The first week is the hardest?

addily1986
addily1986 Posts: 11 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I am having carb and sugar withdrawals... Major headaches and my body is hungry and weak. I have no motivation to get up and walk. I will eventually have more energy, right?

I have been doing really good this week as far as my intake goes, and it is a total adjustment!

Since I had such a bad headache I decided to get myself a Diet Dr. Pepper... I'm not normally a soda drinker at all..... But it was THE BEST thing I have ever tasted. And when I has my teeny-tiny 4oz steak with cauliflower for dinner.... It was THE BEST thing I have ever tasted. I have this newfound appreciation for food.

Replies

  • cerise_noir
    cerise_noir Posts: 5,468 Member
    edited July 2016
    Why did you cut out sugar/carbs? Do you have a medical condition that requires you to do so? I've tried this and it was awful for me, too. No need to cut carbs if you don't want to, though, since calories are king when it comes to weight loss.
  • kendahlj
    kendahlj Posts: 243 Member
    edited July 2016
    I am sort of surprised...I didn't experience any of this. Did you replace those carb calories with solid proteins? Cutting carbs has what has made me find success in weight loss so far and I'm a lot healthier. Stick with it...
  • KassiesJourney
    KassiesJourney Posts: 306 Member
    The first week or two with anything new is difficult.
  • emdeesea
    emdeesea Posts: 1,823 Member
    Unless you have a medical condition, it's not necessary to cut anything out. Just eat less of it.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    I don't think that hunger, weakness, headaches are from eating less carbs/sugar - but there are other clues here: What have you set your calorie intake to? Do you hit that every day? What have you set your fat, carb and protein goals to, and why? Do you drink enough water? Eat enough salt? Have you cut out caffeinated drinks? Have you started doing a lot more exercise than usual?

    If you have been doing this for no more than a week, and already feel it sucks, it's not something you'll be able to do for long enough to get any measureable results.

    I fear that you are setting yourself up for failure. You are not supposed to starve yourself and feel miserable. Eat a balanced diet, eat food you like, eat enough.
  • BABetter1
    BABetter1 Posts: 618 Member
    I would suggest gradually easing into a low carb/low sugar way of eating if you've been in the habit of consuming a lot of it and now want to stop. Also, if you are going to go low carb, you need to make sure you keep your electrolytes up (magnesium, potassium, and salt). I personally have chosen to do a Low Carb, High Fat way of eating. But, I have my own reasons for that. If you are intentionally choosing that type of lifestyle, you might want to look into a Low Carber group here on MFP and join it. They have a lot of helpful info about how to do it without experiencing headaches and lethargy. If you are not actually intending to do Keto or Low Carb, you should probably continue to eat the things you were eating before, just in moderation.
  • abitofbliss
    abitofbliss Posts: 198 Member
    I guess I agree with most that you don't have to suffer to lose weight, however, it's not all pleasant even when you're making sustainable changes. You mentioned the treat of DDP was great but did it help your headache? It's very possible you're just not eating enough... The symptoms you're experience coincide with VLCD. But if it's only been a week, give your body some time to remove the "toxins" from your previous diet and start to understand the changes.

    Great decision! Best of luck!
  • addily1986
    addily1986 Posts: 11 Member
    I really love all of the support I get on here!

    Yes, I have a medical condition. I'm also on a diet pill and I started the pill the same day as the diet so I'm not sure if its the medication or the fact that I'm changing my whole diet that is causing weakness/hunger. I'm not completely carb free right now- I have just cut out 99% of the carbs that I used to eat. And the Diet soda really did help my headache.

    My doctor just said I need to keep it at 1500 calories per day, I let MFP fill in the blanks when it came to fat, sugar, salt, etc... intake.
  • kommodevaran
    kommodevaran Posts: 17,890 Member
    You don't give a lot of concrete information for people to help you. What diet pill is this, and why are you on it? Are you following the prescibed dosage and schedule? Are your symptoms in line with the known adverse effects of the drug? What do you mean by cutting out 99% of the carbs, and letting MFP fill in the blanks?

    A dramatic change of diet can feel overwhelming, but no well balanced and nutritious 1500 calorie diet should cause weakness, hunger of headache. Something is off.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    Also, if you are on a low carb diet, how much sodium are you getting? How much fat are you eating?


    And when you transition to low carb, it's not unusual to feel weak. Carbs are a very beneficial source of energy. And going low carb, your body is depleting glycogen and will eventually transition to using fats for energy.

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