If dilution is the solution, then why?

bluemermaid9bluemermaid9 Boca Raton, FL, United StatesSenior Member

About 6.5 hours into a warm swim (WT=75F=23.9C) I started throwing up my feeds. This has never happened before. The first time it happened, I thought it was a fluke. The next feeding was even worse: I could only manage two sips and they too came right back up. I asked for my crew to dilute my feeds to 50% because I'd heard somewhere that diluted feeds work for warm water. Lo and behold, the first diluted feed went down and stayed down and I felt fantastic after that. I'm trying to understand the reason, though. My feeds are a custom mix (carbs, a little protein, electrolytes) and my crew was keeping them cold, which makes me very happy. Any ideas?

Comments

  • MLambyMLamby Senior Member

    I believe it is because your metabolism actually slows way down in the heat, even though you are still expending energy. You still need the hydration, but not the calories, carbs, etc.,so your body may reject them but still craves cold water intake. I was told, before my FKCC swim, to dilute all my feeds to 50%. I'm glad I did. I found this quote:

    According to Debra Sheats, the director of Nutrition and Dietetics at St. Catherine University, the main reason is because our metabolism slows down during the summer.

    “When it’s hot out, our body temperature is close to the environmental temperature, so we don’t have to burn as many calories to maintain our temperature as the metabolism slows our appetite goes down, too,” Sheats said.

    We burn 10 percent fewer calories in the hot weather, she said, because we don’t have to work as hard to stay close to 98.6.

  • bluemermaid9bluemermaid9 Boca Raton, FL, United StatesSenior Member

    Thank you, @MLamby ! That would explain why I couldn't hold my feeds. Did you have any issues during KW at all?

  • MLambyMLamby Senior Member

    I normally only take in liquid feeds, but tried some applesauce about halfway through on a recommendation. Threw it up. :) Also, this was my first ocean marathon and my tongue blistered and was peeling on the sides for about three days. Very attractive. :) I had been told that mouthwash during the race would help with that....but I forgot it at the hotel. :( Otherwise, no, my nutrition and energy were pretty much where I wanted them. A little tweaking on time in between feeds as we went along was all. It was a really challenging and exhilarating swim!

    bluemermaid9
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