Why do I feel sick so soon after starting my diet?

vootoo
vootoo Posts: 1
in Health and Weight Loss
About 3 days ago now, I decided to start a diet.

I weigh 88 kgs currently and decided it is high time to lose some weight. I've gone from eating 3000 calories (or thereabout) daily, to 1200. The first day, I felt hungry, but fine. Yesterday, I started to feel a bit sick, which went away when I drunk water.

Today, on the third day of my new diet, I've started to feel really sick. I feel quite lightheaded, even though I did eat a fairly large lunch 5 hours ago.

I wanted to know, is this normal? Is this my body just trying to adjust to less calories and will it go away soon?

Replies

  • LilKip
    LilKip Posts: 19 Member
    your used to eating ALOT more, so i guess your body is protesting?
    i was 86.5kg when i started. and i also ate a high amount of calories daily. i found it really hard at first, but i assure you your body does adjust. so does your mind! keep your water up as it helps flush toxins from fat etc breaking down. take a multi vitamin.
    dont give up! iv lost 14kgs so far :) slow n steady wins the race :)
  • FitLeahBee
    FitLeahBee Posts: 10 Member
    i think the mistake that you are making is that you are cutting a drastic amount of calories a bit too soon. Don't let the sickness stop you, but try and do a little research instead of only sticking to the meal plan that myfitnesspal gave you. You should try working down to 1200 calories, because your body is probably in shock from the sudden caloric change. The amount you need to feed yourself really depends on your height and frame. I am a female with a medium frame who is 5 feet and 3 inches (165 cm I think) and I am okay with 1200 but I usually eat about 1350. So the amount of calories you need will depend on you since we are all different. You should also consider what you are eating. If you were eating a lot of empty carbs and sugars and junky food to all the sudden a very healthy, clean diet, your body will probably go into shock and your sickness is not abnormal. Don't be tempted to eat the junk again, just keep eating healthy foods and add more calories. 1200 calories is pretty low for even very small women.
  • Dewymorning
    Dewymorning Posts: 762 Member
    If you are feeling light headed you need to eat more.
  • gigglesinthesun
    gigglesinthesun Posts: 860 Member
    About 3 days ago now, I decided to start a diet.

    I weigh 88 kgs currently and decided it is high time to lose some weight. I've gone from eating 3000 calories (or thereabout) daily, to 1200. The first day, I felt hungry, but fine. Yesterday, I started to feel a bit sick, which went away when I drunk water.

    Today, on the third day of my new diet, I've started to feel really sick. I feel quite lightheaded, even though I did eat a fairly large lunch 5 hours ago.

    I wanted to know, is this normal? Is this my body just trying to adjust to less calories and will it go away soon?

    eat more, your body is clearly struggling with 1200 cals.

    I mean are you a short, older, relatively sedentary woman?
  • stackhead
    stackhead Posts: 121 Member
    About 3 days ago now, I decided to start a diet.

    I weigh 88 kgs currently and decided it is high time to lose some weight. I've gone from eating 3000 calories (or thereabout) daily, to 1200. The first day, I felt hungry, but fine. Yesterday, I started to feel a bit sick, which went away when I drunk water.

    Today, on the third day of my new diet, I've started to feel really sick. I feel quite lightheaded, even though I did eat a fairly large lunch 5 hours ago.

    I wanted to know, is this normal? Is this my body just trying to adjust to less calories and will it go away soon?

    it's hunger, Eat.
  • CookingMamaAUS
    CookingMamaAUS Posts: 25 Member
    Making a major change to your diet is bound to have some effects that you aren't used to. Might be a good idea to go visit your doctor, and show them your diary from the last few days. They can check out things like your blood sugars and blood pressure, and can tell you if there's anything you should adjust that will help you feel better and stay on track.

    Everyone's daily requirements are different - maybe aim for a slightly higher daily limit, like 1700, and once you're used to that, cut it back gradually until you get to a daily limit where you are losing weight, but feeling comfortable. If you think about it as a diet, you might give up after a week. Treat it instead as a permanent, gradual change. You're not dieting. This is just how you eat now - mindfully and with accountability.
  • frodopuppy
    frodopuppy Posts: 75
    I need to snack 3 hours is the longest I go without eating or my sugar drops
  • otter090812
    otter090812 Posts: 380 Member
    You're not actually trying to lose that much weight, but unless you are very short I'm going to guess you've set yourself on MFP to lose 2lbs a week? If that's the case I suggest you lighten up on yourself and set a slower rate of loss. Remember this needs to be sustainable. If you're feeling rough and finding it a struggle it doesn't seem sustainable.
    I've seen plenty of experienced people on MFP suggest a lower weekly rate of loss for people trying to lose less than 25lbs. I have more to lose than you and am a fairly average height, but have found this much easier since I took their advice, and I'm still seeing results.
  • nikijh
    nikijh Posts: 32 Member
    This happened to me, I've gone from just eating whenever I feel like it, cut down to 1000 calories and not snacking at all just sticking to my 3 meals a day, around mid day is when I get the sicky feeling. I couldn't deal with the light headed feeling so now I just munch on a few strawberries or dried apricots, I think the sweetness in them somehow confuses my body that I'm having sugar and this seems to work for me..
  • Fenrissa
    Fenrissa Posts: 116
    It sounds like you're not eating nearly enough and lowered your calories too quickly. You should rethink your current intake of 1200 calories per day and try for something more sustainable.
  • healthygreek
    healthygreek Posts: 2,137 Member
    This happened to me, I've gone from just eating whenever I feel like it, cut down to 1000 calories and not snacking at all just sticking to my 3 meals a day, around mid day is when I get the sicky feeling. I couldn't deal with the light headed feeling so now I just munch on a few strawberries or dried apricots, I think the sweetness in them somehow confuses my body that I'm having sugar and this seems to work for me..
    1000 calories is not enough for you and OP should be having more than 1200 for the weight she is at.
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
    Eat more food
  • MSeel1984
    MSeel1984 Posts: 2,297 Member
    Well wait, now...

    What is this "diet"

    Is it just counting the calories you eat? Is it a specific diet? (Paleo, South Beach)?
  • MaritzK
    MaritzK Posts: 66 Member
    I would recommend you downsize your calorie intake slowly. At the moment your body thinks it starving. Try to stick with 2000 for 2 weeks, then 1800, 1500 and then 1200. You wil already be losing weight but on a healthy way
  • silverteacup
    silverteacup Posts: 46 Member
    I am thinking the dramatic reduction in food might be making you feel ill. I experienced the same thing until I made a "graze" box and filled it with lots of very low calorie veggies. Sugar snap peas, jicama, green beans ( yes raw) grape tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots a little nibble here and there helped a lot. I also found hot tea to be mentally clarifying and helped curb hunger. I found that eating a bite or two of veggies every couple of hours helped me stay on track and didn't push me over my calorie allowance and it kept me from feeling ill.
  • Amanda_Gx6
    Amanda_Gx6 Posts: 320 Member
    I am thinking the dramatic reduction in food might be making you feel ill. I experienced the same thing until I made a "graze" box and filled it with lots of very low calorie veggies. Sugar snap peas, jicama, green beans ( yes raw) grape tomatoes, cucumbers, carrots a little nibble here and there helped a lot. I also found hot tea to be mentally clarifying and helped curb hunger. I found that eating a bite or two of veggies every couple of hours helped me stay on track and didn't push me over my calorie allowance and it kept me from feeling ill.

    ^^ this and drink tons of water. I think the leap might be too far. Perhaps you should try upping yourself to at min 1800 so that your body has a bit to adjust? Good luck!
  • drop_it_like_a_squat
    drop_it_like_a_squat Posts: 377 Member
    I couldn't deal with the light headed feeling so now I just munch on a few strawberries or dried apricots, I think the sweetness in them somehow confuses my body that I'm having sugar and this seems to work for me..

    You do realise that fruits, especially dried ones, actually are pretty high in sugar?

    OP: Look for an online TDEE calculator, calculate your estimated TDEE -5% to -20% (depending on how much you have to lose), eat that amount for a couple weeks and adjust from there.
  • 4MissRose
    4MissRose Posts: 49
    People seem to forget that when you start with a regularly high calorie intake, any decrease in calories will make a difference. If your intake is a steady 3000 cals per day, dropping it to 2000 cals per day would create a deficit of 1000 cals per day. If 3500 cals equals one pound, you would lose a pound in 3 days. Of course, this won't work forever as your body will eventually adjust to your new, lower calorie intake, but this tells you that a drastic drop from 3000 cals to 1200 cals is not necessary to start your weight loss journey. It looks like your body is protesting big time, and not without reason.
  • drop_it_like_a_squat
    drop_it_like_a_squat Posts: 377 Member
    People seem to forget that when you start with a regularly high calorie intake, any decrease in calories will make a difference. If your intake is a steady 3000 cals per day, dropping it to 2000 cals per day would create a deficit of 1000 cals per day. If 3500 cals equals one pound, you would lose a pound in 3 days. Of course, this won't work forever as your body will eventually adjust to your new, lower calorie intake, but this tells you that a drastic drop from 3000 cals to 1200 cals is not necessary to start your weight loss journey. It looks like your body is protesting big time, and not without reason.

    This would mean that 3,000 cals is your maintanence, though. If OP was eating 3,000 cals a day and was gaining weight, dropping cals to 2,000 a day doesn't even have to mean they're in any deficit at all.
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    Instead of altering your old diet or nutritional standards, you simply jumped directly into a mode that sends your body into panic.
    Homeostasis is normal.
    you've disrupted it.
    My recommendation is to quit dieting, and simply make small adjustments to your old routine, eventually working out of the bad and into the good.

    I've seen people lose fat by sticking with what they used to eat, but changing sleep habits (8hours a night) or adding high quality fish oil 3x a week (nordic naturals) or simply having more sex.
    PM if you need help.

    or

    http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/1187899-in-place-of-a-roadmap-short-n-sweet-reposted
  • Helloitsdan
    Helloitsdan Posts: 5,564 Member
    This applies to people living in a bomb calorimeter.
    If we were to come up with an absolute mathematical equation to fat loss, it would cover 20 pages and have such a wide margin of error.
    Toss the 3500cals=1lb lost per week because it simply isn't true.
  • Ashes_To_Beast
    Ashes_To_Beast Posts: 378 Member
    If you where eating 3000 cals, try cutting down to 2500-2000 max but eat whole foods with minimal healthy carbs. Your body needs
    your cals for fuel so make sure its quality food, nothing pre-packaged or processed and you'll feel more energy and get the results you are looking for. At 1200 cals your body will go in starvation mode and it will hold on to fat instead of burning it.
  • Hellbent_Heidi
    Hellbent_Heidi Posts: 3,669 Member
    Today, on the third day of my new diet, I've started to feel really sick. I feel quite lightheaded, even though I did eat a fairly large lunch 5 hours ago.
    5 hours ago? Its quite normal to be hungry again 5 or 6 hours after you've last eaten....
  • kathrinnbauer
    kathrinnbauer Posts: 74 Member
    When I started I ate about 6 small meals a day and I ate a huge amount of fibers: I bought Konjac noodles and ate them like normal noodles. They are filling and have practically no calories (They do have some and I logged them, but my point is that they make you full without having many cals). I was fine with that. However if you aren't then try to eat for maintenance for a week until your body got used to eating less calories and then reduce the calories again to 1200 cals or something between maintenance and 1200. If you eat between 1200 and your maintenance calorie needs you will still lose - it only takes longer. But if your beat, but my body can't handle 1200 calories then you have to accept that you have to eat more and lose more slowly.
    The most important thing I learned when it came to diets and sports is that I have to listen to my body: If I want to eat, body my body doesn't tell me I have to than I don't eat. If I want to lose faster, but my body shows me that I need more calories then I eat. I then check if I eat fulling food that doesn't cause blood sugar spikes and if I sleep enough. If my nutrition is not very well or don't get enough sleep, I change that. If those things are okay and I still need more food then I eat more food.
    That's what worked for me. It is the first time that I try to lose weight like this way, but I feel better than ever.
    I wish you good luck!
  • nikkiofthelake
    nikkiofthelake Posts: 18
    Your profile says you are 20 years old. I would up your calories to 1500. Maybe you should also go to the doctor and have some blood work done.
  • Rowan63
    Rowan63 Posts: 6
    Hi,
    as others have already said, the cut down on calories is a little drastic and your body is protesting.
    Gradual changes in eating habits and reducing the portions is what should be done instead of going on drastic diets.
    I was 98 kg 2 years ago, and went to a dietitian,. I have always been conscious about the quality of food I eat - mainly wholegrain, always prepared from scratch, the yearly the number of sodas that pass my lips can be counted on the fingers of one hand, I prefer dark chocolate to milk one, but I just used to eat far too much of the good stuff...
    I lost 8 kg in one year, and I know that seems so slow, but it is the only way I found that works for me and I haven't put on more weight since - the "calorie deficit" was only about 200 cal a day : I was eating 1800 cal, and since I am moderately active that was enough.
    And it is what I am going to do again,(and why I decided to join MFP :) trying to increase the exercise but without feeling food deprived.

    The other very good advice I got from the dietitian was to eat something at regular intervals: basically have a snack about 3 hours after your meals. No hunger pangs and more balanced blood sugar levels.

    This is an interesting talk - that can help understand why so many people put on weight after having lost a lot of it in a short period of time...
    http://www.ted.com/talks/sandra_aamodt_why_dieting_doesn_t_usually_work.html

    All the best and keep up the motivation!
  • jimmecrackcorn
    jimmecrackcorn Posts: 6
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIEapnX9F3g

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