Gnarly headaches...

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stephinator92
stephinator92 Posts: 162 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started going very low carb as of yesterday and I'm making my best effort to cut out added sugar from my diet (prediabetic, so both of those methods should help my health, in theory). Yesterday and today I've had really horrible headaches all day long... could this change in diet have something to do with it?
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Replies

  • LazSommer
    LazSommer Posts: 1,851 Member
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    Generally drastic changes in diet give many headaches. Enjoy the next week or so.
  • kd_mazur
    kd_mazur Posts: 569 Member
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    Make sure you are eating and drinking enough. Low calories and dehydration can cause headaches. If you are eating and drinking enough, tough it out for a week or so and if it doesn't improve, see your Dr.
  • stephinator92
    stephinator92 Posts: 162 Member
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    Will do... my goal is to drink about a gallon of water per day. I was very close yesterday and I've been drinking nonstop today, too. I'm pretty sure I'm eating enough as well... I've just never had headaches like this from eating healthier. It's really rough
  • StacyChrz
    StacyChrz Posts: 865 Member
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    Make sure that when you're drinking that much that you're electrolytes are still balanced. You need some salt, potassium, calcium and magnesium. I like Crystal Light Pure drink mixes when I work out fasted or when I'm feeling like my 'lytes' are not right. They are sweetened with just a little sugar and stevia. 15 calories in 1/2 packet mixes with 16 oz of water. You might want to try adding something like this if it fits within your goals.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
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    Drinking too much is not healthy either.
  • stephinator92
    stephinator92 Posts: 162 Member
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    I thought I was balanced, but maybe I'm not as much as I thought I was. I'll eat something salty and see if that helps. Thanks for the suggestions!!
  • stephinator92
    stephinator92 Posts: 162 Member
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    Is a gallon of water too much?
  • musicfan68
    musicfan68 Posts: 1,126 Member
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    Actually, for prediabetes, eating a well-balanced diet, exercise and losing weight helps the most. Not cutting out carbs and sugar.

    http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2015/06/23/you-have-prediabetes-now-what

    http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/features/prediabetes-diagnosis-what-to-do
  • stephinator92
    stephinator92 Posts: 162 Member
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    tamicoil1 wrote: »
    Actually, for prediabetes, eating a well-balanced diet, exercise and losing weight helps the most. Not cutting out carbs and sugar.

    http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2015/06/23/you-have-prediabetes-now-what

    http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/features/prediabetes-diagnosis-what-to-do

    My doctor recommended going low carb and cutting added sugar, not all sugar.
  • SecretWeaponKevin
    SecretWeaponKevin Posts: 85 Member
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    Listen to your Dr! I'd keep going, if the headaches don't go away after a few days or get worse, go back to the Dr.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,906 Member
    edited April 2016
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    stephinator92 wrote: »
    tamicoil1 wrote: »
    Actually, for prediabetes, eating a well-balanced diet, exercise and losing weight helps the most. Not cutting out carbs and sugar.

    http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2015/06/23/you-have-prediabetes-now-what

    http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/features/prediabetes-diagnosis-what-to-do

    My doctor recommended going low carb and cutting added sugar, not all sugar.

    What was the grams of carbs goal he/she gave you? Did he/she warn you about "low carb flu"?
  • stephinator92
    stephinator92 Posts: 162 Member
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    I wasn't given any specifics other than the guideline of eat low carb and less added sugar. I'm aiming preferably around 100-115g of carbs per day... I figured that would be a decent midline with upped protein and moderate fat. What is low carb flu?
  • StacyChrz
    StacyChrz Posts: 865 Member
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    stephinator92 wrote: »
    Is a gallon of water too much?

    I drink more than a gallon of water on most days of the week, but I have been doing that for most of my adult life. If you're new to that much water, along with making other big dietary changes that can lead to increased water loss, you may get headaches or feel other symptoms of electrolyte imbalance.
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
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    stephinator92 wrote: »
    tamicoil1 wrote: »
    Actually, for prediabetes, eating a well-balanced diet, exercise and losing weight helps the most. Not cutting out carbs and sugar.

    http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2015/06/23/you-have-prediabetes-now-what

    http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/features/prediabetes-diagnosis-what-to-do

    My doctor recommended going low carb and cutting added sugar, not all sugar.

    Not questioning your doctor...but doctors tend to recommend low carb because it is something easy for them to recommend, and generally forces people to restrict their calories without really realizing they are and without having to "count" calories. If you are counting calories accurately and eating within you will lose weight. But many people do not want to count calories and will get frustrated that way easily, so your doctor telling you to cut out certain food items can just be a short cut to eating less. Especially if you have a tendency to overindulge in carb-y foods.

    Have you cut out caffeine as a coincidence of cutting carbs by any chance?
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,906 Member
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    stephinator92 wrote: »
    I wasn't given any specifics other than the guideline of eat low carb and less added sugar. I'm aiming preferably around 100-115g of carbs per day... I figured that would be a decent midline with upped protein and moderate fat. What is low carb flu?

    I looked at your diary. You may have reduced carbs, but you're not low carb, so something else is going on. Did you also stop drinking beverages that contain caffeine?
  • stephinator92
    stephinator92 Posts: 162 Member
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    kshama2001 wrote: »
    stephinator92 wrote: »
    I wasn't given any specifics other than the guideline of eat low carb and less added sugar. I'm aiming preferably around 100-115g of carbs per day... I figured that would be a decent midline with upped protein and moderate fat. What is low carb flu?

    I looked at your diary. You may have reduced carbs, but you're not low carb, so something else is going on. Did you also stop drinking beverages that contain caffeine?

    I drink one cup of coffee a day normally.. Haven't stopped that. I'm really confused and feel so dumb --- is what I'm doing bad with carbs? Can you give me some insight?
  • stephinator92
    stephinator92 Posts: 162 Member
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    blues4miles wrote: »
    stephinator92 wrote: »
    tamicoil1 wrote: »
    Actually, for prediabetes, eating a well-balanced diet, exercise and losing weight helps the most. Not cutting out carbs and sugar.

    http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2015/06/23/you-have-prediabetes-now-what

    http://www.webmd.com/diabetes/features/prediabetes-diagnosis-what-to-do

    My doctor recommended going low carb and cutting added sugar, not all sugar.

    Not questioning your doctor...but doctors tend to recommend low carb because it is something easy for them to recommend, and generally forces people to restrict their calories without really realizing they are and without having to "count" calories. If you are counting calories accurately and eating within you will lose weight. But many people do not want to count calories and will get frustrated that way easily, so your doctor telling you to cut out certain food items can just be a short cut to eating less. Especially if you have a tendency to overindulge in carb-y foods.

    Have you cut out caffeine as a coincidence of cutting carbs by any chance?

    Nope, still drinking a cup of coffee per day
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,906 Member
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    stephinator92 wrote: »
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    stephinator92 wrote: »
    I wasn't given any specifics other than the guideline of eat low carb and less added sugar. I'm aiming preferably around 100-115g of carbs per day... I figured that would be a decent midline with upped protein and moderate fat. What is low carb flu?

    I looked at your diary. You may have reduced carbs, but you're not low carb, so something else is going on. Did you also stop drinking beverages that contain caffeine?

    I drink one cup of coffee a day normally.. Haven't stopped that. I'm really confused and feel so dumb --- is what I'm doing bad with carbs? Can you give me some insight?

    Oh, derp, I was looking at your 138 carbs and thinking that was grams but it is in fact calories. I'm going to let a low carber like @nvmomketo take it from here.
  • kshama2001
    kshama2001 Posts: 27,906 Member
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    Here's something on low carb flu: http://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/side-effects#inductionflu
  • blues4miles
    blues4miles Posts: 1,481 Member
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    And I'll ask the obvious just in case...did your doctor test your Thyroid?

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