Lost 2st 11lbs and getting irritable and snappy

[pennieV]

Hey there, I am new to mumsnet!

I have been solo dieting since Christmas, I found out I lost weight over Christmas so I decided to continue with it and have been calorie counting. I have lost 2st and 11lbs since then and finding I am awfully cranky! Everyday I snap at the littlest thing. I find the calorie counting side of it easy however it MUST be the diet bringing down my mood. I have also started exercising and my mood is just getting worse. I have developed a permanent tension headache over the last 2 days. Is there anyone who could give me advice as I really don't want to give up and I have such a long way to go, or is there anyone who also feels the same way at the moment. Maybe have a moan together lol...

Are you sure you're getting the right nutrients? I suggest taking a multi vitamin and drinking more water. Not sure what solo is, but could you add something starchy like a banana?

Whats your calorie intake?
Are you eating the right things?
Are you drinking enough water?
Are you eating back the calories that you are burning when exercising?

I used to cut my cals back to 1200 and that was it - I was miserable, cranky, headaches, tired etc. Its not healthy and most people can't sustain themselves on it.

My net calories a day are 1200 , some days I can burn up to (if not more some days) 500 cals with exercise so I eat them back. I have been steadily losing 2lb a week.
After 6 weeks I have never felt better!

Exercise is a natural anti-depressant, you should not be feeling worse for doing some :)

What are you using to track progress?

Hi there ... my calorie intake is about 1200 and I track my calories with a food diary... what I meant by "solo" is just I have triggered this on my own, no diet club, no real medical advise. Although I have seen the nurse and she was happy with my progress. I have a multivitamin each day with evening primrose oil. I have been loosing a steady 1lb a week since starting the exercise. I eat well, maybe not enough fruit and vegetables I don't always make my 5 a day. I find it difficult to calculate my exercise into calories burnt as its mostly walking.

I do feel energetic and better for the weight loss, however its the mood swings that are most concerning. I've put it down to diet, yet maybe its not and I should be looking towards something more hormonal.

I'd bet quite a lot of money that it is diet - what would you eat in a typical day?

Typical day is a slice of toast (can't stomach breakfast so if I don't have toast it's a yoghurt) in the morning, chicken breast or fish for lunch with veg and a Swede and carrot mash, then for tea it differs from ham salad , to something with crackers. Then maybe a yoghurt for after. I drink a coffee a day and water the rest of the day I can get through 4 500ml bottles in a day. At the weekend I make recipes from the hairy dieters book, so my week is typically fish or chicken.

I found that my moods were down to low blood sugar levels in the afternoon as I'd have a big lunch and then wait until dinner time to have something else. When you have something that takes effort to digest I heard that a lot of blood up in your brain goes down to your digestive system to help the breaking down. I'm doing little and often now small breakfast ,small lunch ,snacking on fruit in the afternoon and then a big dinner (can sleep of the lethargy ). Maybe you need to less around a bit with your diet ? I didn't do it because I wanted to diet but moods were dreadful after lunch ,feeling lethargic ,depressed ,anxious etc ... But seems to have improved now.

Mess not less

It sounds to me like you are probably EFA deficient. You need to make sure you are getting fat (preferably the good kind) and protein (doesn't sound like this is so much of an issue) in the first half of the day. Could you stomach an egg or two with your toast? Or put some unsweetened nut butter on it? Add some raw nuts to your yoghurt (full fat Greek yoghurt best). Drizzle nice olive oil on your salad/veggies at lunch and include avocado with salad...also an omega 3 supplement would be good. Try it for a week or two and see if it makes any difference and don't be scared of the calories, it's all good stuff your body needs and I doubt it will slow your weight loss, even if it does you will be much healthier and happier

Thanks for the advice I will see how I go adding a few nuts to yoghurt and things, if that doesn't work after a week or two, I will juggle how I'm in taking calories and when. I feel ok today , I feel a headache brewing again but I have been non stop on probably only 100 calories for breakfast. Maybe I just have to try and increase breakfast so I don't feel sick lol...

Definitely! 100 (empty) calorie breakfast and a busy day aren't a good combination . Try and get some of the following into your meals/snacks every day... Eggs, nuts/seeds, nut butter, olives, oily fish, cold pressed oils, avocado. I'm sure you'll notice a difference quite quickly.

Sorry, just to be clear, I mean every meal or snack, a few nuts alone won't cut it. Try doing it properly, even just for a week, then if it makes a difference (or not) you will have your answer in that regard .

I understood what you meant however adding to the meals I am lacking would be a start I feel that is the evening meal and breakfast especially..breakfast is my worst meal of the day it's almost as if I feel like I'm force feeding myself.

At the moment I'm quite happy with the 1200 calorie intake it's what was suggested by my fitness pal based on my level of average daily exercise...however since starting exercising nor I haven't received the calorie intake. I will confess though my weight loss was going really well until I started exercising before I was losing 2lbs - 3lbs a week but now it's only a 1lb. I think a 1lb a week is whY is recommended so I doubt it's how much I'm eating its what I'm eating.

Guess I have to be more balanced.

Grrrrr what it was meant to say was since exercising extra I haven't checked to see what I should be eating

Well I should start by saying that I am very anti-calorie restriction. A slow down in rate of weight loss is perfectly normal. Your body will be adapting to the lower calorie intake and so your metabolism will be slowing down, that's why, even though in theory you are burning more now that you are exercising more than you were before but you are losing less weight. Our bodies are much more complicated and clever than just working on calories in/out calculations and all calories are not equal. Too often when people reduce their calories they cut out high calorie foods that may also be nutrient dense or contain good fat-EFA's aren't called 'Essential' for nothing! If you intend to carry on calorie counting and exercising, at least give yourself another 200-300 calories in the form of the foods I mentioned above .

Tbh I'm not surprised your mood isn't very good, you don't eat a lot do you! Are you sure you're even eating 1200 calories your menu looks like it could be less.
Your weight loss will slow down, at nearly 3 stone heavier you need a lot more calories to maintain your weight so when you calories restrict the weight will come off fast until you get to a lower weight where your body needs less calories to maintain and 1200 calories is a lower percentage of your new bmr.
But I agree you probably are deficient in something, you can eat better for your calories.
Also why are you forcing your self to eat breakfast, just eat later on in the day when you feel hungry.

If you've lost nearly three stone since Christmas are you planning to continue to lose weight at this rate? I don't recommend eating when you're not hungry so don't force breakfast but maybe make sure you have something lovely available when you are ready to eat. Make sure you're getter good fats and protein plus lots of fruit and veg.
If you're feeling rotten perhaps you are eating too little or going too long without food. Try to follow your body and make sure everything you do eat is good for you.

You shouldn't rely on my fitness pal to tell you the amount of calories you should be eating. It's only good for monitoring your calorie intake. Think about it this way. It tells someone who weighs 14 stone to eat 1200 calories a day to lose 2lb a week and it tells someone who weighs 9 stone to eat 1200 calories a day to lose 2lb. It's not right and it encourages starvation mode.