Why You Feel Worse After Eating Better

Breaking food habits that aren’t right for our body is difficult as it is, so why is it that when we make seemingly positive changes, we can sometimes feel worse? It’s not uncommon for people to get excited about cleaning up their diet, only to be rewarded with bloating, fatigue, increased hunger, the list goes on. This can be discouraging and often causes people to return to their previous habits because “it feels better”.

Any change of habit can be difficult but it's important to keep in mind what the goal of making the change was. If you make dietary changes to support your health, and end up feeling ill, it's important to listen to your body. Health can be trial and error, and pain and discomfort is your body telling you that the changes you've made need support or adjustment.

So, let’s take a look at some reasons your new “healthy” diet may be causing you to feel worse:

You’re not eating enough

Our society is calorie obsessed; high calorie means bad, low calorie means good. Calories are energy. We need energy, for every single body process to take place. When you restrict calories from your diet, you are restricting yourself from energy. If you are not giving your body enough energy to carry out your daily tasks, including exercise, you are not going to feel good.

We need to squash the belief that less is more when it comes to food, especially for women. Often, we see weight and health as interchangeable. People change their diets to low calorie with the goal of weight loss, thinking it’s healthy. However, inadequate calorie consumption is the opposite of healthy and can leave you with many undesirable symptoms such as:

Þ Fatigue

Þ Brain fog

Þ Feeling cold all the time

Þ Headaches

Þ Constant hunger

The list goes on, especially when you consistently don’t eat enough. Feelings of discomfort can be your body trying to tell you that you are not giving it enough. A healthy diet will leave you feeling good, full, energetic and mentally sharp.

You’re missing nutrients

Low fat and low carbohydrates are very popular diets at the moment. We know that too much of anything does not support our health, however, not enough of something is equally as detrimental. Our bodies require a certain amount of each nutrient to be able to carry out all body functions. Skipping out on entire food groups can leave you feeling ill.

It’s not only about eating sufficient carbohydrates, fats and proteins, but also vitamins and minerals. For example, when switching to a new diet, many people eat the exact same thing every day because it’s easy and what they know. However, if you eat the same salad everyday, you are not getting all vitamins and minerals you could be getting if you ate a variety of vegetables throughout the week.

Signs you may be missing vital nutrients:

Þ Fatigue

Þ Headaches

Þ Moodiness

Þ Inability to concentrate

Þ Constant hunger

Yes, the signs are similar to when you don’t consume adequate calories. If you don’t consume adequate calories there’s a good chance you are not getting enough nutrients. To avoid nutrient deficiencies, don’t skip out on food groups, eat a variety of foods and listen to your body for signals.

Your digestive system is struggling

Let’s say you go from eating a diet high in refined carbohydrates (bagels, pasta, etc.), and now you’ve changed to eating lots of vegetables and whole grains. Seemed like a good plan, but now your stomach is bloated and sore. What’s going on? Your body is used to digesting simple carbohydrates, such as bread and pasta. Simple carbohydrates don’t take much to breakdown and digest. Now, you’ve switched to complex carbohydrates, which are more difficult for your body to break down.

Normally, a healthy digestive system can break down complex carbohydrates without a problem. If your digestive system is impaired, and often stomach pain is an indicator of this, it struggles to digest complex carbs.

Signs your body is having trouble digesting your new diet:

Þ Bloating

Þ Cramping

Þ Gas

Þ Constipation/diarrhea

Þ Nausea

Luckily this is not a permanent problem and can often be helped by eating more fermented foods, supplementing probiotics or digestive enzymes.

You’re not absorbing nutrients

You can eat all the right things, include all food groups and eat a variety of fruits and vegetables but still feel all the symptoms as if you’re not. This goes with your body not being able to digest food properly. If your digestive system is impaired, it may not be able to absorb the nutrients you are giving it. Poor absorption can lead to nutrient deficiencies.

Signs you’re not absorbing nutrients efficiently

Þ Fatigue

Þ Brain fog

Þ Inability to concentrate

Þ Bloating/cramping

Food Sensitivities

So, you’re really excited about your new diet, you even went to the store a bought a bunch of new foods that you heard are healthy but never really had before. You heard they were supposed to make you feel great, but somehow you feel worse. Why? This could be because you have sensitivities to the new food. Food sensitives are when your body has trouble breaking down and digesting specific foods, even with a healthy digestive system.

Sings you may have a food sensitivity:

Þ Nausea

Þ Acne

Þ Bloating/cramping

Þ Gas

Þ Headaches

Þ Rashes

To help pinpoint what is causing your symptoms, try tracking your food intake, and your symptoms when they occur. This way you can start seeing patterns and make the connection between foods and how they make you feel.

You're going through withdrawal

When you start reducing processed, refined foods from your diet, you are removing refined sugar. We know that refined sugar can be highly addictive, which is what makes it so difficult to quit. Fun fact: sugar consumption releases dopamine into your body. When you reduce the amount you consume, your body starts looking for that release of dopamine. Signs that you may be experiencing sugar withdrawal include:

Þ Headaches

Þ Irritability

Þ Anxiety

Þ Sugar cravings

When adding, reducing or removing food, it's important to monitor the change and see how it's working for your body. Keep in mind that specific diet and lifestyles may work for your friends or family, but not for you, and that's okay. Every body functions differently and has different needs. Listening to your body's signals is the best way to find what's right for you.

*It’s important to take note that everyone’s body is different, and although these are common reasons why you may be experiencing these symptoms, it could be other medical or emotional related issues. It’s important to chat with your doctor if you find symptoms are not relieving and impacting your everyday life.*