Exercise NAUSEA, HELP!

GabrielleZelda

Hey everyone,

So every time I do any intense exercise, I become incredibly queasy and feel like I might be sick. I've tried drinking more water, drinking less water, taking breaks, working out early in the morning before I've eaten - but I am almost always queasy for a large part of the work out.

It happens most often when I am doing any type of high intensity training, especially with intervals. (P90X, P90X+, Turbo Jam)

Anyone have this problem or a remedy?
Help!!
Thank you

ladyace2078

Have you eaten enough food? I get nauseous if I don't eat enough. I eat a high protein snack about 30-45 min before working out and make sure I'm hydrated all day.

Hawkian

Uh oh.

My first instinct, overwhelmingly, is that you need to eat more :-x

Make sure you have something, as specified above, high in protein at least two hours to 30 minutes before working out (no less than an hour before plyo, though, or that will actually make you feel sick from all the jumping).

This is crazy important with a program as intense as P90X. Stay fed, girl!

megleo818

Have you eaten enough food? I get nauseous if I don't eat enough. I eat a high protein snack about 30-45 min before working out and make sure I'm hydrated all day.

This.

I eat a Cliff Z Bar 45 - 60 min before I work out, with my morning coffee. After trying a number of different things, this is what has worked for me.

tamamommy

Same thing use to happen to me too. I have a protein shake with 1/2 banana before my workout. Good luck.

GabrielleZelda

Wow, I always thought that eating would make it worse!
I figured, on an empty stomach, there is no room for nausea or indigestion.

Definitely food for thought, I will try this out!

p.s. staying hydrated all day has helped a great deal, instead of gorging on two bottles of water during exercise.

Hawkian

Wow, I always thought that eating would make it worse!
I figured, on an empty stomach, there is no room for nausea or indigestion.

Definitely food for thought, I will try this out!

p.s. staying hydrated all day has helped a great deal, instead of gorging on two bottles of water during exercise.

Hehe, nononono! Staying hydrated is definitely most important (the times I've tried to push through a workout without having enough water earlier, I felt like I was dying rather than just a little nauseated), but having eaten enough is super important especially during very intense workouts which I know you're doing. On an empty stomach, your body will be DYING for some carb/sugar/protein stores to tap into and convert to energy and when it can't find them, it's gonna make you feel very uncomfortable as a way of saying "FEED ME!!!"

edit: Just remember, for VERY intense cardio like Plyometrics, eating too soon before can work against you just based on the sheer madness of the motion you'll be performing (same principle as "don't eat 30 minutes before you go in the pool"). Tony would say have something substantial 1-2 hours before you bring it.

HungerGame82

Idk what you eat before you work out, but that would be my suggestion as well. I don't drink a lot right before I work out, but I stay hydrated throughout the day. I know this sounds gross but low fat chocolate milk is a great way to get some nutrition in before a workout - cals, protein, etc. They have little bottle at Wal-Mart that are not bad in sugar and cals. And getting too few calories overall could be adding to the problem, I've had that happen to me before...

Hawkian

Why would that sound gross? Chocolate milk is delicioso

now_or_never12

I would say you aren't eating enough to properly fuel your body. I had a look at your food diary and you are always under 1,200 and sometimes under 1000 calories a day in food. That would cause it because the workouts you do are very intense.

You need to fuel your body more in order to get the best results from the workouts you are doing.

You are normally netting negative calories which doesn't help. You don't need to burn off everything you eat.

missashley884

Wow, I always thought that eating would make it worse!
I figured, on an empty stomach, there is no room for nausea or indigestion.

Definitely food for thought, I will try this out!

p.s. staying hydrated all day has helped a great deal, instead of gorging on two bottles of water during exercise.

not eating will make it worse! you have no calories to burn off!

Mrsfullwood

I'm the same way. But its only when I do more intense work outs. I've always wondered why.

myfitnessnmhoy

Add me to the "you probably need a snack" list. I used to run, and now I bicycle (sometimes for hours at a stretch). I also hike and kayak. With ANY of those activities, I need to start with a small but proper snack (for me what works is complex carbs, minimum of 100 calories, ideally about a half hour beforehand).

I've been told by the sports nutritionist who is directing our training for the Trek Across Maine (60-mile-a-day bike ride for 3 days) that a 100-200 calorie complex carb snack every hour of intense workouts is also ideal, and a carb-and-protein snack within about a half hour of the workout helps keep nausea and chills at bay and keeps your appetite healthy. I haven't found that to be necessarily true in my case, but I have used hard candy to "restart the engine" on long hikes - a slow sugar drip of 15 calories over the course of 15-20 minutes can keep me going for a couple of hours of heavy activity.

And, of course, immediately before exercise or during exercise is the wrong time to START hydrating. You need to start hydrating early (or just keep up a good habit of drinking lots of water daily).

If I don't fuel up properly before I start a long and vigorous workout, I get nauseous, and then when I'm done I can't have a snack because I'll hurl it back up again. Then I go through the chills. They suck. Then when my body has recovered from what I've done to it, I'm a ravenous hungerbeast and I empty entire refrigerators into my gaping maw. It's important that you move a lot when I'm in this mode, because you're made of meat and I'm not fussy. Just sayin'.

A 100-calorie slice of multigrain bread before my bicycle commute and a 1/2 cup of oatmeal and a handful of nuts and a banana after it means I've burned 700+ calories and consumed an under-300 calorie breakfast, and when lunchtime rolls around I'm feeling "healthy hungry".

I've tried NOT having that slice of bread beforehand - feeling ill until 10AM, then a sudden rush to the cafeteria dropping $10 on 1,000+ calories of poorly-chosen fare, and hungry again at lunch. It doesn't work for me.

But we're all different. I'd try something very simple and easy to digest, even if it's a handful of crackers with a touch of peanut butter, about a half hour before your workout.

scottb81

You are probably working too hard for your current fitness level. You may need to dial back on the intensity until you get more in shape.

jcstanton

Wow, I always thought that eating would make it worse!
I figured, on an empty stomach, there is no room for nausea or indigestion.

Definitely food for thought, I will try this out!

p.s. staying hydrated all day has helped a great deal, instead of gorging on two bottles of water during exercise.

Hehe, nononono! Staying hydrated is definitely most important (the times I've tried to push through a workout without having enough water earlier, I felt like I was dying rather than just a little nauseated), but having eaten enough is super important especially during very intense workouts which I know you're doing. On an empty stomach, your body will be DYING for some carb/sugar/protein stores to tap into and convert to energy and when it can't find them, it's gonna make you feel very uncomfortable as a way of saying "FEED ME!!!"

edit: Just remember, for VERY intense cardio like Plyometrics, eating too soon before can work against you just based on the sheer madness of the motion you'll be performing (same principle as "don't eat 30 minutes before you go in the pool"). Tony would say have something substantial 1-2 hours before you bring it.

This! Don't eat any later than thirty minutes before, and it doesn't have to be a large QUANTITY of food. Just find something that is calorie and nutrient dense so that you don't have to eat a large portion, but your body will still have something to draw energy from. I used to have a problem with muscle weakness and fatigue (not so much nausea) until I started doing this.

robinso5

Hey everyone,

So every time I do any intense exercise, I become incredibly queasy and feel like I might be sick. I've tried drinking more water, drinking less water, taking breaks, working out early in the morning before I've eaten - but I am almost always queasy for a large part of the work out.

It happens most often when I am doing any type of high intensity training, especially with intervals. (P90X, P90X+, Turbo Jam)

Anyone have this problem or a remedy?
Help!!
Thank you

I have exercise hiccups!

sandrajune72

I found that too when I started 30 Day Shred. Eating something about an hour before has really made a difference. It does get better as you get fitter too! Good luck in finding what works for you x:flowerforyou:

Mbishop7684

I have had the same things happen to me during spin and I could NEVER figure out why! I would get nauseous, then the chills, then the desperate search for carbs in my veggie loaded apt. I switched my after workout protein shake to pre-workout and it fixed the problem immediately. Thanks for sharing all the advice!

sandrajune72

I have exercise hiccups!

Brilliant!!! :laugh: You poor thing!! Perhaps you're not breathing right???

madamepsychosis

Definitely eat more and always try and eat something around an hour before a workout, even if it's just a piece of fruit. I once went straight from a shift at work to the gym without dinner and came out wanting to hurl. That's never happened before or since I made sure I got at least a little something in me beforehand. I like to work out as early as possible, so I don't normally feel like breakfast beforehand, but a banana and a coffee are enough to keep me going, then I have breakfast afterwards. You need to make sure you're eating enough to fuel your workouts and to keep your body healthy. Consistently eating under 1000 calories (as your diary suggests you are) will not do this. If you're not feeling well, you're probably not eating enough, especially if you're really going for it during your workouts.

hpsnickers1

How hard do you exercise? Nausea can be perfectly normal after a long bout of high intensity exercise. Try backing off the intensity a bit and see if that helps. Chronic cardio isn't good for the body anyway and will do more for eating away at muscle mass than fat mass.

And food is up to you. Some people like to exercise with food in the belly (I don't advise this if you are going to be doing high intensity cardio for more than a half hour because high intensity exercise stresses the body and your digestive system will shut down). Some like to exercise fasted. Some like to eat after, some don't. See what your body likes best.

I prefer not to eat right before or right after exercise. I think it defeats the purpose of using exercise to burn carbs/fat from storage. Think about it. If you eat before (takes about 2-3 hours for food to leave the stomach and about 5-6 hours for the digestion process to complete) then your body will be using what you just ate as fuel. If you eat after then your body will use what you just ate to replenish. With no food in your system your body will have no choice but to USE WHAT IS ALREADY THERE.

icapell

It might be your breathing. If you're holding your breathe during sets, for example, your diaphragm/ab muscles will tense up, and cause nausea. I have the same thing only less severe and that's what my doctor told me.

Also if you're doing intense running, it could be associated with "Runner's Diarrhea". In which case, my only advice is run shorter distances.

GabrielleZelda

Wow, I always thought that eating would make it worse!
I figured, on an empty stomach, there is no room for nausea or indigestion.

Definitely food for thought, I will try this out!

p.s. staying hydrated all day has helped a great deal, instead of gorging on two bottles of water during exercise.

Hehe, nononono! Staying hydrated is definitely most important (the times I've tried to push through a workout without having enough water earlier, I felt like I was dying rather than just a little nauseated), but having eaten enough is super important especially during very intense workouts which I know you're doing. On an empty stomach, your body will be DYING for some carb/sugar/protein stores to tap into and convert to energy and when it can't find them, it's gonna make you feel very uncomfortable as a way of saying "FEED ME!!!"

edit: Just remember, for VERY intense cardio like Plyometrics, eating too soon before can work against you just based on the sheer madness of the motion you'll be performing (same principle as "don't eat 30 minutes before you go in the pool"). Tony would say have something substantial 1-2 hours before you bring it.

Thanks Hawkian!

That's exactly the problem - if you eat too much, too little, or at the inappropriate time then the bouts of nausea are inevitable. For Plyo I think I'll still do it on an empty stomach in the morning, but for anything else definitely after at least a protein rich snack an hour or so earlier, like you said!

Oh gosh, too little water REALLY is the worst. And it's not like you replenish immediately if you are dehydrated - so not drinking all day and chugging two bottles of water during your exercise will initially make it worse due to the large amount of liquid swirling around in your belly.

GabrielleZelda

Idk what you eat before you work out, but that would be my suggestion as well. I don't drink a lot right before I work out, but I stay hydrated throughout the day. I know this sounds gross but low fat chocolate milk is a great way to get some nutrition in before a workout - cals, protein, etc. They have little bottle at Wal-Mart that are not bad in sugar and cals. And getting too few calories overall could be adding to the problem, I've had that happen to me before...

that's a great idea! Thanks for sharing. I definitely see how it would work since it contains all the essential nutrients your body needs to do intense exercise, all while keeping you hydrated!

morkiemama

If you find the snack beforehand helps (and I'm on that team), also keep some juice on hand during your workout. If you feel nauseous during a workout, it could be due to low blood sugar. Juice is a quick way to get some sugar in your system and make you feel better. This sometimes happens to me despite my best intentions and juice helps.

I didn't look at your diary, but if you are only eating 1200 calories and doing an intense workout like P90X you probably need to eat more in general.

mostein

I was also having this problem with my evening bootcamp class. I would get nauseas if I didn't eat but felt like I would vomit if I ate 30 minutes before. The last 2 weeks I have been eating a PowerBar on the car ride home which is about 2 hours before my class with a glass of water. It has been working perfectly for me!

GabrielleZelda

This is fantastic advice. I've been going about this diet all wrong, it seems!

I've always been under the impression than netting as close to zero as possible is the way to weight loss. Also, I thought that by exercising on an empty stomach your body will be forced to use the fuel that is already present in adipose tissue. This is what I've heard and read constantly, and I do find that it curbs my appetite as well, which is usually monstrous in the morning.

So what I usually assume, is that by eating before exercise, it sort of defeats the purpose. BUT if it leaves you feeling nauseated and faint through out the exercise, that can't be beneficial, either!

I will try and have a protein shake or something before a workout, hopefully this will solve the issue. Also, a few of you have said that eating after, works, as well. I suppose different meal times work better for some - I think I'll try to eat a little beforehand first.

Eating back the exercise calories is another issue to tackle - but I always feel as if it defeats the whole purpose of the diet. (I need to do a little more research on this)

Thank you all so much! I never imagined I would get so many helpful answers.

now_or_never12

This is fantastic advice. I've been going about this diet all wrong, it seems!

I've always been under the impression than netting as close to zero as possible is the way to weight loss. Also, I thought that by exercising on an empty stomach your body will be forced to use the fuel that is already present in adipose tissue. This is what I've heard and read constantly, and I do find that it curbs my appetite as well, which is usually monstrous in the morning.

When you set up this site you were already put at a calorie deficit to lose weight. That is why when you add exercise it tells you to eat more (your calories increase). You shouldn't have too large of a deficit because a body can't handle it constantly.

You don't need to workout to burn the same amount of calories you eat in a day... it will hurt you more than help you as you are noticing. Being naseus and not being able to exercise properly are caused (one cause) of not eating enough and not properly fueling your body. Eating too little for too long will decrease your metabolism making it harder to lose weight. With the amounts you are eating now you are pretty much leaving your body with nothing.

Eat your base calories and your exercise calories. You should be netting AT LEAST 1,200 calories per day if not a lot more due to the workouts you do.

Hawkian

Thanks Hawkian!

That's exactly the problem - if you eat too much, too little, or at the inappropriate time then the bouts of nausea are inevitable. For Plyo I think I'll still do it on an empty stomach in the morning, but for anything else definitely after at least a protein rich snack an hour or so earlier, like you said!

Oh gosh, too little water REALLY is the worst. And it's not like you replenish immediately if you are dehydrated - so not drinking all day and chugging two bottles of water during your exercise will initially make it worse due to the large amount of liquid swirling around in your belly.

Yep you're right of course. And really, you don't have to eat much for this purpose- just a little of something substantial (some carbs/sugars/protein!). I'd definitely try consciously doing it an hour before your intense workouts when you've got the chance, and see if it makes a difference. I can understand you not having time in the morning before Plyo of course- you ever hear of Shot Bloks? Lil 33 calorie cubes of tasty chewy gumminess with 4g of sugar and 8g of carbs. Not ideal but you could have one or two of those 10 minutes before a workout without having to worry about "eating too much too soon" and feel a difference in terms of nausea afterward. Even the chocolate milk suggestion (a few more calories, but who cares, you're burning like crazy every day ) is a great idea.

I bet you're on the right track with this stuff in mind now!

How hard do you exercise? Nausea can be perfectly normal after a long bout of high intensity exercise. Try backing off the intensity a bit and see if that helps. Chronic cardio isn't good for the body anyway and will do more for eating away at muscle mass than fat mass.

And food is up to you. Some people like to exercise with food in the belly (I don't advise this if you are going to be doing high intensity cardio for more than a half hour because high intensity exercise stresses the body and your digestive system will shut down). Some like to exercise fasted. Some like to eat after, some don't. See what your body likes best.

I prefer not to eat right before or right after exercise. I think it defeats the purpose of using exercise to burn carbs/fat from storage. Think about it. If you eat before (takes about 2-3 hours for food to leave the stomach and about 5-6 hours for the digestion process to complete) then your body will be using what you just ate as fuel. If you eat after then your body will use what you just ate to replenish. With no food in your system your body will have no choice but to USE WHAT IS ALREADY THERE.

Ooooh, I can't agree with much at all of this post O.O

Major points:
1. Nausea "normal" after exercise? Errr. After a 5K or an all-day bike ride, maybe. After an hour of structured cardio? Nausea is much more likely to be an indicator of something wrong- either your body wants nutrition badly, you ate too soon before the workout and interfered with digestion, or you're not properly hydrated. I'd say nausea isn't necessary a BAD sign every time, but "normal" is not at all how I'd express it. Nausea is your body trying to get you to take some action, even if it's vomiting to get rid of toxins or removing yourself from an unsteady environment (like a rocking boat).

2. I think you're way off the mark about not eating beforehand if you're going to be working out for a long time. In fact, the longer and more intense the workout, the MORE important it is that you have something in you to burn! The fact that the digestive process slows while your cardiovascular systems are working hard during exercise is no reason to favor having no food in you at all, and you'll stimulate your metabolism during the workout too!

3. The last bit about "defeating the purpose," and "forcing your body to use what is already there"- these concepts are great if they work for you, but it's important you realize that what you're talking about is basically purely psychological. Especially in terms of losing weight- if you run a net caloric deficit you will lose weight, if you don't you won't. When you eat in terms of before or after a workout has comparatively little to do with this compared to what you eat, how often you eat, and how much you eat each time.

Furthermore, eating (or drinking, this is all I use protein shakes for) something high in protein quickly after a workout (no more than 1 hour, preferably within 30 mins) is demonstrably, scientifically proven effective for boosting muscle growth.

I've always been under the impression than netting as close to zero as possible is the way to weight loss. Also, I thought that by exercising on an empty stomach your body will be forced to use the fuel that is already present in adipose tissue. This is what I've heard and read constantly, and I do find that it curbs my appetite as well, which is usually monstrous in the morning.

I understand the logic of this and it's an EXTREMELY common thought (see my response to the similar claim above), but it sooo just doesn't work like that in practice.

Exercising curbs your appetite for sure, but it's doing so by slowing/deprioritizing your digestive system in relation to other body functions like respiration and circulation, regulating your body temp, etc. This is great if you're prone to overeating and need a way to avoid snacking on junk late in the day... but my dear, this is not your problem.

You run great (many would say too wild) deficits every day. You don't need to concern yourself in the slightest with workout out on an empty stomach to "use the existing fuel." You're gonna be killing it no matter what with your diet and fitness routines, and frankly you might see more complete gains if you ate a little more in general But as long as you don't feel weak/hungry, I won't push this aspect on you.

VoiceOfTrenton

I've been doing traditional Japanese Karate for about 22 years now, so I've fallen into a bit of a routine--hope what works for me helps you.

If I have a 5:30 or 6:00 workout, then I try to be done with lunch before 1:00. I don't have a heavy lunch on the days I work out, but I do try to make sure lunch has a good healthy dose of protein. If I start to feel hungry, a small snack like a handful of nuts and/or raisins goes a long way, and I do make sure I have water between lunch and workout, but I wait an hour after lunch to start drinking it so my stomach has a chance to work on lunch a bit first.

If you're fairly new to dieting and exercising like this, especially since P90X is kind of an "all over the map" approach to exercise, I suggest the following:

- A good helping of protein an hour before the workout
- A glass of water just before starting
- At least one water break every 30 minutes, even if it's just for a few sips

When you feel nausea, you may be pushing yourself too hard--back off on the intensity of what you are doing a little bit and cut yourself some slack. For me, if I get indigestion in a workout, I slow down and don't worry that I'm only doing 5 reps out of 10 because I know in a minute or two I'll be back up to 10/10 and not feel miserable.

Hope this is helpful to you. You definitely DO want to take in protein, carbs, and fat during weight loss, especially when combining it with an exercise regimen. The real key to losing weight is simply to keep an eye on portion control, percentages, and get enough sleep so you can recharge your body and your metabolism.

Cgirlish

great topic will have to finish reading later