Shakiness, dizziness and slight nausea after workout

amusedmonkey

I did a 90 minute incline walk today burning 824 net calories in one session. Before the workout I had a small snack: a greek yogurt sandwich and a tomato for 15 carbs, 5 protein and 3 fat, plus a coffee and my B vitamin pill (I'm deficient because I don't like meat).

My workout went like this:
5 minutes warm up
40 minutes at 82% of my max heart rate
30 minutes at 76%
20 minutes at 72%
2 minutes cooldown

I drank about 800 ml of water so I don't think I was dehydrated

Midway through the workout I went to refill my water bottle and found a couple of dates (14 g of sugar) which I popped in before going back to treadmill.

After finishing I felt pretty spent with a little bit of nausea, shaky hands, urgent need to empty my bowels, tingling in my hands and feet and really bad positional dizziness (can't find a better term, but it's dizziness caused by change in position like suddenly standing up from a lying position)

I'm pretty sure it wasn't low blood sugar because I usually get blood sugar highs after workouts (I'm pre-diabetic), to make sure I did test and sure enough I was at my usual post workout high level of 135.

Could it be that my snack was too small? Could it be the coffee since I rarely drink it? Is it the heat/sweating? Is it because I'm not used to exercising that long? Do you think my borderline iron deficiency may be making a second appearance? I thought I got rid of that... Oh well, any tips or thoughts appreciated.

amusedmonkey

bump

MityMax96

sounds like low blood sugar.

But if you think it warrants it, go see your doctor.

MityMax96

drink gatorade

afortunatedragon

Ditch the coffee and get some high carbs into your body before the workout.
Bananas are great there.

You need energy to do a workout for that long.

I can't eat anything right before or during training, so I eat a banana or some dextros at least 30 min prior.
During training I normally drink water or electrolyts (you lose them due to the sweating)

KarenJanine

Dizziness when standing up is postural hypotension. This could be caused by electrolyte imbalance or by iron deficiency. As you're pre-diabetic and have had borederline low iron in the past then it would probably be worth a blood test to check your ferritin levels.

acpgee

sounds like low blood sugar.

But if you think it warrants it, go see your doctor.

I would guess this too. Try a small glass of fruit juice.

bmele0

I had gestational diabetes, and they told me to exercise after eating and it would help keep my blood sugar levels down.

It sounds like your blood sugar is dropping low during your workout- your body will try to compensate for that and that's why your blood sugar is higher after a workout. That's also why they check the morning fasting levels, and if those are high, that is an indication of pre-diabetes/ gestational diabetes etc.

The key to is eating often and keeping carbs in check, but I would check with a nutrionist if you can to see what the right amount is for you. I had to keep my carbs for my three main meals around 30-35g, and my 2-3 snacks around 15g.

I follow this model now and it has helped tremendously with my weight-loss and energy.

MinnieInMaine

I agree with all of the above, especially possible low blood sugar and dehydration (needing something like gatorade). Could've been a fluke but if it happens again, definitely call your doc.

hmroebuck

Pre workout food should be high in carbs (like 50+ grams). Hold the protein for post workout recovery fuel.

amusedmonkey

I had gestational diabetes, and they told me to exercise after eating and it would help keep my blood sugar levels down.

It sounds like your blood sugar is dropping low during your workout- your body will try to compensate for that and that's why your blood sugar is higher after a workout. That's also why they check the morning fasting levels, and if those are high, that is an indication of pre-diabetes/ gestational diabetes etc.

The key to is eating often and keeping carbs in check, but I would check with a nutrionist if you can to see what the right amount is for you. I had to keep my carbs for my three main meals around 30-35g, and my 2-3 snacks around 15g.

I follow this model now and it has helped tremendously with my weight-loss and energy.

That's actually an interesting theory, because when I eat 150-200 grams of carbs throughout the day the day my sugar levels are within normal range, but if I skip a meal (especially breakfast), fast, or have less than 150 g of carbs my baseline creeps up back to pre-diabetic levels.

I've always found it weird that diabetics usually try low carbing but when I did it had the exact opposite effect.

I think when I do longer workouts I will be having more carbs from now on, I may also want to check my iron levels again like another user suggested. It's been about a year and a half since I had my iron levels corrected, so I may be on the low side again.

Lives2Travel

If your heart rate is high and falls too quickly, it can cause dizziness. Be sure to cool down by slowly decreasing your level of effort.

alska

to me it sounds like you over done it.