Diets and headaches

JohnnyBravo64

I've been having pounding headaches for over three weeks now. Usually comes on in the afternoon. Now that I'm back on MFP routine and exercising daily plus drinking 6 - 8 glasses of water, I figured they'd stop. Doc said I'm fine and gave me a muscle relaxer with Codeine. They help but wipe me out. Anyone experience similar symptoms and what works for you?

acogg

I wish I could help, but I can't. Getting healthier can't hurt! Good luck to you!:flowerforyou:

steve_mfp

Caffeine withdrawal perhaps.

6-8 glasses of water sounds a little low.

Take your body weight and divide by 2 and that's a general base of how much water you need [in ounces]. Then you need to account for how much you lose due to exercise, diuretics, altitude and climate.

Also try to spread out your intake and obviously hydrate while exercising.

Anthem76

I suffer headaches when I don't eat clean. "Diet" products are the worst. Aspartame def gives me terrible headaches. Also beware of protein powders, bars, etc. Most of them contain high levels of MSG. MSG is hidden under a variety of labels including "natural flavors." A web search will list all the names MSG hides under. Check out msgmyth.com for more info on how and why msg can cause headache.

I used to take high levels of prescriptions for both aborting and preventing headaches. Now that I eat clean, I hardly ever have a problem. Usually when traveling & I'm eating out a lot.

Of course not everyone is affected in this way. YMMV

Taneebear

Watch your blood sugar in the afternoon. When my blood sugar is low I get headaches. I try to spread my calories out over the day and eat as much protein as I can within my calorie goal. Good luck!

SLLRunner

I've been having pounding headaches for over three weeks now. Usually comes on in the afternoon. Now that I'm back on MFP routine and exercising daily plus drinking 6 - 8 glasses of water, I figured they'd stop. Doc said I'm fine and gave me a muscle relaxer with Codeine. They help but wipe me out. Anyone experience similar symptoms and what works for you?

Great the doctor said it's nothing serious.

How much are you eating per day?

How often do you eat?

Do you log your exercises and eat those calories back?

I ask these questions because if I don't eat enough or eat six small meals a day I get headaches.

katznkt

I get them from caffeine withdrawl or from hunger. I also got them when I was entering into ketosis once upon a time.

JohnnyBravo64

I'm on a 1500 cal/day diet. I start the day with egg whites and a lean meat/cheese omelet or oatmeal and one cup of coffee. I try to eat six meals a day. My exercise isn't intense, just enough to burn a 150 cal or so with some weights. I weight 217lbs so drinking more than 8 glasses of water is really hard to swallow (pun).

sjohnny

I suffer headaches when I don't eat clean. "Diet" products are the worst. Aspartame def gives me terrible headaches. Also beware of protein powders, bars, etc. Most of them contain high levels of MSG. MSG is hidden under a variety of labels including "natural flavors." A web search will list all the names MSG hides under. Check out msgmyth.com for more info on how and why msg can cause headache.

I used to take high levels of prescriptions for both aborting and preventing headaches. Now that I eat clean, I hardly ever have a problem. Usually when traveling & I'm eating out a lot.

Of course not everyone is affected in this way. YMMV

And this is why we're friends.

I_Will_End_You

I'm on a 1500 cal/day diet. I start the day with egg whites and a lean meat/cheese omelet or oatmeal and one cup of coffee. I try to eat six meals a day. My exercise isn't intense, just enough to burn a 150 cal or so with some weights. I weight 217lbs so drinking more than 8 glasses of water is really hard to swallow (pun).

Can you pinpoint when the headaches started? 1500 calories is probably not enough for a 217lb male. You may not be eating enough. If that is not it, then you should look through your diary and see if there is anything you're consuming that you weren't before, or anything that you are not consuming that you were before that may be triggering them.

chezjuan

I'm on a 1500 cal/day diet. I start the day with egg whites and a lean meat/cheese omelet or oatmeal and one cup of coffee. I try to eat six meals a day. My exercise isn't intense, just enough to burn a 150 cal or so with some weights. I weight 217lbs so drinking more than 8 glasses of water is really hard to swallow (pun).

Can you pinpoint when the headaches started? 1500 calories is probably not enough for a 217lb male. You may not be eating enough. If that is not it, then you should look through your diary and see if there is anything you're consuming that you weren't before, or anything that you are not consuming that you were before that may be triggering them.

I agree with this. Using your weight and age, and estimating your height as average (5' 9"), your BMR is probably around 1961. Multiply that by the sedentary activity number (1.2) and you get 2,353 calories you need before exercise. With your estimated burn of 150 it looks like you have a rough TDEE of 2500 calories. I am guessing you told MFP you want to lose 2 lbs a week. With only 33 lbs to go, that is pretty aggressive. I would recommend setting your goal at 1 lb a week, so you would eat about 2,000 calories a day on exercise days.

ETA: I started at 250 lbs. and never ate below 1,700 calories throughout my weight loss. I was pretty much headache-free, except for days when circumstances didn't allow me to eat breakfast, or I took too long between lunch and dinner.

JohnnyBravo64

Thanks, best advice yet. Thing is I really want to drop the first 10-15 pounds as quick as possible because I put them on so quickly. I'll adjust my goal to 1700 cal/day and see how that affects the headache issue. I hate taking drugs that these physicians push and my insurance doesn't cover dieticians (well unless I'm obese and close to death).

I_Will_End_You

Thanks, best advice yet. Thing is I really want to drop the first 10-15 pounds as quick as possible because I put them on so quickly. I'll adjust my goal to 1700 cal/day and see how that affects the headache issue. I hate taking drugs that these physicians push and my insurance doesn't cover dieticians (well unless I'm obese and close to death).

As someone who suffers from chronic migraines, I don't think having a headache every day is worth speeding weight loss up a bit! You'll still lose at a good rate at 1700. To put it in perspective, I'm a 118lb 5'6 female and lost weight at more than 1700 calories a day, so you probably don't have to worry about those 200 extra!

Shellz31

I agree that you should see if you've added anything to your diet recently. It could be that you're not eating enough or it could be something you're eating. I started to have headaches and it took weeks to figure out it was from consuming raw garlic. I love garlic, but it doesn't love me. I have to make sure I cook it to avoid the headaches. I'm not suggesting garlic is your issue. Everyone has different triggers.