Dizzy Spells...

twilight1542

I'd be willing to bet you're dehydrated & malnourished. You should be eating no less than 1200 net calories (calories eaten - calories burned through exercise) per day. If you don't change you're eating & drinking habits you run the risk of doing damage to your body. You don't have to eat huge meals or guzzle water you just need to make the time throughout the day for it. Do that consistently for a few weeks & you should feel better. If you don't you need to see a doctor.....I speak from personal experience ...I couldn't workout for a week following minor surgery & while I was good about diet I wasn't about water & ended up in the ER after having 2 fainting spells in a row while at a client's home...Turned out I was dehydrated, but I ended up feeling like crap for a couple days & wasting almost an entire day at the hospital!

Mom2Emery_Liam

I have dizzy spells as well, even when I was eating over 2000 a day while not dieting. Usually it happened when I went more than 3 or 4 hrs before meals/snacks. I've learned my body functions best when I eat small amounts frequently...I rarely let myself get to that really dizzy point anymore b/c it causes me to overeat b/c I'm "starving". Also, make sure you're drinking enough. Dehydration can cause dizziness when standing and spots in your eyes.
It's something I've always dealt with, genetic really since my mom and sister have the same problem. Now that I'm on a 1300 cal diet, I just make my meals smaller and eat low calorie snacks every 1-2 hrs inbetween lunch and dinner. No more dizziness!

twilight1542

I can't help but notice that you mention "huge dinner" several times but make no mention of other meals. You should be eating at least 3 meals per day...better to have 3 meals & 2 snacks! You shouldn't have any problem hitting 1200 doing that. Also, your body can only digest soo much food in 1 sitting...I forget the exact number but it's 500-700. So don't think you can eat 1200 cals in 1 meal & be good. You need to eat throughout the day to keep your body energized a functioning properly.

I haven't had a chance to check out your diary but I saw mention of salad. If you like salad try adding garbanzo &/or kidney beans to it...They're yummy, good protein source, & around 100 cals per serving. I also like to add chicken to my salad I just dice a breast & throw it in a pan over medium heat. Once it's cooked through & a little brown (5-10 mins) I add a little terriyaki sauce. Also great source of protein & will add calories )

twilight1542

Melissa,

Having now looked through ur food diary for the last few days I can't believe that your dinners leave you feeling "stuffed" & that you're even able to function. You are doing soo much harm to yourself eating soooo little. You really should print a copy of your diary & then go see a doctor or nutritionist & show them it. Not only is your diet not well balanced, you're basically starving yourself. I hate to be the one to bring this up.....but your diary makes me think of a good friend from high school who ate very similarly.....But it wasn't long before she ate less & less and eventually became anorexic By the time she admitted she had a problem & sought counseling she was severely underweight & is still paying the price for it....She has a lot of digestive problems that are a direct result of her anorexia! I really hope that you re-evaluate how you're eating & that you do it sooner rather than later )

jennylee75

500 cals is not a healthy calorie intak for the day. You should mnost likely be eating around 1500 to be healthy depending on your diet needs. This could be a sign of diabetes or another problem. Go to a doctor!

AprilChampion

I just flipped through your diary glancing at every day back to the start of April and I think I only saw one day that you even ate 1200 calories. And maybe two more that you were even at 1000 calories. I would say a big YES the dizzy spells are probably related to how you are eating.

I know that you posted about eating a very low number of calories and you have already heard peoples' opinions about that but.... seriously, if you are getting dizzy, I think you definitely need to EAT more! I think you mentioned that you have been so busy studying that you just haven't had time to eat, but I don't know how you can concentrate on so little food. I find myself getting dizzy some days on 1200 calories so I typically eat 1400 or more. I have been losing just under a pound a week -- 10 lbs so far. So, just in case you need a bit of extra push, you CAN eat more and still lose weight. Don't make yourself sick!

i completely agree with this!!! i scrolled through your diary for the last four days and you NEED to eat MORE. i understand wanting to be thin, we all do, but being thin and HEALTHY is the key, not thin and SICK which is where youre going to end up...the dizzy spells are a WARNING sign from your body saying, BEGGING "FEED MEEEEEEEEE!!!!!" please please eat more.

Barneystinson

Based on your food log, you need more calories. If you're having a hard time taking them in, try to get them in a small, dense, energy-packed form like nuts, energy bars, eggs, dairy. They're easy and portable and work well as snacks.

dj_stevie_c

A good few years ago when I decided to go on what I now call a 'mental' diet I had so many physical problems it wasn't even funny.

I had dizzy spells
I was lethargic (but forced myself to work out)
I had the shakes
I had nasty headaches

Most of this was down to the fact that I was eating:

1 wholemeal roll with sliced chicken/ham and salad (no butter, no sauces)
4 or 5 Ryvita crispbreads with marmite and cucumber

And, that was it.

That's a sparse diet for a mouse let alone a rather large man.

A long time after the diet I spoke to my doctor about it. Aparently most of my problems were due to my blood sugar levels going crazy and I was very lucky I hadn't developed diabetes. He also said that I wasn't getting enough food to repair my system so was probalby heading towards liver and kidney damage as well.

I was an idiot then. I was basically on a six month crash diet, sure I lost 10 stone on it (yes, mental hey?) but I almost killed myself doing it.

If you're starting to get problems a short while in I really do suggest you consult your doc, it could be something underlying or it could be that you're just not eating enough. Don't rush your weight loss, take your time and make it something you can do for life not something you can do for a short time before 'going back to normal' (which is eventually what I did hense me being back on here) and stay safe!!!

Johnnyswife

also, can people suggesting more calories give me some ideas of small but high calorie healthy foods I can eat- as honestly, I'm already full so if I need to increase my calories, I need them to be from things that aren't gonna make me feel i can't move from fullness. xxx

Try whole, unroasted almonds. They have about 160 calories for 1/4 cup and have the healthy fat your body needs. Your suppers look good, but you probably need more added to lunch. Add a piece of chicken or tofu to your soup and have a nice salad on the side.
Would it be easier to have 5 to 6 small meals throughout the day? This way, you won't feel stuffed with one meal, and your metabolism will be forced to work harder to burn the small meals all day long?

mlove1307

From reading a few posts here and taking a quick glance at your profile and food diary.... I would say.

Quit the excuses and stop starving yourself.

Your "huge" dinner of a SMALL chicken breast and some veggies is a pathetic child-size portion. If you are getting honestly FULL off that, then you need to see a doctor. There are several medical conditions and psychiatric conditions that make women-especially feel full when they haven't eaten much. One consideration of your doctor will probably be cervical cancer, so really, go get checked out if you haven't already.

I hate to sound so mean because I get dizzy spells as well, but I have a genuine medical reason of being very tall and having a naturally low-low blood pressure. (My resting heart rate ranges from 39-45) Unless you are very athletic AND not eating enough you really should not be getting so dizzy that you're smacking yourself on walls.

To me, and to several others, it seems as if you are starving your body. Please do something to help yourself.

Pariah

You're really not fooling anyone at this point. You've been playing this game on here for a while "wah wah wah, i can't eat that much. how do i eat more? i don't know what to do." and everyone tells you exactly what you need to do. and you say that you'll apply that. What do you do instead? You changed your daily calorie goal from 1200 to 1000. Most days you don't get over 600. Yet you continue to ask stupid s*** like,"why am I getting dizzy?" pretty soon you'll be asking,"Why does my chest hurt?" hopefully you realize what you are doing to your body before you have a heart attack. We can keep spoon feeding you advice, but at this point we are just beating a dead horse, because you aren't taking it. Why do you even ask for it if you aren't going to listen to it?

So here's some advice, go to a doctor. You're sick. You're headed down the path of an eating disorder, if you aren't there already. Several people on here, including my self have battled an eating disorder before and we can tell you it wasn't fun and it wasn't glamourous. It stole our lives from us, we are lucky enough to still be alive, but my eating disorder stole years of my life that I can't ever get back. So seriously, get some help before you find yourself somewhere you really don't want to be.

melville88

You're really not fooling anyone at this point. You've been playing this game on here for a while "wah wah wah, i can't eat that much. how do i eat more? i don't know what to do." and everyone tells you exactly what you need to do. and you say that you'll apply that. What do you do instead? You changed your daily calorie goal from 1200 to 1000. Most days you don't get over 600. Yet you continue to ask stupid s*** like,"why am I getting dizzy?" pretty soon you'll be asking,"Why does my chest hurt?" hopefully you realize what you are doing to your body before you have a heart attack. We can keep spoon feeding you advice, but at this point we are just beating a dead horse, because you aren't taking it. Why do you even ask for it if you aren't going to listen to it?

So here's some advice, go to a doctor. You're sick. You're headed down the path of an eating disorder, if you aren't there already. Several people on here, including my self have battled an eating disorder before and we can tell you it wasn't fun and it wasn't glamourous. It stole our lives from us, we are lucky enough to still be alive, but my eating disorder stole years of my life that I can't ever get back. So seriously, get some help before you find yourself somewhere you really don't want to be.

OK. So first of all you have only given me a few days since I first asked about this. Have you not noticed I've managed to hit 700-800 the last 3 out of 4 days? I am trying! I stopped checking this forum a couple of days ago and I'm really shocked by your frankly rude message. I have sought medical advice and it has been suggested that I should try increasing my iron intake. I am not suddenly going to be able to start eating what has been suggested- 2 or 3 times as much as I was before- give me some time, will you? Geez. I'm going to make my diary only visible to friends, I don't need people like you PUBLICLY RIDICULING me. I changed my daily goal to 1000 AGES ago, it's not like I read everything that people said and then thought I would do the exact opposite. I have tried to drink more water and I am trying to increase my portion size. I don't know why you've taken this so personally, I am sorry that you have suffered from an eating disorder but I feel utterly humiliated by your last post- I'm actually crying as I write this because you don't even know me or my lifestyle. I see people on this site drinking nothing but protein shakes. I see people eat 1500 calories and burn off 800 of them from exercise. Their average is the same but you are not treating them so maliciously.

Thank you to all of you who have genuinely tried to help me; looked at my food diary and suggested changes etc and Pariah, shock tactics don't always work if that's what you were trying to do: often they have the complete opposite effect. I still welcome any new advice and I will increase lunch portion as suggested also.

Sunshinechic

If you wait till you're thirsty to drink, that means that your body is already suffering from dehydration. You drink to keep your body hydrated. Anything under 1200 calories is harmful to your body. Your dizziness is your bodies way of crying for help. Up your calorie intake, and I think you will feel so much better. If not get to a Dr,

NotLuigiTM

If you are dizzy that is your body telling you that you need to eat something like an orange or apple or banbana some fruit or drink OJ and get more water in your body. See a doctor.

lina1131

There is nothing new I can add to this thread. You have heard the eat more, drink plenty of water, etc. I'm sure you get it now. But, I wanted to come in here and tell you that you are a gorgeous, absolutely stunning lady. Lose weight the healthy way and live a good healthy and strong life. There is no need in starving yourself to lose weight. One day (if you don't already) you will want to have kids (i'm assuming lol) and if you're body is not healthy, it's going to be very hard. You don't think about all of this stuff right now, but everything you do to your body now will effect (affect, frick, I can never use the right one) you in the future.

Good luck girl, you can do this the right way!

littlespongy

If you are drastically dropping your calories you could become anemic. This happened to me when I was in my teens and thought if I quit eating meat I would drop weight quickly. I became very anemic and started getting dizzy spells quite often. I even fainted a couple of times. By the time my mother took me to the doctor my hair had started to get thinner - so please, please don't fall into this trap! The doctor gave me iron pills to take and it took a few weeks, but I felt much better.

melville88

yeah, I've started taking iron and vitamin supplements- hoping that will help but only started a couple of days ago! Thanks x