Getting Dizzy After Weight Loss
Simbii95
Posts: 25 Member
Hello everyone! Hope y'all doing well! In the past 5 months ive lost about 10kg. Ive been doing the Insanity Program and eating good and healthy. What ive noticed is lately ive been having a bit of dizziness when I stand up real quick or jump out of bad. Even during my workouts if I have to get up real quick such as during suicides, I feel im getting a little light headed. Has anyone else had something similar or is this one for the doctor? Id appreciate the help. Also, is this rate of weight loss healthy or have I messed up? Thank you so much!!
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Replies
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How many calories are you eating a day? Are you eating back your exercise calories? Are you drinking enough water?1
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In addition to @harper16's questions, what is your daily sodium intake like?0
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Ive been eating between 1800-2000. I never had this issue before only after losing weight. Hydration may be an issue I think tbh0
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ive actually been avoiding sodium as much as possible haha. Yeah im new to all this so if im making any stupid mistakes please do educate me1
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you need some sodium, especially if you're sweating a lot. if you're not hydrating, that's unhealthy, particularly if you're sweating a lot. drink water!!! your body is made of it, your blood is mostly water, and if you don't replace it, your body can't function well and you put a much greater strain on it.
but there are other things it could be. low blood sugar, low blood pressure, high blood pressure, high blood sugar, for starters. and lots more. are you eating enough protein? extremely low carbs? high sugar?
if hydrating doesn't do the trick, a trip to the doctor for a blood panel might discover something like anemia.4 -
I know if my heart rate is really high from exercise and then I do anything where my head is below my heart (mountain climbers, downdog, stretching etc) I sometimes get a rush of dizziness. I suspect this is just head rush because my hearts pumping hard and then I woosh myself into a non-normal position.
But it sounds like you name want to pay attention to stuff mentioned and if there’s no improvement visit your doc.0 -
FWIW, I had this problem as a child and the doctor said it was an iron deficiency and determined I was very anemic.5
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I've experienced something similar, and with more and more weight loss it progressed into also going blind for a few minutes, and eventually fainting. It would happen especially when standing up (even slowly), exercising, taking warm (not even hot) or cold showers, and eventually just any random time. I would get dizzy and go blind almost every day. My logs show it happening 2 times right after waking up before getting out of bed, 10 times while taking a shivering cold shower, 2 times during midterms, 1 time while I was sitting in my car at a red light, 5 times while sitting and studying. 3 times while watching Netflix, and 1 time while on a walk with a friend, 30 times while standing up normally. I would faint about 1 time every 2 weeks, 2 times while exercising, 5 times while taking a warm shower, 2 times while sitting and studying, 5 times while standing up quickly (2 of those times were on a buss). I started logging to try to present to a GP.
General practitioners will not do anything to help you and will tell you this is normal. I went to 5 general practitioners in College Station Texas who all were along the same lines of useless.
I tried, all sorts of vitamins to see if it might be a vitamin deficiency, iron supplements, increasing salt, decreasing salt. Nothing worked. The only way for me to make it stop was to gain back weight.
If you go to the GP be prepared for doctors to drop gems like "carry around candy and eat it all the time to see if that will stop it." "You followed my instructions from last visit? I don't remember that? You're eating too much sugar, that's why you were passing out", "You're probably pre-diabetic" "Your blood sugar levels and blood pressure are a bit low, but that's fine, it's a sign of good health, maybe eat some candy to stop blood sugar drops", "I think the fact you're getting dizzy randomly is a sign you're getting healthy." and said in the most vitriolic tone: "If you want to be fat, be fat, I don't care!"0 -
Most likely it’s orthostatic hypotension and is pretty normal. It’s a temporary drop in blood pressure when standing. You just have to take those movements a little slower and/or be prepared to pause for a sec after standing up.5
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PS Can’t edit the above, just wanted to add, this assumes you recover quickly. If it hangs on longer, then it’s a good idea to see doc. When you were heavier you probably weren’t jumping around like this so it wasn’t an issue.1
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ive actually been avoiding sodium as much as possible haha. Yeah im new to all this so if im making any stupid mistakes please do educate me
How's your blood pressure? Mine used to be low and I was often light headed on standing. I ate a lot less salt then. Now I eat a lot more salt, my blood pressure is normal, and I only get light headed when my anemia gets out of control.
I've just mentioned two medical issues that can cause light-headedness - best not to self-diagnose - see your doctor.3 -
kshama2001 wrote: »ive actually been avoiding sodium as much as possible haha. Yeah im new to all this so if im making any stupid mistakes please do educate me
How's your blood pressure? Mine used to be low and I was often light headed on standing. I ate a lot less salt then. Now I eat a lot more salt, my blood pressure is normal, and I only get light headed when my anemia gets out of control.
I've just mentioned two medical issues that can cause light-headedness - best not to self-diagnose - see your doctor.
I had the same, low blood pressure and feeling light headed and dizzy when standing up quickly but eating a bit more salt really helped.0 -
Are you on a medication?...it might be too strong since your weight changed...why not ask your doctor?1
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Thank you all for your comments! Im not on any medication and have no underlying medical condition that im aware or anyways. The doctors and much of the internet doesn't have much to offer if anything. The same old eat more food, drink more water, increase sodium. Its strange because I had my first black out today. Was laying down on the cough and as I got up (I did get up a bit quickly) I just saw black and heard a crash. When I came too I realized I was on the floor. Incredibly bizarre and frightening experience. Ive lost 25ish pounds over the last 5 months mainly through caloric deficit and the Insanity workout. Im just surprised as I thought my CVS should get stronger not this. Im not sue I guess ill experiment with different things see what makes this go away because other than an inconvenience its just frightening. Thanks everyone!!1
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Thank you all for your comments! Im not on any medication and have no underlying medical condition that im aware or anyways. The doctors and much of the internet doesn't have much to offer if anything. The same old eat more food, drink more water, increase sodium. Its strange because I had my first black out today. Was laying down on the cough and as I got up (I did get up a bit quickly) I just saw black and heard a crash. When I came too I realized I was on the floor. Incredibly bizarre and frightening experience. Ive lost 25ish pounds over the last 5 months mainly through caloric deficit and the Insanity workout. Im just surprised as I thought my CVS should get stronger not this. Im not sue I guess ill experiment with different things see what makes this go away because other than an inconvenience its just frightening. Thanks everyone!!
You went to the doctor's?0 -
Up your sodium and other electrolytes. The lower your sodium the less water your body will retain in order to maintain a balance.
Itd be good to get your blood pressure checked. I bought an at home monitor in order to check every morning to establish a base line.
I definitely agree going to a doctor. Vertigo isnt good.1 -
@harper16 Yeah I did. They didn't really do much for me. They just took my bp and said all is normal. Resting bp was normal and so is blood glucose and stuff. They just gave me some regular advice like oh slow down when getting up and stuff, increase ur sodium like @jessef593 and everyone else said, increase hydration and food, but nothing else. Todays black out and waking up on the floor scared the crap outta me. Docs just said oh it happens to some people after weight loss but couldn't really offer me a proper reason or a definitive fix for it lol2
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Blacking out differs to 'just' being dizzy. I'd contact your doctor again and explain what has happened.
A few years ago, I had dizzy spells - would come on suddenly, the world would spin for a few moments and then it would pass. I finally went to my GP when I had a bad episode that resulted in the world going yellow, my hearing faded and I thought I was actually going to faint. As it happened, that was the last episode I had but it scared me enough to see our staff nurse. The suggestion at the time was that I'd potentially had an inner ear infection.
Blacking out is a change in symptoms, therefore it's worth seeking further medical advice.5 -
Please do not drive if you are suffering from blackouts, and please consider having someone with you when you go out in public. When I was suffering from blackouts I lost my license til I went a few months without one.5
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Ask your MD to refer you for a "Tilt-Table Test."3
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My son experiences this same thing. He stands up, blacks out momentarily (sometimes falling over, sometimes not) and then is fine. He is currently 15, and getting taller and taller, but no wider. His doctor sent him to every specialist under the sun, including heart, ortho, and endo, and no one found anything problematic. The final conclusion was that, with his increasing height, his blood pressure drops because the blood volume is just not enough to fully oxygenate his brain when he first stands. He was recommended, just as many people above have said, to drink more water and get more salt and electrolytes to increase blood volume. Now, I don't know if this relates at all to what you have posted, but it is evidently extremely common with young men. I do agree you should see a doctor just in case, but I just wanted to reassure you that it could be something as simple as this. Good luck!0
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This will sound bizarre, but you might want to ask your doctor to check your blood pressure in the upper and lower half of your body. I had a friend at college who had a blood vessel that was nearly blocked. He was fine at rest but when he did anything active his blood could not get back into his upper body fast enough and he would feel dizzy or blackout.0
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I've experienced something similar, and with more and more weight loss it progressed into also going blind for a few minutes, and eventually fainting. It would happen especially when standing up (even slowly), exercising, taking warm (not even hot) or cold showers, and eventually just any random time. I would get dizzy and go blind almost every day. My logs show it happening 2 times right after waking up before getting out of bed, 10 times while taking a shivering cold shower, 2 times during midterms, 1 time while I was sitting in my car at a red light, 5 times while sitting and studying. 3 times while watching Netflix, and 1 time while on a walk with a friend, 30 times while standing up normally. I would faint about 1 time every 2 weeks, 2 times while exercising, 5 times while taking a warm shower, 2 times while sitting and studying, 5 times while standing up quickly (2 of those times were on a buss). I started logging to try to present to a GP.
General practitioners will not do anything to help you and will tell you this is normal. I went to 5 general practitioners in College Station Texas who all were along the same lines of useless.
I tried, all sorts of vitamins to see if it might be a vitamin deficiency, iron supplements, increasing salt, decreasing salt. Nothing worked. The only way for me to make it stop was to gain back weight.
If you go to the GP be prepared for doctors to drop gems like "carry around candy and eat it all the time to see if that will stop it." "You followed my instructions from last visit? I don't remember that? You're eating too much sugar, that's why you were passing out", "You're probably pre-diabetic" "Your blood sugar levels and blood pressure are a bit low, but that's fine, it's a sign of good health, maybe eat some candy to stop blood sugar drops", "I think the fact you're getting dizzy randomly is a sign you're getting healthy." and said in the most vitriolic tone: "If you want to be fat, be fat, I don't care!"
@anacline, bravo! I am going through exactly the same symptoms and issues since starting weight loss. I have visited numerous doctors and received diagnoses varying from small scale stroke, anemia, to vitamin/mineral deficiency.
The one correlation with blackout episodes is a weight loss of 2 or more pounds, as in a whoosh. Each time that I have blacked out and fallen I have experienced a drop in weight. These have become more frequent as I get closer to my goal weight. I am now 20 pounds from goal weight and the blackouts increase with my decreasing weight. Not trying to be too thin, just the ideal weight for a woman of my height and frame.0 -
If you have problem with having dizziness while get up or exercising, try to do the test with your boold pressure: measure it twice in stand up position and twice in sitting down postion. It may be different if you have orthostatic pressure difference, standing could be lower than sitting. It s very common. Docs even don t concider it as problem. To make your life easier, just consume more salt ( about 5000 mg a day), electrolites and water. When you exercise and start feeling the rush of blackness, just imaging that all your blood have been streammed to you huge muscles of legs, back, abs. When you brain feels shortness of oxigen it very greedily wants to get it all back. You brain like another person living inside of you, can manipulate your activities. It s trying to put you horizontally to even the blood flow back to itself. Best to sit down and put your head down between your legs or just touch the floor with your hands.0
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Could be several things. How do you actually breathe? Is it cadenced? When losing weight you have a tendency to move faster and if you're breathing is incorrect, then you can get dizzy. Every exertion should be a breath out. IE when you do a push up, breath in on the way down and blow out on the way up.
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saralukies wrote: »My son experiences this same thing. He stands up, blacks out momentarily (sometimes falling over, sometimes not) and then is fine. He is currently 15, and getting taller and taller, but no wider. His doctor sent him to every specialist under the sun, including heart, ortho, and endo, and no one found anything problematic. The final conclusion was that, with his increasing height, his blood pressure drops because the blood volume is just not enough to fully oxygenate his brain when he first stands. He was recommended, just as many people above have said, to drink more water and get more salt and electrolytes to increase blood volume. Now, I don't know if this relates at all to what you have posted, but it is evidently extremely common with young men. I do agree you should see a doctor just in case, but I just wanted to reassure you that it could be something as simple as this. Good luck!
My fiance is 35 and has had this happen as well. Usually it is first thing in the morning when going to the bathroom. He now makes sure to take a rest in between sitting up in bed and standing.
It made me very nervous at first, but it is surprisingly common. He has unmedicated high blood pressure, so we have been working on that, and his numbers are getting better.
OP, I think you should seek another doctor/second opinion as this is something a doctor should want you to get a handle on. It is very unsafe, and could be much worse the next time it happens(could hit your head on a counter, or blackout while driving, anything). The doctor you are currently seeing should not be brushing it off.1 -
I'm not a doctor, but yes, dizziness on its own can be anything. The positive thing is it could be that you are standing up faster than you used to because you got rid of that extra weight and also strengthened your body. When we stand up our blood pressure takes a sudden & fast drop, and that can cause dizziness. Do you monitor your blood pressure to know if your readings are are high or low? Of course it could also be dehydration, malnutrition, an infection or just anything.
I doubt you'd need sodium except for if you have some underlying health condition (e.g. hyponatremia), but if you are eating healthy even if you don't use salt, you should be consuming the 1,000 mg of sodium suggested as adults' RDA from the AHA.0 -
Are you eating back your exercise calories? With MFP that should be a yes.
I spent a couple of months coming real close to blacking out eso from crouching or bending over, being very dizzy and lightheaded when I stood up, etc. Turns out I needed to watch my protein intake and calories. I wasn't eating enough of either. Not even close.
MFP doesn't add exercise calories into its daily calories, which is why it's a separate category in its calculations. Nor was I drinking enough water.
On your diary page, scroll to the bottom and click on nutrition. Then at the top of should say calories, nutrients, and macros. Forget the macros.
Click on calories, it'll give you your total calories, net calories, and goal calories. Total is how much you've logged in calories for today. Goal is the goal the app set for you to eat.
Net is calories you've eaten minus your exercise calories. Your net calories should be over 1000 calories, preferably close to or at your goal calories for the day, esp if it's 1200 calories, which is minimum to keep your body working properly while being in a deficit to lose weight.
Let's say your goal is 1200 calories. You exercise and burn 300 calories. That makes your net intake to run your body 900. You don't eat those calories back for a while let's say a couple of months. The effects of doing that will eventually catch up with you one way or another since you're not eating enough to maintain the (good) health your body is running out of stored nutrients and eating your muscle mass, etc. You need to eat those 300 calories back to get to 1200 calories minimum.
Go to the nutrients page next and check on how you're doing on meeting those needs to. I have disordered eating and depression and some days it's a real struggle to get in enough calories and nutrients and it shows that on this screen.
I noticed my protein intake was way too low (like 20 grams for the day) way too often and have been concentrating on trying to make it to least 50g if not the full protein goal for the day. Other nutrients too low too. My hair has stopped falling out too! Yay!! Vitamins are great while figuring this out.
MFP is unfortunately quite limited in the nutrients it tracks. You may want to check out Cronometer, which allows you track all the nutrients in the foods you eat for free to see what's going on with your nutrition at that level too if you're still having problems after using MFP.
Be sure you're drinking enough water too. Google how much you should drink in a day of water and try to get it in. Dehydration can also be a factor/cause of this. Also a factor in developing kidney stones. Ask me how I know. 🤔🙁😭😭😭😭😭 They do not feel good. At all.
HTH
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