No more headaches

2 years ago I was almost 200lbs (5'2) I was eating poorly and NEVER exercising. I would get 2 to 3 headaches a week, always lasting 1 or 2 days each, some would be so bad I'd be on the brink of vomiting. It was horrible. Once I started exercising (and lost 60lbs) the headaches went away, completely. Then about a year ago I got lazy, stopped counting calories, stopped going to the gym (put 20lbs back on) and the headaches came back. Now that I'm once again back at the gym the headaches have stopped. Has this happened to any one else??

get your blood pressure checked. high blood pressure can cause headaches. losing weight and eating right and exercise can help, but if you stop doing that and gain back the weight, your blood pressure can go back up.

This hasn't happened to me, but it's happened to my mom. She used to get headaches regularly, just like you, even horrendous migraines that would leave her out of commission for a couple of days. Like me, she's battled with her weight for years, though unlike me hates vegetables and lighter foods in general.... At her heaviest (around 290ish) she was getting headaches nearly every other day. We've all heard about foods that can trigger such things, but my mom did research with her physician and here's what she found...

Patients with dietary-induced headaches are sensitive to tyramine-containing foods. Tyramine leads to dilation of the nerves in the brain, resulting in a rush of blood, which tiggers the headache. Tyramine is found in cheeses (especially the aged, strong and cheddar varieties), beer, wine, yeast, coffee, high-citrus fruits, bananas, eggs, spinach, and tomatoes. Also, phenylethylamine, theobromine, and caffeine are chemical triggers present in chocolate. These may also cause a headache by altering the cerebral blood flow. Additionally, nitrates and nitrites can be found in hot dogs (and other cured meats like bacon, ham and salami), beets, lettuce, celery, spinach, broccoli, cauliflower and potatoes.

...Okay, so does this mean that you should cut out all of these foods from your diet? Not at all. But chances are, IF your headaches are in fact linked to your diet and not caused by some other physiological factor, your diet may consist of too many of these at any one time. My mom has been up and down the scale, but every time she lost a substantial amount (over 50 lbs) by incorporating a wider variety of foods, her headaches ceased to be an issue.

Best thing you can do to know for sure, though, is to consult with a doctor. Good luck!