Doing IF and passed out

corgicake

Find a dietician who does sports nutrition, as in one of those people that athletes see to make sure their diet gets their needs met. Being a larger active person doesn't mean you have less of an input/burn issue to tackle - it means you have more of one. For each person, there is a level of activity where it becomes critical that they eat enough at the right times. It's possible that you may be at that point now.

FatFreeFrolicking

As a hypoglycemic myself, it sounds like hypoglycemia to me- especially because you felt better after eating.

Even though you've been doing IF for a while, you can still become hypoglycemic at ANY TIME throughout the day.

It could also be that you haven't been properly fueling yourself and it finally caught up to you.

I would still call your doctor and let them know what happened. Having routine blood work to check up on your vitamin/mineral levels wouldn't hurt either.

DanaDark

The combination of being quite hungry and exercising is what did it. You drained your body of all it's immediate sources of energy.

To fix this, go ahead and eat something before you exercise. A 100 calorie healthy snack will do absolute wonders for you in this case. You could also sprinkle a small amount of sugar into your water (you ARE drinking water while exercising right?), this will help as well.

Basically, you use all the glycogen stores that were in your muscle, from there, your body had to engage in glucongenesis to convert fatty tissue, amino acids, and various other substances into glucose as your blood sugar had dropped.

However, the body sometimes doesn't always get things done in the most timely fashion, so, you ran out of energy before it could re-supply you with it fully. Your brain REQUIRES this energy source, but instead, your muscles were re-filling first, causing your brain to suddenly starve of energy, causing you to pass out.

Eating any simple carbohydrates will very quickly recover the condition (as simple sugars are digested directly in the mouth, allowing for quick absorption into the blood).

TL;DR : Have a light snack before your work out and/or have a LIGHTLY sugared drink during.

rosebette

OP, you did mention that your blood pressure was "low normal." This is what mine is, and what caused a near fainting episode for me a few years back. I was advised to drink water or juice and have a light meal or snack before activity. This might be the adjustment you need to make. Total IF might not be completely working for you because of your BP. To this day, I still can't do classes with burpees or exercises with rapid shifts from horizontal to vertical first thing in the morning, even after a light meal.

dbmata

ETA: Since people don't seem to be getting it, this is the FIRST time I've passed out, and I immediately ate my shake and lunch after this happened. And I don't intend to keep doing IF until I've figured out what the problem is, and how to correct it.

Oh well, at least it's only the FIRST time. I probably wouldn't be concerned until at least the seventh or eighth time. *facepalm* Skip IF and all the other unhealthy fad diets. The end.

Have any data to support that IF eating is unhealthy?

I'm keenly interested in the legitimacy of this claim.

QuietBloom

You say shaking is normal for you at the end of a workout? Not good. Either you are consistently crashing blood-sugar-wise or something else is going on.

Off to the doc you go.

QuietBloom

ETA: Since people don't seem to be getting it, this is the FIRST time I've passed out, and I immediately ate my shake and lunch after this happened. And I don't intend to keep doing IF until I've figured out what the problem is, and how to correct it.

Oh well, at least it's only the FIRST time. I probably wouldn't be concerned until at least the seventh or eighth time. *facepalm* Skip IF and all the other unhealthy fad diets. The end.

Have any data to support that IF eating is unhealthy?

I'm keenly interested in the legitimacy of this claim.

^This. Or how it can be considered a 'fad diet'.

AnxiousPenman

OP -- Serious Suggestion

See a doctor and find out if you've developed a Syncope issue.

About 8 years ago, I lost 70 lbs. And I'd notice that at the end of workouts, I'd get kind of dizzy and shaky. Sometimes I'd even have situations where my vision went black for a few seconds.

Then, one day, I was having a super stressful day at work, and completely out of nowhere, I passed out. Was rushed to the hospital ... and it turns out, I'd developed an issue where my resting heart rate had become so low that when I worked out hard, or got over-excited, or even had too much sodium, my heart rate would rocket ... and my brain would go into panic mode and immediately slam on the brakes, which would cause my heart rate to plummet instantly, causing me to pass out.

It happened a number of times over the course of a few months. Scared the **** out of me every single time (once it happened when I was hiking, alone, on the Appalachian Trail, after I thought I was better, and I took a really bad fall).

It's scary. It's dangerous. See a doctor and see if that could be the problem.

Also, look up Neurally Mediated Syncope.

ETA: I wasn't doing IF or anything. Just normal run of the mill Weight Watchers at the time. I kept ignoring the shaky bits thinking "Man, that workout was intense!". Then I'd eat and feel better. It wasn't until I passed out that it dawned on me that something was seriously wrong.

sati18

You should see a doctor. It could be to do with your intake but it could be something else. Fainting shouldn't be ignored. The only time I have ever fainted it was about a month before an ovarian cyst burst that had been quietly growing on a blood vessel. I discounted the fainting because I wasn't eating properly at the time and I assumed it was that and a few weeks later I was in accident and emergency in agonising pain and ended up having a four and a half pint blood transfusion to save my life. Fainting was the only indication I had that anything was wrong prior to that and I ignored it because I assumed it was to do with diet.

Don't assume, go to the doctor x

LoupGarouTFTs

I'd like to add my voice to those who say you should go to the doctor and to those voices that state it could be blood glucose issues. I'd like to point out, though, that you could also be seeing a spike in blood sugar. The other day my fasting blood sugar was 97, I had a normal breakfast, and went to work outside. After a little while I felt dizzy and nauseated and I nearly passed out. When I tested it a few minutes later, my blood sugar had spiked to almost 170. I can always tell when my sugar spikes above 150, because I get the same tremors and light-headed feeling you describe, when I try to work.

I would recommend that you get a kit of your own that uses inexpensive test strips and lancets. If it were me, I'd test four times a day between now and when you go see the doctor: fasting (min. 8 hours, probably when you wake), before working out, after working out, and after your last meal of the day. (I test fasting and after all three meals). You'll be able to see for yourself a pattern of bgl and it might help you determine your nutritional needs a bit better.


Edited to add:

Normal blood glucose levels run from 90 to 120. Anything between 80 to 89 is mild hypoglycemia. 70 to 79 is moderate hypoglycemia. Below 70 can be life-threatening if it drops low enough. Anything over 120 can be an indicator that you have diabetes.

Good luck.

DameonMacleod

hey if ur passing out from IF you need to change ur eating window. Iv been doing IF for 3 years, its how i lost all that weight. eat ur last meal at 6pm and ur next meal at 10am, thats a 16 hour fast and u wont feel like passing out. thats how i do it everyday. limit ur calories if ur not seeing any results. u might be eating over ur limit so ur not burning like u should. and be safe. the 6pm to 10am is a safe way to do IF. hit me up if have any questions about it. iv been doing it for a long long time.

Capt_Apollo

sorry if this has been asked and answered already, but which IF are you doing?? the 5:2, or the 16:8?

SrMaggalicious

I also practice IF and my first assumption is that your electrolytes aren't balanced. Are you getting enough sodium, potassium and magnesium?

^^This. Depending on the calories you have been eating and what type of nutrients you are getting, this could be your issue. I do a 20/4 IF with one Alternate day of fasting. I train very hard in the ams and have never felt weak or shaky. In fact, I have MORE energy training in a fasted state now.

If you had been having problems all along with IF, I would think it suspect. but since this is a new thing two months into it, there must be something else going on with your system, or lacking in your diet. See your doctor, regardless.

DameonMacleod

ur wrong for telling meal timing means nothing. it actually make no sense.