weird weak sort of feeling when I exercised today

watkinsc

I have been riding my stationary bike 4 days a week for about a month now. Today, when I was about 40 mins into my usual 60 min ride, I started to feel weird. My pulse was ok at 135, I wasn't short of breath, my muscles didn't hurt. I'm overweight, but not obese (5'6" 163 42 yo female) I just felt suddenly weak. I rested for a min or two and tried to start up again, but I was just this weird kind of tired. What is this? Dehydration, Low blood sugar? Something more serious? I want to avoid it again, I have been making some amount of progress over the last month with my endurance and weight loss and and want to continue to push harder.

kennedar

Did you eat before working out? That is similar to how I feel when I go to long between meals.

eharvey

Im no Dr but Im guessing that Ive been there before (last Monday to be exact). I call it low blood sugar for myself. I usually stop eat some candy, some protein and water then Im good

watkinsc

Thanks for the quick replies! I exercised in the morning, I had a couple cups of coffee and a Kashi bar about an hour before I rode. Not exactly the breakfast of champions. I'll take your advice and make sure I have adequate nutrition and water next time. Well wishes with your health and fitness goals!

HealthyishWithMaggieG

I'm not a doctor either, but I've had issues with low blood sugar my whole life. So, I've gotten to be pretty good at self-diagnosis when something's wrong with me.

From what you've described, I would probably go with low blood sugar, but there could be an element of dehydration in there too.

If I were in that situation and it happened to me, I would drink 1 to 2 cup(s) of lowfat milk, instead of juice, to get me back to "normal". For me, I've found that there's enough sugar in milk that it'll give me the quick pick-me-up, but there's protein in it too, to maintain it evenly. Plus, milk is supposed to be really good for rebuilding muscle that breaks down during exercise. (Again, that's not medical advice. I just read it in some article online and it made sense to me.)

Staying hydrated while you're exercising is really important too. Since you're riding for an hour, usually, make sure you're drinking water while you ride. I used to do 35 - 50 mile rides, but it's been more than a decade ago. It seems like I remember being told you're supposed to drink about 1/4 cup of water every 15 minutes. Don't over do it to where you're giving yourself cramps, but make sure to drink something.

The coffee before working out is all sorts of bad for you. It'll dehydrate you and the caffeine is a stimulant. Not good for the heart.

I know it's been a couple weeks since the original post and replies. I just found the discussion. Any issues since the first occurance?

taz12

Not a doctor either but it does sound like low blood sugar. A really good breakfast before you exercise is oatmealmade with milk, topped with half a banana and some bueberries (I also include a teaspoon of honey for some extra sweetness!). Works out at about 300 calories. It gives a slow release of energy over a period of time. Would be better that the coffee and bar!! Its also addictive. I hated oatmeal until I got sick and it was one of the only things I could eat but now I love it. another good topping is half a granny smith apople grated. YUM YUM. Happy exercising.