8 Signs Of Not Eating Enough For Weight Loss

The third sign that you have a low caloric intake is you have trouble falling and staying asleep.

According to a study, not getting enough nutrients affects the production of brain chemicals and hormones that influence sleep and wakefulness, resulting in sleep disturbances [4].

When you continuously restrict calories and sleep poorly, your metabolism slows down.

4. Unstable Mood

Another sign that you are in a caloric deficit is that you are often cranky over trivial matters.

Research suggests that deficiencies in nutrition, particularly cobalamin, folate, and zinc, can cause you to lose your temper and experience mood swings [5].

During these times, stress hormones can increase, affecting your eating habits adversely.

The next sign that you’re not taking in too many calories is less energy expenditure.

According to studies, a lack of B vitamins, iron, and zinc impairs your body's physiological processes, including energy metabolism [6].

Having your metabolic process compromised can lead to feeling tired most of the time, which can take a toll on your workout performance.

6. Digestive Issues

Another sign of under-eating is having issues in your digestive tract.

According to research, a lack of nutrients such as essential amino acids, the building blocks of protein, can cause inflammation to the small intestines, resulting in indigestion, poor absorption, and compromising overall health [7].

“Your body needs a certain amount of calories just to sustain proper function.”

- Kimberly Lummus, MS, RD

One more sign of getting fewer calories is a weak resistance to infection.

Researchers have found that a lack of vitamins and minerals increases the risk of chronic diseases like hypertension and elevated blood sugar levels, which can negatively influence physical performance [8].

8. Muscle Loss

The final sign that you’re severely cutting calories for fat loss is that you’re losing muscle mass.

Research shows that muscle mass loss is more likely to happen if the calorie-restricted diet is low in protein and is not supplemented with regular exercise [9] [10].

If you keep losing more muscles, you might not be able to lose weight in the long run.

One of the potential benefits of eating enough calories is a healthy metabolism, which supports proper physiological activities of the body.

Research shows that our bodies need extra calories to properly digest and absorb the food we eat [11].

Through these processes, our bodies are able to get enough energy.

This energy is necessary for us to perform basic functions like breathing and walking. It also keeps us healthy by allowing our cells to keep regenerating and growing.

Aside from the signs and symptoms of eating too few calories, the greater risks include having difficulty meeting your daily nutritional needs.

Diets that are calorie-restricted may not provide you with sufficient amounts of nutrients such as carbs, fats, proteins, minerals, and vitamins.

A lack of these essential nutrients can result in many health problems, which include anemia, osteoporosis, heart diseases, and autoimmune disorders [12]

Also, chronically depriving your body of enough calories may actually cause your basal metabolic rate to go down, which can make it even more difficult to lose weight [13].

The body simply adjusts to what it perceives as scarcity of food, and that leads to less calorie burning and less energy, which in turn makes working out even a bigger challenge.

So, you should keep in mind that, past a certain point, restricting calories becomes counterproductive for your weight loss, which is the very reason for restricting calories in the first place.