Are these side effects of a low sugar diet?

[Sprog19]

Or something I should be seeing the GP about?
Have cut out cakes, biscuits, chocolate, sweets but still eating fruit and drinking the occasional glass of wine ( 2-3 per week). Have been doing this since March 1st so just finishing week 2. Haven't changed my diet otherwise. I have
Constipation
Headache
Feel really tired and spaced out - to point of dizziness. Had to abandon car on drive home yesterday and get picked up by DH!
Had a bout of cystitis last week ( first for about 10 years)
Gas!!!
Have put on weight 😩

Felt so bad yesterday that I ate a custard cream just to see if all my symptoms magically disappeared but they didn't, so am wondering if it is the reduction in sugar or something else?

Sugar withdrawal? Have you cut other carbs too - I felt truly shocking the first time I did a low carb diet. Drink loads and have a teaspoon of marmite.

Could you be pregnant?

If not, you have told us what to cut out, but what have you added? What else is in your diet? Take out the cake and eat a bag of chips or cut out chocolate for a boiled egg?

Have you increased a lot your protein? Your carbs? Even the good and slow ones? What about liquids? More zero calories sodas?
Could you tell us what you eat?
Cutting out sugar and cutting out sweets are two different thing. Cutting out sugar involves emptying your pantry as sugar is in so many things from weetabix to tomato sauce.

Haven't cut other carbs though try not to eat them with evening meal ( but have been doing that for ages). Def not pregnant ( am 56).
Otherwise eating as normal - most meals made from scratch - protein + veg. Eating more cheese than I do normally as have cheese and crackers for a snack when I'd usually have chocolate. ( hence weight gain I'm sure).
Over weekend had more processed food than usual ( cold meats, dips, crisps, etc) and more bread as had family over.

Not trying to cut out sugar entirely at the moment - am aware of hidden sugars - just the obvious sweet stuff.

Bread, crackers and crisps might be your answer.

Could you try cutting all processed food for a week and see how it goes and then if no improvement, it means it is not diet related and a GP visit might be a good idea.

If this is not something you want to do, at least reduce crisps/bread / crackers. I snack on frozen berries, mainly raspberries but I have a bit of every kind of berries in my freezer. Very satisfying.

It is so frustrating when we decide to go down a healthy lifestyle choice to get adverse effect!

I know! Will try reducing the bread etc - I had homemade bread for lunch yesterday and only started feeling really spacey after that.

(warm) Homebread is so delicious!

I meant homemade!

Some of your symptoms sound very familiar to me. I've cut out processed sugars a couple of times now and always suffer from headaches and bad fatigue/lethargy/brain deadness for the first week at least. It does pass and I feel fantastic by week 3. Now I just need to find a way to stay on the wagon!!

It could be a symptom of low carb and low sugar withdrawal symptoms. Why are you trying to avoid carbs in the evening?

Do you have low blood sugar normally? And or low blood pressure? I do and I felt so unwell when I tried low carbing - it wasn't till I mentioned it to my doc that I realised it was not a good thing for me to do.

I think you should see a doctor. Your current diet sounds pretty average. The only thing I can think of that perhaps you don't drink enough water?

I am on meds for an irregular heartbeat which lower my blood pressure - but as my bp was normal anyway I was warned they could make it go quite low. I realise this could cause dizziness, but headaches?

I've been drinking a lot of water today and since this afternoon I feel much better.

Avoiding carbs in evening in an attempt to lose weight - am 3 stone heavier than I was in my 40s. Also the reasoning behind the sugar curb.

Yes it could cause the headaches too, that or the sugar withdrawal itself. I drink a lot anyway (2-3L per day). When I low carb I increase that to 3-4L a day to avoid headaches and generally feeling pants. Once that phase passes I feel really good. Full of energy!

I've stopped eating chocolate and biscuits. Two weeks in and I've put in two pounds and am utterly constipated. Hadn't put the two together until I read this.
Why would constipation be a side effect?

Might be more about what you are eating instead bagel rather than what you are not eating any more.

If you've reduced processed food you may have accidentally reduced salt. Marmite sandwich?

I know if I eat too much sugary stuff, it has a loosening effect on my digestion, so I can easily believe that cutting down will have an opposite effect.

Excess sugar can certainly have a laxative effect. Lactulose, a laxative to soften stools is essentially sugar!

I'd give it a couple more weeks.

Its normal to have side effects for the first week or so after giving up and perhaps if you had a high sugar diet before for them to continue longer than that.

Cutting out sugar as much as you can is absolutely a great thing to do for your overall health, so I wouldn't stop doing what you are doing.

Maybe go to doctor if you're no better after another week, but sometimes the medical profession can be very behind the times about dietary advice. My DM who is a retired doctor is stunned that me giving up sugar has stopped me getting the weird dizzy spells I was having in the afternoons, and doesn't accept there is a connection at all.