I had just purchased a take away meal and I was sitting in my car about to pull out of my parking space when I saw this woman walk out of the restaurant I had bought my food from. It was right at lunch time and the only thing she purchased was a tiny bowl of soup. Now she may have had more food at her office to eat along with the soup she purchased. But, it made me think about how often people tend to under eat when attempting to loose weight or stay healthy.
Are You Eating Enough?
I see this all the time with my health coaching clients. Someone is trying to lose weight or maintain what they think is a healthy lifestyle but they are under eating. Under eating is not going to help you loose weight in the long run and it’s going to cause you way more problems by not eating the right amount of calories.
Here are a few ways that under eating can cause you long term problems:
- Fatigue
- Hair loss
- Gut inflammation
- Low Immune System
- Constantly cold
- Brittle Nails
- Constipation
- Skin problems
- Reproductive issues
- Sleep issues
- Irritability
- Anxiety
- Loss of menstrual cycle
- Poor concentration
Stop counting calories, stop decreasing your portion sizes because you are afraid it will make you gain weight, and start eating the whole foods your body needs. Food is fuel and everyone needs an adequate amount to stay healthy. Now this doesn’t mean to eat as much as possible and stuff yourself at every meal because then you will gain weight and your gut will hate you.
Find that balance. Learn to eat intuitively. By that I mean learn to give your body what it needs not what you are craving. Eat slowly so you know when your body is satisfied and not overly full. And most importantly, STOP STARVING YOURSELF. You are not benefiting anyone by under eating. It’s okay to eat the food you need. I eat more than my husband most days and I’m okay with that. Everyone needs a different amount of food to be defined as healthy.
