Not feeling good after cardio

[LovingLife]

I'm 20 weeks pregnant, had a lot of fatigue in my 2nd and 3rd months, then took a 3 1/2 week vacation with our family, so I lost a lot of ground in my fitness level in that time. The past few weeks, I've been trying to get my body moving again, starting with my beginner to intermediate level videos (haven't tried my beloved Cathe tapes yet) and I'm finding that when I blend low-impact cardio w/strength training, I feel good afterwards, but when I do pure cardio or try to pick up the pace a bit with the cardio, even if it feels okay to do while I'm doing it, I feel really horrible afterwards, even just in the cool-down phase and certainly afterwards.

I'm drinking tons of water throughout my workout (and afterwards), so I don't think I'm getting dehydrated. But I am working out first thing in the morning on an empty stomach (just some water first). Could that be the problem? I used to love that energized feeling right after doing cardio and now it's the opposite. I'm wiped out and feel lousy.

This is my 6th baby, so I've exercised in pregnancy before without this happening. But I don't think I took so much time off of exercising during a pregnancy before. Could that be the difference? I'm older now too (38), but just 3 years older than last time. Any insight would be great! -- Renee

 

[BeckyU]

Hi Renee.
Congrats on your 6th. WOW!!!
The only thing that I would strongly suggest is that you eat a little something before your workout. What you are feeling may be due to low blood sugar ( I know that when mine is down and I'm trying to workout I feel lousy!). My favorite thing to eat before a workout is a Power Bar. It isn't too filling, but gets me through the workout. You also don't need a lot of digestion time with it (especially nice for me in the morning since I workout before my 2 kids wake up).
Good luck and I hope you feel better.
Becky

 

[Hazel]

I agree -- you probably do need to eat something. It may have been in Dr. Clapp's book, but recall reading during my first pregnancy (which was two years ago, so excuse the unscientific explanation) that your body's processes for calling on energy reserves to fuel exercise change when you're pregnant. Specifically, your body will resist switching over from glucose burning to fat burning, which is what would happen after about 20 minutes of exercise if you weren't pregnant, in order to protect the pregnancy (boy, I hope I'm remembering this right!). Without additional glucose (food) in your system as an alternative source of fuel, you're likely to bonk pretty early.

I never ate before my a.m. workouts before I became pregnant and had a hard time finding something that didn't sit like a brick in my stomach and make me nauseous or give me stomach cramps during the workout, especially a cardio workout. I have to agree that the Power Bars are great on this count (I've even gotten used to the taste!). I need to get up and get my workout done -- can't be waiting around 30 minutes or more for food to digest -- and half a Power Bar really does seem to work for me. Other things I've heard suggested are a bit of banana, toast, crackers, or basically any other kind of carbohydrate-dense food (you sometimes hear people suggest that you include a bit of protein as well, but this has never worked for me personally unless I have at least an hour and preferably two to digest).

Hope that helps (and hey, we miss you over at the VF Pregnancy check-in! Hope you'll come back to say hi soon.)

 

[LovingLife]

Thanks so much Becky and Hazel! That makes sense and I will try something small like you suggested. I used to eat 1/2 a peanut butter Clif bar in my early days of working out (5 years ago) then found I could do just fine w/o anything. Whenever I tried eating too much like a bowl of cereal, I'd get cramps in my side w/cardio. But it makes sense that the body changes during pregnancy and would in this respect too. Thanks for remembering me on the VF check-in Hazel. I got so fatigued that I wasn't working out, so just dropped off the check-in. I'll be happy to come back and join you. -- Renee

 

[tchersue]

low blood sugar!

Yep -- I suspect you are right... you are growing a whole new human being, and you need to keep your body fueled. Try eating a small protin-carb snack (like crackers @ cheese or peanut butter ... or a soy shake) 30-60 minutes before your workout!
susan