3 weeks on MFP daily headaches and exhaustion

If you make a drastic change in your diet, particularly if you go from high sugar or high caffeine to eliminating it entirely, headaches can result - essentially you are going into withdrawal. What I would suggest is take a few days and eat normally and find out exactly what you are eating now, when you feel fine - don't worry about dieting just yet. Then gradually change to a healthier lower-cal diet, changing one thing at a time and see when/if the headaches come back - then work around that culprit (leave it in your diet for now, but make the rest of your diet healthy, and then eventually try to taper the amount of whatever it is down). If you were always hungry and exhausted, it's sounding a lot like fluctuating blood sugar, but the exhaustion could be from caffeine withdrawal also, so it's really hard to say without seeing your food diary before and after. Another thing to try is eating small meals and snacks, each with some high quality protein, throughout the day (think 6 minimeals, rather than 3) - that should help if it's a blood sugar issue. You might also check with your doctor and see if you might have hyper or hypoglycemia.

Headaches and exhaustion aren't normal OR good. When you're eating right and working out you should feel better; less tired and more energetic. My first guess is that your body was going through withdrawal from something that you stopped eating or drinking during those three weeks. Guess #2 is that you might not have been getting enough protein. Protein gives you slower-and-longer-lasting energy, so if you don't eat enough, your blood sugar levels could drop until you eat again. Low blood sugar can cause all kinds of symptoms, including headache and fatigue. Guess #3 is that you might not fit the normal dieting mold, and maybe something that's a good recommendation for the general dieting public isn't working for you. If you can't figure out anything on your own, you might want to go to your doctor or a dietitian to have them check things out.

Good luck! I hope you can figure it out, because dieting's hard enough with those side effects!!

Also water intake could be an issue. Maybe you were getting dehydrated when you worked out.

Did you change your diet in any way to accommodate easier calorie counting, or to try and be healthier? Did you forego caffeine, or soda? Did you severely cut back on your fine sugar intake (any processed sugar not from natural sources such as fruit)? Did you change your exercise routine for MFP? Did you notice that you had any trouble sleeping or that you were waking frequently in the night?

I myself suffered chronic fatigue for several months before my doctor finally prescribed an iron supplement, and I've never before been at all anemic in my life. But these are all things to consider before you automatically target the calorie-counting as the problem.

Might want to see your doctor and have bloodwork done. I'm not a doctor, but if your electrolytes are out of wack, you could develop those symptoms. (According to my last Dr. visit) Of course countless other things could have those symptoms also.
For me it was sodium level too low.

Best wishes.

I've been a RN for 30 years, and i totally agree..... Withdrawl headaches from refined sugar or caffeine lasts only a few days normallu. I'd go to your physician and let them do some blood work to get to the bottom of it all....

I was having these exact same issues my first few weeks. I tweaked my foods a bit to find higher protein and higher energy boosting foods. This helped me tremendously. Also, while I was eating healthier I was spacing it too far apart. I did much better eating smaller more frequent meals and beginning with a substantial breakfast and having a high protein lunch, I have 2 snacks (mid morning and mid afternoon) and a smaller dinner. These changes helped me feel much better and now I feel great working out and eating healthier has changed my life. I have a long way to go but have found the balance that my body needs and I feel good about it. I do find that when I don't sleep well I am extremely lethargic the next day - more so than I remember pre MFP.

Looked at your diary and saw that you have your carbs set pretty low. I know I feel better when I eat lower carb and higher protein, but the diuresis that goes along with shifting to that eating style can definitely cause electrolyte imbalance. What is odd to me is that it continued over three weeks for you. Seems it should have balanced out by then. Perhaps you could speak with a nutritionist? By the way, good for you for studying midwifery while raising a family. It's on my "dream list" to do, but I'm waiting until my four kids are a little older. You are a brave lady!

Looked at your diary and saw that you have your carbs set pretty low. I know I feel better when I eat lower carb and higher protein, but the diuresis that goes along with shifting to that eating style can definitely cause electrolyte imbalance. What is odd to me is that it continued over three weeks for you. Seems it should have balanced out by then. Perhaps you could speak with a nutritionist? By the way, good for you for studying midwifery while raising a family. It's on my "dream list" to do, but I'm waiting until my four kids are a little older. You are a brave lady!

This too. I'm assuming you have a specific reason for choosing those macro settings, but for the vast majority of people, that much protein would be VERY detrimental (even if you were meeting the goals). I would try to find a better balance of macros that you can stick with, so that you have a better picture of what levels you're actually at. Most people do best with something like this:

15-30% protein
12-25% fat
40-60% carbs (mostly complex carbs from whole grains, veggies and fruits)

Going too low on carbs AND fat can backfire. If you prefer a low carb plan, that's fine, but in that case you usually need to increase the healthy fats, not just protein.