    misskarne wrote: »
    I just go for a maintenance day when I do it, mostly because afterwards you sit down in the little kitchen area and they feed you milkshakes, homemade sausage rolls, cookies, cheese and crackers, mini Mars bars, jellybeans etc.

    Oh, man. Where are you??? I just get Pop Chips, Lorna Doons, and apple juice :(.

    Australia.

    What in the heck is a Lorna Doon?!
  • kimny72
    kimny72 Posts: 16,011 Member
    misskarne wrote: »
    kimny72 wrote: »
    misskarne wrote: »
    I just go for a maintenance day when I do it, mostly because afterwards you sit down in the little kitchen area and they feed you milkshakes, homemade sausage rolls, cookies, cheese and crackers, mini Mars bars, jellybeans etc.

    Oh, man. Where are you??? I just get Pop Chips, Lorna Doons, and apple juice :(.

    Australia.

    What in the heck is a Lorna Doon?!

    They're shortbread cookies :). A seriously poor substitute for a milkshake!
  • adoette
    adoette Posts: 181 Member
    fr33sia12 wrote: »
    Do you still have to eat beforehand giving blood? I used to give blood (before I had low iron levels) we were supposed to make sure we had food before giving blood, but I didn't always as I was dieting and nearly passed out a couple of times. So make sure you eat beforehand too.

    Try taking b12 the day before and day of. They aren't measuring your iron, per se, but rather your hemoglobin levels. B vitamins help with production of hemoglobin. My serum iron levels are fine but my h&h are low. Ask your doctor, but usually, the b-vitamins are all you really need. (YMMV)

    For those wondering, you can either get a B vitamin multi supplement or something like a 5 hour energy shot, because those work with the B's rather than stimulants.
  • MichelleLea122
    MichelleLea122 Posts: 332 Member
    kimny72 wrote: »
    vczK2t wrote: »
    NO you haven't reduced your weight. where are you people getting your blood donated??????? on a treadmill??? gimme a break. do your good deed, drink the juice and eat the cookies, and move on. NOT EVERYTHING can count as exercise, even cooking isn't exercise. unless you are a chef moving constantly.

    Well to be honest, as a smallish female with low blood pressure, it used to take @ 30 mins when I used to donate whole blood, and I am usually hooked up for @ an hour and a half when I donate platelets. There are several variables that can affect the time frame, and I think you are lucky enough to be on the lower end time-wise.

    It's not really about "counting it as exercise". We constantly tell everyone that accuracy and consistency is the key to weight loss, so I think it's good to understand how something you do affects CICO. And the typical way you add to Calories Out on MFP is to log exercise. So if someone is regularly donating blood or blood components, I think it's good for them to ask questions about how it affects their equation. Having said that, I agree no one should be logging 650 cals of exercise for it! Just my 2 cents :drinker:

    I'm surprised that they let you donate blood. I thought the Red Cross required females to be at least 5'5'' and weigh at least 150lbs for this very reason. I'm just curious, because I've always though I wasn't eligible to donate blood because of my height/weight/low blood pressure.

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