Mental fog & headaches when eating less?
kiela64
Posts: 1,447 Member
I’ve been trying to play with meal timing to avoid these things. It happened yesterday when I was waiting about an hour too long for dinner (not on purpose, it wasn’t cooked yet).
But I’ve also realized it’s my main “fear” when trying to eat less. I’m in university & making my brain do things is like my main occupation, so the fear of letting that slip even a little often pushes me to buy (often unhealthy- and overpriced!) food or just eat more in general.
I’d recently stopped binging/eating junk foods. That was my goal for a while, so I was able to see what my “normal” or baseline diet was. What felt like “enough” to me. And it’s around 2100cal, which, especially at my height and low activity level*, is in the gaining range. Just over maintenance by about 200cal.
In the past few days I’ve reminded myself I am indeed capable of making myself eat less without disaster, but getting the timing right (and maybe the macros? Idk) seems finicky - and I’m definitely experiencing these really undesirable effects.
I know not everyone has bad feelings like this when dieting or even fasting, but I do, and my question is for other people who ran into this & wondering what you did to fix it? Just hearing your experience
But I’ve also realized it’s my main “fear” when trying to eat less. I’m in university & making my brain do things is like my main occupation, so the fear of letting that slip even a little often pushes me to buy (often unhealthy- and overpriced!) food or just eat more in general.
I’d recently stopped binging/eating junk foods. That was my goal for a while, so I was able to see what my “normal” or baseline diet was. What felt like “enough” to me. And it’s around 2100cal, which, especially at my height and low activity level*, is in the gaining range. Just over maintenance by about 200cal.
In the past few days I’ve reminded myself I am indeed capable of making myself eat less without disaster, but getting the timing right (and maybe the macros? Idk) seems finicky - and I’m definitely experiencing these really undesirable effects.
I know not everyone has bad feelings like this when dieting or even fasting, but I do, and my question is for other people who ran into this & wondering what you did to fix it? Just hearing your experience
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Replies
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This is my biggest problem too. I always feel foggy and headacy when in a deficit. I do know if I have a high fiber diet with higher protien it is better because it keeps my blood sugar regulated longer.0
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Mental fog and headaches can come from more than eating at a deficit.
Are you getting enough sleep?
Are you getting enough water?
If you think that you get a mental fog between meals, perhaps you should schedule some if your calories for snacks between meals.2 -
How long have you stuck to a more appropriate calorie level? Do you stop immediately when you get a headache? I ask this because headaches can also come along with stress, and it's possible that worrying about your weight, and your diet, and getting a headache are, well... giving you a headache.
Is it a bad, "I must medicate" painful headache, or an annoyance headache?
Have you been to a doctor or had a physical recently?
When I was younger I used to always get a low grade headache when I got hungry, so I would eat several little meals spaced out through the day. It doesn't happen to me anymore, and I have no idea why.
I honestly have no idea what mental fog/mental clarity is supposed to be, though it seems like something everyone likes to bring up recently, so I don't know what to say about that.2 -
Do you have blood sugar issues? I'm not diabetic, but I do get hypoglycemic. While losing, I have switched from 3 bit meals/day to 3 smallish meals with 2 snacks (mid-morning/afternoon). This helps keep my blood sugar stable all day.
Another suggestion: make sure you are eating things that keep you full. I don't track macros specifically, but I realized trading a serving of chicken or veggies for a piece of bread or some pretzels wasn't doing me any good. The veggies and protein kept me full waaaaaaaay longer than the carbs.
Finally, make sure you are actually eating enough! The only times I have had prolonged periods of fog is when I wasn't eating enough calories. How do you track your calorie burn every day? Is it accurate? Are you trying to lose too much weight too quickly? Be honest about these answers and that may solve your problem.0 -
As Kimny said, you may be stressing yourself into it. Other things to consider: Have you reduced your caffeine intake? What about carbs? A drastic reduction in either of those could cause headache and possibly the brain fog. Unfortunately, you will likely have to keep playing with it. When I reduce caffeine the headache and fog lasts about 3 days. If it is persistent, you should consider seeing your doctor to rule out anything medical. What calorie amount are you aiming for? Maybe a less drastic adjustment period would help you.0
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OP, I noticed the last couple of days you logged a very low amount of calories? Are those days complete?
If you drastically cut your calories it could certainly cause a headache. And if you are continually under-eating, getting a headache, overeating to compensate and repeating this cycle over and over again that will just exacerbate the problem.
Try eating at a 250 calorie deficit at first, stay away from the scale, log accurately, hydrate, and see how that goes.1 -
Eating in a deficit shouldn't make you feel ill. Are you undereating, to aggressive deficit? Or lacking in one or more nutrients? Maybe as simple as salt? Or dehydrated? Or caffeine withdrawal? Or could it be anxiety, from knowing you're eating less, or change in general?0
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What are your stats? It sounds like your deficit is too aggressive, and from looking at a couple of days in your diary quickly, it seems like it is.
Why are you eating so far under your calorie goal? MFP already sets you at a deficit.0 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »What are your stats? It sounds like your deficit is too aggressive, and from looking at a couple of days in your diary quickly, it seems like it is.
Why are you eating so far under your calorie goal? MFP already sets you at a deficit.
My calorie goal right now is set at maintaining, because that was my goal for the previous while. I haven’t updated it yet - I am nervous to believe I have finally decided to diet, and so I am counting anything below maintenance as a win. The last couple of days I’ve been trying to feel my way with meal timing. I was home injured for a while, and yesterday I did undereat by accident. That’s what prompted my questions because I did notice that what happened was exactly what my anxiety about eating less is all about.
I’m also not logging accurately. I haven’t started measuring my food yet & I don’t have a food scale. I don’t own a person-scale either. But yeah I’m probably going to aim closer to 1600 in the future - but I need to start planning and problem solving this issue too. Because I can eat a lot in a day but still get this. That’s why I’m interested in other people’s experiences with these things.
I have mentioned that this happens to my doctor, I’ve been tested for diabetes and I don’t have it. But she thinks it isn’t an issue. So I’m thinking there’s a way to combat it.
Metal fog is when your thinking gets slow, and it takes a long time to think through small things. Like choosing a shirt to wear, or what to do next, or thinking of words to use. Not everyone gets it. If you’ve ever skipped a night of sleep or been drunkish it can be similar.0 -
1) Whenever I cut out sugar and junk food it takes my body a while to adjust. It's used to getting sugar for energy and it throws a tantrum when I get rid of it.
2) Are you still eating a lot of high calorie low nutrition foods?
3) I take a multivitamin. I notice my diet is very low in iron and my nails start bending at the ends. I also find my indoor life leads to low vitamin d. I feel so much better, less fatigued and less brain fog when I take a multivitamin. Make sure you are drinking enough water and sleeping enough too.0 -
Your description of mental fog sounds mostly like stress/anxiety, which is unsurprising, given how you talk about the process and your recent injury.5
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »What are your stats? It sounds like your deficit is too aggressive, and from looking at a couple of days in your diary quickly, it seems like it is.
Why are you eating so far under your calorie goal? MFP already sets you at a deficit.
My calorie goal right now is set at maintaining, because that was my goal for the previous while. I haven’t updated it yet - I am nervous to believe I have finally decided to diet, and so I am counting anything below maintenance as a win. The last couple of days I’ve been trying to feel my way with meal timing. I was home injured for a while, and yesterday I did undereat by accident. That’s what prompted my questions because I did notice that what happened was exactly what my anxiety about eating less is all about.
I’m also not logging accurately. I haven’t started measuring my food yet & I don’t have a food scale. I don’t own a person-scale either. But yeah I’m probably going to aim closer to 1600 in the future - but I need to start planning and problem solving this issue too. Because I can eat a lot in a day but still get this. That’s why I’m interested in other people’s experiences with these things.
I have mentioned that this happens to my doctor, I’ve been tested for diabetes and I don’t have it. But she thinks it isn’t an issue. So I’m thinking there’s a way to combat it.
Metal fog is when your thinking gets slow, and it takes a long time to think through small things. Like choosing a shirt to wear, or what to do next, or thinking of words to use. Not everyone gets it. If you’ve ever skipped a night of sleep or been drunkish it can be similar.
Anxiety, fear, nervous are a few words that jump out. Slips that are having you do things that are perhaps irrational behaviors that are are not normal for you. Trying to get macros right, timing of food right, it seems that you are trying to do too many things that are reverting you into a whirlwind of anxiety.
You ate under calories by accident knowing you feel bad with these symptoms? Taking the things you say in context it appears things are out of balance.
If you want to look at dietary, taking into account you under ate yesterday and/or the day(3) before, lower carbs and/or eating lower fat, could cause side effects. Dietary fat is good for brain function and hormonal balance. If you are not balanced dietary then are you staying hydrated or over hydrated? I can get headaches from this aspect myself. Maybe you are overworked/run down in general. Maybe you need to go back to the doctor and get more blood work done (comprehensive metabolic panel with accompanying labs to look for medical issues?)
In any regard I hope you get it worked out and back to 100% very soon.0 -
I found that keeping low calorie high protein and some "good" fats eliminated headaches and nausea for me. So, instead of cereal for breakfast, I'd have 2 scrambled eggs. Or instead of 2 cookies for a snack, I'd have an apple and an ounce of cheese. Or half an avocado with a generous sprinkling of the seasoning called "Spike". I found that snacks between meals helped fuel me through the day and reduced the frequency of headaches. As to mental fog, I'd make sure that in addition to hitting your daily calorie goal, you make sure you are hydrated. It's easy to forget to drink water, but try upping your intake and see whether that makes a difference.2
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GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »What are your stats? It sounds like your deficit is too aggressive, and from looking at a couple of days in your diary quickly, it seems like it is.
Why are you eating so far under your calorie goal? MFP already sets you at a deficit.
My calorie goal right now is set at maintaining, because that was my goal for the previous while. I haven’t updated it yet - I am nervous to believe I have finally decided to diet, and so I am counting anything below maintenance as a win. The last couple of days I’ve been trying to feel my way with meal timing. I was home injured for a while, and yesterday I did undereat by accident. That’s what prompted my questions because I did notice that what happened was exactly what my anxiety about eating less is all about.
I’m also not logging accurately. I haven’t started measuring my food yet & I don’t have a food scale. I don’t own a person-scale either. But yeah I’m probably going to aim closer to 1600 in the future - but I need to start planning and problem solving this issue too. Because I can eat a lot in a day but still get this. That’s why I’m interested in other people’s experiences with these things.
I have mentioned that this happens to my doctor, I’ve been tested for diabetes and I don’t have it. But she thinks it isn’t an issue. So I’m thinking there’s a way to combat it.
Metal fog is when your thinking gets slow, and it takes a long time to think through small things. Like choosing a shirt to wear, or what to do next, or thinking of words to use. Not everyone gets it. If you’ve ever skipped a night of sleep or been drunkish it can be similar.
Okay, I keep my diary the same way. I have it set to maintenance and eat to a deficit point. That's a TDEE method of calculating a deficit. And it's okay to leave a bit of a buffer if you're a sloppy logger.
I didn't look at your macros... what's your protein intake like? Are you cutting your fat too low? What's your sodium intake like? I ask the last thing because I'm on a medication that gives me low blood sodium and if I don't supplement electrolytes, I can get a bit wobbly headed and brain foggy too.0 -
You're not alone! This happens to me when I'm in a calorie deficit, too, and I've played around with many of the great suggestions given above with no luck. My headaches abate after 2-3 weeks, but the mental fog seems to creep in and get worse with time. Eating at maintenance for a few days reverses that and I feel back to normal.0
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Too large of a deficit?0
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More salt more water. The headaches and brain fog are symptoms of lowered carb intake. Just don't get used to the extra salt, you won't need it for long1
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My college focus was built around strong black coffee. I would rise really early the day of tests and down two pots while reviewing the material. Usually I was first to turn in. The caffeine also helps headaches as does the liquid.1
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My college focus was built around strong black coffee. I would rise really early the day of tests and down two pots while reviewing the material. Usually I was first to turn in. The caffeine also helps headaches as does the liquid.1) Whenever I cut out sugar and junk food it takes my body a while to adjust. It's used to getting sugar for energy and it throws a tantrum when I get rid of it.
2) Are you still eating a lot of high calorie low nutrition foods?
3) I take a multivitamin. I notice my diet is very low in iron and my nails start bending at the ends. I also find my indoor life leads to low vitamin d. I feel so much better, less fatigued and less brain fog when I take a multivitamin. Make sure you are drinking enough water and sleeping enough too.nutmegoreo wrote: »As Kimny said, you may be stressing yourself into it. Other things to consider: Have you reduced your caffeine intake? What about carbs? A drastic reduction in either of those could cause headache and possibly the brain fog. Unfortunately, you will likely have to keep playing with it. When I reduce caffeine the headache and fog lasts about 3 days. If it is persistent, you should consider seeing your doctor to rule out anything medical. What calorie amount are you aiming for? Maybe a less drastic adjustment period would help you.
So, I am not a coffee drinker. I CAN drink it, and enjoy it, but it gives me anxiety and I end up taking in more calories (sweetening) than with tea. I drink about 1-3 cups of tea in the morning. But when I do drink coffee and stop, I definitely get headaches. I tend to avoid it for those reasons. It doesn't give me any more mental clarity. Caffeine with ibuprofen is often a counter to migraines, but it can also cause headaches. It's not a fix for me. I honestly tend to be more easily distracted and less likely to focus when I drink coffee...everyone's different :P
My routine tends to be morning tea, 1 piece of whole-wheat toast with peanut butter and honey or jam, lunch (sometimes a ham sandwich, sometimes a bean wrap. lately I was pushing this to be smaller like a muffin and an apple or a protein bar), and then dinner is whatever my family is eating, often maybe 2-3oz of pork or chicken in soup or with potatoes & veggies, or a pasta with sauce, or a veggie stir fry. The protein varies widely with dinner, but my breakfast is pretty consistent.
I would say my typical intake is pretty carb-heavy, with medium protein and lower (but not low) fat. Today's macros were actually exactly MFP's guidelines 50 carb, 30 fat, 20 protein lol. Yesterday it was 51 carb, 34 fat, 15 protein. The day before, 53 carb, 22 fat, 24 protein. I'd say it fluctuates in that range, I looked at a 2000+cal day and it was actually the same ratio as yesterday. I wouldn't expect that to be a problem, but idk - thoughts?
The things that I DO think I need to pay more attention to - fruits and veggies and water. I could probably drink more water. I sometimes forget my water bottle at home and don't drink anything until I get home again, so that's probably not ideal lol. I'm not great at eating veggies. That could be a thing. I do have multi vitamins, but I've only taken it once because it's got calcium in it so I can't take it with my medication (daily low dose asprin) at breakfast.
Yeah, I know I'll probably need to keep playing with it. Thanks for all your feedback guys!
I'll add - I ate more today, it's been closer to 1400 in my loose counting and I might have something small before bed yet. I'll definitely aim to be more like in the 1400-1700 range rather than the 1200-1400 range, which seems to be where I was at for a few days that got people a little concerned. My accidental eating too little yesterday was because I got really hungry about 45min before dinner was going to be ready - but I didn't know it was going to be 45min so I only was told "soon" and I didn't want to eat extra if I could just wait a little. That failed and I ended up eating an apple, and then dinner, and being completely stuffed. If I'd eaten the apple like an hour earlier, and maybe something else, it wouldn't have been so weird. But I couldn't eat more after the dinner. I actually realized today I mis-logged the apple type, and it's almost double the calories too. So lol @ loose logging.0 -
GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »GottaBurnEmAll wrote: »What are your stats? It sounds like your deficit is too aggressive, and from looking at a couple of days in your diary quickly, it seems like it is.
Why are you eating so far under your calorie goal? MFP already sets you at a deficit.
My calorie goal right now is set at maintaining, because that was my goal for the previous while. I haven’t updated it yet - I am nervous to believe I have finally decided to diet, and so I am counting anything below maintenance as a win. The last couple of days I’ve been trying to feel my way with meal timing. I was home injured for a while, and yesterday I did undereat by accident. That’s what prompted my questions because I did notice that what happened was exactly what my anxiety about eating less is all about.
I’m also not logging accurately. I haven’t started measuring my food yet & I don’t have a food scale. I don’t own a person-scale either. But yeah I’m probably going to aim closer to 1600 in the future - but I need to start planning and problem solving this issue too. Because I can eat a lot in a day but still get this. That’s why I’m interested in other people’s experiences with these things.
I have mentioned that this happens to my doctor, I’ve been tested for diabetes and I don’t have it. But she thinks it isn’t an issue. So I’m thinking there’s a way to combat it.
Metal fog is when your thinking gets slow, and it takes a long time to think through small things. Like choosing a shirt to wear, or what to do next, or thinking of words to use. Not everyone gets it. If you’ve ever skipped a night of sleep or been drunkish it can be similar.
Okay, I keep my diary the same way. I have it set to maintenance and eat to a deficit point. That's a TDEE method of calculating a deficit. And it's okay to leave a bit of a buffer if you're a sloppy logger.
I didn't look at your macros... what's your protein intake like? Are you cutting your fat too low? What's your sodium intake like? I ask the last thing because I'm on a medication that gives me low blood sodium and if I don't supplement electrolytes, I can get a bit wobbly headed and brain foggy too.
I honestly just did it like that because when I had my calories set at 1780 or whatever awkward number MFP gave me to lose 1/2lb/week if I logged like 1784cal it would give me this awful red and it takes away the "under your calorie goal" thing in the post and it was so unreasonably disheartening and frustrating. I caught myself fiddling with my calories, like "maybe it was a little less butter, maybe 1 teaspoon of honey not 2" just to try to get it under, and I decided that was a waste of time and energy. Then I kept it there because I fell off the wagon/stopped trying for a while and I was trying desperately to reign things back in, and it was a challenge to even get it to that 2100 point (still over maintenance). This is me trying again :P
I put my general macros in my last reply ^ so it's there if you want to look at it. But it's pretty close to the MFP standard breakdown, with some fluctuation. I don't usually eat salty things, so I didn't expect my sodium to be high, but looking at it right now it's.....very high. It's consistently over the MFP goal - and bear in mind that's for maintenance, so atm my calories are lower than that. I don't really know what that's from.....I'll have to look at it more closely. I just kinda assumed I was eating a reasonable amount of sodium because very little tastes salty (probably a misconception). But that does mean that I'm probably not low on electrolytes lol yay :P0 -
IdLikeToLoseItLoseIt wrote: »You're not alone! This happens to me when I'm in a calorie deficit, too, and I've played around with many of the great suggestions given above with no luck. My headaches abate after 2-3 weeks, but the mental fog seems to creep in and get worse with time. Eating at maintenance for a few days reverses that and I feel back to normal.
Interesting! I mean, it sucks, but like some people don't seem to even experience mental fog to know what it is (jealous!). Someone thought it sounded like anxiety (which can create a lack of focus but it's not the same thing...).
From people's feedback, if it's anything I can control I'm thinking it might be more that I went sharply from eating like 2000 to closer to 1200 and now I'm increasing to 1400, the lack of water & veggies, and timing. My natural timing seems to be different from other people's.
From what I've seen in my past couple days of experiments, I can delay breakfast to about 10 or 11am depending on the day, as long as I drink tea and water when I get up. If I wait longer I feel headachey/foggy, etc. I can then wait until 1 or so to eat again, but I can get away with eating something smaller, as long as I eat again before 3, and that has protein. The muffin and apple yesterday - not good. Today's protein bar and apple went better. I also ate a large meal at 4:30ish rather than 5:30. That made a difference. And I was much better about drinking water! Again though I'm not hungry after my large meal. I know that if I eat a large breakfast or lunch I will be more hungry through the day.
I'm hoping going forwards I can use this info, and what ppl have shared. And if I'm running into more chronic issues - definitely a few days at maintenance aren't hard to do :P But I honestly haven't been at a deficient long enough rn to be experiencing that.
I think I'm going to try to take the multi as well, although I'll have to pack it with me to take it at lunch or smth. Maybe dinner? idk.
Thanks again everyone!0 -
It sounds like you might have some kind of other issue going on in the background that you might not realise is having an effect. Allergies and / or histamine problems are well known causes of brain fog. Your reaction to coffee could also be connected to histamine. Eating a lot of junk food causes your body to release a lot more histamine than is normal or desirable. If you suddenly stop junk food and eat healthy you will have a sudden decrease in histamine. We do want lower histamine but sudden drops in it, or low levels of it, can cause brain fog. If you think this could be the problem, you could try slowly changing your eating habits over a couple of months to allow your body to adapt and balance its neurotransmitters better.
One other thought. I see you are aiming for 20% protein as per MFP default macros. I find this too low for me and I end up craving carbs. I've been trying 30% protein with a bit of variation in carbs and fats of 40-50% & 20-30% respectively. I find as long as I'm hitting the protein amount, I can have variation in the other 2 and not get cravings.0 -
It sounds like you might have some kind of other issue going on in the background that you might not realise is having an effect. Allergies and / or histamine problems are well known causes of brain fog. Your reaction to coffee could also be connected to histamine. Eating a lot of junk food causes your body to release a lot more histamine than is normal or desirable. If you suddenly stop junk food and eat healthy you will have a sudden decrease in histamine. We do want lower histamine but sudden drops in it, or low levels of it, can cause brain fog. If you think this could be the problem, you could try slowly changing your eating habits over a couple of months to allow your body to adapt and balance its neurotransmitters better.
One other thought. I see you are aiming for 20% protein as per MFP default macros. I find this too low for me and I end up craving carbs. I've been trying 30% protein with a bit of variation in carbs and fats of 40-50% & 20-30% respectively. I find as long as I'm hitting the protein amount, I can have variation in the other 2 and not get cravings.
Interesting! I’ve had allergies done before and when I did describe this to my doctor she didn’t think it was unusual or anything to be concerned about. I really think it’s just not knowing meal timing & composition. I’m only allergic to dust and some weeds in the spring.
But I’ll take the protein suggestion - it’s on a handout I have from a few years back about avoiding migraines. I don’t really know how to increase my protein without increasing everything else and just eating more food though lol. But something to work on.0 -
I increased calories & protein and I’ve definitely had less of these issues. Not none - I had a headache and sleepy brain before dinner for about 30min. But it was less of a problem. So 1400-1600 is a much better range for me. Thanks for your suggestions, experiences, & trouble-shooting guys!!!0
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