Are headaches normal within the first few weeks?

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reioflight07
reioflight07 Posts: 4 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I just recently started portion controlling what I eat and for the past few days my head has been killing me. I did this years ago and it did go away but is it normal to have suck killer headaches when starting a diet?

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  • hpg19
    hpg19 Posts: 10 Member
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    Are you first and foremost eating enough food?
  • reioflight07
    reioflight07 Posts: 4 Member
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    I'm eating the amount of calories that the app tells me to eat
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,028 Member
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    reioflight07 wrote: »
    I'm eating the amount of calories that the app tells me to eat

    The app can only provide a suggestion based on the information you give it. Did you describe yourself as sedentary while actually getting 8,000, 10,000, or more steps in during your daily activity? Did you tell the app you want to lose 2 lbs a week even though that might be an overly aggressive goal for you (if, for example, you are already at a healthy weight and are just trying to lose the last few "vanity" pounds)?



    Putting aside the possibility that you aren't eating enough, other common causes of headaches at the beginning of starting a new diet are that

    (1) you've cut out caffeine (caffeine withdrawal headaches generally go away in a few days),

    (2) you've cut out or drastically reduced carbs (my understanding is that "keto flu" symptoms generally go away within a week, but maybe someone with more knowledge or experience with low-carb eating will come along),

    (3) you've added something new to your diet (or increased your consumption of it) that you have an allergy or intolerance to, or

    (4) you're dehydrated because of changes in your food and drink consumption (many foods contribute substantial amounts of the water your body uses) and sweat lost to exercise.
  • reioflight07
    reioflight07 Posts: 4 Member
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    reioflight07 wrote: »
    I'm eating the amount of calories that the app tells me to eat

    "The app can only provide a suggestion based on the information you give it. Did you describe yourself as sedentary while actually getting 8,000, 10,000, or more steps in during your daily activity? Did you tell the app you want to lose 2 lbs a week even though that might be an overly aggressive goal for you (if, for example, you are already at a healthy weight and are just trying to lose the last few "vanity" pounds)?"



    I put in that I am lightly active. I work 40-58 hours a week standing a walking. I get anywhere from 5000-12000 steps in per day depending on what I'm doing at my job.

    I am not at a health weight (almost 280 😥) which is why I am watching my portions that I eat because I want to lose weight, which I just said the 1 pound a week because I didn't want to overdue it. My goal weight is 250 at the current time

    I have not removed coffee from my diet because that would really kill me.

    I may have cut more from diet then I realized because I think was eating 3000-5000 calories a day, and the app has me at little over 2000 which is what I'm trying to stick to
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,028 Member
    edited June 2019
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    reioflight07 wrote: »


    I put in that I am lightly active. I work 40-58 hours a week standing a walking. I get anywhere from 5000-12000 steps in per day depending on what I'm doing at my job.

    I am not at a health weight (almost 280 😥) which is why I am watching my portions that I eat because I want to lose weight, which I just said the 1 pound a week because I didn't want to overdue it. My goal weight is 250 at the current time

    I have not removed coffee from my diet because that would really kill me.

    I may have cut more from diet then I realized because I think was eating 3000-5000 calories a day, and the app has me at little over 2000 which is what I'm trying to stick to

    Lightly active could be a bit of an understatement for your daily activity (although 5,000-12,000 is a big range, so it's hard to say). So you could try adjusting your profile to active, which should give you a few more calories,, although I would think your choosing a conservative 1 pound a week would have counterbalanced an understatement of your activity level. But everybody is different, and some people don't seem to respond as well to even a moderate deficit, especially at first, and need to ease into it.

    Have you added intentional exercise to your routine, and are you eating the calories MFP gives you for those as well?

    Also, how long have you been tracking at this 2000-ish calorie level, and what have the scale results been?


    Edited to try to fix the quote nesting.
  • reioflight07
    reioflight07 Posts: 4 Member
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    lynn_glenmont wrote: »
    reioflight07 wrote: »


    Lightly active could be a bit of an understatement for your daily activity (although 5,000-12,000 is a big range, so it's hard to say). So you could try adjusting your profile to active, which should give you a few more calories,, although I would think your choosing a conservative 1 pound a week would have counterbalanced an understatement of your activity level. But everybody is different, and some people don't seem to respond as well to even a moderate deficit, especially at first, and need to ease into it.

    Have you added intentional exercise to your routine, and are you eating the calories MFP gives you for those as well?

    Also, how long have you been tracking at this 2000-ish calorie level, and what have the scale results been?


    Edited to try to fix the quote nesting.



    I haven't added any extra exercise to my daily lifestyle and I have been tracking for about 5 days now and I have lost about 7lbs
  • lynn_glenmont
    lynn_glenmont Posts: 10,028 Member
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    reioflight07 wrote: »
    lynn_glenmont wrote: »


    Lightly active could be a bit of an understatement for your daily activity (although 5,000-12,000 is a big range, so it's hard to say). So you could try adjusting your profile to active, which should give you a few more calories,, although I would think your choosing a conservative 1 pound a week would have counterbalanced an understatement of your activity level. But everybody is different, and some people don't seem to respond as well to even a moderate deficit, especially at first, and need to ease into it.

    Have you added intentional exercise to your routine, and are you eating the calories MFP gives you for those as well?

    Also, how long have you been tracking at this 2000-ish calorie level, and what have the scale results been?


    Edited to try to fix the quote nesting.



    I haven't added any extra exercise to my daily lifestyle and I have been tracking for about 5 days now and I have lost about 7lbs

    OK. It's not really possible to say that early in the process whether you're undereating, because a lot of that seven pounds could be (and almost certainly is) water weight and/or less waste in your digestive system, but there's no way of knowing how much.

    All I can suggest is taking it easy, getting plenty of sleep, avoiding things that may exacerbate the issue (loud noises, bright lights, etc.), taking an NSAID if there's no medical reason to avoid them, and seeing a doctor if it doesn't pass soon. It's always possible it's a coincident and there's some factor unrelated to your diet causing the headaches.
  • tofuligan
    tofuligan Posts: 45 Member
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    I get horrific headaches when trying to lose weight if one of two things is happening:
    (1) I’m not eating healthy fats like nuts, nut butter, olive oil, etc., or
    (2) I eat under 1700 calories. Yeah yeah, weight loss “requires” 1200-1500 but my body consistently says NOPE, you need a minimum of 1700 to get you through your day.

    Those aren’t necessarily the only culprits, but I hope my experience helps, and I also hope you listen to your body!

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