Anyone else get grumpy when dieting???

1. Your body is used to getting a regular dose of sugar/caffeen, you cut it out, your basically going through a version of withdrawl, just gotta wait it out and stay firm in your decision, it gets easier with time and eventually your cravings go away (unless its TOM, I have yet to figure out how to kick those cravings). [Before I get yelled at, I am not saying sugar is evil or a drug or anything, just that when your body gets used to something it wants it, its normal]
2. I don't have any suggestions for a healthier replacement. Usually you just have to experiment and see what you like. I drink vitamin water zero, diet gold peak tea, and diet dr. pepper when I want something other than plain water.

I've been getting a little grumpy during the day while I am fasting, but it helps to know I can have anything I want for dinner, since I have fasted all day. But yes, I'm grumpy. :grumble:

Moderately grumpy is a state of being for me.

It's likely the withdrawals from the sugar and other stuff in your diet. That stuff can literally be like a drug to your body. When I first started cutting that stuff out, I didn't even want to be around myself, lol. Honestly though, if you give it a couple of weeks, it will ease up. And by the end of the first month, not only should you feel a whole lot better, but, honestly, you won't even crave it anymore. That's because it will be out of your system. I actually took a small sip of my daughter's lemonade the other day, and it tasted so sugary I almost couldn't stand it. And I used to love that kind of lemonade. It's amazing how much your tastes can change in a short amount of time.

Also, make sure you are exercising. Even just going for a walk helps. I have never been one to like exercise, but I love going for my walks and find they relax me. This past week, I was really sick with a bad cold and wasn't able to take my walks almost all week. I noticed a big difference in my mood. After a couple days I was much more cranky and irritable...and it wasn't just from being sick. I was feeling a bit better by then, just not energized enough to go walking. Going for walks tremendously helps my mood and irritability if I am stressed about something.

Also, don't tell yourself you can't have something. That is just a recipe for disaster. Something that helps me if I am craving something sweet is to just have a small taste of something. That's usually all I need. For example, sometimes I will take about 1/2 tablespoon of natural (nothing added) peanut butter, and put about 2 to 3 dark chocolate chips on it right on the spoon. It's only about one or two bites, but it hits the spot without sabotaging anything for the day.

I also am grouchy when trying to go off the sugars. Don't really have a suggestion other than doing something else for yourself instead of the food or drink such as reading, going for a walk, crafting, playing a game, etc. Whatever can take your mind off of it until the mood passes.

The first few weeks I do -- change is stressful, and it takes our minds a wee bit longer to catch up with our bodies - or vice-a-versa.

I tend to get cranky toward the end of the day and sometimes when I first get up. My husband doesn't come home for dinner until 8:00 sometimes. I usually try to have a light snack around 5, maybe nonfat yogurt and some fruit, but often, I am starving when he gets home. I have everything ready, and then he decides to spend 15 minutes in the bathroom reading the paper before we sit down, or he decides to open all the mail or start picking up clutter, etc., while I am starving; I feel like saying, "Do you want to read or clean the house, or eat?" Of course, he's been completely sedentary all day and sometimes has had lunch out, so he's not hungry the way I am because I've worked out, walked 2 miles on my campus, or if I'm home, I've been doing some general puttering -- housecleaning, groceries, etc. Also, I am starving first thing in the morning; we get up around 6:30 AM, and he wants a back rub sometimes plus the "happy ending", when all I want to do is have coffee and eat something. I guess I shouldn't complain about the morning time -- after 30 years, he's still interested.

I can't be the only one that gets pissy when she wants a coke or a sweet tea and can't have it due to dietary changes??? I crave something sweet and I can't have it because I'm making lifestyle changes... No more junk for me!!;) However I can't seem to find somerhing that curbs that craving in a healthy way and keeps me from getting crabby! Lol Suggestions????

I'll second what others are saying: If you're wanting to truly make a LIFESTYLE change, kicking stuff you like to the curb for good isn't reasonable.

If you habitually drink regular Coke every day every meal, change it to a "half and half": 1/2 regular, 1/2 coke Zero. That will cut down on calories but be more sustainable. If you slowly increase the amount of zero vs. regular, you can eliminate some calories from your diet longterm and make "The Real Thing" an occasional treat.

I don't personally LIKE sweet tea so I don't have much to offer there.

yes its quite normal especially if youre talking about reducing sugar containing foods...(I won't get started on my sugar rant :laugh: ) it mainly goes: sugar bad, artificial sweeteners worse. Try have some fruit to curb the craving or a little bit of honey.

My sister is unbelievably difficult when she's hungry, I bring a cereal bar with me if I'm meeting her out anywhere lol. She's this tiny little slip of a thing but if it goes even 10 mins past the time she normally eats at....smashy smashy and yes shes 32 lol:laugh:

Dieting is stressful and uncomfortable. I think generally any time we have a persistent nag of something uncomfortable it makes us grumpy. I occasionally get canker sores. They make me extremely irritable. It's the constant pain that does it.

Spending all day long hungry does it to many.

I can't be the only one that gets pissy when she wants a coke or a sweet tea and can't have it due to dietary changes??? I crave something sweet and I can't have it because I'm making lifestyle changes... No more junk for me!!;) However I can't seem to find somerhing that curbs that craving in a healthy way and keeps me from getting crabby! Lol Suggestions????

Here is my 2 cents worth: Since I have to do low carb for my diabetic control (accomplished) which means my primary carb sources are non-starchy veggies, zero sugar, zero grains etc... I am very familiar with being "hangry" from frequent blood sugar fluctuations prior to lowering my carbs. "Hangry" affects anyone when their blood glucose fluctuates widely and is a warning sign that all is not well and that you are heading down a metabolic resistant pathway. When eliminating corn syrup, grains, and other glucose spikers in your diet, you will have symptoms like you describe because of withdrawal. It is quite temporary and if you push through it then you will feel tremendously better. That is the insidiousness of high carbohydrate consumption and it affects everyone, diabetic or not. Your body will demand easily digested carbs until you get it all out of your system then you will not want them any longer. Some of these things apply whether you are low carb or not in your dietary preferences. If you want to go that route of low carb then I strongly recommend Volek and Phinney, The Art & & Science of Low Carb Living if you don't already have it. It explains a lot of that including what to expect and how to handle it.

You also need to truly wrap your head around whether these lifestyle changes are a permanent change or a temporary diet. If permanent then you need to bulldoze through it and move on. If you do it gradually it does have the very real possibility of sabotaging you back to your old habits that you now consider unhealthy. Some people say that it is "unrealistic to give up your favorite foods" but I would ask "How have they been working out for you so far? The fact that you are here tells me loud and clear that they don't". Sometimes you just have to find a better substitute for what is really just a habit. I now really enjoy my food choices and consume far more variety than ever before because eating is not a habit any longer- it is a joy.

I have found two things that generally help:
1. Making sure that I get my electrolytes (sodium, potassium and magnesium especially) helps with mood and energy. I use natural Celtic sea salt and you can put a pinch of that in a big glass of water and drink it or you can sip on some home made bone broth (1 tsp salt to each quart of water) or use a commercial bullion cube in water. Dehydration itself can also make you feel tired, grumpy, headachy, hungry among other things so I always go for a big glass of water before anything else. It usually fixes the problem and if not I then try the salt. If not, then I take a nap, a pain reliever or suggestion #2 depending on the symptom. LCHF or anything low carb causes you to excrete sodium so you actually have to replace it. After you get past the initial stages and learn what to do then this very rarely happens.
2. Coconut oil. It gives you energy and goes straight to the liver to be burned for fuel and is not stored as fat by the body. Get a tablespoon in whatever way that you like if you feel grouchy or draggy. I put it in my coffee and whiz it in the blender for Bullet Proof Coffee.

I did when I started and thought I had to eat 1200 calories worth of carrot sticks and unsweetened almond milk and kill myself with cardio to lose weight and get fit.

Now, I make this about sustainability and not about demonizing foods. It alleviates the thought process of cave> binge> relapse that seems to happen all too often to people that get that dieting mindset.

I ate around 1900 TDEE for a majority of my weight loss. Wasn't hungry or deprived. I met my nutrient needs and then had some ice cream to finish off my day

After all, the only hindrance to my progress was the girl in the mirror staring back at me.

shakeology has helped me tremediously with the cravings. Weight Watchers told me to change my goal weight because it was vanity pounds that I was after. I have been the same weight for months and gave up. Then I tried shakeology and now I am shredding the last 5 pounds that I didn't think were possible. Again WW told me I'd never be 120 pounds again like when I was 22!

Congratz on finding a calorie deficit through a shake.

You could've also lost the weight eating anything in a deficit

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Suggestion: Eat things you like. Depriving yourself of anything would make anyone cranky!