Grumpy while trying to shed pounds?

sweetdianachka

I know eating better and exercising is supposed to help you feel better overall (release endorphins or some other reasonable scientific explanation) but a while back I accused my husband of not supporting my weight loss, when he admitted that I act like a b*tch when I'm using MFP (i.e. counting calories). I didn't think my mood was that different. But now, I am a mother of a toddler, and I just started counting calories and exercising regularly again this week and I find myself completely frustrated and snapping at her, more than I usually would. Maybe he was right? Can anyone relate?

2snakeswoman

Yes. Instead of going to the kitchen to stuff my feelings down by entertaining my taste buds, I've been flying off the handle about small things.

Afura

I find that I'm way more cranky when I'm restricting foods or eating under my calories.

Francl27

Losing weight is hard. Maintaining the loss is just as hard. You bet I can get crabby too. The key is to make the food you eat as satisfying as possible, not to have a huge deficit and make good choices so you're not too hungry, and find other things you enjoy instead of food (yeah I'm still struggling with that one).

sweetdianachka

Francl27 wrote: »

Losing weight is hard. Maintaining the loss is just as hard. You bet I can get crabby too. The key is to make the food you eat as satisfying as possible, not to have a huge deficit and make good choices so you're not too hungry, and find other things you enjoy instead of food (yeah I'm still struggling with that one).

YES! I saw an article a while back that was like 20 ways to reward yourself that aren't food or buying something and I was like hmm not impressed by many of them.

brb_2013

Uh yeah, definitely. It's the hangries. If you're not satisfied you're going to get crabby. I make sure I have protein rich snacks, my favorites are cheese, Greek yogurt, rice cakes with laughing cow cheese, and Luna protein bars.

You will figure it out, but listen to those moods. When I find my behavior getting snippy especially at work (I'm a nanny for 3 kiddos) I look at my day: when did I eat last, what snacks do I have available, is it time to eat? ((basically what you do when a toddler gets cranky... Nap? Snack time?)) It's not that you have to eat all day to feel satisfied but you do need to be getting enough. It can be a bit of a learning process and I find it changes on me often. Some weeks I NEED a snack on my drive home or else I'm the worst person to be around at home until dinner. I was successfully doing IF for weeks, then suddenly was in such a terrible mood around 9-10 am and realized I needed something especially on my workout days.

You'll find a good balance but don't ignore the crabby feelings, they're telling you stuff

sweetdianachka

Noel_57 wrote: »

I know I am. I threw my pet hamster across the room for eating my rice cake.

Brutal!

quiksylver296

If you are used to dealing with your emotions by eating, it can definitely make you cranky. If you are not eating enough calories, that can also make you cranky. Are you at 1200 calories per day? What is your height and weight? I'm 5'9", 176 currently, and I would likely kill someone if I was trying to survive on 1200 calories per day. I'm losing on 1930 calories per day.

laurenpjokl

Yes, I have the same issue. It seems to be getting better as time goes on though. But I still literally threw a tantrum the other day when my boyfriend won a card game.

From what I remember the last time I stuck to MFP and reached maintainance is that the grumpiness is temporary.

cwolfman13

are you eating enough? contrary to popular belief, you don't have to starve yourself to lose weight.

sweetdianachka

I'm definitely eating all my calories, but I tend to hoard them for dinner time, so I do feel hungry throughout the day sometimes. Also, I'm sure my body is just adjusting since it is going from an exorbitant amount of calories its used to getting when I don't pay attention to what I eat, to the measly 1900ish I'm taking in now.