So for about two years I have been dieting... though not actively losing but eating a small amount of food... low carb.. low fat... etc. So this October I kind of decided I had to seriously go off and take a break. Now I haven't been diving into the food but, I sure as heck have changed the make up of my eating mostly because of the holiday.

Going from low cal, low fat, lower carb.. to sugar, fat, carb much more.

It concerns me but I am telling you all two things happened.

1. Joy, I found joy. I am happier.. so happier people have been remarking on it. Everything strikes me as funny and or cute... it doesn't annoy me. It is an amazing change. I seriously can't find the annoyance anymore. I know intellectually I am annoyed.. but I can't feel the "feeling" like I used to.

2. Anxiety. Yikes. I can go from concerned to panic in about 2.3 seconds. I am going to guess it is the sugar but yikes.. I can really feel the increase in anxiety lately..

Anyone else notice emotional changes if you "went off" your diet? Or otherwise with food.

My friends used to think of me as The Dr. Pepper girl. Back when I was thin, I would be all truck driver man-ish with my bacon cheeseburgers, Dr. Pepper, pizzas and cigs. Even now, 20 years later, people are all, "What? No Dr. Pepper??"

When I'm dieting I feel all Women's Day Magazine. When I eat what I want (Dr. Pepper) I feel like a character in Sunny in Philadelphia.

I know I feel a lot worse when I eat a lot of junk food....I feel bloated and tired....I feel better if I stay away from sugars and grains...I can have it in moderation but moderation can be very hard with sugar

That's interesting that you feel happy. Why do you think that is? Is it because you feel kinda happily full? I know that slight hunger keeps people on edge.

Going off my diet causes me to sink into depression. I think I am mildly depressed anyway which may require medication but good food makes me feel balanced. If I go off my diet I immediately lose the ability to be sated. I start to eat mindlessly and completely let go of focus on my hunger signals. Although I like eating, I don't enjoy the numbness.

I think it could be carbs or candy... I have seen it listed that these foods release serotonin. It could be that I am happy to be eating these foods, but I really don't know.. I feel like I am long past that stage and am a little sick of them. My good mood as translated when I am not specifically thinking of food and seems to be seeping into every moment of the day. The joy is coming on a delayed effect, it didn't happen right away, but seems to be hitting me about 8 weeks out.

The anxiety seems to be an effect I had sooner. I didn't recognize it.. until recently... but I think I was having it. It is strange because carbs are supposed to help with anxiety but, I think the sugar and caffeine (particularly when I am not used to it) is really pushing the anxiety higher.

Wow it really makes me think about food as a drug.

I actually get really grumpy when I am too restrictive. My ex said I was noticeably more content after eating a bit more normally so I now try to balance myself.

I might be a bit more anxious after having caffeine but I'm not certain, I haven't really given it much thought. Soda, overall, doesn't have a good impact on me so I'm glad we don't keep any in the apartment although even if we did, I don't know that I'd drink much.

I know this post is a bit old, but I just saw it as I've not been around.

I have to say I've probably been off any kind of diet restriction since September and feel absolutely horrible mentally.

I don't know if it's been proven that sugar can cause or enhance depression, but I'd be very apt to believe it at this point. Interestingly enough, when I was larger and ate a good deal of sugar, I was depressed to the point where I was taking meds regularly.

When the weight came off, my mood was much better - yes, obviously because I had lost weight, but it was more than that.

I really wonder about the vicious circle that happens so often in overweight people - sugar, weight gain, depression, repeat.

Time to clean up I think.

I don't diet. I still eat everything I used to eat but in moderation. This way it is sustainable for life and I don't get grumpy. I also run to burn off any extra calories so I can indulge once in a while. Very worth it.

I get what the OP means about being "happier." On my original journey I became downright obsessed with my calorie counting to the point where I didn't enjoy food anymore. It became something I had to have, and not something I wanted. I remember thinking "I guess I have to eat something" as opposed to "what do I want to eat?" It was a chore, and a boring one. I didn't enjoy holiday meals because of the stress of going "off plan" even a little bit.

Then I got pregnant and I let things slide just a little - but still ate well. Now I'm struggling to find that balance of "having fun" and "being good" all at the same time without getting lost in the obsession of it all over again. You know...doing well 29 days a month and letting myself actually ENJOY a meal at my favorite Italian place or an order of mozzarella cheese sticks (which I haven't had - at all - since 2007) once in a great while without going nutso.

I am happier when I'm not dieting, but I put it down to the simple fact that I'm eating stuff that tastes nice, and I can have whatever I want. But I'm NOT happy about what it does to my body.

My ideal world would be one where I can eat precisely what I want, in whatever portions I want, and still stay 130 lb.

Unfortunately, that's not possible, so when I slide and indulge myself, I have to face the consequences, which are to either stay overweight, or to eat less to try and lose it.