Could a specific nutrient deficiency cause lightheadedness when losing weight?
I'm currently using the Slow Carb Diet to lose some weight. I find that it works well, but I plateau often. I'm trying (and succeeding but ever so slowly) to get under 15% body fat. Been doing it a while and it's fine.
I find that if I'm dropping weight I get light-headed. Well, it's not really the same feeling as "must eat now" so I'll call it 'fuzz-headed'. For instance, on cheat day (Sat), I'll feel fine. Likewise Sunday. But by Thursday (today) I feel sorta light headed / spacy / fuzzy. I'd say it is similar to being half hung over, half low blood sugar.
Important note: I doubt it's blood sugar. I've tested my blood sugar (with a strip kit) about 8 times when I've had this feeling and it's always been in the 95-130 range. My appetite doesn't seem to have anything to do with it -- my hunger levels are usually pretty low when I'm experiencing this fuzz-head feeling. Also, I don't think it's hydration, judging by urine color. I drink about 48oz of water (coffee, tea) between 7AM and 5PM and never feel thirsty. I have talked to a Dr about this and he tested my blood... something... levels. Slightly elevated creatinine (sp?) but all else normal. He thought the creatinine wasn't anything to be concerned about.
A typical day looks like this:
7AM: protein shake, 45g protein, 16 oz water, flax seed
after 7AM: 2 cups coffee, black
9:30AM: fuzzy headed feeling starts about her
10AM: breakfast: 4-6 oz pork or chicken, 1/2c lentils, 1/2c spinach, 2 eggs
2PM: lunch: 1.5c slow carb chili (kidney beans, beef, vegetables)
5PM: fuzzy headed feeling has been with me from 9:30 until now.
I've tried attacking this issue with vitamins (Vit D or a multivitamin), no effect. I do find it will go away if I get a solid half hour of aerobic activity like hill-walking or swimming. Large doses of caffeine will clear it up as well (20 oz coffee). I want to avoid caffeine because it disrupts my sleep. Getting an hour in at the gym in the morning is difficult.
My questions: could this be related to the weight loss? Like as I'm shedding fat there's some sort of byproduct that gets stuck in my blood and my kidneys aren't filtering it out well? Could this be a specific nutrient that I'm not getting enough of (esp. something that a typical multi wouldn't take care of)?
I've asked about this on the SCD forums in the past but really didn't get a good answer. Hopefully the SE network will give me better results.
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A possible answer is that you are not getting enough sleep.
Personal experience is all I really have to support it. When I've experienced this type of feeling, it is primarily when I'm coming off of a not-so-good period of eating and my body is adjusting again to not having a lot of sugar/other carbs. But I do find that it is more often if I'm not getting enough sleep, a good "catch-up" night or two of more sleep than I usually get seems to help my body adjust.
Perhaps the two coffees prior to breakfast could be the reason or your lightheadedness. On diets where carbs are limited we rely on ketones made from adipose tissue to fuel our bodies. However I remember reading several articles stating that the coffee can inhibit the rate at which our body uses fat as fuel. Therefore, causing a lower blood sugar after breakfast when our body should be releasing a steady stream of ketones in the blood.
I would attempt to remove the coffee for a week or two and see if there is a noticeable difference.
I've experienced that feeling before, when I was a student in college. It was related to not having enough to eat (for monetary reasons). Unfortunately, there is quite a number of causes of those symptoms that can range from:
Body needs adjusting to lower carbs (quite likely)
Insufficient food (low blood sugar)
Normal byproducts/waste built up in your fat stores that get released at once
If this is a drastic change from the way you have been eating, then there is a period of adjustment your body has to go through to work with the type of food it is getting. If this is a serious caloric deficit (like 1000 Calories), your body may never get used to it.
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