I don't get it
 

Let me give you a little intro to start... I started South Beach Diet 3 weeks ago and things have gone REALLY well for me, I've been losing weight, having some more energy (not tons), but have had a few headaches here and there. But here's what I do NOT get! I've been told over and over to avoid sugar and wheat, so this seems like the ideal plan for my body... so how come I am STILL getting headaches? I've eliminated all the things my doctor told me to avoid, shouldn't my body feeling in peak performance?

And I thought I'd be getting TONS of energy, and be sleeping less.. all of that. It's not happening, sometimes I'm finding I'm sleeping 12 or so hours a night just to feel slightly refreshed, that doesn't seem right to me. I thought maybe I was oversleeping, but getting up earlier doesn't help much either (I even thought it was depression - just the sleep factor alone - but thats my only symptom).

I guess I am just ranting a little - I just want to feel GOOD!!! It's true there are some great benefits, so it's not all negative.

The thing that disturbs me the most is that I just woke up feeling sick to my stomach and not like I was in control of what might happen.. ie throwing up. This has calmed quite a bit since I sat down and started posting, thank goodness... it's a very creepy feeling!! (I am definitely NOT pregnant! )

It could be a sickness as one of the girls I was working with on thursday was saying in the morning that she was feeling off - really dizzy, thought she might faint, and she had some nausea. Hopefully it just doesn't progress past this stomach feeling, and that I can get back to sleep because I have to work in the morning.

Thanks for listening... I do feel a little better already..

-Aimee

As far as the feeling bad in the morning, I dont know about, but for the lack of energy, have you been exercising? After I do the ellipical in the morning, I feel so much better. Last week I took a week off the ellipical, because of a knee problem and I felt tired all the time and was sleeping alot. Now that I am back at it, I feel great again.

Hugs Aimee....
 

Do you have PCOS? I have found that it takes a little bit for my hormones to straighten out. I am following You on a diet and really limiting my carbs. It works quite well for me. However, I can tell that it has taken a few weeks for my hormones to straighten up. I think as we adjust our diet to healthy, fat cells release a lot of estrogen (this is part of the reason that overweight women have a higher risk of breast and uterine cancer because fat cells hold on to too much estrogen.) Within a week and a half of following my program I got a relatively normal AF (rare for me) and I have had a few "hormone headaches" in the couple of weeks following. I think they are hormone related because they start at the back of my head and work up and over to my forehead. I don't know--I can just tell. I am now on day 33 and am feeling better every day. The headaches have subsided and I do have more energy. When I go to bed at night I am tired, fall asleep very quickly and sleep soundly. So my humble advice is "Just keep swimming." Give your body a bit more time and see if it straightens out. :hug:

Hi Aimee,

That doesn't sound great but I have felt like that the first weeks of making changes to my diet and it sounds like you've made some fairly major ones to yours. I too gave up sugar and wheat in January and I felt AWFUL really really fatigued for a good two weeks or so. Your body may just be clearing itself of toxins and it may explain the headaches. Be sure to drink LOTS of water and some fresh air each day to help with this - I get killer headaches when I am dehydrated.

EM

Aimee - (hopefully this will not start a flame war) Not every diet is for everyone.

South Beach tends to be more protein heavy and not as many carbs. Maybe post a couple of your typical days. I had a hard time with South Beach when I was exercising all the time. Lack of complex carbs left me feeling gross and tired. I know you've increased your exercise beyond a walk in the park, what does you carb intake look like?

Hi Aimee!

I'd bet on the coming down with a cold/flu thing as the most probable. My "MOM" is coming out in me there!;)

Also, you may not be getting enough iron. Are you taking a vitamin every day?

Lastly, you MAY not be getting enough carbs and/or drinking enough water. I find in each of the above cases I have less energy than usual.

Do you visit FitDay and put in what you are eating? It is FREE, and I have learned so much about myself, my eating habits, and which foods my body needs the day progresses. (Thanks again, Robin for getting me interested in FitDay! :hug: )

For example, yesterday I was low on vitamin C and not meeting MY daily nutritional requirement for it. I then went and had 1/2 cup OJ as I took my vitamins for the day, and recorded that on FitDay. My nutritional needs were then met according to FitDay. Counting calories is GREAT, but it isn't the whole picture. I personally like also making sure that what I eat is not only within my CALORIE limits but also is meeting my NUTRITIONAL NEEDS, too.


Cheryl

Sounds like flu-like symptoms to me. Take care of yourself Aimee! Give yourself time to recover and feel better without beating yourself up about diet/exercise. As for the headaches that have been going on, have you eliminated anything like caffeine? It can take awhile for the body to adjust to those kinds of changes. If it keeps up, though, get to a doctor. Feel better!

Popped in here accidentaly so forgive the intrusion but..

I had KILLER headaches the first couple weeks of SB until things normalized. Move on to phase II if you havent already and that will help.

The first few weeks of any diet are going to be tough.. headaches etc. At this point.. (you've been on this for a while) I would listen to my body. Not every diet is for all people. I'm trying to eat a well balanced diet.. carbs, protein and fat. I'm trying to eat like how I should for the rest of my life.

Listen to you body is the only advice I can suggest. I don't know a lot about your diet... but the next phase seems like a good idea.

Hey SwimGirl,

I have never done SouthBeach, but both my mother and my sister have, and my mother has sworn it off forever now. Now, she is much older than you, but she says she always feels terrible when she is on it, and has complained about the same things you are stating. My sister has also said several times that her first few weeks on it, she has like zero energy.

I would just monitor if you are soon seeing any improvement in how you feel. Please know, that I do NOT speak from experience, but maybe it isn't the right plan for you, but only you can be the judge of that.

Thanks everyone for all the replies, I really appreciate it.

I've given some thought to whats going on, and definitely have read thru what you've all written. My thoughts are this - this could VERY well be a hormonal headache, mine tend to be harsh and nothing will take them away. I know my body is super sensitive - so the hormonal aspect really struck a cord with me. Thanks Casey!

EM - I also think the toxins thing might be partly true, I am at the lowest weight I've been at for years.

Jessica - I'm making sure to have TONS of veggies, whole wheat tortilla's, fresh fruit (I'm in phase 2 currently), beans, trying to eat really balanced! I am thinking this is a pretty good plan for my body, even if it's hating me for it. I suppose it should be resisting changing from fast food to all home cooking - it's still missing pop for sure!

Cheryl - I do have fitday and have been putting info into it - my calories are decent, fat is around 30 to a max of 40% (very MAX!) per day. I have slacked on the multivitamin lately.. I will dig those out again!

ennay - I appreciate the input, I moved on to phase 2 after 2 weeks on phase 1, I love fruit too much to keep on phase 1!

Charbar - long term is definitely the way to go, I've been experimenting with my body - I have some allergies to wheat, sugar, yeast, and high fat foods.. wheat and sugar are SO hard to stay away from. Its resisting the lack of sugar, my mouth still waters at the thought of having a coke. bad eh!

Lakegirl - I think as I go along with it that i'll change some things up, I suppose thats the way with most diets, they are consistantly changing due to a variety of reasons. Like in the summer I eat TONS of watermelon - its cheap and yummy!

thank you again for all the input.. It's given me some food for thought (no pun intended - altho it's dinner time for me!). I have felt quite a bit better today - little tummy grumblings here and there - but i ate a LOT of broccoli at lunch! heh..

-Aimee

Hi Aimee,

There are so many things that can cause headaches. Hormones, allergies, stress, etc. Maybe your headaches werent solely from your diet? I felt extremely weak during the first week of Phase 1. Phase 1 of Southbeach is to help us overcome the sugar addiction. It would seem that your headaches would have eased up by now. As a fellow Southbeacher, I can honestly say that this is one of the healthiest diets I've ever seen. A lot of people are confused when they label Southbeach as a low carbohydrate diet. I've never eaten so many fresh vegetables in my life and I am never hungry. As long as you are getting enough to eat, I really don't think is the cause of you not feeling well. I hope you discover what is going on with your body soon and start feeling better.

I guess I should have updated you all... I woke up this morning with a cold. And right now I'm sick as a DOG! Fever, headache, sore throat, the full meal deal. So perhaps thats part of the reason I've been feeling so crummy.

Rhonda - I agree thats it's a healthy diet, I am also eating tons of veggies and have been slowly adding in fruit. I will do my best to stick with it while I'm sick, but I'm not going to beat myself up if I do stray. I will get right back to it!

For now I'm going to go lay down and take care of myself.

-Aimee

Oh Aimee! Glad you found out what's wrong, but so very sorry you're sick! Get well soon. :hug: