Vomiting During or After Exercise: Causes & Solutions

A doctor offers a very interesting cause of vomiting during or after exercise.

“That can happen when a person is very toxic, so when the circulation improves, then the lymphatics start moving and dumping toxins,” explains Carolyn Dean, MD, ND – Medical Advisory Board Member of the non-profit Nutritional Magnesium Association at nutritionalmagnesium.org.

“Vomiting is one way for the body to eliminate toxins.”

When I was a personal trainer, several of my clients upchucked a little towards the end of their workout session.

They were not what I’d call “physicalky fit” individuals. I worked them pretty hard, but kept a close watch on them to make sure they weren’t feeling sick.

The clients were beat towards the end of the exercise session, and only then did the vomit come.

My conclusion was that they hadn’t nourished and hydrated themselves well prior in the day.

In fact, one of these clients had nothing to eat all day prior to her evening workout with me.

Others reported having hardly eaten all day. This, combined with being out of shape or not being used to a strenuous workout, caused nausea, leading to vomiting.

A poorly conditioned person on the SAD (standard American diet) has a more toxic body than a physically fit person who’s been eating healthfully.

Additional Causes of Vomiting During or Shortly After Exercise

Motion sickness can lead to upchucking, such as the motion experienced when twirling around in a dance-based group fitness class, or even from some of the pivoting motions of a step aerobics class.

GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disease) can cause a queasy feeling from the acid jostling around as it refluxes back up the stomach and food pipe.

Exercise decreases blood flow to the cells of the digestive tract. A de-conditioned person is less able to tolerate this, and nausea can result.

Quite simply, improving one’s physical condition will resolve this issue.

There are those who can strenuously exercise on an empty stomach (morning workout) with little hydration, and not feel the least bit queasy.

Ending a grueling exercise session abruptly. A warm-down is important.

Then again, vomiting after abruptly ending a hard-hitting exercise session goes back to lack of conditioning.

A woman who doesn’t know she’s pregnant and exercises hard can also find herself vomiting at some point.

To avoid vomiting during or after exercise:

1)   Take time to warm up; don’t dive into the workout full-force.

2)   Par back on intensity to give your body a chance to get fitter.

3)   Have some fruit or juice before the workout.

4)   Have water before, and every 15 minutes, during the exercise.

5)   Stick to a plant-based diet with strict limits on processed foods.

Dr. Dean, in practice for 35+ years and author of “The Magnesium Miracle,” is also a naturopath, nutritionist, herbalist, acupuncturist, lecturer and consultant.

Lorra Garrick has been covering medical, fitness and cybersecurity topics for many years, having written thousands of articles for print magazines and websites, including as a ghostwriter. She’s also a former ACE-certified personal trainer.