Many people find that they will feel nauseous after they exercise. Exercising is an important part of a healthy lifestyle, but sometimes the nausea that follows exercise can severely limit a person’s desire and ability to exercise. By understanding what can cause you to feel nauseous after exercising, you may be able to avoid or reduce the amount of nausea that you feel after exercise.
Many times, nausea after exercising is caused by dehydration. If your body does not get a sufficient amount of water before, during, and after exercising, you can become dehydrated. Dehydration is one of the most common causes of feeling nauseous after exercising. To keep from becoming dehydrated, you should try to drink a minimum of two cups of water roughly two hours before you start your exercise routine. 20 minutes before you begin your routine, you should drink 2 more cups of water. While you are exercising, you should also keep a water bottle nearby. During exercise, you should drink around half a cup of water for every ten to fifteen minutes of your exercise routine. If you follow these guidelines, you should be able to avoid becoming dehydrated, and to avoid the nausea that comes with dehydration.
Another cause of feeling nauseous after exercising can be exercising on an empty stomach. It is important to exercise when your body is full of nutrients. On the other hand, you shouldn’t exercise right after you eat, either. During exercise, your body will cause fluids to move away from your muscles into your gastrointestinal tract so that you can digest your food. This can not only cause you to feel nauseous after exercising, it can make your exercise less effective. Ideally, you will want to wait about 1-2 hours after eating before you exercise. For this reason, you should also avoid eating during exercise. The size of the meal that you eat will determine the time you should wait. If you have a light meal or a meal replacement drink, you should wait an hour. If you have a regular meal, you should wait about two hours. If you eat a heavy meal or overindulge, you should try to wait at least three hours before starting your exercise routine.
Eating sweets like candy or drinking pop just before you exercise can also cause you to feel nauseous after exercising. Your blood sugar can drop after an insulin rise, and result in fatigue or nausea. Try to wait at least an hour after having any form of sweets before you begin your exercise routine.
If you have tried these tips and still feel nauseous after exercising, you should discuss the problem with your health care provider. She may be able to check to see if there is some other cause for your nausea, or recommend ways to keep from becoming nauseous.