Salt or Calories?

Bulldogs1717
Bulldogs1717 Posts: 47 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi Community!

I have noticed a tendency to get light-headed and "brain-foggy" after workouts, and even some feelings of anxiety and heart-racing... This tends to happen primarily after longer runs, HIIT workouts, or "leg day" only. Does anyone else experience this?

I am trying to determine if it is a salt/electrolytes issue or more so related to caloric intake. Hard to find that balance, especially with endurance exercise! I have read a lot about magnesium intake as a possible culprit, but not sure what else could be impacting me this way.

Thank you for any input or feedback you might have- it's extremely frustrating and not sure what to do.

Replies

  • puffbrat
    puffbrat Posts: 2,806 Member
    My general feedback is to see your doctor.

    What is your age, height, weight, goal, and calories per day?
  • quiksylver296
    quiksylver296 Posts: 28,439 Member
    How many calories are you eating per day? Have you gone low carb? What is your general daily sodium intake? How tall are you? How much do you weigh?

    Not enough info to hazard a guess.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    It could be one, both, or neither of those things. Anything that has potential heart implications warrants a trip to the doctor.
  • Bulldogs1717
    Bulldogs1717 Posts: 47 Member
    Thank you! I am 30 years old, 5'2 and weigh 117. I eat 1200-1500/day on average but trying to keep better track of this using MyFitnessPal. Sodium around 2000 g/day and in general I am around 100g carbs/day. I'm not looking to lose a ton of weight- maybe a few pounds, but primarily interested in performance.

    I run about 25-30 miles/week on average, and strength train 2 days/week.

    does that help? Sorry I'm clueless and appreciate it!
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Doubt it's salt, but how much do you sweat and how salty is it?
  • cwolfman13
    cwolfman13 Posts: 41,865 Member
    I'd definitely see a doctor considering the heart racing comment.

    I doubt it's salt...it could be an electrolyte issue, but probably not salt. In my experience only, electrolyte issues tend to be associated with excessive cramping. I've had that issue, and cramping was my only symptom.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 28,052 Member
    Bulldogs1717 wrote: »
    Thank you! I am 30 years old, 5'2 and weigh 117. I eat 1200-1500/day on average but trying to keep better track of this using MyFitnessPal. Sodium around 2000 g/day and in general I am around 100g carbs/day. I'm not looking to lose a ton of weight- maybe a few pounds, but primarily interested in performance.

    I run about 25-30 miles/week on average, and strength train 2 days/week.

    does that help? Sorry I'm clueless and appreciate it!

    If you're not eating back your exercise calories your symptoms could be explained by undereating. So if that is the case, start by eating them back, and do make an appt to see your doctor.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,743 Member
    Could be blood sugar, could be electrolytes, could be undereating, could be something completely different. Do you eat before your workouts?
  • Bulldogs1717
    Bulldogs1717 Posts: 47 Member
    I guess I didn't think I was undereating because I'm not losing weight...but I guess that makes sense and it's possible. As far as overall calorie consumption- I have been trying to abide by the standards set by the app for my size, but I wasn't taking energy expenditure into consideration, and when I'm training for races as I am now, I am sure this is much higher.

    I do eat before workouts, but usually I go first thing in the morning, so not a huge meal.

    This nutrition/performance formula is tricky! I appreciate the insight.

  • duteshredded
    duteshredded Posts: 32 Member
    I used to get light headed all the time and feel really *kitten* and done out 3/4 through a workout on an extreme diet until I started adding in a lot of broccoli and salt to my diet which helped
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
    edited June 2019
    Bulldogs1717 wrote: »
    I guess I didn't think I was undereating because I'm not losing weight...but I guess that makes sense and it's possible. As far as overall calorie consumption- I have been trying to abide by the standards set by the app for my size, but I wasn't taking energy expenditure into consideration, and when I'm training for races as I am now, I am sure this is much higher.

    I do eat before workouts, but usually I go first thing in the morning, so not a huge meal.

    This nutrition/performance formula is tricky! I appreciate the insight.

    If you're not eating back your exercise calories, then there's a near 100% chance that you're undereating, unless your calorie calculations are *way* off. That'll cause lightheadedness and brain fog (although it doesn't rule out other causes).

    For reference, I'm just under 5 feet, maintaining at 110-115 lb. on 1400 plus exercise. I'm also a runner--well, when I'm not rehabbing injuries.

    If you're running 5 miles, you're going to burn somewhere in the 450ish calorie range. Then, if you eat 1200 calories on that day, your net calorie intake is only 750, which is way too low. Your training will suffer. You will eventually pass out on the trail/track/treadmill. You don't want that to happen. Eat your exercise calories.

    As far as your weight not moving, you're already in your optimal BMI range, so any weight loss would be very, very slow--potentially a month or more before seeing the scale go down. At this point, I would focus first on maintaining your current weight while getting your nutrition in check. Once that's addressed, if you still want to lose within your optimal BMI range, you will want to weigh all your food and be very patient. It might be better to look into a recomp routine instead, since building muscle can help you become a healthier runner.
  • Five0Six
    Five0Six Posts: 110 Member
    Have you checked your blood pressure? I don't know where you live, but if you don't have access to a home machine or a friend who has one, a lot of Walmarts/Wal-greens in America have free blood pressure reading machines by the pharmacy section. Maybe take a few readings over a week and see how they are.

    Both overtly high and low blood pressure can cause dizziness, heart racing, etc. It is also not unheard of for BP problems to make a person feel anxious, because (1) feeling bad feels bad and (2) BP problems can mimic the same symptoms as anxiety.

    BP problems can be a sign of anything as small as just needing to cut some sodium from your diet to signifying organ problems. If you're able to, I would suggest checking that out.
  • jenilla1
    jenilla1 Posts: 11,118 Member
    apullum wrote: »
    Bulldogs1717 wrote: »
    I guess I didn't think I was undereating because I'm not losing weight...but I guess that makes sense and it's possible. As far as overall calorie consumption- I have been trying to abide by the standards set by the app for my size, but I wasn't taking energy expenditure into consideration, and when I'm training for races as I am now, I am sure this is much higher.

    I do eat before workouts, but usually I go first thing in the morning, so not a huge meal.

    This nutrition/performance formula is tricky! I appreciate the insight.

    If you're not eating back your exercise calories, then there's a near 100% chance that you're undereating, unless your calorie calculations are *way* off. That'll cause lightheadedness and brain fog (although it doesn't rule out other causes).

    For reference, I'm just under 5 feet, maintaining at 110-115 lb. on 1400 plus exercise. I'm also a runner--well, when I'm not rehabbing injuries.

    If you're running 5 miles, you're going to burn somewhere in the 450ish calorie range. Then, if you eat 1200 calories on that day, your net calorie intake is only 750, which is way too low. Your training will suffer. You will eventually pass out on the trail/track/treadmill. You don't want that to happen. Eat your exercise calories.

    As far as your weight not moving, you're already in your optimal BMI range, so any weight loss would be very, very slow--potentially a month or more before seeing the scale go down. At this point, I would focus first on maintaining your current weight while getting your nutrition in check. Once that's addressed, if you still want to lose within your optimal BMI range, you will want to weigh all your food and be very patient. It might be better to look into a recomp routine instead, since building muscle can help you become a healthier runner.

    +1

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