Withdrawal?

Hi guys, I wanted to ask a question- I’m on the fifth day of eating healthily, with a daily intake of around 12-13 hundred calories. The first three days I felt really positive, had a bunch of energy; day 4 felt very sluggish and had quite a low mood; today I’ve very little energy and a really thumping sore head. My question is: do you think this is some form of withdrawal from eating processed junk and if so, how long is it likely to last?
I can cope if I know it’s passing!

Replies

  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
    What is "healthily" to you? I asked as you'd want to ensure you're getting the proper micronutrients along with your macronutrients...all at a caloric level suitable to your goals.
  • susieseventyseven
    susieseventyseven Posts: 7 Member
    Hi, thanks for your reply 😊
    I’ve always cooked family meals from scratch and believe that I have a good balance of the macros (keep an eye on the pie for that). I used to skip breakfast and often lunch too, but would eat junk on the go; so for me, eating healthily means three small meals at regular intervals, with a massive reduction in the processed rubbish I had been eating instead. For example: porridge and skimmed milk for breakfast; homemade soup and a small sandwich for lunch; baked fish and salad, followed by a yoghurt for dinner; with maybe a satsuma and a small bag of light crisps as a snack if I’m looking for something else.
  • susieseventyseven
    susieseventyseven Posts: 7 Member
    edit: have just had it pointed out to me that as well as all the junk I ate, I also used to drink a LOT of tea/coffee, which I have also cut drastically (milk in your cuppa adds up!) so it seems I probably am having withdrawal- from caffeine 🙄 can’t believe I didn’t twig 🙄😂
  • susieseventyseven
    susieseventyseven Posts: 7 Member
    Did you stop or cut way back on your drinking caffeinated beverages like coke, iced tea, tea, coffee, Mountain Dew, Dr Pepper or any other caffeine drinks? Caffeine withdrawal will cause symptoms like what you describe.

    Yep! I think that’s it 🙈 I had never considered caffeine withdrawal because I cut it down purely so I wasn’t drinking so much milk- never even considered the caffeine. D’oh!

    [quote Why are you eating so little? 1200 is very low.
    Use this for basic rule of thumb:

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    [/quote]

    I had selected a 2lb/week weight loss in the goals section and MFP calculated that I should be aiming for 1200 cals/day. At 43 years old, 5’4”, only lightly active and with around 50lbs to lose, I think it’s reasonable? If I do a lot of activity in a day I will take in additional calories to maintain a net defecit as suggested above.

    Thank you for taking the time to reply 😊

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,905 Member
    edited July 2020
    oh, good! Yeah, caffeine withdrawal is awful. Have some coffee!!

    You could probably eat more - but I'm glad you understand that extra exercise also "earns" you more. Take a walk and you can have two coffees with milk. :)

    Honestly? I'd go for the "Lose 1 pound per week." You may find you are losing more or less than that, but I always would err on the side of eating as much as possible to maintain health and energy. 1400 is so much easier than 1200. So. Much.
  • Evamutt
    Evamutt Posts: 2,261 Member
    I'm 5'4" & my target was 50lbs & i did it losing 1 lb/wk & maintaining, make sure you eat enough to be sustainable
  • susieseventyseven
    susieseventyseven Posts: 7 Member
    Yep, seems I’m being a bit impatient 😭 had such a gain in lockdown- on top of what I was already carrying - that I just really wanted to be the hare...I know how that works out though, so will reassess x