Symptoms to look out for and understand so you don’t get discouraged.
March 4th, Clint & I officially began our 31-day shred in order to lose our excess weight and get in the best shape ever for our upcoming Mexico vacation. After letting ourselves slip for over 2 months it was time to get back to a healthy lifestyle. We cut out junk food, sugar, and chose only having Vodka with sparkling water for our alcoholic beverages to avoid the extra drink calories.
Week 1 flew by fabulously! We were feeling great getting back to our workout routine and Eating for Success. Both of us dropped weight by the end of the 1st week. Off to a great start! We thought this was going to be a breeze as any other pre-vacation training. We’ve done this shred so many times now, after all we’re fitness professionals, we have weight loss down to an art form.
Then week 2 happened. Sometimes life likes to throw you a curveball. Monday was rough. I woke up with a headache, felt a little nauseous and I did not want to get up. But then again that was expected after having a few too many drinks on the weekend. So, I pushed through, got my butt out of bed and made it to our 6am Better Body Exchange class to get my Monday workout in. After all, #1 rule to working out, NEVER SKIP MONDAYS! Just get Monday over with and the week will be great, I told myself.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. I had the roughest week I can remember in a long time. The headaches lasted all week, I felt extremely tired, I was bloated and to top it all off, absolutely no weight came off at the end of the week. Clint was having a very similar week. He said he wasn’t feeling well at all. We did all our workouts all week, we stuck to Eating for Success with no slip-ups at all, but at the end of the week, we both felt very disappointed with our progress. Although Clint did lose a little weight, it was very marginal, and he knew he was way behind schedule.
For the first time in years, we remembered how hard it really can be to lose unwanted weight and get back to your ideal shape and fitness level. It’s not that it’s ever been easy to commit to the level of fitness we wanted, but this was the first time in a long time that we felt like we were failing. It can be very discouraging when this happens. So here are a few things to keep in mind and what I’ve learned over the years.
Being in the health and fitness industry as long as we have, I do understand that the symptoms we were feeling can happen when you clean up your diet and give up unhealthy processed and high sugar foods. We let our bodies get used to unhealthy eating and we build up toxins that we needed to flush out. This is a normal process and as your body is adjusting to Eating for Success and the toxins are working its way out. Here are a few symptoms you may experience:
Headache – this is a common one with a low carb diet. It is caused by electrolyte imbalances and carbohydrate or sugar withdrawal. It can last anywhere from 24 hours to one week. It will pass as your body adjusts. So, don’t give up here! Try increasing your water intake and get extra rest. You will be better for sticking with it and your body will thank you for it at the end.
Fatigue and weakness – Your body is used to the junk you’ve been feeding it. Along with it came a satisfaction and a boost of energy. Even though the food you’ve been eating wasn’t healthy the body does get used to it and having it does give you a sense of “happiness”. Following a healthy diet like Eating for Success is depriving your body of what it’s been used to, and it wants to crash. Again, push through, it will pass, and you will find yourself with way more energy once the initial symptoms pass.
Bloating and constipation – This is always a fun one! As you replace the unhealthy diet with better nutrition it’s very common that fibre intake is increased, it may take time for your digestive system to adjust. But trust me, it will adjust. You may need to start slowly and build up your daily fibre intake to 30 – 40g each day.
Hunger and Extreme Cravings – Obvious? Sort of. After all, you are decreasing your calorie intake and cutting our many foods that your body has been used to for a long time. Try to consciously acknowledge these and understand that these cravings are just temporary, and you’re not actually “hungry”. Your body is fighting back. You got this, don’t give in. When it gets really bad and I want to pull my hair out, I reach for an herbal tea. Lemon ginger is one of my go-to teas. It brings me back down to earth, it’s great for the digestive system, helps flush out the kidneys and at the same time increases water intake. Win, win, win!!
There are many other symptoms that you may experience when starting out a weight loss diet. Eating for Success takes time to adjust to. Remember, these are all temporary symptoms, they may be annoying, but they will pass. Stick with it! Again, it can be very discouraging when your health and fitness journey reaches obstacles, but this is where perseverance pays off! This is not time to give up, this is the time to push through.
For Clint and myself, and our weight loss journey, instead of giving up or giving in, we decided to add one small change. Since we both fell behind schedule and we’re not willing to no meet our goals, we decided to give up alcohol 100% for 18 days which is when we take off to Mexico. For those of you that know us well, you know that giving up alcohol completely is not something we like to do too often. 😉 But when it\’s time, it\’s time. We both slacked off more than usual in January and February. Time to pay the piper. Wish us luck! Working towards a good weigh-in at the end of this week.
As of today, we are on day 5 of alcohol abstinence. We have continued with Eating for Success, including our daily Juice Plus+ dose, as well as regular workouts all week. For myself, yesterday was the first day I woke up feeling actually quite well. The headache is completely gone, and for the first time in days, I did not feel bloated like a giant balloon. My energy level has gone up throughout the day. I’m getting over the temporary symptoms that can occur when switching to a healthier diet.
So if you’re struggling like we have the last little while, I get it, the struggle is real! But hang in there my friend. The longer you stick to Eating for Success and a healthy workout routine like our Better Body Exchange class, the healthier you will be. The longer you stick with your healthy lifestyle the closer your body will get to functioning at a perfect level and you’ll feel better longer. After all, it’s all about longevity and it is worth it!
—- Dorothy Sinding
If you want some more fun reading on this topic, check our a few of these articles:
https://www.sweetdefeat.com/blog/sugar-withdrawal-symptoms
https://www.livestrong.com/article/312225-side-effects-of-switching-to-a-healthy-diet
https://beatcancer.org/blog-posts/what-symptoms-to-expect-when-you-improve-your-diet
What to Expect When Improving Your Diet