Not eating enough can even impede weight loss
When you want to lose weight, the key to success is consuming fewer calories. Yet eating too little can have the opposite effect in the long run and even derail your weight loss process.
Eating too little and consuming too few calories can actually lead to you gaining weight.
Insufficient fuel
If you’re eating a sufficient amount of food, your body will use up all of the energy as fuel. That means your body needs calories to be able to burn calories. Your metabolism gets triggered and losing weight becomes possible. If you’re not consuming enough calories, however, your body switches into energy saving mode. This makes it difficult to lose weight because your body wants to retain everything it receives.
Signs
In other words, it’s important to find a good balance. To lose weight, you’ll need to make sure you don’t cross the border over into too few calories. If you do cross it, you might not be able to lose weight or you might even gain weight instead. Are you not sure whether you’re getting enough calories? We’ve made a list of six signals that will tell you.
1. You can only think about food
Of course, you think about food a lot and you might have to restrict yourself from time to time to not give in to the thought. But if you really don’t think about anything but food all day, you never give in and it’s turned into a bit of an obsession, it’s time to eat some more food.
2. You’re skipping meals
Maybe you think skipping meals is a handy way to make sure you’re consuming fewer calories, but it actually has the opposite effect. By not having breakfast, lunch or dinner, you’re basically turning off the combustion engine of your body.
3. You’re always having headaches
Does it feel as if your head might explode and are you shivering and dizzy? Then your brain isn’t getting enough glucose. This means your blood sugar levels are too low, which causes all kinds of physical issues. So, have something to eat before you reach for a painkiller.
4. The thought of exercising makes you feel tired
Do you almost keel over when you consider undertaking an activity? Are you practically always tired and do you have trouble concentrating? Because you’re not providing your body with enough fuel, it basically only busies itself with survival – this means you don’t have energy left for anything else.
5. You’re very irritable
When you don’t eat enough, your mood can get pretty bad. It’s even been scientifically proven that a lack of calories can lead to anger and frustration.
6. You’ve eaten but you’re still hungry
Have you eaten your dinner but are you still hungry afterwards? Then you haven’t consumed enough calories and nutrients. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to eat more, but it does mean that what you do eat should be of better quality. So, in future, choose whole grain products, proteins and healthy fats instead of a salad, which contains next to nothing.
When you want to lose weight, the key to success is consuming fewer calories. Yet eating too little can have the opposite effect in the long run and even derail your weight loss process.
Eating too little and consuming too few calories can actually lead to you gaining weight.
Insufficient fuel
If you’re eating a sufficient amount of food, your body will use up all of the energy as fuel. That means your body needs calories to be able to burn calories. Your metabolism gets triggered and losing weight becomes possible. If you’re not consuming enough calories, however, your body switches into energy saving mode. This makes it difficult to lose weight because your body wants to retain everything it receives.
Signs
In other words, it’s important to find a good balance. To lose weight, you’ll need to make sure you don’t cross the border over into too few calories. If you do cross it, you might not be able to lose weight or you might even gain weight instead. Are you not sure whether you’re getting enough calories? We’ve made a list of six signals that will tell you.
1. You can only think about food
Of course, you think about food a lot and you might have to restrict yourself from time to time to not give in to the thought. But if you really don’t think about anything but food all day, you never give in and it’s turned into a bit of an obsession, it’s time to eat some more food.
2. You’re skipping meals
Maybe you think skipping meals is a handy way to make sure you’re consuming fewer calories, but it actually has the opposite effect. By not having breakfast, lunch or dinner, you’re basically turning off the combustion engine of your body.
3. You’re always having headaches
Does it feel as if your head might explode and are you shivering and dizzy? Then your brain isn’t getting enough glucose. This means your blood sugar levels are too low, which causes all kinds of physical issues. So, have something to eat before you reach for a painkiller.
4. The thought of exercising makes you feel tired
Do you almost keel over when you consider undertaking an activity? Are you practically always tired and do you have trouble concentrating? Because you’re not providing your body with enough fuel, it basically only busies itself with survival – this means you don’t have energy left for anything else.
5. You’re very irritable
When you don’t eat enough, your mood can get pretty bad. It’s even been scientifically proven that a lack of calories can lead to anger and frustration.
6. You’ve eaten but you’re still hungry
Have you eaten your dinner but are you still hungry afterwards? Then you haven’t consumed enough calories and nutrients. This doesn’t necessarily mean you need to eat more, but it does mean that what you do eat should be of better quality. So, in future, choose whole grain products, proteins and healthy fats instead of a salad, which contains next to nothing.
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