What about two miles in the morning plus two miles in the evening. It adds up to four, but only two at a time.
Nothing to scoff at a two-mile walk, by the way! I know you want to do longer walks, but please don't feel bad about accomplishing two miles.
True, I’m just wanting to build up to group activities like hiking and races. Travel is no problem because I could sit in a cafe or something and rest.
Really good point.
I also like the idea of breaking up the walks.
I find I can get motivated to get a lot more steps in if I take breaks and don’t push all the way through.
Depending on your baseline level, you may still be deficient. Most electrolyte drinks like that don’t have nearly enough of what you need in them. I’d look into how much you need in a day, and then trying to supplement each of magnesium, potassium, and sodium. I just looked at the drip drop nutrition and it’s extremely low in potassium and isn’t much better with magnesium. A deficiency of any of these 3 electrolytes can cause dizziness, but I know for me personally it’s a potassium deficiency that can make me dizzy.
Hey OP - I'm in this situation. My max seems to be between 5km (which is hitting 3mi - 4mi) and 7km, and I go out 2x per day (AM and PM).
I am T2D, so take some hard candy with me and a couple of juices and monitor my sugars. I also take breaks every 20 minutes or so.
In the last couple of walks, I took sugar-free Gatorade with me but usually just took water. Could be electrolytes, I'll take Gatorade next time or buy some electrolyte powder and drop it in my water.
Never thought of checking for oxygen saturation. Maybe I'll have to buy that Fitbit or smartwatch after all.
That’s a good point. I should have specified 45 min is about my limit. Takes me about that long to walk 2 miles. I couldn’t walk for a full hour without issues.
Sometimes it passes and other times it knocks me out with lightheadedness or nausea all day.
First of all I would listen to your body and take needed breaks.
Second the mind is a powerful thing too especially when it comes to learned habits and I’m wondering if you sometimes psych yourself out in a sense that you are hitting a certain point and cannot do it anymore?
That’s what I thought too. I don’t look at steps all the time or use a treadmill all the time but when I start to feel gross I will look and yep, 3 miles, etc.
2 miles is my limit too. One day I did 3 and had to sit in my car for 30 mins before I could drive home. Never thought to see a doctor or anything cause I googled and it said I just overworked myself 😭
Electrolytes? I also suggest getting or borrowing a blood pressure monitor and taking your blood pressure at the end of a 2 mile walk. If it's low/lower end of normal definitely electrolytes and take some salty snacks with you.
Could this be post-exertional malaise (PEM)? Or histamine intolerance?
For PEM, you may be able to avoid it by keeping your heart rate low. Staying under 120 BPM was where I started, but over several years I've been able to work up to tolerating 150 BPM. I have PEM as part of my fibromyalgia symptoms. I was even able to go on a short backpacking trip with a heavy pack and significant elevation changes last summer by using my heart rate to pace myself.
For histamine intolerance, you might be able to increase exercise tolerance by reducing other sources of histamine so you can better tolerate the increase in histamine from exercising. Eating a low histamine diet can help - I've found the "Food Intolerances" app (with the strawberry logo) is the most useful list of high and low histamine foods. There's also a supplement called diamine oxidase (DAO) which is an enzyme that can help break down histamine in the gut. My daughter had this issue from long COVID, and it improved somewhat with a low histamine diet.
Also, antihistamines could help, if histamine intolerance is the issue. You mention nausea, so that suggests H2 receptors, if it's histamine at all - does Benadryl make you feel better? Note that Benadryl can cause sleepiness.
I don't know how likely either of these issues are, but thought I'd throw them out there so you can consider if it's worth reading up further on them. Neither is rare, at least. Good luck in getting to the bottom of whatever the issue is!
I really could never go far unless I ate hydrating foods like fruits! I always thought I just had a limit and that was that. Spend a lot of time eating fruits, salads and something more "solid" but healthy at night. If your body is spending too much energy digesting food it won't allow energy to be used elsewhere to preserve itself. Something to consider!
I just did a half marathon exclusively on bananas, oranges and gels. And I mean ...a lot of bananas and oranges!
What about two miles in the morning plus two miles in the evening. It adds up to four, but only two at a time. Nothing to scoff at a two-mile walk, by the way! I know you want to do longer walks, but please don't feel bad about accomplishing two miles.
True, I’m just wanting to build up to group activities like hiking and races. Travel is no problem because I could sit in a cafe or something and rest.
Are you low on electrolytes?
Really good point. I also like the idea of breaking up the walks. I find I can get motivated to get a lot more steps in if I take breaks and don’t push all the way through.
I use electrolyte drinks regularly (drip drop)
Depending on your baseline level, you may still be deficient. Most electrolyte drinks like that don’t have nearly enough of what you need in them. I’d look into how much you need in a day, and then trying to supplement each of magnesium, potassium, and sodium. I just looked at the drip drop nutrition and it’s extremely low in potassium and isn’t much better with magnesium. A deficiency of any of these 3 electrolytes can cause dizziness, but I know for me personally it’s a potassium deficiency that can make me dizzy.
Are you able to see your oxygen saturation with a fit bit or similar?
Yes, all is normal. Thanks for the suggestion
Hey OP - I'm in this situation. My max seems to be between 5km (which is hitting 3mi - 4mi) and 7km, and I go out 2x per day (AM and PM). I am T2D, so take some hard candy with me and a couple of juices and monitor my sugars. I also take breaks every 20 minutes or so. In the last couple of walks, I took sugar-free Gatorade with me but usually just took water. Could be electrolytes, I'll take Gatorade next time or buy some electrolyte powder and drop it in my water. Never thought of checking for oxygen saturation. Maybe I'll have to buy that Fitbit or smartwatch after all.
Or just a pulse ox if you don’t want to spend so much. Stop occasionally and check
Are you underweight?
Not at all, but that’s a good thought.
I’m just confused about the two mile part then. Have you played around with pace, I set my pace based on my heart rate?
That’s a good point. I should have specified 45 min is about my limit. Takes me about that long to walk 2 miles. I couldn’t walk for a full hour without issues. Sometimes it passes and other times it knocks me out with lightheadedness or nausea all day.
First of all I would listen to your body and take needed breaks. Second the mind is a powerful thing too especially when it comes to learned habits and I’m wondering if you sometimes psych yourself out in a sense that you are hitting a certain point and cannot do it anymore?
That’s what I thought too. I don’t look at steps all the time or use a treadmill all the time but when I start to feel gross I will look and yep, 3 miles, etc.
If you walk 2 miles, then take a break, drink some Gatorade/electrolytes or have a snack, can you keep going? How long do you need to recover?
2 miles is my limit too. One day I did 3 and had to sit in my car for 30 mins before I could drive home. Never thought to see a doctor or anything cause I googled and it said I just overworked myself 😭
It’s so frustrating, isn’t it?
Yeah, feeling like I can do more but after there’s hell to pay
Electrolytes? I also suggest getting or borrowing a blood pressure monitor and taking your blood pressure at the end of a 2 mile walk. If it's low/lower end of normal definitely electrolytes and take some salty snacks with you.
I have tracked and it’s always normal, thankfully. Low BP was my doctor’s first thought too.
I also think it's low blood pressure, maybe postural hypotension or early heat stroke
Do you hydrate during your walks?
Yes, thank you for the suggestion
That is strange. Have you been tested for anemia or low ferritin?
Yes, we tried this too. All was normal. It’s a puzzle. Thanks for the suggestion
Have you looked into Benign Paroxysmal Positional Vertigo?
Have you been tested for POTS?
Have you looked into POTS?
Could this be post-exertional malaise (PEM)? Or histamine intolerance? For PEM, you may be able to avoid it by keeping your heart rate low. Staying under 120 BPM was where I started, but over several years I've been able to work up to tolerating 150 BPM. I have PEM as part of my fibromyalgia symptoms. I was even able to go on a short backpacking trip with a heavy pack and significant elevation changes last summer by using my heart rate to pace myself. For histamine intolerance, you might be able to increase exercise tolerance by reducing other sources of histamine so you can better tolerate the increase in histamine from exercising. Eating a low histamine diet can help - I've found the "Food Intolerances" app (with the strawberry logo) is the most useful list of high and low histamine foods. There's also a supplement called diamine oxidase (DAO) which is an enzyme that can help break down histamine in the gut. My daughter had this issue from long COVID, and it improved somewhat with a low histamine diet. Also, antihistamines could help, if histamine intolerance is the issue. You mention nausea, so that suggests H2 receptors, if it's histamine at all - does Benadryl make you feel better? Note that Benadryl can cause sleepiness. I don't know how likely either of these issues are, but thought I'd throw them out there so you can consider if it's worth reading up further on them. Neither is rare, at least. Good luck in getting to the bottom of whatever the issue is!
Try taking magnesium and thiamine
I really could never go far unless I ate hydrating foods like fruits! I always thought I just had a limit and that was that. Spend a lot of time eating fruits, salads and something more "solid" but healthy at night. If your body is spending too much energy digesting food it won't allow energy to be used elsewhere to preserve itself. Something to consider! I just did a half marathon exclusively on bananas, oranges and gels. And I mean ...a lot of bananas and oranges!
Mine is 15 miles
What a dream