Super bloated after cardio?

louisepaul16
louisepaul16 Posts: 261 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I’ve been going to the gym on and off for years, but for some reason this time of re-starting again, after every cardio workout I do, about 10 minutes I feel my stomach start to bloat, then it’s quite uncomfortable not to erm....release wind whilst working out, then for around 5-6 hours afterwards I am
SUPER bloated, as in, I look pregnant, it’s really uncomfortable, and I don’t know why.

Any ideas what I can do to reduce this??

Replies

  • Cbean08
    Cbean08 Posts: 1,092 Member
    Are you drinking enough water? Sometimes I bloat a bit after cardio and it's usually if I don't take the time to rehydrate.

    Also, maybe try stretching a bit afterwards. If none of that helps, Gas X is your friend.
  • louisepaul16
    louisepaul16 Posts: 261 Member
    I think so. I drink around 4 litres a day (or around a gallon for my American friends!) I pee all the damn time haha.

    I’ve never had this before. I couldn’t even eat properly after my workout because I was so uncomfortable..... it’s starting to get better now but it’s 3 hours since I finished haha.
  • aeloine
    aeloine Posts: 2,163 Member
    TOM?
  • OldAssDude
    OldAssDude Posts: 1,436 Member
    Maybe you are over hydrating.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    Do you gulp/swallow air as you're exercising?
  • Machka9
    Machka9 Posts: 25,551 Member
    louisepaul16 wrote: »
    I think so. I drink around 4 litres a day (or around a gallon for my American friends!) I pee all the damn time haha.

    I’ve never had this before. I couldn’t even eat properly after my workout because I was so uncomfortable..... it’s starting to get better now but it’s 3 hours since I finished haha.

    Electrolytes! Eat something with electrolytes or take an electrolyte tablet.
  • peaceout_aly
    peaceout_aly Posts: 2,018 Member
    I feel like this is pretty common. Personally, I bloat a ton if I work out hard, do a bunch of cardio and then don't eat enough. I have no idea why but I always wake up puffy - probably a mix of water retention in my muscles and not getting enough fluid throughout the day. Try drinking more water. Stretch pre and post work-out. Take some Gas-X too, maybe.
  • louisepaul16
    louisepaul16 Posts: 261 Member
    quiksylver296 wrote: »
    Do you gulp/swallow air as you're exercising?

    I guess I probably do. I’m pretty unfit currently. That might explain it...?? It’s just weird I’ve never had it before.
  • Jthanmyfitnesspal
    Jthanmyfitnesspal Posts: 3,522 Member
    1) Everybody toots at the gym. Let yours go. If the music is loud enough, no one will know. At least they won't know it's you!
    2) Try working out before eating breakfast, particularly if you're uncomfortable.
  • canadianlbs
    canadianlbs Posts: 5,199 Member
    edited January 2018
    every time someone says 'bloat' there's uncertainty as to whether they're talking about constipation, farting or water-retention :D
    louisepaul16 wrote: »
    it’s starting to get better now but it’s 3 hours since I finished haha.

    i don't mean to sound like a jerk, and i know this is not directly related to your real question. but i have to ask: is there some reason why you don't go around the corner of the building or something and just let it out?

    i myself would probably deny on my deathbed that i ever fart, ever ever forget it not gonna talk about that. but that's just for public, um, consumption. my denial doesn't extend to the point where i won't even do it when i'm by myself. i'm more in the 'sneak off by myself TO do it' camp. so your 3-6 hours thing has me sincerely confused and puzzled.

    i think that running/treadmill in general just kind of shakes up your insides, so all kinds of suprising things happen until your body gets used to the new world order.
  • livingleanlivingclean
    livingleanlivingclean Posts: 11,751 Member
    Jthanmyfitnesspal wrote: »
    1) Everybody toots at the gym. Let yours go. If the music is loud enough, no one will know. At least they won't know it's you!
    2) Try working out before eating breakfast, particularly if you're uncomfortable.

    Unless it's a "silent but violent" gas leak. :mask:
  • Havanaohlala
    Havanaohlala Posts: 52 Member
    Bad digestion? Cardio speeds up metabolism, including improves digestion. So your gut might be on the way to becoming better.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    edited January 2018
    I've got a weird possibility that has actually caused this exact phenomenon with a few people I know.

    First, food allergies can develop at any time, and most often are to foods that you commonly eat. If a food allergy is mild, there may be no real noticeable symptoms. It can cause some gut discomfort, or mild headaches, or exhaustion, or a little congestion or inflammation, but the symptoms are mild enough they often just seem like you are getting older, or having an off day, or just normal, if irritating, you know?

    Second, the body releases histamine when you have an allergic reaction, but...it's kind of like a bucket. Your body will tolerate a certain amount of histamine with no reaction (because the body utilizes histamine for other processes than just allergic reactions). You only start to have more noticeable reactions when the histamine level is high enough, aka, the bucket overflows.

    So one weird thing that can happen to people with allergies (of any kind, so food allergies, hay fever or pet allergies, etc...) is that they can be having low level allergic reactions, which gets their histamine bucket near the top, and then something will happen that will add just enough histamine to the bucket to cause it to overflow and bam, reaction.

    Exercise is one of the things that the body releases histamine for. So basically, if you have elevated histamine levels, then go exercise, it can actually trigger the symptoms of a reaction. IF this is what was happening, because you have bloating, if it were me, I'd be guessing the the original reaction might be gut based, and so that's where symptoms present when things overflow, possibly.

    I belong to some support groups for folks with allergies, and it's enough of a known phenomenon that people who have had a big allergic reaction make sure not to exercise for a couple days so they don't trigger another big reaction.

    Honestly, this could have nothing to do with things, obviously, but I'd say if it's not something like this, looking at what happens in the body during exercise - what substances are released, what the gut does (I think perhaps there is a blood flow change in the gut, for example), might put you on the right track to figuring things out.

    If it is food, doing a food journal, and perhaps an elimination diet, is one way that I've heard for people to try and track this stuff down. Or just allergy testing, but that is not as accurate for some low level allergies.

    Good luck, hope you find your answer soon.
  • louisepaul16
    louisepaul16 Posts: 261 Member
    edited January 2018
    Hahahaha. Yeah I was very gassy afterwards, but even after releasing some of said gas (wasn’t a violent gas leak haha!) I feel a lot more comfortable this morning, but even after releasing some of said gas last night, I was still super uncomfortable.
  • louisepaul16
    louisepaul16 Posts: 261 Member
    shaumom wrote: »
    I've got a weird possibility that has actually caused this exact phenomenon with a few people I know.

    First, food allergies can develop at any time, and most often are to foods that you commonly eat. If a food allergy is mild, there may be no real noticeable symptoms. It can cause some gut discomfort, or mild headaches, or exhaustion, or a little congestion or inflammation, but the symptoms are mild enough they often just seem like you are getting older, or having an off day, or just normal, if irritating, you know?

    Second, the body releases histamine when you have an allergic reaction, but...it's kind of like a bucket. Your body will tolerate a certain amount of histamine with no reaction (because the body utilizes histamine for other processes than just allergic reactions). You only start to have more noticeable reactions when the histamine level is high enough, aka, the bucket overflows.

    So one weird thing that can happen to people with allergies (of any kind, so food allergies, hay fever or pet allergies, etc...) is that they can be having low level allergic reactions, which gets their histamine bucket near the top, and then something will happen that will add just enough histamine to the bucket to cause it to overflow and bam, reaction.

    Exercise is one of the things that the body releases histamine for. So basically, if you have elevated histamine levels, then go exercise, it can actually trigger the symptoms of a reaction. IF this is what was happening, because you have bloating, if it were me, I'd be guessing the the original reaction might be gut based, and so that's where symptoms present when things overflow, possibly.

    I belong to some support groups for folks with allergies, and it's enough of a known phenomenon that people who have had a big allergic reaction make sure not to exercise for a couple days so they don't trigger another big reaction.

    Honestly, this could have nothing to do with things, obviously, but I'd say if it's not something like this, looking at what happens in the body during exercise - what substances are released, what the gut does (I think perhaps there is a blood flow change in the gut, for example), might put you on the right track to figuring things out.

    If it is food, doing a food journal, and perhaps an elimination diet, is one way that I've heard for people to try and track this stuff down. Or just allergy testing, but that is not as accurate for some low level allergies.

    Good luck, hope you find your answer soon.

    That’s an interesting idea.
    If it doesn’t improve over the next weeks, I’ll consider doing this...

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