Headaches

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mej25670
mej25670 Posts: 1 Member
in Getting Started
How to I get rid of the headaches. I’ve been eating a healthy breakfast every morning. Though, two hours later I end up with a headache. Anybody have a clue on how to get rid of this feeling? New to this whole weight loss thing.

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  • NovusDies
    NovusDies Posts: 8,940 Member
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    What were you eating before? What is a "healthy" breakfast to you? Did you cut your caffeine when you started trying to lose weight? How long have you been trying to lose? How much do you want to lose? How fast are you trying to lose it?
  • lois1231
    lois1231 Posts: 331 Member
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    Probably the reduction in caffeine I am guessing is causing your headaches. When I first started I was pretty much waking up with them daily. It gets better.
  • Danp
    Danp Posts: 1,561 Member
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    Can't say that I've experienced headaches related to weight loss.

    How severe is your calorie deficit?
    What new foods/drinks have you added? What foods/drinks have you eliminated?
  • kiwiandcoconuts
    kiwiandcoconuts Posts: 19 Member
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    Make sure you are drinking plenty of water. Other than that it could be from cutting out sugar cold turkey, cutting out caffeine or not eating enough.

    I suffered from severe migraines for about a month after I worked out. Didn’t matter what I did... 45 minutes after a good workout I’d be in pain for 48-72hours. Went to doctor after doctor and no one could figure it out. I pushed through and they finally went away - but those first few weeks were hell. Hope you’re not dealing with the same mysterious issue.
  • apullum
    apullum Posts: 4,838 Member
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    Did you have any issues with headaches before you changed your eating habits?

    What is your current weight, goal weight, and pace of loss in MFP? How are you tracking your food--food scale, measuring cups, eyeballing it? Undereating can cause headaches and can happen when one chooses an overly aggressive deficit or overestimates their calories.

    If by "healthy" you mean you cut out caffeine, then that may also be the problem.

    If you are skipping meals or going a longer time than usual between meals/snacks, that can also cause some people to have headaches.

    Are you working out, and if so, what do you eat before a workout? How long before a workout do you eat it? Some people do fine if they work out fasted, but others do not.
  • Elise4270
    Elise4270 Posts: 8,375 Member
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    Hi @mej25670 . The headaches can be from a few things. They could be unrelated to your diet change also. I get headaches with PMS, allergies (esp if it's very windy), dehydration (how has your diet changed? keto? or low carb? or a large deficit?), electrolytes (can be diet and/or exercise), medication (birth control?), and worst of all food allergies.

    All of these are things, along with stress, will cause a headache or migraine. If you don't think it's any of the above or something is within your control to thwart them, I suggest seeing your doc about them. They can be helpful.

    Foods that get me, in case you notice a trend include: chocolate, soy lethicin, soy protein, peanuts (too many any of nut), nitrates, sulfates, nitrites, sulfites (wines, luncheon meats), aged cheese, pastas, MSG, and tapioca. Certain lights get to me too. Are you working under poor lighting? Have you had your vision checked?

    If you have drastically cut calories or gone keto (look up keto flu), you could get headaches. I'd Personally suggest adding a few more calories with breakfast, an orange (even if keto- oranges are good food, eat them) or other carb/fiber healthy food like berries.

    I knew a woman that got migraines with citrus, so be wary of foods. I will have a food-related headache 23-24 hours after eating the offending food. It's made it a little easier to figure out what or where I ate and avoid it.

    Good luck.
  • cmriverside
    cmriverside Posts: 33,943 Member
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    If you cut carbs by quite a lot, it could be that. If you have cut carbs, look up "Carb Flu" and add some salt to your plan.

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