6 Signs That You Are Undereating
Some people undereat intentionally. Often as a result of adhering to a highly restrictive diet or due to following popular health trends. Sometimes these diets and trends can be misinterpreted or contain inappropriate nutritional advise, which could lead to undereating.
1. Cravings
Being hungry all the time is one of the more obvious signs that you are not eating enough foods according to studies. Appetite and food cravings increase in response to drastic caloric restrictions and in return change the balance in hormones ghrelin and leptin which regulates hunger and fullness.
2. Low Energy or feeling fatigued
Low energy is one of the most obvious and widespread symptoms that might indicate that you are undereating. We obtain our energy from the foods and drinks we consume. The body requires a certain amount of energy daily to function properly. These functions include such as breathing and actively thinking.
3. Irritability
Ever heard the expression “hangry”? Getting angry for no obvious reason while being hungry. The Minnesota Starvation Experiment during world war 2 confirmed that high irritability was one of the symptoms experienced while on a severe caloric restriction.
4. Poor Sleep or sleep quality
Dozen of studies found that sleep deprivation leads to insulin resistance & weight gain and vice versa with restricted dieting. Not eating enough can lead to sleeping problems such as a reduction in slow-wave sleep, also known as deep sleep.
5. Reproductive Difficulties
When your body is not receiving enough nutrition, it will prioritize certain processes over others, such as life-supporting processes ie breathing, and blood circulation. As a consequence, it can reduce a person’s desire for sexual activity and interrupt reproductive processes. A restrictive diet can have an adverse impact on reproductive functioning in both males and females. Thus, prevent pregnancies from occurring.
6. Constipation
Eating too few calories can lead to constipation. This can lead to fewer bowl movements or harder stool which can be painful to expel. Constipation means having less than three bowl movements per week.
Eating a lot less than you should, might sound like a faster plan on paper. In reality, it could lead to a lot of health problems. The human body is simply not built to consume starvation level calorie restrictions. There are many online calculators to work out your TDEE (Total Daily Energy Expenditure) Based on your variables and goals. I personally like to use https://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html when I work out diets for my clients.
Built By Science
