What happens when you do not eat enough?
This is not a trick question. Your body shuts down, maybe not immediately and maybe not even noticeably in any foreseeable future. But the damage is being done, and your body is shutting down.
What Happens When You Do Not Eat Enough
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I know this because I have lived through this, and I am (sadly) living the rest of my life trying to undo the damage from this.
Not Eating Enough
When we chatted over bone broth recently, I told you,
Lately, I’ve been caught up with the idea that things from my past have affected my current and future. That bothers me.
And this is exactly what I was referring to.
A past life of hobby restriction lead to a “healing life” of forced restriction; neither restrictions are any I’d wish upon anyone.
Stop and read that again. Hobby restriction can (and usually does) lead to forced restriction.
Hand-in-hand with taking me to a place of severe adrenal fatigue, SIBO, and an autoimmune condition went a digestive system that was completely out of whack and unable to tolerate or process anything. In order to get my gut to a place of healing, I had to focus real hard on starving gut bacteria vs. starving myself. If you think they are the same, I can promise you they are not. But both are a version of hell; I am convinced.
Chris Kresser recently published this post, “8 Signs You’re Not Eating Enough.”
Upon reading the article, I felt it deep in my gut to finally bring it to the surface.
For 15+ years I did not eat enough. The result of that ended with 6 of the mentioned “problems” from the post.
6 Signs You’re Not Eating Enough
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Undereating
- Your weight isn’t budging. Why? Well, why would you “lose weight” if your body is actually saying, “I’m starving. I must hold onto every last thing I can.”
- You can’t get pregnant. During the depths of my healing journey, my doctor told me, “Your body isn’t concerned with trying to grow another life; it wants to preserve your own.” And that is powerful.
- Your blood sugar is a roller coaster. When you’re not fueling for life, your blood sugar will be up and down, usually with no rhyme or reason.
- Your mood is totally unpredictable. This goes beyond hangry, though, that was always a thing for me.
- You’re chronically constipated. How can you poop anything out if there is nothing to poop out?!
- You’re always cold.
What Happens When You Don’t Eat
And for me (and most), even more things happened.
While my gut issues and autoimmune (Colitis) might have been bound to surface, I firmly believe that the fire was ignited by a disordered past. After all, it takes a trigger to “turn on” an autoimmune condition (I had a few).
If you want to hear me share more about this in my full story, you can listen in HERE.
There was a reason my SIBO and all gut issues went into remission in the first place, but maybe even more important than that is the reason I continue to stay in remission and thrive. (It rocks!)
I cannot change my past, but what I hope is that my story – the stories I have told and the stories I am going to tell – will help someone else never find themselves on the road I travelled.
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Xox,
SKH
You will heal. I will help.
I love your honesty. I think it is common for women to battle this issue and others like it due to the pressure we often feel about body image. More people need to speak out and share the message of self-love so we can change the conversation
Thank you, Krysten! I’m so excited (and kind of scared) to share my story. I think it’s important, though. The whole world of food, eating, restriction and sickness is getting out of control.
Thank you for this post. I had no idea how my under eating was causing so much discomfort. thank you, Sarah
Hugs. You are welcome. Xox
Do you recommend a site or some information to find out how much we should be eating? I have no idea per by body weight how much I should be eating a day.
Thank you for this read, very interesting!
I think the calories in vs calries out term has caused some serious issues for so many people. It’s really not that simple and the fitness industry insists it is. I am part of a whole family who ate too few calories for years and now we are all overweight and can’t budget it! I’m so glad I found you on insta as I learn and heal the body the healthy way!
Oh how I love this, Candice. It’s soooooo true – calories in vs calories out made and makes people act out fear. Acting out of fear causes chaos. Thank you for sharing.