Ammonia smell after long workout

Nothings wrong with you..increase water intake with workout and if you are eating a high protein diet, incorporate carbs during your workout.

I've also heard that eating apples helps this. I experimented with it once upon a time and seem to remember it helping.

Maybe you should stop peeing on the bike?

Funny I just looked this up previously as I found I could smell it on my breath after long bike rides and long runs and was questioning a buddy of mine sent me this portion of a paper that covers this subject.  Hope it helps. It was from a rather large diabetic reading. I am INSULIN RESISTANT and my friend is diabetic. Now that I am about 50 lbs lighter I am experiancing this and he knows I was following a bit of a Lower carb diet about 0.75g of carbs per pound of body weight. When in most cases you should be around 1g/lb so I am doing about 160-170g of carbs and weigh about 215lbs I should be doing 215 and even more on days I do longer rides/workouts. Anyways Read on.

In general, you'll maximize your fat loss if you wait about an hour after your workouts before eating. The exception, in my view, is when you smell ammonia. Ammonia is essentially nitrogen, and that sensation after a workout is a signal that you've raised your cortisol levels enough to trigger the breakdown of amino acids by the liver (gluconeogenesis). When the body needs energy, it metabolizes glycogen, then fat, then protein. If one isn't fast enough, it goes down the list. But if it's going to feed on protein, you want it to go after something other than muscle tissue. So if you smell ammonia, you should have a protein and carbohydrate containing supplement immediately after your workout, preferably along with a protein stimulating supplement such as L-Leucine (whey protein is about 20-25% Leucine).

Even if you wait to eat a regular meal, there's increasing evidence that availability of the "branched-chain" amino acid Leucine, even just a gram, closely following a workout, can kick-start new muscle synthesis.

A few additional reasons to avoid spiking insulin except after a weight-training workout. About one in four people are insulin resistant, meaning that the pancreas has to pump out a lot more of the stuff in order to be effective. That excessive insulin reduces the ability of the body to burn fat as energy even after the glucose is cleared. Insulin resistance also typically leads to an increase in "visceral fat" around the organs, particularly in the abdomen, and increases the risk of coronary disease. By keeping your carbohydrates low-glycemic and your portion sizes in control, you reduce the need for this excessive output of insulin, and you keep your fat-burning in high gear.

Insulin resistance is more common if you have diabetes in your family, or if your diet has been high in sugar, high glycemic carbs, and saturated fats. My vote for worst food in the world: funnel cake (called "elephant ears" in the Midwest ): white flour dough, deep fried in lard, covered with powdered sugar. If you ever find yourself standing in line for this stuff, just skip on over and stand in the line to get your head examined.

Fortunately, one excellent fact is that exercise itself improves insulin sensitivity. Also, you'll significantly improve your fat loss if you concentrate on eating low glycemic carbs in your portions. A few supplements are known to improve insulin sensitivity: alpha lipoic acid ( ALA ), green tea extract, and chromium picolinate. All are available at any GNC. Normal dosages (read the label on whatever brand you pick) are sufficient. Since they change the responsiveness to insulin, diabetics who are insulin-dependent should use these only under a doctor's supervision.

Edited by Techdiver 2011-01-17 10:44 AM

Very interesting!  I sometimes smell a stong ammonia smell after a hard workout that nobody around me can smell.  I thought it was just me.

This is interesting as I thought it was just me. I am confused though, does this mean that after a hard workout and I smell ammonia I did good and just need to refuel? Or is it something I am lacking to begin with or during excerise that I should address?