Anger and Irritability during Weight Loss

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hankhanna
hankhanna Posts: 72 Member
in Motivation and Support
I just posted a new blog about some anger issues I am having recently. You can read it here:

http://goo.gl/fb/gLT11

Are there other people here who have dealt with anger and irritability issues while trying to lose weight?
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Replies

  • mochama12487
    mochama12487 Posts: 130 Member
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    All day, every day.
  • meggonkgonk
    meggonkgonk Posts: 2,066 Member
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    Off hand, it sounds to me like you are not getting enough food. I can't see your diary, so I can't give you specific suggestions, but I will say that once I got the hang of variety and really realized how important getting enough food in my diet was, I have not had problems with irritability.

    I think for many people getting used to calorie deficit may be like removing a bandaid- I went slowly and took baby steps about it so it didn't have one big impact on me. Others choose to just jump right to it, getting to their deficit in one fell swoop and while the adjustment period is shorter, possibly its that much more intense/unpleasant?
  • KierstyPants
    KierstyPants Posts: 468 Member
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    All day, every day.

    Amen.
  • tigertown11
    tigertown11 Posts: 310
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    i think of trying to lose weight is about equal to an alcholic trying to stop drinking. its food and beer that are filling the void of something, so we are irritable when we can use those means to fill that void.
    Praying, staying connected with MFP friends and other support is the only way I am making it through!
    stay strong! and SMILE!!
  • Scheherazadea
    Scheherazadea Posts: 54
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    I think what makes me anger and irritable during a diet is hopelessness. When I don't see immediate results, I become incredibly frustrated. I think to myself, what's the point?

    This is probably obvious, but I feel that maintaining hope is absolutely essential to sustaining a diet or exercise regimen. Since this is my first real attempt at a diet, I have no better advice to offer...
  • LadyOfOceanBreeze
    LadyOfOceanBreeze Posts: 762 Member
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    One of the main ways I conquer the grouchy person is exercise, which may sound strange because it's not really "fun" right? Well, interestingly, the more I do it, the more I like it and the funner it gets! Exercise causes us to make endorphins which naturally cause us to enjoy a better mood :) at least, that's my take on it after trying it! So, the more you exert yourself, the better you feel.

    Another bonus is that exertion also curbs appetite...what a great chain reaction :laugh: Drinking green tea (8 ounces) during the day also helps me. I do half regular and half decaf. Be careful if you're not used to it because it can be hard on the stomach at first, try 1 teabag to 2 cups H2O...hope this helps! Try to drink without sugar, the Chai Green Tea from "Stash" is naturally sweet.

    Good luck & let's do this!:bigsmile:
  • hankhanna
    hankhanna Posts: 72 Member
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    This is probably obvious, but I feel that maintaining hope is absolutely essential to sustaining a diet or exercise regimen. Since this is my first real attempt at a diet, I have no better advice to offer...

    I'm with ya. I am in such a great place (otherwise) mentally that I have not had any "why bother" moments yet. I did in the past and wrote about it on my blog last night actually.

    Hope is a great thing so we should embrace it every chance we get!
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
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    I'm not really an angry person, but I have been a little more irritated lately. It may be due to other new things in my life, medications, etc.

    What I get most irritated at, interestingly enough, is other people not paying attention to what they eat. This is a huge problem because I work in fast food, I encounter unhealthy decisions all day long. I just want to grab people and yell at them to stop eating that crap.
  • Angeloftheshore
    Angeloftheshore Posts: 227 Member
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    I do, I get angry because I hate the taste of almost anything good for me. I hate chicken, hate fish, hate veggies. So it's very hard for me to eat healthy and I find I get angry when I am just eating for fuel, because there is no enjoyment for me. But, I keep trying, and eventually will start experimenting with recipes to try and make it fun :wink:
  • Angeloftheshore
    Angeloftheshore Posts: 227 Member
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    One of the main ways I conquer the grouchy person is exercise, which may sound strange because it's not really "fun" right? Well, interestingly, the more I do it, the more I like it and the funner it gets! Exercise causes us to make endorphins which naturally cause us to enjoy a better mood :) at least, that's my take on it after trying it! So, the more you exert yourself, the better you feel.

    Another bonus is that exertion also curbs appetite...what a great chain reaction :laugh: Drinking green tea (8 ounces) during the day also helps me. I do half regular and half decaf. Be careful if you're not used to it because it can be hard on the stomach at first, try 1 teabag to 2 cups H2O...hope this helps! Try to drink without sugar, the Chai Green Tea from "Stash" is naturally sweet.

    Good luck & let's do this!:bigsmile:


    Exercise works for me here too. Because even though I hate what I am eating, I love feeling stronger and challenging myself
  • fitniknik
    fitniknik Posts: 713 Member
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    It will get better!
  • NeuroticVirgo
    NeuroticVirgo Posts: 3,671 Member
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    i think of trying to lose weight is about equal to an alcholic trying to stop drinking.

    That's how I feel! I think all the irritability is our bodies having to cope with us not letting it have its "fix" of certain foods. (Like 90lbs of chocolate!).

    But I have to agree with another post about not getting enough food. Make sure your eating all the calories MFP says you should be eating. I've also heard that Fats help boost your mood. So maybe try eating healthy - fatty foods...likes some nuts, avocados etc.
  • sweetsarahj
    sweetsarahj Posts: 701 Member
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    I think what makes me anger and irritable during a diet is hopelessness. When I don't see immediate results, I become incredibly frustrated. I think to myself, what's the point?

    This is probably obvious, but I feel that maintaining hope is absolutely essential to sustaining a diet or exercise regimen. Since this is my first real attempt at a diet, I have no better advice to offer...

    I used to feel that way, I know exactly what you mean. I would tell myself that the weight wasn't going anywhere, so why was I bothering, then I'd go eat a (large) bag of chips and two or three chocolate bars.

    I don't think this way anymore. I just started taking it one day at a time and not get frustrated with the scale. I gave myself a realistic calorie goal (1550 every day). Less than that and I am starving and unhappy. I don't enter in my exercise, it's easier for me to aim at the same target every day. I also exercise every day. I think the key is to make small changes because it's easier to adapt to small changes than big ones. I weigh myself every day, but I don't get upset if I go up a couple pounds. i *KNOW* I will reach my goal, and I *KNOW* that it's going to take a long time. Weighing myself every day helps me better understand how the food I eat affects my body. However, I only 'count' the weight and measurements I do at the end of each month.

    It's taken me six months to 'fix' my thoughts like this, but now I feel totally committed!
  • sweetsarahj
    sweetsarahj Posts: 701 Member
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    I'm not really an angry person, but I have been a little more irritated lately. It may be due to other new things in my life, medications, etc.

    What I get most irritated at, interestingly enough, is other people not paying attention to what they eat. This is a huge problem because I work in fast food, I encounter unhealthy decisions all day long. I just want to grab people and yell at them to stop eating that crap.

    WOW it's got to be hard being around all that temptation! I used to work in a pub and I got a free meal at every shift, it made it really hard to eat healthy.
  • stephanielynn76
    stephanielynn76 Posts: 709 Member
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    Yes... I struggle with this. I feel like I have less patience with my kids. When I was filling my gut to it's fullest all the time and not stressing over it, I seemed to be more easy going and less irritable. Now I stress about what I'm eating and how much all the time... and I'm rarely completely "full" these days. I eat until I'm not hungry then stop. The endorphin release and exercise does help though. It's hard to be too irritable when your completely worn out.
  • Jorra
    Jorra Posts: 3,338 Member
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    I'm not really an angry person, but I have been a little more irritated lately. It may be due to other new things in my life, medications, etc.

    What I get most irritated at, interestingly enough, is other people not paying attention to what they eat. This is a huge problem because I work in fast food, I encounter unhealthy decisions all day long. I just want to grab people and yell at them to stop eating that crap.

    WOW it's got to be hard being around all that temptation! I used to work in a pub and I got a free meal at every shift, it made it really hard to eat healthy.

    It is, but I'm getting better since I spend my free time reading the nutrition facts off the back of the tray liner. I've made it a goal to eat there as little as possible even though I do get a 50% discount. Even when I do eat there, I'll just get a plain small burger or a small order of chicken nuggets.

    I've mentioned it many times before, but Eat This, Not That is the greatest guide to eating out at many national chains. They have a book series and a website to check the facts.
  • LenaHams
    LenaHams Posts: 2
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    I just blogged about this. I eat really healthy, and I hit my exercise goals every week, and I lose on average a pound a week, but I have murder-rage about dieting. I literally feel like it's some sort of punishment to eat right. It's my fault I got this way so I don't deserve "treats"... and my poor husband tries to cheer me up and be motivating but if I'm in a funk everything he says just makes me more mad that I'm not my ideal.
  • Sqeekyjojo
    Sqeekyjojo Posts: 704 Member
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    I think that when people use food or not eating to deal with anger, resentment and conflict, and to distract away from those feelings or stifle them, not using that coping strategy anymore can make the emotions come out. They're not being eaten down, purged away or stifled anymore.

    And losing a coping strategy that could have been there everyday for decades is gonna be scary - a lot of people respond to scary, to feeling vulnerable, by wanting to attack, to get in there first.


    Suppose the important thing is to identify why somebody has been under or overeating, what they gained from it, and see how they can get a similar psychological reward in a way that doesn't hurt them.
  • aberc
    aberc Posts: 98
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    I've been eating healthy for over a year now, super healthy for a few months, and I've been a very irritable person since the beginning. I go through my stages of happiness and super-niceness about once a month, but besides that, I dont know whether it's dieting or depression (which I've always struggled with..) but I get annoyed easily and end up lashing out.

    It gets worse when I see people around me (friend/family) eating all of my favorite foods that I used to eat. I get really pissed because honestly, it's kind of rude to eat luscious pizza or gooey mac and cheese in front of healthy-eating-dieter, right? :(

    It's bad though cause I can't really control my aggression and temper-tantrums. I mean I love the food I eat, I really do, I just get tired of the same thing, and if I have a cheat meal, I can't help but feel guilty the next day which puts me into an even worse mood. Im strugglin' haha
  • endoftheside
    endoftheside Posts: 568 Member
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    I get rage-y for two reasons that I know of since starting.

    One is that I committed myself to no longer eating my feelings. Wowza that opened up a few cans of worms. Some problems don't have any good solutions and it is *hard* to feel those feelings and let them pass on by without stuffing them down with food, or lashing out. So, that's a work in progress because some of the problems do need action, even if there is no GOOD solution.

    The other is that I get angry if I feel deprived and/or hungry. The first I can deal with by making nothing absolutely off limits, and second I deal with by setting a reasonable deficit, increasing intake of bulky foods like veggies, going to bed early if necessary, and exercising (for mood lifting, feeling better physically, and a little calorie boost).

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