Undereating symptoms

MACnificence
MACnificence Posts: 419 Member
edited February 4 in Health and Weight Loss
Just wondering what symptoms people experience with undereating ?
Not even so much as eating very little calories but say not eating enough for what you burn through activity

Replies

  • init2fitit
    init2fitit Posts: 168 Member
    i'm not sure what you're asking.
    do you mean not eating exercise calories, or eating like 500kcals a day or something.

    anyway, i'd say the biggest one for both would be fatigue and reduced recovery/motivation.
  • bwogilvie
    bwogilvie Posts: 2,130 Member
    I'm not sure what you're asking either. By definition, to lose weight you have to undereat: that is, eat fewer calories than your body consumes through basal metabolism and activity.

    I've lost 39 pounds in the last 8 and a half months, so I have been undereating (compared with maintenance) by about 525 calories each day, on average. At first I got really hungry between meals; lately, not so much. I might be a little more irritable than usual. I'm surprised by how well I've adapted, though. I do keep an eye on my macro balance and eat lots of veggies and the occasional red meat to ensure I get enough vitamins and minerals.

    I bicycle 75-125 miles each week (more this year than previous years), and I have actually become a faster, stronger cyclist while dieting than I was in 2011 or 2012.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    If you create an absurdly high calorie deficit for the amount of fat on your body, you will probably start out by being hungry, tired and in a nasty mood. Over time, your body will adjust to your under eating and you will likely no longer feel the same hunger. You may just be lethargic. Your skin can lose elasticity and you can become more pale than usual. Your hair can become brittle and break and your nails as well. Your skin will often be flaky and dry from a lack of fat in your diet. You will lose weight over the long term.
  • MACnificence
    MACnificence Posts: 419 Member
    Sorry I should have made myself clearer , too high of a calorie deficit I mean (netting a low amount of calories)
    I know eating 500 calories a day your starving yourself but what if your eating a decent amount of calories but still not enough for what your burning
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    Sorry I should have made myself clearer , too high of a calorie deficit I mean (netting a low amount of calories)
    I know eating 500 calories a day your starving yourself but what if your eating a decent amount of calories but still not enough for what your burning

    It's essentially the same thing. Are you asking for you or someone else? If for you, why not use the anonymity of the internet to just put it out there? How much are you eating? How much are you exercising? What are you feeling/seeing/noticing in the way of symptoms and signs?
  • MACnificence
    MACnificence Posts: 419 Member
    No I'm asking for myself , My biggest problem is not being able to sleep at night waking often throughout the night and not being able to go back to sleep also very irritable and of late getting headaches
    I am completely on edge the whole time which is prob down to lack of sleep
    I know being cold can be a symptom but I was always a cold person so it's hard to Judge I'm normally colder than everyone else and as for hair loss I've so much hair that it comes out in chunks anyway ,
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Muscle weakness, lethargy, headaches, dizziness and persistent hunger are usually the first signs. Prolonged undereating can lead to a whole list of problem associated with malnourishment.
  • arains89
    arains89 Posts: 442 Member
    Sorry I should have made myself clearer , too high of a calorie deficit I mean (netting a low amount of calories)
    I know eating 500 calories a day your starving yourself but what if your eating a decent amount of calories but still not enough for what your burning

    Result: You lose weight. That Is exactly what we all do when we are trying to lose. Eat less than we burn.
  • michellekicks
    michellekicks Posts: 3,624 Member
    If you believe that you could be undereating severely and that is possibly the cause of your symptoms, you should see a doctor. Either it's something else, in which case a doctor can help you figure out what... OR it's the undereating and if you're not willing to increase your caloric intake to see if that doesn't fix the problem, you probably need the help of a doctor to do so.

    Not trying to be mean... the vagueness is indicating a problem. See a doctor. Either way.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Sorry I should have made myself clearer , too high of a calorie deficit I mean (netting a low amount of calories)
    I know eating 500 calories a day your starving yourself but what if your eating a decent amount of calories but still not enough for what your burning

    Result: You lose weight. That Is exactly what we all do when we are trying to lose. Eat less than we burn.

    We all eat too high of a deficit?
  • MACnificence
    MACnificence Posts: 419 Member
    I've seen a doctor my cortisol levels are raised , but I'm getting them retested as there seemed to be more than one hormonal imbalance so they are retesting for accuracy
    I'm eating approx 1500 cals a day and I exercise 6days a week , cardio everyday and weights 3 of them days
    I'm not trying to be vague i apologise if I came across that way I just want to hear people's experiences in general

    And yes I know losing weight is a "sign" I was typically losing 1.4Ibs up till this week and my weight is fluctuating since Saturday for some reason I'm trying not to take so much notice of it as I know not sleeping can interfere with that

    I have been prescribed sleeping tablets but I hate resorting to tablets I have been over in my head is there anything that causing me stress and I can't pinpoint it. So I'm wondering is the stress coming from not feeding my body enough
    It isn't as obvious when you aren't only eating a few hundred calories a day I eat a fair amount of calories but it may still not be enough for my body to fuel itself

    I'm just curious as anyone else experienced anything similar
    I know smart answers are often thrown at you on sites like this but we're all on a learning curb if I knew the answer to everything I wouldn't be here asking for opinions
  • MACnificence
    MACnificence Posts: 419 Member
    Sorry I should have made myself clearer , too high of a calorie deficit I mean (netting a low amount of calories)
    I know eating 500 calories a day your starving yourself but what if your eating a decent amount of calories but still not enough for what your burning

    Result: You lose weight. That Is exactly what we all do when we are trying to lose. Eat less than we burn.

    We all eat too high of a deficit?



    How do you reckon that ? Too big of a calorie deficit I think you know what I mean by that as anyone on here is def not shy of hearing TDEE - a certain percentage for healthy weight loss
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    A quick peek at your diary suggests you are eating around 1500 calories a day, which doesn't seem like it would be clinically too low. Too low protein can cause hair loss, but if you are eating around 100g a day, so that's probably not the answer.

    You haven't logged any exercise - so how much are you burning there? If you are putting in 500+ cal burns daily and not logging them, that could be an issue.

    But assuming you are logging correctly, I think you should go talk to a Doctor. Hair loss could be indicative of a major problem like liver failure, kidney failure or skin disease.
  • MACnificence
    MACnificence Posts: 419 Member
    Thanks
    I have actually never logged exercise calories really on my fitness pal as I don't particurily eat back exercise calories
    But ya if I was to be going by my HRM I do burn 500+ calories a day through designated cardio
  • richardheath
    richardheath Posts: 1,276 Member
    Well, maybe it's time to revisit your calorie goals? You look as if you are at/near goal weight anyway, so maybe you should be eating at closer to or at maintenance?

    Bottom line is (as far as I can tell) a reasonable calorie deficit should not cause any major side effects. Maybe a wee bit of hunger, but that's about it!
  • MACnificence
    MACnificence Posts: 419 Member
    Thanks for your reply .. Ya I'm currently working on walking up my calories at the moment so I'm hoping that if is that the calories causing troubles that the symptoms will start to subside

    Thank u for your input :)
  • funkyspunky872
    funkyspunky872 Posts: 866 Member
    In my experience: gray skin, fatigue, hair loss, bradycardia, depression, orthostatic hypertension, feeling cold all the time, weight loss, irritability, and poor concentration.
  • BrittanyHarrington1015
    BrittanyHarrington1015 Posts: 25
    I'm not entirely sure what you're asking either, but if it's a case of not eating enough calories per day while still working out, I can personally say it can make you gain weight. Usually, it's not encouraged for pregnant women to diet or even count calories, but my midwife had me join this site because I am very active in checking in with them about my workouts/eating habits, and she was concerned that I wasn't eating enough, and that was sending my body into starvation, thus making me gain weight. It turns out that she's right. There are no pregnancy settings on here, but even if I were not pregnant, I was eating nowhere near what I needed to be. Hope that's along the lines of what you were looking for.
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
    Sorry I should have made myself clearer , too high of a calorie deficit I mean (netting a low amount of calories)
    I know eating 500 calories a day your starving yourself but what if your eating a decent amount of calories but still not enough for what your burning

    Result: You lose weight. That Is exactly what we all do when we are trying to lose. Eat less than we burn.

    We all eat too high of a deficit?

    How do you reckon that ? Too big of a calorie deficit I think you know what I mean by that as anyone on here is def not shy of hearing TDEE - a certain percentage for healthy weight loss

    Perhaps I misunderstood, but the OP clarified that she was talking about too high of a calorie deficit, and the response was "that is exactly what we all do".
  • grimendale
    grimendale Posts: 2,153 Member
    Dizzyness, fatigue, blurred vision, lack of hunger, headaches, irritability, depression and lethargy were the first indications I had when I was young and stupid. It gets worse from there as you persist.
  • Greenrun99
    Greenrun99 Posts: 2,065 Member
    making a post on mfp asking about undereating symptoms could be a symptom... lol
  • MACnificence
    MACnificence Posts: 419 Member
    making a post on mfp asking about undereating symptoms could be a symptom... lol



    Oh such a pity as aren't all as clever as u are :/
  • spectralmoon
    spectralmoon Posts: 1,179 Member
    Haven't seen it yet, but tingly finger tips and toes. It'll feel like they're falling asleep.
  • csheltra26
    csheltra26 Posts: 272 Member
    I did this for a very long time and lost a lot of weight, and then it all came back. Undereating causes problems with your metabolism slowing way down and thus making it harder to maintain your loss at a resasonable caloric intake.
    I also had many issues with trying to sleep. And I was definitely overstressing my body.

    How long have you been undereating? I would recommend adjusting your caloric intake to a more reasonable goal - add just 100 -200 calories a day for a week, then add more the next. You may initially gain weight but overall its better for your health. Find a TDEE calculator and follow the recommendations from that.
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