Is it normal too feel very crappy?

cheyennelee1738

So today is my first day of my intense diet. I'm 200 pounds, and I'm only 5'4. I decided last night I no longer wanted to be fat. My daily intake is usually 2,000-3,000. I never count I just eat. From the time I wake up too the time I go too sleep. Well today all I've had is 2 scrambled egg whites, 1 100% whole wheat toast, and 1 cup of strawberries. I feel so weak, and I'm so dizzy. And my head is hurting so bad. Is this normal??
This was just a sudden diet, cold turkey. So I'm thinking its normal, but at the same time I'm not sure??

jhmomofmany

Yeah, I think feeling crappy is probably a normal reaction to a sudden drastic drop in calories. Doesn't mean it's healthy or beneficial. Some people can pull off a complete diet overhaul like that, for a short time at least. But it isn't best for many.

Do you want suggestions? Here goes anyway- start small with simple changes that you are 95% certain you can maintain for the rest of your life. So think of what or how often you eat in a typical day, and drop just a little bit. Maybe skip one snack or drink more water or whatever you think is one easy change. Go from there.

Good luck!

leejoyce31

Yes what you are doing is drastic and unsustainable. There are lots of post on getting started. Maybe you should put your profile stats in MFP and start with the calories it sets for you.

cerise_noir

Eat what myfitnesspal gives you. Eat food that you like.... No need to go drastic with a bunch or 'diet rules' and cut out a bunch of food. If you like whole eggs and white bread, eat them. I personally am not a fan of the whole wheat breads so I just stick to white. Relax. If anything, use a kitchen scale to weigh all the foods that you consume (use cups/spoons for liquids only). Log everything all the time. Log cooking oils, dressings, anything with calories gets logged. Eat adequate fats, fiber and protein. Carbs and fat aren't bad. Meal timing doesn't matter. There are no fattening foods. The only way to gain weight is to eat more calories than your body needs to maintain its current weight.

There's no need to feel sick and dizzy..

grinning_chick

If you weren't counting calories, I guarantee you were eating far more calories than you are estimating. Most people underestimate by significant quantities.

To get a more realistic number, just eat as you normally do for a week with very meticulous and accurate logging (i.e., weigh everything and verify against USDA and/or package label since entries here are frequently incorrect).

I can easily eat 4K instead of 1.6-1.7K calories a day with only small changes and deviations from my current daily intake.

Here's a great visual example of the very small difference between eating 1.6K and 3K calories a day. Be sure to open and read the captions: http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he.0609.calories-pg-photogallery.html

coachsaralee

You not eating enough. Starving yourself will make you lose weight but is not sustainable and or healthy. If you'd like more details on a healthy example, feel free to message me. I've lost over 80 lbs and kept it off over 3 years.

bethannien

I'm always shocked when I start logging again and weigh and measure everything. Because slowly, without fail when I stop logging, my estimates of what a heathy serving size looks like gets bigger and bigger until I'm probably eating 4-5 times what I should be.

This weekend, I was at a wedding and while still being mindful of my intake, I hit 2900 calories. That was while trying to make the best choices available to me. It's surprisingly easy to eat 3000 or more calories a day.

When I am trying to lose weight, I do incorporate more fiber and protein, things that help me stay full and satisfied. But when I try to cut out everything I like, I flame out. I feel tired and deprived and grumpy.

Find a way to eat that makes you feel good, helps you stay focused and leaves you satisfied. Set yourself up with a reasonable deficit with MFP, (personally, I'm in no rush so I set it up to lose .5 lb per week but many people will set it to 2 lb). Log everything. Weigh it on a digital scale so you know what you're logging is accurate.

You can do this.

zoeysasha37

If you never count then how do you know your intake is 2000-3000? The reason I ask is because I can easily eat 5000 calories per day when not being mindful or weighing foods.

1shedev

It's normal to feel crappy on this level of intake. It's also not necessary. Set up your food log and use it to help you to eat in a small deficit.

Gena575

What were you drinking before? Those symptoms sound very much like when I was ditching caffeine.

pdm3547

Your blood sugar level has crashed through the floor. You are not helping yourself. Take the excellent advice from this thread - my mantra is, log it or get fat. I eat a sensible amount up to the limit MFP gives me each day. I lose weight by doing this.

rankinsect

cheyennelee1738 wrote: »

So today is my first day of my intense diet. I'm 200 pounds, and I'm only 5'4. I decided last night I no longer wanted to be fat. My daily intake is usually 2,000-3,000. I never count I just eat. From the time I wake up too the time I go too sleep. Well today all I've had is 2 scrambled egg whites, 1 100% whole wheat toast, and 1 cup of strawberries. I feel so weak, and I'm so dizzy. And my head is hurting so bad. Is this normal??
This was just a sudden diet, cold turkey. So I'm thinking its normal, but at the same time I'm not sure??

The solution to significant overeating is not significant undereating.

Yes, dieting involves a form of undereating, but it's a controlled undereating, and as different from what you are doing as walking down the stairs is different from jumping off the balcony.

CattOfTheGarage

No, it is not normal to feel crappy when you start a healthy weight loss plan. It is normal to feel hungry, yes, even very hungry for the first few weeks until you adjust, but it is not normal to feel weak, dizzy or ill. I agree with others that you are probably not eating enough and need to revise your goals.

There is no sense in going to extremes, and nothing wrong with easing yourself into a change. I have just come back from a 3 week holiday during which I have been on maintenance calories - in other words, eating enough to neither lose nor gain weight. I now need to transition back to my plan to lose 1lb a week. I am not going to do that all at once - I'm going to spend at least a few days on a goal of half a pound a week to allow myself to readjust. This will make me more likely to transition successfully.

Be kind to your body and mind. Chronic overeating is abuse of your body. Starving yourself is just swapping one kind of abuse for another. You need to find the middle way.

lemurcat12

rankinsect wrote: »

cheyennelee1738 wrote: »

So today is my first day of my intense diet. I'm 200 pounds, and I'm only 5'4. I decided last night I no longer wanted to be fat. My daily intake is usually 2,000-3,000. I never count I just eat. From the time I wake up too the time I go too sleep. Well today all I've had is 2 scrambled egg whites, 1 100% whole wheat toast, and 1 cup of strawberries. I feel so weak, and I'm so dizzy. And my head is hurting so bad. Is this normal??
This was just a sudden diet, cold turkey. So I'm thinking its normal, but at the same time I'm not sure??

The solution to significant overeating is not significant undereating.

Yes, dieting involves a form of undereating, but it's a controlled undereating, and as different from what you are doing as walking down the stairs is different from jumping off the balcony.

Absolutely this. If you have substantial weight to lose, it's going to take a while, and then you will need to maintain the loss. You can't do either of those things with a dramatic, restrictive and unsatisfying, super low cal diet, and it's 100% not necessary. You will find that you can lose weight eating a sensible, calorie-appropriate and balanced diet with plenty of your favorite foods -- perhaps in smaller quantities or less often than before. You may find -- I did -- that being mindful about eating and eating less actually results in more satisfying meals, not less satisfying, as a lot of the excess calories were due to mindless eating or eating foods because they were there.

One approach is to log a week and then look to see where you can make easy cuts or substitutions (adding in more vegetables and often more lean protein in place of other foods can be helpful). If in a hurry to get started, log what you remember of the past week and do that. Or just think through how you'd like to eat and log it starting with MFP's projected calorie goal and some nutrition goals (like fiber, protein, fat) as structure. Lots of times if people have been eating thoughtlessly they just have no idea what a normal amount of food is, even on a diet (I am 5'3 and lost most of my weight eating around 1500-1600, which is WAY more than you report, of course, and I was never hungry even when losing 2 lb/week).

Pawsforme

rankinsect wrote: »

cheyennelee1738 wrote: »

So today is my first day of my intense diet. I'm 200 pounds, and I'm only 5'4. I decided last night I no longer wanted to be fat. My daily intake is usually 2,000-3,000. I never count I just eat. From the time I wake up too the time I go too sleep. Well today all I've had is 2 scrambled egg whites, 1 100% whole wheat toast, and 1 cup of strawberries. I feel so weak, and I'm so dizzy. And my head is hurting so bad. Is this normal??
This was just a sudden diet, cold turkey. So I'm thinking its normal, but at the same time I'm not sure??

The solution to significant overeating is not significant undereating.

Yes, dieting involves a form of undereating, but it's a controlled undereating, and as different from what you are doing as walking down the stairs is different from jumping off the balcony.

I agree.

There is nothing to be gained by being some kind of diet martyr. Starvation diets don't impress anyone here.

If you want to lose weight successfully and keep it off you need to take the long view. Starving yourself is a short term, no win situation. It will not work. In a few days (maybe less) you'll be so hungry you'll probably go on a binge. And then you'll think you're a weight loss failure and give up.

The sensible, sustainable approach is to run your numbers through MFP and see what it says is a good calorie intake for you to lose one to two pounds a week. Get a food scale and start weighing all your food. The key to success is making a lifestyle change that you can sustain, not starving yourself.

xvolution

How many calories are you eating on the new diet, and what is your goal weight? From experience eating less than the BMR of your goal weight is just asking for trouble. If you don't eat at least what it takes to keep your body alive at your goal weight, how are you going to keep healthy once you reach the goal weight?
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diannethegeek

@cheyennelee1738 it looks like you never came back to either of your two threads. Have you eaten some more today? Are you feeling any better? Still dizzy?

There are lots of people here who'd like to help you if we had some more information to work with.

Machka9

cheyennelee1738 wrote: »

So today is my first day of my intense diet. I'm 200 pounds, and I'm only 5'4. I decided last night I no longer wanted to be fat. My daily intake is usually 2,000-3,000. I never count I just eat. From the time I wake up too the time I go too sleep. Well today all I've had is 2 scrambled egg whites, 1 100% whole wheat toast, and 1 cup of strawberries. I feel so weak, and I'm so dizzy. And my head is hurting so bad. Is this normal??
This was just a sudden diet, cold turkey. So I'm thinking its normal, but at the same time I'm not sure??

That's all you've had for the whole day???

I'd be feeling weak and dizzy on that too!

Eat something!!

beetle_stomper

cheyennelee1738 wrote: »

So today is my first day of my intense diet. I'm 200 pounds, and I'm only 5'4. I decided last night I no longer wanted to be fat. My daily intake is usually 2,000-3,000. I never count I just eat. From the time I wake up too the time I go too sleep. Well today all I've had is 2 scrambled egg whites, 1 100% whole wheat toast, and 1 cup of strawberries. I feel so weak, and I'm so dizzy. And my head is hurting so bad. Is this normal??
This was just a sudden diet, cold turkey. So I'm thinking its normal, but at the same time I'm not sure??

This is not normal, it's extremely dangerous, and 100% non-sustainable.

As was said before, your blood sugar fell through the floor, which is what contributed to the dizziness and headache. The weakness is your body demanding sustenance, because you need to eat enough.

Trust me, I understand the feeling of "I need to lose this weight yesterday" but starvation (and that's what your "diet" is) just. Doesn't. Work. Not in the long run.

You didn't gain the weight overnight, you won't lose it overnight. If you're really serious about it, start with half a pound loss as the goal and stick to MFP's calorie recommendation. If it goes well, move it up to a full pound after a week or two. Anything worth doing is worth doing right. Hurting yourself is never the right way.