Does anyone else get headaches while dieting?

raekrist7022

Hello!
I've been struggling with dieting for a long time as whenever I start I always get crippling headaches.
Usually if I can push through and continue with my diet the headaches stop after a few weeks.
But it's just getting to that point that I struggle with.
What are these headaches? Sugar/carb withdrawals?
Does anyone else get this?

shadow2soul

I only get headaches from “dieting” if I am not eating enough or am consuming less caffeine than normal.

jdog022

Are you drastically cutting back on caffeine? Some people cut out soda as part of “dieting” and don’t replace that caffeine with diet or something else and that sudden drop can cause brutal headaches. Short of that you could be cutting calories overall to steep and fast

kommodevaran

Healthy weightloss should make you feel better, not worse.
I don't think you can get withdrawal symptoms from cutting sugar/carbs.
It could be caffeine withdrawals, or eating too little, or dehydration.
Have you cut out cola drinks or coffee?
What's your calorie target, and are you hitting it?
If you're going keto, are you eating more salt?

Crazygraciegirl_

Caffeine withdrawal possibly?

And of course you knew you'd be asked this question, are you drinking enough water?

raekrist7022

My calorie goal is 1500. I have never drunk coffee, but I have gone from 2 cups of tea to one cup of tea a day but I didn't think there was a lot of caffeine in that?

I have cut out chocolates, could that be a cause?
I have always had this problem for as long as I can remember when trying to diet.

raekrist7022

Oh and yes I always drink plenty of water, no matter how much I drink I will still get the headache around noon and it will just get worse and worse until I go to bed and sleep it off. Then it repeats the next day for a few weeks.

jdog022

The next question is going to be us figuring out if 1500 is to low a target or not. We will need your stats and goal for weight loss per week

raekrist7022

I am 152lbs and 5ft 4, female. I intended to lose 1lb a week. Goal being 126lbs.

AnnPT77

Are there any foods you eat when calorie-restricting that you don't otherwise normally eat? (I'm wondering about food sensitivity/allegy as a possibility.)

Are there any foods or drinks you almost always have normally, that you cut out entirely while calorie restricting?

Do you sharply cut fat intake when you cut calories, to a level lower than 0.3-0.4g of a healthy goal weight? (Too-low fat doesn't usually cause headaches but I can think of some cascading dominos that could end up there.)

Have you considered cutting calories gradually as a strategy, to see if that helps? Maybe log what you'd normally eat to start, then cut 50-100 every day or two until you get to your actual calorie goal? This might give you some clues about what changes or foods are causing the effect, or help avoid it via taper if it's an adaptation problem.

jdog022

Had to make some assumptions that your about 30 and lightly active so keep that in mind but base calculations put you closer to 1600. These are just baselines and anyone can be an outlier and maybe more active..

my recommendation is to up to at least 1700 and see if headaches go away. You’ll probably still lose at a great rate. Being miserable is not sustainable

ETA that’s 1700 tdee meaning it includes any exercise. I’m not a fan of the NEAT method and eating back exercise calories and figuring that out every day

raekrist7022

Almost all correct but I'm 26. I'm not eating anything new, but I have eliminated bread and all chocolates.
I think you're right and I will have to try to cut down gradually as this happens to me every time and I can't keep up with it as the headaches get too debilitating.
I will up my calorie intake to 1700 tomorrow and see if it makes a difference.

jdog022

raekrist7022 wrote: »

Almost all correct but I'm 26. I'm not eating anything new, but I have eliminated bread and all chocolates.
I think you're right and I will have to try to cut down gradually as this happens to me every time and I can't keep up with it as the headaches get too debilitating.
I will up my calorie intake to 1700 tomorrow and see if it makes a difference.

Good luck!!

FlyingMolly

You mentioned carbs and sugar; are you restricting those above and beyond your other calories? If you’re quite low-carb it could be keto flu, which feels like a hangover. You can counteract that replenishing your electrolytes and getting more salt in your diet.

raekrist7022

I'd definitely say sugar is drastically reduced. And carbs yes, but not as much as the sugar. It does feel like a hangover!!

vanityy99

When I lower my carb intake and skip out on my coffee, I tend to get a headache.

nutmegoreo

raekrist7022 wrote: »

I'd definitely say sugar is drastically reduced. And carbs yes, but not as much as the sugar. It does feel like a hangover!!

What is your carb count, your fibre amount, and sodium intake? I am also wondering about keto flu.

kommodevaran

Are you logging your food intake? Are you exercising a lot without eating back exercise calories?

YvetteK2015

There is still caffeine in chocolate. I'm a migraineur, and I know many who will only eat chocolate when they get a migraine because of the caffeine in it will help take the headache away. I'm not saying you have migraines, I'm just saying that stopping all the chocolate could be triggering a part of your headaches. Part of a caffeine withdraw.

Hope you feel better soon.

raekrist7022

I do suffer from migraines occasionally so have always just assumed that it's something to do with lack of sugar that's triggered it whenever I diet but as many people have mentioned perhaps it's caffeine. Have just had to sleep for 2 hours as the headache got so bad! Certainly does not make it easy.

AnnPT77

FlyingMolly wrote: »

You mentioned carbs and sugar; are you restricting those above and beyond your other calories? If you’re quite low-carb it could be keto flu, which feels like a hangover. You can counteract that replenishing your electrolytes and getting more salt in your diet.

That's a potentially useful unsight! Not being a keto-er, that ppossibility didn't occur to me.

jdog022

Need to be sub 50 carbs to hit keto flu. Most people can’t do that without really planning a day out. It’s worth mentioning and considering tho. I’d still guess to steep a deficit unless OP says she’s following keto

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CharlieBeansmomTracey

FlyingMolly wrote: »

You mentioned carbs and sugar; are you restricting those above and beyond your other calories? If you’re quite low-carb it could be keto flu, which feels like a hangover. You can counteract that replenishing your electrolytes and getting more salt in your diet.

ive never heard of the keto flu feeling like an hangover its more associated to feeling like you have the regular flu

CharlieBeansmomTracey

jdog022 wrote: »

Need to be sub 50 carbs to hit keto flu. Most people can’t do that without really planning a day out. It’s worth mentioning and considering tho. I’d still guess to steep a deficit unless OP says she’s following keto

actually no you dont. you get keto flu because your body depletes water which can effect electrolyte balance and with lower carbs your body also depletes glycogen. many have hit keto flu at higher amounts. I had it at 50g net or a little higher. I stopped mine due to it exacerbating health issues due to another health issue I didnt know I had at the time.the headaches can be caused just from low carb,I know for me that causes mine if its too low I have headaches and other issues But that doesnt mean its going to be like that for everyone

FlyingMolly

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

FlyingMolly wrote: »

You mentioned carbs and sugar; are you restricting those above and beyond your other calories? If you’re quite low-carb it could be keto flu, which feels like a hangover. You can counteract that replenishing your electrolytes and getting more salt in your diet.

ive never heard of the keto flu feeling like an hangover its more associated to feeling like you have the regular flu

It's unfortunately named, but as you pointed out in your next comment keto flu due to water loss flushing out too many electrolytes. Which doesn't HAVE to be caused by keto, since it's basically exactly what happens when you drink way too much water for any reason and pass it, or when you cause yourself to sweat excessively, and of course if you consume more than a moderate amount of a diuretic, such as alcohol, thereby causing a hangover.

Aches, headaches, fatigue, and nausea can all be symptoms of the regular flu, but without congestion or a fever they're likely to be more recognizable when compared to a hangover.

If that's the case, OP, a banana and some dark chocolate with sea salt should get you back on your feet.

peggy_polenta

if you are going low carb or keto, you likely haveketo flu. your body needs to adapt to ketosis and it takes about 2-3 weeks. then you will feel fantastic.

kiela64

Ill only add this because it’s my experience and no one else said it. Are you tracking macros & protein? Also meal timing - has this changed at all?

I needed to pay a lot more attention to when I ate to avoid headaches. I ended up needing to carry protein bars and nuts and fruit because I can run low without much warning and get headaches from not eating enough- especially when I was eating too low calorie (without realizing).

My experience was that I need to get about 20g of protein at breakfast, give or take, with some carbs and fat, to avoid getting a headache in the morning/feeling ravenous and lethargic - a feeling that, for me, would last all day if triggered.

Cutting out any of the macros at a meal would leave me prone to headaches as well. I also learned I need to eat a solid small meal/large snack at 3pm ish, or I get tired and headachey.

My body is apparently very picky with meal composition and timing, but generally for me what worked was more food earlier in the day and making sure to track protein intake.

Everyone is different and my SO doesn’t eat breakfast or lunch and feels no effects, so I’m not telling you this because I think it’s the way to go. But just to support the idea of watching and listening to what helps you feel better in terms of macros & meal timing.

Also as a generally headache prone gal I’ve also noticed - neck stretches, chest openers, and being mindful of your posture are also great. Change can be stressful, and you can become physically tense without realizing.

CharlieBeansmomTracey

FlyingMolly wrote: »

CharlieBeansmomTracey wrote: »

FlyingMolly wrote: »

You mentioned carbs and sugar; are you restricting those above and beyond your other calories? If you’re quite low-carb it could be keto flu, which feels like a hangover. You can counteract that replenishing your electrolytes and getting more salt in your diet.

ive never heard of the keto flu feeling like an hangover its more associated to feeling like you have the regular flu

It's unfortunately named, but as you pointed out in your next comment keto flu due to water loss flushing out too many electrolytes. Which doesn't HAVE to be caused by keto, since it's basically exactly what happens when you drink way too much water for any reason and pass it, or when you cause yourself to sweat excessively, and of course if you consume more than a moderate amount of a diuretic, such as alcohol, thereby causing a hangover.

Aches, headaches, fatigue, and nausea can all be symptoms of the regular flu, but without congestion or a fever they're likely to be more recognizable when compared to a hangover.

If that's the case, OP, a banana and some dark chocolate with sea salt should get you back on your feet.

yes but you are also flushing out glycogen as well. and drinking too much water to where you flush out too many electrolytes usually causes more than a hangover feeling it can cause convulsions,confusion,coma in extreme cases and so on. thats why when doing keto they tell you to up your potassium,magnesium and sodium. keto flushes out elecrolytes yes but it shouldnt be to the effect drinking too much water (hyponatremia) which can also kill you in some cases.

I havent heard of anyone dying from keto though. but never heard of ketoers having those issues like hyponatremia can cause. as for alcohol thats an entirely different story and not everyone gets hangovers. but thats a whole different thread lol

keto or low carb for some is just not sustainable and some people wont be able to do it. now if she has headaches and other issues and isnt doing keto then I would suggest seeing a dr to see why the headaches are coming on. could be weather,allergies,sinus issues,etc

CharlieBeansmomTracey

karen8787 wrote: »

if you are going low carb or keto, you likely haveketo flu. your body needs to adapt to ketosis and it takes about 2-3 weeks. then you will feel fantastic.

she may feel fantastic. not everyone who does keto feels this way and not everyone gets keto flu ,but its possible

ghudson92

You'd be surprised how much cutting out one cup of tea can affect you! I have a black coffee in the morning and a cup of tea mid afternoon. If I ever miss that cup of tea I get the worst headache going.