Does anyone else get headaches while dieting?

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Replies

  • diannethegeek
    diannethegeek Posts: 14,776 Member
    edited September 2018
    There are a lot of good ideas here to look at. Another thing I want to toss into the pot is that artificial sweeteners are a known migraine trigger in some people. idk if the OP is consuming them or not, but it's common for "diet" foods to include them. It's worth looking into.
  • endermako
    endermako Posts: 785 Member
    make sure you have enough water, and if you cut out sugary drinks like soda, you could be having caffeine withdrawals which do go away. Make sure you're replacing those missed liquids with water.
  • raekrist7022
    raekrist7022 Posts: 10 Member
    Thank you for all the helpful advice. Yesterday I upped my calorie intake to 1700 and didn't get a headache until right at the end of the day but even that was nowhere near as bad as the previous day.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    raekrist7022 wrote: »
    Thank you for all the helpful advice. Yesterday I upped my calorie intake to 1700 and didn't get a headache until right at the end of the day but even that was nowhere near as bad as the previous day.

    Were some of these extra calories carbs? It's possible that you just don't do well with lower carbs. How is your sodium intake? Have you drastically lowered it (by cutting out processed foods, for example)?
  • raekrist7022
    raekrist7022 Posts: 10 Member
    Yes they were mostly carbs. I added 1 extra wheatabix to breakfast in the morning. A pear along with my usual snacks and a piece of bread with my soup for tea. I have also cut a lot of processed foods.
    So far today I feel okay, not headachey.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    raekrist7022 wrote: »
    Yes they were mostly carbs. I added 1 extra wheatabix to breakfast in the morning. A pear along with my usual snacks and a piece of bread with my soup for tea. I have also cut a lot of processed foods.
    So far today I feel okay, not headachey.

    Try experimenting with more carbs at your original 1500 calories, if that doesn't work, trying adding more salt to your diet, if that doesn't work, then you just need extra calories.
  • shaumom
    shaumom Posts: 1,003 Member
    edited September 2018
    One thing that might be worth trying, just to experiment - maybe keep your carbs and calories up, but keep the wheat really low like you were doing during the diet?

    There is a thing called gluten withdrawal that people who are celiacs get when they first go gluten free (or gluten lite). This is just the layman's term for it, though - it's not like it's actually been studied as true withdrawal.

    But anyone can have it happen, far as I've seen; it's pretty much just something that happens to some folks when your wheat/rye/barley intake drops significantly. Docs haven't really studied it enough to know why it happens (because it does not seem to be carb related), but a huge part of the celiac community talk about their experiences with it, and headaches can be part of it. So seeing if it's carbs, or wheat specifically, might be helpful.

    If it IS wheat, getting a celiac test might be worth while, or a wheat allergy test.

    Also for experimenting - mess around with the other variables while keeping calories up. Like, lower the sugar like you usually do when you diet, while keeping calories up. Lower carbs like might happen when dieting, but leaving calories up.

    If nothing else, it might help you figure out more precisely what is causing the headaches, so maybe help for a more successful attempt at losing weight through lowering calories (if you wish to try it later on). :-)
  • jgnatca
    jgnatca Posts: 14,464 Member
    Coming to the party late but I get a three day headache when I go off caffeine, and I am not a coffee drinker. I get my caffeine from tea and chocolate only.

    Debilitating is a whole other kettle of fish and you do need to watch that more carefully.
  • VUA21
    VUA21 Posts: 2,072 Member
    Besides diet related headaches (massive change in caffeine, salt, etc). Headaches can also be caused by stress and anxiety. If the thought of going on a diet is causing you stress, this could also be the reason for getting headaches. If this is the case then you need to rethink what a diet is so that's it's less stressful.

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