Dieting and anger?

[flourine]

I am a 30 year old male at roughly 350 lbs. Last year around this same time I began a diet that lasted for about 4 months and I lost about 80lbs. I was eating healthy and exercising and while I felt great physically, both during exercising and immediately after, I also noticed that when I wasn't exercising it seemed as though I became easily aggrivated at almost anything. I wasn't under eating so I wasn't cranky from lack of food. This perplexed me.

Cut to earlier this year when I read part of David Kessler's book about fats, salts and sugars and came across this: " "Highly palatable" foods -- those containing fat, sugar and salt -- stimulate the brain to release dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with the pleasure center, he found. In time, the brain gets wired so that dopamine pathways light up at the mere suggestion of the food, such as driving past a fast-food restaurant, and the urge to eat the food grows insistent. Once the food is eaten, the brain releases opioids, which bring emotional relief. Together, dopamine and opioids create a pathway that can activate every time a person is reminded about the particular food. This happens regardless of whether the person is hungry."

And now I'm wondering, is my crankiness due to the fact that I'm now depriving my brain of these opioids? It makes sense to me since I always felt a very serene/calmness after eating lots of unhealthy foods, but I wonder if my theory is correct?

Are there any solutions for this? I dislike feeling so edgy as it's not in my nature to be short tempered. I'm not violent nor do I feel the need to be violent, it's just simple things like becoming frustrated when the check-out line at the supermarket is going too slow, or when drivers make simple mistakes, etc.


I exercise daily (riding about 20 miles per day on my bike) and feel great doing so, but once I get home, shower and an hour or so has passed, the endorphin rush seems to pass and I feel easily irritable again.

Any advice?

[James G Beckerman, M.D.]

I suspect that the edginess that you feel isn't specifically tied to to the changes you have made in the foods you are eating.  Any changes in neurotransmitters, endorphins, etc. would be expected to have occurred months ago, and I would think that you would be more accustomed to your newer body chemistry, which is actually a lot healthier than it was previously!

Many people experience frustration surrounding changes in their diets - you are not alone on this.  This frustration can extend into other areas of their lives.  But I really applaud your commitment to this and hope you stick with it.  I think it's very important that you recognize some of your emotions, because that allows you to deal with them more logically and rationally.  Take care.

[Jaquta]

That's a lot of weight to lose (especially in such a short period of time).  Usually health professionals advocate for smaller loses over extended periods of time which equate to permanent lifestyle changes.  Congratulations on the weight loss though -that's a huge achievement in itself.

It's possible your 'crankiness' is due to your diet, or changes in diet.
I read an article on the shrinkyourself.com website that said, "Constantly being over-stimulated keeps our nervous system in an activated state.  By not letting our bodies shut down and relax our cortisol levels (cortisol is a hormone produced by our adrenal glands) get heightened".
"Food, especially carbohydrates and sweets, can give us a dose of calm that our adrenal glands no longer know how to create.  Therefore, we become physically dependent on the calm that food can provide".

I think that because you're no longer over-eating or are controlling your eating that emotions that food once masked are coming to the surface.
I think the feeling edgy could be anxiety from unresolved underlying issues (??maybe even from things that caused you to over-eat in the first place).
I think psychotherapy would help you address these issues.  Perhaps simple relaxation exercises would suffice??

I think the exercise, while a great distractor and something which has excellent health benefits, doesn't address those underlying issues.
While we're busy and participating we're good but as soon as we stop ... we in some form or other become aware that the issues are still there.

Hope that helps.
J