Burnt Out?
Do You Ever Feel Like You Got Hit By A Bus After Exercising?
You may be experiencing post-exercise burnout.
Some people don’t understand why someone wouldn’t eat something before going for a run, but if you have ever had severe GI issues after eating even the smallest amount of food OR eating within a short amount of time before exercising, I can completely understand. GI issues can lead to complete food avoidance before exercise, but unfortunately food avoidance can lead to underfeeding. Here I help you identify why you may be feeling burnout. It can take many shapes and forms and there can be multiple reasons why this might be happening to you.
Post-exercise burnout can look like many things:
Low energy during your training session
Feeling sluggish, like your gas tank is on E.
Feeling ill or depleted at the end of your session.
Experiencing brain fog or hangry episodes.
There can be many reasons for feeling burnt out after a workout but one common reason is under-fueling. If you checked off one or all of these symptoms you may want to take a deeper look into your energy intake to see if it matches your activity level. Under-fueling or not giving your body the nutrients it needs can take place in many forms such as:
Not Eating enough throughout the day.
Specifically eating insufficient amounts of carbohydrates throughout the day.
Not properly recovering after workouts .
In addition, under-fueling adds stress to the body which can negatively impact your training and health. If you’re unsure if you’re under-eating, read below to see if any of the symptoms resonate with you.
Signs You’re Under Fueling
Chronic Fatigue: If you’re dragging your feet every day that could be a sign you are undernourished by lacking overall calories or missing vital nutrients (vitamins, minerals, phytonutrients).
Post-Exercise Exhaustion: Yes, it is expected to feel a bit drained after an intense workout, but for the most part your training shouldn’t leave you on the floor for the rest of the day unless the body was already running on E from inadequate fueling.
Lack of Menstruation/ Irregular Periods: Your period is considered the 5th vital sign. Meaning, it is a telling sign of your underlying health. If yours has become irregular or completely MIA, this reflects an imbalance and it could be from your nutrition intake.
Frequent Injuries: If you’re under-consuming, your body does not have the tools it needs to repair muscle, but it will attain those tools by pulling nutrients from bones or breaking down muscle tissue. Which will leave your body more susceptible to injury if done frequently.
Decreased Performance & Muscle Gains: Your body is programmed for survival. If it is not receiving sufficient calories, it will prioritize mechanisms of survival (breathing, heart rate, and body temp) over building muscle. ** If you’re a woman, it’s important to note that undereating can also result in decreased estrogen levels. Which directly affects performance. (learn more about how estrogen affects performance here).
Interrupted Sleep: Tossing and turning can be a result of under-eating. The brain remains quite active when you sleep and requires a stream of energy. Its fuel of choice is glucose (which directly comes from the food you eat) and if glucose is not readily available, your brain will tell your body to wake up in an effort to get you to refuel. This doesn’t mean you need ample snacks at your nightstand ready to go but to properly fuel during the day so your body has glucose stored to satiate the brain at night and so you can sleep uninterrupted.
Burnout - Why It Happens & How To Avoid It:
At its simplest, training, especially running and endurance sport, requires a massive amount of energy. Your body receives this energy through the food you feed it. To be able to workout with power, recovery properly and have excess energy to carry you through the rest of your daily tasks, you need to match your energy intake with your level of activity. This can become a challenge for you because these levels of activity can substantially change your body’s nutritional needs compared to an inactive person, which can lead to confusion when knowing how much you should be eating.
Not only is it important to eat ENOUGH but, it’s also important to focus on the ratio of macronutrients you are consuming.
Contrary to what keto buffs believe, endurance and muscle building require more than just protein and fat. While protein intake is important for performance, especially for strength training, and fats can sustain energy through lower-intensity exercises, carbohydrates are the MVP as an energy source for high-intensity performance; your body actually PREFERS them. If your body was at a buffet, it would choose carbs over anything else. Why? Because your body can utilize carbohydrates most efficiently, and so they provide rapid and sustainable energy during vigorous exercise.
By skipping meals, adhering to a low-carb diet or fasting before a workout you will deplete your body’s stores of glucose (called glycogen), which has been shown in many studies to reduce training intensity, decrease performance, and cause exhaustion. To keep glycogen or energy stores full to fuel for training, you want to incorporate a variety of high-carbohydrate foods throughout the course of the day.
Here is a great recipe for some carrot cake balls that can help supplement some calories throughout the day!
Complex Vs. Simple Carbohydrates:
While it’s important to incorporate both types of carbohydrates in the diet, timing does play a role when it comes to optimizing energy utilization. Complex carbohydrates such as whole grains (brown rice, oatmeal, beans) and starchy vegetables (butternut squash, potato) are slower to digest and absorb because they contain fiber, protein and nutrients (vitamins and minerals). This means they won’t provide quick energy. Instead, they are great at balancing blood sugar levels, decreasing inflammation and building up glycogen stores. Whole grains also contain B vitamins, which have been considered the “energy vitamins,” because they play a role in producing ATP (energy).
When it comes to fueling right before and during exercise, choosing a simple carbohydrate vs. complex carbohydrate food is best. The rapid absorptions of these carbs provide quick energy that increase exercise intensity and duration. Think white rice, pasta, sugars, fruit, etc. No matter if you are consuming simple or complex carbohydrates, your body’s glycogen stores will fuel your workout for about 90 minutes. Therefore, I recommend eating during exercise if the workout exceeds 60-75 minutes to avoid exhaustion and experiencing negative effects on health.
My Tips To Properly Fuel To Avoid Burnout:
Complex Carbohydrate Intake: fuel with 1 gram per pound of body weight 2 hours before exercise. For a tasty treat
Simple Carbohydrate Intake: fuel with 0.5 grams per pound of body weight 45-60 min before exercise.
Calculate Your Carbohydrate Needs During Exercise by following this formula:
Body weight (lb) ÷ 4 = grams of carbs during exercise per hour of exercise
Worried About Tummy Troubles?
If you are avoiding consuming food before a workout due to fear of GI issues intervening with performance, try eating early and more often, or reach out to me and we will figure out a plan that works best for you!
Reach out to me here and set up a free 15-minute consultation, so we can discuss your particular situation and fitness goals!
