We’ve all felt it before. Workout a solid amount, and we leave the gym starving, but work out a little extra, and somehow our stomachs don’t seem as eager to take in the massive amounts of calories needed for recovery.
I used to experience this phenomenon after half-marathon races, where my typical recovery resolved to lying in bed for a good 7-8 hours before dragging myself through the motions of being a normal human being–showering and starting the refueling process.
Counterintuitively, an easy 4-5 miler would ricochet hunger pangs through my stomach like no other. However, the cons of not eating enough go beyond mere muscle recovery (and of course the disappointment that I could never indulge in all the post-race festivities and stuff my face like many runners seemed capable of post-race).
You may become hypoglycemic if you wait too long to eat after a long run or are not able to eat enough. Read on further to discover what foods to eat and some tips for general post-workout recovery, and those specifically geared towards hypoglycemics.
What is hypoglycemia, you ask? Simply put, it’s the state of low blood sugar. Even when I was only putting in 7-8 miles a day my first year of college and not particularly training for anything, I often wondered how college athletes could maintain perfect grades. Or if it was possible for a dedicated marathon runner to also excel in rigorous academics at the same time.
The brain needs sugar to function at its maximal capacity, and brain fog is one of the first symptoms of benign hypoglycemia. However, the muscles also need sugars (aka fuel) to repair all the little fibers that were torn in the workout, and possibly a lot more to store as glycogen, especially if you run long distances.
It is quite a strenuous task for the stomach to contain, digest, and absorb all the fuel you need to properly recover your muscles, replenishing of glycogen stores, for the brain to think clearly, and then for other bodily functions. Here are ten nutritious foods that can help the stomach out after a long run.
1. Bananas
They may be ugly and yellow, but they do the job. Full of mushy sweetness but also full of potassium that important to maintain a regular heart rhythm and prevent muscle cramps. Be sure to grab an extra one of these post-race.
2. Cereal (or any carbs for that matter)
Whether it be Honey-nut Cheerios or Frosted Flakes, go crazy on the sugar. Extra servings don’t hurt here. Many cereals are fortified with important vitamins and minerals, and some even have extra dose of fiber to add to the list of benefits. Extra brownie points if you eat the whole box.
3. Bread
As before, carb it up. Whether it be in slices, in rolls, or in sticks, white, wheat, or rye, go crazy. Breads, like cereals, are often also fortified with many vitamins and minerals.
4. Rice
Oh, did I already mention carbs? 🙂
5. Chocolate Milk
It’s like a present—a great source of protein and carbs, all wrapped up in chocolatey goodness. Kids know how to do it right.
6. Ice Cream
Yesssssss. An excuse to eat as much ice cream as possible. Need I say any more?
7. Electrolyte-Replenishing Drinks
The classic is Gatorade. A tasty alternative can be coconut water.
8. Greek Yogurt
A boost of protein here, and some healthy probiotics to help that stomach.
9. Pizza
On occasion, the stomach calls for something hardy. Bonus points for the extra sodium.
10. Granola Bars
Clif bars, Luna bars, Quest bars, or heck even the original Quaker chewy granola bars do the job. No need to get fancy here. These often contain a great ratio of carbs and proteins for muscle recovery, not to mention many other nutrients that it may be fortified with.
(While eating these great foods, I highly recommend stretching and icing those muscles, after any kind of workout. These two do miracles for long-term injury prevention.)
Bu it is possible that even with all these great foods, your stomach may not be satisfied, and will not allow you to ingest enough food to replenish your caloric expenditure plus the extra you need for muscle recovery and a healthy brain.
Clif bars, Luna bars, Quest bars, or heck even the original Quaker chewy granola bars do the job. No need to get fancy here. These often contain a great ratio of carbs and proteins for muscle recovery, not to mention many other nutrients that it may be fortified with.
(While eating these great foods, I highly recommend stretching and icing those muscles, after any kind of workout. These two do miracles for long-term injury prevention.)
Bu it is possible that even with all these great foods, your stomach may not be satisfied, and will not allow you to ingest enough food to replenish your caloric expenditure plus the extra you need for muscle recovery and a healthy brain.
Anyhow, you are not able get enough calories in a timely manner, and you start to feel woozy. This is the first symptom of hypoglycemia. Now there are two basic types of hypoglycemia, and depending on which type you have, there are different steps that must be undertaken to ensure a safe outcome.
Both types of hypoglycemia can be equally dangerous, starting off as seemingly harmless light-headedness, followed by confusion and the inability to think clearly (food sounds awful to anyone in a hypoglycemic state). This progresses to nausea, sweating, and tremors, often in that order, and can eventually lead to death if left untreated.
The first type of hypoglycemia may have been experienced by most, and is the standard low blood sugar induced by excessive exercise or fasting. This type of hypoglycemia is easily reversible by ingesting some sugar. A rarer type of hypoglycemia is called reactive hypoglycemia, with an onset 30 minutes to 4 hours after meals.
These more severe episodes of hypoglycemia are triggered rather paradoxically after ingesting food when you are already in a precursor hypoglycemic state, or sometimes on an empty stomach. You should NOT eat any kind of carbohydrates if you are a reactive hypoglycemic, because this will only exacerbate your already hypoglycemic misery. Treating this second kind of hypoglycemia can be rather tricky.
As a newly diagnosed reactive hypoglycemic, I have found through trial and error what works and what does not work, and are some things that work if you are unable to get faster forms of glucose into the blood:
1. Ingestion of solid foods, often salty, with lots of protein and fats. I usually force down pizza. Solid meat with less carbohydrates is more ideal, but I find this near impossible to stomach in a hypoglycemic state.
The goal is to get down as much food as you can that your stomach will keep down, while also avoiding as much carbohydrate as possible. Unfortunately, this rules out all the easier to stomach foods, such as rice and bread.
2. If you only can ingest carbohydrates, you need to ingest a solid hunk of carbohydrates (700-1500 calories) within a very small amount of time, fast enough to beat out the ensuing reactive hypoglycemia. Glucose pills can be useful for this, but use with caution, keeping in mind that eating less carbohydrate than your body needs can conversely drag you deeper into a hypoglycemic haze.
3. As awful as this may sound, even if you throw up, you should keep eating. As miserable as you may feel, you eventually will get enough food down in the stomach to overcome the state of hypoglycemia, and your body will start to accept more and more food. Have patience, and do not get frustrated or panic. You will feel better eventually.
4. This type of hypoglycemia is best treated with prevention. Several small meals a day, no more than three hours apart, seems to work in most cases.
5. Regular exercise is commonly suggested for reactive hypoglycemic to decrease insulin resistance, but this advice should be taken with caution, especially if exercise is the first and foremost cause of the hypoglycemia.
Many people have experienced hypoglycemia without realizing it. It is important to listen to your body and pay attention to what it is telling you. Only by giving your body enough fuel to run on can you achieve any goals in life, whether that be completing your next 5K, training for a marathon, finishing an art class, or wading through medical school.