"Are tou trying to lose weight?" "Cut as many calories out as possible." This is an advice you wil get from many frineds whom tried to loose weight ,ususally unsuccesfully or with ongoing yo-yo effect.
Unfortunately it is possible to eat too little which makes it way harder to achieve healthy weight loss without yo-yo efect and this habit may also lead to some unpleasant health problems.
First you should ask yourself " Why am I trying to loose weight?" The answer might seems simple: Fit into my favourite dress, look better in bikini, weight under 60kg. These reasons seems importnat to you at that particular moment, but they might lead to decisions that aren't necessarily helathy and in your best health interest. Eating too little on nextto nothing is just one of examples which most likely backfire at you when you need it the least,
Everyone needs a set amount of energy or calories to simply stay alive. This is called the Basal metabolism. Continuously eating less than this can cause your metabolism to slow down and switch to Fight-to-Flight mode. Fight to Flight response protect out body from any harm and causes release of stress related hormones which increases our brain, cardiovascular and muscle function. But it also effects our energy metabolism. Instead of using food as a primary source of energy our organism uses sugar as a primary source which is stored in form of glucose in our blood stream and stores all food as a long term energy storage in our fat tissue.
But how you can recognize that you are eating enough? Hunger and feeling full aren't the only indicators of wheather you are fuelling your body appropriately. So you aren't eating enough consistently, you may also notice some of these other signs as well.
1. YOU’RE TIRED
Our bodies are fueled by the energy in for of foods we eat, so if we don’t eat enough, our energy levels can also wane. Whether you’re skipping meals or limiting the types of food you eat, eating too few calories also means you’re taking in too few nutrients.
It has been shown that you need all the macronutrients – carbohydrates, protein and fat – for sustained energy. Vitamins and minerals are also essential in regulating the production of energy. When you cutting on calories it is becoming more difficylt to get in all yhe important nutritents your body needs to function properly.
2. YOU’RE CRANKY
Feeling more irritable than normal can be another key indicator you aren’t supplying your body with enough fuel to get through the day. Cutuing down on carbohydrates can be particularly problematic when it comes to mood stabilization. Without enough carbs, your blood-sugar levels mat drop too low because the body doesn’t have enough sugar, or glucose, to use as fuel. It is also wise to choose your carbs carefully. Prefer complex carbohydretesto simple sugars.
3. YOU’RE CONSTIPATED
To help preserve energy, your digestive tract may slow down its function and move food through your system more slowly when you restrict your intake below what your body needs for an extended period of time. This can cause constipation. In addition, not getting enough fiber regularly — which is challenging to do even when you do eat enough to meet your needs — can also increase the likelihood of constipation.
4. YOU CAN’T LOSE THOSE LAST FIVE POUNDS
More isn’t necessarily better. You usually lose weight when you run a calorie deficit, but if you’re finding you just can’t lose those last few pounds, it’s possible you’re either training too hard, eating too little or some combination of the two. Smaller deficits (think 250–500 calories) are often all you need to see longer-term weight loss. Plus, this won’t trigger your body to go into self-preservation mode the same way, drastically restricting your intake often does.
Although cutting your calories to very low levels might lead to quick weight loss it can be deterimental to your health and set for weight regain in a future.
