Looks Like We Have To Cancel Happy Hours
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@hozn 53136 wrote:
Ok, fair enough
I’ve never had alcohol do anything other than make me a little sluggish (i.e. same as if I wasn’t working out), but the most I’d ever drink at a time would be 2-3 drinks. Maybe switch to a higher-shelf tequila? No, in reality avoiding drinking is a great idea; if it’s not something that you miss, I can’t imagine why you’d want to find a way to incorporate it into your “diet”.I should add a few more details. Beer doesn’t have nearly the same effect on me, but there is a minor effect. More importantly, I’ve mostly noticed the issues while running and swimming. (I spend almost as many hours each week running as I do cycling, although the mileage is different of course.) Probably because running jostles the stomach a lot more than cycling does.
I can’t really eat or drink sports drink right before a run or swim, because when I did that a few years ago I would get intense side stitches during the following workout. (Once I figured this out and stopped the pre-workout Gatorade, the side stitches stopped occurring.) But I have a little more leeway with cycling. I think I can usually handle some food during the hour before a ride, something like a Clif bar. If it’s a harder bike workout, I will include a long warm-up. That’s usually enough to settle down my stomach.
I’ve never tried beer right before a hard workout. That probably wouldn’t work out well.
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Someone also mentioned fries and hamburgers causing problems. I have to wonder if that also bothered me a couple months ago. I rarely eat greasy fries, but one day, I went and did just that. (Good Stuff Eatery’s fries are extremely greasy and oily.) The next day, I felt awful during my run. My chest felt very tight and my head was woozy, almost as though I were experiencing extreme dehydration or something similar. But I wasn’t out there that long, maybe 60-90 minutes. Normally that isn’t a problem for me at all, but it was that day. That moderate run completely wiped me out. I wasn’t sick. Something was off. I later figured out that it might have been the heavy grease and salt from those fries. I didn’t have any problems during any other runs in the following weeks and months, maybe because I avoided those fries.But I had a similar issue the other day, again during a run. It started up during the warm-up, when I wasn’t even fatigued. That meant that the issue had nothing to do with overreaching. I’m in good enough shape where I shouldn’t be getting wiped out 20 minutes into an easy warm-up. I thought maybe it was the hot temperatures that evening. But after going through some mental notes, I think it was the banana I had that afternoon. Bananas are loaded with potassium. That may have upset my electrolyte balance.
Side note: Another reason why I suspect the banana as the cause: I’ve only had two migraine headaches in my life, both caused by something I ate. Many years ago, before I was active, I tried a banana on an empty stomach as a mid-afternoon snack. That was a mistake. Within 30 minutes, I experienced an intense, head-splitting migraine. I think it lasted until I cleared my system. On another occasion, also many, many years ago, while waiting for a Thanksgiving turkey to cook, I started eating tortilla chips without any water. I did that for at least a couple hours straight. Not a good idea. I had migraines on and off for the next week. The sodium overload temporarily messed up my system. This was more than a decade ago. Since then, I’m careful not to overload on sodium like that and I’ve never had another migraine. No point to this other than to describe how some foods (and alcohol) can have a powerful negative effect on me in certain situations. This is why I try to include protein and fiber every time I eat anything (except that I mostly eat carb chews with water during long workouts and also some sugar immediately after very long workouts or races). The fiber and protein calms down my stomach and prevents any of these strange problems from occurring. No migraines in over a decade, so I guess the approach is working.
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