Can dieting cause things like sleep issues and mood problems?

dave_in_ni
dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I started my healthy regime shall we call it about 4 years ago now, I've lost 80lbs which is great however it seems to have come at a cost. For the first year or so all was great, but since then my sleep has went to crap and no matter whats been tried nothing has worked, then there is things like anxiety and low mood which I never had before either. In regards to sleep its tricky because I fall asleep fine but wake after 3-4 hours and struggle to get back to sleep. I have not had a full nights sleep since before I jumped on this band wagon. Even now if I eat at maintenance it doesn't really seem to help. Its like the damage has been done. My doctor did say extreme dieting can trigger anxiety disorder in people prone to it, and while I don't diet to extremes anymore its already been triggered.

Replies

  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,393 Member
    It can be un-triggered.

    And yeah, I have to eat enough (but not too much.) That's where exercise comes in really handy.

    You don't mention how much exercise you're getting?

    1. It helps a lot with sleep and mood regulation, especially anxiety
    2. Exercise allows me to eat enough so that I don't get those intrusive thoughts due to hunger
  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
    cmriverside wrote: »
    It can be un-triggered.

    And yeah, I have to eat enough (but not too much.) That's where exercise comes in really handy.

    You don't mention how much exercise you're getting?

    1. It helps a lot with sleep and mood regulation, especially anxiety
    2. Exercise allows me to eat enough so that I don't get those intrusive thoughts due to hunger

    Ah the exercise became quite obsessive which apparently is a bad thing, It lead to tired but wired. At the moment I lift weights 4-5 times per week, takes about 45 mins per session, then at the weekends I just go for a couple of nice 5k walks, nothing very exciting. But then when I take my work into play, I am a trademan and on my feet from 6-5pm 5 days per week clocking up 17k steps per day so I am fairly active.
  • Mithridites
    Mithridites Posts: 600 Member
    kshama2001 wrote: »
    springlering62 wrote: »
    Totally anecdotal but I have hip and joint aches. If I take alleve at night, I sleep through so much better. It always surprises me how much constantly shifting to relieve achy joints interrupts my sleep.

    That and cats. 🤷🏻‍♀️

    Ugh, he woke me up @ 4 times the other night >.<

    I keep telling my OH to lock him out when he puts him out in the AM, but he doesn't want to do that to World's Most Spoiled Cat.

    You think that's bad, my dog's snoring wakes me up a couple times a week. He's a 13 pound Maltese and I wear ear-plugs to bed. I'm thinking HE should have a sleep study :smiley:
  • dragon_girl26
    dragon_girl26 Posts: 2,187 Member
    springlering62 wrote: »
    Totally anecdotal but I have hip and joint aches. If I take alleve at night, I sleep through so much better. It always surprises me how much constantly shifting to relieve achy joints interrupts my sleep.

    That and cats. 🤷🏻‍♀️

    You and me both!

    Since the amount of daylight has been decreasing lately, my cats have suddenly decided that 4 AM is a good time to loudly demand to be fed.
  • Diatonic12
    Diatonic12 Posts: 32,344 Member
    Dave, your job would give anyone anxiety. Sounds like you've been working so very hard. You need a vacay.
  • MT1134
    MT1134 Posts: 173 Member
    Food definitely plays a part in how you well you sleep. It's not just calories alone but more importantly the type of foods you're eating. Sounds like you have a level of cortisol running through you. It's a complex system we are working with but you have to manage more than just exercise and nutrition, your entire lifestyle from work to relationships also plays into these things.

    It can be rather expensive but a good solution to learn more about what your issues are and why they exist is to go see a homeopathic medicine practitioner of some sort. They have done wonderful things for the health and medicine community. A lot of the suggestions you'll get on here (from myself included) are all well intentioned but this can lead to a serious issue later in life for you causing some serious health problems if you don't deal with it now.

  • dave_in_ni
    dave_in_ni Posts: 533 Member
    Orphia wrote: »
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    I started my healthy regime shall we call it about 4 years ago now, I've lost 80lbs which is great however it seems to have come at a cost. For the first year or so all was great, but since then my sleep has went to crap and no matter whats been tried nothing has worked, then there is things like anxiety and low mood which I never had before either. In regards to sleep its tricky because I fall asleep fine but wake after 3-4 hours and struggle to get back to sleep. I have not had a full nights sleep since before I jumped on this band wagon. Even now if I eat at maintenance it doesn't really seem to help. Its like the damage has been done. My doctor did say extreme dieting can trigger anxiety disorder in people prone to it, and while I don't diet to extremes anymore its already been triggered.
    dave_in_ni wrote: »
    Ah the exercise became quite obsessive which apparently is a bad thing, It lead to tired but wired. At the moment I lift weights 4-5 times per week, takes about 45 mins per session, then at the weekends I just go for a couple of nice 5k walks, nothing very exciting. But then when I take my work into play, I am a trademan and on my feet from 6-5pm 5 days per week clocking up 17k steps per day so I am fairly active.

    This sounds like me. I just could not read the signs.

    It all came crashing down in March when the stress of life and a mild case of COVID-19 led to me now recovering from a stint in hospital, getting lots of blood tests and healthcare, and sleeping 9 and a half hours a night.

    I am very tired and unable to walk or run much, but my body said it was time to rest, so I'm resting. Slowly building back up a little. But I don't want to go back to an unsustainable level of exercise, or push myself all the time like I was.

    I sent you a friend request.

    Accepted. Hope you get better soon.

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