Losing my temper

MoiKarina
MoiKarina Posts: 139 Member
in Motivation and Support
Hey guys,

I've been on a diet for 5 weeks now and lost 6 kilos (13 pounds) but I noticed something changed in me apart from my body, it's my temper. I'm usually pretty easy going and relaxed. I noticed recently that I became moody and over-sensitive.

Did anyone else experience this kind of situation?
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Replies

  • Ian_Stuart
    Ian_Stuart Posts: 252 Member
    Without being able to see your diary it is hard to be sure, but I would guess that you are eating too far under your TDEE. Your body's hormones start to change when you get too few calories for an extended period. What are your daily calorie goals and how many have you been actually eating?
  • pinkraynedropjacki
    pinkraynedropjacki Posts: 3,027 Member
    Could be just a low tolerance for bull crap.
  • MoiKarina
    MoiKarina Posts: 139 Member
    My goal is 1500 but most of the time I use around 900/1000.
  • DoNotSpamMe73
    DoNotSpamMe73 Posts: 286 Member
    Hey guys,

    I've been on a diet for 5 weeks now and lost 6 kilos (13 pounds) but I noticed something changed in me apart from my body, it's my temper. I'm usually pretty easy going and relaxed. I noticed recently that I became moody and over-sensitive.

    Did anyone else experience this kind of situation?

    Everybody has a different reaction to less calorie intake and for many increased physical activity. It can make you tired and sensitive.
  • Ian_Stuart
    Ian_Stuart Posts: 252 Member
    Oddly enough you need to eat more. If your TDEE is 1800-2000 and MFP sets your goal around 1500 then you should try to regularly be near that number. Every once in a while having a day down around 1000 calories is fine, but it should not be your norm.

    The first few sections of this FAQ should help explain better than I can: http://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/faq
  • MyouTakaraTriesAgain
    MyouTakaraTriesAgain Posts: 68
    900-1000?! NO WONDER YOU'RE GRUMPY! EEEAAATTTT!

    Seriously. Those snickers commercials didn't come from nowhere.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    900-1000?! NO WONDER YOU'RE GRUMPY! EEEAAATTTT!

    Seriously. Those snickers commercials didn't come from nowhere.

    This. Not to be rude, but yeah.
  • MoiKarina
    MoiKarina Posts: 139 Member
    Did you experience something similar yourself?
  • MoiKarina
    MoiKarina Posts: 139 Member
    Oddly enough you need to eat more. If your TDEE is 1800-2000 and MFP sets your goal around 1500 then you should try to regularly be near that number. Every once in a while having a day down around 1000 calories is fine, but it should not be your norm.

    The first few sections of this FAQ should help explain better than I can: http://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/faq

    Thanks for your answer. I'm just so scared to stop losing weight that I have a tendency to skip meals. I'm aware it's bad but it's stronger than me.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Did you experience something similar yourself?

    Do a search on the word "hangry."
  • sybrix
    sybrix Posts: 134 Member
    You sound lke me when I skip breakfast, lol. Seriously, I get pretty cranky when my blood sugar levels drop. It's such a stark contrast to my normal demeanor that I've long since been able to tell when the hangriness starts to kick in, even before I started losing weight. Some people are just more sensitive to it.

    There's eating a sensible deficit, and then there's eating so little that your body hates you and thus you hate everything. If that's what you're doing, you are not doing yourself any favors by depriving yourself of 500+ extra calories you need to stay fit and sane.

    Eat your 1500! If you feel yourself getting cranky have a healthy snack, like an apple.
  • jennifer_417
    jennifer_417 Posts: 12,344 Member
    Oddly enough you need to eat more. If your TDEE is 1800-2000 and MFP sets your goal around 1500 then you should try to regularly be near that number. Every once in a while having a day down around 1000 calories is fine, but it should not be your norm.

    The first few sections of this FAQ should help explain better than I can: http://www.reddit.com/r/xxfitness/wiki/faq

    Thanks for your answer. I'm just so scared to stop losing weight that I have a tendency to skip meals. I'm aware it's bad but it's stronger than me.

    That's worrisome. You may want to think about consulting a counselor, because that borderline eating disorder behavior.
  • sami_83
    sami_83 Posts: 161
    Sounds like you're 'hangry'. If I am hungry I get VERY short tempered, but I recognise when it's going to happen and I make sure I get some food into me (thankfully it's rare- I love food too much).
    Food is your friend, not your enemy. Eat.
  • MoiKarina
    MoiKarina Posts: 139 Member
    Do a search on the word "hangry."
    [/quote]

    I didn't have a clue this existed. Now I'm reassured kinda to know it's not just me.
  • MoiKarina
    MoiKarina Posts: 139 Member
    Sounds like you're 'hangry'. If I am hungry I get VERY short tempered, but I recognise when it's going to happen and I make sure I get some food into me (thankfully it's rare- I love food too much).
    Food is your friend, not your enemy. Eat.

    It's not just that I consider food to be my enemy it's also that I don't eat what I like anymore. I'm a good cook so I can eat very tasty meals with just veggs and lean meat and nearly no fat. But it doesn't give me the pleasure a greasy burger with cheese and curry fries used to give me. I feel less attracted to eat when I know it's veg and lean meat. And I know there's a wide variety of vegetables and I can eat fish and sea food as well and so on ... But on a daily bases I just miss comfort food and prefer to skip meal than not having what I want.
  • MoiKarina
    MoiKarina Posts: 139 Member
    You sound lke me when I skip breakfast, lol. Seriously, I get pretty cranky when my blood sugar levels drop. It's such a stark contrast to my normal demeanor that I've long since been able to tell when the hangriness starts to kick in, even before I started losing weight. Some people are just more sensitive to it.

    There's eating a sensible deficit, and then there's eating so little that your body hates you and thus you hate everything. If that's what you're doing, you are not doing yourself any favors by depriving yourself of 500+ extra calories you need to stay fit and sane.

    Eat your 1500! If you feel yourself getting cranky have a healthy snack, like an apple.

    I'm glad to see I'm not the only one. I read many articles about how to hold on to the diet and fear of loose skin but never anybody mentioned being all cranky and moody.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    When I was eating only 1200 calories my doctor asked if I was cranky because yes it can cause that to happen. I'm a great cook too, did it for a living. Don't be so scared of foods you love and up the calories quite a bit. This isn't a prison sentence. We just have to be eating a bit below our TDEE to drop weight.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    it's called being hangry (hungry + angry) and it's caused by eating too few calories, or too few carbs

    your brain is an organ in your body just like any other, if you don't feed it properly it won't work right.

    eat more
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
    When I was eating only 1200 calories my doctor asked if I was cranky because yes it can cause that to happen. I'm a great cook too, did it for a living. Don't be so scared of foods you love and up the calories quite a bit. This isn't a prison sentence. We just have to be eating a bit below our TDEE to drop weight.

    ^^^ all of this. It's not a race to see who can lose weight the fastest... it's about losing weight in a sustainable way and sticking to it for life. Getting hangry is a sign you need to eat more. And you don't want to be hangry for the rest of your life, so reassess your calorie goal so you can eat enough to feel satisfied and have plenty of energy and not get hangry, while you're losing weight slowly and steadily.
  • MoiKarina
    MoiKarina Posts: 139 Member
    When I was eating only 1200 calories my doctor asked if I was cranky because yes it can cause that to happen. I'm a great cook too, did it for a living. Don't be so scared of foods you love and up the calories quite a bit. This isn't a prison sentence. We just have to be eating a bit below our TDEE to drop weight.

    Does it mean my body can get used to eat and my temper come back to normal or I really have to eat more. I'm on a carb free diet, that's how I managed to lose so much. I'm only at mid-way of this diet. When I'll be finished with this program I'll try and go for a balanced diet including carbs again. But I have to keep on this way for 7 more weeks.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    What do you mean by carb free? You aren't eating any vegetables?
  • MoiKarina
    MoiKarina Posts: 139 Member
    I mean no bread, no pasta, no rice, no potato and all that goes with it.
  • lauren3101
    lauren3101 Posts: 1,853 Member
    I mean no bread, no pasta, no rice, no potato and all that goes with it.

    No wonder you're grumpy. I'd be grumpy if I cut out all that good food too.

    Seriously though, you said you aren't eating things you enjoy - why? It's not sustainable to demonize certain foods and cut out everything you love. Eventually you will just feel miserable and binge on these 'banned' foods.

    Carbs are not the devil and cutting them out won't increase your weight loss, it will just make you unhappy. Eat what you want, just stay under (but close to!) your calorie goal.
  • mockchoc
    mockchoc Posts: 6,573 Member
    I mean no bread, no pasta, no rice, no potato and all that goes with it.

    That sounds rather boring. Are you planning on living like that forever? You are supposed to eat the way you are planning to eat good. The weight will just come back on otherwise. Eating them in moderation makes more sense and they aren't bad for you in anyway. They actually have vitamins and fibre.
  • MoiKarina
    MoiKarina Posts: 139 Member
    I'm actually not planning on doing it forever. It's a program I was given for 12 weeks and I'm nearly at the middle of it. It works well for me as I lost a lot already. I also go to the gym a few times a week and it helps losing more. I'm very overweight so I needed something hard to trigger my weight loss. At the end of the program I plan to reincorporate these foods but respect the amount of calories I can eat.
  • alisonlynn1976
    alisonlynn1976 Posts: 929 Member
    Yes, when I've tried doing low-calorie diets in the past, they made me very moody. It works much, much better for me to eat more and exercise more.
  • Humbugsftw
    Humbugsftw Posts: 202 Member
    I can tell you that being on 500-800 calories a day for an extended period of time REALLY ****ed me up mentally. I had a horrible temper, was constantly irritable and moody, depressed, etc. Made my life hell. Please eat more, it will really make a BIG difference! Yes you will lose weight (I lost a lot) but it is not worth the crap quality of life in my opinion.
  • lauraspberry
    lauraspberry Posts: 655 Member
    One word, EAT

    I tried to fast before, like a detox juice fast, I became depressed. I cried without reason and I was angry with everyone. You're experiencing hormonal imbalance because of poor nutrition
  • MoiKarina
    MoiKarina Posts: 139 Member
    Thanks for all the replies of other people who experienced the same. For the hormonal imbalance my doctor told me the same. I'll try and de-evil the food and eat more properly.
  • Samstan101
    Samstan101 Posts: 699 Member
    As someone still very overweight and having started at 303lbs I can say that you don't need something hard to kick start weight loss. You don't need to cut out carbs (or indeed anything!) you just need to modify portion size and eat at a deficit to lose weight. And at first you will lose quickly. That said, for me it has to be a lifestyle change so I didn't want to just eat less of the same junk, I wanted a healthy diet that I could stick to even when I've lost the weight (just upping the cals slightly). Don't deprive yourself and don't skip meals - sooner or later you'll binge like crazy!

    You said you're a good cook - so come up with healthy versions of your favourite treats eg home made turkey burgers with oven cooked spicy potato wedges. (For me garlic & Chilli plus other herbs and spices are key for low fat food to be tasty!). Pretty soon your tastes will change and IME won't enjoy greasy stuff anywhere near as much.

    Good going on the gym and your weight loss so far but keep your cals up where MFP says they should be and eat back most of your exercise cals so your net cals are where MFP guides you). Long term this will give you a better chance of success. remember you didn't gain the weight in a matter of months so you can't expect to lose it that quickly eaither. Slow & steady with appropriate lifestyle changes (lean for fat, plenty of veg and exercise for the health benefits) are the way to go. See this as the start of a new you and not just a diet.

    Good luck :)

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