Discussion Board

I finally got a friend of mine to try this woe. She had been eating a very unhealthy diet. She and her husband have been eating a starched based diet during the week with a little "cheating on the weekend" as an initial foray into this WOE

Her initial results are good but she does find that she has a shorter temper and is more moody

Has anyone experienced this?
I am thinking perhaps she is not getting enough starch calories or possibly this may be from withdrawal of her food addiction.

Any thoughts?

Making any significant changes such as diet are going to be somewhat stressful and how people react is going to vary widely. I suggest taking someone on the forum here that is a confirmed vegan and having them consume meat regularly might provoke a similar reaction. This may not have anything to do with the content of the diet, just that it's changed significantly.
If anything many people have commented that the changes have had a calming effect on their moods. At lease after any transition issues were resolved.
f1jim

When I first started eating healthier, all I did was cut out desserts. By the 3rd day I thought I was going to kill someone;). I was so tired and cranky and irritable it wasn't funny. After the 4th day, it passed. My mood has gotten better and more consistent over the years, and I still have improvements to make. I notice sugar and white flour can really make me edgy. Food affects your mood a lot more than I think most people realize.

Michael

I think it is normal for that to happen, it happened to me. When you cut out fats and refined foods you no longer have that outlet for your energy to go to and your body has to learn to readjust to settling its emotions on its own or through activity instead of food. So she may have been an emotional eater, probably like most of us here are or have been.

I think too, sometimes it can be the perception of being denied something. After a lifetime of dieting, I had a very negative feeling every time I started something new....I equated a change in my WOE with denial. However, this time I hid my scale and made sure it was what I wanted to do..deep inside. I wanted to see changes and stave off heart disease that has taken the lives of so many in my family. So now I don't view this as deprivation, but liberation (from worry and ill health).

Actually eating more starches make me very mellow.

I know I was a cranky person when I switched. I don't recall how long it lasted, maybe a week or two. I didn't even change over from SAD either but from vegetarian (still full of junk though). I am sure stopping soda at about the same time didn't help my mood .

Just make sure she knows it will pass.

Eons ago, I joined Weight Watchers. (This was long before I discovered Dr. McDougall.) I had (and still have) food issues. One night, after I had eaten all my allotted food for the day, I was still hungry. I dutifully waited until the stroke of midnight before hitting the fridge for more food...after all, midnight signalled the begining of a new day, so I was not really cheating, right?

My roommate made the mistake of calling me on it. I am not a violent person, at all, but I actually had to check myself and take several deep breaths. I really wanted to hit her. I was so mad. The intensity of my reaction suprised me, which is why I remember it so well 30 plus years later.

Which is my long-winded way of agreeing that it probably is not switching to a vegan diet that is affecting your friend (Weight Watchers is not vegan), but more likely changing her diet in ANY way.