Anyone else get grumpy when dieting???

SugaBee32

I can't be the only one that gets pissy when she wants a coke or a sweet tea and can't have it due to dietary changes??? I crave something sweet and I can't have it because I'm making lifestyle changes... No more junk for me!!;) However I can't seem to find somerhing that curbs that craving in a healthy way and keeps me from getting crabby! Lol Suggestions????

keefmac

I have a cup of white tea with two sugars, one first thing and one in the evening..

4legsRbetterthan2

1. Your body is used to getting a regular dose of sugar/caffeen, you cut it out, your basically going through a version of withdrawl, just gotta wait it out and stay firm in your decision, it gets easier with time and eventually your cravings go away (unless its TOM, I have yet to figure out how to kick those cravings). [Before I get yelled at, I am not saying sugar is evil or a drug or anything, just that when your body gets used to something it wants it, its normal]
2. I don't have any suggestions for a healthier replacement. Usually you just have to experiment and see what you like. I drink vitamin water zero, diet gold peak tea, and diet dr. pepper when I want something other than plain water.

CJisinShape

Yeah, so, this is what I do:

I eat bread, I eat chocolate, I eat fries, I drink alcohol, I drink soda.

The key is not to eat a lot of it. Eat very healthy some meals, then have a couple bites of chocolate. Have your kid help you eat a serving of fries. Don't drink soda for a week, then have a coke. The indulgences taste better when they are indulgences, not your regular diet. As in, have chocolate every day, but not like an entire candy bar. That first bite of chocolate tastes better than the last bite, so save yourself the diminishing returns on your calorie investment. Same for fries and burgers, I noticed.

I eat whatever I like because I try to get at least one veggie packed, filling, tasty low-calorie meal per day. It makes a lot of room for other things.

That's what I do, and I really enjoy my "diet," so not cranky. Yay!

Veil5577

I've been getting a little grumpy during the day while I am fasting, but it helps to know I can have anything I want for dinner, since I have fasted all day. But yes, I'm grumpy. :grumble:

pander101

Yeah, I got really cranky in the beginning. I'm a bit more used to it now, I still have tons of diet pop. That's the one thing I refuse to give up and its what keeps me less cranky. But when I cut down on the fast food, carbs, and all that junk I was one of the worst people to be around. I had to cut almost all of it out at the beginning and slowly add it in because I am horrible at portion control. Much better now and I nothing it off limits. But yeah, you get used to it.

SandraJN

Moderately grumpy is a state of being for me.

caracrawford1

Only if I am restricting too much and not allowing myself things I should be able to have IF I fit it into my calories. But then again, I'm not dieting, so I do these things, i lose weight and don't get grumpy. After all, unless i plan to never eat chocolate for the rest of my life, chocolate can be on the menu. This is a lifestyle change not a temporary diet. You need to learn to eat in moderation for life, not just for the here and now. Maybe you should rethink your plan of denying yourself things you like?

jnv7594

It's likely the withdrawals from the sugar and other stuff in your diet. That stuff can literally be like a drug to your body. When I first started cutting that stuff out, I didn't even want to be around myself, lol. Honestly though, if you give it a couple of weeks, it will ease up. And by the end of the first month, not only should you feel a whole lot better, but, honestly, you won't even crave it anymore. That's because it will be out of your system. I actually took a small sip of my daughter's lemonade the other day, and it tasted so sugary I almost couldn't stand it. And I used to love that kind of lemonade. It's amazing how much your tastes can change in a short amount of time.

Also, make sure you are exercising. Even just going for a walk helps. I have never been one to like exercise, but I love going for my walks and find they relax me. This past week, I was really sick with a bad cold and wasn't able to take my walks almost all week. I noticed a big difference in my mood. After a couple days I was much more cranky and irritable...and it wasn't just from being sick. I was feeling a bit better by then, just not energized enough to go walking. Going for walks tremendously helps my mood and irritability if I am stressed about something.

Also, don't tell yourself you can't have something. That is just a recipe for disaster. Something that helps me if I am craving something sweet is to just have a small taste of something. That's usually all I need. For example, sometimes I will take about 1/2 tablespoon of natural (nothing added) peanut butter, and put about 2 to 3 dark chocolate chips on it right on the spoon. It's only about one or two bites, but it hits the spot without sabotaging anything for the day.

Sweetvirgo63

Don't let your emotions get the best of you; you are stronger than that! No food has power over a human. Just see it as all the bad foods & beverages as knowing you want to kick them out and they're fighting to stay by making you cranky - the choice of how you react to the situation is up to you. You either want to have a :bigsmile: on your face or end up... :grumble: :explode:

QueenMother14

I also am grouchy when trying to go off the sugars. Don't really have a suggestion other than doing something else for yourself instead of the food or drink such as reading, going for a walk, crafting, playing a game, etc. Whatever can take your mind off of it until the mood passes.

PacificCrestTrail

Whenever I start feeling a little deprived, I eat something sweet like peaches or watermelon. Does the trick for me.

Rosewood2015

The first few weeks I do -- change is stressful, and it takes our minds a wee bit longer to catch up with our bodies - or vice-a-versa.

MinnieInMaine

There's even a term for that - It's called being "hangry". And is also likely due to a sort of withdrawal.

I know when I first did Atkins, the first few days of induction (very very low carb), I was horribly irritable and sick. It does pass after a few days but trust me, if you slip it's like starting over. That's why Atkins or similar diets didn't work for me long term. As others have pointed out, it may be better for you, especially if this truly is a lifestyle change (and therefore a way of eating that you plan on doing forever), to try to incorporate the occassional treat. Everyone's different so you have to decide what works best for you, just food for thought (so to speak).

What about diet soda or even flavored carbonated water? Sometimes just the carbonation is enough to help me feel full for a while and the flavoring is sweet enough to trick me into thinking I'm having a treat. I don't have them every day, maybe once a week or two. Substitutes can be a big help when transitioning.

rosebette

I tend to get cranky toward the end of the day and sometimes when I first get up. My husband doesn't come home for dinner until 8:00 sometimes. I usually try to have a light snack around 5, maybe nonfat yogurt and some fruit, but often, I am starving when he gets home. I have everything ready, and then he decides to spend 15 minutes in the bathroom reading the paper before we sit down, or he decides to open all the mail or start picking up clutter, etc., while I am starving; I feel like saying, "Do you want to read or clean the house, or eat?" Of course, he's been completely sedentary all day and sometimes has had lunch out, so he's not hungry the way I am because I've worked out, walked 2 miles on my campus, or if I'm home, I've been doing some general puttering -- housecleaning, groceries, etc. Also, I am starving first thing in the morning; we get up around 6:30 AM, and he wants a back rub sometimes plus the "happy ending", when all I want to do is have coffee and eat something. I guess I shouldn't complain about the morning time -- after 30 years, he's still interested.

Wasatcher

I can tell by reading forum posts here no one gets grumpy from dieting.

GBrady43068

I can't be the only one that gets pissy when she wants a coke or a sweet tea and can't have it due to dietary changes??? I crave something sweet and I can't have it because I'm making lifestyle changes... No more junk for me!!;) However I can't seem to find somerhing that curbs that craving in a healthy way and keeps me from getting crabby! Lol Suggestions????

I'll second what others are saying: If you're wanting to truly make a LIFESTYLE change, kicking stuff you like to the curb for good isn't reasonable.

If you habitually drink regular Coke every day every meal, change it to a "half and half": 1/2 regular, 1/2 coke Zero. That will cut down on calories but be more sustainable. If you slowly increase the amount of zero vs. regular, you can eliminate some calories from your diet longterm and make "The Real Thing" an occasional treat.

I don't personally LIKE sweet tea so I don't have much to offer there.

pkw58

I don't have to be dieting to get grumpy.

fortysixpounds

yes its quite normal especially if youre talking about reducing sugar containing foods...(I won't get started on my sugar rant :laugh: ) it mainly goes: sugar bad, artificial sweeteners worse. Try have some fruit to curb the craving or a little bit of honey.

My sister is unbelievably difficult when she's hungry, I bring a cereal bar with me if I'm meeting her out anywhere lol. She's this tiny little slip of a thing but if it goes even 10 mins past the time she normally eats at....smashy smashy and yes shes 32 lol:laugh:

EngineerPrincess

I can tell by reading forum posts here no one gets grumpy from dieting.

LOL I notice this all the time too.

You naturally *will* get grumpy if you were relying on sugars and food to boost your mood before. Once you start eating less refined sugar your blood sugar will balance out and you'll have less ups and downs, but yeah you can use smaller portions or something healthier like a piece of fruit to boost your mood if you need to.

maillemaker

Dieting is stressful and uncomfortable. I think generally any time we have a persistent nag of something uncomfortable it makes us grumpy. I occasionally get canker sores. They make me extremely irritable. It's the constant pain that does it.

Spending all day long hungry does it to many.

skylerblue4

Only if I am restricting too much and not allowing myself things I should be able to have IF I fit it into my calories. But then again, I'm not dieting, so I do these things, i lose weight and don't get grumpy. After all, unless i plan to never eat chocolate for the rest of my life, chocolate can be on the menu. This is a lifestyle change not a temporary diet. You need to learn to eat in moderation for life, not just for the here and now. Maybe you should rethink your plan of denying yourself things you like?

Yes, yes and yes.

Lifestyle change.

Eat it. Just THINK about it more - fit it in, don't just scarf things mindlessly. Think and plan. Maybe not as much fun but the benefits to health and mental well being are countless!

Naughty_ZOOT

I can't be the only one that gets pissy when she wants a coke or a sweet tea and can't have it due to dietary changes??? I crave something sweet and I can't have it because I'm making lifestyle changes... No more junk for me!!;) However I can't seem to find somerhing that curbs that craving in a healthy way and keeps me from getting crabby! Lol Suggestions????

Here is my 2 cents worth: Since I have to do low carb for my diabetic control (accomplished) which means my primary carb sources are non-starchy veggies, zero sugar, zero grains etc... I am very familiar with being "hangry" from frequent blood sugar fluctuations prior to lowering my carbs. "Hangry" affects anyone when their blood glucose fluctuates widely and is a warning sign that all is not well and that you are heading down a metabolic resistant pathway. When eliminating corn syrup, grains, and other glucose spikers in your diet, you will have symptoms like you describe because of withdrawal. It is quite temporary and if you push through it then you will feel tremendously better. That is the insidiousness of high carbohydrate consumption and it affects everyone, diabetic or not. Your body will demand easily digested carbs until you get it all out of your system then you will not want them any longer. Some of these things apply whether you are low carb or not in your dietary preferences. If you want to go that route of low carb then I strongly recommend Volek and Phinney, The Art & & Science of Low Carb Living if you don't already have it. It explains a lot of that including what to expect and how to handle it.

You also need to truly wrap your head around whether these lifestyle changes are a permanent change or a temporary diet. If permanent then you need to bulldoze through it and move on. If you do it gradually it does have the very real possibility of sabotaging you back to your old habits that you now consider unhealthy. Some people say that it is "unrealistic to give up your favorite foods" but I would ask "How have they been working out for you so far? The fact that you are here tells me loud and clear that they don't". Sometimes you just have to find a better substitute for what is really just a habit. I now really enjoy my food choices and consume far more variety than ever before because eating is not a habit any longer- it is a joy.

I have found two things that generally help:
1. Making sure that I get my electrolytes (sodium, potassium and magnesium especially) helps with mood and energy. I use natural Celtic sea salt and you can put a pinch of that in a big glass of water and drink it or you can sip on some home made bone broth (1 tsp salt to each quart of water) or use a commercial bullion cube in water. Dehydration itself can also make you feel tired, grumpy, headachy, hungry among other things so I always go for a big glass of water before anything else. It usually fixes the problem and if not I then try the salt. If not, then I take a nap, a pain reliever or suggestion #2 depending on the symptom. LCHF or anything low carb causes you to excrete sodium so you actually have to replace it. After you get past the initial stages and learn what to do then this very rarely happens.
2. Coconut oil. It gives you energy and goes straight to the liver to be burned for fuel and is not stored as fat by the body. Get a tablespoon in whatever way that you like if you feel grouchy or draggy. I put it in my coffee and whiz it in the blender for Bullet Proof Coffee.

fortysixpounds

yea sugar withdrawal is temporary but it feels pretty awful. It does wear off, having said that I'd recommending gradually cutting back rather than going cold turkey. People can get very anxious with the headaches and the shakes even. I'd recommend weaning yourself of it, gradually reduce all the fake sugar and sugar in stuff gradually cutting it back an eventually switch to clean sources like fruit, honey, smoothies.

BombshellPhoenix

I did when I started and thought I had to eat 1200 calories worth of carrot sticks and unsweetened almond milk and kill myself with cardio to lose weight and get fit.

Now, I make this about sustainability and not about demonizing foods. It alleviates the thought process of cave> binge> relapse that seems to happen all too often to people that get that dieting mindset.

I ate around 1900 TDEE for a majority of my weight loss. Wasn't hungry or deprived. I met my nutrient needs and then had some ice cream to finish off my day

After all, the only hindrance to my progress was the girl in the mirror staring back at me.

Sthere

shakeology has helped me tremediously with the cravings. Weight Watchers told me to change my goal weight because it was vanity pounds that I was after. I have been the same weight for months and gave up. Then I tried shakeology and now I am shredding the last 5 pounds that I didn't think were possible. Again WW told me I'd never be 120 pounds again like when I was 22!

BombshellPhoenix

shakeology has helped me tremediously with the cravings. Weight Watchers told me to change my goal weight because it was vanity pounds that I was after. I have been the same weight for months and gave up. Then I tried shakeology and now I am shredding the last 5 pounds that I didn't think were possible. Again WW told me I'd never be 120 pounds again like when I was 22!

Congratz on finding a calorie deficit through a shake.

You could've also lost the weight eating anything in a deficit

George_Baileys_Ghost

Nope. Totally grumpy when pooping though.

Unknown

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ExRelaySprinter

Yes, i sometimes get grumpy too.
But, i just end up having a small amount of what i crave.
As long as you work it into your daily cals, no big deal! :0)

kshadows

Suggestion: Eat things you like. Depriving yourself of anything would make anyone cranky!