How Reducing Your Calorie Intake is Doing Your Body More Harm Than Good

Weight loss often involves reducing calorie intake, as you need to burn more calories than you consume to lose body fat. However, individual results vary greatly due to factors like weight, sex, height, activity level, hormones, fitness level, and genetics.  Even two people with the same height and weight who reduce their calorie intake by the same amount might see different outcomes, highlighting the complexity of weight loss.

There is no cookie cutter weight loss formula for all people. One should take into consideration all these variables (weight, sex, height, daily activity level, ect) to calculate their RMR (resting metabolic rate). Here I address why starving yourself is simply not a smart idea.

There is a BIG difference between eating healthy and starving yourself

I often see my female clients chronically under-eating and I believe it’s one of the reasons my reverse dieting programs is so popular. Ladies, you do not and SHOULD not be starving yourselves to lose weight!

There is a BIG difference between eating healthy and starving yourself!! You do not have to eat 700 calories a day or always be in a crazy caloric deficit to be “skinny." There’s a big problem with constantly being in a major caloric deficit.

Here’s what happens to your body when you don’t take in enough calories:

• You’ll feel tired, lethargic and irritable.

• You’ll feel weak. When you workout, you won’t have anything in the tank and be depleted completely of your energy.

• You’ll feel constantly hangry. Even if you don’t feel hungry, you’ll kind of always be in a bad mood.

• You’ll develop skin and hair problems.

• You can develop hormonal problems.

• You can develop thyroid problems.

• Constipation and digestive issues will most likely plague you.

• Your metabolism will take a beating and likely slow down. Its like telling your body you’re starving which ultimately puts you into fight or flight mode.

• You’ll develop sleeping problems.

• You will have an inability to gain muscle and to lose fat. You will plateau and stop seeing results in the gym. Often, even when nothing has changed in your routine, you may even start to see weight gain.

With not enough “fuel” your body will start to eat away at your muscles for energy rather than digging in to your fat stores. You will trick your body into thinking you're malnourished and you will likely lose muscle over an extended period of time. Your body will think it needs to store fat for later. This is why some people are often seen as “skinny fat.”.

Do you have questions about your diet and calorie intake?