Started IF 2 weeks ago and my heart rate has started going below 45 everynight. Is this normal today it even went to 39 before i wake up in the middle of night.everyday i am getting notifications of my heart rate falling below 45 on ⌚️.
I am also on a low calorie diet. And not taking any supplements currently
Hey, former cardiac nurse here. Get off Reddit, call your doctor. Meantime, make sure you’re eating a balanced diet so you get enough calories, and enough crucial electrolytes including potassium. But dude, call the doctor. You might be fine, you might have an issue that’s simple to fix, you might have a complex underlying issue. Your PCP or a cardiologist can figure that out. Reddit cannot.
Don’t ever, ever, ever rely on Reddit for medical advice. If you wonder if something that seems abnormal is normal, trust your gut, and ask a licensed professional who has it within their scope of scope of practice to diagnose.
This happened to me when I went from 310lbs - 130lbs but I was doing it very unhealthily, restricting cals way too low and working out way too hard, it was a sign my body was being overworked and was starting to give up/shut down. My apple watch was also how I caught it, brought it up to my doc and she told me to stop restricting calories and had me do a whole bunch of cardiac tests to make sure there wasn’t any damage to my heart. I’m very lucky and I have no long term effects.
I highly recommend you make an appointment with your doctor ASAP and up your intake per your doctor’s instructions.
Would you characterize yourself as extremely fit? My resting HR dropped from low 70s to about 52 doing Omad every day. I lost a lot of weight and exercise regularly. When I was running my HR dropped into upper 40s. I think it hit 46 once.
One thing I’ve noticed is my heart rate variability is high. Meaning when I exercise my HR increases very quickly, and when I stop it drops quickly. When hiking in usually around 100 bpm, going to a hill I can go to 130-140. Then back on the flats I’m back to 104 or so within a couple mins. I’d be curious if you are seeing appropriate increases in heart rate with exercise.
But regardless, if my HR dropped under 40 I’d have to get it checked. Either you’re amazingly healthy or something is going on that you need to understand. They’ll probably put you on a treadmill test.
I have a naturally low resting heart rate. Even when I was at my heaviest, I was in the low 60s. Now mine is in the low 40s. 40-60 is considered athletic so it is fine. And there are guys who fall into the 30s when really training. So as long as you have been checked out, and are overall heathy, a low resting heart rate is a good thing. But always go see a doctor about things like this. There can always be some undiagnosed condition that you don’t know about.
Do you know what your resting heart rate was before you started?
It’s always worth getting checked out for peace of mind if nothing else. My heart rate has dropped significantly with IF and stopping alcohol. It’s gone as low as 46 when sleeping and I haven’t done much in the way of fitness yet.
Yes it’s normal. Your digestive system is finally getting a break so your cardiovascular system does too. Yay! It’s working. Nothing to be alarmed about. And novice people who tell you to run to your doctor just don’t know because they are novice to this stuff. It’s all good. Keep going.