Is it normal to feel depressed when starting on a low carb diet?

Question

I have been trying to cut my carbs the past few days and I am feeling blah. I'm not getting rid of them completely but just being mindful of the net carbs and staying away from crap I don't need to eat.

Do you think my body is having withdrawl symptoms from a decrease in carbs?

Answer 1

Carbohydrates give the body energy, when you cut down on your carbs, your body isn't getting as much energy as it used to. It's normal to feel a bit blah until your body adjusts.

Answer 2

I think if you're doing "net" carbs you're in for a long, slow, painful weight loss experience. If you're eating anything with sugar alcohols you may as well join Weight Watchers.

To answer your question, you may be in the midst of detox and carb withdrawal, or you may suffer from food remorse. It's a common phenomena for gastric surgery patients, too.

Find a support group to join. Kimkins.com is a paid membership site, but you can find free sites, too.

Check out the Success Stories at the Kimkins site. It's nice to see people who reached goal via low calorie low carb.

Answer 3

Only if you have high insulin production to go along with it. Staying away from the bad "high glycemic" carbs should not produce symptoms, unless the insulin is taking the remaining carbs out of the blood stream too fast (low blood sugar - hypoglycemia - metabolic syndrome).

The way around this is to up your protein a little bit (protein helps produce the pancreatic hormone glucagon which slows down insulin production). Glucagon is also produced by prolonged exercise. Short term exercise just uses up the sugar in the bloodstream faster.

Also you should be having a snack in between meals to keep your blood sugar level (sounds counterintuitive with diet, but if you eat meat - like salmon or tuna - along with a "low glycemic" carb like green leafy veges, you should have enough energy without having the fluctuations in insulin or blood sugar that cause depression.

I don't think is is withdrawls.

Feel free to e-mail me through my profile, or check out www.hufa.org regarding low blood sugar.

Answer 4

Hi!
Come to think of it, I'll bet it is. I have tried low carb diets and have been very unhappy, partly because I hate counting things, and partly because it did take away some of my energy which I needed to sustain me through the day.

Let me just say, I do not like low carb diets. I'd rather go on Weight Watchers.

Answer 5

You're probably right. Low-carb diets can often result in a lack of energy. I would recomend trying something else or at least getting more sunshine.

Answer 6

dont you worry! it is actualy normal to feel depressed when starting a diet of some sort. i think the reason you are feeling blah is becuase your body is not used to this sort of food. what your body really wants is everything, so you can eat some tasty treats every now and then, just remember to do plenty of exercise and have a balanced diet, do that and you will be fine!

Answer 7

Don't go on a low carb diet.

Answer 8

could be a decrease in energy from lack of carbs. it takes energy to be happy, unfortunately our default mood when depleted of food is pissed off and cranky :P

Answer 9

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Answer 10

If you are not a diabetic, stop the nonsense and eat the carbohydrates your source of instant energy.