Since monday I've been trying to eat right and exercise...however it becomes difficult to eat properly when at night I get really bad headaches.
On monday, I did the treadmill for 20 minutes in the morning, I had breakfast, lunch, dinner and I was fine, I wasn't even thinking about food after dinner (which is odd for me since I'm usually ALWAYS thinking about food) anyway my head started to hurt REAL bad and it wouldn't go away, so finally I caved and had a coke and some chips...suprise surpise my headache went away.
Tuesday...this day was shot lol I didn't exercise, and I had Mcdonalds for lunch, and too much chips after dinner....I didn't get a headache.
Wednesday, pretty much the same as monday, I exercised for 20 minutes in the morning, had breakfast, lunch, dinner and was fine. Then my head started to hurt again, so this time I decided to have an apple, and my head stopped hurting a little bit, but not completly. So again I caved, had a bowl of chips and a PB sandwich...then went to bed.
What could be causing these headaches? I'm not starving myself, if anything I'm actually eating more than I did before, just less junk food. I used to have breakfast, then starve until dinner, then pig out on all types of junk until I went to bed, so I'm thinking my body is going through withdrawl at night since that is when I ate the most junk food ...
I talked to my doctor a while back and told her about how I'm ALWAYS tired, I have to force myself out of bed after 10 hours sleep and I just can't seem to stop thinking about food....well this week I've actually been pretty good NOT thinking about food, which is usually what throws me off b/c I give into temptation...but these headaches are just horrible..my doctor suggested that I keep eating right and exercise at night a few hours before bed, to help calm me and help me sleep, since I also told her I have trouble getting to sleep at night b/c my brain doesn't seem to shut up with thoughts lol I don't know how much longer I can put up with the headaches though...any suggestions???
Sounds to me like your body could be going through withdrawl from caffeine. I went cold-turkey and gave up caffeine when I started WW and fought headaches for a good week or two. Give your body a chance to adjust. If you have to have something, try a diet soda, and that should kick the headache. Hope this helps!
This may be a stupid question, but have you tried taking a pain-reliever for the headaches? I get terrible headaches during my TOM; I find that 3-4 Ibuprofen (600-800mg) usually works. Since you are getting the headaches at night, you could take an Advil PM or Tylenol PM which should get rid of the headache and also help you sleep.
I guess the caffeine withdrawl would make sense, since for the past few months I've been having a coke almost every night...diet soda usually gives me a headache, but I could try it and see what happens.
The only thing that works for me is advil, I used to get headaches every single day so I was taking tylenol every day, so now it doesn't work. Advil PM is a good idea though, since as you said it would help me sleep.
Thanks for the answers! I guess it's just a process of illimination until I figure it out lol
If it's the caffeine, but you don't want to add caffeine into your diet, try using Excedrin. It has a small amount of caffeine in it, along with aspirin and acetaminophen, so it not only works to relieve the pain but also alleviates the cause of the pain (that's if it's a caffeine headache). The amount of caffeine you get from a couple of Excedrin is much less, so you're not *continuing* your dependency as such, but it allows you to kind of wean yourself off.
Can you tell I've gone on and off caffeine a few times before?
I think some people's bodies just don't like change ... of any kind. This trait could reveal itself in a headache. You're probably right to just hang in there.
If I eat too many carbs before bed, I sometimes wake up with a headache. It's like a sugar hangover. But, on the other hand, if I have eaten over my daily calories for a couple of days, and then get strict and pull down to 1200 cals, I also will get a headache. I think it's how my body reacts to changes in diet, and I think "hangover" isn't a bad description.
I've had the caffeine withdrawal headaches, and they are not fun. Try restricting your caffeine to the early part of the day, though, and then drop off in the evening up until bedtime. having caffeine late at night can make your brain buzz--I cannot sleep if I have anything with caffeine after 5 pm.
In addition to caffeine withdrawal, it could also be a sugar withdrawal headache- or both! It only takes about 4 days of toughing it out to get over it.
Yeah, I agree w/what Mel said re: caffiene and sugar withdrawal. I used to eat a lot of junk processed food, fried food and just too much of a lot of food (hence my wonderfully round figure ). I would be tired all the time, get headaches almost daily and be popping Advil everyday. After changing my diet and exercising, the headaches went away. Although I still do get PMS headaches from time to time, they are nowhere near as painful as they used to be when I was eating too much junk. I don't drink regular soda but I do drink diet soda and buy the caffiene-free type for my office fridge if I feel like having one during work. I would just try and stick it out for a few days and see what happens. I bet if you continue with the healthy eating and drink lots of water instead of soda, the headaches will subside and you will be much happier and alert.
Also, if you are having trouble sleeping, it's probably a good idea to stay away from caffeine in the evening. The caffeine could definitely be interfering with your sleep. If you drink a diet soda, look for one that is caffeine free. As Mel said, if the headaches are due to caffeine withdrawal, they should get better in a few days.
You wouldnt be the first person who got headaches when they started to eat healthily. caffeine and sugar withdrawal can do it.
So can ---well if you used to self medicate with food. Emotional eating, eating a lot of junk to satify needs other than hunger, when you take that away the body starts to wake up to FEELINGS both emotional and physical. If you were getting comforted by the sedating effects of food, you took that away and it might take awhile to adjust. Its like your nerves were encased in a thick layer of skin and now they are exposed and raw.
Thanks for all the replies, I definity think my headaches are caffeine/sugar withdrawl, and I totally get what ur saying Ennay... I did do that and didn't even think of it that way!
I'm drinking more water than I was before, so I couldn't see that being the problem, thanks for all the help everyone!
Just an update, I had a coke last night with my dinner, and my headache that I had ALL day, went away, not right away, but about an hour later it was gone, so it is definitly caffeine/sugar that is doing it. I'm going to buy some Excedrin and try to slowly wheen myself off the coke, any suggestions on how I could do that? I don't like diet and it usually gives me a headache as I said before...
Try diet soda made with SPLENDA instead of aspertaine....I like the "waist-watchers" brand, sugar-free gingerale.
or if you want a small amount of caffiene, a cup of tea with a couple of teasp. of juice (like a fruit tea, I like cranraspberry)...but this still has some sugar.
Headaches...
). I would be tired all the time, get headaches almost daily and be popping Advil everyday. After changing my diet and exercising, the headaches went away. Although I still do get PMS headaches from time to time, they are nowhere near as painful as they used to be when I was eating too much junk. I don't drink regular soda but I do drink diet soda and buy the caffiene-free type for my office fridge if I feel like having one during work. I would just try and stick it out for a few days and see what happens. I bet if you continue with the healthy eating and drink lots of water instead of soda, the headaches will subside and you will be much happier and alert.
