Giving Blood

avr5097

Hey y'all! So tomorrow I will be giving blood (yes, I am a little nervous but I love giving blood cause it makes me feel so useful).
So... I'll be giving it between 12 to one in the afternoon. I usually go to the gym at 4 and a kickboxing class at 6. What should I do? At first I thought I'd go to the gym at 4 and do a light-ish workout. Like half hour max. Then I thought maybe I'd just do the class... I'm not sure.
I heard that giving blood actually burns a LOT of calories too, so should I not work out at all?
Advice would be appreciated!

Happy Monday!! :drinker:

BrendaLee

Your body will burn about 650 calories as it replaces the blood you have donated. You're not supposed to do any vigorous exercise in the 24 hours following donation, so I would recommend taking it easy.

romst19

That's excellent that you are going to donate blood! I work for a blood center, and after you doante, the phlebotomist is probably going to tell you no exercise or strenuous activity for the rest of the day. You need to give your body a chance to rest and recuperate- if possible, I'd exercise before the donation. If not, I'd skip it for the day.

ianconway

No strenuous activities for 24 hours after giving blood. I would suggest that you eat a decent sized breakfast! I made the mistake of only eating some toast before giving blood and passed out! Make sure you get some food in ya!


-Ian

klybarger

Congrats on blood donation - really great way to give to your community. As for the work out, probably should hold off one day. You're going to be really dehydrated from the get go, I wouldn't risk compounding the issue. I think your good turn warrants a time out from the gym for a single day!

ps - that's if you skip the cookie they try to feed you when you're done!

YourCatalyst429

I worked out a couple hours after giving blood and was fine...however everyone body is different. I also think working out caused me to have HUGE bruise from where they took the blood. I'd say if you unsure and don't want to risk it why not just take a mile walk? It's not strenuous and will burn a decent amount of calories.:flowerforyou:

JDHINAZ

I donate Power Red - which is two units of red blood cell and they put everything else back in. I too suggest taking the day off from exercising. Eat a hearty meal and hour or two before (I make sure I get PLENTY of iron packed foods) and don't skip the snack they so kindly provide after. They'll also tell you to make your next meal a hearty one.

I've never had a bad experience donating, but I don't push myself after. As I usually exercise in the morning, I usually make it an easy workout the following morning.

Congrats on donating!

persian_dancer

Ooooo! Do you donate Power Red at the blood center and if so does that burn more calories because it's 2 extra units? Do you get dizzy or have lack of oxygen? Just curious because that is fascinating!

JDHINAZ

I donate at United Blood Services. I don't know what kind of calories it burns. I guess I didn't think it would really burn any extra calories. I don't get dizzy, I dont have lack of oxygen, I don't even know it's happening except for having to pay attention when to squeeze. It's a cyclical process, so they take out whole blood, then a return process occurs where they return all but the red blood cells. The cycle occurs several times throughout the process. Also, during the return portion of the donation your lips tingle (Ithat's to be expected).

The real upside for me is that you can only donate about 3 times a year when you donate Power Red. I just did it a couple weeks ago and from the time the needle went in to the time I was done the machine shut off was 27 minutes. I've been doing it for the past year and a half or so, and the only issue I've ever had was that my iron was too low, but then I just return a day or so later. If you fit the criteria, it's a great way to donate.

persian_dancer

That's awesome! I don't know if I'd fit but I'll definately look into it. I'm donating on Wednesday for my school! I try to donate 5 times a year with American Red Cross!

Amy_B

Definitely give it 24 hours before you exercise. I gave last week, and my BP just happened to be too low (which never has happened before), and I was out of it for 2 days.