Post carby meal - twitchy legs?

SarahxCheesecake
SarahxCheesecake Posts: 169 Member
in Food and Nutrition
I have what I can only describe as static muscle contractions post carby meal. So really it could be a sugar crash. But what I want to know is does this affect any one else?

Ill try and explain better, every night after a carby meal when I sit down to watch TV, so about 1 hour or so after the meal, my legs get all twitchy, its like I want to stretch them out all the time. Does this make sense?

Replies

  • alamaps99
    alamaps99 Posts: 1 Member
    I have experienced 'twitchy' or restless legs also, but I have not drawn the correlation with meals high in carbs - I usually experience this late at night, and have noticed a pattern of this happening if I have a glass of wine with dinner and then sit for too long. It's almost predictable! But I will definitely look out for the carb content of my meals and see if I notice the same.
  • SarahxCheesecake
    SarahxCheesecake Posts: 169 Member
    Try adding extra protein into your meal and see if your legs still misbehave !!! Im not so bad after a healthy meal or being a veggie, a meal with tofu.
  • adamitri
    adamitri Posts: 614 Member
    Is this like restless leg syndrome?
  • icemaiden37
    icemaiden37 Posts: 238 Member
    I get this after eating oriental food. Not sure what causes it though. Maybe just the excitement of a takeaway!
  • kleighsamboer33
    kleighsamboer33 Posts: 39 Member
    It could be a lot of things: restless leg syndrome, sugar issues, electrolyte issues, allergic reactions to wheat/gluten, ect. I have that issue but it is not tied to any of these things. I have Fibromyalgia and CMP. I get the spasms/twitches at random times of the day/night.
  • SarahxCheesecake
    SarahxCheesecake Posts: 169 Member
    Well I've found out what this is. It is related to an excess of carbs but also poor diet. Since buying a smoothie maker and subsequently getting my greens daily I don't get twitchy legs after for example a large pizza take away. So there you go, it proves that getting your greens (in my case brocolli and spinach) really does make a difference.
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    edited November 2015
    This content has been removed.
  • SarahxCheesecake
    SarahxCheesecake Posts: 169 Member
    Reporting back just over 2 years later about this post. It definitely happens after a heavy carb meal and its more like a static muscle contraction. So basically an unbalanced diet lacking in protein.
  • hjg0989
    hjg0989 Posts: 17 Member
    I get twitchy legs if I do a lot of exercising, especially hiking and backpacking. I finally figured out that taking a magnesium supplement took care of the problem. Don't take too much though, it will have a laxative effect.
  • SarahxCheesecake
    SarahxCheesecake Posts: 169 Member
    Hi after 5 years. I had no idea I'd been struggling with this for 5 years. I now know what it is and you're not gonna believe me, but it was stress (from a partner). We are still together but only get in when he's in bed with me. I know I have a lot to work on and I'm aware of that but at least I know what it was.
  • SarahxCheesecake
    SarahxCheesecake Posts: 169 Member
    Crikey April 2015 I posted this and it’s still a problem. Meno maybe? Defo sugar related.
  • SarahxCheesecake
    SarahxCheesecake Posts: 169 Member
    No need to be quite so harsh eh? Try to be kinder.
  • Sara3veg
    Sara3veg Posts: 48 Member
    edited June 2021
    When I was very low carb I had this happen quite a bit and sometimes it was quite painful. Never able to pin down to what was causing it, but know it was diet related because it started when I made the drastic macros changes, and then went away once I went back to eating a higher carb diet. Now I'm eating pretty SAD (standard American diet), and have no issues at all anymore. Very weird lol :)

  • SarahxCheesecake
    SarahxCheesecake Posts: 169 Member
    Thanks yeah it was really painful for me sometimes too.
  • wi1234567890
    wi1234567890 Posts: 57 Member
    This happens to me at night when I’m tired but instead of going to sleep I’m forcing myself to stay up and finish watching a show. My entire body gets all twitchy and I feel the need to frequently stretch.
  • Noreenmarie1234
    Noreenmarie1234 Posts: 7,492 Member
    I get this at night if I eat dairy so I try to avoid dairy.
  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    Eating low carb leads to less water being stored in the body as carbs bind fluid. That's normal. Going low carb can flush out this water. And with it you lose a ton of salt, and possibly other electrolytes. I know that when I lose electrolytes (I have a medical condition that does this) then I get all sorts of muscle problems. Could be muscle twitching, pins and needles underneath my feet, my limbs falling asleep when they're in contact with the back of a sofa, a chair edge, even the loo, and lets not talk about trying to sleep.

    Thus did you look into this direction? did you have some bloods to check electrolytes? What happens if you eat a few bananas or take some magnesium? Btw, restless leg syndrome can in some cases also be due to too low electrolytes (especially magnesium) or low iron levels. @cmriverside is right: go to the doctor, get checked instead of posting here once in a while for years to say nothing has changed.
  • glassyo
    glassyo Posts: 7,759 Member
    I get twitchy even at the thought of never being able to eat carbs anymore.
  • SarahxCheesecake
    SarahxCheesecake Posts: 169 Member
    [@cmriverside is right: go to the doctor, get checked instead of posting here once in a while for years to say nothing has changed. [/quote]


    My life doesn’t revolve around posting on here. If I want to post this and that about what’s happened then I will continue to do so. So much hate and judgement.

  • yirara
    yirara Posts: 9,986 Member
    SarahxCheesecake wrote: »
    [@cmriverside is right: go to the doctor, get checked instead of posting here once in a while for years to say nothing has changed.


    My life doesn’t revolve around posting on here. If I want to post this and that about what’s happened then I will continue to do so. So much hate and judgement.

    [/quote]

    So what have you done to improve the situation?

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