Proper nutrition before and after gym to avoid low blood sugar and nausea?

samiam1091
samiam1091 Posts: 12 Member
edited November 27 in Health and Weight Loss
I started working out at the gym last week. I've been fine after every visit except for my most recent visit on Monday. We were at the gym for about an hour, I was sweating my booty off. It felt like a really good workout until I got home. When I got home I became very nauseated and began throwing up. Once my stomach settled enough for me to lay down I fell asleep and woke up about 4.5 hours later with cold sweats, dizzy, nauseous, racing heart and shaking. It felt like low blood sugar which I've experienced 3-4 times in my lifetime. I drank some juice as my nurse mother texted me to do and began feeling better enough to go back to sleep. About 8 hours later I began feeling like my blood sugar dropped again and after a juice I felt better. Since then I've been fine. I'm wondering what I did wrong. My fiancee said I may have worked out too hard. I unfortunately had to skip out on the gym today to let my body recoup.

I've experienced low blood sugar a few times in the past but I've been checked out by doctors and there is never any issue. For dinner I had meat lasagna and waited about 2 hours to go to the gym. Prior to the gym I took pre-workout and after (before throwing up) I tried to drink my BCAA powder as well as a protein shake.

Has anyone ever experienced this? Any ideas on how to prevent this from happening again?

Replies

  • callsitlikeiseeit
    callsitlikeiseeit Posts: 8,626 Member
    i work out on an empty stomach (other than my coffee cause nothing happens before coffee). always have.

    if you need to eat or drink something before you workout, then do so. what that is, may be trial and error in finding what and how much works best for you.
  • trishfit2014
    trishfit2014 Posts: 304 Member
    Had you taken the pre workout before? I had a very bad experience after taking spark as a pre workout. I don't take anything anymore.
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    The meat lasagna should have been enough to keep you going. It has a good mix of macros to hold you over. Here are some brainstorming tips.

    - Work out an hour after eating so you have more nutrition available through the workout.
    - Cut the workout in half and monitor your symptoms.
    - Along with the juice which pops you out of a low blood sugar moment, have some protein and fat for long term energy. This could be nuts, cheese, Edamame, or an energy bar.
    - Finish a workout with an energy shake that has a mix of macros.
  • joemac1988
    joemac1988 Posts: 1,021 Member
    You should have some simple carbs both pre and post. For example, a banana pre, some dried mango post.
  • saragd012
    saragd012 Posts: 693 Member
    Had you taken the pre workout before? I had a very bad experience after taking spark as a pre workout. I don't take anything anymore.

    This. If you don't generally take pre-workouts that could be a large part of the problem. I've tried a couple and found they always tear up by stomach and then I crash hard about an hour after my workout. Most of my intense workouts are done first thing in the morning so now I just eat a bit of greek yogurt with a large bottle of water as I'm getting ready for the gym and it seems to fuel me sufficiently without feeling heavy. You may just need to play around with different options to find what works best for you, but if it were me I'd start with taking a break from the pre-workouts and see how you feel without it.
  • TanyaHooton
    TanyaHooton Posts: 249 Member
    Everyone is a little different, so you'll probably get various answers. I can work out on a empty stomach, but I prefer to eat something soft about 30-60 minutes before a vigorous workout - a banana, an apple, yogurt, toast, something that is easy on the stomach and quickly digested. I cannot take much liquid before I start anything. It sloshes around in my stomach and is pretty uncomfortable.

    It's possible you overdid it. It's also possible you have something going on just under the surface. I am prone to ear infections but often I don't notice a small one going on until I try to work out and then I feel ill. Even yoga can do it, as the movement affects the balance which comes from my ears. So drink water and fluid with electrolytes, and go easy for the next 2-3 sessions.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    What's the pre-workout? Some of them have a CRAZY amount of caffeine.
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    I agree. PWO.
  • DX2JX2
    DX2JX2 Posts: 1,921 Member
    "Overdoing it" at the gym doesn't really manifest like that. Generally, your body will fail immediately when it hits the exhaustion point. It won't wait a while after the workout to let you know it's upset.

    I'd agree with the others that your workout didn't cause your illness. It was either the pre-workout, or it was something totally unrelated to either (perhaps a bout of food poisoning from something you ate the day before). Alternatively, you could be undernourished. Have you been eating to a significant deficit for a while?
  • COGypsy
    COGypsy Posts: 1,365 Member
    I vote pre-workout too....I've tried them a few times and ended up shaky, queasy and clammy every time. And that's without being at all sensitive to caffeine--I'm one of those people that can drink a pot of coffee before bed and sleep like a baby (until I have to pee, anyway! :D ).
  • Hrussian
    Hrussian Posts: 22 Member
    samiam1091 wrote: »
    I started working out at the gym last week. I've been fine after every visit except for my most recent visit on Monday. We were at the gym for about an hour, I was sweating my booty off. It felt like a really good workout until I got home. When I got home I became very nauseated and began throwing up. Once my stomach settled enough for me to lay down I fell asleep and woke up about 4.5 hours later with cold sweats, dizzy, nauseous, racing heart and shaking. It felt like low blood sugar which I've experienced 3-4 times in my lifetime. I drank some juice as my nurse mother texted me to do and began feeling better enough to go back to sleep. About 8 hours later I began feeling like my blood sugar dropped again and after a juice I felt better. Since then I've been fine. I'm wondering what I did wrong. My fiancee said I may have worked out too hard. I unfortunately had to skip out on the gym today to let my body recoup.

    I've experienced low blood sugar a few times in the past but I've been checked out by doctors and there is never any issue. For dinner I had meat lasagna and waited about 2 hours to go to the gym. Prior to the gym I took pre-workout and after (before throwing up) I tried to drink my BCAA powder as well as a protein shake.

    Has anyone ever experienced this? Any ideas on how to prevent this from happening again?

    Don’t kill me but totally the Pre workout. Some of that stuff is not good for your body.
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
    I have a box of the mini-packs of Haribo Gummy bear, I have a few of the packs in my gym bag. I find that if I end up a bit lightheaded of woozie mid workout, eating one pack is just enough sugar to help me out due to an intense workout. They are cheaper than pre-workout and work.
  • samiam1091
    samiam1091 Posts: 12 Member
    I read through the your replies today before the gym. First, thank you all! I took everything into consideration. I have taken pre-workout previously and when I was really into the gym 4 years ago I took it, same brand and all. I've never had issues with it before. With that said, I took half a scoop today (leg day, didn't want to go without) about 20 minutes before getting to the gym. Also, I ate dinner 1 hour before the gym instead of waiting as long. Tonight we were there for 1.5 hours. So far, I'm doing fine.

    I didn't completely cut the pre-workout only because I've never had an issue before but I did cut it in half to be safe. I also had rice, chicken, zucchini and broccoli for dinner. I also made sure to drink more water today and had a Powerade.

    I will monitor how I feel tomorrow and keep everyone's comments in mind as I move forward in my journey.

    Also, I have to look into getting me gummys for my gym bag!!


    Thank you all so much!!!
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    I love the troubleshooting technique. Change a few things up and see what happens. That way we get smarter about our bodies over time.

    Regular gummies sound like a good idea; steer clear from Haribo.
  • samiam1091
    samiam1091 Posts: 12 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    I love the troubleshooting technique. Change a few things up and see what happens. That way we get smarter about our bodies over time.

    Regular gummies sound like a good idea; steer clear from Haribo.

    Oh please tell me what's wrong with Haribo! I don't typically eat that brand gummies except for 1-2 times a year but my mom loves them. Now I'm curious.

    And I woke up this morning with no issues except being sore from the gym. I'll keep monitoring and pay attention to what I'm doing in case something like Monday happens again.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    samiam1091 wrote: »
    I read through the your replies today before the gym. First, thank you all! I took everything into consideration. I have taken pre-workout previously and when I was really into the gym 4 years ago I took it, same brand and all. I've never had issues with it before. With that said, I took half a scoop today (leg day, didn't want to go without) about 20 minutes before getting to the gym. Also, I ate dinner 1 hour before the gym instead of waiting as long. Tonight we were there for 1.5 hours. So far, I'm doing fine.

    I didn't completely cut the pre-workout only because I've never had an issue before but I did cut it in half to be safe. I also had rice, chicken, zucchini and broccoli for dinner. I also made sure to drink more water today and had a Powerade.

    I will monitor how I feel tomorrow and keep everyone's comments in mind as I move forward in my journey.

    Also, I have to look into getting me gummys for my gym bag!!


    Thank you all so much!!!

    What's the pre-workout brand?

    The fact that you used the same brand four years ago isn't necessarily relevant. Brands reformulate all the time.
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    edited June 2018
    samiam1091 wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    I love the troubleshooting technique. Change a few things up and see what happens. That way we get smarter about our bodies over time.

    Regular gummies sound like a good idea; steer clear from Haribo.

    Oh please tell me what's wrong with Haribo! I don't typically eat that brand gummies except for 1-2 times a year but my mom loves them. Now I'm curious.

    And I woke up this morning with no issues except being sore from the gym. I'll keep monitoring and pay attention to what I'm doing in case something like Monday happens again.

    The Haribo sugarfree gummies can cause, um, intestinal "issues." :D

    The regular ones are fine. :)

    Edited to add: The sugarfree ones are good, too. The problem is because they're sugarfree and low calorie, people may tend to eat too many of them. This can create an issue. A don't-leave-the-bathroom-for-the-foreseeable-future issue. B)
  • tinkerbellang83
    tinkerbellang83 Posts: 9,140 Member
    samiam1091 wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    I love the troubleshooting technique. Change a few things up and see what happens. That way we get smarter about our bodies over time.

    Regular gummies sound like a good idea; steer clear from Haribo.

    Oh please tell me what's wrong with Haribo! I don't typically eat that brand gummies except for 1-2 times a year but my mom loves them. Now I'm curious.

    And I woke up this morning with no issues except being sore from the gym. I'll keep monitoring and pay attention to what I'm doing in case something like Monday happens again.

    The Haribo sugarfree gummies can cause, um, intestinal "issues." The regular ones are fine. :)

    Ah yes, check out their Amazon reviews, they can entertain you for a whole afternoon :D:D:D
  • snickerscharlie
    snickerscharlie Posts: 8,578 Member
    samiam1091 wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    I love the troubleshooting technique. Change a few things up and see what happens. That way we get smarter about our bodies over time.

    Regular gummies sound like a good idea; steer clear from Haribo.

    Oh please tell me what's wrong with Haribo! I don't typically eat that brand gummies except for 1-2 times a year but my mom loves them. Now I'm curious.

    And I woke up this morning with no issues except being sore from the gym. I'll keep monitoring and pay attention to what I'm doing in case something like Monday happens again.

    The Haribo sugarfree gummies can cause, um, intestinal "issues." The regular ones are fine. :)

    Ah yes, check out their Amazon reviews, they can entertain you for a whole afternoon :D:D:D

    Ask and ye shall receive. :D

    https://www.amazon.com/Haribo-SUGAR-Classic-Gummi-Bears/product-reviews/B006J1FBLM
  • Running_and_Coffee
    Running_and_Coffee Posts: 811 Member
    It was probably the pre-workout. I workout on an empty stomach all the time and have never had that experience. The only time I've had those symptoms was after running a half marathon and got dizzy/threw up when I had to stop very suddenly at the finish line due to the line for finisher medals.
  • WholeFoods4Lyfe
    WholeFoods4Lyfe Posts: 1,518 Member
    I'm quite sure that you threw up because you at Lasagna less than 2 hours before working out and then added a pre- as well as post-workout beverage. My body would hate me too if I did that.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    edited June 2018
    I get it fairly regularly. I usually will bolt something sugary or carby, to get the sugar back up, immediately follower by some protein to level it off and keep it level. Additionally, I almist never eat sugar or carbs for my first meal of the day, as it greatly increases my chances of a crash later in the day. Also, if you take vitamins, probably best not to take them on an empty stomach, especially if working out.
  • ahamm002
    ahamm002 Posts: 1,690 Member
    Nausea isn't that uncommon after an intense work out, especially when you're getting back into shape. The real problems probably began when you started throwing up. In your post-work out state, that vomiting likely caused you to become volume depleted and messed up your electrolytes.
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
    samiam1091 wrote: »
    jgnatca wrote: »
    I love the troubleshooting technique. Change a few things up and see what happens. That way we get smarter about our bodies over time.

    Regular gummies sound like a good idea; steer clear from Haribo.

    Oh please tell me what's wrong with Haribo! I don't typically eat that brand gummies except for 1-2 times a year but my mom loves them. Now I'm curious.

    And I woke up this morning with no issues except being sore from the gym. I'll keep monitoring and pay attention to what I'm doing in case something like Monday happens again.

    The Haribo sugarfree gummies can cause, um, intestinal "issues." The regular ones are fine. :)

    Ah yes, check out their Amazon reviews, they can entertain you for a whole afternoon :D:D:D

    OMG!!!! They are hilarious. "Throw me a diaper!!!" is probably the best one
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
    jgnatca wrote: »
    I love the troubleshooting technique. Change a few things up and see what happens. That way we get smarter about our bodies over time.

    Regular gummies sound like a good idea; steer clear from Haribo.

    The regular gummies are fine, the sugar free ones are scary. Just go to Amazon and read the reviews. I believe the exact words "volcanic eruption destroying my delicate starfish" are used in a description of the effect of too many of the sugarfree ones.
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