Slight HEADACHE for weeks now!

k9houses
k9houses Posts: 2
in Health and Weight Loss
Okay here's my situation. I went to the doc in October and he informed that my cholesterol (LDL) was pretty high, as with my pressure (it's been creeping up over the years) and finally my triglycerides are not looking to good either! He threatened statins and well, I begged him to give me 3 months to prove I can do this without meds. On my first search I found MFP and decided to download the app and began setting goals to lose 1 pound a week for 5 weeks.

So I'm on week 3 and I can't seem to get rid of this nagging off and on headache! I'm on a 1200 calorie diet vs. a 1750 calorie diet if I chose to maintain my weight. A 500 calorie drop is most likely the cause but I can't seem to find which food or lack thereof would trigger it.

I haven't stopped drinking coffee (only a half cup) every day and I always drink it black no sugar. I know those two are the usual suspects but in my case maybe not so much. Should I have set a goal for losing 1/2 pound per week instead of 1 pound? I gotta get this numbers down before my next visit.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Replies

  • Mokey41
    Mokey41 Posts: 5,769 Member
    I start to get a headache if I'm not drinking enough and 1200 calories is low for most people. Check out what your BMR (lots of online calculators) is and make sure you eat above that.
  • Koldnomore
    Koldnomore Posts: 1,613 Member
    If you have only 9 lbs to lose the recommended rate will be .5 / week. The less you have to lose the slower you need to go. I would increase your calories and see if that helps.
  • MaggieSporleder
    MaggieSporleder Posts: 428 Member
    Are you dizzy at the same time? Cutting so low may be messing with you blood sugar.
  • kellicci
    kellicci Posts: 409 Member
    If you have only 9 lbs to lose the recommended rate will be .5 / week. The less you have to lose the slower you need to go. I would increase your calories and see if that helps.

    Yep....^^^ This.

    If you only have 9 to lose 1 pound a week is not very realistic. Also depending on your height adn weight 1200 might be below your BMR (it's below mine and I'm a shorty 5'1" 130 pounds). Check out the BMR calculator here under the aps tab and see if maybe that is it. If so raise your calorie goal to your BMR or maybe just few calories under (not more than 50ish). Then if you exercise eat back your exercise calories (half if you use the calculator here to estimate or al of them is you use a HRM or other device) otherwise your net is WAY to low and that will certainly cause a headache among other things.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 34,420 Member
    If you have only 9 lbs to lose the recommended rate will be .5 / week. The less you have to lose the slower you need to go. I would increase your calories and see if that helps.

    Yep....^^^ This.

    If you only have 9 to lose 1 pound a week is not very realistic. Also depending on your height adn weight 1200 might be below your BMR (it's below mine and I'm a shorty 5'1" 130 pounds). Check out the BMR calculator here under the aps tab and see if maybe that is it. If so raise your calorie goal to your BMR or maybe just few calories under (not more than 50ish). Then if you exercise eat back your exercise calories (half if you use the calculator here to estimate or al of them is you use a HRM or other device) otherwise your net is WAY to low and that will certainly cause a headache among other things.

    I would go further and say you need to eat more than your BMR and less than your TDEE. So, Google those terms, figure out your numbers, and stick there.

    Always eat the calories earned by exercise on this site, if you are using the numbers given here. If that is what you choose, use the "Lose 1/2pound a week" setting. You can't expect to lose weight faster, since you have so little to lose..

    Your bloodwork will improve by just adding in exercise. 30-45 minutes a day, five days a week. Eat the recommended Heart Association Diet; lean meats, vegetables, fruit, nuts, avocado and dairy. Drink a LOT of water. Headaches are often dehydration, and you are under-eating on top of that.

  • cebreisch
    cebreisch Posts: 1,340 Member
    I get headaches sometimes if I wait too long between meals/snacks. If I can have a protein/fiber bar, some kind of fruit, or even some string cheese to tide me over until the next meal - that helps.
  • lynnypenny1982
    lynnypenny1982 Posts: 16
    I used to suffer from sinus headaches, some days worse than others. A friend suggested Magnesium supplements. I took (and still do) everyday the suggested dosage. It has now been 2 years since I've had a headache, sinus or otherwise. I drink coffee too. Always black of course. Try the Magnesium. It works great for me.
  • tubbyelmo
    tubbyelmo Posts: 415 Member
    Drink lots of water, and maybe eat a wee bit more, I'm set at 1200 too but I normally eat a bit more, especially if I exercise, and the weight loss is slow and steady.
  • starjumper12
    starjumper12 Posts: 64
    if you've reduced your diet, there might be something in it that you're especially sensitive to... try writing down what time you're getting them and relate them back to your food log.

    also, since i've started eating a specific calorie diet i find that i go from "fine" to "I MUST EAT NOW" really fast, and my husband can see me get really cranky, start to look pale, and just generally bad until i get something to eat. it never used to happen that fast before and i've tried to head it off by minding that i don't go too long between food times, but sometimes it sneaks up on me.

    and as PP said, this is a really bad time of year for sinus headaches. i knew someone who had really bad weather-related sinus headaches and found out he had high BP, then when he lowered his BP, most of his sinus headaches went away.
  • chicadejmu
    chicadejmu Posts: 171 Member
    Check your blood pressure. I had high blood pressure with both pregnancies and part of my warning signs were headaches and slight light headedness. When I experienced those symptoms again after pregnancy, that's what it was. Thankfully it went away on its own. But of course, there could be other dietary concerns as others have mentioned (eat more/more frequently). Maybe try cutting down sodium and caffeine if they are high in your diet.

    Hope your headache goes away!
  • cathyenb
    cathyenb Posts: 13
    I would definitely be sure your drinking enough water and try upping your protein either with a shake or bar. Best of luck!
  • sobriquet84
    sobriquet84 Posts: 607 Member
    to really be able to provide some feedback, your diary would need to be opened.

    amount of calories is not everything, and is only a small piece of the story. where you're getting your calories from tells much more. headaches are a result of blood hormone levels. and those are not primarily influenced by how many calories you're ingesting, but rather what KIND of calories you're ingesting.
  • psuLemon
    psuLemon Posts: 38,427 MFP Moderator
    Are you exercising? 1200 calories is kind of low and if you exercise you can eat more. Also, weight training and exercise alone has helped me continuously drop my LDL and improve my triglycerides. Maybe that is something you can look into. Also, open your diary so we can look at it and provide recommendations.
  • quirkytizzy
    quirkytizzy Posts: 4,052 Member

    also, since i've started eating a specific calorie diet i find that i go from "fine" to "I MUST EAT NOW" really fast, and my husband can see me get really cranky, start to look pale, and just generally bad until i get something to eat. it never used to happen that fast before and i've tried to head it off by minding that i don't go too long between food times, but sometimes it sneaks up on me.

    This is my experience, too. I've actually managed to eat more snacks in between since I've started working towards being healthier, but I get really snappy and hungry pretty suddenly.
  • ZombieFoodSlayer
    ZombieFoodSlayer Posts: 65
    It may be dehydration. Along with drinking lots of water. I go and get some light gatorade, drink that to rehydrate. That should help!!
  • DrAliSharif
    DrAliSharif Posts: 15 Member
    I would suggest seeing your doctor again if you have dizziness, recently being more forgetful or clumsy. If so and I assume you are still somewhat overweight, high cholesterol as you mentioned, still fertile (and if on OCPs) with symptoms lingering constantly for so long getting a CT is in well in place to be safe.

    Edit: Just saw it is on and off, not constant so might ease up on the "emergency bells". Sorry to cause alarm, but stay on top of it and listen to your body!
  • erinsueburns
    erinsueburns Posts: 865 Member
    I would definitely set the goal to 0.5 lb per week and eat back eaxcercise calories.

    Additionally, you may need more than 3 months to make a dramatic shift in cholesterol numbers. For me it took quite a bit of experimentation. I started with low HDL, High LDL with extremely high VLDL and of course high tryglicerides. I've treied every cholesterol lowering diet any one could come up with, most of them were abysmal for me. What finally did work FOR ME, was increasing fats (particularly "good" fats from olive oil and nuts), decreasing carbs-particularly from grains (I supplement with psyllium to help make up the difference), going back to real foods instead og the fake low fat stuff-even real butter and real half and half and cream, and I also supplement with fish oil and OTC Niacian (Slo-niacin with Dr.'s permission). Now my numbers aren't perfect, they are more borderline, but a significant improvement, but it took several years to get it down to here. But this is what worked for me, and I am not saying it is for you,...

    I would start here:

    http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/what-should-you-eat/fats-full-story/index.html
  • lisalocum
    lisalocum Posts: 15
    Are you taking painkillers for the headaches? Is so, then just a few days in a row of analgesics can start to prolong the headache (look up medication overuse headache). If this is the case, then the only way to resolve it is to go without the painkillers and although you will have pain to begin, things should start to get better.

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