Ammonia Sweat is Back

Mr_Knight

Having lost a bunch of weight, over the past few weeks I have started ramping up my physical activity. I'm now doing about 700 calories a day of dedicated exercise. It's not all hard core cardio, much of it is extended "brisk" walking. Yesterday, for example, was a 7km walking pace hike, 25 minutes of swimming laps in a pool, and a "lift heavy things" with free weights (15 sets spread across 3 whole-body exercises).

To compensate, I have ratcheted up my calorie intake. I'm using the "Roadmap" spreadsheet, which gives my BMR at ~2100 calories and my TDEE at ~3300 calories. I'm eating at ~2500 calories, with a roughly 35/30/35 calorie split, macrowise (carb/fat/protein).

The macros aren't always easy to hit, but I'm always pretty close. Yesterday for example was...

Actual: 176:85:259
Goal : 221:82:221

So what's the issue? Last night was "ammonia sweat" night. The usual explanations I see for this are "not enough fluids" (I drank 3L of fluids and ate a fluid-filled stew for a meal) and "not enough carbs" (I'm on track with my macro goals).

First, I'm going to keep doing what I'm doing to see if this is a one-off event. The question is, what does it mean if this is recurring? I know BMR/TDEE calculations are all approximations - would this be a hint that the calculations underestimate my calorie burn and I need to increase my intake? Or are my macros out of whack, and I should swap some protein back for carbs?

Appreciate any experience/advice y'all might be able to share.

Cheers.

scottb81

Eat more carbs. Change your macros to around 50/30/20.

The reason it is happening is that your glycogen supply is depleted and your body is burning amino acids for energy. The only way to fix it is to increase your glycogen supply by eating more carbs.

FP4HSharon

According to Web MD's...

Matthew Hoffman, MD
Internal Medicine
Emory University

Sweat contains ammonia, and with strenuous exercise, more ammonia is produced and sweated out. In some people, enough ammonia is present to give its characteristic odor to their sweat.

The more strenuous or lengthy the exercise session, the greater the amount of ammonia that gets into sweat.

In clinical studies, ammonia went up in people’s sweat regardless of the type of exercise or what they had eaten first. There’s no proof that an ammonia smell in sweat means you aren’t eating enough protein, or working out too strenuously, or anything in particular.

Not everyone produces and excretes ammonia at the same rate, so one person’s sweat may have a stronger ammonia odor than someone else’s, even if they are exercising about the same amount.

POSTER'S ADDED NOTE: Although I would think the more water you drink, you might sweat more, but the ammonia would be more diluted.

Pinkranger626

By ammonia sweat are you saying that it had a strong odor? or it's saltier than normal? If your sweat has a strong odor and you haven't changed anything such as deodorant, body wash, laundry detergent etc. then it may be beneficial to you to see your doctor for a physical and make sure you don't have any nutrient deficiencies. Are you prediabetic or diabetic? I've heard of diabetics and even prediabetics having what's known as ketosis where your blood sugar is out of whack and you emit an odor that's akin to sweet or fruity smelling.

If you're referring to a more salty sweat this could be due to hot weather and you losing more electrolytes than normal. If you're a salty sweater and you're doing exercise for prolonged periods (2+ hours), high intensity (HIIT training, sprints etc.), or you are sweating more profusely than usual due to weather conditions it may not hurt to use some electrolyte supplements.

Sometimes if you drink too much water your electrolytes can be messed up a little too. Sports drinks such as gatorade, powerade, or any of the tablets, powders, etc can help (Nuun, shot blox etc.) Are you feeling fatigued? dizzy? prolonged muscle soreness? cramping?

MinnieInMaine

I would agree. This reaction tends to happen when the diet is low carb, high protein. Your goal isn't too far off the mark but you exceeded your protein and didn't meet your carb goal so the imbalance may have been the issue. I would at least try for a 40/30/30, if not 45/30/25.

Also you may need to drink more water. 3 liters is 12-13 cups which isn't too far above the normal recommendation for an active person. How's your pee look/smell? Is it clear to pale yellow most of the time or a little stronger colored with a bit of an odor most of the time? If the latter or even somewhere in between, you definitely need to up your water intake. Maybe try for closer to 4 liters per day.

SonicDeathMonkey80

Eat more carbs. Change your macros to around 50/30/20.

The reason it is happening is that your glycogen supply is depleted and your body is burning amino acids for energy. The only way to fix it is to increase your glycogen supply by eating more carbs.

Amen. I eat the same cals everyday (maintenance) and I clear about 300g carbs per day.

MoreBean13

bump, I've always wondered about this.

Papillon22

Sorry, OP, I have no advice. This is the first time I hear about this. Very interesting.

darkestdayz

My carbs are rarely over 20g a day and I have never experienced this, no matter how hard I workout.

Mr_Knight

Thanks, all. I have adjusted to 45/30/25, and will see what happens. I usually drink about 4L a day, will try and ensure I'm hitting that mark, too.

To a couple of the questions - not salty, definitely ammonia, like opening a bottle of cleaning solution. I'm not pre-diabetic. And my pee is usually quite clear, although I didn't think to check this morning (doh!).

I'm inclined to believe the glycogen-depletion theory - near the end of yesterday's hike I hit what felt like a brick wall.