Shakey during/after work out

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Mollyowl27
Mollyowl27 Posts: 7
in Food and Nutrition
I tend to get shakey and feel exhausted after 30 mins of cardiovascular in the morning. Today, I ate a 250 calorie breakfast of scrambled egg whites, cottage cheese and wheat toast with coconut oil about an hour before working out. Within 20 mins on the elliptical I felt pretty poor. I stopped and ate a banana on wheat toast with peanut butter and now I feel a bit stuffed. I feel like I go from not eating enough to eating too much very quickly and have a hard time knowing how to appropriatly fuel my workouts. I have felt tired lately, so maybe it's exhaustion, but this isn't an isolated incident. I'm also paranoid about blood sugar as my father has diabetes, so maybe I'm prone to blood sugar issues as well. Any advice is welcome, thanks in advance.

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  • lchadwick3
    lchadwick3 Posts: 66 Member
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    You could have a number of issues going on.
    How much sleep do typically you get?
    You may try not waiting as long after you eat before the morning workout.
    You might try a banana or something with more fiber before the workout.
    It could be you've not eaten enough the day before.
    It could be the level of effort on the elliptical or your level of fitness, too.
    You could try making some small changes and see how they work.
    And, as always, consult a nutritionist if you're still concerned.
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    Proper fueling takes a long time to figure out.

    Particularly someone who is new to fueling and working out. My suggestion is to play with it. I have some workouts where I need 1k calories before, or I'm ineffective. I have other workouts where I can destroy them fasted. Then there are the workouts in between those extremes.
  • barney1585
    barney1585 Posts: 2
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    Not a doctor, but I have noticed in myself that iron plays a roll in my workouts. Its one of the main components of red blood cells. The ones that move oxygen through your body. And I get light headed when I work out extended timed on the elliptical, or my leg days. I guess those muscles consume larger than normal amounts of oxygen... at least thats what I have read on other posts.
    Dont know if it helps, just what I have found in my own workouts.

    GL
  • maca416
    maca416 Posts: 142 Member
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    I get this when first starting dieting & starting my workouts so have learned to back off the intensity until I no longer get shaky then over weeks,not days, I work abit harder & find I can avoid the shakes. Just adjust your workout until the feeling stops.
  • 10ecmuscle
    10ecmuscle Posts: 121 Member
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    A pre-workout or a stim based diet pill can be to blame if they are used, if so never use a stimulate based product before cardio. Another reason could be your glycogen levels are dropping fast.. A banana and small whey blend shake can help with this. In morning workouts a small banana, when protein blend shake which consists of a different when blends like casein, when and isolates mixed with a couple tablespoon of yogurt and 1/4 cup oats is perfect.
  • mldrown
    mldrown Posts: 17 Member
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    Carbs before a workout, protein after.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    I'd say you did things kind of bas-ackwards this morning. Your breakfast was high protein with minimal carbs, and probably hadn't even hit your bloodstream before your workout. Try something more carb-y (fruit smoothie, banana without PB, fruit, or bread and honey) pre-workout, and save the protein / fat for post workout.
  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
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    mldrown wrote: »
    Carbs before a workout, protein after.
    EXACTLY this ^^^

    Carb's help from getting so sluggish before and during exercise.

    Protein takes too long to digest. You've always heard of athletes "carbing up" before they "run a marathon" or something...this is why.

    Protein is for long-term satiety, and for "muscle repair" after working out.

  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
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    250 calories may simply not be enough. Try eating a bit more beforehand.
  • velvetvenom88
    velvetvenom88 Posts: 14 Member
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    I hope you can figure out what is going wrong! I just dropped in to say thanks to everyone who is being so supportive and helpful. I learned some things from your answers. This community is great <3
  • ttcbelieve
    ttcbelieve Posts: 181 Member
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    Try drinking 1 freshly squeezed lemon before workout. i find it boost energy
  • Mollyowl27
    Mollyowl27 Posts: 7
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    Thanks a ton you guys, I'm really impressed with how knowledgable and support all of you are!

    Bit more info, I get about 6 - 7.5 hrs a night, actually I've been trying to time my sleep cycles to wake up more refreshed and have had more of the 6 hr nights which is new to me (could be a cause).

    The preworkout carbs!! That makes perfect sense and I used to be good about that, I will swap out the order I consume proteins and carbs for sure! Particularly helpful with 5a workouts...eggs aren't super appealing that early.

    Iron is a good point too, I don't eat red meat generally because I have a hard time digesting it for some reason. I don't think I get enough from almonds and spinach. Thanks!

    I was wondering about how many calories to consume beforehand. How many do you guys typically do?(granted, we all have different needs) My breakfast totals usually around 400 calories. Should I do 100 prior, 300 after...or 2 and 2?
  • Mollyowl27
    Mollyowl27 Posts: 7
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    Thanks a ton you guys, I'm really impressed with how knowledgable and support all of you are!

    Bit more info, I get about 6 - 7.5 hrs a night, actually I've been trying to time my sleep cycles to wake up more refreshed and have had more of the 6 hr nights which is new to me (could be a cause).

    The preworkout carbs!! That makes perfect sense and I used to be good about that, I will swap out the order I consume proteins and carbs for sure! Particularly helpful with 5a workouts...eggs aren't super appealing that early.

    Iron is a good point too, I don't eat red meat generally because I have a hard time digesting it for some reason. I don't think I get enough from almonds and spinach. Thanks!

    I was wondering about how many calories to consume beforehand. How many do you guys typically do?(granted, we all have different needs) My breakfast totals usually around 400 calories. Should I do 100 prior, 300 after...or 2 and 2?
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
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    Pre-workout intake depends on a lot of factors.

    Like I said though, a new workout will have most folks shaky until they adjust to the intensity. Make sure this is fuel related, and not just new workout related.

    To answer your question, my pre-workout consumption ranges between 0 calories and 1000 calories prior to a workout. Depends on the workout for the day.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    Mollyowl27 wrote: »
    I was wondering about how many calories to consume beforehand. How many do you guys typically do?(granted, we all have different needs) My breakfast totals usually around 400 calories. Should I do 100 prior, 300 after...or 2 and 2?

    A 30 minute cardio workout is gonna burn in the 200-ish range, so somewhere in that range beforehand. You'll want to experiment -- you might do better with a bit more or less. And something around the same protein-wise afterwards. Again, you'll need to find what works for you.
  • NJGamerChick
    NJGamerChick Posts: 467 Member
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    I used to eat an oatmeal cookie for breakfast before I hit the gym. That was enough sugar to start me going and keep the shakes at bay, at least until I was on my way home after strength training. It's a personal thing, how much you need is individual. I never needed much, but knew people who needed full on breakfasts before a similar workout.
  • Mollyowl27
    Mollyowl27 Posts: 7
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    Went with oats and berries about 30 mins before exercise and felt MUCH better. I also ate sirloin and black beans last night for iron. Very helpful, thanks!
  • successgal1
    successgal1 Posts: 996 Member
    edited February 2015
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    I make a whole fruit and kefir smoothie every morning. Over 16 oz. I get the carbs from the fruit. On mornings that I have time to go biking, I'll drink only half the smoothie, go bike, and the other half is ready for me to immediately drink when get home, with nothing to prepare. THEN I have a post workout snack/meal. Workout days (unfortunately are not every day for me) are days I love because I get to have more food/carbs!

    I'd suggest getting a physical with a blood test done so you know for certain where your blood glucose levels are, especially if there is a family history.
  • hill8570
    hill8570 Posts: 1,466 Member
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    Mollyowl27 wrote: »
    Went with oats and berries about 30 mins before exercise and felt MUCH better. I also ate sirloin and black beans last night for iron. Very helpful, thanks!

    Glad it worked out for you! :D
  • peter56765
    peter56765 Posts: 352 Member
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    I'm a little late to this thread but one more thing nobody's mentioned yet is water. OP doesn't mention how much water she drinks pre- or post-workout. The shaky feeling you're experiencing could simply be because you are not hydrated. It's also fairly common for beginners to mistake thirst for hunger.

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