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Headaches


lhowe

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Day#13 here.

Doing relatively well.  No snacking.  No cravings, per say.  A bit food tired...not that crazy about eating, but that seems to be improving.

My issue has been headaches.  They started somewhere towards the end of the first week.  Daily, nagging, whole head headaches.  Not migraines.  More muscle aching headache.  Often would occur after lunch-within a half hour of eating.  Now they occur anytime during the day.  Initially lasting a couple of hours and going away.  Now sometimes lasting several hours and I have to take a Tylenol.  They are interfering with my ability to focus on work every day.  

Not previously a headache person.  I am drinking plenty of water daily.  My meals are spaced about 6 hours apart.  I think I am getting good fat, protein with every meal.  I have tried increasing starchy veggies, but that has not made a difference.  I checked my blood pressure-it is fine.

Any ideas?

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Breakfast:  2 egg/sausage(homemade pork), sundried tomato muffins; one cup of black tea-sometimes will have leftover veggies with this

Lunch: Large salad with protein source, a piece of fruit, sometimes a handful of cashews, water OR leftovers from the night before such as Whole30 chili or a ground turkey scramble with veggies

Dinner:  Salmon patty on seasoned sweet potato zoodles; salad, water (this was last night); Night before last was a ground turkey and veggie stir fry in a lettuce leaf taco shell

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I am also suffering from headache where I never had headache before (Whole 30).  I am on day 15.  Dull headache always there (started day 3) and it spikes to pretty miserable.  

I thought it was the sugar (lack of) at first based on the description of "the hangover" in Whole 30 Guide.  Now thinking... it's something MISSING from my diet.  Could that be??  

Other than that - I'm loving the food, not feeling deprived, no need for snacking (unless I plan it pre- post- workout).  

I looked at what lhowe wrote for food - I'm similar with food (breakfast usually sweet potato egg and saute kale, zoodles or roast veggies, lots of recipes from Whole 30 Cookbook and Guide (yum!), all home made with compliant ingredients).  

I'm tired of the headache - feels like a perpetual hangover!  Miserable!!

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13 hours ago, janicev said:

I am also suffering from headache

How much fat are you incorporating in each meal? Are you salting your food? Drinking adequate water?

Is there anything you are eating more of than usual? Particularly white potatoes, peppers or tomatoes?

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The headache thing is very much a conundrum.  I feel good otherwise.  

I think I eat plenty of fat and salt.  I'm not afraid of either :).  Water consumption same as pre-Whole 30.  The only thing I'm eating more is egg and sweet potato and some new veggies like kale and beets (which I just discovered are pretty darn awesome). And I snack probably 1x day on a compliant Larabar.   

The headache is a constant.  It started day 2 and has not let up (on day 20).  Some days its in the background only.  Some days its pretty bad where I just have to push myself to try to have a 'normal' day.  

Maybe I'll discover the issue when I start re-introducing food.  Maybe it's something that is *missing* from my diet.  Maybe I need to take a multi-vitamin (I only take a calcium-mag liquid supplement).  

Considering it could be a bazillion things - I am not exactly sure how to fix other than wait and see!  I don't see a lot of people complaining about headaches so it's probably a rare thing and difficult to figure out.  And those of us that have headaches - well... if anyone finds some relief let me know!!!!

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14 minutes ago, janicev said:

And I snack probably 1x day on a compliant Larabar

These really are for emergency use only. Snacking is not an emergency. It's an indicator that either you've a habit you need to break, or that your meals need to be bigger. They're as close as you can get to a candy bar on W30 and could well be contributing to your headaches... What do the rest of your meals look like?

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/21/2017 at 8:56 AM, jmcbn said:

These really are for emergency use only. Snacking is not an emergency. It's an indicator that either you've a habit you need to break, or that your meals need to be bigger. They're as close as you can get to a candy bar on W30 and could well be contributing to your headaches... What do the rest of your meals look like?

Good point re: snacking.  I definitely include snacks.  Sometime it's an hard boiled

 egg, nuts, banana, larabar.  The larabar is the only *new* thing I added since starting Whole 30 since I never tried them before (i used to snack on protein bars and a few other non-compliant options that I don't do now).  The only other option is dropping the larabar (but it's so dang convenient for meetings to keep in my purse), but would you suggest skipping the banana too (since it's too snack-like) so just try eating larger meals?  

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Fruit, nuts, nut butters and larabars are not appropriate everyday snacking foods.  They can be food without brakes, they spike your blood sugar and they're just fodder for a sugar dragon.  If you need to snack while working on making your meals last you 4-5 hours, have a mini meal of protein and fat and ideally veggies.

Are you actually hungry for the larabar during meetings or is it boredom eating? Or jealousy eating because other people are having danishes etc?  If you're eating three meals a day that last you 4-5 hours, then you shouldn't need meeting snack...

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  • 7 months later...

Hi...I'm on day 7 of whole 30..feeling great,not hungry..food great,more energy..Except for today,headache like when your hungover.I noticed my mouth was dry,so I've been drinking TONS of water...headache still hanging around...Is this normal? Anyone experience this? Solutiins?...Amy from Pittsburgh 

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On 1/21/2017 at 11:56 AM, jmcbn said:

These really are for emergency use only. Snacking is not an emergency. It's an indicator that either you've a habit you need to break, or that your meals need to be bigger. They're as close as you can get to a candy bar on W30 and could well be contributing to your headaches... What do the rest of your meals look like?

Snacking on this food is NOT contributing to the headache. That is a thoughtless/brainwashed statement. What your body needs is nutrition and a balanced diet.... It's time to stop listening to people and start listening to our bodies. This "non-diet" diet does not work for most people. That's why it was rated as the worst fad diet of the year by health experts!!

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1 hour ago, CDog said:

Snacking on this food is NOT contributing to the headache. That is a thoughtless/brainwashed statement. What your body needs is nutrition and a balanced diet.... It's time to stop listening to people and start listening to our bodies. This "non-diet" diet does not work for most people. That's why it was rated as the worst fad diet of the year by health experts!!

Actually, yes, snacking on basically junk food instead of eating real food, thereby depriving your body of actual nutrition IS likely contributing to the headache... she wasn't saying a Larabar is going to cause a headache, I think you are looking for an arguement which you're unlikely to get here.  If you don't like the program, it doesn't work for you or you're not interested in reading the material, that's fine, but you're asked to be polite in our house and calling our mods thoughtless and brainwashed doesn't fit the bill.

You'll also take note of the fact that this program has been around and popular since 2009, so it's hardly a fad, being that it's coming up on just short of a decade... just food for thought.

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On 17/09/2017 at 8:22 PM, Amyemm said:

Hi...I'm on day 7 of whole 30..feeling great,not hungry..food great,more energy..Except for today,headache like when your hungover.I noticed my mouth was dry,so I've been drinking TONS of water...headache still hanging around...Is this normal? Anyone experience this? Solutiins?...Amy from Pittsburgh 

Hey @Amyemm - can you list out what you ate for the last 3-4 days to see if we can't help you out?

Headaches can come from a number of things so it's hard to comment without some idea of what you've been eating. Please v=be clear about veg types, portion sizes of protein as they relate to the size of your palm, and how much fat you are eating at each meal. You say you are drinking a lot of water, but are you salting your food? How is your sleep? Do you have any cramps?

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12 hours ago, CDog said:

Snacking on this food is NOT contributing to the headache. That is a thoughtless/brainwashed statement. What your body needs is nutrition and a balanced diet.... It's time to stop listening to people and start listening to our bodies. This "non-diet" diet does not work for most people. That's why it was rated as the worst fad diet of the year by health experts!!

Also, dude, that list of "worst diets" was a list of "worst diets for weight loss". Absolutely nowhere is Whole30 advertised as a weight loss plan. In fact, it's regularly mentioned that it's not. Lots of people do lose weight on a Whole30 because by giving the body better quality food and not a free pass to snack (lots of those "weight loss plans" basically have you eating little bits of food constantly), folks lose some weight. 

Blood sugar spikes can cause headaches. What causes blood sugar spikes? Sugary foods, whether it's a Snickers or a Larabar. 

Most folks don't know how to listen to their bodies without some guidance. I had no idea that legumes were what made me feel like death warmed up until I did a Whole30 with the proper reintroductions. I wouldn't have had a framework to figure out what was making me feel bad if it wasn't for the Whole30. 

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15 hours ago, CDog said:

Snacking on this food is NOT contributing to the headache. That is a thoughtless/brainwashed statement. What your body needs is nutrition and a balanced diet.... It's time to stop listening to people and start listening to our bodies. This "non-diet" diet does not work for most people. That's why it was rated as the worst fad diet of the year by health experts!!

People who create accounts just to voice their disagreement/disapproval on things they know nothing about have empty lives. Please be assured that no one here cares about your opinion or your know-it-all condescending attitude. Go back to facebook or your blog (an assumption on my part but I'll bet $5 you have one) if you need attention that bad. 

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On September 17, 2017 at 12:22 PM, Amyemm said:

Hi...I'm on day 7 of whole 30..feeling great,not hungry..food great,more energy..Except for today,headache like when your hungover.I noticed my mouth was dry,so I've been drinking TONS of water...headache still hanging around...Is this normal? Anyone experience this? Solutiins?...Amy from Pittsburgh 

Hi @Amyemm  Sorry your request for help got missed in the silliness.  As @jmcbn said, please give us some details of what you've been eating and drinking and we'll help figure this out; headaches suck!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I'm at the beginning of day 8, and like several of the posters above experiencing daily headaches that range from annoying to hugely distracting from a work/life standpoint. Also general muscle aches, but those aren't too bad. I think I'm getting enough salt and water. Aside from the headaches, things are going well.

This seems like a fairly common problem - so what's the most common solution? I'm glad to share what I've been eating if that helps, but it seems dubious that this would result from specific/idiosyncratic individualized food sensitivities. 

Thoughts anyone?

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I'm on Day #15 and have just started experiencing headaches the last few days. I was fine in the beginning.  I'm wondering if it really is a salt intake thing causing them.  I haven't been using any salt all week...Hmm.... I'm going to try to use some salt on my foods and see if I notice a difference. 

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4 hours ago, Janelle3716 said:

I'm on Day #15 and have just started experiencing headaches the last few days. I was fine in the beginning.  I'm wondering if it really is a salt intake thing causing them.  I haven't been using any salt all week...Hmm.... I'm going to try to use some salt on my foods and see if I notice a difference. 

Salt is an essential part of your body's functioning and when we remove processed, packaged, bagged, boxed and fast food from our diets we remove about 90% of the sodium... that does need to be replaced.  You should be salting your food always.

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