Am I eating too little?

Stilllosing26

I am 6 foot, around 138 pounds, and I have been having strange things happen ever since I started having a deficit. I usually never eat more than 1500 calories a day, and recently I have been always feeling cold(even when it's warm), I have been having odd bowel habits (spouts of constipation and bloating), I feel tired and get dizzy spells, I feel moving in my stomach/pelvic region after eating. I eat healthy most of the time, and drink tons of water (more than anyone else I know). The constipation is starting to bug me, and I am sick of it. What's wrong?

doodlecakes_07

Yes, you are eating too little. At 6 ft and 138 pounds, you have a BMI of 18.71, which is on the very low side of healthy. Also, as a 18 year old male, you need a lot more calories to keep you going.

Why are you eating at a deficit? What are your reasons and goals?

Apocalypz

Part of what body fat accomplishes is insulate yourself. If you find that, rather quickly, you're blue-ish under the fingernails and seem rather cold all of the time when you weren't before, then there's a good chance that you've lost a lot of the fat in your body.

Some may say "w00t" to losing body fat, others will remind you that a certain level of fat in your body is required for normal function. We'd like to look through your diary to see if you're not getting enough fat intake, but it's closed.

Or you could just have a 24 hr bug.

nxd10

I have two very, very thin sons - 16 and 25, both with BMIs about like yours. They eat about twice as much as you - more when they exercising. One of the REASONS they have to eat a lot all the time is that they have very little insulating fat, so need lots of easily accessible sugar (i.e. calories) in their system to burn and keep them warm. When they don't eat, they have few reserves and they get dizzy, cold, and VERY VERY short tempered.

You have all the signs of someone who is becoming seriously undernourished. Eat when you're hungry. You should not be counting calories.

PaytraB

You are cold because you are underweight, have "odd bowel habits" from not getting enough fats/oils for lubrication and you are tired & dizzy because you aren't eating enough daily.
Eat more and add some fats to your diet. Ask your Dr what a healthy weight is for you. It's higher than 138 lbs.

Stilllosing26

I started at around 150 and lost around 12 pounds because I didn't like the way my legs look. Sadly, I still don't like the way they look, and that prompted me to keep going. Before I started the dieting (counting calories and exercising) I was normal with my bowels. Now it's really hard to start eating normally (above 1,500 calories) because I feel easily bloated, and get constipated . I barely made it past 1,200 today! I don't know what to do

Jesygfbaker

Another very important thing that fats do in our bodies is help with hormone regulation. I seem to recall that hormones in turn play a role in manufacturing enzymes from the amino acids in the proteins we eat. Insulin is a hormone, and an imbalance could very well cause symptoms like you describe.
Are you a worrier? You could have some ulcerative issues along your digestive tract. Make sure that you're eating the right amount of fiber. Too much and too little can be upsetting to your system.
I'm so sorry you're feeling unwell.

Graelwyn75

You were not even remotely overweight to begin with.
Having read this, and another post of yours, I really suggest you see a doctor or someone professional, as you sound as if you are having serious issues with eating and body image. You should in no way be trying to lose weight, or be eating only 1500 calories. You will not change your legs through losing weight. You do that through strength training and acquiring some muscle mass.

deksgrl

I started at around 150 and lost around 12 pounds because I didn't like the way my legs look. Sadly, I still don't like the way they look, and that prompted me to keep going. Before I started the dieting (counting calories and exercising) I was normal with my bowels. Now it's really hard to start eating normally (above 1,500 calories) because I feel easily bloated, and get constipated . I barely made it past 1,200 today! I don't know what to do

What do you do for exercise? Your diary is closed so cannot see what types of things you are eating. Irregardless, you need to be eating more. Are you getting a good combination of protein/carbs/fat? Fat can help in digestion and bowel problems. I suspect you probably have cut out fat to keep calories low. But you need it for proper bodily functions.