Question / cramps

Hi everyone, I've been peeking in on this forum for a while now. You've all been very helpful in building my own exercise regimen. I've been lifting for about a year now and doing cardio regularly. I've been training lately for a 5k coming up this weekend. My question is this: Do any of you find that you are more prone to muscle cramping after gastric bypass? What can you do to stop the cramps after they've started? What can you do to prevent them? I've had 2 or 3 episodes lately of horrible, want-to-die, put-me-out-of-my-misery leg cramps. The first came after a long, hard day of work in the heat and the next two after pushing my running distance. I've started eating a lot of bananas, drinking pedialyte before and after working out, and drinking V8. Seems to be helping, but I'd like some input from those of you who are working out. I'd rather not have to eat 4 bananas a day and a liter of V8. Thanks in advance for your advice and input. You've all been a real inspiration for me! Thanks! Doug RNY 10/13/03 Start 345/-145/200

Doug, I never get leg cramps. However I sometimes get a side stitch. My guess is that you are dehydrating or not getting enough potassium. Rather than eating so many bananas, try a vitamin with potassium added. Make sure you are getting enough carbs and protein. Running burns up the carbs. The low carb diets are for the WLS people that DONT run. You need carbs. Good luck with your run.

pedialyte is great... do you drink anything during your workouts as well? I might actually start to use that. I didn't even think about it. Try this...... Water (or stick with the pedialyte)- before, during, and after exercise session. Make sure you are sipping all along but 8 ounces every 15-20 minutes is a good rule of thumb. Calcium - low fat milk or yogurt 1 to 2 x daily in addition to our regular calcium supplements. Potassium - focus on fruits and vegetables, particularly bananas and cucumbers but you can also get a supplement as I think John mentioned. Sodium - even if your diet is sodium restricted, reintroduce a little salt in your diet. We need it. My husband adds in a couple grains of sea salt into his water. I've started to do the same thing. I guess the pedialyte has some so maybe you are already covered in this department. Overexertion - Are you overdoing it and are you resting your muscles in between sessions? Overtraining/exhaustion/not enough sleep can all cause leg cramps too. Once you get a cramp stretching is about all you can do at that point to try to control the cramping. Stretching is good practice for warm up and cool down. I usually do cardio for 5-10 min and warmup, stretch for 5 min, bulk of my main cardio, cool down until heart rate is normal again, stretch again.

Check this thread out here: http://forums.runnersworld.com/thread.jspa?threadID=284430&tstart=75

Stayce and John, Thanks for the responses. I'll be trying out some of the electrolyte supplements. It is probably a combination of slight dehydration (low electrolytes) and overexertion and lack of stretching. I'll have to pace myself a little and add stretching to my routine. Just can't hardly stand to be still long enough to stretch good. I'm pretty sure I get plenty of carbs and usually good carbs. I'll keep that in mind, though. I've also found a powdered electrolyte supplement by Gerber. Yeah, it's made for babies, but you can put the powder in your water or Propel and it doesn't taste bad at all. It's fruit punch flavored and no sugar. I'll be drinking it now while I'm running. I've not been drinking while I run. That was probably a mistake. Oh well. Big learning curve going from couch potato to wannabe jock. Thanks for all the help! John is right. Life is way fun! Doug