Anyone else experience increased anxiety and sadness?

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weigh2be
weigh2be Posts: 2 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Exactly one month ago I cut out all sugar and started working out (cardio + weight training) and eating small frequent meals throughout the day of high protein, good fats and low-glycemic carbs. I felt great the first week! Somewhere in week 2 I started to feel more anxious and thought it was the protein shakes I was using so I cut those out. Then I noticed I felt great after working out but a few hours later I would feel horribly anxious and sad, so I slowed down my workouts to light walking and light weights. Still no let up. Thought I was eating too much protein so I let up on that--and of course, still no let up.

I am eating around 1620 calories a day (down from about 1800 when I was working out more) and I'm a 33 y/o female, 5'2, 222 lbs.

I have often felt anxious when starting to watch my food intake. I've often wondered--am I just releasing emotions? I gained a large amount of weight 10 years ago when my mother was diagnosed with breast cancer and then when she passed away 9 months later--the gain was about 100 lbs over the course of a few years. I've been dreaming of her more lately so wonder if my body is just trying to release the pain. I also have PCOS and have wondered if it just hormones adjusting.

If anyone else has gone through something similar, I would love to hear about it.

Replies

  • JesterMFP
    JesterMFP Posts: 3,596 Member
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    I notice my mood is affected if my carb intake gets too low, and definitely if my total calories are too low. You could well be experiencing an emotional side effect from psychologically dealing with losing the weight, but there are definitely physiological things going on too.

    For me, with depression and anxiety, what helps a lot is eating enough in general, getting enough carbs, getting enough fat, getting enough sleep and getting plenty of cardio.

    ETA: feeling "horribly anxious and sad", especially if it's been going on for a significant period of time, could well warrant talking to your doctor or a counsellor, if you aren't already.
  • jerryvo
    jerryvo Posts: 66 Member
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    I cut out all sugar

    This would do it for me. Any time you cut something completely out you are asking for trouble. It will result in emotional imbalance or a binge for that thing. For the past x years you were used to eating something and for many if not all of us there is an emotional attachment between food and our mood. Make sure your super healthy no sugar meals are satisfying emotionally as well as nutritionally or you will fail. Protein shakes can make me a little jittery and anxious so I limit them to when I really need extra calories and am not very hungry and do not make them a staple of my diet.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    I also have PCOS and have wondered if it just hormones adjusting.

    I don't have an answer for you (sorry), but you might try posing your question in one of the PCOS groups to see if others have had similar reactions.
  • jennybennypenny
    jennybennypenny Posts: 90 Member
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    I don't have any answers, but I am interested to see if you get any more responses. Personally, I have a hard time trusting my body... I don't know if it's because of anxiety/depression (which I have had and been in counseling for in the past), but for me it seems like the more successful I am at losing weight and getting in shape, the more anxious I am that I can't maintain it, that I'm doing something unhealthy, etc.
  • weigh2be
    weigh2be Posts: 2 Member
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    Thank you all for your responses. I will definitely make sure to get enough carbs and fat and make sure the meals are healthful but give me enjoyment as well.

    Jennybennypen--I hope you're able to find some answers as well.
  • LaurenAOK
    LaurenAOK Posts: 2,475 Member
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    I would be very sad if I cut out sugar too.

    In all seriousness though, I did start to get more anxious/emotional once I started losing weight. I actually started picking on my body a lot more, even though I was looking better! It was like once I started paying attention to my body and my weight loss, I started seeing all these flaws. My self esteem plummeted. I still struggle with that sometimes. Not sure if that has anything to do with what you're experiencing.

    I'm one of those "everything in moderation" people - I'd go nuts if I tried to cut out sugar, alcohol, or fast food. If you want to do those things, that's fine, but don't let anyone tell you that you have to. I reached my goal weight while eating all the same foods I used to eat.
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    Actually no, for me I have experienced a bit less anxiety and sadness since I have been losing weight. At my all-time high of 307 lb in 2008, I was severely anxious and tense all of the time. A lot of it was related to my job, but looking back I do not think my job was really the entire issue, I was very unhappy and repressing a TON of my emotions. I also had frequent migraines then. As I lost weight down to 270-260 the migraines lessened and even with a bunch of really stressful events in my life (losing my home in a tornado, moving, job changes, divorce, etc) I still felt a little less stress.

    Since joining MFP I've also felt like I had a better grip on life in general. I still get stressed/anxious a lot (I have GAD) but I feel like I hang on to those emotions less. For example, today at work there was a very tense moment between my supervisor and I...a few years ago I would have gone home, cried, eaten comfort food, and felt miserable for a few days. Right now I feel like I'm already 99% past it, and it was less than an hour ago...it's a good feeling!

    Is talk therapy an option? I did it for a year and really think anyone could benefit, if they are open to it and find a good therapist.

    Good luck!
  • BlueBombers
    BlueBombers Posts: 4,065 Member
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    I take pills for that.
  • theopenforum
    theopenforum Posts: 280 Member
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    I am not going to even pretend that I know what you are going through or what answers you want. This best advice I can give is speak to your family doctor or physician about your anxiety difficulties. It's no secret that stress anxiety and depression are linked to weight gain and your bodies inability to mirror the image you see for yourself. I think therefore I am so to speak, but I would say speak to your doctor first and then take whatever precautionary steps you need to take to deal with your inner psyche first. That is not to say cut out working out, I would just seek a more professional opinion as well. I hope this helps and I'm here if you need me :)

    Cheers,

    Tof
  • seltzermint555
    seltzermint555 Posts: 10,741 Member
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    I'm one of those "everything in moderation" people - I'd go nuts if I tried to cut out sugar, alcohol, or fast food. If you want to do those things, that's fine, but don't let anyone tell you that you have to. I reached my goal weight while eating all the same foods I used to eat.

    Same here.

    Also, I know the small meals many times a day thing works for some people. But for me that's the fastest way to feel miserable and never fully satisfied at all. I am a 3-meals-a-day girl. For example right now my calories (not including exercise) are around 1400 so I eat 300 breakfast, 400-600 lunch, and 400-600 at dinner. No snacks. That would not work for some people but for me it does.
  • Lichent
    Lichent Posts: 157 Member
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    I have a number of answers watching this series of 6 educational videos, it has to do with blood sugar, diet, mood disorders the whole works

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpllomiDMX0
  • maracuya23
    maracuya23 Posts: 122
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    It's pretty inexpensive to have your doctor run tests to make sure you're at the right levels for various nutrients (iron, B-12, D, etc). Deficiencies in those can cause surprising symptoms, and it's an easy and cheap remedy if you happen to be low. If it isn't a nutritional deficiency, then you've at least ruled it out and can explore other options. I feel like doctors often skip this kind of simple testing when you go in and mention you're stressed, and jump right to prescriptions for anti-depressants and anti-anxiety drugs.

    I mention this as a possibility because when I started working hard to lose weight back in February, I felt vastly worse after about a month of careful calorie counting, avoiding sugar, and hard cardio. Turns out I was both nutrient deficient in a slew of things, and hypothroid. Those two together were exacerbated by my calorie restriction and the extra stress of working out, and my poor failing thyroid couldn't keep up with the demands, so my levels of cortisol shot through the roof to try and compensate. Needless to say, I was anxious all of the time until I got the nutrition right and my thyroid meds calibrated.
  • karlakb
    karlakb Posts: 5 Member
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    This is my Facebook page if you like to join its new and a closed group no one can see post. So safe!

    https://www.facebook.com/groups/554425177963945/554852557921207/?notif_t=group_comment

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