What symptoms do you have if you under eat your calories for the day?

OneTwentyThree
OneTwentyThree Posts: 186 Member
edited June 2016 in Health and Weight Loss
I am trying to figure out if I am not eating enough calories with the type of exercise I do. I dont feel hungry, and feels like I ate enough, but at the end of the day and the next morning I feel like crap.

When you eat less than you are supposed to how do you notice it? Do you feel hungry in your stomach, tired, etc? What are the symptoms.

Hope my question makes sense, thanks :)
Edit: not looking for advice, just want to know what signs and symptoms help others realize they are not eating enough?
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Replies

  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    If you feel like crap at the end of the day... eat?

    Honestly, most people who think they don't eat enough but are full are often underestimating their calorie intake or overestimating their calorie burn anyway.
  • OneTwentyThree
    OneTwentyThree Posts: 186 Member
    Francl27 wrote: »
    If you feel like crap at the end of the day... eat?

    Honestly, most people who think they don't eat enough but are full are often underestimating their calorie intake or overestimating their calorie burn anyway.

    Huh? How can I be over estimating calories burned if I am feeling bad at night?
    Yes eating would be the solution but then I wouldnt be losing weight.
    Im just asking how others know when they are under eating. My calorie in and out estimation is not the question right now.
  • malibu927
    malibu927 Posts: 17,562 Member
    What are your stats and how much are you eating a day?
  • teagin2002
    teagin2002 Posts: 1,900 Member
    edited June 2016
    She is telling you you might have a higher metabolism than most and by the end of the day you are so empty your body feels like ish.
    I would recommend a warm cup of milk with a teaspoon of honey or something similar to help you sleep and is still low cal and light before bed
  • sonyadilworth
    sonyadilworth Posts: 24 Member
    How do you mean you feel bad? If you feel a little bit hungry that's ok. You shouldn't judge if you have eaten enough by how you feel though. If you are accuarate with your logging you will know how much you have consumed.
  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    edited June 2016
    When "I" don't eat enough, "I" experience symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html
  • choppie70
    choppie70 Posts: 544 Member
    "Yes eating would be the solution but then I wouldnt be losing weight."

    If you are truly under eating, then adding a 100 - 200 or so calorie snack will not cause you to stop losing weight. If adding 100 calories or so causes you to stop losing weight then you are not under eating.
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    If my MFP numbers show me netting at 1200 or less I know I'm undereating. If it shows me netting over maintenance I know I'm overeating. Feeling like crap can have a variety of causes included but not limited to overtraining.
  • OneTwentyThree
    OneTwentyThree Posts: 186 Member
    If you truly didn't eat enough, more than likely you would experience symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html

    Yes i do have issues with hypoglycemia which is why I am asking this question. Trying to see whats normal among others
  • OneTwentyThree
    OneTwentyThree Posts: 186 Member
    malibu927 wrote: »
    What are your stats and how much are you eating a day?

    5'6 150, I eat 1500 on days i dont exercise. Yesterday I did kickboxing and ate 1800. I feel like 1800 was enough and didnt actually feel hungry, but did feel crappy. And the bad feeling wasnt from muscle tiredness.

  • OneTwentyThree
    OneTwentyThree Posts: 186 Member
    My question was what are other peoples signs when they undereat.
    Im not really looking for advice (i think my calorie count and eating habits are fine), Im just trying to see whats the norm.
  • teagin2002
    teagin2002 Posts: 1,900 Member
    A little hungry is normal but to feel like ish because of it is not necessary.

    How likely are you tostick with it if this is how it is for you daily?

    Another question does it compound?
    For me is does, if I keep eating too little (where im so hungry i can't sleep well and wake up like ish) after 5 days I get dizzy durring the day.

    Another question is your goal to count calories or loose wheighteach one of us is different with different muscle mass and metabolism rates and reactions to foods.
    Learn your body and how to get it to do what you want it to do, be open to experimenting with food types and calswith the intent to get the results you want

    Like @choppie70 said
    choppie70 wrote: »
    "Yes eating would be the solution but then I wouldnt be losing weight."

    If you are truly under eating, then adding a 100 - 200 or so calorie snack will not cause you to stop losing weight. If adding 100 calories or so causes you to stop losing weight then you are not under eating.

  • CaptainJoy
    CaptainJoy Posts: 257 Member
    I've noticed if I'm too low on carbs or sugar I get a headache. If I start feeling bad I check my macros under nutrition to see what's off/different and tweak what I eat.
  • Erfw7471
    Erfw7471 Posts: 242 Member
    If you truly didn't eat enough, more than likely you would experience symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html

    Yes i do have issues with hypoglycemia which is why I am asking this question. Trying to see whats normal among others

    If you deal with hypoglycemia (I do as well) then what's normal for others shouldn't matter to you. Meal timing makes all the difference in the world to keep blood glucose levels even - do you regularly check your blood glucose? When you're feeling that way, what are your readings?

    You should still eat in a caloric deficit to lose weight, just space out smaller meals throughout the day paying close attention to blood glucose spikes & drops.
  • prairieprayerpartners
    prairieprayerpartners Posts: 16 Member
    edited June 2016
    Interesting question, and I think I know where you are going with this. I'm a 6' 1" male, age 60. I've been on a diet with an aggressive (2-3 miles a day jogging) exercise plan for 7 weeks now, and have dropped from 257 to 223. After about 4.5 weeks, I started feeling lethargic and generally rundown. I also developed rather major constipation issues. I knew I was under eating (gross calories averaging 900; netting 500-600) but I wanted fast results. At that point though, my body told me to make adjustments. I've since upped my intake and slightly increased my jogging speed as a result by alternating daily caloric intake. Looking at my charts, and this is amazing how the body tells you to do this because it wasn't planned this way, one day I will average 900 net calories and the next day I average 1200 net. Been this way for over 2 weeks now, totally unplanned, but absolutely consistent on the alternate day intake results. Just might be something of a guide. Blessings!
  • amusedmonkey
    amusedmonkey Posts: 10,330 Member
    I do feel crappy when I overdo it on exercise. It's not just the muscle tiredness. It feels like the beginning of a flu (general tiredness, achy, irritable, anxiety, gut acting up, bad sleep..etc) but the symptoms disappear after a good rest next day. In my case it has nothing to do with how much I'm eating or not eating and more to do with sudden increases in activity. I believe in my case cortisol is involved since I have issues with it sometimes, but who knows.
  • OneTwentyThree
    OneTwentyThree Posts: 186 Member
    teagin2002 wrote: »
    A little hungry is normal but to feel like ish because of it is not necessary.

    How likely are you tostick with it if this is how it is for you daily?

    Another question does it compound?
    For me is does, if I keep eating too little (where im so hungry i can't sleep well and wake up like ish) after 5 days I get dizzy durring the day.

    Another question is your goal to count calories or loose wheighteach one of us is different with different muscle mass and metabolism rates and reactions to foods.
    Learn your body and how to get it to do what you want it to do, be open to experimenting with food types and calswith the intent to get the results you want

    Like @choppie70 said
    choppie70 wrote: »
    "Yes eating would be the solution but then I wouldnt be losing weight."

    If you are truly under eating, then adding a 100 - 200 or so calorie snack will not cause you to stop losing weight. If adding 100 calories or so causes you to stop losing weight then you are not under eating.

    When you get the dizzy feeling after 5 days or so .. How many calories were you eating? And how many were you burning ?
    How many calories do you eat to keep those symptoms from happening.

    The issue im having is generally i think if people under eat they feel it by feeling hungry in their stomachs. I dont feel hungry in my stomach but I will get similar symptoms to what you mentioned (dizziness, light headed, etc)
    For example I did kickboxing yesterday, ate 1800 calories yesterday, and am still making up by eating extra calories this morning. This defeats the purpose of exercising. 100-200 cals adding back isnt enough to help.

  • OneTwentyThree
    OneTwentyThree Posts: 186 Member
    edited June 2016
    Erfw7471 wrote: »
    If you truly didn't eat enough, more than likely you would experience symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html

    Yes i do have issues with hypoglycemia which is why I am asking this question. Trying to see whats normal among others

    If you deal with hypoglycemia (I do as well) then what's normal for others shouldn't matter to you. Meal timing makes all the difference in the world to keep blood glucose levels even - do you regularly check your blood glucose? When you're feeling that way, what are your readings?

    You should still eat in a caloric deficit to lose weight, just space out smaller meals throughout the day paying close attention to blood glucose spikes & drops.

    Hope you dont mind me asking, are you non diabetic hypo, or does it happen because of diabetes?

    Meal timing is a good suggestion but I generally feel fine during day, it seems to be am issue at night and in the morning.

    This is something I am investigating with a dr but was interested to see how others feel.

  • OneTwentyThree
    OneTwentyThree Posts: 186 Member
    I actually did a little experiment a while ago after seeing so many women who aren't short and sedentary say they do just fine on 1200 calories only eating a little of their exercise back. I did it for a week. After a couple of days I was getting hangry and my workouts were suffering. By the end of the week my workouts were total torture and I was eyeing up the cats as looking pretty tasty. Not worth a slightly faster loss for me at all!

    I know what you mean I am always surprised by those people and how they do it but I always assume they arent actually counting their calories accurately with a food scale.
    What are your stats like and how many calories do you eat and burn?
  • OneTwentyThree
    OneTwentyThree Posts: 186 Member
    CaptainJoy wrote: »
    I've noticed if I'm too low on carbs or sugar I get a headache. If I start feeling bad I check my macros under nutrition to see what's off/different and tweak what I eat.
    What would be considered low carbs for you when you start feeling bad?
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
    Increase your calories eaten so you don't feel like crap, monitor your weight loss results over the course of a few weeks, if your weight is dropping you're obviously fine, if increasing you're eating too much, if staying the same you've found your maintenance calorie goal. No one here can give you an exact number of calories for you to eat. It takes each person doing a little trial and error and seeing what their particular body does.
  • OneTwentyThree
    OneTwentyThree Posts: 186 Member
    edited June 2016
    Increase your calories eaten so you don't feel like crap, monitor your weight loss results over the course of a few weeks, if your weight is dropping you're obviously fine, if increasing you're eating too much, if staying the same you've found your maintenance calorie goal. No one here can give you an exact number of calories for you to eat. It takes each person doing a little trial and error and seeing what their particular body does.

    Thanks, the question wasnt on how many calories i should eat. Was asking what symptoms others have that help them realize if they are not eating enough. But yes trial and error makes sense.
  • michellemybelll
    michellemybelll Posts: 2,228 Member
    Increase your calories eaten so you don't feel like crap, monitor your weight loss results over the course of a few weeks, if your weight is dropping you're obviously fine, if increasing you're eating too much, if staying the same you've found your maintenance calorie goal. No one here can give you an exact number of calories for you to eat. It takes each person doing a little trial and error and seeing what their particular body does.

    Thanks, the question wasnt on how many calories i should eat. Was asking what symptoms others have that help them realize if they are not eating enough.

    Symptoms would be losing too much weight too quickly.
  • queenliz99
    queenliz99 Posts: 15,317 Member
    Do you take rest days?
  • Francl27
    Francl27 Posts: 26,371 Member
    If you truly didn't eat enough, more than likely you would experience symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html

    Yes i do have issues with hypoglycemia which is why I am asking this question. Trying to see whats normal among others

    Well that happens to me too. And it has nothing to do with whether you eat enough or not. Yesterday I had a HUGE lunch and was already over my calories and I felt like crap at dinner time and had to eat, even though I wasn't hungry at all.


  • FitPhillygirl
    FitPhillygirl Posts: 7,124 Member
    When "I" don't eat enough, "I" experience symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html
    If you truly didn't eat enough, more than likely you would experience symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html

    Yes i do have issues with hypoglycemia which is why I am asking this question. Trying to see whats normal among others

    No worries, I fixed it for ya. ;)
  • teagin2002
    teagin2002 Posts: 1,900 Member
    edited June 2016
    @OneTwentyThree that advice wasn't for you, if you are in competition shape you should consult your trainer is coach.

    I followed their directions to a T and now 14 years later I still look like I'm in my twenties

    i do things differently than my friends too,
    Because I was a competative power lifter way back when and i maintained most of my muscle mass, when I want to loose i eat at a defecite for no more than 2 months, then work on maintaining for 2 months.

    When I eat at a deficit I loose an average of .5lbs a day.
    Then I eat to maintain using this site.

    But I've had a lifetime of experimenting with foods, calories, workouts and my dear coach's teachings to fall back on.
    And I do stand by what I said, add 100 to 200 cals of a feel good carb with some prote in it (milk is perfect or almond milk), if it's at night try something with melatonin for a more peaceful sleep.

  • OneTwentyThree
    OneTwentyThree Posts: 186 Member
    When "I" don't eat enough, "I" experience symptoms of hypoglycemia (low blood sugar): diabetes.org/living-with-diabetes/treatment-and-care/blood-glucose-control/hypoglycemia-low-blood.html

    How many calories would you be eating and burning on the days you feel hypoglycemia? Have you checked you sugar how low does it actually go ?
  • VintageFeline
    VintageFeline Posts: 6,771 Member
    I actually did a little experiment a while ago after seeing so many women who aren't short and sedentary say they do just fine on 1200 calories only eating a little of their exercise back. I did it for a week. After a couple of days I was getting hangry and my workouts were suffering. By the end of the week my workouts were total torture and I was eyeing up the cats as looking pretty tasty. Not worth a slightly faster loss for me at all!

    I know what you mean I am always surprised by those people and how they do it but I always assume they arent actually counting their calories accurately with a food scale.
    What are your stats like and how many calories do you eat and burn?

    Net is 1380, I'm 5'5 and 174-ish. I workout 4-6 times a week and eat all of my exercise calories. Which takes gross to about 16-1700. Losing about 1lb per week with 30lbs or there abouts to go I think. I don't think I'll ever drop below 1300 net, preferring just to let my losses slow.