I started the p90x program about 3 weeks ago and have been following it to a T. Core synergistics, yoga x, ab ripper x, etc. Every day, an hour to an hour and a half of intense exercise. And the “diet” as well (I put diet in quotes because I definitely don’t feel hungry!). Great, healthy food. Protein, veggies, fruit, snacks. Week one was a struggle-I hadn’t done any intense forms of exercise since I was a tennis fanatic a few years back-but I survived. Week two was great. I felt stronger, healthier, more flexible, more energetic. I lost 3% body fat and a few unwanted pounds. Awesome!

Then came week three. Started off with a bang (although core synergistics, my least favorite workout, is the first of the week). Days one, two and three I was still feeling strong and “bringing it” during the workout, but I did begin to notice that I was getting more tired during the rest of the day. Day four, I was noticeably less energetic during the workout than I had been the week before. I got through the workout on day 5 (yesterday), had my recovery drink, took a shower, ate lunch, and then the dizziness began.

As I stood up, I felt a little light headed. By the time I got across the room, I had to sit down on the floor for fear that I was about to pass out. The rest of the day, the dizziness came and went, I felt like I needed more oxygen (despite the fact that my breathing was fine), I had a weird pressure sensation in my head and I felt weak and exhausted. I stayed in and rested until night, then slept for 10 hours. When I woke up this morning, I felt pretty good so I ate breakfast, then a mini snack right before working out. Kenpo, my favorite workout of the week. About 20 minutes into it, I again began feeling light headed. I finished the workout anyway, but decided not to push myself. By the time I finished showering and dressing, I was completely drained of energy and ended up laying on the bathroom floor for a while. Obviously something was wrong.

Fortunately, I have a doctor and a nurse in the family so I called them and described what was going on. After telling me I should go see a doctor and have bloodwork done (which I declined to do since I recently had a full physical including bloodwork which was fine), they said it sounded like anemia to them. I argued that I am eating tons of protein at the moment-chicken, turkey, egg whites. Little did I know that chicken, turkey and egg whites really don’t have a lot of iron! I don’t eat red meat and I wasn’t taking any supplements. That would explain a lot!

I promptly went online and started google-ing anemia and exercise and lo and behold, it turns out that something called “sports anemia” is very common. In fact, iron deficiency occurs in as many as 80% of female athletes and 30% of male athletes. Apparently intense exercise increases the overall blood volume in a person which ends up diluting the amount of iron. As a result, until the body adjusts to this new level of activity, it can become anemic. Symptoms include dizziness or lightheadedness, fatigue, weakness, shortness of breath, lack of endurance during exercise, headache, and poor concentration and cognitive ability. All the things I had been experiencing. I promptly went out, got some iron supplements and took one. Thankfully tomorrow is my weekly “day off” of exercise, so hopefully the iron supplements will kick in and I’ll be able to start pushing myself again on Tuesday!

Bottom line–if you are not a red meat eater, make sure you supplement your iron (and B-12) before and during any vigorous exercise program!

You can also check out Haren Yong’s very nice blog post about my work on that project by going to The Actress Obsession Blog.