Not sure if I need advice or if this is normal. I’ve read threads on post swim hunger and how swimming out of all training seems to cause a huge amount of hunger after. I definitely notice this myself.
In addition though, I find that i’m not only hungry and despite consuming a ton of food after my swim, I still feel generally fatigued to the point where I get that sick feeling you get when you don’t eat enough. Weak, light headed and generally foggy. Anyone else experience this?
I notice that you mentioned that you eat LOTS AFTER your workout. Haver you thought of your PRE-workout nutrition to help balance / moderate this crash?
I get similar symptoms of light-headedness, but from running and occasionally biking (there might be something specific about swimming though). Every time, it has nothing to do with what I eat after a workout, but rather, what I ate before working out. Being more mindful of the fuel that I’m taking in PRE-workout has really help resolve much of my ‘bonking’ issues.
Thanks, I was wondering about the pre workout nutrition. I also have a 100cal electrolyte drink on the side of the pool which I finish during my hour session. Just finding it really weird as I finished a pretty loaded week (for me at least) yesterday with a 2hr run, I felt great during and really good after. Same off the bike, no issues at all.
I find that I have the same issue when swimming in the evening, so after a whole day of eating well etc.
Being horizontal for an hour can certainly have different effects on circulation during exercise.
I’m not sure if your goals include weight loss, but consider that you’re burning a lot more than the 100cal drink that you have on hand. …and when I say ‘pre-workout’ nutrition, I’m really talking about what you’re eating before you get to the pool.
To me, my first guess would be that your blood-sugar level is dropping during swimming, giving you the sense of fainting and massive hunger. (CAUTION: I am not a nutritionist or medical doctor).
I hated these nagging issues and hope that you find a resolution.
For sure, I understand the 100cal is not enough overall. I was just mentioning that I have that as an extra during the workout. It is the exact feeling I would get if I haven’t eaten enough, at least that’s how I feel if I haven’t eaten enough but the difference is that I would eat around 500cal after my swim, usually oats, maple syrup and yogurt. I’m going to experiment a little with the pre swim nutrition and see how that goes.
My goals do include weight loss but I am being pretty careful with my deficit. I have a lot of work to do on the bike and need to raise my power. Hopefully I don’t have conflicting goals but seems to be going ok at the moment.
It could be as simple as consuming half (or more) of the oats, syrup and yogurt (btw, sound delicious) before you get in the pool! I’d follow it up after the swim with a protein source.
I actually bonked after a hard swim workout back in October. Was sitting at my desk at work after a early morning masters practice and got dizzy, was disoriented and started hallucinating. Was sweating profusely and actually soaked through my shirt. Was able to snap myself out of it, but had to just sit quietly with the lights out for about half an hour. Scared my co-workers more than myself; they though I was having a stroke or a TIA.
Doc told me it was a classic bonk. Since then I’ve been very careful to sip a sports drink between sets and to get some carbs as soon as I can after practice. I also carry a couple of energy bars in my swim bag, just in case.
Yes, I’m always hungry and tired after swimming. I try eat a substantial breakfast after a morning workout, then eat healthy at lunch (usually a salad).
My swim coach likes to joke that if I don’t feel like taking a nap around two o’clock, then I wasn’t working hard enough in the pool. 
Mark
Will try that tomorrow am and see how it goes. Thanks for the help.
I know what you mean, I’ve had a similar experience at work a few times. Not as bad as yours though.
I probably need to pay more attention to what I had for dinner the night before, and then pre, and post swim. I don’t want to have to resort to a full meal of chicken and rice to chew on between sets 
I know what you mean, I’ve had a similar experience at work a few times. Not as bad as yours though.
I probably need to pay more attention to what I had for dinner the night before, and then pre, and post swim. I don’t want to have to resort to a full meal of chicken and rice to chew on between sets
JOOC, what kind of yards/meters are you doing??? Also, are you doing other workouts before or after swimming???
Switching to a whole other gear from nutrition: I had a similar problem and thought it was nutrition, but nothing I did worked. Then I thought maybe I have some sort of reaction with the chlorine or other. After asking around with the same symptoms somebody told me to use coconut oil on my face after a swim. After that my problems went away. Something to consider.
I average between 3000 - 4000m and would usually run or bike 4-5 hours after the swim. The most recent occurrence was a Saturday morning 4000m swim. I biked for 105min that afternoon and felt great. Problem seems to be just after the swim.
I went for a pretty hard 3500m swim last night and felt fine after. Not sure yet but I am wondering if my meal the night before is having an impact. My dinners are usually pretty light in carbs and mostly protein. E.g. huge salad with chicken. Wondering if i am pretty depleted by the time I wake up. I want to test it again this weekend and see if there is an improvement. So for example my last weekend looked like this:
Friday night - 90min run with low carb hiugh protein dinner.
Saturday morning - espresso then 4k swim with 100cal electrolyte drink
Saturday afternoon - 105min bike
Sunday midday - 120min run
The only time I experienced any issues was after the swim.
I will definitely give this a try if I experience the issue after changing my nutrition. Open to try anything. Thanks.
I like a bit of oatmeal with peanut butter. Keeps the dizzy’s away and the energy up.
Before the swim? If yes, does it not bother you have just eaten while you swim?
Usually about 20-30 before the swim. I’ve been swimming almost 20 years, eating before swimming doesn’t bother me one bit.
Thanks, I was always concerned about having too much in my stomach. I’ll give it a try too.
Better to try once and have a crap workout and know that it doesn’t work vs never trying and passing out in your office later.
I know what you mean, I’ve had a similar experience at work a few times. Not as bad as yours though.
I probably need to pay more attention to what I had for dinner the night before, and then pre, and post swim. I don’t want to have to resort to a full meal of chicken and rice to chew on between sets
I think the thing that did me in that morning was finishing up with a set of 10 x 75 on hard descending intervals and then not doing a good warm-down. Since then I’ve gotten into the habit of getting up earlier and having some whole wheat toast w/ peanut butter or a banana with my coffee before heading off to swim. I also try to make sure that I do at least an EZ 100 to warm-down before getting out.
Mark
I average between 3000 - 4000m and would usually run or bike 4-5 hours after the swim. The most recent occurrence was a Saturday morning 4000m swim. I biked for 105min that afternoon and felt great. Problem seems to be just after the swim.
I went for a pretty hard 3500m swim last night and felt fine after. Not sure yet but I am wondering if my meal the night before is having an impact. My dinners are usually pretty light in carbs and mostly protein. E.g. huge salad with chicken. Wondering if i am pretty depleted by the time I wake up. I want to test it again this weekend and see if there is an improvement. So for example my last weekend looked like this:
Friday night - 90min run with low carb hiugh protein dinner.
Saturday morning - espresso then 4k swim with 100cal electrolyte drink
Saturday afternoon - 105min bike
Sunday midday - 120min run
The only time I experienced any issues was after the swim.
Sounds like perhaps you’re just not eating enough before your swim workouts, but sounds like you already suspect that:) If you’re well-fueled pre-swim, you should be able to go up to 10,000 yds w/ no refueling, or at least that has been my experience, back in my pure swimmer days before refueling during practice became commonplace. If you’re going 3000-4000 meters, i’d guess that you might want to have a small meal of around 800-1000 cal 1.5 hrs or so before you swim.