The first week that I was on the Atkins diet, I felt great! I was enjoying the changes to my eating habits, and truly liked the taste of some of the food suggestions. By the second week, however, things changed dramatically. I’m found myself feeling really crabby! Is this because of Atkins, or due to something else?
When I started the Atkins diet, I expected to experience changes in my body. I was fortunate that I haven’t felt any caffeine withdrawal symptoms, and have rarely felt weak. I lost two pounds the first week, and my body feels “better” in a way that I do not yet have words to properly describe.
I was not expecting that being on the Atkins diet would cause me to feel an emotional change. I am not sure when it started, but somewhere along the way, things started to really irritate me.
I got into a “fight” with a friend over something that really wasn’t that big of a deal. I realized that I had overreacted, and apologized, and my friend and I are doing fine. But, even though I knew that my emotional reaction was somewhat inappropriate, I also knew, at the same time, that I honestly felt upset when I started the argument.
My husband has been irritating me for what feels like days. While I do believe that I have a valid reason to be upset about some things that are going on right now, there are some small things that I could, potentially, be blowing out of proportion. Things are rather strained between us right now. Is this because the Atkins diet is making me crabby, or is this just a reaction to certain situations that existed long before I started this diet? I really don’t know.
I should note that my husband is not doing the Atkins diet with me. He did it years ago, and stopped because it wasn’t working well for him. When he was on the diet, he became so crabby and irritable that there were times when I just couldn’t stand him anymore. I recently asked him what it was, exactly, that made him feel that way when he tried Atkins. In short, the answer was that his cravings for foods that contained a high amount of carbs, like bread, were just too much for him.
The Atkins website has a forum. A quick search through it told me that I wasn’t the only one who is feeling so incredibly cranky right now. It seems that many people feel this restless, edgy, irritation that I have been feeling lately. These emotions apparently could be coming from the “detox” that my body is going through. This makes some sense to me.
Some of the people mentioned that they were “emotional eaters”, and that it was hard for them to give up foods that they were used to turning to for comfort. I, however, have never connected emotions to a food. My many food allergies pretty much prevent me from making that kind of attachment to foods.
Why am I so crabby right now? Is it Atkins, or is it something else? I have no answers yet.
Image by William Warby on Flickr